Daeluin Posted June 24, 2015 Why should it? It shouldn't. You get what you ask for. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. When we express from non-duality in any way, we make ourselves into targets eager to be mated to our dualistic counterparts. if we stand up we get seen - what's so unusual about that? The dao doesn't stand up much, therefore it is easy to miss. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songtsan Posted June 25, 2015 That can put a target on your back Nevertheless, it's in my Signature I notice many bums prefer anonymity for this reason. I thought black magic always backfires on the caster in the end, and depletes the sender of their own vital essence? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocky Lionmouth Posted June 25, 2015 (edited) I'd post some but i'm asked not to share outside of class because of all the confusion and misunderstandings that can arise. Person to person demonstrations are fine because then i have a chance to explain, but if someone were to take the techniques and practice them incorrectly, get hurt or hurt someone else then the problem has already arisen and responsibility is on me and my teacher. Especially if a less serious school were to repossess and use the techniques and then after try to create trouble by saying our school is no good, look at how poorly these exercises compare, everyone looses face and tensions ensues. And even though i'd like to show you my stuff my previous post about my results i'm sure you'd all just feel a collective shame at my flailing and falling Edited June 25, 2015 by Rocky Lionmouth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vonkrankenhaus Posted June 25, 2015 Re: ----- "I thought black magic always backfires on the caster in the end, and depletes the sender of their own vital essence?" ----- Is "black magic" what most people here are actually practicing? If so - let's read about some results from this training too. -VonKrankenhaus 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fizix Posted June 27, 2015 Black magic? My dear boy. . . What you westerners call black magic, we practice as Daoism, we must replenish it through bull semen (the highest chi-jing sun form) to compensate for the natural depletion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vonkrankenhaus Posted June 27, 2015 Re: ----- "What you westerners call black magic, we practice as Daoism, we must replenish it through bull semen,,," ----- Well, that sounds great! - maybe you could give us a few details about this practice? -VonKrankenhaus 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shanlung Posted July 3, 2015 I recall a posting by Rene made many years ago which is valid and should be in this thread. Especially as she quoted from one of my favourite author, and my chief guide and guru on this Path, and his Mentor Tseng Lao Weng. I will leave you to decide if breathing and wheezing like asthmatic dragons and with chi here and there and other magical stuff thedaobums.com/topic/16408-is-your-method-really-working/ aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa There is a great little book written by John Blofeld, who visited China in the 1930's and 40's - researching Buddhism - and Taoism. After commenting to a Taoist recluse in the White Cloud Monastery that "...of the many wise hermits encountered during my wanderings, the few who had betrayed signs of being, as I fancied, closest to illumination had almost all been Buddhist." - the recluse wondered if even one of them surpassed the Taoist recluse known as Tseng Lao-weng. Arrangements were made for Blofeld to meet Lao-weng, what follows is part of their conversation.***"Venerable, it is just that, as most of my teachers are Buddhist, I am ignorant about what Taoists mean by such terms as wisdom and illumination, and about their methods of approaching the Tao." He laughed. "How strange. Can there be two kinds of wisdom, two kinds of illumination, Taoist and Buddhist? Surely the experience of truth must be the same for all? As to approaching the Tao, be sure that demons and executioners, let alone Buddhists, are as close to it as can be. The one impossible thing is to get a finger's breadth away from it. Do you suppose that some people are nearer to it than others? Is a bird closer to the air than a tortoise or a cat? The Tao is closer to you than the nose on your face; it is only because you can tweak your nose that you think otherwise. Asking about our approach to the Tao is like asking a deep-sea fish how it approaches the water. It is just a matter of recognizing what has been inside, outside and all around from the first. Do you understand?" "Yes, I believe I do. Certainly my Buddhist teachers have taught me that there is no attaining liberation, but only attaining recognition of what one has always been from the first." "Excellent! Your teachers, then, are true sages. You are a worthy disciple, so why brave the bitter cold to visit an ordinary old fellow? You would have learnt as much at your own fireside." "Venerable, please don’t laugh at me! I accept your teaching that true sages have but the one goal. Still, here in China, there are Buddhists and there are also Taoists. Manifestly they differ; since the goal is one, the distinction must lie in their methods of approach" "So you are hungry not