"Revival Movement" - begins in triplethink thread
Clear!
Bzzzzzzak!
blee dip... blee dip... blee dip...
[ I've amended some "blee dip's" here for thematic consistency, now that this post is up and about, so to speak.
However, this would be a nice spot to also amend another note which I'm not sure of where to find elsewhere which simply beggars belief - and it seems merited to amend it here, as much as not, simply because it is so fantastic in nature.
I have observed, on many occasions, the functioning of this body by means of this mind, in the absence of the functionality of the typically observed vital signs; such as respiration, heartbeat, brainwave activity, etc..
I have awoken at night, for all practical intents and purposes, completely dead, physically, and after noting this for some time I then began to operate this body by means, apparently, of mind over matter. At that time the heart was not beating, the lungs were not moving and the blood was cold, having the texture of heavy weight motor oil. There was a scent somewhat flowery, perhaps like jasamine or some such fragrance. After a while of curiously examining this I noted that I could operate this body none-the-less, so I moved it into a seated position and lit a cigarette. The smoke had an odd powder-like texture and I worked the lungs like a bellows pushing it in and out of the respiratory cavity. It appeared somewhat pinkish as it exited the mouth and sort of fell out into the room like a cold exhaust. After finishing the cigarette I was fairly practiced at moving the chest in and out and I rose up on the legs and began pacing about and moving the chest with more force. After some time I could feel a weak pulse begin and some sound resuming in the mass of goop in the head known as the brains. It took a lot longer for the blood to begin to warm up and it felt very strange oozing slowly through the body. Overall I would say it took several hours before it began to produce a more typical range of sensations.
I have no idea how long the body had been necrotic but it was a very strange night indeed.
I had already had plenty of experience with this sort of mind over matter body operation as a consequence of time spent within mental health facilities where many of the drugs cause all kinds of physical impairment and organ damage. I think one of the first times I learned how to do this was early on in my mid-teens when I was still more... confrontational.
I had been placed in the care of these 'mental health care providers' ( see footnote below on: the mental health care industry ) by someone in a 'position of responsibility' for "thinking in ways that they did not like" and I was resenting the circumstances somewhat. I was injected with one CC of Haldol upon which I gave the orderlies 'the finger'. The response was to give me another CC of Haldol upon which I again returned the gesture. This continued for a total of four CC's of Haldol upon which they gave up. I spent the rest of the day wandering around the "makeshift prison" and feeling a bit like a "Frankenstein" much to everyone's concern.
Anyways, there is a couple examples of my kind of "weirdness" with a satipatthana flavor. I'm not sure why this is so in my case and it is one more reason to be concerned about any other beings with a demonstrated penchant for "raising the dead" ( eg.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 ) and considering well what uses they might still have for this body/bodymind/mind even if I tend to often feel quite finished with this bizarre heap. ]
Monday a.m..
Cup of mud, the National Brando on end table, 0 REM, Book of
Job open to today's given page in the unfolded tragi-comedy.
Man.
Thought I should mention again, about having been raisined Chris'chin and such.
Have to say, the general dialog confused me to no end. As I've mentioned, I couldn't locate either a soul or anything consistent to save...
That created a context in which I was gravely concerned about how something so mutable could be 'saved' and a great mystery about how it might become eternally static and why that would be 'perfect'.
Anyways, such mysteries continue to arise and supper-dukkha-size whenever there is anything other than Void between these two ears...
I should confess furthermore that I have given up on the notion that I can give birth to a detectable confidence in the thinking that only Holy Blood Sacrifices can save me.
Perhaps sacrifices such these can, and if so then this is
fantastic news because I would be totally accepting of such an amazing offer.
Surely there is an endless supply of Holy Blood in the ground, sufficient to succour us all. Count me totally in and up for it.
Then again, maybe that was not what the Great Wheel Turner was getting at...
Perhaps, and in all humility I am merely suggesting, perhaps what he was offering by "
Way of Truth and Life" was simply as an exemplar...
Somewhere in the buddhist lore there is talk of how this particular Almighty MahaMahaBrahma has been AS SUCH for fourteen universes running. I can see where that is easily enough merit making to cover all of the misdeeds of one planet full of
recalcitrant homicidal maniacs.
My money, good news wise, is on this Universe Overseeing MahaBrahma finally giving off of this role and showing up as a particularly Compassionate bodhisatta and the most likely candidate for the Next Buddha, said to be the Greatly Compassionate Noble One of this our Most Fortunate Aeon.
However, once again, hoping is not certainty, and the stakes are...
total.
