taoguy

I think people have it the reverse... You're supposed to realize the Dharmakaya first before cultivating the Nirmanakaya/Sambhogakaya, because they arise from the Dharmakaya. The five skandhas cannot reach the Dharmakaya, like how there's no mirror and the dust of the skandhas cannot even find a place to land on, like clouds in a sky. The seventh binding consciousness (ego) is the one that thinks that there is a mirror to be polished... but this itself is impermanent and dies upon death of the body.

He just sent me a pm saying the blog address is at http://voidisyinyang.blogspot.com , for anyone who's interested

Noticed the blog address changed again... May I know where I can access the new link?

Links: http://www.slideshare.net/thorntonstreeter/primo-vascularmeridian-system-2016 <-- See this one http://file.scirp.org/pdf/OJPP_2016022216285990.pdf <-- Pretty interesting too http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2005290113002082 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23852507 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3793287/ http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2015/303769/ http://www.nature.com/protocolexchange/protocols/2863 http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2480724 http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/acu.2014.1075 Okay so apparently in 2013, there was a re-opening of a discontinued research that was started by this scientist called Kim Bonghan, who discovered transparent, thread-like network structures that stretched throughout the body. Apparently they seem to work through bio-photons (biological light) and all kinds of substances move with them. Just like in TCM, it is closely associated with the blood vessels. It's extensive to the point that it is found in every organ, every tissue - even spinal cord and brain. (You can look at the first link with the slides which gives you an overview of the entire thing) Turns out all of those channels we try to "open" may be an actual physical thing. The reason why we can "feel" them seems to be because they seem to be travelling as "waves". I wouldn't be surprised if this is the actual thing governing our body's health. What do you think? I'm quite excited, especially about further research - hopefully they discover something like chakras or the three dantians and clear up the confusion once and for all.

How do you guys chant the mantra? Do you do mudras or just silently recite it from the heart? Or verbally?

Do you think you could look at someone's through their photo?

I was listening to a talk by Chunyi Lin (from springforestqigong) who remarked that emptiness is not the best word for westerners since it implies a vacuum. Instead he uses the word one-ness or universe. Then I also came across this website (http://lovebliss.eu) where the writer claims to be fully-enlightened (higher than self-knowledge). He also says that at first it feels empty, but he then realizes it is full of love-bliss. He says the throb of Shakti is what causes the expression of the Divine in its many ways. I also heard from this other mystic who claims to be an Arahant. He says that tranquility is the gateway and then "charisms" such as ringing, lights, tingling surface, culminating as an out of body experience. He says when he merged into nirvakalpa samadhi he was one with all the stars in the universe. But he describes Nirvana as a complete blackness and total annihilation. Well I'm not expecting enlightened folks to reply but just wondering what the view is here...

I remember that I asked Spotless once about this and he replied that visualizations help to move chi while emptiness allows it to go on its own (or something like that). Then I came across this article by Bill Bodri: http://www.meditationexpert.com/meditation-techniques/m_Taoist_internal_microcosmic_circulations_and_chakra_meditations.htm He says that according to Nan Huai Jin, an enlightened master, playing around with visualizations or moving the microcosmic orbit is all delusional because it plays with "body chi" and not the actual kundalini. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I'm currently practising according to Springforestqigong's Small Universe meditation, as well as standing meditation (so if drew could help input on this, it would be awesome too). Thanks!

Thanks for this, I appreciate it

I've been trying to understand why "form" correlates to love-bliss... What does this form refer to? Do you have an idea of that? Does it refer to "rupa" as in the color-world, which is characterized by physical matter? Or does it refer to the form as in of thoughtforms, emotions, sensations, etc? Thanks, that does make some sense as I find that the clearer my mind gets, the more profoundly that energy arises within me. Thank you, that does make some sense! But what I don't understand is how emptiness is form - What does this form mean to you then?

Well, I understand that qigong can literally shift the DNA expression within our cells, through remission of cancer cells and countless other diseases. Science also showed that people can build muscle simply by visualizing that they are lifting weights. If everything is governed by energy, then technically it should be possible for someone to for example... grow taller (Science says the bones have fused and cannot lengthen after 25+)? What do you think, is it possible?

