"Iconoclast" ~ atheist, bohemian, boho, counter-culturist, deviant, enfant terrible, free spirit, heretic, nonconformist, individualist, image breaker, loner,
Related Descriptive Words
atheist, freethinker; character, codger, curmudgeon, geek, crackpot, crank, eccentric, freak, kook, nut, oddball, screwball, weirdo; eight ball, misfit, outsider; aberrant, anomaly, antinomian, agnostic, illuminati
Iconoclast - How will you remember the meaning of this vocabulary-boosting term? If you already know the word icon, you're halfway there.
An "icon" is a picture or an idea that represents something, and is often a societal or religious image. "Icon" comes from the Greek eikōn, which is from eikenai, meaning "an image to resemble." "Iconoclast" comes to us by way of Medieval Latin from Middle Greek eikonoklastēs, which joins "eikōn" with a form of the word klan, meaning "to break." "Iconoclast" literally means "image breaker or destroyer."
iconoclast
noun icon·o·clast \-ˌklast\
The historical person known as
the Buddha was an Iconoclast.
“A card carrying iconoclast”
Sorry ‘bout that !
Top of the list with ‘atheist’
Popularity: Top 20% of words
Simple Definition of iconoclast
a person who criticizes or opposes beliefs
a person who criticizes or opposes beliefs
and practices that are widely accepted
a person who destroys religious images
or opposes their veneration
a person who attacks settled beliefs
a person who attacks settled beliefs
or institutions
♦ Suffering the Impermanence
Our Suffering the 'Impermanence' --
the impersonal 'Not-Self' of it All --
is at the very fundamental CORE
of Buddhist applied philosophy
– in that...
the impersonal 'Not-Self' of it All --
is at the very fundamental CORE
of Buddhist applied philosophy
– in that...
“All Our Suffering in Life
is from our semi-conscious
Mental-Attachments
Mental-Attachments
that Continually
Mistake
the 'Impermanent'
the 'Impermanent'
for being
'Permanent'.
Continually Continually
Continually Continually
__________________
You are more attached
__________________
You are more attached
to your 'Desire-thoughts'
themselves -
- than you are attached
to the actual 'object'
- than you are attached
to the actual 'object'
of your desire itself.
_______________
What is 'accepted'
What is 'accepted'
by the majority of people -
- does not mean it is Real.
- does not mean it is Real.
" There is
No 'Way'
that "It" is
'
'
Supposed'
To Be ! “
________________
~ Paraphrasing the
Buddha ~
ī-ˌkä-nə-ˈklas-tik\ adjective
Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
Definition of iconoclast
REPEATS Related to iconoclast
Examples of iconoclast in a sentence
That iconoclast, the music critic isn't afraid to go after sacred cows
That iconoclast, the music critic isn't afraid to go after sacred cows
Origins of iconoclast
Iconoclast is a word that often shows up on vocabulary lists and College Board tests. How will you remember the meaning of this vocabulary-boosting term? If you already know the word icon, you're halfway there. An "icon" is a picture that represents something, and is often a religious image. "Icon" comes from the Greek eikōn, which is from eikenai, meaning "to resemble." "Iconoclast" comes to us by way of Medieval Latin from Middle Greek eikonoklastēs,which joins "eikōn" with a form of the word klan, meaning "to break." "Iconoclast" literally means "image destroyer."
iconoclast
Medieval Latin iconoclastes, from Middle Greek eikonoklastēs, literally, image destroyer, from Greek eikono- + klan to break — more at clast
First Known Use: 1641
Related to iconoclast
Synonyms
Related Words
Rhymes with iconoclast
Learn More about iconoclast
- Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "iconoclast"Spanish Central: Translation of "iconoclast"Nglish: Translation of "iconoclast" for Spanish speakers
__________________________________________________-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Iconoclasm is the destruction of religious icons and other images or monuments for religious or political motives. Over time, the word, usually in the adjectival form, has also come to refer to aggressive statements or actions against any well-established status quo. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes. The term does not generally encompass the specific destruction of images of a ruler after his death or overthrow (damnatio memoriae).
