A brief metaphysical musing on the nature of enlightenment, being and reality There are indeed many paths up the mountain. Sectarianism is juvenile and problematic at best; and dogmatism is confirmed blindness, confirmed delusion. Being is non-dual, all-pervasive, infinite, stainless, primordially awake; yet, there remain many viable paths to realizing
Continue readingTag: religious philosophy
Writings of J. Todd Ring: On Puritan-Capitalism: Money As The Measure Of All Things
The mechanistic materialist world view, which the West, beginning with Europe, adopted a mere 400 years ago, and then exported through economic, financial, military and cultural colonialism and neocolonialism to the rest of the world, has been nothing short of a cultural, sociological, political, economic, ecological, spiritual, public health and
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Who To Trust: The Short Answer
Who to trust? That is always a perennial question, and particularly now, when not only government, corporations, politicians and corporate and state media have repeatedly been shown to have lied, grossly distorted or concealed the truth, and engaged in deceitful PR and propaganda; but also, alternative and progressive media, along
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Madness of Nietzsche
Nietzsche was either terribly misinterpreted, as my dearly departed scholar brother was adamant to say, or he was simply mad his entire life, and his philosophy was a philosophy of madness. But it ultimately matters little, other than to historians and biographers, which one is the case, because the philosophy
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: What Is Buddhism, and What Is Non-Dualism?
And What Are They Not? Open letter to Russell Brand, regarding a video (linked below) titled, Dualism vs Monism EXPLAINED! Russell, who the hell are you interviewing?! The guy is clearly talking out of his ass. (Sorry for my directness and occasional bluntness. I was heavily influenced by Chomsky, Trungpa
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Why Atheism Is A Bag of Hot Air
Atheism is decidedly unscientific, and anti-empirical, because it dogmatically asserts a claim that it cannot possibly prove or even empirically support. If they were truly empirical, or truly scientific, they would at least be agnostic. But they are neither empirical nor scientific. Besides that, and more importantly, atheism is the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Boethius, Stoicism and The Consolation of Philosophy
While I would recommend Boethius, and the Consolation of Philosophy, to all, I would not recommend Stoicism to anyone, for two reasons: 1. It encourages a banishment of feeling and emotion, and an unfeeling indifference to both pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow – a kind of psychic numbness, which,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The God Fetish, the God Phobia, and the Fetish of Words: Or, The Idolatry of Ideology
There are some who will read my writing and think – he’s a dangerous right-winger! But if they read more, they will realize that is obviously untrue. Others will decide I am a dangerous leftist extremist; but if they read on, they will understand that I advocate non-violence, freedom, democracy
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Getting Off The Treadmill: Seeking More Through Less
Newer, better, more… Newer, better, more… On and on the circle goes. But when you begin to see through such delusions and self-limiting, self-imprisoning patterns, then the door to true wisdom opens. First, however, you must get off the treadmill of always seeking newer, better, more. If it doesn’t exhaust
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Gospel Of Thomas: A Key Text In World Religions & A Gateway To Mystery
The greatest scholar of world mythology, and one of the greatest scholars of world religion, Joseph Campbell, introduced me to the Gospel Of Thomas, and made clear its monumental importance. (Translations vary radically in quality of representing or mistepresenting the text, as is common. Stick with, or at least
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Fantasy and Indoctrination: Rough notes on a few fantasy novels: part two
Here are two more fantasy books that I could not get through. That makes three in a row. And to think, I had a love affair with Terry Brookes’ Shannara series! (I read something like 20 Shannara novels in a row, and loved all of them, other than the last
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Reflections On Stillness & Action
We need stillness and action – both, and urgently so. This should be becoming perfectly clear. I’ve travelled through 20 countries, but still I find stillness the greatest adventure, and most rewarding, enriching journey of all. Going to the mountain top is exceedingly worthwhile, but going deep within is what
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Key of Keys
Egoless divine pride: the most glorious concept I have ever heard – from Tibetan Buddhism. The Uttara Tantra elaborates: There once was a prince, who lost his memory and forgot who he was. Lost in forgetfulness and confusion, he wandered aimlessly, and became a homeless beggar. Years later, a minister
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