for wisdom but for knowledge! What a pity! Wisdom is almost as satisfying as good millet-gruel, whereas knowledge has less body to it than tepid water poured over old tea-leaves; but if that is the fare you have come for, I can give you as much as your mistreated belly will hold. What sort of old tea-leaves do Buddhists use, I wonder! We Taoists use all sorts. Some swallow medicine-balls as big as pigeon's eggs or drink tonics by the jug, live upon unappetizing diets, take baths at intervals governed by esoteric numbers, breathe in and out like asthmatic dragons, or jump about like Manchu bannermen hardening themselves for battle - all this discomfort just for the sake of a few extra decades of life! And why? To gain more time to find what has never been lost! And what of those pious recluses who rattle mallets against wooden-fish drums from dusk to dawn, groaning out liturgies like cholera-patients excreting watery dung? They are penitents longing to rid themselves of a burden they never had. These people do everything imaginable, including swallowing pills made from the vital fluids secreted by the opposite sex and lighting fires in their bellies to make the alchemic cauldrons boil. I shall have to talk of such follies for hours, if you really want a full list of Taoist methods. These method-users resemble mountain streams a thousand leagues from the sea. Ah, how they chatter and gurgle, bubble and boil, rush and eddy, plunging over precipices in spectacular fashion! How angrily they pound against the boulders and suck down their prey in treacherous whirl-pools! But, as the streams broaden, they grow quieter and more purposeful. They become rivers - ah, how calm, how silent! How majestically they sweep towards their goal, giving no impression of swiftness and, as they near the ocean, seeming not to move at all! While noisy mountain streams are reminiscent of people chattering about the Tao and showing-off spectacular methods, rivers remind one of experienced men, taciturn, doing little, but doing it decisively; outwardly still, yet sweeping forward faster than you know. Your teachers have offered you wisdom; they why waste time acquiring knowledge? Methods! Approaches! Need the junk-master steering towards the sea, with the sales of his vessel billowing in the wind, bother his head about alternative modes of propulsion - oars, paddles, punt-poles, tow-ropes, engines and all the rest? Any sort of vessel, unless it founders or pitches you overboard, is good enough to take you to the one and only sea." The secret and the sublime: Taoist Mysteries and Magic ~ John Blofeld Idiotic Taoist happy to know he never left the Path and the Path never left him 15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blackfinger Posted July 3, 2015 Nice quote...but seems rather...verbose...for a Daoist! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shanlung Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) Nice quote...but seems rather...verbose...for a Daoist! Piece of cake for a Taoist who is Idiotic Taoistic Idiot and Maestro in Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V Edited July 3, 2015 by shanlung 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeadDragon Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) Healing 2 sprained ankles from dancing within 1 day so I can go dancing on it the next night (took me like 5-7 days when I sprained as a kid). Healed a few cavities, no trips to dentist needed. Cured hangovers, and actually meditated myself sober while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs before. Haven't gotten hurt or sick otherwise in 10 years. Have helped to heal a few other people of mostly minor issues (I'm not a master). Used to be able to leave my body at will (don't smoke tobacco it is the devil). Experienced some kind of state of being close to "one-ness" with all things. Have gone without food or sleep for an extended period of time, with no detrimental effects, usually a day or so. Pretty sure with continued training I (we) could resurrect the dead, transform matter, fly / teleport, live forever, etc. Uniting spiritual with the physical. All I have to do is quit smoking and the way will become clear, but unfortunately there seems to be nothing in the world that helps me accomplish that. Edited July 3, 2015 by DeadDragon 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Walker Posted July 4, 2015 Homage to the Ctrl V Recluse. All these years in China, all these books, all these mountains and parks and caves and classrooms and clinics and temples and teahouses, all the weirdos and assholes and friends and charlatans and enigmas and saints and lost souls and fools and geniuses and cow blowers and taciturners and and topknots and chrome domes and doubters and even sages later, that is still my favorite passage from my favorite book on this -ism. Blofeld left behind some real gems. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifeforce Posted July 4, 2015 Wonderful quote shanlung. Reminds me of the writings of Liu I Ming. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve Posted July 11, 2015 From my now almost 20 years of practice, I have gotten very little. Maybe nothing. It has shown me that I am a bad student, disgracing my teacher by not applying his teaching, being self-obsessed, vain, stupid, stubborn, gluttenous, boastful, self-decietful, dishonest, a good-for-nothing. It ruined my sense of self, my future, my plans, my self confidence, my ambitions, my hope. In short it has given me a mirror. To which I owe my eternal gratitude. I cannot begin to grasp my profound luck and fortune to stumble on this miraculous practice that has completely destroyed my life. I can never repay my teacher for it. Only bow in tears. h Quoted in admiration of an honest and dedicated practitioner. Although when he says he's gained little or nothing, I will respectfully disagree. Some things I've lost as a result of my practices - - the ability to experience pleasure at the expense of living things - my interest in cultivating martial prowess - pleasure from material objects - any sense of superiority to others - the ability to ignore pain and suffering in others Some things I've gained - - much deeper appreciation for my relationship with others - the ability to accept things as they are - trust - gratitude - devotion to my teacher, lineage, and teachings - a genuine desire to help others and ease their burden 11 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shanlung Posted July 11, 2015 Quoted in admiration of an honest and dedicated practitioner. Although when he says he's gained little or nothing, I will respectfully disagree. Some things I've lost as a result of my practices - - the ability to experience pleasure at the expense of living things - my interest in cultivating martial prowess - pleasure from material objects - any sense of superiority to others - the ability to ignore pain and suffering in others Some things I've gained - - much deeper appreciation for my relationship with others - the ability to accept things as they are - trust - gratitude - devotion to my teacher, lineage, and teachings - a genuine desire to help others and ease their burden I felt my clicking on the like button to be so woefully inadequate. I had to exercise my mastery of Ctrl C-V or its equivalent, to highlight too my losses and gains, Which amazingly mirrored whats copied and pasted above. My losses and gains which was only at back of my mind unformed and unworded until brought to life with words by Steve. Idiot stumbling about on the Path 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve Posted July 11, 2015 So beautiful when people who have never met, and probably never will, can connect like this! There are times when technology seems to be so toxic. At other times it can feel so meaningful. I am grateful for the surprisingly significant connections I make on occasion here with fellow Bums. _/\_ 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve Posted July 12, 2015 I want to add one other thing that I've gained and it's quite recent - a connection to the source of creativity. I've spent most of my life entrenched in a "left-brain" existence. My practice has inspired me to explore my creative potential and I am extremely grateful for that! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gendao Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) I've manifested a better inner & outer life and cured some health conditions from the "skin-to-flesh layers." But, not the deeper "bone or bone marrow layers" yet... That's next on my list (once I figure out how, lol). Edited July 12, 2015 by gendao 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liminal_luke Posted July 12, 2015 I want to add one other thing that I've gained and it's quite recent - a connection to the source of creativity. I've spent most of my life entrenched in a "left-brain" existence. My practice has inspired me to explore my creative potential and I am extremely grateful for that! That´s interesting because your practice -- well, your willingness to share about it anyway -- is also helping me connect with the source of creativity. Just yesterday I signed up for the ligmincha online creativity workshop. It´s just now beginning but I´m excited about the practice. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve Posted July 12, 2015 That´s interesting because your practice -- well, your willingness to share about it anyway -- is also helping me connect with the source of creativity. Just yesterday I signed up for the ligmincha online creativity workshop. It´s just now beginning but I´m excited about the practice. I'm doing the workshop too! So far I'm very happy I'm taking it. I spent the day working on a song for guitar. We'll have to connect over at glidewing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreytoWhite Posted July 13, 2015 Anyone else have results from their trainings they could describe here? -VonKrankenhaus Look up the thread called "Living Proof Qigong Works" or something like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vonkrankenhaus Posted July 13, 2015 Re: ----- "Look up the thread called "Living Proof Qigong Works" or something like that." ----- Yes, that is a good one too. I started this thread after reading many many pages of debates and even arguments about concepts, methods, techniques, fairy tales, lineages, and so forth. I became interested to see "the other side" of these kind of things - to see what people are actually experiencing and achieving from their various trainings. I very much appreciate what people have been posting in this thread (and