Granted, this musing and uncertainty does not jive well with the given texts concerned with how
human beings casually murdered God Almighty and the considerable philosophical digressions involved...
ergo my misgivings about resisting any obvious condemnations of my extensive theological shortcomings and personal failings.
Not having an
Absolute, Direct and Inviolable Certainties with the Necessary Specificity about what the interests of a Universe Owner & Operator might actually be, or even more specifically what such a Being might Desire from me - and a very limited faith in the lasting integrity of human institutions...
it would be fair to consider me as still willing to hedge my bets heavily on this one, entirely in favor of very, very old fashioned notions of what a Perfectly Masterful, All Mighty and All Knowing Being might Demand of a Creature Such As I.
All things considered, the fear and trembling I experience ongoing these days is quite real, let me assure you.
I recognize all of this marks me as an
apostate in some eyes.
I'm sure my affection for the religion of the Noble One's doesn't help much either.
Still, Advent is about the only sunshine I regularly get in this 'season of man', so I enjoy it nonetheless.
If my looking to
Job for advice is generally considered
heretical I suppose I'm willing to live with it.
I view my location on the Noble Eight Steping & All-Ways Unfolding Path, more or less definable at this point as,
the holy crapping fear of Almighty God stage.
verbally,
ring of fire,
burned, burned, burned
flames burned higher,
etc...
- triplethink
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A brief footnote on:
The Mental Health Care Industry in Canada cira. 1983;
As some may have noted, I am not altogether favorably predisposed to the exclusively pharmaceutically based psychiatric biochemical treatments and biochemical restraints in the complete absence of any other kinds of consultations with or considerations of the concerns or wishes of those who are under such treatment - such as those forms of public practice which are most widely practiced most everywhere in North America and as has been so for many decades now.
This does not mean that I am negatively predisposed to any and all types of psychological practices or schools of thought merely that I am aware of the societal purposes including the vested financial interests, risk assessments and cost benefit analysis involved in the widespread employment of these kinds of methodologies as forms of societal control and intimidation. This is not to say that various forms of restraint are not called for from time to time on a case by case basis however the general lack of concern for individual welfare and human rights in general is something I have observed very widely and very directly and there are many issues in all of these regards which do concern me very greatly as I have noted a great deal of suffering continuing ( and in many ways continuing to grow and expand ) on the part of many individuals, families and communities in the absence of any significant expressions of any greater or more widespread social awareness or concerns in these same sorts of regards and respects.
In the context of the above comments more specifically; at the time, in the early 1980's I had been placed into a mental health care ward of the local hospital several times already, with little real regard for my genuine concerns or any honest sense of my true state of mind. At one time I did express some concern regarding my "human rights" to an 'orderly' who was quite harsh but quite open with me about the legal specifics involved in such situations. He casually informed me that as it stood, "I had no human rights", "was no longer considered legally 'a person'" and that "they", being those who had at that time taken authority over my person and now absent rights and responsibilities, "were entirely free to do anything they liked to or with me at any time with no regard for my interests or wishes whatsoever."
So, just a heads up regarding how this can look quite violent and offensive to a family member or a child placed into such a position and from a point of view on "the other side" of the power equations involved within such as these, the 'various interests' legally authorized to intervene and take unlimited control over the lives of other people in the contexts of these types of decision making.
For some years after this I took the realities of my situation to simply mean that I was no longer a human being, that I was now an animal and that the human race and we, the animals, were effectively in a "State of Total War" with "the humans".
You can all relax people, I forgive all of you entirely and have so done all along, as I have always kept my peace with other beings and there is more than ample evidence that this has always been so, but I do not speak for other beings of other kinds with other powers or other interests either in this world or in any other...
and, As Such, people should understand something about this and that as well. If they are truly wise they already well do.
There is a great deal of documentation in my case as I have been confined to such facilities and variously treated with biochemicals of many kinds for, all told, well over a year of my total lifespan to date. I am not at legally entitled to view any of this documentation and so I can not supply even so much as any reference to any of this documentary material here or elsewhere. I have long thought, given the serious consequences these kinds of judgements and interventions have had for the course and circumstances of my natural life that I would have very much appreciated if at some point, at the very least I might have been afforded some kind of a proper legal trial and some sort of legal defense before having had such sentences passed and the subsequent attempts to destroy my conscious faculties and capacities so thoroughly executed.
Oh well, so it goes.
Maybe Kafka understands this shit.
