Jainarayan

My friend the acupuncturist who used to do tai chi said the same thing. He said I may be expecting too much of myself too soon. He jokingly said I'm not following Tao, but he was right... much truth is said in jest. Stick with it I will.

Yep, even in Sanskrit the gam of om gam ganapataye namaha is often pronounced gun or gung (nasalized). So here again we have a refutation of the "uppitiness" of the Sanskrit purists who say those pronunciations render a mantra or stotram useless. I know... I'm like a pitbull and don't let go.

Thanks for the tips. I didn't go to the class yesterday, which was a mistake based only on being dissatisfied. But I did something to my back and neck (not exercise related), so I thought it would be best to not add insult to injury. I may very well go next week and keep at it. Now that I know there are two styles, wu which is what we're doing, and yang, I can find the videos or even a simple set of diagrams for the movements and practice. I have plenty of time on my hands to put something like that together for my own practice, then let the instructor correct me before they become bad habits.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Hong Sau = 'aham sa'? There is the 'soham' mantra also, a variation on it meaning "I am he", i.e. aham brahmasmi = "I am brahman".

I recently got a copy of Chuang Tzu. It's on my backlogged reading list.

I stumbled on this looking for something else. It's called Immortal Mary & Christ the Tao. I'm going to print this and frame it. I thought you might like it.

I don't know if it's a matter of confusion, as much as it is pointing out the wrong reasons for our beliefs. This is how I see it, and why: Buddhism and Hinduism stress selfishness. So there, I said it. We're (me as a Hinduddhaoist, yes that's a word because I made it up, and it's a very good word! ) concerned about getting the hell out of here... you know, what can I do for myself. Oh sure I'll be nice to other sentient beings and I'll meditate on my navel and mentally over masturbate things (Vendanta is a favorite stimulus for jerk--- I mean over-thinking it ). Invoking my low-end Asperger's I'll make a reference to a conversation from the Lord of the Rings between Frodo and Gandalf, which I think sums it up: Frodo is whining about he wished how the Ring never came to him; Gandalf says that everyone who sees such times wishes the same thing, but it's not for us to decide or question. There's nothing to do about it except make the best use of the time we have, come good or ill. So we are here, maybe we should focus more on helping others: charity, kindness, etc. and less on how we get the hell out of here and what comes next. That, if I understand the Tao, is a clear violation of what Taoism is: not fighting things and working with what we have. I may be wrong, but there it is.

Disclaimer, first things first: Let all forgive me if I seem condescending in making and explaining Hindu references that you all may already know. I don't know who does and who doesn't, and it's the frame of reference I'm most familiar with. So do excuse me and my sermons. I'm in agreement with Seeker of the Self. There's something call antharyagam puja, "internal worship". I have a cute story about it involving Krishna and someone proud of his devotion to Shiva; there is another one of in his four-armed Vishnu form and another self-righteous devotee. I won't go into it unless someone wants to read them. The point of them is that they are lessons in "less is more". I'm not one for great shows of worship or ritual either. My daily practice (when I do it ) is 1/2 hour of chanting prayers and mantras (in my flawed Sanskrit ), lighting oil lamps and/or candles and incense; putting offerings of water and a sweet, and maybe a few minutes of meditation. But at almost other times, I try to be mindful. There's a saying that God is more pleased with the person who sees God in the humblest and poorest person, than with the person who sees God only in a temple. Service to other sentient beings is the best worship one can give.

That's it! Yes, that's it... I knew it was something about delusions. Thanks.

I think a lot of this comes from ethnocentricity and etho-defensiveness by a few people who "grab the mic", so to speak. Once it's in print, or said, the bell can't be unrung. People will see it and become discouraged... I did (I got over it quick ). They may insist how welcoming they are, but with comments like that, "the lady doth protest too much, methinks".

Most welcome. I don't know anything about the mantra itself until I looked it up! lol

I know, doesn't it though? Aren't the deities supposed to be beyond human language? I don't think my practice is meaningless either. When I'd ask people "well what about someone who has a speech impediment, is their practice meaningless?" I get no response. I refer to certain things as superstitious silliness. But some people take it seriously. This is the page I jump from http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/index.html Berzin has been my "go-to". I get the 404 error also. I'm sure the Vajrasattva 100 syllable mantra is easily found elsewhere. Edit: found it. http://www.visiblemantra.org/vajrasattva.html

Well in a way we are if one accepts that there is only One. But that too is treading dangerously close to Vedanta, which gives me a headache like the Jackhammer of Satan®. I'm along for the ride and am happy to let God (whatever He, She or It is) sort it out and surprise me when (if?) I get there.

When I was exploring Vajrayana I was told that the only sādhanās that were "open" were Chenrezig, Medicine Buddha, Green Tārā and Manjushri. Any others (Vajrasattva, other buddhas and bodhisattvas) require guidance and empowerment from a lama to perform them. The reason, which I don't remember specifically but I could probably find it, is that one has to be properly trained and prepared; if not it could cause emotional and mental instability if the seeds are there... something like that. But who knows? As you said, and as with anything, opinions are divided. Someone pointed out to me that with so much information on the internet, including esoterics, any Tom, Dick or Harry could perform a sādhanā. And as it was also pointed out to me, some things are kept secret just for the sake of forming a club with secret handshakes. As an aside I was told that unless one recites a Sanskrit mantra flawlessly, it is of no use because the sound vibrations aren't there. Well, then every mantra and stotra recited during pujas at temple is worthless because the priests rush through them as if they had a plane to catch. There's a lot of silliness on the interwebz. OK now I'm drifting, sorry.

