TheSongsofDistantEarth

Do you like Pina Coladas?

More Pie, it seems you have the desire to stop the wheel of rebirth for yourself "with every fiber of your being". Have you thought why you might have taken birth in a body this time around? Totally random, or is there a 'reason' for being here? I ask because you have the makings of a real spiritual adept, but your thinking seems off on a lot of this, and you seem to have grasped quickly at solutions rather than exploring things deeply. You are a man of action, but you seem impulsive, committing your life to ends perhaps prematurely, and dismissing much without real knowledge. I still disagree with your analogy of your situation with monks in other cultures. In other cultures, the population understands the monks and wishes to support them; in our culture, you would be freeloading on the backs of people who are pulling their own weight and would not approve of your ways if asked. I am guessing that you are impatient, wanting answers and results, and don't have the time or patience for subtleties. But you basically have adopted a number of beliefs that suit you, given slightly different circumstances, you could easily have other beliefs, but would be none the wiser. You have assumed a lot, but don't seem to have dug deeply for what the truth may be, you seem only interested in escaping the pain of a physical life and are grasping at what you think is the ticket out. I am very curious because you seem to have laser-like focus and unswayable determination on your mission, I just question whether you have looked very deeply into these questions. You seem to be caught in reactivity toward your revulsion for being alive. I know we've gone around with this before, but that is an attachment that must be overcome to attain what you are seeking. It's like hating someone: the very act of hating them ties you to them energetically? Has this occurred to you, that the same would apply toward your distaste and disdain for a physical existence? I do wish you the best on your path. If you PM me, I will send you this book to keep, not to change your mind, but to see that there are other ways to go: http://www.amazon.com/MOST-DIRECT-MEANS-ETERNAL-BLISS/dp/0979726786/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300929638&sr=8-1

Kinda weird, but it made you want to see the whole thing.

Also insightful, manitou!

It might be worth your while to develop/cultivate while you are working, since you never no how long this phase will last. If 'mindfulness' is too dull for you, try Gurdjieffian Self-Remembering and Self-Observation. If you can't wake up from anywhere in your life, you'll find you are your own worst enemy when you finally create all the "right" conditions to escape rebirth. Gurdjieff stressed the friction of being in life for development, rather than creating special conditions in order to cultivate. This book will keep you busy for a long while; you may dismiss it as not 'powerful' or exotic enough, but you would be making a mistake.

Well, what are "results" you mean? Ability to manipulate chi doesn't mean anything other than that.It seems you equate spiritual attainment with fireworks and "results". I'm sorry, but I am not impressed with your spiritual search. It's very, very superficial, the path you describe for yourself. What the heck happened to you that you abhor life on earth so much that you would rather be without awareness for eternity than alive? And being on public assistance does not equal monks with begging bowls. Go beg then, or get sponsors, but shamelessly going on public assistance 'cause you would rather spend your time meditating...you already know that ain't right. (Don't let Joeblast find out!). I certainly would have no respect for someone who is doing what you proposed. Too bad you weren't able to apply yourself early in life to make something of yourself and 'retire' early to follow the path of a sadhu, or found something where you could pull your own weight and still have enough time to cultivate...it's possible. I worked 1/2 to 2/3 time for many years and made a nice living helping people.

Oops. The other thing is to just be who you are, if they don't like you and your ideas, so be it. Doesn't bode well for the future if you can't be yourself.

Yup. If you're able bodied. That's not what assistance programs are for. You'll be there with the disabled folks picking up your food stamps. Plus, you seem to have some very...unique ideas about spirituality and what kind of transformation one must go through in order to be liberated from rebirth and the Wheel of Existence. I think you need to have some character and spirit development, rather than being able to do tricks with your chi. What do you imagine attaining a high mo pai level will do for you? You've basically disregarded Buddhism flat out, since you can't see any Buddhists who are enlightened. What makes John Chang or his teachers free from rebirth? You don't seem like you've thought deeply about this stuff, you're in such a hurry to get rid of the Earth plane and end your bodily existence. College students either earn a scholarship or pay back a loan.