People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be applied figuratively to any individual who challenges "cherished beliefs or venerated institutions on the grounds that they are erroneous or pernicious".[1] Conversely, one who reveres or venerates religious images is called (by iconoclasts) an iconolater; in a Byzantine context, such a person is called an iconodule or iconophile.
Iconoclasm may be carried out by people of a different religion, but is often the result of sectarian disputes between factions of the same religion. In Christianity, iconoclasm has generally been motivated by people who adopt a literal interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which forbid the making and worshipping of "graven images or any likeness of anything".[2] The Church Fathers identified Jews and Judaism with heresy. They saw deviations from Orthodox Christianity and opposition to the veneration of images as heresies that were essentially "Jewish in spirit".[3] The degree of iconoclasm among Christian branches greatly varies. Islam, in general, tends to be more iconoclastic than Christianity, with Sunni Islam being more iconoclastic than Shia Islam.
Contents
Iconoclasm END,
next is the other required big bad word
next to Atheism you need to learn
for a strong cognitive part
of this peculiar practice --
or go home !
next is the other required big bad word
next to Atheism you need to learn
for a strong cognitive part
of this peculiar practice --
or go home !
__________________________
it's Empirical -- em·pir·i·cal
əmˈpirik(ə)l/
adjective
- based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.
"they provided considerable empirical evidence to
support their argument"
experiential, practical, heuristic, firsthand, hands-on; More
support their argument"
experiential, practical, heuristic, firsthand, hands-on; More
Translations, word origin, and more definitions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical_evidence
Wikipedia
Empirical evidence, also known as sense experience, is a collective term for the knowledge or source of knowledge acquired by means of the senses, particularly by observation and experimentation. The term comes from the Greek word for experience, ἐμπειρία (empeiría).
empirical
adjective em·pir·i·cal \im-ˈpir-i-kəl\
Synonyms
Near Antonyms
Popularity: Top 1% of lookups
Simple Definition of empirical
- based on testing or experience
Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
Full Definition of empirical
- 1: originating in or based on observation or experience
- 2: relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory
empirical basis for the theory>
empirically adverb
Examples of empirical in a sentence
- Eventually, access to electron microscopes and X-ray diffraction technology provided the necessary empirical evidence to test the hypotheses, and the jigsaw pieces began to fall into place. —Gail Nichols, Ceramics Monthly, February 2002
- No religion, new or old, is subject to empirical proof, so what we have is a contest between faiths. —Harvey Cox, Atlantic, March 1999
- They collected plenty of empirical data from their experiments.
empirical evidence>
Did You Know?
When empirical first appeared as an adjective in English, it meant simply "in the manner of an empiric." An empiric was a member of an ancient sect of doctors who practiced medicine based exclusively on experience, as contrasted with those who relied on theory or philosophy. The name empiric derives from Latin empiricus, itself from Greek empeirikos ("experienced"). It ultimately traces back to the verb peiran, meaning "to try, attempt, or experiment."
Variants of empirical
also empiric
Origin of empirical
First Known Use: 1569
Related to empirical
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related Words
Near Antonyms
Medical Dictionary
empirical
adjective em·pir·i·cal \-i-kəl\
Medical Definition of empirical
- 2: originating in or based on observation or experiment
anempirical origin…centuries of trial-and-error gropings after remedies—R. H. Shryock>
- 3: capable of being confirmed, verified, or disproved by observation or experiment
statements or laws>
Learn More about empirical
- Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "empirical"Medical Dictionary: Definition of "empirical"Spanish Central: Translation of "empirical"Nglish: Translation of "empirical" for Spanish speakersBritannica English: Translation of "empirical" for Arabic speakers
"BUDDHA: The JOYOUS ICONOCLAST"
Nourishing an 'Iconoclast Intelligence'
" The Doors of Perception will open wide for you ! " ~ Aldous Huxley
" I love you, gentlest of Ways –
who ripened us as we wrestled with you." ~ Rilke
The book 'Buddhism Without Beliefs' by Stephen Batchelor
A Contemporary Guide to Awakening ~ will be our discussion-text for
" BUDDHA:
The JOYOUS ICONOCLAST "
Winter/Spring 2006 Study Series
__________________________________________
Classes to Nourish an "Iconoclast Intelligence" and
Compassionate Critical Thinking with a Warm Caring Heart
Definitely, a much more Outside-The-Box-Buddhism !
