james

Terma's

Hi there all, Wondering if any off you know of an alternative buddhist forum to esangha as it has been down for several months now, I used the Tibetan Buddhism section to keep up to date with events/teachings, general info, questions ect, any leads would be appreciated. Cheers James.

Thanks for your reply, yes I have several teachers, I am generally not that interested in forums but found the Tibetan Buddhist section of the esangha forum helpful for keeping up to date with what teachers were giving teachings, upcoming events ect, the forum has been down for several months now and I was just wondering if there was an alternative. Cheers James.

Thanks for your help, unfortunately I am a (absolutely hopeless) practitioner of the Vajrayana and Dzogchen traditions as found in Tibetan Buddhism, so while I love all Buddhism its not the relevant forum for me in relation to news of upcoming events, teachings ect. Cheers James.

I personally dont think it is important, if you love someone and they understand you and your path you can have a beautiful relationship together, in my experience you fall in love and stay in love with someone you have a strong connection with, as long as they understand that you need to do practice ect and they are not against it, however i think its important to have contact with people who are spiritually like minded because that energy is positive for your practice and helps you stay focused rather than getting caught up in the normal worldly mundane stuff. You really need to use your awareness with this one, but the main thing is to do practice and integrate that into your life, if you are able to do that with the person you are with then its fine, it can be easy to play little mind games with yourself on these issues, in any relationship spiritual or otherwise there is always sacrifices. On the other side of the coin couples following the similar path can become a little intense, come on we've all seen them slightly neurotic uptight, their relationship problems become intertwined with spiritual reasoning, it can get ugly. anyways hope something ive added helps peace james

Hi there, not sure where you hail from but i am visiting SF at the moment and they have this great beverage at all the health food stores here its called GT's Kombucha tea, comes in a bunch of flavours organic really naturally fizzy full of B vitamins, gluconic acid, friendly bacteria and yeasts DELICIOUS and really good for you, a lot of people also make their own, all you need is a starter fungus, tea and sugar, ends up like a fizzy iced tea, you may be able to find a starter fungus through your local health food store or online for free, its good to have a healthy substitute when your are giving up something, i would say at the very least try switching to regular soda made with cane sugar, to save yourself from the aspartane, hope this helps - james.

Hi all, on a teachers in aus side note Chen Xiaowang actually lives in Sydney, i think he migrated there in the nineties, i dont think he teaches there really though, as he is generally travelling the world teaching Chen style Tai Chi, i think his wife and son sometimes teach in Sydney though.

Hey there, fire horses are rare and brilliant creatures, i am lucky enough to have a sister who is a firehorse and some friends also, they seem to have insatiable energy and creativity, funnily enough i read somewhere that the Chinese considered fire horses bad luck for the family and tried to avoid having them? not sure if thats true or not, as for brisbane i grew up there, and at a certaint point just had to get the hell out of there and havent lived there since, mabey its just the hometown thing but it seemed to have this energy that made it dificult for people to progress, i still go back there now and see people doing the same thing they were doing ten years ago, back in the day when it was much more sleepy it was a good place to hang out and do nothing though, i have been enjoying the change of energy with the ox compared to the rat, i have moved back up to queensland in the last couple of years -sunshine coast and am hoping to start commuting to brisbane to train at a Cheng Ming school that i think is in salisbury anyways just wanted to say peace and that i know how bris bring you down james

hi there, i found some good stuff on the prostate, ie prostate massage ect in relation to retention on trunks blog- alchemicaltaoism.com cheers james

Hi there Yoda, I would recommend the book ' Unwinding the Belly ' as a more long term solution to this problem, its a gem of a book.

The phrase 'casting pearls before swine' certainly comes to mind, this is why it is really important to have spiritual brothers and sisters on the path, to nurture and remind you of what is truly important in this crazy relentless world VIRTUE!

Hi all, Colonblow, sounds like the title of a porno! seriously though i got quite into my colon a few years back and ended up doing a seven day fast combined with self administered colonics, i used what is known as a colema board which is a gravity fed colonic device, i got all the stuff for the fast in a kit from bernard jensen international, so for seven days i didnt have any solid food but drank cleanse shakes which was liquid bentonite clay, physillium powder and freshly juiced apples, shaken up together i would drink about five or six of them a day + some apple cider vinegar and honey drinks + dried alphalfa tabs + vitamin c + a shitload of digestive ennzymes oh yeah and numerous niacin flushes throughout the day as well, its all coming back now like a bad dream! anyways the whole things designed to get all the impacted shit out of your colon, and man the stuff just kept coming out, im not a big dude either, so that was fun, the other thing i discovered in the last couple of years that can be combined with a fast is oxymag oxygen magnesium supplement theres a few different brandnames, that stuff will clear you out too, the thing that im into these days though is proper gut health through beneficial bacteria and fermented products, if you have enough good bacteria in your gut and you replenish it daily and eat a reasonable diet you colon should stay clean and healthy, and definately the self massage/abdominal breathing/energy clearing/qi gong/asanas stuff, there is a brand of fermented beverage produced near where i live called grainfields its like a fermented non alcoholic beneficial bacteria/yeast drink the companys run by a microbiologist anyway somebody who knows this guy was telling me that the microbiologists wife had to have some sort of surgery and during the operation they accidently nicked her colon and so they had to do a colonoscopy to see what to do and they were absolutely amazed at how clean and free of impacted matter her colon was, so her and her husband attributed it to how much of this fermented stuff she had drunk over the years! Another thing that i find with colonics and things that purge downwards like oxymag oxy cleanse ect is that from an energetic point of view they can weaken the digestive energy and the upward moving qi of the body, the qi that holds things in place ie pelvic floor, anal sphincter ect, so depending on the person cleansing the colon through colonics, purgatives probably good to do infrequently

