at Tambako

Mark: So John..
John: Yeah.
Mark: You are working on a dissertation for a PhD. That is for an American university?
John: Yeah, that is right. It is a university in San Francisco, California
Mark: And what is the area?
John: I am studying..It is philosophy but with an emphasis on Buddhist studies, you know, and Buddhist philosophy.
Mark: In any particular country?
John: Well, yeah, I am mainly interested in Thailand even though I live in Japan, you know. I like Thailand’s version of Buddhism better.
Mark: Is that theravada?
John: Yeah. That is right.
Mark: Ok. So are you studying any particular temple or any particular aspect of Buddhism?
John: Yeah. I am doing research on a couple of temples there in Thailand. One is called Suen Mok, which is pretty famous. It is got a very good program for ten day meditation retreats and they are geared for teaching foreigners meditation; meditation techniques.
Mark: What is the other temple?
John: The other one is north of Bangkok about three hours bus ride and it is called Tam Krabok.
Mark: Uh-huh.
John: And it is… Well it does different things but one thing it does is it helps addicts recover, you know. It has probably cured about one hundred thousand addicts; mostly heroin or opium addicts, you know, and so I am really interested in how meditation can replace an addiction. You know what I mean?
Mark: Wow! So they are like teaching people to meditate and overcome the problems that caused them to become addicted to drugs?
John: Right. Exactly.
Mark: Wow! Isn’t that a wonderful thing. A hundred thousand.
John: Yeah.
Mark: Wow! That is really amazing. You have been to the temple?
John: Yeah and interviewed several of the head monks and some of the other people there and it is just a really really, to me, an effective way of applying Buddhism, you know?
Mark: Right.
John: To eliminate our addictions and work toward something more significant
Mark: Right excellent. That is really…That is great. Like. To use something like that to…That is really good.
John: A real practical form of Buddhism. As I understand it to try to help people live better lives and things like that and this seems to be a real, you know, obvious way to do it.
Mark: Drug addiction is a big problem in a lot of different countries.
John: Yeah.
Mark: And if they are finding something they can do about, it that is really great.
John: Yeah I agree totally there. And it was a big problem in Thailand. You know until 1959 opium was legal in Thailand.
Mark: Really?
John: And suddenly they made it illegal and all these people who would take it as a normal part of their life suddenly were illegal addicts.
Mark: Wow!
John: And so this place has really done something that I think is really important.
suddenly they made it illegal
Mark: What is the name of the temple again?
John: Tam Krabok. It means cave of the “prabok”.  It is kind of like “telling it like it is” or something like that. Originally it was just a group of monks and they lived in caves
Mark: Wow!
John: And then they started making a big temple out of it.
Mark: The caves of truth.
John: Yeah. That would be a good way to translate it. (laughs)

My position is called “motor man”.

My job is called “motorman”.

Notes

Sometimes “position” means “job”.

Examples

Do you have any positions vacant?

Do you have any jobs available?

I am in charge of the electrical systems

I look after the electrical systems.

I take care of the electrical systems.

I am responsible for the electrical systems.

(These expressions are parallel in this situation but not all situations)

Other meanings of “charge” 