for a much more Maverick Spirited Inner-Quest
“ What is accepted by the majority of people ~
does not mean it is Real ” ~ The Buddha
"One does not become enlightened by naively 'imagining' images of light,
but by making the mind's darkness conscious." ~ Carl Jung
_____________________________________________________
vPlease Note: This ONGOING, smaller, in-depth DHARMA STUDY & MEDITATION GROUP
encourages highly inquisitive, steady attendees committed to being present every week.
You do not have to be 'book-smart' or very intellectual to 'get' it. Just like to ask lots of questions –
and you'll fit in fine -- even if you are only a little philosophical-minded, and are willing to give it a try.
Be a naturally curious person with a deep love of learning & have a progressive, unflappable,
non-mainstream sensibility - relishing the abstract, intangible, even the absurd - with a genuine taste
for the elusive, indefinable 'existential' stuff.
These Unorthodox Buddhist Classes Will Offer
Some Refreshing, Risky, 'Radical' Spiritual Considerations of Reality !
We 'practice' as the renown poet Rainer Rilke suggested in 1908 – "To Love the Questions Themselves! " –
not as a mere spiritual 'consumer' - just coming for solace or easy to chew, pre-packaged, 'satisfying' answers.
We are playing 'Spiritual Hardball' here, but with lots of tender Heart – to unhinge the tenacious grip
of the totally illusory "ego-self-mind" and its obsessive demands for un-examined 'antidotes' & comfort-zones
for the mentally 'imagined' soul. As an option, we offer some unorthodox, ancient, sophisticated concepts
pointing►the way towards the poetic insights of simple, pure Awareness.
So ... “How Far Down The Rabbit Hole Do You Really Want To Go?”
~ Lewis Carroll - 'Alice’
The very best way to begin real 'practice' - is to be in stillness & silence with silent group support – in the quietness
we come to simply realize that ~ " Whatever 'It' is - 'It's' just a 'Thought'."
"There is nothing either 'bad' or 'good', but 'thinking' makes it so." ~ William Shakespeare
“If you don't understand that ‘whatever’ appears IS meditation –
What can you achieve by applying a divine or spiritual ‘antidote’?
Ideas and conceptions are not abandoned by discarding them –
but are spontaneously freed by themselves when 'recognized'
and 'realized' as simply only an Illusion." ~ The Dakini Niguma
Inner Stillness Itself is what Awakens your Deep Radiant Heart of Grace and Wisdom"
All you have to do is - learn how to really Sit Still, and calmly, fully experience & mindfully observe everything –
Non-reactively - look deeply/see clearly. Silence informed by Dharma does all the rest.
"Become a True Disciple of your Own Silent Awareness"
Instead of 'trying' to become something other than we are,
we realize fully what is already here. Pure 'Is-ness'.
"True Silence is not the absence of sound –
it is the absence of Self. Silence Works !" ~ Sri Ananda Maitreya
"All human 'evil' comes from merely this:
a man's being unable to sit still in a room." ~ Pascal
v"The PATH of NO EXPECTATIONS" - developed by former Buddhist monk Akasa Levi –
for 'allowing' an intuitive, natural, spontaneous 'Awakening into Awareness' to simply happen! A very eclectic form
of Theravada Self-Inquiry Meditation Practice -for consciously evolving, highly inquisitive spiritual women & men who
genuinely seek a more intelligent challenge & clarity to experiencing ongoing Reality. By combining the gently focused
sobriety and 'observation' approach of traditional Vipassana Mindfulness -- with the ineffable 'crazy wisdom' irrationality
of Non-Duality Zen - which short-circuits the so 'self-absorbed-mind'.
