Dharma Underground

I've found a very interesting forum (which is unfortunately in a strange wiki form) called Dharma Overground.

It's essentially a no-nonsense place for discussion amongst Buddhist practitioners. It seems to have a Theravadin bent to it, but that's not really the case since there are people from all kinds of traditions posting there.

I found it through the Buddhist Geeks podcast. Interestingly, the guy responsible for it, Daniel Ingram, has a book out and also claims to be an arahat. Unlike most who claim to be enlightened in some form or another, he certainly seems to actually have got it - he's one of the few who when they talk are obviously talking from experience. Read his essay on the matter.

Dzogchen advice from Yeshe Tsogyal

Wanting nothing from outside, taking things as they come,
know the dakini to be your own mind.

Yeshe Tsogyal

Make weird noises! Mess with your head!

I'm not sure if there is in fact anything scientific behind binaural beats, but I love them and enjoy the odd feelings they seem to produce.

You can find a great free program here for making and recording your own.

A great interview with Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson

Following on from the last post of mine, here's a recent(ish) interview with Coil's Peter.

Some favourite parts:

Is there a specific goal for you as an artist?

I believe that, for humanity to progress, the model of the world, of reality, that parents pass on to their children needs to be replaced when the kids are in their teens by a darker more complex vision. One, taking into account all kinds of miasma, multiple plans of existence, sexual liberation, human perversity, idiocy, and beauty. I feel that only benevolent outsiders, such as visionary homosexuals who bare their artistic souls in public, are fully qualified to do this. As long as children stay with the model of reality provided by their folks, no progress will be made.

My goal is to provide the same service for like-minded kids, that William Burroughs did for me, when I first read the Naked Lunch as a 13 year old in the back on a dingy WH Smith's bookshop in Pontefract, Yorkshire...

Do you have any sort of agenda, or is it day-by-day?

Its mostly day-by-day ,-) and a question of balance - trying to stay aware of the subtle shifts in the Currents, conscious of how close one is to the edge, and to dangers (real or otherwise), yet at the same time giving reign as fully as possible to one's fantasy and imagination. Also trying to move closer to the positive and self-creative aspects of ones imagination, and further from the self-destructive aspects - actually, maybe this is the same thing. The making of artistic work is a by-product of the above process...

Do you find you have a very tangible vision of what that idea is at the fore, or is it typically something that reveals itself progressively as you go?

Definitely the latter.

That really answered a lot of my questions about 'what is Coil about?'.

With regard to your nickname and reputation, has there ever been a sexual situation you've encountered where you've thought to yourself, "Oh, this is too much," and found yourself outside your limitations? Do you have limitations? I suspect there might be a number of very good stories in a more luridly toned autobiography... *nudge*

Hehehehe.

I don't think I've ever found myself in a sexual situation that was "too much" from the point of view of morals, or limitation in the sense of something being "unacceptable behaviour."

I can imagine their might have been situations where things were being done to someone against their will (and I have seen such things in films - true or otherwise - indeed made such films myself) that I subsequently found I did not enjoy. I will not now watch particularly sadistic films, that profess to be non-consensual, because I feel they hurt ME.

I certainly do NOT hold to the view that "anything goes" if the person/victim/bottom in question does not want what's going on, regardless of the circumstances.

Obviously on the other hand there are many circumstances that appear be somewhat sadistic in nature that are in fact consensual, or even desirable, and invariably the "bottom" really is in control!

Given how much time has passed between Thatcher at her "prime" and the modern day, in which a knighted Sir Elton John and his partner are able to marry, has your perception as a homosexual artist who has made work about homosexual culture changed? Or is the political end of the culture completely off your radar living in Thailand?

Gay culture in the UK is pretty much 'off the radar' for me, and UK politics certainly so. In fact I find it difficult of use the words "UK", "gay" and "culture" in the same sentence.

I have chosen to live in a country where the is no taboo or prejudice against homosexuality, and many families regard it as a plus to have a gay or cross-dressing son.

In fact, in my experience, 99% of so-called 'straight' boys in Thailand, are only flattered and amused when another man (even one much older) smiles or comes on to them. I'm glad to say many will go further, and be happy for the man to assist them in getting their 'rocks off' without any feeling other than the desire for simple pleasure.

To me this seem so much more 'cultured' than the UK where the same behaviour would likely leave you in hospital with a fractured skull if you pick the wrong guy, or even if the boy IS gay, with nothing but abuse for daring to suggest such a thing....

For sure young trendy "gays" here want to be seen wearing the right underware, and buying the right chair or lamp, just as much as in they do the UK, but that has nothing to do with culture.

