2009.07.08 01:00 - Questioning Everything

The Guardian for this meeting was Pema, standing in for Tarmel. The comments are by Pema Pera.

Pema Pera: Hi Aoshi!
Pema Pera: feel free to sit down
Aoshi Salome: I'm actually trying to remember what this place is, i'm going through landmarks, haha
Aoshi Salome: i have alot of old landmarks
Aoshi Salome: and new ones too
Pema Pera: We get together a few times a day to chat about the nature of reality, and everything else, and we have a wiki http://playasbeing.wik.is/ -- We record our conversations there. Do you mind being included in our blogs?
Aoshi Salome: noo I wouldn't mind, I see you have meetings pretty often too
Pema Pera: yes, four times a day
Pema Pera: we're pretty frequent, but fortunately we have a group of more than 60 regular visitors, so we spread around
Pema Pera: typically there are five to ten people at a session, but 1 am SLT is generally more quiet
Aoshi Salome: yah, all of north america is asleep, far east is at work
Pema Pera: btw, I like the quote in your profile: "Just as the highest and the lowest notes are equally inaudible, so perhaps, is the greatest sense and the greatest nonsense equally unintelligible." :-)
Pema Pera: I'm in the far east right now, sort-of at work :-)
Aoshi Salome: ahh yes, thank you, I like it too
Aoshi Salome: ooh hehe
Pema Pera: I'm in Kyoto, Japan, and it's 5:30 pm here
Aoshi Salome: ahh yes, almost time for food
Pema Pera: I'm from Holland originally; are you French perhaps?
Aoshi Salome: I'm actually french canadian
Aoshi Salome: glad I was born on the french side of canada, english is alot easier to learn as a second language than french is
Pema Pera: ah! I really should visit Montreal one day . . . I live in New York, but never yet made it to Quebec
Aoshi Salome: ooh it's not far
Aoshi Salome: the NY state is like 3 hours from where I live, the city is farther though
Pema Pera: I know . . .
Pema Pera: so many fun things to do in life, and so little time . . .

Pema Pera: I see you've been in SL for four years already!
Aoshi Salome: maybe that's why there is reincarnation, for some people
Pema Pera: You must have seen a lot of changes . . . .
Aoshi Salome: to experience all there is
Aoshi Salome: ahh yes
Pema Pera: hehehe, who knows!
Aoshi Salome: i'm old here
Aoshi Salome: SL itself has gotten better, but people have gotten worse
Aoshi Salome: it's okay though, people are people
Pema Pera: any new approach tends to attract the most original and creative people right at the beginning
Aoshi Salome: i agree
Pema Pera: Do you have any questions about our approach here? Of course you can look at the web site, but I'm also happy to summarize
Aoshi Salome: Actually I always liked the whole exploring reality concept, and it seems like this place should be interesting.
Aoshi Salome: I'm all into inter-personal-growth and helping each other, teaching others with our experience and learning from others the same way. Questioning everything, etc
Pema Pera: I hope you'll come back and meet a few more people of our regular crowd, besides just me :-)
Aoshi Salome: i'll come back, got this landmark sorted so I know what is here
Pema Pera: Yes, learning by dialogue and conversation feels both more real and more flexible than teacher-student kind of teachings
Aoshi Salome: yah
Pema Pera: easiest to bookmark the wiki, which has all info: http://playasbeing.wik.is/

Pema Pera: what is your favorite angle, Buddhism?
Aoshi Salome: yah
Aoshi Salome: since buddhism is based on compassion, and not a deity
Pema Pera: may I ask what kind?
Aoshi Salome: There isn't any good temples around me in rl, so i don't follow a specific kind. I enjoy the zen buddhism, I meditate often and have no problems "not thinking"
Aoshi Salome: though at first it can be hard for alot of people, not to think
Pema Pera: you may enjoy playing with our approach, using many short nano-mediations, 9 seconds at a time, four times an hour . . . quite different from the usual 30 to 40 minutes sitting
Aoshi Salome: ahh yes
Aoshi Salome: especially in SL sometimes they do a 30 minutes of silent meditation, but most people just park their avatar there and do not really meditate in RL
Aoshi Salome: sometimes a short meditation is better
Aoshi Salome: There is a master buddhist that used to never sleep, for years and years, he would meditate 5 minutes on the hour, and be "awake" for 55 minutes
Pema Pera: the continuity is amazing -- no matter how short, if you do something, anything, many times a day, every day, it will get under your skin
Pema Pera: that's an interesting story, Aoshi, do you remember his name?
Aoshi Salome: I don't remember it, but I should have the name for our next meeting, my japanese friend talked to me about it yesterday
Pema Pera: Do you have an interest in Japan?
Aoshi Salome: yah, always did
Pema Pera: Did you ever visit?
Aoshi Salome: not yet, I would rather visit with someone than going alone
Aoshi Salome: I usually enjoy solitude but when it's so far away.. if something happens.. i rather be safe than sorry
Pema Pera: sure, that makes sense; or visit Japanese friends
Aoshi Salome: yah I do have two good japanese friends
Aoshi Salome: one of them lives in Azirona, USA, at the moment, I could maybe visit japan when she goes back there
Aoshi Salome: the other is in japan
Pema Pera: my email is piet@ias.edu -- feel free to write me when you're in Japan and encounter any problems
Pema Pera: my RL name is Piet Hut (see my profile)
Aoshi Salome: ooh thank you
Aoshi Salome: yah I saw your profile, it's interesting, I have a japanese friend who is studying in astrophysics at the moment

Pema Pera: btw, if 1 am SLT is a good time for you, you may want to drop by two days from now, Friday morning 1 am (or late Thursday evening, depending how you want to view it :)
Aoshi Salome: ahh yes more people should stay up on fridays
Aoshi Salome: oh
Aoshi Salome: thursdays
Aoshi Salome: hehe
Pema Pera: we will have a discussion about phenomenology, the branch of philosophy that I think is closest to Buddhism
Aoshi Salome: I will come next thursday
Pema Pera: Thursday 25:00 or Friday 1:00 SLT, as you like -- two days from now
Pema Pera: I have to run now -- time to go out for dinner.
Pema Pera: Nice meeting you and talking!
Aoshi Salome: have a good dinner, chew well
Pema Pera: will do!
Aoshi Salome: it was nice meeting you
Aoshi Salome: we'll meet again
Pema Pera: good night!
Pema Pera: sue
Pema Pera: sure