You're able bodied and want the rest of us to support you? If you want to work half time and cultivate fine, but you want assistance? I thought you wanted to be a self-sufficient spiritual warrior? Jeez, have you no pride? The Buddhas will send you back for rebirth on that alone.

Research Christian monks and scholars who have been on a meditative path, such as Thomas Merton, Jesuits, perhaps be prepared to talk about the Christian fathers and the Philokalia-type of thing, and be ready to divert into this side of things. Whatever you do, stay away from Hinduism and Buddhism, if you can. Just speak of 'contemplation' rather than 'meditation', and if you believe in prayer, talk toward prayer. Keep monkishness in mind rather than Hare Krishna and Buddha, even. Be as happy as possible to meet the gene line of this wonderful man, and keep your focus on that. Don't let them sniff out evasiveness and discomfort. It's a tightrope, for sure, but how you keep your heart and attitude will determine so much. And observe how your man does with all this. If you can objectively as possible observe how he does with this scene, it may save you a lot of pain later on if he really can't cut the strings with his parents and claim you. It's a good test and a peek into a possible future. If he really stands by you energetically, that's great, if there's a little voice in the back of your head, know that now. T

Your age is important in how you treat your hypogonadism. You should try and avoid exogenous testosterone, rather, you should get your body to produce more. If you're under 55, there are a number of good options. There are good previous threads here that give advice on healthier ways to increase testosterone. Even if you are taking testosterone, your jingo will be improved by various ways, like vigorous exercise, Hindu squats, celery, etc., If you are under 55, injecting yourself twice weekly with hcg 1250 units will prod your body to produce it's own testosterone. But I generally think you should use a less invasive way that doesn't 'fool' your body with a non-physiologic mechanism.

All of us are longing to return Home.

What makes you believe Mo Pai is the best way to accomplish this?

This thread and the other one confirms my every suspicion about the followers of the magus John Chang and all the people chasing the elusive powers of Mo Pai ...exactly, it does.

Welcome! Long live the pig! Hip-hip-hooray!!! Calous Calais!!!

An interesting article linked here argues that video games are actually a substitute for real life experiences, especially those that are difficult to come by or not available at all. From the article: I've always thought of gaming as a huge waste of time, but perhaps it's not. Could there be aspects of gaming that could lead to greater spiritual development?

Eh, ban 'em all and let the Tao sort 'em out.

You read this literally??? What do you mean "Myths like this 'are the problem'? Kate...I'm taken aback...could you elaborate?

The quote above is from his book. Yes, he is fantastic.

