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hackercurious

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There used to be a time when the free world looked to authoritarian states like Russia and reprimanded them for large prison populations. The gulag was a symbol of oppression and a loss of human freedom. I find it strange we have surpassed the incarceration rates of these nations and even stranger that mass incarceration is seen as something to be proud of.

I wanted to add that there are several forms/types of Vipassana and several different types of centers that conduct retreats. Many people get confused and think that there is only one type of Vipassana. Take a look into The Insight Meditation Society located near Boston. They also have a large center near San Francisco, and various groups around the country. I think you may find the instruction less 'cultish'. Insight Meditation Society (IMS) uses a sliding scale to charge for its retreats and I have found them to be my favorite center for going on a retreat. Another thing to keep in mind is that it is not necessary to do a ten day retreat. You can start with a 2-3 day and work up from there.

I am an American and have lived in Europe (Northern Europe) for over four years. I don’t fear awkward silences anymore either, but, what I do miss is an easy going relationship with conversation. It seems to me as if Europeans can be socially awkward and I am not sure if I will ever entirely warm up to the idea of “the culture of comfortable silence.” Perhaps a balance between insentient chattering and enforced silence would be nice. I believe conversation is an art, it is important, and it is part of what makes us human.

Is it a coincidence that the presenter Mark Passio looks like and has the same interests and persona as Gilfoyle on Silicon Valley (TV series)?

One thing I have always pondered concerning western buddhist practice is the context which it is taught and the idea that a monastic tradition/practice can successfully be integrated into modern western culture.

"McMahan suggests that we approach the subject by considering a monk in ancient India. “He has left his family behind; he is celibate; he doesn’t eat after noon; he studies texts that give him a skeptical view of the phenomenal world and its value. Is his practice really exactly the same,” McMahan asks, “as that of a contemporary secular mindfulness practitioner who is meditating to excel at work or to be more compassionate to her children?”

Ten Days of Silence 11 years ago

Can Buddhist practice liberate us from the prison of physical pain?

"How can meditation help when medicine falls short? Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Massachusetts medical School, speaks to these questions as a long-time practitioner of Buddhist meditation and hatha yoga, and as a pioneer in the use of mindfulness to treat chronic pain and illness. More than 13,000 people have visited the world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic that Kabat-Zinn established in 1979 at the UMass medical Center, and the eight-week program- described in Kabat-Zinn’s bestseller “Full Catastrophe Living”- is now also offered at some two hundred medical facilities worldwide."

http://www.bemindful.org/kabatzinnart.htm

Ten Days of Silence 11 years ago

I wanted to add that there are several forms/types of Vipassana and several different types of centers that conduct retreats. Many people get confused and think that there is only one type of Vipassana.

The Insight Meditation Society (IMS) is located near Boston and is the most extensive center in the US.

“IMS offers Buddhist meditation retreats at two facilities – the Retreat Center and The Forest Refuge – in rural central Massachusetts. The Retreat Center is one of the two IMS centers in the United States. However, all Buddhist centers teach vipassana/vispashyana. It offers a full yearly schedule of more than 25 meditation courses, ranging in duration from a weekend to three months. Most retreats run for 7–9 days.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insight_Meditation_Society

Insight Meditation Society (IMS) uses a sliding scale to charge for its retreats and I have found them to be my favorite center for going on a retreat.

Well done, I see the error in the question itself. I was trying to ask it how it is most often asked, but, as you have pointed out these are emotion-based terms. I did give the option for something else in the question. How would you rephrase the question?

Good point... this trial will not stop anything, just the nature of how things move forward from here... Perhaps in the future, these markets will be even more decentralized, like torrents have changed sharing sites. There is now a huge incentive to run these markets from places like Russia or Mexico.

ROSS ULBRICHT has been sentenced to life in jail for his role in the Silk Road.

This article shows what a waste of resources this trail was. Online markets for illegal substances are going to follow the path of file sharing, both are nearly impossible to stop.

"Closing down the web’s biggest drug shop has simply cleared the way for competitors."

ROSS ULBRICHT has been sentenced to life in jail for his role in the Silk Road. This article shows what a waste of resources this trail was. Online markets for illegal substances are going to follow the path of file sharing, both are nearly impossible to stop.

"Closing down the web’s biggest drug shop has simply cleared the way for competitors."

The State of New Mexico has just banned asset forfeiture.

HB 560, introduced by New Mexico Rep. Zachary Cook and passed unanimously in the legislature, replaces civil asset forfeiture with criminal forfeiture, which requires a conviction of a person as a prerequisite to losing property tied to a crime. The new law means that New Mexico now has the strongest protections against wrongful asset seizures in the country.

Link to the bill:

http://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/15%20Regular/final/HB0560.pd...

There does not seem to be any incentive for government to self-police or act within the scope and bounds of the constitution. It seems if we are going to have any sort of chance at pre 9/11 level of freedoms there needs to be more push back from citizens and non-profits. This reminds me of the American Civil Liberties Union slogan. 'Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself.' I am cautiously optimistic and giving monthly to those who are on the front lines of this protracted struggle.