1. The bull charged and we had to jump the fence to escape.

2. When was the charge of the light brigade? (talking about history)

3. How much did he charge you? (at the shop)

4. What are the charges and fees? (at the bank)

at irp

(Swami talks for the first 25 seconds of recording. Then transcript begins.)
Mark: So the creation is sustained by prayer?
Swami: It is sustained by divine will. It is sustained by divine will and the divine order; the cosmic order. The cosmic order…In the beginning five basic things were created…
Mark: The relation with us? We are praying…?
Swami: Because we are in error.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Ignorance means. It is not a…it is not a.. You don’t…If you say someone is ignorant, you are not accusing him. You are not blaming him. You are not scolding him. You are saying that he does not … that you do not know your essence. “Hey you ignorant fool!” If a monk; if a saint out of compassion says to a normal person “Hey you ignorant fools. Foolish children.” They should not get angry. “Hey there I am a big man. I am a big officer. I am so wealthy. This fool; he looks like a fool and he calls me a fool; he should be punished.” The way our foolish kings used to punish saints and they used to bear the consequences later. Ignorance means not knowing your true nature;
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Not knowing the true nature of your self. Who are you in essence? You are alive. You say this is your body. You are not the body. This body is changing all the time. It was in the mother’s womb for nine months and then the boy is born and the body is grown and it grows up. It becomes old. So where is the essence?
Mark: Mm.
Swami: You are not the body. The body is not the essence. You are the speck of consciousness, the speck of the infinite light that shines in the heart.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: You are that piece. You are that fragrance of the infinite light. That is God! So you are but that. But then you think that you are…you are different from the other boy. An Australian is different from an American?
Mark: No, he is not. (laughs)
Swami: He is not?
Mark: No, he is not.
Swami: No he is not! (laughs) The essence is one. The essence is one. The essence is one and to realize that; to realize your true nature as the essence of all, you have to pray. You have to practise. You have to do penance. You have to seek the Vedic gods who are given by the grace of the infinite; by the grace of the infinite Vedas as; it is called; you can say they are like schemes. They are like schemes. The government forms so many schemes for the welfare of so many sections of society.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: This scheme is for the handicapped. This scheme is for the blind. This scheme is for the downtrodden. This scheme is for the tribal people.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: This scheme is for orphaned children. So many schemes are laid. All for the good of them. The government which looks to the welfare of all; it forms specific schemes that they may live happily;
Mark: Mm.
Swami: That their livelihood will be taken care of. So God too; the formless infinite has formed several schemes.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Ok you worship this god. Your nature will suit this Lord Shiva. Your personal nature; you are too pure; your nature will suit this Lord Vishnu.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Ok you form this divine mother. You are attuned. You like your mother very much. So nature is about mother; the divine mother. But you you want to see a God every day in the form. So that Lord Surya; the sun god is there. Without him there is no life. He too is my own form. Lord Surya the Sun God is there. You worship him and you will attain the higher truth, the highest truth. So god has formulated all these schemes. So these are the schemes of the infinite to get back to your true nature as the infinite. So that is why you have to pray. You have to meditate on these forms. If those forms are pleased the same inner essence that is there within your heart; that too will get pleased.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: The method of pleasing the inner one is to please the outer ones.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: The formed ones.
Mark: Yesterday I came here and I got lost.
Swami: Ah.
Mark: And…

Use this post to learn English and Afrikaans at the same time.

I speak Afrikaans.

I come from South Africa.

My mother comes from Holland.

I live in Australia.

I work in Singapore.

South Africa was a Dutch colony.

South Africa was an English colony.

I am hungry.

I want to eat.

Do you have any food?

Thank you.

Bread.

Cheese.

Ham.

Chicken.

Milk.

Butter.

Thank you very much.

Good night.

at egg

London Bloke: Personally to myself, Class A drugs are drugs that…Ok I will put it this way…
Australian Bloke: Speed. Co…?
London Bloke: I will put it this way. To me non-Class A drugs are drugs that can be cultivated without any …modern farming techniques … or chemical interference… for example… non-Class A drugs: marijuana, even opium. Yeah? Class A drugs: heroin, cocaine, crack, ice, MDMA: ecstasy, ketamine. That to me is class A drugs.
Australian Bloke: What have they all got in common?
London Bloke: They all eat Mr Jack(?)

at Irp

Mark: What are the five elements?
Swami: The first is earth.
Mark: Earth.
Swami: The most solid. Rough is the earth.
Mark: Matter.
Swami: Matter. Matter. Subtler than that is water.
Mark: Water.
Swami: Subtler than water is fire.
Mark: Earth, water, fire.
Swami: Subtler than fire and invisible is air.
Mark: Air.
Swami: And then the fifth one is …you cannot see …you cannot perceive and that is space.
Mark: Or ether.
Swami: Ether.
Mark: Yeah.
Swami: First ether is born from the supreme self; from the atman; the supreme self; the formless infinite, which is the highest truth. From that comes first the space; the concept of space. Let there be space. Ok. This entire millions of miles of …square miles of area. So let me speak on space.
Mark: Mm
Swami: There is space. There is nothing there in that. And from space slowly the wind starts blowing and that is considered as wind. Wind you cannot see.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Space you cannot even feel but wind you can feel because it touches you.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Space you can only hear. In space if there is a sound …ooouuu…some sound… some vibration only is visible. You can only perceive through the ear… space… and through space… in space …slowly the wind blows. The wind blows. You can see the…the vision of the wind.. .also the blowing…also you can hear. And also it can touch you. If there is a cool breeze we feel “Oh there is wind. Oh it is windy.” So you have two perceptions. You can hear and you can touch. Two. And from wind comes fire. Hydrogen is but a form of wind.
Mark: Fire?
Swami: Air. Wind. Air. A form of air. Wind is air and if that burns you can see form. The nitrogen..acetylene gases and this cooking gas. Cooking gas; it is only gas. It is only like a wind.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: It is also like a wind. But if it burns you can see the form also.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: And when fire is burning, DRRRR you hear the sound.
Mark: Mm. Crackling.
Swami: And and and. The sound effects.
Mark: Mm
Swami: Hot air
Mark: The heat.
Swami: You have two senses and the third one is you can see the form.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: The glowing form. There is a form you can see. So your eyes have come into operation.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Your ears were in operation for space for ether to hear the sound. Your skin was in operation.
Mark: For the wind.
Swami: For the wind to feel the touch.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: And now your eyes have come into operation and you can see the form.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Three.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: And from fire comes water.
Mark: Water.
Swami: Water. When water flows, firstly you can see the streams are giving the sound. The first element is air and water; you can feel. Water; you feel wet if you put water on the body, you feel water. Two. And water you can see the form. Water is a liquid If you hold it in a … It can take the form of a river. It can take the form of an ocean. It can take the form of a small lake. It can take the form of your bowl in which you take it; in the form of a glass.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Whatever form in which you can contain, it is in that form flexible. So water has form. And water has taste. You can drink it. Fire you cannot drink. Wind; there is no taste. Space anyway you cannot taste so you have the fourth sense of perception and that is the perception of taste. Your tongue has come into operation.

