As much as I enjoy philosophical discourse, the whole “Free Will” things get’s old. This, in my view, is because the arguments as to whether or not we have it tend to miss the most fundamental aspect of the debate: free will is an intedependancy. In other words, there is no free will if there is no fresh water or clean air. Any of our choices depends on all sorts of stuff. I once heard it said that the Buddha pointed this out at Deer Park when he exclaimed, “There’s no such thing as independence! All things are interdependent. Got that, Jack?”

Still, in “Your Move: The Maze of Free Will” , GALEN STRAWSON, makes the flawed case… again.

You arrive at a bakery. It’s the evening of a national holiday. You want to buy a cake with your last 10 dollars to round off the preparations you’ve already made. There’s only one thing left in the store — a 10-dollar cake.

On the steps of the store, someone is shaking an Oxfam tin. You stop, and it seems quite clear to you — it surely is quite clear to you — that it is entirely up to you what you do next. You are — it seems — truly, radically, ultimately free to choose what to do, in such a way that you will be ultimately morally responsible for whatever you do choose. Fact: you can put the money in the tin, or you can go in and buy the cake. You’re not only completely, radically free to choose in this situation. You’re not free not to choose (that’s how it feels). You’re “condemned to freedom,” in Jean-Paul Sartre’s phrase. You’re fully and explicitly conscious of what the options are and you can’t escape that consciousness. You can’t somehow slip out of it.

via Your Move: The Maze of Free Will – Opinionator Blog – NYTimes.com.

The first copper-domed Tibetan Buddhist temple will be built on the coast of west Cork, according to IrishCentral.com

Garranes, Ireland — It has been announced that the Dzogchan Beara retreat centre will build a copper-domed traditional Tibetan Buddhist temple on the centre’s land.

The 14.5 meter tall temple will perch, by the retreat center, on top of the cliffs at Garranes, near Allihies, west Cork.  The retreat center, which was founded in 1992, sits on 150 acres.

Matt Padwick, the director of the retreat said “A number of fishermen returning to (Castletownbere) port tell us they love to see the centre because they then feel they are home. Maybe they will soon see a new building which will be like a spiritual lighthouse.”

Spiritual lighthouse, indeed. Having traveled through this part of the world, I can’t imagine a better setting. Plus there are great pubs nearby where practitioners can sink Guiness between recognitions of consciousness’ ultimate perfection. Cheers.

via Buddhist Channel .

Interesting lines being drawn here:

some progressive Christian leaders are arguing as battle lines are drawn for the 2010 mid-term elections. They say Beck and his Tea Party followers are, in a word, unbiblical.

And then of course:

Tea Party activists, who claim biblical grounds for a libertarian-minded Jesus. He didn’t like tax-based welfare programs, they say, and encouraged his followers to donate from the heart.

via Is the Tea Party unbiblical?.

The commitment to walking along the Path of Awakening challenges us in ways that most of us don’t expect. Truly dedicating ourselves to anything is hard work, but this is especially true for this process. Devotion to deep spiritual work is perhaps one of the most treacherous areas for any of us to explore since it involves nothing short of an all-encompassing promise to live our lives as profound expressions of the Truth that all the great spiritual teachers, whether they be Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, or anything else, have been pointing out over the course of human history.

via Chapter 8 – Commitment | Awake in This Life.

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In this talk, Michael addresses the issue of being fully with the experience of life as it happens. When we no longer are bound by physical things or mental constructs, we become free. This is part of his PASSAGE series.

ISmile256 - Presence [ 48:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (46)

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In this talk, Michael addresses the paradox of spiritual fire being fueled and focused by surrender. Taking the inward step allows us to see that we can’t keep anything and yet we learn to accept and, indeed, celebrate this reality as we meet the world. We do this by recognizing, accepting, integrating and not attaching to whatever we face. In this way, the way out is marked by our journey within.

ISmile255 - The Way Out of Discomfort [ 36:50 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (46)

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In this talk, Michael discusses the opening we can experience when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to life’s challenges instead of fighting against them.

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