Through meditation brain chemistry actually changes – there comes a calm, naturally expanded & strengthened
Insight-Awareness – as one develops a 'Dharma'-Informed Mind instead – through skillful study, a deep questioning
and a de-mystifying, open-minded, caring investigation into the True Nature of Reality - nourished by a genuine
Empathy-based Wisdom. Creating a 'life of compassionate practice' continuously dedicated to our own self-awakening
process - each at our own pace - that will spontaneously extend boundlessly towards the welfare and happiness of
all other living, feeling, sentient beings. "My 'religion' is very simple. My religion is Kindness." ~The Dalai Lama
" When you just stop expecting
Reality to manifest
through a 'special experience',
or with a 'specific' finite form,
you will discover Reality
showing up within every experience
and shining through all manifest forms" ~ metta zetty
"Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the whole staircase
-- just take the first step." ~ Martin Luther King
"The genuine essence of an 'Adventure'
is that one just really doesn't know the outcome.
The essence of a 'Spiritual' Adventure
is that one shouldn't need to know the outcome –
and that one absolutely can’t know the outcome!
And that there really aren't ever any 'outcomes' " ~ Alexander Carpenter
" The Greatest Risk Is Not Taking One "
" Eighty percent of success is just showing up! " ~ Woody Allen
" While one person hesitates because they feel so insecure and inferior --
the other is busy just making mistakes aplenty and becoming quite superior." ~ The Tao
‘DHARMA’
Question Reality
zWHAT is the ‘DHARMA’ ? - ( from Sanskrit ) a Complete Wisdom-Truth Teaching according to traditional
Buddhism: a Way, a Tao, a Path, a Logic. 'The Natural Laws of Reality' – 'The Science of Reality & Consciousness'.
The Truth about 'the way things really are' – not as we wish, want, project or fantasize them to be. True 'Dharma'
is a non-mystical, non emotional-based, 'impersonal' Truth. The Dharma Teachings are simply about 'learning-in' –
installing a new software program that becomes an 'operating system' by itself – upon intuitive awakened Realization.
"Anicca, Anicca, Anicca" : Impermanence ~ the damn hardest mantra there is ~
The full Realization of uncompromising, unarguable, total, absolute "Impermanence". ~ Billy Bo Sat
" Buddhist meditation has 'Nothing' to offer you –
other than what is in THIS very moment.
Gods, goddesses, religion & the ego-self can
certainly tempt you with so, so much more! "
~ Henri Van Zeyst
"I tore myself away from the safe comfort of ‘certainties’ –
only through my love for Truth .. and Truth rewarded me."
~ Simone de Beauvoir
____________________________________________________________
_______________________‘BUDDHA’_______________________
Question Authority
"Buddhist spiritual practice is not a search for God or the Divine."
It is totally 'humanistic', totally in one's own hands, head & heart:
" Be the change you want to see in the world " ~ Gandhi
The mantra I continuously say to myself –
"I Will Stop Searching Outside." ~ Sri Ramana
"A common mistake is to think that 'your' reality, is THE Reality –
You must always be prepared to leave your reality for a greater one." ~ Amaji Meera
" Every community needs a group of angelic troublemakers " ~ Bayard Rustin, black activist social reformer
The Buddha was an authentic "Iconoclast": one who challenges or overturns traditional 'beliefs',
customs or religion - de-constructing blind 'faith-based' religious practices, Deity or dogma – “image-breaker”
(Greek: Icon + klan, to break; "A-theist": without Theos. "Heretic/Heterodox": a 'view' opposing to the accepted.
"Radical": Edge; cutting edge, far out, extreme fringe, essential, at the root, uncompromising, revolutionary.
“Dharma Teachings” keep waking up the true Iconoclast, Atheist, Humanist or Heretic still fast asleep
inside some of us – and offering it 'legitimacy' & courage to guiltlessly thrive. It's totally OK not to believe in God –
Buddha didn't. He was an Atheist: without belief in God, the Divine or Intelligent Design. ( didn't know that, did ya' )
In Buddhist teachings there is No One & Nothing to ‘believe’ in. Buddhists don't do "Belief" !
The Buddha fully discovered by himself - that any 'belief' in a divine authority, scripture or reliance on a God or
a Creator is simply just not necessary - irrelevant for a complete, liberated, free full Enlightenment and attaining
of Nirvana – this was as cutting-edge 'Radical' back then, as it is right now ! A pure "Humanist", the Buddha said ~
"Look Totally Inwards for Your Own Unconditional Liberation".
