Who here /hermit/?

>when you're hermiting it up with your hermit bros on Veeky Forums

>you never see a gorgeous nun or a tall and handsome trappist monk.

What? There are plenty of handsome hermit yogis. Tibetans in general can be quite handsome, and Tibetan culture has long embraced the "yogic hero" ideal which includes being a hermit yogi.

This includes people like DKR and Chagdud Rinpoche. Outside of ethnic Tibetans you have hermit-yogis like Ram Bahadur Bomjon, who is a very handsome man.

Being a hermit in the west is more difficult and rarer, but off the top of my head Western born Lama Drimed isn't hateful looking and resigned his cushy administration position because he loves retreats and guiding retreats.

And the hermit-yogis Rob and Rachel Olds (students of Drimed) were very successful artists that sold everything to enter a strict spiritual retreat, both were pleasant looking given their age.

As far as nuns go, how about fucking Dolores Hart or Olalla Oliveros? Super attractive and successful, heard the spiritual call, and entered nunneries.

In short, you're wrong.

I had spontaneous visions that sparked a process over a few years that eventually resulted in me opting out and living as a modern hermit.

My days are largely spent meditating, reading, writing, and working out. I occasionally try to engage in other creative endeavors.

It has been about eight years going now. Four of which I had a retreat attendant so I could focus on a strict practice full time. My practice has strengthened so I have no need for an attendant anymore, so I go out for groceries myself now etc., and sometimes travel to Buddhist retreat conferences.

I sometimes watch shows, try a video game, eat ice cream and engage in sexual activity. I feel like I have struck a spontaneous balance between physical mortification and mindfully indulging, which is an important part of the spiritual endeavor I have taken up.

how do you pay for it? how do you like it? are you lying? take some photos around your living space—do you often go on the internet? what is an attendant? have you ever lived with a girl?

I willl exagerate a bit here but

I hate social posturing. I dislike when one of those people walks up to you in a public space and acts like he's your best friend and makes loud noises and asks you inane questions and laughs really loud and taps you on the back. I will tell you why I dislike it. Initially, of course everyone's first thought is that maybe the problem is with yourself. Shy, reclusive...even socially incompetent. OK, maybe. Then the second thought is, you must be jealous that this person is so free to express himself/herself and so on. I mean OK, this seems logical. So at some point I thought, the fault is with me. These people are normal and I am not. So you can either improve or accept that you are just different in that regard. And I've tried both of these. I tried to improve and even was good at it a couple of times. But still, it felt wrong. I didn't know why, it felt wrong. So now you're the one expressing yourself, getting "the result", people just ate out of your hands etc. but something is wrong. So now, is there a real reason for it being wrong or again...is the problem with you? OK, so maybe you are somehow "genetically" not fit to perform this role even if you act it out. Like there is a biological signifier that you should not do this. So years went by where I thought I was just not meant to do it, to not be in that category. But then one day, it finally dawned on me. The reason it feels wrong is because it is wrong. It's pure manipulation. You attack a person's safe space, present yourself as a loud happy go lucky person and the other person is basically forced to validate you out of fear of looking like a retard in public. Obviously that person wants to say "Fuck off": But they can't, because the happy go lucky person will then just go "ooh, sorry bud, was just trying to ask how you are doing no need to go crazy" and shrug his shoulders while everybody judges you for being an asshole. So that person damn well knows they are putting you into a situation where you are FORCED to socially validate them and make a transaction where you send them social capital. And that's what they do, they prey on people in order to suck social capital out of them. In it's essence it is no different than robbery or rape. And these little happy go lucky socially brilliant clowns society worships are nothing else than manipulative little vampires. That is just an anecdote. I find that transactional thing disgusting. And when you see how people drain social capital or compete for social capital or scheme together for social capital..I don't know how anyone likes that. I am slightly exagerating but how can anyone be interested in that? Of course, if you mostly care about the amount of money, status. power, pussy you amass then it makes sense.

But here's where it gets even more interesting. And you can see this in "older" more weathered people, but sometimes in younger ones as well. Usually everyone starts getting their first lessons in this "art" by the time mid 20s roll in. Some people start doing it just because they want to hurt others, usually because they were on the receiving end of it at some point. So it ceases to be about gaining pleasure out of pussy and it becomes an end in itself. Before it might have been, "well if I suck all this social capital out of everyone else, I will really enjoy that pussy later on" (speaking from a guy's perspective and of course few actually consciouslly say that sentence in their mind), but now it's become the actual process of being a vampire that is rewarding in itself. In the sense of "I really fucked that guy over, that felt good". So at this point, I think I started to realize where the problem is and what the process is. It's not like someone is just born one day and wants to kill a baby out of the blue. First you get the temptation. You want the pussy. Then you get the whisper in your ear, that pussy feels real good so now just do this little thing and you'll enjoy pussy later. Then you're so far deep into doing those compromises that pussy actually loses its flavor and its the actual process that becomes the new turn on. So now you get a high out of fucking someone over. Of course it's up to the individual how far deep down the rabbit hole he ends up. But I really think that's how the world gets fucked up. So this is where I realized how the world works. Of course again, it's a bit exagerated and it's an anecdote not a general rule. I'm not saying it has to be women as the temptation, social capital as the means and sex as the reward, obviously that's a cliche version for guys. But the important thing is the pattern. And I believe that's how things get fucked up society-wide.

People act like there's a majority that are socially incompetent when in reality they aren't, and they've already proved that, but they're just assholes to people they don't like. It's not uncommon at all.

Why are you calling it 'social capital'? What does that even mean? Is that how people think about relationships nowadays? I must have been away from society for longer than I thought.

I think I have the ability to become a hermit if I wanted to. I don't experience loneliness like other people, I mean there was a time that I used to but as I got older I stopped feeling it. There have been times in my life where I've went months without talking to anyone. I used to think there was something wrong with me but when I see how much other people whine about not having girlfriends I have to consider myself lucky. I don't need somebody else to feel happy or whole.

I am a lone hermit in a wizardly tower. Studying arcane symbols from huge tomes all day, away from civilization entirely.

I dont like it when people equate extroversion, and being "bubbly" with social competence. That's not what being socially competent consists of. Sure you will know more people if you act like that, but they wont necessarily like you. A lot of those people talk too much, only talk about themselves, overshare, invade personal space, are rude etc.

Being good at talking to people isnt like assaulting people at all.

You do realize that the person who does that has essentially just challenged you to a battle of wits and if you don't act happy-go-lucky too and answer their questions with some sharp wit, then you just lost. How can you not realize this? Yes, for an audience, perform.

>I don't mean some basement dwelling autist jacking off to anime and playing video games all day but someone who has chosen to opt out of this hellish culture for spiritual reasons.

Its the exact same thing. The only difference is in the hobbies they choose to pursue.

Except of course that the latter requires discipline whereas the former is a lazy letting go. Really, dude.

1. Fortunate upbringing and access to capital for opportunities as they arose; I live fairly simply and can live off what I have from here on out

2. At this point I have no regrets, but there have been a lot of highs and lows.

3. No and no?

4. I typically use the Internet daily. I read the news etc.

5. Retreat attendants facilitate strict spiritual retreats. They take care of whatever worldly things need done so the hermit can focus primarily on practice. So groceries, expenses, acquiring anything needed, etc.

They are common to many contemplative traditions and typically are considered to be participating intimately in the retreat with the hermit(s). The attendant generally will practice more intensively than average and if it is a one on one type of situation rather than a group of attendants for a group of hermits, it is an especially special bond.

6. Yes, I lived a fairly normal life until I decided not to.

>Its the exact same thing.
>exact

I don't think you understand what this word means.