The web seems to have put everything on the table for discussion. To your mind, are there any sexual taboos that still need liberation?

I guess you mean lots of words ending with "...ophilia" ,-) and maybe you want me to be 'shocking'...

They ARE two "taboos" which I think are correct and there for a reason - One is non-consensuality - You can't do things to people they don't want.

The other is to do with inexperienced, un-developed, or under-age children. I think we are all sexual beings up to a point, but children deserve the right to discover things in their own time, and in their own way, and its wrong for adults to take advantage of their senior or more powerful position.

I believe that it is a fundamental human right to reach ones first orgasm alone (albeit suggested by friends, playmates, brothers, sisters etc). The connection between pleasure and self-discovery forged in this way, provides a foundation and inspiration for the whole of one's creative adult life. It certainly has, mine.

I find it appalling that an adult would want to steal the epiphany of that moment, simply for his own selfish, inconsequential ejaculation.

Just as I find it appalling that an adult (especially a parent) could EVER say to a child "You're useless, you're ugly, you'll never be any good..."

Thoughtless damage to a lifetime of potential brilliance, joy and wonder for the child, and for the adult, the gain of almost nothing - an immediately forgotten moment of not-feeling-quite-so-bad about themselves.

At the same time, I also want to say that the current fear millions of good, kind men have of being seen to show any kind of interest in children, appreciation of them as people, for showing ANY affection to kids at all, even to their own children, is an terrible madness that western society only seems to be encouraging.

Care, interest, love even, is not the same as abuse.

The fact that is okay these days to say to your kid in public "you useless little shit" but not cuddle him, is pure evil.

Apart from this, I believe what consensual adults want to do together in private is up to them - the details, props, positions, nobody's business but their own...

However I also think that friends might reasonably say to one another "Well yes I will do that (or you can do that), if you really need (me) to, but why on earth would you want me to?" - maybe not on a first date, I guess... ,-)

Then it takes an interesting turn (me being a queer Buddhist Coil fan)...

I've recently read somewhere that you might regard yourself as being more of a Buddhist these days, but knowing what I do of your relationship with programs of spirituality, I think that's probably a simplified version of your spiritual sense of self.

Its true I am not educated in the teachings or ways of Buddhism. However I do believe that any kind of religious practice can achieve results (in oneself at the very least) and so I participate in local rituals for accumulating "merit" or good karma, and I try to follow the 5 precepts (with mixed success), since you will recall they are:

1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not indulge in sexual misconduct
4. Do not make false speech
5. Do not take intoxicants

Actually #3 seems to be open to interpretation, and many Buddhist scholars now take a view similar to mine (see above) but #5 is still a hard one for me. Too many places I still want to go, that are too hard to get to on one's own! The perfect religion for me would be one that differentiated between intoxication for educative purposes, and intoxication simply to avoid problems or discomfort. The former being okay in my view, whereas the latter I can see (especially having lived with Geff for 20 years) not likely to progress humanity towards Nirvana!

Coil's Manifesto

I always wondered whether Coil had an overarching plan or aim to their project (a far better term than 'band'). Here's their manifesto, written by Jhonn in 1983.

COIL is a hidden universal. A code. A key for which the WHOLE does not exist. Is NONEXISTENT, in silence and secrecy. A spell. A spiral. A serpents etched round a female cycle. A whirlwind. A double helix. DNA. Electricity and elementals. Atonal noise, and brutal poetry.

COIL is amorphous. Luminous and constant change. Inbuilt obSOLescence. Inbuilt Disobedience. A vehicle for obsessions. Dreamcycles in perpetual motion. We are cutthroats. Infantile. Immaculately Conceived. Dis-eased. The Virus is Khaos. The cure is Delirium.

COIL are Archangels of KHAOS. The price we pay for existence is eternal Warfare. There is a hidden coil of strength, dormant beneath the sediment of convention. Dreams lead us under the surface, over the edge, to the Delerium state. UNCHAINED. Past impositions and false universals. Reassembling into OUR order.

COIL. Who has the nerve to dream, create and kill, while the whole moves every part stands still. Our rationale is the irrationAL. Hallucination is the truth our graves are dug with. COIL is compulsion. URGE and construction. Dead letters fall from our shedding skins. Kabbala and KHAOS. Thanatos and Thelema. Archangels and Antichrists. Open and Close. Truth and Deliberation. Traps and Disorientation.

Coil exist between Here and Here. We are Janus Headed. Plural. Out of time. Out of place. Out of Spite. An antidote for when people become poisons.

