2009.07.03 19:00 - Openness

The Guardian for this meeting was Dakini, but Pema stood in for her, since she was not able to come. The comments are by Pema Pera.

For a while nobody else was present, and I enjoyed the quiet night of Second Life.  After a while a newbe came by, just born today, who walked up and stood next to me, but perhaps did not know how to communicate.  He went into editing mode for a while, then walked around some more and disappeared, without responding to my welcoming remarks.  Then, toward the end of the hour, Vajra appeared, with whom I had talked a day earlier as well.

Pema Pera: Hi Vajra!
Vajra Radikal: hi pema
Vajra Radikal: sort of a quiet night 2 night
Pema Pera: good to see you again
Pema Pera: yes, quiet here, this evening
Vajra Radikal: same here
Pema Pera: for me it is morning, in Japan :-)
Vajra Radikal: cool
Vajra Radikal: im in mexico
Pema Pera: must be pretty hot this time of year, I bet
Vajra Radikal: not really actually cold and rainy in mexico city
Pema Pera: oh? surprise!
Vajra Radikal: where in japan do u hail from

Pema Pera: Good to see you dropping by the other day, here. Do you have any questions about what we are talking about here, normally, or ideas or comments?
Vajra Radikal: i was intrigued by the concept of higher and lower levels
Vajra Radikal: or was it planes?
Pema Pera: either way -- and either expression can be quite confusing. Normally I never talk about levels or planes; what you heard yesterday was an exception, triggered by Threedee quoting from a book
Vajra Radikal: i did feeel a bit out of place from lack of knowledge but enjoyed it quite a bit
Vajra Radikal: especially as i like to dwelve in emptiness or nothingness
Vajra Radikal: im not sure if the translation
Pema Pera: oh, please don't worry! We have a wide variety of people, some very steeped in their own particular tradition, others completely without any background in these things whatsoever
Vajra Radikal: is correct
Pema Pera: emptiness is a very important concept, but it is often misunderstood at first
Pema Pera: I like to call it "openness" which sounds a lot more accessible and positive than "nothingness"
Vajra Radikal: yes agreed
Vajra Radikal: i like your definition
Pema Pera: did you study some Buddhism?
Vajra Radikal: i am currently a majayana practitiones
Vajra Radikal: practitioner
Pema Pera: great! Are you enjoing it?
Vajra Radikal: las 2 years
Vajra Radikal: yep
Vajra Radikal: as a matter of fact i was amazed
Vajra Radikal: as i was allways an atheist and a skeptic
Vajra Radikal: i find it compatible
Vajra Radikal: and quite eye opening
Pema Pera: definitely!

Vajra Radikal: do you hold your own particular beliefs or follow any tradition
Vajra Radikal: if u dont mind my asking
Pema Pera: I have worked with approaches from many different traditions
Pema Pera: and I have also tried out their "beliefs", but I prefer the word "hypothesis" rather than "belief"
Vajra Radikal: true
Pema Pera: or at least "belief" in the sense of something worth trying out, not as in blind belief
Vajra Radikal: true i do have a problem still with rituals as i am quite resistant 2 them
Vajra Radikal: i need to leave 4 a sec but will be back later
Pema Pera: yes, I understand. Rituals can be easily seen as something superstitious or misleading
Pema Pera: sure, np!
Vajra Radikal: sayonara!
Pema Pera: But rituals can also be very powerful, if their function is understood correctly, as a kind of magnifying glas, so to speak
Vajra Radikal: like mantras for example?
Pema Pera: yes, and many other approaches
Vajra Radikal: or tantra
Pema Pera: sure
Pema Pera: but it is important to know what rituals stand for, and to really get into the spirit of them, the sense of them
Vajra Radikal: some tea while i get back
Pema Pera: thanks for the tea :-)
Pema Pera: take your time!
Vajra Radikal: does your info bot give out landmarks
Vajra Radikal: ?
Pema Pera: it should be on the note card
Pema Pera: or you can look at our wiki at http://playasbeing.wik.is/
Vajra Radikal: ok be back l8r
Pema Pera: :)

After a while, it was time for me to leave.  I sent Vajra an IM accordingly, and took off.