Bumping this, by way of re-post: The Way the World Is When you awaken, when you understand, when you see, the world becomes right. We're always bothered by the problem of evil. There's a powerful story about a little boy walking along the bank of a river. He sees a crocodile who is trapped in a net. The crocodile says, "Would you have pity on me and release me? I may look ugly, but it isn't my fault, you know. I was made this way. But whatever my external appearance, I have a mother's heart. I came this morning in search of food for my young ones and got caught in this trap!" So the boy says, "Ah, if I were to help you out of that trap, you'd grab me and kill me." The crocodile asks, "Do you think I would do that to my benefactor and liberator?" So the boy is persuaded to take the net off and the crocodile grabs him. As he is being forced between the jaws of the crocodile, he says, "So this is what I get for my good actions." And the crocodile says, "Well, don't take it personally, son, this is the way the world is, this is the law of life." The boy disputes this, so the crocodile says, "Do you want to ask someone if it isn't so?" The boy sees a bird sitting on a branch and says, "Bird, is what the crocodile says right?" The bird says, "The crocodile is right. Look at me. I was coming home one day with food for my fledglings. Imagine my horror to see a snake crawling up the tree, making straight for my nest. I was totally helpless. It kept devouring my young ones, one after the other. I kept screaming and shouting, but it was useless. The crocodile is right, this is the law of life, this is the way the world is." "See," says the crocodile. But the boy says, "Let me ask someone else." So the crocodile says, "Well, all right, go ahead." There was an old donkey passing by on the bank of the river. "Donkey," says the boy, "this is what the crocodile says. Is the crocodile right?" The donkey says, "The crocodile is quite right. Look at me. I've worked and slaved for my master all my life and he barely gave me enough to eat. Now that I'm old and useless, he has turned me loose, and here I am wandering in the jungle, waiting for some wild beast to pounce on me and put an end to my life. The crocodile is right, this is the law of life, this is the way the world is." "See," says the crocodile. "Let's go!" The boy says, "Give me one more chance, one last chance. Let me ask one other being. Remember how good I was to you?" So the crocodile says, "All right, your last chance." The boy sees a rabbit passing by, and he says, "Rabbit, is the crocodile right?" The rabbit sits on his haunches and says to the crocodile, "Did you say that to that boy? The crocodile says, "Yes, I did." "Wait a minute," says the rabbit. "We've got to discuss this." "Yes," says the crocodile. But the rabbit says, "How can we discuss it when you've got that boy in your mouth? Release him; he's got to take part in the discussion, too." The crocodile says, "You're a clever one, you are. The moment I release him, he'll run away." The rabbit says, "I thought you had more sense than that. If he attempted to run away, one slash of your tail would kill him." "Fair enough," says the crocodile, and he released the boy. The moment the boy is released, the rabbit says, "Run!" And the boy runs and escapes. Then the rabbit says to the boy, "Don't you enjoy crocodile flesh? Wouldn't the people in your village like a good meal? You didn't really release that crocodile; most of his body is still caught in that net. Why don't you go to the village and bring everybody and have a banquet." That's exactly what the boy does. He goes to the village and calls all the men folk. They come with their axes and staves and spears and kill the crocodile. The boy's dog comes, too, and when the dog sees the rabbit, he gives chase, catches hold of the rabbit, and throttles him. The boy comes on the scene too late, and as he watches the rabbit die, he says, "The crocodile was right, this is the way the world is, this is the law of life." There is no explanation you can give that would explain away all the sufferings and evil and torture and destruction and hunger in the world! You'll never explain it. You can try gamely with your formulas, religious and otherwise, but you'll never explain it. Because life is a mystery, which means your thinking mind cannot make sense out of it. For that you've got to wake up and then you'll suddenly realize that reality is not problematic, you are the problem. -Anthony De Mello

From Bhagavan Das' book, 'It's Here Now (Are You?)': "I have done it all. I have done the deepest, most intense spiritual practices. When I was doing my one hundred thousand prostrations at Bodh Gaya, I had my board and I was out there at four in the morning for three hours, one hundred thousand prostrations. . . sixty to seventy thousand prostrations into doing this, I did a prostration, and I completely slide off the board into infinity. I went into this complete realm of golden light and bliss, I saw nothing but golden Buddhas shining a light upon me. And I opened into a whole realm. And then I got up and did the next prostration. . . In a way, that's what life is. Life is like doing prostrations. . .The point I'm getting to is that it takes one hundred thousand prostrations to get one good one."

-1

Let me give this a try...Prostrations are something that I deeply yearn to do, my ideal is to someday circumambulate Mount Kailash while doing prostrations. Prostrations don't have "benefit" in the way that ordinary cultivation does, in that you develop certain powers, or your meridians are balanced (although they may be)...the 'point' of doing prostrations is to lose the little self, and merge with the Self...in a sense, to prostrate over and over and over and over again, tens or hundreds of thousands of times, is to merge, like a wave merges, into the ocean of the Self, or Supreme Reality. It is turning away from all the things that are you, and you just become a being doing prostrations, enduring the suffering of knees elbows hands and the ground, and is both an act of surrender and of will...ultimately, it just becomes surrender, nothing more. Mind is turned off, there is just the repetition and surrender of again and again, until the prostrations are 'doing you'...Any other 'benefits' are beside the point. At some point on the spiritual path, this will make sense to you. This is my own interpretation, there may be greater esoteric meaning, or perhaps each prostration brings a single insect rebirth as a higher insect, i don't know, but this is what is meaningful to me.

I'm about ready to pay each of you $150 just so y'all will just shuddup already. Hey everybody, don't spend your hard earned money on some manual called 'Mozi Neidan' that contains all the secrets to make you a powerful person who won't be so desperate as to keep sending more money to shady ripoff strangers on the internet. There. Now let it go and let's move on.

Certainly lessons to be learned here...spiritual materialism from both sides, IMHO...