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I remember when I had my first beer. I didn't think I was enlightened, that's for sure:

Oct 24, 2018

translation: 'when I was fourteen my teacher gave me some strong beer and I felt all funny. The breeze felt really nice. By body felt all warm & fuzzy and I felt sure of myself, uninhibited. Weeeee.' It goes on to say he thinks he sounded stupid in his interview the next morning

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That is not what I read in this passage.

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No, probably not. I'm being a glib asshole. Of course, I'm not such an asshole to assert the value of the writer's experience; it may well have been as profound and deep as it felt to him at the time.

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I have a hunch there is more to it than you being a glib asshole, because that is not your usual Twitter persona.

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I'm not sure what this means, exactly...but if it's a compliment I'll take it, kind Yudron.

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You have a good Twitter vibe. Reading these kind of accounts in the spiritual biography of Tibetan saints can bring up questions, skepticism and self-doubt. I used to read a lot if them, but I am not sure now how helpful it was.

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Yes - hagiography is one of the more 'out there' categories of text; I find their value not dissimilar to that of poetry; symbols suggestive of inspiration, if held lightly. I was looking up something for a friend, and I hadn't noticed that story before....it tickled me.

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I always felt like Zen sort of transformed this genre into something more useful with the sort of absurd vibe of the Koans. Hagiography can be illuminating, but it can also do a lot to reinforce harmful cultural practices (e.g. excessive deference to authority).

2:24 PM · Oct 24, 2018Twitter Web Client

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It's of course criticized as being a tad mystical and lacking clear answers, but for poetic illumination that's... sort of the point, no?