Oh yeah, there was another thing i wanted to put in my post but forgot, i have definately noticed lots of rip off style merchants selling tea on the internet and elsewhere touting miraculous claims ect, knowing a bit about Chinese herbs and tea and how much some of these places actually buy this stuff for you realize what an incredible mark up is occuring!

Hi there all, Pu-erh tea is one type of tea that aids digestion and is used as a weight loss tea, it is also delicious and one of my favorites, it pretty much only comes from Yunnan province in China, there is a good overview of it here- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu-erh_tea Someone also mentioned Bonjemi tea, this is also from China and is another good one, here in aus it is sold quite cheaply at asian grocery stores in loose leaf and bags, so i guess it would be cheap in the states to if thats where you are, its basically tea with a bunch of Chinese digestive herbs thrown in. For everyone interested in Chinese tea ie green, white, oolong, pu-erh i found a great ebay store, its basically a western guy who is studying Chinese Medicine in China and makes his money selling tea, he seems to really know his tea and has heaps on sale for very reasonable prices, the postage is a bit though, less if you live in aus but more if you live in america, im yet to order any off him though, but its cool to check out all the tea he's got! mainly pu-erh- http://stores.ebay.com/Yunnan-Sourcing-LLC I love tea!

Hi there all, Durkhrod, to my knowledge flouride is very difficult to actually filter out using any method, for drinking/cooking i would suggest a water tank, i guess this depends on wether you live in a flat or a house, if u live in a flat your screwed! but if you live in a house and are worried about cost or are renting you could just get a big plastic barrel or container with a spigot in it stick it under the down pipe and you're away... to remineralize rain water or filtered water i use minplus a type of organic full mineral spectrum rock dust thats mined from a quarry in innisvale qld you want the fine grade it doesnt have many distributors but if u email them they will give you the suppliers for the brisbane area, they sell it as a natural fertilser but alot of people take it internally in aus mainly body electronics enthusiasts, its only $15 for 10kg and i usually just put a couple of pinches in so its very inexpensive, i myself live in a flat on the sunshine coast in qld so will soon have to resort to visiting my mother for my drinking/cooking supply she has well and rain water, as for showering/bathing dont have long ones or you could even resort to the thrifty indian bucket wash method, anyways hope this helps james

Hey there everyone, thanks for an interesting post mantra, i am unfamilar with masters faking there own death for the benefit of their students? is this a tradition in some lineages?

Tibet has always been the backwater boarder between India and China. Thats not to say there haven't been wonderful cultivators in Tibet but that Tibet's cultivation systems owe greatly to China and India and not the other way around. ????? Well yes i dont really want to get into a debate about it but heres a few points, Tibet has its own native tradition Bon which is said to date back seventeen thousand years, within this tradition is the complete path of Dzogchen which is also found in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, this path culminates in the body of light in which the physical body is transformed into light at the time of death, many Bon masters have acheived this throughout millenia, hardly backwater stuff. While Buddhism did come to Tibet from India the tantric traditions truly flourished in Tibet, more than they had in India. It is well known that Daoists in China particualy in Southern China which borders Tibet adopted alot of techniques from the Tibetan tradition into their own traditions. anyways just a little food for thought.

Hi there all just wondering what the relationship between Kunlun and Dzogchen is, seeing that Max is a Ngyakpa of the Nyingma tradition? Differences in theory between Rainbow body and Golden Dragon Body, if Kunlun is a complete path to enlightenment differences between Kunlun as a complete path and Dzogchen as a compete path? just some genuine questions/musings cheers james

Hi there, I would agree with one of the previous posters that if the kidney energy is strong there shouldnt be too many nocturnal emmisions depending on age ie it is fairly normal for early teenagers ect, my advice if you are having trouble and are serious about your practice would be to see a reputable experienced chinese herbalist, the pathology of nocturnal emmisions is certainly a broad subject within chinese medicine, there can be a number of reasons for it, but certainly the core of the problem is kidney energy unable to restrain the essence or jing, this can be a problem for people who do qi gong and build up their energy, the energy is generated but cannot be held and so results in wet dream, in the mean time cerainly do watch your diet, foods that are rich can cause problems if you cant digest them properly, I would say avoid greasy foods and dairy products high sugar fruits and alcohol, stick to lots of veggies and protein and some grains rice ect, certainly try to curb your sexual desire porn ect, but definately dont suppress your feelings this is very unhealthy, deprogram dont reprogram, being aware of the dream state is also very helpful but for some is not such an easy skill to learn, there are numerous techniques that can be applied to become more aware and lucid in your dreams. there are chinese herbal formulas you can buy over the internet that treat nocturnal emmision using astringent herbs and herbs for the kidneys but these sometimes are innafective because they dont fit your unique pattern so you are better of finding a good chinese herbalist that is reasonably priced, anyways hope theres something in my post thats helpful. james

Hi all i was wondering if someone in the know could confirm with me that the free may 7th paris lecture thats advertised on the kunlun website is happening, i told my friend who is in paris to check it out but want to make sure its still on so he doesnt go for nothing, thanks heaps, james.