(Hindi or Pahari?)

Swami: Four. You have four elements. Water. And from water has ensued the earth.
Mark: Taste. Taste. Taste.
Swami: The earth. Water is sense of taste. Ok. Water is the fourth element. The fifth element is the earth, solid earth, which is the support for human beings to exist. It is support for these mountains. It is support for this vegetation. It is support even for water.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: Oceans rest on the earth.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: That is the fifth element; the earth. And the earth has… the earth can sound because … when mountains… when the earth moves you can hear the sound…. The earth has the sense of sound of the first elements.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: And the earth also has the sense of touch because if a stone hits you…If a stone hits you, you can see. You can feel too. And the earth’s form is there. You can see the form. These are all the forms of the earth; mountains, vegetation; everything is earthly form. And the earth you can touch also. You can taste also. It can be tasted because when you are tasting vegetation, you are tasting a piece of the earth.
Mark: Mm:
Swami: When we eat this sabji, when we eat this daal, when we eat this roti, it is but the earth. It is a produce of the earth only.
Mark: Mm.
Swami: It can be tasted and you can…and you can smell; the sense of smell; it is the fifth sense. The earth is… so your nose has come into operation. So you have the five senses.
Mark: Mm.

We write proper names with a capital letter like this: “Mark”. Not like this: “mark”.
Place names are proper names so we write place names with a capital letter like this: “America” . Not like this: “america”.

Look at this list of place names:

North America
South America
Central America

and this one:

Alaska
Canada

and this one:

Louisianna
The Appalachian Trail.

Nouns are really important. Place names are really important.
People talk about places all the time. You should learn place names in the same way that you learn other words.

Lesson One (self-study or teacher prepare for class)

If you live in a strange city, get a map and learn the spelling and pronunciation of place names (suburbs, areas) in your neighborhood. If you live in a strange country, get a map and learn the names of the cities and areas and how to spell them and pronounce them correctly. (when you become familiar with your city and country, this kind of knowledge will be second nature to you.)

Lesson Two

Get a map. Look a these places on the map. Make sure you understand where they are. Read about them in wikipedia.

North America
South America
Central America

Alaska
Canada
Winnipeg
Louisiana
Red River
North Dakota
The Mississipi

The Appalachian Trail
The Amazon
Tierra del Fuego.

Now read this list of nouns and noun phrases and put capital letters on the place names

idea
trip
horses
south america
tierra del fuego
countyside
canada
rivers and lakes and mountains
nature
kilometers
on horseback
canada and alaska
trails
the heart of the states
central america
people
winnipeg
river routes
father and son
canoe
down to louisiana
the amazon
by river passage
the same thing
the appalachian trail
north america
journey
whole journey
week
weeks
month
months
the web

Do you understand all the words?

Now listen to this conversation (On Horseback) then go outside and feel and think.

Abstract Noun beauty love thought opportunity place mathematics knowledge

Concrete Noun concrete stone water cheese grass mother road car

Plural Noun fingers toes ears children people apples drinks houses cars

Singular Noun finger toe ear child person apple drink house car

Mass Noun (non-count or uncountable noun) sugar or rice or water or oil or air or fire or smoke or earth

Countable Noun apples or drinks or people or houses or cars or dollars

Some nouns:
water food money house family children hotel bed room car train plane bank school teacher student man woman animal meat vegetables rice thing place bread music work love time chance problem question answer book office telephone computer job company river sky sun moon mountain chair table furniture government fruit life death sex marriage son daughter sister brother mother father road field head body heart brain hand foot ear nose mouth eye

Noun Lessons

Click the link to learn more about nouns