The Buddha was not Divine, nor a 'messiah': he couldn't save anyone –
He said there is just nothing there to 'save'. No Self / No Soul / No God / Nada.
“The real ‘Question’ is – not whether or not - there is or is not a God –
but, what is a particular individual person’s need for a ‘belief’ in a God."
That's the Question we each must ask ourselves. It's all personally subjective.
Universal 'speculations' can't be absolutely answered from personal needs.
In Buddhist practice, what we deeply observe is our need-based desires,
clingings & our relationship with 'beliefs' and how we hold onto them...
~ Henri Van Zeyst
]
Dharma Teachings Dismantle 'Ideas' of an Ego-Self,
God & Other Big Burdensome Grand Illusions & Stories.
Are you open to that ?
_______________________________________
Love says ~ ‘I am everything’ ~ The Hindu Advaita view
Wisdom says ~ ‘I am nothing’ ~ The Buddha Dharma view
Between the two my life flows
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
_______________________________
_______________________________
our teacher/mentor: Akasa Levi
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both.
And being only one traveler, long I stood
And looked down each as far as I could
Then I took the other, though just as fair
With leaves no step had yet trodden black
Because it was grassy and wanted wear.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I …
I chose the road less traveled by –
And that has made all the difference. ~ Robert Frost (1916)
One of a Dharma teacher's primary purposes is to pass on what they know to another generation of Dharma practitioners –
possibly even developing future teachers. It keeps the Buddha's brilliant teachings alive - so crucially important in this world
of so rapidly vanishing native indigenous cultural, healing and spiritual wisdom 'knowledges'.
"Our 'Life-Fears' are educated into us – and can be educated out." ~ Karl Menninger
'Kindness' is more important than 'Wisdom' –
and the recognition of this -
IS the beginning of Wisdom. ~ Theodore Issac Rubin
"Humankind must remember:
That Peace is not God's gift to his creatures -
Peace is our gift to each other!" ~ Eli Wiesel
" WE ARE EACH OF US 'ANGELS' WITH ONE WING ~
WE CAN ONLY FLY BY EMBRACING EACH OTHER "
____________________________________________________________
The Laughing Buddha Sangha v Santa Monica
The L.A. MEDICINE MEN'S LODGEvZEN MEN MYSTIC WOMEN Circles
CA 90405 – USA – 310-450-2268 – AkasaLevi@msn.com – http://www.zentrance.com
The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD PROJECT mentored by Akasa Levi
The PATH of NO EXPECTATIONS - Meditation Classes & Satsang
Weekly DHARMA STUDY GROUP - Learning The Real Core Teachings
Weekly ZEN MEN'S GROUPS - "Every Guy Could Use a Men's Group! "
Individual THERAPY & Couples/Marital/RELATIONSHIP COUNSELING
If you know someone in your life who just might benefit by our offerings,
be welcome to put them in touch with us
If you'd only like to receive our complimentary Monthly Teaching Excerpts & Sacred Poetry
with no obligations: please make a request by email -- also for event announcements, updates,
day-long/weekend retreats, teaching schedule – email: AkasaLevi@msn.com ~ 310-450-2268
wvtztvw
end
"I am astounded by people who want to 'know' the Universe –
when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown." ~ Woody Allen
The book 'Buddhism Without Beliefs' by Stephen Batchelor
A Contemporary Guide to Awakening ~ will be our
discussion-text for
" BUDDHA:
The JOYOUS ICONOCLAST "
Winter/Spring 2006 Study Series
__________________________________________
Classes to Nourish an "Iconoclast Intelligence" and
Compassionate Critical Thinking with a Warm Caring Heart
Definitely, a much more Outside-The-Box-Buddhism !
for a much more Maverick Spirited Inner-Quest
“ What is accepted by the
majority of people ~
does not mean it is Real ” ~ The Buddha
we come to simply realize that ~ " Whatever 'It' is - 'It's' just a 'Thought'."