Perhaps a final brief footnote on the above subject of health care is warranted here to bring the related circumstances up to date:
A few weeks ago I went alone to see a General Practitioner regarding some highly irritated and inflammatory skin conditions. I requested a referral to a competent Dermatological Practitioner. The GP then informed me that owing to his notes on my legal status he could neither treat me nor respond to such a request as I was no longer authorized to make any such requests on my own behalf. He further advised me that if someone in a position to request, receive and administer any such treatments on my behalf were to then so be provided with any such relevant treatments, that they would then be the only parties who would or could request, receive and take possession of any such treatments, and that it would then be they who would make any determination as to when, how and whether or not to apply any such treatments to my skin on my behalf.
It is so very liberating to be free of any and all such heavy weight decision making for oneself, is it not?______________________________________
Amended below are some dharma/dhamma notes disinterred and Overgrounded on the subject of
sacrifice:
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Discourses from the Pali Tipitaka regarding Sacrifice:
Punnaka-manava-puccha: Punnaka's Questions
Sn 5.3 PTS: Sn 1043-1048
- translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu © 1994[Punnaka:]
To the one unperturbed, who has seen the root [of all things], I have come with a question. Because of what have many human seers — noble warriors, brahmans — offered sacrifices to devas here in the world? I ask you, O Blessed One. Please tell me.
[The Buddha:]
Those many human seers — noble warriors, brahmans — who have offered sacrifices to devas here in the world, Punnaka, hoping for more of this state of being, offered their sacrifices because of aging.
[Punnaka:]
Those many human seers — noble warriors, brahmans — who have offered sacrifices to devas here in the world: Have they, O Blessed One, heeding the path of sacrifice, crossed over birth & aging? I ask you, O Blessed One. Please tell me.
[The Buddha:]
They hoped for, liked, longed for, so sacrificed — they longed for sensuality, dependent on gain. I tell you: those who take on the yoke of sacrifice, impassioned with the passion for becoming, have not crossed over birth & aging.
[Punnaka:]
If those who take on the yoke of sacrifice haven't crossed over the flood, dear sir, then who in the world of beings divine & human has crossed over birth & aging? I ask you, O Blessed One. Please tell me.
[The Buddha:]
He who has fathomed the far & near in the world, for whom there is nothing perturbing in the world — his vices evaporated, undesiring, untroubled, at peace — he, I tell you, has crossed over birth & aging.
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Note
AN 3.32 and AN 4.41 contain discussions of the last verse in this poem.
In AN 3.32, Ven. Ananda asks the Buddha, "Could it be that a monk could attain a concentration of such a sort such that, with regard to this conscious body, he would have no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit, such that with regard to all external themes [topics of concentration] he would have no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit, and that he would enter & remain in the awareness-release & discernment-release in which there is no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit?"
The Buddha answers that it is possible, and that such a concentration can be attained when one is percipient in this way: "This is peace, this is exquisite — the resolution of all mental processes; the relinquishment of all acquisitions; the ending of craving; dispassion; cessation; Unbinding." He then adds that it was in connection to this state of mind that he uttered the last verse in this poem.
In AN 4.41, the Buddha identifies four ways of developing concentration: "There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to a pleasant abiding in the here & now. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to mindfulness & alertness. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the ending of the effluents." (For details, see AN 4.41) The Buddha then adds that he uttered the last verse of this poem in connection with these four ways of developing concentration.
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Creative Commons License - ©1994 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
The text of this page ("Punnaka-manava-puccha: Punnaka's Questions", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 30 August 2012.
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Sangarava Sutta: To Sangarava
AN 3.60 PTS: A i 168 Thai 3.61
- translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu © 2001Then the brahman Sangarava went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One: "I say, Master Gotama. We brahmans perform sacrifices and get others to perform sacrifices. And whoever performs a sacrifice, whoever gets others to perform a sacrifice, they have all practiced a practice of merit — the business of a sacrifice — [that benefits] countless beings. But whoever, leaving his family, has gone forth from the home life into homelessness, and tames his single self, brings his single self into tune, brings his single self to Unbinding: his practice of merit — this business of going forth — is one [that benefits] only one being."
"Very well then, brahman, in that case I will cross-question you. Answer as you see fit. What do you think? There is the case where a Tathagata appears in the world, a worthy one, rightly-self-awakened, consummate in clear-knowing & conduct, one who has gone the good way, knower of the cosmos, unexcelled trainer of those who can be taught, teacher of human & divine beings, awakened, blessed. He says: 'Here! This is the path, this is the practice that, having practiced, I make known the unexcelled coming ashore in the holy life,[1] having directly known & realized it for myself. Come! You, too, practice in such a way that you will remain in the unexcelled coming ashore in the holy life, having directly known & realized it for yourselves.' Thus the Teacher teaches the Dhamma, and others practice, for Suchness. And there are countless hundreds of them, countless thousands of them, countless hundreds of thousands of them. This being the case, is this practice of merit — this business of going-forth — one that benefits countless beings, or only one being?"
