Does a Dog Have Buddha Nature?
A monk asked the priest Jōshū, “Does a dog have buddha nature, or not?” Jōshū replied, “Mu!” - Zen kōan called Jōshū’s Dog
My beloved dog is called "moo" (pronounced Mu)
Does a Dog Have Buddha Nature?
A monk asked the priest Jōshū, “Does a dog have buddha nature, or not?” Jōshū replied, “Mu!” - Zen kōan called Jōshū’s Dog
My beloved dog is called "moo" (pronounced Mu)
Pace Layer Thinking - From fast to slow
Clever Advertising
Experience Scaffolding
Digital Growth
Scientists are searching for a mirror universe. It could be sitting right in front of you
“At Oak Ridge National Laboratory in eastern Tennessee, physicist Leah Broussard is trying to open a portal to a parallel universe…She calls it an “oscillation” that would lead her to “mirror matter”.... A decade ago, Anatoli Serebrov of Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute in Russia introduced the idea that ordinary neutrons sometimes cross over into the mirror world and transform into mirror neutrons. At that point, we could no longer detect them — it would be as if some of the neutrons simply vanished”.
"In reality time and space exist in you; you do not exist in them." - Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
You Shall Not Pass!
The Dangers of Abstraction: Quantifying Nature in the Name of Order leads to Chaos.
Was asked by a journalist to comment on the "National Commission on Artificial Intelligence report" that was just released. Responded with the following remarks:
Nothing new under the sun, the military industrial complex is still totally out of control and war is still the name of the game. "AI weapons" and killer robots add just yet another layer of deadly bullshit on top. It's brutal insanity and everyone knows it, yet think tank staffers from DC to Beijing keep assuring us it's "progress and necessary". A real discussion around "how AI can help to promote peace globally" is what is truly required - but you certainly won't find it on the agenda of pentagon operatives or intelligence agency billionaires like the Eric Schmidt's of the world.
The article is live here: U.S. is ‘not prepared to defend or compete in the A.I. era,’ says expert group chaired by Eric Schmidt (CNBC)
Sway with the Sea - A traditional Daoist practice. Perform as slow as you can, sitting on the floor.
Reflections on technology for meditation
The following is a responds to an interview about using "brain computer interfaces" and "virtual reality" to "enhance" the meditation experience. Even though i am a long term dedicated practitioner of the internal arts, this is just a momentary opinion and food for thought, from a beginners mind.
For me, one of the most beautiful and empowering aspects of meditation (and related internal arts, like qigong, yoga, etc.) is that one can perform it anywhere, anytime - completely with out the need for any complicated technology. There are almost no external dependency - it's just you, a cushion and some time. And many traditions (soto zen, etc.) emphasis that there is no "place to reach" or "thing to improve" (like some weird "mindful video-game high-score") - it is simply about sitting regularly in the here and now. I would argue it is precisely this simplicity, from which much of the power of the meditative experience emanates. While some scientists, technologists and designers make the case that "the ticket to entry is very high, hence we need more tech", i believe learning mediation and establishing it as daily habit, are very achievable goals - as illustrated by the quickly growing amounts of meditators.
One of the benefit of the traditional low-tech or no-tech approach to mediation/mindfulness, is that it deliberately makes/leaves space for direct human-to-human experiences (teaching and similar social activities.) and nature-to-human experiences. By introducing technology as definitive centre piece of a meditative praxis, we run the very real risk of deteriorating these essential human experiences. For all its blessings, the negative sides of technology should not be ignored - especially when talking about "tech for well-being" (for a nuanced view on tech, see this).
Don't get me wrong, i think technology can certainly help and has an important role to play making mindfulness a universally accessible mainstream culture - i am just earnestly questioning where the line is between "this tool is truly useful and essential for my well-being - not addictive, distracting, etc." - and "I actually just want to play with cool tech-toys, but not so much just sit and do the wonderful but often very challenging inner work".
Frequencies of sound and average range of hearing
In physiology, sound is produced when an object’s vibrations move through a medium until they enter the human eardrum. In physics, sound is produced in the form of a pressure wave. When an object vibrates, it causes the surrounding air molecules to vibrate, initiating a chain reaction of sound wave vibrations throughout the medium.
Infrasound - sound waves with a frequency below the lower limit of audibility (20 Hz)
"Animal communication: whales, elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, giraffes, okapis, peacocks, and alligators are known to use infrasound to communicate over distances—up to hundreds of miles in the case of whales."
"One study has suggested that infrasound may cause feelings of awe or fear in humans. It has also been suggested that since it is not consciously perceived, it may make people feel vaguely that odd or supernatural events are taking place."