[u8MmZFmF]

I was looking again at my book ''The Sound of Silence " by Ajahn Sumedho.

I was also reflecting on the chapter "Views and Opinions ".

As this short chapter is available at Google books I thought I'd post it here for others to read and possibly give some comments.



http://books.google.com/books?id=TqK...inions&f=false

[SawbasyWrab]

I'm[ getting a "viewed too many times" error for that link, Aloka-D dear.

[PHOTOSHOPoem]

Oh really ?....that's weird because I get straight to it when I click on the link.

Try going to Google books and then 'The Sound of Silence'....'Views and Opinions' page 183 onwards.


Ok, try this link now :


http://books.google.com/books?id=TqK...umedho&hl=en&e

[AbeldeldepBug]

I'm getting a "viewed too many times" error for that link.

Google Books gives no explanation for the "viewed too many times" message, so I think it might be something unique to you, Stuka. If you are currently signed in to a Google account, you could try signing out of it and/or removing any cookie from books.google.com.

That's just a guess. I don't have any inside information. Certainly the link works OK for me and for Aloka-D so probably it works for most of us.

The shortest link to the Views and Opinions chapter is this one:

http://books.google.com/books?id=TqK...page&q&f=false

If any other Forum Members have difficulty in following any of the links, please post here.

Woodscooter

[petrarkaponye]

I was able to connect to the link without problems.

[RicyReetred]

I was able to connect to the link without problems.

Oh that's good to know, thanks Plogsties. It's only a short chapter so there's not much to read.

[Woziwfaq]

I went to another of Ajahn Sumdho's talks yesterday which was called "Seeing through Delusion".

He spoke about the many ways that we can disagree with each other.. and how delusion is about our sense of ego and not knowing anything beyond the conditions we create and our biases and views about one thing or another. Society is all about praising and blaming.

He said our gift is that we can reflect on Dhamma and not take positions, but be awake, mindful and present in the here and now.

He advised that we can become what we attach to ...e.g. grasping anger we become an angry person, and that recognising conditions of impermanence and unsatisfactoriness, and being aware, brings us into the reality of the here and now. If we're mindful and aware we don't hold on to anger because we have the gate to ultimate reality and we can see through delusion.

We meditate in order to let go of ego, and habitual tendancies.

If we are attached just to principles, we can become very rigid and inflexible. Mindfulness will develop our responses.

[engideNedmupe]

We meditate in order to let go of ego, and habitual tendancies.

It's interesting how one can get swept away by powerful public speakers expressing their opinions, or by dominating friends and family - and meditation helps us to recognise this and to let it go, as well as helping us to let go of "I", "me" and "mine".

I think it's all too easy to get carried away in general by attraction and aversion, or reacting in an emotional way to one thing or another. So therefore one can learn a lot about oneself by taking an honest look at one's own views and preferences and examining how one is conditioned to operate from them.....and with that thought in mind, I'll stop now !

[evalayCap]

....and with that thought in mind, I'll stop now !

I, for one, was rather enjoying your conversation with yourself. hee hee...

[ggdfgtdfffhfyj]

Me too - and I think being able to step outside of oneself to look and judge is admirable and not for the faint of heart.