Lachlan R. Dale

Weaponizing the Dzogchen View For everyone who feels they should be handling this better by now

open.substack.com/pub/petermce...

“Any time I’m willing to come into simple embodied immediacy with an attitude of kindness and no interpretation, I poke a small hole in that cocoon of self-absorption… The more holes we poke, the more we perceive beyond our conditioned history and all its apparently solid forms of experiencing.”

“meditation exposes us to the reality that life is complex and not organized around our comfort. As biological organisms, existence is inherently disturbing. Practice doesn’t fix that. At best, we discover that disturbance is not a problem.”

- Peter McEwan

Great article, from one of the sharpest contemporary thinkers on the Left:

“the far right often finds the efforts of liberal rationalists to fact-check them … to be unbearably naive and funny… liberals are fools to imagine logic, truth, and facts have anything to do with whose values prevail.”

“the "Western Buddhist" meditative stance is arguably the most efficient way, for us, to fully participate in the capitalist dynamics, while retaining the appearance of mental sanity.” - Slavoj Zizek

www.lacan.com/zizek-self.h...

The lines have been drawn Silicon Valley must decide which side it's on

This piece perfectly captures the moment in the US, and the tech industries complicty and naked support of totalitarianism and fascism.

open.substack.com/pub/bloodint...

Jesus, you’re taking me back to childhood car trips in the early 90s. Dad had the cassette.

Whatever practice you do, begin with awe — awe that makes your jaw drop, brings tears to your eyes, silences all thinking and stills your heart — awe at this extraordinary compassion, the compassion your teachers live and the potential for compassion that lies in you.

- Reflections on Silver River

Attraction to those close to you catches you in its currents;
Aversion to those who oppose you burns inside;
Indifference that ignores what needs to be done is a black hole.
Leave your homeland — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Right now you have a good boat, fully equipped and available — hard to find.
To free yourself and others from the sea of samsara,
Day and night, constantly,
Study, reflect and meditate — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

- 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, Tokmé Zongpo (translated by Ken McLeod)

🔥🔥🔥

This book is a treasure. It contains the clearest (and least “religious”) explanation of Buddhism, meditation, and the spiritual path I’ve come across in my decade of reading Buddhist texts, nonfiction and critique.

“I feel that art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos. A stillness which characterises prayer, too, and the eye of the storm. I think that art has something to do with an arrest of attention in the midst of distraction.”

- Saul Bellow

Sound test of my rabab - the national instrument of Afghanistan 🇦🇫

Glory Black, by SUNN O))) from the album sunn O)))

New Sunn O)))

Would-Be Iran Monarch Reza Pahlavi Declares a Civil War in Iran It’s not clear how many Iranians inside Iran support former crown prince Reza Pahlavi — but he’s definitely Israel’s favorite.

It’s not clear how many Iranians inside Iran support former crown prince Reza Pahlavi — but he’s definitely Israel’s favorite.

Big beak energy

A cinematic and richly textured western, deeply cynical of humankind’s exploitation of the natural world. Beautifully written.

Butcher’s Crossing is also far superior to Williams’ acclaimed novel Stoner, whose literary hype deeply confuses me.

A Gandharan Buddhist statue from Pakistan/Afghanistan.

Guimet Museum, Paris

The good professor @johnbasil.bsky.social

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world YouTube

Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night
For it was all ripe for dreaming
Oh, how we danced away all of the lights
We've always been out of our minds

youtube.com/watch?v=qVaE...

“Life presents you with different experiences. Every experience has infinite dimensions. Can you experience all of them without struggling against any of them? If you can, then suffering comes to an end — so obvious, so simple, so deep, and so wonderful.”

Ken McLeod, Reflections on Silver River

Lovely mate

YouTube video by Erdal Erzincan - Temkeş Müzik Erdal Erzincan - Sıksara

Stunning playing from Turkish Alevi musician Erdan Erzincan.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=svZ-...

Sometimes I have a bad day - but then I hear from a friend in Iran, Afghanistan or Syria, and I’m reminded how good we have it.

Again and again I hear the message: use whatever wealth, influence, freedom or power you have to help others.

It’s the least we can do.

Run Run Run, by Tomoko Omura 8 track album

Apparently I want to hear more violin in jazz? Nice vibes from Tomoko Omura.

tomokoomura.bandcamp.com/album/run-ru...

The best albums of 2025 Trans-national modal music, ethereal electronica, choral indie folk, rats with wings and a whole lot more.

Here are the best albums of 2025. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

open.substack.com/pub/disassem...

To be glib, it filled the void I suppose?

Another excellent year in books