COIL know how to destroy Angels. How to paralyse. Imagine the world in a bottle. We take the bottle, smash it, and open your throat with it. I warn you we are Murderous. We massacre the logical revolts. We know everything! We know one thing only. We know nothing! Absolute existence, absolute motion, absolute direction, absolute Truth. NOW, HERE, US.

"Not Knowing What Is And Is Not
Knowing, I Knew Not"
Hassan i Sabbah

And as a great bit of audio...

The photography of Dan Patitucci

Dan Patitucci has provided me with much relief over the years with a photo (used as a Patagonia advert) of his partner running in the grasslands of Owens Valley in California, which I have as a poster on my wall at work. I'd obviously much rather be doing that kind of thing than working, so it's something of an escape. Although if my fitness levels as indicated by a 2.5 mile run yesterday was anything to go by I'm far from fit enough (yet).

I recently looked closely at the poster and noticed his name on it - and obviously a Google search brought up his website: http://www.patitucciphoto.com/

There's some seriously nice pictures on there.

Oh dear

I've gone and joined Twitter.

http://twitter.com/PBMMM

All the decent names were taken, which is an arse.

BRUTE

This is a pretty fun game to waste time with.

Fancy a challenge? http://argenteum.mybrute.com

Twine

I've joined Twine, which looks like an interesting project. It seems to still be growing and not fully formed, but could be a very useful tool as more add to it.

This is me

Privacy, the Internet and censorship

Wow, not posted anything in ages - even thought I've come across some really interesting stuff that's worth putting down.

I have recently become somewhat concerned about privacy online. There is a large amount of personal information out there that people are almost overly keen to put out there. The Internet is a public space and it's a public space that is not gauranteed to be friendly.

Because of this I've decided to do things such as remove my Facebook account, generate multilpe email addresses, remove any photos I know of and generally eliminate information out there that can be tied back to me. In addition, I've tried to make it hard for one aspect of my web presence to be able to be connected to another. For a long time now I've made usernames and links to various sites are all different to avoid internet detectives. It is not because I am particularly paranoid, but I don't want to be in a situation where paranoia is warranted. Fro more information about this kind of thing, read this article:

http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2007/06/go-fish-is-facebook-violating-european.html

Words of advice for young people.

People often ask me if I have any words of advice for young people. Well, here are a few simple admonitions for young and old.

Never interfere in a boy and girl fight.

Beware of whores who say they don't want money. The hell they don't. What they mean is they want more money. Much more.

If you're doing business with a religious son of a bitch, get it in writing. His word isn't worth shit, not with the good Lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal.

Avoid fuckups. You all know the type. Anything they have anything to do with, no matter how good it sounds, turns into a disaster.

Do not offer sympathy to the mentally ill. Tell them firmly, "I am not paid to listen to this drivel. You are a terminal fool."

Now some of you may encounter the devil's bargain if you get that far. Any old soul is worth saving at least to a priest, but not every soul is worth buying. So you can take the offer as a compliment. They charge the easy ones first, you know, like money, all the money there is. But who wants to be the richest guy in some cemetery? Not much to spend it on, eh, Gramps? Getting too old to cut the mustard. Have you forgotten something, Gramps? In order to feel something, you have to be there. You have to be 18. You're not 18, you are 78. Old fool sold his soul for a strap-on.

How about an honorable bargain? "You always wanted to become a doctor. Now's your chance. Why, you could have become a great healer and benefit humanity. What's wrong with that?" Just about everything. There are no honorable bargains involving exchange of qualitative merchandise like souls. Just quantitative merchandise like time and money. So piss off, Satan, and don't take me for dumber than I look. As an old junk pusher told me, "Watch whose money you pick up."

-- William S. Burroughs

Lookbook

Just came across lookbook.nu, a blog for people to post their outfits. There's some good inspiration here that's a step down from the wonderful world of The Sartorialist which seems to be only for the uber-fashionable.

It's an invite only posting site, so I suppose that allows some degree of quality control even if it might invite a degree of snootiness. Sod it - it's fashion daaaahrlings.

Some intereresting stories and advice from Buddhist yogis

I've not updated in a while - so I'll stop the procrastination and post this page:

Nature of mind

There is some excellent advice on there about Mahamudra/Dzogchen meditation.

I came across this site since I hope to be attending the teachings that are being give by Tsoknyi Rinpoche in the spring, 2009. They're in Somerset - remarkably close to Glastonbury and Pilton - home of the Glastonbury festival. An excellent choice in location if you ask me.

Grey fluffy clouds

What were the skies like when you were young?

Tidy your room

A fairly useful website for uncluttering (duh) your life, house and workplace: Unclutter.com.

Similar to Life Hacker (which is a bit more tech orientated) and 43folders where I believe I first came across the Hipster PDA.