I appreciate the heads-up. I’m actually a Buddhist, so not really looking for a new religion. I mostly admire the work TST has done for religious pluralism.

I watched Hail Satan? They went into some of the schisms in the TST, but it was framed as the chapter head not following the principles and damaging TST’s overall goals (encouraging people to kill Trump). Are there other examples? I’m curious, but not curious enough to go on reddit.

There’s pretty big burns in most countries. But yeah, not sure on China. Would be one of the last places I would expect to find one.

So, you’re saying conscription is always wrong? I’m certainly more okay with that then the idea that the poors should die to protect countries.

I go to regionals. They’re smaller, cheaper, less of a time commitment, and they help me form a sense of community in my area with like-minded people.

If you google Burning Man, your area, regional, you might be able to find something.

That’s a lot of projection. You just dismissed all religion as bullshit, which is simplistic and dismissive.

I said, welp, you don’t seem to be acting in good faith, so I’m not going to keep playing.

Then, you project?

We can try again, but not until you reread your comments and understand why I stopped engaging.

And the TST is also a religion.

Anyway, your ‘they’re all bullshit’ comment makes it clear you didn’t join this thread to have a good faith discussion, but rather to shit on views different from your own.

So, I’ll leave you to it. Enjoy.

Buddhism isn’t dogmatic about cosmology/theology, but there’s a lot of it there. Most likely as a hold over from Hinduism, as teaching using the ancient Indian conventional worldview would have been a skillful means for the Buddha and his disciples.

That said, in that cosmology, the Hindu gods live in the Deva realm. Time there is much slower but they still do age (impermanence) and die, and cycle into lower realms if they don’t awaken. A being can be both a Buddha and a Deva. Just as Siddhartha was a Buddha and a Human.

An example of this is Amitabha, the Buddha of the Pure Lands (a Deva realm). This is a Buddha that many east Asian Mahayana Buddhists take refuge in, as Amitabha made a vow to hold space for people to practice and achieve enlightenment.

Amitabha isn’t worshiped the same way Western religions worship gods. The outward customs look similar. Offering incense and stuff like that. But the goal is gifting. It’s giving something to someone you value or love, similar to taking care of the monks and nuns. And gifting is considered a spiritual practice (because it is, giving something with no strings attached or expectation of reward nurtures joy, compassion, etc.)

Amitabha doesn’t get mad and kill all the firstborns if people don’t give him gifts in other words. That’s the difference between worship and devotion.

Reading your above comment you might like Burning Man too. The principles provide similar guidance to religion. A lot of Burners are into meditation and stuff like that. A lot of us are also into drugs, loud music that goes all night, and carnival level art spectacles. Which isn’t everyone’s jam, but it’s a very loving community based on anarchism and making art.

And a sect of the TST was removed because they started pushing for violence. Every religion is vulnerable to corruption by people’s pride and other hindrances. Buddhism is no exception. Nor is any imaginary one folks come up with in this thread.

Anyway, power corrupts. We’ve always known that. The ‘devil’ in Buddhism is the lust or will to power. Lies and manipulation are simply a tool it uses. And, like Buddha Nature, we all have it.

That’s a gross over generalization. I get it, I was a militant atheist at one point in my life too and still have a lot of similar biases in my religious views.

There are sincere Christians and ones that pay lip service. Same with Buddhism. There are many Christian sects, some dogmatic, some not. Same with Buddhism.

Half the TST principles are Buddhist. Either being path factors (Right View, Right Action) or expressions of the four immeasurables (compassion, justice).

And I just watched a documentary on TST. They’ve had issues with members too. Militant sects forming that forgot about compassion as a principle. Etc.

The Satanic Temple and Buddhism both fill that niche for me. So, I would make it like them.

Yeah, my bad. I went back and reread the comment you were replying too and deleted all my knee-jerk reactions based on taking your comment out of context.

Walking meditation is just walking while bringing your attention intentionally to your body and your breathing as it’s moving through space.

It’s like walking while really enjoying walking. Minimizing distractions like thinking or a radio or conversation or whatever.

But seconding just walking all the same. As a teenager I used to put on my walkman and go for walks when I was pissed off at my parents.

It’s not work it’s more like a hobby. Work is what people do to survive. See working class vs owner class.

Wealth hoarders can either obsess or not obsess about hoarding more wealth, like any person with a hobby.

So, how much time they spend on their hobby and what hours they spend on their hobby really depends on their temperament.

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Beta blockers - they don’t cross the blood brain barrier and help calm the adrenaline response. If you’re prone to panic, anxiety, trauma triggers, etc. They’re very helpful for my CPTSD triggers.

Qi Gong

Listening to a Plum Village dharma talk.

Walking meditation is good when very restless or anxious. Body scans when trying to build deep states of physical relaxation. Sitting meditation for deep mental calm.

Pendulation works well when working on an overwhelming task. Permission to take small bites/small steps out of something difficult essentially.

Reminding myself that the stressor and the sensations of stress are all temporary is good for acute stress, but chronic stress can require radical acceptance instead and changes in lifestyle/habits/thinking patterns.

Oh I almost forgot, switching from coffee to tea. Although I don’t do that most mornings. When I skip the coffee my anxiety is much less.

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Cool people can have mental problems.

Cool people can have mental problems rather or not they like drugs.

One of the uncoolest things I think people do is ask black and white questions like this while acting like alcohol isn’t a drug.

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Drafts usually are of young men for the logistic reasons you mentioned.

So, if all men ages 18-24 are being drafted, the President’s kids should be first on the list.

In other words, if you’re going to send my son to war and you are president you need to send your’s first. Otherwise I’m telling my kid to dodge because his life isn’t worth less than some rich assholes.

When everyone is being drafted. Including the children of the oligarchs and political class.

Otherwise it’s never right. It’s just feeding the poor to the war machine.