From what I understand, exercise also utilizes chi (post-natal maybe?). I need to keep my body fit because I have need to pass an annual military test, also partially to keep myself healthy. My exercises include going to the gym to do some bodyweight exercises like pushups, pullups, etc. Does anyone else keep a fitness regime? How do you balance it with attainments in internal cultivation, or are they really not compatible? Thanks, I appreciate your advice.

A thought came up while re-reading Taoist Yoga... What do you make of "Dragon's hum" and "Tiger's roar"? He says they are products of unity through self-examination. PS. I'm re-reading again and again your posts to get a clearer picture

Quoted from Bill Bodri's site:

Btw, I found this resource for commentary on Taoist Yoga and thought it might be interesting to you guys, since it links Buddhist concepts with the concepts inside: http://icbi.weebly.com/zhao-bichenrsquos-taoist-yoga.html

Hmm... is it right to say that focusing on the inner-sound draws attention away from the five senses, and therefore allows the mind to calm down and be focused, therefore allowing energy to be recharged? Thank you for this. Would you say that this inner-ear method is what Avalokitesvara was talking about? For me it seems to come from the spirit cavity (I don't know if this is accurate), so does this also mean "focusing on the zu qiao" - as written in chapter 1 of Taoist Yoga? For the quick fire energy, do you mean the point-by-point visualization by CYL, or the in-up, out-down breathing?

I'm still trying to understand your post, going through it slowly haha. But the main gist is that the high-pitched sound that I hear in silence, the "EEE" sound - that is from the Klein bottle? What is the practical use of that in meditation? It seems to come from the center of my head. So would you recommend just simply the small universe meditation? I attended CYL's online level 5 class and he talks about mantra... and light meditation. What do you think about that? If small universe... it only runs 30 or 60 minutes. how long do you do it for?

Thank you for adding those bits, I'll take a look again. I've been trying to understand the meaning of non-commutative (I've only self-learnt mathematics and physics and have a major in anatomy instead). From what I gather, commutative indicates 'substitutability' and being 'independent of order', while non-commutative means the opposite (eg. xy does not equal yx). So for example, if I wash clothes and then dry them, they give dry clothes, but if I dry clothes and then wash them, they give wet clothes. Or perhaps if I did certain turns on a Rubrik's cube, it does not end up as the same result. Did I get this right? So if this is about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle... which states that position and velocity cannot be measured simultaneously (hence measuring one accurately gives huge uncertainty to the other)... in this case it would be if you measure time, you get an uncertain frequency? Therefore if one doesn't use maths, but something that can harmonize with that non-commutative property such as the human ear, then this principle can be skipped? I'm not sure if I understand this part. Something popped into my head... Does this have anything to do with fractals/quasicrystals? For example, I remember seeing how different frequencies of sound produced different fractals on a cymatic plate. Or perhaps this has something to do with the pilot-wave thing you mentioned? I'll take a deeper reading of what you posted again, it's quite info-dense haha.

Awesome stuff!! Thank you. I'd love to know more about the technical things and go deeper into understanding it. Any good resources for moving from introductory physics into these things? I've read the Holographic Universe from Michael Talbot and from what I've gathered it is that the universe is a holographic projection from a 2-dimensional boundary. You mentioned that it was time and frequency? I am not sure if I get that part...

Thank you for this. This really resonated with me. Your site's version has up to 81 only though. Are you planning on posting the rest?