"There is nothing either 'bad' or 'good', but 'thinking'
makes it so." ~ William Shakespeare
“If you don't understand that ‘whatever’ appears IS
meditation –
What can you achieve by applying a divine or spiritual ‘antidote’?
Ideas and conceptions are not abandoned by discarding them –
but are spontaneously freed by themselves when 'recognized'
and 'realized' as simply only an Illusion." ~ The Dakini Niguma
What can you achieve by applying a divine or spiritual ‘antidote’?
Ideas and conceptions are not abandoned by discarding them –
but are spontaneously freed by themselves when 'recognized'
and 'realized' as simply only an Illusion." ~ The Dakini Niguma
Inner Stillness Itself is what Awakens your Deep Radiant Heart of
Grace and Wisdom"
All you have to do is - learn how to
really Sit Still, and calmly, fully experience & mindfully observe
everything –
Non-reactively - look
deeply/see clearly. Silence informed by Dharma does all the rest.
"Become a True Disciple of your Own Silent Awareness"
Instead of 'trying' to become something other than we are,
we realize fully what is already here. Pure 'Is-ness'.
"True Silence is not the
absence of sound –
it is the
absence of Self. Silence Works !" ~ Sri Ananda Maitreya
"All human
'evil' comes from merely this:
a man's being unable to sit
still in a room." ~ Pascal
________________________________________
v"The PATH of NO EXPECTATIONS" - developed
by former Buddhist monk Akasa Levi –
for
'allowing' an intuitive, natural, spontaneous 'Awakening into Awareness' to simply
happen! A very eclectic form
of Theravada Self-Inquiry Meditation Practice -for consciously evolving, highly inquisitive spiritual women & men who
genuinely seek a more intelligent challenge & clarity to
experiencing ongoing Reality. By
combining the gently focused
sobriety and 'observation' approach of traditional Vipassana
Mindfulness -- with the ineffable 'crazy wisdom' irrationality
of Non-Duality Zen - which short-circuits the so 'self-absorbed-mind'.
Through meditation brain chemistry actually changes – there comes a
calm, naturally expanded & strengthened
Insight-Awareness – as one
develops a 'Dharma'-Informed Mind instead – through skillful study, a deep
questioning
and
a de-mystifying,
open-minded, caring investigation into the True Nature of Reality - nourished
by a genuine
Empathy-based Wisdom.
Creating a 'life of
compassionate practice' continuously dedicated to our own self-awakening
process
- each at our own
pace - that will spontaneously extend boundlessly towards the welfare and
happiness of
all
other living, feeling, sentient beings. "My 'religion' is very simple.
My religion is Kindness." ~The Dalai
Lama
" When you just stop expecting
Reality
to manifest
through
a 'special experience',
or
with a 'specific' finite form,
you
will discover Reality
showing
up within every experience
and
shining through all manifest forms" ~ metta zetty
"Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the whole staircase
-- just take the first step." ~ Martin Luther King
You don't have to see the whole staircase
-- just take the first step." ~ Martin Luther King
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
DETAILS for MONDAYS
~ 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in Santa Monica
Guided
Instruction – 30 minute Silent Meditation - Dharma Teaching - Satsang Dialogue
with Q&A –
with an
inspiring Metta-style
'Loving-Kindness' Meditation with sacred poetry to conclude at 9:30 pm .
WHAT
to BRING: Bring your 'willingness'. We
sit mostly on chairs. If you wish to floor-sit, please bring
your
own cushion. Bring bottled water, a pen & notebook. You may want to bring a shawl or light
blanket
to wear on your shoulders or lap – door is often open. Nearby well-lit,
safe street parking is available.
The book 'Buddhism Without Beliefs' by Stephen Batchelor
~ will be our discussion-text for class.
Soft-cover edition is recommended for purchase - available locally or
thru Amazon. Additional print-out
class
reading materials will also be provided. The class actually requires very little reading, if you choose.
LOCATION
in Santa Monica
CLASS
FEE is totally supported by your voluntary
donations. A ‘suggested' donation of
$15-20
for a
full evening class does feel quite
fair & reasonable to suggest – AND ... No one is ever turned away
for lesser or lack
of funds. We always appreciate your kind donations! It feeds
the computer & overhead.
