Milvertonian's Comments

Shambhala SunSpace : NEW video/update: Brit Hume addresses Christianity-versus-Buddhism flap on The O'Reilly Factor; O'Re

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 12:59:00 +0000

When I was gowing up and I would get frustrated by peoples' actions or comments, my grandmother would remind me that "You can't reason with idiots." From my perspective Brit Hume and Bill O'Reilly are idiots, in the truest sense of the word, as they are blinded by their need for ratings and audience share. As well, they believe their own shit, which is a dangerous postion to be in behind a microphone. My suggestion would be to breath in and out, focus on something important and worthwhile. Failing that, put on a good Beethoven symphony and get into some good old "sturm und drang". #3 is a goody. Works for me everytime.

Shambhala SunSpace : Seeing red -- in the NYC skyline. (Video included)

Sat, 3 Oct 2009 02:57:39 +0000

Pretty cool...makes me think that flashing logos and tag lines on buildings for equal rights for gays and lesbians could be a cool thing to do as well. I feel for our Yankee brothers and sisters who are denied equal rights under the law by their government.

Shambhala SunSpace : "Backstage" at the Kabuki, home of our October 2-4 Urban Retreat

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:12:06 +0000

I stayed at a Joie de Vivre Hotel when I was in San Francisco to attend the west coast premiere of Philip Glass' "Music in 12 Parts". I stayed at the Hotel Adagio in Union Square and the service was incredibly attentive and efficient and my room immaculate and very well appointed. They even offer visitors to the area the added perk of a complimentary tour through the Golden Gate Greeter program. The tour guide spent 4 hours with me and showed me all the "behind the scenes" bits of San Francisco's great neighbourhoods.

Shambhala SunSpace : We were warned -- the infamous "2012" monk returns

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:58:42 +0000

A friend and I saw the preview when we were out to see "Inglourious Basterds" (which every Buddhist should see) and kind of laughed at the inclusion of the Buddhist reference. Seems harmless enough and just another example of Buddhism hitting the mainstream.

Shambhala SunSpace : Booze and drugs and dharma: What's your stance?

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:44:03 +0000

The day I have to stop having a glass of wine with my dinner is the day I'll stop being a Buddhist. (Now I'll stand back and watch the holier-than-thous lose there minds) :-)

Shambhala SunSpace : The Smoking Monk / Plus, a poll: Do YOU smoke?

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:15:24 +0000

Having been a non-smoker for about 8 years now (well, a few slips here and there) I am hearkened at the resiliency of the body and how it adapts when it gets fresh air. Here is a website showing the time line for the body's repairing itself. http://www.stqp.org/quitsmokingtimeline.asp

Shambhala SunSpace : A small goodbye to Leonard Cohen's "Great Buddhist Hymn"

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:03:58 +0000

The song is definitely over-exposed, as is often the case when the public opens its collective ears and wakens to something actually possessing line, aesthetic, and great harmonic progressions. Luckily we have a few versions that will outlive the others, k.d. lang's at the forefront.

Shambhala SunSpace : Buddhist Movie Moments, Part II

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:29:15 +0000

One of Nicholson's best roles. Such a great scene! Thanks for the reminder about his great movie!

Shambhala SunSpace : Buddhist Movie Moments, Part II

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:19:32 +0000

I treated myself to watching "American Beauty" again this past weekend and was struck by how poignant and eloquent the ending is. Definitely rang some dharmic bells when I was watching the ending sequence.[youtube sYrgHju3d-E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYrgHju3d-E youtube]

Shambhala SunSpace : What will the Buddhist say to the atheist?

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:53:54 +0000

I'd say what I always say to a New York City hot dog vendor whenever I am in that wonderful city, usually within a few hours of getting settled in my hotel room and venturing out into the city, "Make me one with everything, please!" Makes me giggle as I walk away.

Shambhala SunSpace : God in (primitive?) Tibet

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:49:26 +0000

Of course one glaring dissimilarity between the Catholic church and Buddhism is their relative levels of xenophobia, divisiveness, and the need to propagate their beliefs through coercion, brutality, and dominance. I think we know which religion wins historically on these points.

Shambhala SunSpace : "Michael Jackson's Tulku Found!"

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:42:55 +0000

Let's hope that the hoopla over MJ's death will now begin to subside. IMHO it has been a bit over the top to have so much global airtime and bandwidth dedicated to one person.

Shambhala SunSpace : From The Worst Horse's Mouth: Shepard Fairey portrays another kind of giant

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:28:23 +0000

It's a little hyper-stylized for my liking, but I think his intent is a good thing.

Shambhala SunSpace : Breaking news: Obama NOT a Buddha

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:04:07 +0000

I despise PETA's antics and prefer not to read anything about them. But feel free to send any and all news items about the Pet Shop Boys. They're marvelicious!

Shambhala SunSpace : Breaking news: Obama NOT a Buddha

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:00:12 +0000

A good swat a day does the body good. So says I.

Shambhala SunSpace : Breaking news: Obama NOT a Buddha

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:53:46 +0000

Said PETA via their blog: “He isn’t the Buddha, he’s a human being and human beings have a long way to go before they think before they act.” Yes, PETA's statement is applicable to PETA as well with their antics.

Shambhala SunSpace : To kill or not to kill -- a little "comic relief"

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:23:30 +0000

Reminds me of the time that I was doing a meditation program in Vermont. Upon returning to my tent at night (i.e. dark) I discovered that there was a REALLY big spider in my tent up at the point where the zipper meets the roof. After screaming like a girl cuz my hand almost touched the spider when I went to zip myself in for the night, I pondered how to get rid of it. There was no way that I would be able to sleep with a giant spider in my tent. It was seriously large and really nasty looking. I could just imagine waking up with it on my sleeping bag or worse yet, staring me down in the morning! I set a piece of paper on fire thinking I could smoke it out. Useless. The spider just sat up in its spot. Then I thought I could brush it down to the floor and scoot it out with my shoe. This took about 5 minutes of mental preparation to be ready. I mean what if something went wrong and the spider landed on me? I wondered if I should just leave the tent and sleep somewhere else. But what would that look like? "Knock, Knock." "May I sleep in your tent tonight? There is a really heinous spider in mine." I can just imagine what my tent neighbour would think. Yeah, right...a spider. So on I went, brushed the spider down to floor, but the plan went horribly awry and instead of me being able to sweep the spider out of the tent, it made a beeline for me at top speed. Almost paralyzed by fear at the approaching arachnid (I really despise/fear big spiders) I was unable to rein in my emotions and I whapped it with my shoe. One dead spider, me feeling bad about having killed something. But it was a big spider! I said a few "Om mani Padme Hums" and did tonglen for it. Onward on the path for me and the spider.

Shambhala SunSpace : Q&A: Suzanne Clothier on what animals teach us about life and letting go

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:32:16 +0000

I found Suzanne's description of how her animals area treated and raised to be touching and reminiscent of the descriptions that I have read of how indigenous people relate to including animals in their diet. That some of us include animal protein in our diets is for us to reconcile and work with on our path and should not be an opportunity for someone else to impose their views on us.

Shambhala SunSpace : From The Worst Horse's Mouth: Obama not a "secret Muslim," but actually...

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:20:26 +0000

Yoiks! Americans are seemingly so quick to pigeonhole. He is this, she is that, they must be, have you heard he's a... No wonder American's seem to be so divisive and polarized. If they spent half the time they spend searching for differences on looking for similarities, they might have time to smile!

Shambhala SunSpace : From The Worst Horse's Mouth: Have YOU hugged a cop today?

Thu, 7 May 2009 12:49:02 +0000

Sweet.