I was trying to understand the Void, and a few things came to mind... I just thought to put this topic out there so you people can give some insights and guidances. When light fades, emptiness is there; When sound fades, emptiness is also there; Same goes for any decaying phenomena, emptiness is always there. It seems to be this quality that is faster than any kind of energy out there. It's as if existence is a "spike", which then returns back to emptiness, as if emptiness was the source. If we look up into space, the heavens, we see a vast expanse of blackness/emptiness, dotted by specks of stars/planets. Stars rise and die as well, so do planets. And what is always there to take the place is emptiness. Scientists realized that they can generate light particles (photons) out of vacuum. Another curious phenomenon was the Casimir effect, which proves that vacuum exists as energy waves. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Heart Sutra says: "Form is Void and Void is Form, the same is true for feelings, perceptions, volitions and consciousness." Its other name is "Sunyata". In Theravada Buddhism, it seems to be the goal of Vipassana practice, or mindfulness with respect to the four cornerstones (body/sensations/mind/dhamma). In Zen/Ch'an Buddhism, it is the very goal they wish to reach by non-dwelling. Some forms of Vajrayana as well. In Hinduism/Yoga, Shi-va means "Nothing" or "That which is not". And of course, Taoism with 无 (wu)... I don't know if this is the correct stanza of the TTC (chapter 14) to correspond with it, please correct me if I'm weak in my understanding: Do you think this 'emptiness' refers to vacuum? Or perhaps even the absence of vacuum itself? By non-dwelling, we stop the creation of "existence spikes" and rest in this emptiness? Would love to know your insights on it.

Hi, I believe in how the earth is a rich source of electrons and chi, and since my dormitory room is covered by a carpet floor (synthetic), it stops the flow of grounding. I was thinking of investing in a grounded or earthed mat. Do you have any ideas on how I can get one? (I live in Perth) (I'd love to get one so I can stay indoors during some of the really cold/hot weathers) Cheers, taoguy

Well, I agree with you that being bound to a religion and its rites is a frustrating thing and it also does not sit well with me. I don't follow rules simply because they are imposed on me, but I adopt the rules when... (1) The consequences are too dire for me to go against or (2) the rules make perfect logical sense or (3) I'm not going against the rules simply because of emotional patterns. For rituals, there are always some kind of symbolism behind them... But trying to figure them out doesn't sit right with me either. I find meditation the most natural... In fact before I even realized it was meditation or even knew of religion, I did it when I was a kid without anyone teaching it. All you do is explore your own mind and increase the scope of sensitivity/awareness. And when I simply watch what goes on naturally in my own mind... whether physical sensations or mental perceptions, then I go into a naturally meditative state. I find that the basis behind some of what they teach in the lucid dream techniques, such as the "new agey" wake-induced lucid dream (WILD) - adapted from Tibetan dream yoga, where you just slip yourself into a lucid dream after getting into a meditative state and maintaining lucidity as we go into a sleep cycle. It's simple, but not easy to do...

What if ... Marblehead's philosophy-based nothing is the same as Des' materialism-based nothing? Since everything comes from nothing and returns to nothing, then - thoughts or objects have no difference in origin. When an atom ceases, does it disappear into the void? When a thought ceases, does it disappear into the void? Maybe while they are certainly different dimensions, nothingness doesn't have a dimension, because just like how 3 directions can branch out from a dot in a 3-d space, the origin is dimensionless... So a philosophy might be mental and branch out as a dimension... A planet might be material and branch out as a dimension... the spiritual world might be spirit and branch out as a dimension... But if you trace back the source of the three realms (kama/rupa/arupa), there's nothing... But then again, if you look at ancient philosophy, it says that the primordial elements are "fire, air, water and earth". Nan Huai Jin, an enlightened master, said that these things do not change, and everything else is just a mixture of these elements. So these elements float in space, which is akasa. Then we also know that the Hindus have what is known as the Akashic records, where Akasa contains information about the universe, and some yogi are able to get information from this, such as how old a mountain is and its history, etc. So perhaps even this "space" is not nothingness. The question then goes back to this (which I asked at the start of my thread)... nothingness = vacuum/empty space? Nan Huai Jin then equated this "space" to: He then continued:

I understood it by that way as well... Then Nan Huai Jin talked about a "false emptiness", which is an imagined absence, which is still not the emptiness. He also talked about the "dull kind of emptiness" which was wrong. He said true emptiness was reached by non-dwelling, like a top losing its speed and energy, dwindling into a natural cessation. That's what got me thinking about how impermanent objects lose their "momentum of existing" and gradually fall away. However, if that is the case, why do we take rebirth? Just how prominent is this ability to cling, that it is able to last for so many lifetimes and not fade away? And how is it related to the void??