Marketing Can Be A Long-Term Investment
After a brief conversation, our Thai massage session began with my careful examination of tightness and weakness throughout the whole body. I thoroughly worked through and tested all major muscle groups and joints for any irregularity. Harvey's body was stiff with many holding patterns, or areas of chronic tension, especially around the hips, and the chest.
Photos. Not only can photos be faked, but, having lived here in Thailand for five years now I can tell you that when looking at amulets just a half inch from their surface with a jeweler's loupe, it is often impossible for me to tell whether the amulet I am looking at is a copy or real. Photos are worthless when trying to assess the value of the amulet being represented.
This information is nothing new. The Buddha knew this more than 2,500 years ago when, after much diligence, he successfully found lasting happiness by extinguishing the root of all suffering within himself. The Buddha then dedicated the rest of his life to teaching and spreading a non-dogmatic, systematic method to inner liberation, which he called Vipassana Meditation (Vipassana means "Insight" in Pali, the canonical language of Southeast Asia's theravada Buddhism). During the time since, this method has since proliferated drastically; today its presence spans around the world.
He goes through the Pali Canon and separates what was new to the Buddha and what was also held in Indian philosophy before the Buddha. He can then pinpoint what's unique to Buddhism. So he doubts rebirth and different realms of existence. He pinpoints as distinctively Buddhist: dependent origination; the practice of mindful awareness, being focused on the totality of what is happening in our moment to moment experience; the Four Noble Truths & the Eight Fold Path; the principle of self-reliance, not to be dependent on some authority figure.
Close your eyes and first bring your awareness to the sensation of sitting. Feel your seat and your legs. Feel the support beneath you. Don't try to visualize anything. Just notice what is there. Do this for a few minutes, until a feeling of physical and mental steadiness and presence arise.
Built in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat is a temple complex located in Angkor Cambodia. The site was built by King Suryavarman II; it was to be his state temple as well as the capital city. The Angkor Wat temple is the best-preserved temple at the site and is the only one that has any religious significance still attached to it. It was originally built as a Hindu temple to honor the deity Vishnu, it then switched to Buddhism.
Harvey was still wearing his business suit and relayed to me that he was here on his lunch break and that he only had exactly one hour. "No problem", I assured him. This confirmed my decision to go ahead with Thai massage.
MZC: Did you go to Burma? What was your impression of the monks there? As a visitor, I can feel a sense of tranquility here in the monastery; I see that people are practicing sitting and walking meditation. There's a tangible quality one can feel when people come together to focus on understanding themselves with openness, with a sense of freshness.