"This being the case, Master Gotama, this practice of merit — this business of going-forth — is one that benefits countless beings."
When this was said, Ven. Ananda said to the brahman Sangarava, "Of these two practices, brahman, which appeals to you as the less complicated, the less violent, the more fruitful, & the more rewarding?"
When this was said, the brahman Sangarava said to Ven. Ananda, "Just as with Master Gotama & Master Ananda, I worship them, I praise them ."
A second time, Ven. Ananda said to him, "I didn't ask you whom you worship and whom you praise. I ask you, 'Of these two practices, brahman, which appeals to you as the less complicated, the less violent, the more fruitful, & the more rewarding?'"
A second time, the brahman Sangarava said to Ven. Ananda, "Just as with Master Gotama & Master Ananda, I worship them, I praise them ."
A third time, Ven. Ananda said to him, "I didn't ask you whom you worship and whom you praise. I ask you, 'Of these two practices, brahman, which appeals to you as the less complicated, the less violent, the more fruitful, & the more rewarding?'"
A third time, the brahman Sangarava said to Ven. Ananda, "Just as with Master Gotama & Master Ananda, I worship them, I praise them ."
Then the thought occurred to the Blessed One, "Being asked a legitimate question by Ananda up to the third time, the brahman Sangarava evades it and does not reply to it. Suppose I were to get him out [of this dilemma]."
So the Blessed One said to the brahman Sangarava, "Brahman, what was the topic of conversation that arose today when the royal court sat gathered in the royal palace?"
"Master Gotama, this was the topic of conversation that arose today when the royal court sat gathered in the royal palace: 'In the past, there were fewer monks but more who, endowed with superior human attainments, displayed the miracle of psychic power. Now there are more monks but fewer who, endowed with superior human attainments, display the miracle of psychic power. This, Master Gotama, was the topic of conversation that arose today when the royal court sat gathered in the royal palace."
"Brahman, there are these three miracles. Which three? The miracle of psychic power, the miracle of telepathy, & the miracle of instruction.
"And what is the miracle of psychic power? There is the case where a certain person wields manifold psychic powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, & mountains as if through space. He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting cross-legged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand he touches and strokes even the sun & moon, so mighty & powerful. He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds. This is called the miracle of psychic power.
"And what is the miracle of telepathy? There is the case where a certain person reads [another person' thoughts] by means of a sign (vision), [saying,] 'Such is your thinking, here is where your thinking is, thus is your mind.' And however much he may read, that's exactly how it is, and not otherwise.
"Then there is the case where a certain person reads [another person's thoughts], not by means of a sign or vision, but by hearing the voice of human beings, non-human beings, or devas, [saying,] 'Such is your thinking, here is where your thinking is, thus is your mind.' And however much he may read, that's exactly how it is, and not otherwise.
"Then there is the case where a certain person reads [another person's thoughts], not by means of a sign or vision; not by hearing the voice of human beings, non-human beings, or devas; but by hearing the sound of the directed thought & evaluation of a person thinking directed thoughts and evaluating, [saying,] 'Such is your thinking, here is where your thinking is, thus is your mind.' And however much he may read, that's exactly how it is, and not otherwise.
"Then there is the case where a certain person reads [another person's thoughts], not by means of a sign or vision; not by hearing the voice of human beings, non-human beings, or devas; not by hearing the sound of the directed thought & evaluation of a person thinking directed thoughts and evaluating; but by having attained a concentration devoid of directed thought & evaluation, and encompassing the awareness [of the other] with his own awareness, he discerns, 'Given the way the mental fabrications of this venerable person are inclined, the directed thoughts of his mind will immediately think about this.' And however much he may read, that's exactly how it is, and not otherwise.
"This, brahman, is the miracle of telepathy.
"And what is the miracle of instruction? There is the case where a certain person gives instruction in this way: 'Direct your thought in this way, don't direct it in that. Attend to things in this way, don't attend to them in that. Let go of this, enter and remain in that.' This is called the miracle of instruction.
"And these are the three miracles.
"Now, brahman, of these three miracles, which one appeals to you as the highest & most sublime?"
"Master Gotama, of these three miracles, the miracle of psychic power where a certain person wields manifold psychic powers... (and) exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds: that is a miracle experienced only by him who does it; it belongs only to him who does it. It seems to me to be of the nature of an illusion.
