The WELL: inkwell.vue.188: Scoop Nisker, "The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom"

#86: (fom) Mon 28 Jul 03 01:51

Mon, 28 Jul 2003 01:51:00 PDT

ahem! the buddhism conference for example! [Read entire topic]

#85: David Gans (tnf) Sat 26 Jul 03 21:22

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 21:22:00 PDT

I do hope you'll continue to visit, Scoop. You;d be a great addition to the media conference, among other zones. [Read entire topic]

#84: I'm on the Chet Atkins Diet. Pass the BBQ, please. (rik) Sat 26 Jul 03 17:15

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 17:15:00 PDT

And if you don't like the universe, go out and create one of your own.

Thanks much, Scoop. [Read entire topic]

#83: Wes Scoop Nisker (scoopnisker) Sat 26 Jul 03 17:10

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 17:10:00 PDT

David and gang, It's been fun doing this well conference for the past two weeks, and I'll probably keep checking it out and sometimes adding my two cents. Thanks to David Gans for the invitation! If people want to get the Buddhist journal that I edit, Inquiring Mind, just write and send your name and address to Inquiring Mind, P.O. Box 9999, North Berkeley Station, Berkeley, CA 94709. The next issue is our 20th anniversary bash with a special parody section. The journal is run on donation so no subscription fee is necessary. Otherwise, if people want to order a cd of my comic monologue "The Big Bang, the Buddha and the Baby Boom" can go to my website wnisker.com Blessings to all... Keep the faith! We've got a year and a half to stage a coup! Remember, if you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own!!! Scoopji [Read entire topic]

#82: David Gans (tnf) Sat 26 Jul 03 11:36

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 11:36:00 PDT

> we might begin to treat life itself as the divine, rather than looking > vaguely somewhere in the sky.

Yes! I think one of the most dangerous concepts of western religion is the notion that we are apart from nature and divinely indended to have dominion over it. [Read entire topic]

#81: David Gans (tnf) Sat 26 Jul 03 11:34

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 11:34:00 PDT

Scoop, how about some contact and subscription info so our friends here can check out "Inquiring Mind" I have enjoyed very issue I've seen. [Read entire topic]

#80: Wes Scoop Nisker (scoopnisker) Sat 26 Jul 03 10:41

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 10:41:00 PDT

Hi David, The Inquiring Mind is an international Buddhist journal, primarily serving people who do vipassana (insight) meditation. I am founder and co-editor, and happy to say that we are preparing our 20th anniversary issue. (Our 1st issue listed about 10 weekly vipassana meditation groups in America in 1984, and today there are that many in the Bay Area alone. The dharma lives!) We try to cover the Buddha's path as it meanders into the New World, and how it gets changed by our scientific materialist culture and vise versa. It's a very exciting project, and fills me with hope. It also gives me the opportunity to interview some of my cultural heros -- the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, John Cage, Gary Synder, Joanna Macy, etc. (Note the paragraph break!) A couple of you asked me about realizing our nature "as" nature, and adopting the story of evolution as our contemporary mythology (the story that defines us and gives meaning and purpose to our lives). I explain what I mean by these ideas in my book "Buddha's Nature," and give a summary in my new book "The Big Bang...." Basically, modern science has given us a whole new perspective on who we are and where we came from, and even though most of those reading this will already believe in the truth of evolution, we don't yet have a way of turning that evolutionary knowledge into wisdom. If we could truly integrate the evolutionary understanding that we are tightly interwoven with the rest of nature -- inseparable from the air, plant kingdom, mammalian ancestors, sun, etc. -- then we would have a whole new felt sense of ourselves. We would be "self-liberated" into our true identity as part of the life of this planet. If that happened we might begin to treat life itself as the divine, rather than looking vaguely somewhere in the sky. As far as I can tell, it is the philosophical paradigm shift that we need, and I'm part of a growing group of people trying to make it happen. (Check out a group called "The Epic of Evolution Society.") Blessings to all.. Scoopji [Read entire topic]

#79: Cynthia Dyer-Bennet (cdb) Fri 25 Jul 03 17:01

Fri, 25 Jul 2003 17:01:00 PDT

It's hard to believe two weeks have already gone by, and I want to thank Scoop for joining us here in Inkwell.vue. This has been a great conversation, though our virtual spotlight is now turned on a different discussion, you're more than welcome to continue here indefinitely, Scoop. The topic will remain open and we'd be delighted to have you say as long as you want.

Thanks, and carry on! [Read entire topic]

#78: a monor quibble (chrys) Thu 24 Jul 03 21:40

Thu, 24 Jul 2003 21:40:00 PDT

<importance of embracing our nature "as" nature>

Can you please explain? [Read entire topic]

#77: The Buddhist Conspiracy (murffy) Thu 24 Jul 03 18:23

Thu, 24 Jul 2003 18:23:00 PDT

>adopt the story of evolution as our contemporary mythology

I'll take off my lurker's cloak to ask for more on this angle. What do you mean? How can this be done? I'm something of an armchair evolutionist and I've given this sort of thing some thought. Contrived, modern mythologies can be a hard pill to swallow, difficult to suspend disbelief for long (which is why I'm drawn to Zen and its minimalist approach). On the other hand, what evolution teaches about life, human origins and humanity's role in nature (i.e. not a very central one and not one with much purpose as commonly defined) can be a hard pill for many to swallow as well. [Read entire topic]