From 20f9776dd7120c7251c55f32284a23f87ef688c6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Martin Martinez Rivera Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2022 21:37:57 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Improve README (#5) --- README.md | 37 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------- 1 file changed, 27 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 2473451..e965b9f 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -39,7 +39,15 @@ Trane "recite" mantras while it runs. The mantra chosen for Trane is the mantra the manifestation of Tara most closely associated with music and learning. Given that Trane was created to help me practice music, I think the mantra is quite appropriate. -### How are the mantras recited? +### Are you making fun of crypto? + +Kind of. Not a fan of crypto but I like the concept of users giving back some of their compute +resources to the maintainers of the software running on them. Rather than abusing the environment +mining expensive tokens of dubious utility for the fulfillment of financial engineering schemes, +outright fraud, or absurd anarcho-capitalist fantasies, your software could "mine" mantras while +using a small fraction of the user's compute resources. + +### How are the mantras "recited"? The library must act without drawing any attention from the user, so the mantras cannot be recited by having them be outputted to the speakers or to the terminal. Instead, a separate thread is @@ -48,7 +56,7 @@ spawned to write the mantras syllable by syllable to a buffer at regular interva ### Do mantras work? While I am unable to make a definitive statement that would be accepted by staunch materialists, I -thought best to include a couple examples of remarkable people who believed in the power of mantras. +thought best to include a few examples of remarkable people who believed in the power of mantras. - **Thích Quảng Đức** was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who burned himself to death without moving a muscle in protest of the repressive religious policies implemented by the pro-Catholic government of @@ -56,16 +64,25 @@ South Vietnam. He believed in mantras enough to pick one (the call to Amitābha "Nam mô A Di Đà Phật") to recite before striking the match that would set him on fire. - **Garchen Rinpoche** spent twenty years in a labor camp due to his status as a high Lama before - the Chinese invasion of Tibet, practicing in secret and eventually achieving enough freedom from - his mental obscurations that he came to see the labor camp as a land of jewels. During his time in - prison he fell into a frozen water reservoir in the middle of winter and called out to White Tara - using her mantra. + the Chinese invasion of Tibet, practicing in secret, and eventually achieving enough freedom from + his mental obscurations that he came to see the labor camp as a "land of jewels". During his time + in prison, he fell into a frozen water reservoir in the middle of winter and called out to White + Tara using her mantra. He then felt himself floating back up naturally to the surface despite the + freezing temperatures and not knowing how to swim. + +- **Rangjung Rigpe Dorje**, the 16th Karmapa, uttered Avalokiteshvara's mantra of compassion ("om + mani padme hum") while donning the titular crown at the climax of the Black Crown ceremony, which + was meant to offer blessings to the participants and set them on the path to awakening. Many + participants recall strange phenomena during this ceremony. The Karmapa was known throughout his + life for demonstrating this type of powers, including during his final days when he was able to + remain calm despite his advanced cancer. The Karmapa's body remained warm at the heart area for + several days after his death, a fact corroborated by the medical staff who attended him. Personally, I have found mantras to have a powerful effect on my mind, to the point that I credit -Avalokiteshvara's mantra of compassion ("om mani padme hum") with helping me overcome what in -western medical terms would be diagnosed as a severe case of depression, but in actuality was simply -a case of a mistaken and bleak view of reality. The recitation of the mantra helped the view -represented by it to become embodied and not remain simply an intellectual construct. +Avalokiteshvara's mantra with helping me overcome what in western medical terms would be diagnosed +as a severe case of depression, but in actuality was simply a case of a mistaken and bleak view of +reality. The recitation of the mantra helped the view represented by it to become embodied and not +remain simply an intellectual construct. ### Who else should use this library?