others). =VonKrankenhaus 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shanlung Posted August 29, 2015 Looking younger! Feeling younger! Better control on emotions and not giving a flying fuck to things that used to bother one in the past. Chi running here and there and in dantien and spilling over! All and that wonderful and great even if alone and only that in training in the Tao and to reach the Tao. We might want to consider what else can that be. In which I defer to words of others and plagiarised from a piece I wrote before plagiarising from John Blofeld who in turn plagiarise from Taoist Master Tseng Lao Weng http://www.shanlung.com/oldtaonirvana.html It was interesting that in my puerile curiosity in hunting the hits made on that webpage and locating that originated from here and I made my appearance here. ENLIGHTENMENT From: khamba2 - Date: Wed, Jun 2 1999 12:00 am Groups: alt.philosophy.taoism Paul Humphries <[email protected]> wrote: >Hi! >I feel a bit skeptical about enlightenment at the moment, so wish to ask >some questions to anyone who has any ideas.. >When a person reaches the state of pure, total enlightment and absolute >truth, what does this mean? Is it that they are now learning openly to >the greatest of their potential? What sort of knowledge of reality >emerges? What abilities does this give the person? How many truely >enlightened masters exist, do you think? How do they live? Would they >have any preferences in taste in music? >Cheers! Sorry that I am answering with this is an old letter. I do hope the words of Taoist Master Tseng Lao Weng can answer a bit of your question even if he did not mention his preferences for music be it classical, hard rock or heavy metal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have mourned that many of my books stayed back in my home town while I was wandering ,working and staying elsewhere. But a selection of John Blofeld's books followed me. I thought I quote one of my favorite portion from his book 'Taoism, The Secret and Sublime' which may help others understand and decide for themselves if Taoism is a philosophy or a religion. I myself, never did feel that either path is important. He was talking to this Taoist Master Tseng Lao Weng. (now using also his format and capitalizations..) -------------------------------------------------------- Having heard from me of Sir Edwin Arnold's lovely expression for entering Nirvana, 'the dew-drop slips into the shining sea', he exclaimed with delight, but added: 'And yet it does not capture the whole. Since the Tao is all and nothing lies outside it, since its multiplicity and unity are identical, when a finite being sheds the illusion of separate existence, he is not lost in the Tao. By casting off his imaginary limitations, he becomes immeasurable. Plunge the finite into the infinite and, though only one remains, the finite, far from being diminished, takes on the stature of infinity. Such perception will bring you face to face with the true secret cherished by all the accomplished sages. The mind of one who returns to the Source thereby BECOMES the Source. Your own mind is DESTINED TO BECOME THE UNIVERSE ITSELF!' Taoistic Idiot dreaming of sitting on Pillars of Creation and watching a couple of black holes spiralling to their death and rebirth I was amused by what is discovered and happening now. 2 black holes spiralling to their deaths, or rebirths. Black Holes Slug it Out in Quasar Deathmatch Ah!! To get that ringside seat! Taoistic Idiot yearning for that ringside seat 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MooNiNite Posted August 29, 2015 a little bit of madness and a profound wonder for the inherent possibilities of man. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shanlung Posted September 18, 2015 I was amused by what is discovered and happening now. 2 black holes spiralling to their deaths, or rebirths. Black Holes Slug it Out in Quasar Deathmatch Ah!! To get that ringside seat! Taoistic Idiot yearning for that ringside seat More on those 2 black holes http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3238191/Cosmic-death-spiral-Monster-black-holes-distant-galaxy-set-collide-blast-100-million-times-bigger-supernovae.html Cosmic death spiral: Monster black holes in distant galaxy are set to collide with a blast 100 million times larger than a supernovae The black holes are orbiting each other in a space not much bigger than our own solar system at nearly seven per cent of the speed of light. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shanlung Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) More on those 2 black holes http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3238191/Cosmic-death-spiral-Monster-black-holes-distant-galaxy-set-collide-blast-100-million-times-bigger-supernovae.html Cosmic death spiral: Monster black holes in distant galaxy are set to collide with a blast 100 million times larger than a supernovae The black holes are orbiting each other in a space not much bigger than our own solar system at nearly seven per cent of the speed of light. www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3252428/If-eyes-gravitational-waves-Stunning-animation-shows-merger-two-black-holes-look-like.html Edited September 29, 2015 by shanlung Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