LITTLE or BIG HUGE QUESTIONS or Hesitations before you come as a First-Timer ?
Class will also be
fun! We laugh while deeply considering some very serious things – like
The Ego-Life of the
Mind. Questions? - then be
very, very welcome to Phone us at 310-450-2268 or
Email us at AkasaLevi@msn.com ~ or we’ll help you figure
it out when you get here the first time,
or every time. Doubts
& Hesitations – Those
too are all part of the 'meditation'.
We encourage you to
explore & question absolutely everything!
"The genuine essence
of an 'Adventure'
is that one just really doesn't know the
outcome.
The essence of a 'Spiritual' Adventure
The essence of a 'Spiritual' Adventure
is that one shouldn't need
to know the outcome –
and that one absolutely can’t know the outcome!
and that one absolutely can’t know the outcome!
And that there really aren't ever any
'outcomes' " ~ Alexander Carpenter
" The Greatest Risk Is Not Taking One "
" Eighty percent of success is just showing up! "
~ Woody Allen
"
While one person hesitates because they feel so insecure and inferior --
the other is busy just making mistakes aplenty and becoming quite superior." ~ The Tao
the other is busy just making mistakes aplenty and becoming quite superior." ~ The Tao
______________________________________________________
__________________________________________
‘DHARMA’
Question
Reality
zWHAT is the ‘DHARMA’
? - ( from Sanskrit ) a Complete Wisdom-Truth
Teaching according to
traditional
Buddhism:
a Way, a Tao, a Path, a Logic. 'The Natural Laws of Reality' – 'The Science of
Reality & Consciousness'.
The
Truth about 'the way things really are'
– not as we wish, want, project or
fantasize them to be. True 'Dharma'
is
a non-mystical, non emotional-based, 'impersonal' Truth. The Dharma Teachings
are simply about 'learning-in' –
installing
a new software program that becomes an 'operating system' by itself – upon intuitive awakened Realization.
"Anicca, Anicca, Anicca" : Impermanence
~ the damn hardest mantra there is ~
The full Realization of uncompromising,
unarguable, total, absolute "Impermanence". ~ Billy Bo Sat
" Buddhist meditation has 'Nothing' to offer you –
other than what is in THIS very moment.
Gods,
goddesses, religion & the ego-self can
certainly tempt you with so, so much more! "
certainly tempt you with so, so much more! "
~ Henri Van Zeyst
"I
tore myself away from the safe comfort of ‘certainties’ –
only through
my love for Truth .. and Truth
rewarded me."
~ Simone de Beauvoir
____________________________________________________________
_______________________‘BUDDHA’_______________________
Question
Authority
"Buddhist spiritual practice is not a search for God or the
Divine."
It is totally
'humanistic', totally in one's own hands, head & heart:
"
Be the change you want to see in the world " ~ Gandhi
The mantra I continuously say to myself –
"I Will Stop
Searching Outside." ~ Sri Ramana
"A common mistake is to think that 'your' reality, is THE
Reality –
You
must always be prepared to leave your
reality for a greater one." ~ Amaji Meera
" Every community needs a group of angelic troublemakers
" ~
Bayard Rustin, black activist social reformer
The Buddha was an authentic "Iconoclast": one who challenges or overturns traditional 'beliefs',
customs or religion - de-constructing blind 'faith-based' religious
practices, Deity or dogma – “image-breaker”
(Greek: Icon + klan, to break; "A-theist": without Theos. "Heretic/Heterodox": a 'view'
opposing to the accepted.
"Radical":
Edge; cutting edge, far out, extreme fringe, essential, at the root,
uncompromising, revolutionary.
“Dharma Teachings” keep waking up the true Iconoclast, Atheist, Humanist or Heretic still fast asleep
inside some of us – and offering it 'legitimacy' & courage to guiltlessly
thrive. It's totally OK not to
believe in God –
Buddha didn't. He was an Atheist: without belief in God, the Divine or Intelligent Design. (
didn't know that, did ya' )
In
Buddhist teachings there is No One & Nothing to ‘believe’ in. Buddhists
don't do "Belief" !
