http://www.braindeadbhakti.com Gurunistha's life in a Northern Californian monastery. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:02:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here's something I wrote to my teacher on his birthday: A Dangerous Friend I've always been looking for a dangerous friend to save me from the endless red traffic lights and I've surely found one in you. I'm scared stiff when you drive my car and play Chicken with the passing lumber trucks that transport more fuel ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/04/16/a-dangerous-friend/ I guess I should read my own blog entry But... You Promised! to remind myself of the virtues of holding on to promises. I promised myself to write every sunday but there have been several weeks when I've neglected it. I could give an excuse of how much stuff is ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/04/06/best-of-both/ Things have continued to be hectic in this end, we had our first festival of the year and started the summer gardening. Anybody who has lived on a fam knows how time consuming that is. Anyway, I wanted to continue my thoughts on monasticism in the modern world. Another important aspect of ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/03/23/the-value-of-monasticism-part-2/ Phew, the winter has been pretty odd in Northern California this year. Most of it has been amazing: warm and dry. It has been way better than most Finnish summers, but it carries a threat with it too. We might have a really dry summer, draughts and all. But the ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/02/23/22001-isolation-street/ What's the justification of monasteries in the modern age? What's the function of an isolated religious institute that doesn't seem to do any kind of welfare work or altruistic activities for the common good? Are monasteries just ancient remnants from the times when superstition had people in its grip and ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/02/09/the-value-of-monasticism-part-1/ My spiritual teacher advised his students to read a book called Beyond the Postmodern Mind by a world-known philosopher and scholar Huston Smith. My teacher's thought was that it would be good for us to understand the evolution of thought and values in the western world, and to understand where ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/02/02/on-mysticism-and-metaphysics/ I've only known a few people in my life who are not liars. Sounds attractive, but nobody likes them. It's a very practical way of detaching from the world: become honest and no one will want to be around you anymore. No one wants mirrors, everybody wants biased portrait painters who are not afraid to waste ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/01/26/i-could-choose/ Here I am, banging on his gates 1. Praying 2. Crying 3. Bribing 4. Threatening 5. Blackmailing Screaming to be let in. No light comes on Not a sound. So I turn around and 6. wave my middle finger for a farewell Let my tired legs lead from here. And I will never find out that he wasn't home He was out in ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/01/18/82/ My friend Kaisa Leka, who's a pretty well-known comic artist in Finland, made a book of my decision to move to the monastery. She interviewed my mother, my ex-fiancee and myself, and told the story from three different angles. My mom told Kaisa stuff that she hadn't even told me, ... http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/01/17/comics/ If religion is the opium of the masses Then just give me my drugs, please. What's the harm in being addicted to the truth? http://www.braindeadbhakti.com/2009/01/12/whats-the-harm/