Hi there Stone, I use the I Ching hardly ever, but when I do I clearly need help, I dont have much knowledge of its use other than as a divinational tool, i am pretty much a barbarian on this one! I generally use it for my spiritual direction, sometimes my judgement can be a little clouded in this respect, often the I Ching will give me the feedback I need as to wether a certain practice or teacher that i am interested in would be beneficial for my growth or direction. I also sometimes consult when im just lacking focus. I find it good to have a few different commentarys that you like to relate to sometimes, as they can give you some different angles. I generally try and go into casting with the right motivation and properly worded inquiry+ an attitude of respect, reverence and gratitude and a commitment to thouroughly investigate and find the meaning of whatever outcome you recieve. The I Ching does not seem to like it if I ask the same questions again, or am unsure of myself and will give answers accordingly. It is a very deep and dense subject, but it has been very helpful over the years even with my very limited knowledge and elementary approach. I do generally try to find my own inner answer to my enquiry before using the I Ching because often we already know the answer, anyway hope theres something in my post thats of use. james

Hi there all found this article on casteneda, pretty interesting i am fairly neutral about the whole thing and love castanedas books but i guess thats where it stops for me ive never had much of an interest in doing tensegrity or any other practices, theres some stuff about tensegrity toward the end of the article http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2007/04/12/castaneda/

Best single vitamin mineral, thats a tricky one the search continues... vitamin c is good but i really try and avoid any synthetic vitamins so i always go for rosehip powder which hasnt been heat treated for vitamin c, vitamin c is generally quite cooling in nature so you have to watch taking large dosages if you have weak digestion it tends to have a downward purging action which is why some people take high doses for constipation, i think minerals are important because our soils are so deficient, even organically grown veggies can be very mineral deficient, so i always take a little organic rockdust that they produce in here in australia which is where i live it has the complete mineral make up, its actually marketed as a fertiliser cause plants love it, so i get a little rock dust and put it into some a lacto grain fermented delicious liquid that they produce here as well and im good 2 go. I definately feel that you can only assimilate what you can digest so alot of people are pissing in the wind with all their supplementation, this is the beauty of TCM herbal medicine proper diagnosis = proper individually designed herbal formulas with the idea to bring the body into balance TCM isnt big on supplementation the idea is to maximise the bodys potential to derive the most out of what you puts in. I definately beleive in proper eating organic where possible and lots of qi gong, but i would have to say my top mineral/vitamin would be a battle between minerals-colloidal or rockdust, vegetable based digestive enzymes, a good B complex chelated, good fermented products, and greenfood and for general wow factor you cant beat a good old niacin flush, all of this is subject to how flush the money situation is personally i am trying to save money this year of the rat so supplemnts are out, lots of qi gong is in. I do fall prey from time to time to the newest magic bullet usually on the internet try not to waste your money on junk which is what alot of stuff seems to be, i have also found that simple muscle testing aka kinesiology can be helpful 2 determin whats good 4 you. cheers james

thanks alot for the link durkhrod, i went to the free download section and downloaded the zhan zhuang article, i would recomend anyone else whos interested in standing to check it out i think its about 28 pages, theres also this cool compilation of don juan matus/castaneda quotes from all the books compiled together with these great illustrations that u can download also if your a castaneda fan, well guess i should go and do some standing now after all that good info peace

Hey all, the two main books im familar with are 'the way of energy' and 'opening the energy gates' they are both good books on the subject the way of energy has nice pictures and a nice feel to it and opening the energy gates has a lot of good tech info regarding proper bodily allignment which is important particularly with the knees if you are going to be standing for a extended time period or have weak knees to begin with, you dont want to mess with your knees, standing practice is the main qi gong i am familar with, when i first wanted to learn qi gong and tai qi the master i trained with would not teach you anything until you could maintain a posture he called five element standing for two hours, the posture consisted of a fairly low horse stance with the arms extended straight out from the body, it was a real test and i never actually completed the two hours when i was at training, i was able to do it at home a few times though, but from practicing religiously for a period of seven months i got so many more benefits than from any other form of qi gong ive studied since, i would say its like anything, good to have a knowledgable teacher to give advice push you and know potential dangers health advice ect, but its a pretty simple practice in the begining when you are just working downwards ie assume the position allign properly breathe into the belly and the big one RELAX like frankie goes to hollywood, well mabey not quite like frankie does.... and definately have a cool down breathing/meditation session after prolonged standing thats always the best bit anyways thats my two cents peace