The
Buddha fully discovered by himself
- that any 'belief'
in a divine authority, scripture or reliance on a God or
a
Creator is simply just not necessary - irrelevant
for a complete, liberated, free full Enlightenment and attaining
of
Nirvana – this was as cutting-edge 'Radical' back then, as it is right now ! A
pure "Humanist", the Buddha said ~
"Look Totally Inwards for Your Own Unconditional
Liberation".
The
Buddha was not Divine, nor a
'messiah': he couldn't save anyone –
He said there is just nothing there
to 'save'. No Self / No Soul / No God / Nada.
“The real ‘Question’ is – not
whether or not - there is or is not a God –
but,
what is a particular individual
person’s need for a ‘belief’
in a God."
That's the Question we each must ask ourselves. It's all
personally subjective.
Universal 'speculations' can't be absolutely answered from personal needs.
In Buddhist practice, what we deeply observe is our need-based desires,
clingings & our relationship with 'beliefs' and how we hold
onto them...
~ Henri Van Zeyst
]
Dharma Teachings
Dismantle 'Ideas' of an Ego-Self,
God & Other Big Burdensome
Grand Illusions & Stories.
Are
you open to that ?
_______________________________________
Love
says ~ ‘I am everything’ ~ The Hindu Advaita view
Wisdom
says ~ ‘I am nothing’ ~ The
Buddha Dharma view
Between
the two my life flows
~
Nisargadatta Maharaj
_______________________________
_______________________________
our
teacher/mentor: Akasa Levi
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both.
And being only one traveler, long I stood
And looked down each as far as I could
Then I took the other,
though just as fair
With leaves no step had yet trodden black
Because
it was grassy and wanted wear.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I …
I chose the road less
traveled by –
And that has made all the
difference. ~ Robert Frost
(1916)
Akasa
Levi, DhMA - now 64, was an American Buddhist forest monk for six years in Sri Lanka India
trained and ordained into
the Theravada monastic lineage by H.H. Ananda Maitreya, Amarapura Maha-Nayake of
Sri Lanka
Originally arriving in India
and Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan , Nepal North India . He was an early Vipassana Insight student of
S.N. Goenka and
Anagarika Munindra in Bodhgaya , India
in Bombay
& unpredictable humor.
One of a Dharma teacher's primary purposes is to pass on what they know to another generation of
Dharma practitioners –
possibly even developing future teachers. It keeps the Buddha's brilliant teachings
alive - so crucially important in this world
of so rapidly vanishing native indigenous cultural, healing and
spiritual wisdom 'knowledges'.
"Our 'Life-Fears' are
educated into us – and can be educated out." ~ Karl Menninger
'Kindness' is more important
than 'Wisdom' –
and the recognition of
this -
IS the beginning of Wisdom. ~ Theodore Issac Rubin
"Humankind must remember:
That Peace is not God's gift to his creatures -
Peace is our gift to each other!" ~ Eli Wiesel
That Peace is not God's gift to his creatures -
Peace is our gift to each other!" ~ Eli Wiesel
" WE ARE EACH OF US
WE CAN ONLY FLY BY EMBRACING EACH
OTHER "
____________________________________________________________
The Laughing Buddha Sangha v Santa Monica
The L.A. MEDICINE MEN'S
LODGEvZEN MEN MYSTIC WOMEN Circles
CA 90405 – USA
The SPIRITUAL ADULTHOOD PROJECT mentored by Akasa Levi
The PATH of NO EXPECTATIONS - Meditation Classes
& Satsang
Weekly DHARMA STUDY GROUP - Learning The Real Core Teachings
Weekly ZEN MEN'S GROUPS - "Every Guy Could Use a Men's
Group! "
Individual THERAPY & Couples/Marital/RELATIONSHIP
COUNSELING
If you know
someone in your life who just might benefit by our offerings,
be welcome
to put them in touch with us
If you'd only like to receive our complimentary Monthly
Teaching Excerpts & Sacred Poetry
with no obligations: please
make a request by email --
also for event announcements, updates,
wvtztvw
end
"I am astounded by people who want to 'know' the Universe
–
when
it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown ." ~ Woody Allen