Yes, and will be again. It's also said (I'd have to dig into what schools and sects) that Shakyamuni Buddha has actually appeared over and over and over again through the eons to bring the Dharma. And there is yet to come Maitreya, the next buddha. Fwiw, I believe it as I'll show in the next paragraph: Maybe not so incidentally, Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita that whenever there is a decline in righteousness and an increase in unrighteousness he (Krishna) takes birth to set things aright. He goes on to say that he and Arjuna (and we by extension) have passed through many births; we do not remember them but Krishna does. Of course, this is not to turn this into a Hinduism thread (I almost got my weenie slapped at another site for venturing dangerously close to comparative religion), but to point out similarities, which I think go full circle to original post. Same teachings and truths, different times and names. There was an episode of Star Trek (original series) Requiem For Methuselah wherein the character re-appears throughout history as different personages, giving us arts, literature, science, technology. Personally I think the idea of the same being, whether religious or not, fictional or historic re-appearing at different times and places is really quite trippy and worth thinking about. On a hot and humid Saturday evening in NJ, only the gods know what the brain can come up with.

Some people say that quoting the Rig Veda verse "Truth is One, though the Sages know it by many names" (Ekam Sat Viprāha Bahudhā Vadanti) is a misapplication of the original verse. But I don't think so, because history has shown it to be true time and again. We're observing it now in this thread, 5,000 years after it was written. Truth is universal, and there have been, and will be, those wise enough to know it, see it, and apply it: Jesus; Buddha; Lao Tzu; and I daresay Rama and Krishna, both of whom taught and performed duty to be in harmony with the natural order, rather than "religion". Who knows who else may come?

I made an observation at another site about anger, not righteous anger, or the anger that motivates one to defend someone or something... maybe it applies to sadness also... meditate on this I will... One of my triggers for getting angry is lack of control, I'm not a control freak, rather, I don't like being controlled or not in control of a situation. I looked at it backwards in thinking that one should get rid of the lack of control and the anger will go away. But in thinking about it, that will only lead to more frustration and anger, not being able to remove the lack of control. So if you make the anger go away, there is nothing to be angry over; the underlying cause evaporated. How can you get angry over something that doesn't exist? So at least with anger, I can choose my response. Choosing the wrong response (getting pissed) continues the cycle. The right response, letting it go... breaks the cycle. Maybe that's not explained in a way that makes sense.

You're right, I could look into that. My acupuncturist is also interested in talking to him about setting up some sessions, either private, or some arrangement. So that ball got rolling. That may be a possible route. I gave the teacher my friend's business card. I'll find out what comes of it.

I was afraid of that... having the wrong teacher. I know that being a nice person doesn't necessarily make for a good teacher. Like I said, I know it's to be expected I'll forget the movements unless they're being reinforced. But next Sunday, it will be different movements, which I'll forget next week, then the next Sunday... and so on. So, do classes tend to move that quickly or is it because they are only once a week, and there's no time to keep reinforcing what you learned? This is the only class in the area. I stumbled on it only by accident, otherwise I'd have never known about it, not even through a local (on-line) yellow pages search. It's frustrating. Yoga classes are either too advanced and don't consider the beginner, are too expensive, few and far between, and/or have whacked out schedules... targeting the stay-at-homes. Suggestions from anyone other than to keep looking? I might be able to do zhan zhuang following Master Lam Kam Chuen's videos. https://www.youtube.com/user/StandStillBeFit Or his book The Way of Energy. I like his presentation and personality (which seems to be my downfall ).

Very cool. I think Ganesha is particularly popular in Japan. I thought I read that somewhere. In Tibetan Buddhism Hayagriva takes on a wrathful character instead of his avatar of Vishnu.

Just not a Krispy Kreme. I simply don't see the attraction in fried air.

Very cool. Thanks. I can get paperback and get it where I get a discount. I have http://www.amazon.com/Krishna-Beautiful-Bhagavata-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140447997/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1 Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God: (Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book X). . It's a tough read.

I should have mentioned I do agree that it's valid from Dudjom Rinpoche's perspective because in Buddhism none of the gods are immortal, and there is no concept of Brahman or any supreme God. I give credit where credit is due. From a Hindu perspective, of course, it destroys the very foundations of puranic Hinduism (which is 99%). It's a difference in belief, but there are reasons, albeit stretching them almost to the breaking point, why it could be valid in Hinduism.

That I don't agree with, because even for Shaivas, Vishnu who is Narayana is deathless. Shiva and Vishnu transcend all cycles of creation and destruction. Brahmā (the creator, not Brahman) is not immortal, and is born from Vishnu and creates the universe(s) at the behest of Vishnu.