"As for the miracle where a certain person by means of a sign or vision... by hearing the voice of human beings, non-human beings, or devas... by hearing the sound of the directed thought & evaluation of a person thinking directed thoughts and evaluating, [saying,] 'Such is your thinking, here is where your thinking is, thus is your mind.' ... who by having attained a concentration devoid of directed thought & evaluation, and encompassing the awareness [of the other] with his own awareness, he discerns, 'Given the way the mental fabrications of this venerable person are inclined, the directed thoughts of his mind will immediately think about this.' And however much he may read, that's exactly how it is, and not otherwise: that is a miracle experienced only by him who does it; it belongs only to him who does it. It seems to me to be of the nature of an illusion.
"As for the miracle where a certain person gives instruction in this way: 'Direct your thought in this way, don't direct it in that. Attend to things in this way, don't attend to them in that. Let go of this, enter and remain in that': this is the miracle that, of the three, appeals to me as the highest & most sublime.
"It is amazing, Master Gotama. It is astounding, how well this has been said by Master Gotama. And we hold that Master Gotama is endowed with these three marvels: Master Gotama wields manifold psychic powers... (and) exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds. Having attained a concentration devoid of directed thought & evaluation, and encompassing the awareness [of the other] with his own awareness, Master Gotama discerns, 'Given the way the mental fabrications of this venerable person are inclined, the directed thoughts of his mind will immediately think about this.' Master Gotama gives instruction in this way: 'Direct your thought in this way, don't direct it in that. Attend to things in this way, don't attend to them in that. Let go of this, enter and remain in that.'"
"Of course, brahman, you have affronted me with your personal statement, but nevertheless I will respond. Yes, I wield manifold psychic powers... (and) exercise influence with my body even as far as the Brahma worlds; having attained a concentration devoid of directed thought and evaluation, and encompassing the awareness [of the other] with my own awareness, I discern, 'Given the way the mental fabrications of this venerable person are inclined, the directed thoughts of his mind will immediately think about this.' I give instruction in this way: 'Direct your thought in this way, don't direct it in that. Attend to things in this way, don't attend to them in that. Let go of this, enter and remain in that.'"
"Aside from Master Gotama, is there another monk who is endowed with these three miracles?"
"Brahman, there are not only one hundred other monks... two... three... four... five hundred other monks: the monks who are endowed with these three miracles are many more than that."
"And, Master Gotama, where do those monks now live?"
"In this very same community of monks."
"Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama — through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. I go to Master Gotama for refuge, to the Dhamma, & to the community of monks. May Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forward, for life."
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Note
1. The Commentary divides this phrase into two: the "unexcelled" refers to nibbana. The coming ashore (ogadha) in the holy life refers to the path of arahantship. The analogy here is that of crossing a stream: as one approaches the far shore, one reaches a point where one can touch bottom and gain a footing; even though one is not yet on the shore, one is safe from being swept away. Throughout the Canon, however, the word "gaining a footing" is frequently used in connection with Unbinding and the Deathless.
See also: DN 11; AN 4.95.
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Creative Commons License © 2005 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
The text of this page ("Sangarava Sutta: To Sangarava", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 2 December 2013.
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Attavagga: Self
Dhp XII PTS: Dhp 157-166
- translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu © 1997157 If you hold yourself dear then guard, guard yourself well. The wise person would stay awake nursing himself in any of the three watches of the night, the three stages of life.
158 First he'd settle himself in what is correct, only then teach others. He wouldn't stain his name : he is wise.
159 If you'd mold yourself the way you teach others, then, well-trained, go ahead & tame — for, as they say, what's hard to tame is you yourself.
160 Your own self is your own mainstay, for who else could your mainstay be? With you yourself well-trained you obtain the mainstay hard to obtain.
161 The evil he himself has done — self-born, self-created — grinds down the dullard, as a diamond, a precious stone.
162 When overspread by extreme vice — like a sal tree by a vine — you do to yourself what an enemy would wish.
163 They're easy to do — things of no good & no use to yourself. What's truly useful & good is truly harder than hard to do.
164 The teaching of those who live the Dhamma, worthy ones, noble: whoever maligns it — a dullard, inspired by evil view — bears fruit for his own destruction, like the fruiting of the bamboo.
165 Evil is done by oneself by oneself is one defiled. Evil is left undone by oneself by oneself is one cleansed. Purity & impurity are one's own doing. No one purifies another. No other purifies one.
166 Don't sacrifice your own welfare for that of another, no matter how great. Realizing your own true welfare, be intent on just that.
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Creative Commons License © 1997 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
The text of this page ("Attavagga: Self", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 2 December 2013. Revised 20120428.
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See also the Reading List here:
The Thesis on the Crisis like the Layers in the Giza