seekingbuddha

Master Dawg, I have to give respect for your steadfast striving and accomplishment. There are others in this thread who blatently disrespect a being who claims attainment (which the Supremely Enlightened One has described as a "peaceful abode/liberation". It is tradition in india not to address a person such as you or Dominicus, simply by their name. (That is why even Brahmins or other ascetics or lay people addressed (even before they accepted him as Buddha) Gotama as Venerable or Teacher or Ascetic or Master etc, never simply as Gotama). So, to those who disrespect, i say this : Just as how you would pick out a stone from choice fragrant freshly cooked rice, throw it away, and eat the rest of the delightful rice, take the parts of Master Dawg's words which are condusive to your well-being and growth. Throw away the parts that you consider to be un-consumable. I have gained much from this thread and this forum. So, i want to give back what i have understood so far. I wish Venerable Dominicus would post in this thread or elsewhere about his own experiences, in the simple and lucid way that you have written them in your original post . The Supremely Enlightened One has spoken of the 4 higher liberations (#4 - 7) as the peaceful abodes. These are also referred elsewhere in Suttas as higher awakenings. So, we understand that there are levels of awakenings/liberations, as Venerable Dominicus has pointed out in prior post. I am so glad that you have reached an awakening and live in a peaceful abode. I made the request to gain more insight into the lower abodes (like #1-3) which is relevant to my current practice. Our Tathagatha has discussed these liberations/abodes/awakenings in many Suttas, and hence i needed clarity from someone with direct knowledge.......not in terms of their relation to heavenly realms, but in relation to the state of mind during a meditation or sleep or meditation+sleep together. This is what i am trying to understand. How can anything take place "outside of my subconcious mind, in the spirit world" as you mention ? Since all my delusion/perception/formation/cognition(awareness) takes place within my 5 khandhas, my original question above is resurrected again. Yes, i am delusional (i have no doubt in our Tathagatha's words) and i am mentally disturbed (according to average humans around me, because i do not follow the right path/actions in life). But now, i am here seeking to progress myself in the path shown by the Supremely Enlightened One. Since you have contributed so much here for the benefit of me and others, i want to put forth the words of Venerable Ananda, from what i read in Majjhimha Nikaya (Sandaka Sutta): "Sandaka, when a bhikkhu is an arahant with taints destroyed ...and is completely liberated through final knowledge, he is incapable of transgression in five cases. A bhikkhu whose taints are destroyed is incapable of deliberately depriving a living being of life; he is incapable of taking what is not given, that is, of stealing; he is incapable of indulging in sexual intercourse; he is incapable of knowingly speaking falsehood; he is incapable of enjoying sensual pleasures by storing them up as he did formerly in lay life". There comes a stage of life, for most beings on earth, where sex is not important anymore - neither to the male nor to the female in the relationship. They advance to more important tasks of life - nature has its own way of evolution (for spirit). There are numerous teachers/masters/liberated/awakened ones in india who preach the same doctrine as above - the most famous of them being "Rajneesh (of Osho)" who advocated a more open attitude towards sex and owned numerous Rolls Royce cars in USA. And many westerners followed Rajneesh - i wonder how many of them got Arhantship. These are fruitful discussions, for the benefit of many. Metta to you.

JEFF, Thank you for posting that wisdom (http://www.keithdowman.net/mahamudra/tilopa.htm). For me, coming into this forum has been well timed, and it is amazing to see the extent of scholarly people here. I don't know about the various discipline's of buddhism and consequently many of the technical words don't make sense to me. But the essense of wisdom is the same, no matter where it comes from and what words are used to describe it. Something we need to keep in mind : A great teacher teaches depending on the capacity of the student. Here, the student was already at a high state of liberation, ready for enlightenment (i infer mahamudra to mean enlightenment or supreme knowledge or 8 ways liberation of mind as taught by Gotama Buddha). So, some of this teaching, given to this high level student is not applicable to average humans. For example..... Follow no path to follow the path of the Buddhas; Employ no technique to gain supreme enlightenment. Buddha himself has spoken equivalent words, but also said, it is to be practiced at high stages of liberation. Until that time, he has prescribed a path to follow. I sense that Jeff and many others are already aware of this, so this note is perhaps for the sake of some other casual visitor here, who might misunderstand this wisdom, and think - I can do whatever i please in life. As i am unaware of lot of terminology used in this forum, my only question is What is the meaning of the word Samaya ? CHIFORCE, I saw the sleep experience you posted. Have you considered the experiences posted by DAWG, in relation to yours ? I suspect some here might say that there are devas called Clear Light Mind devas. Can we consider the possibility that while we drift into sleep, mindful (aware,with clarity etc.) and equanimous (tranquil, neutral, unbiased, non-opinonated etc), there is a state where mind is neither asleep nor awake and then there is another state where part of mind (concious ?) is asleep but another part of mind (unconcious/subconcious/purity mind/clear light mind/kamma mind etc) is awake ? Can we consider the possibility that you wake up with Clear Light Mind because you just had a visit to/from Clear Light Mind devas(world). Brian, "Then I taught my mind to switch at will between thinking and not-thinking. Then I taught my mind to do both at the same time." Could you please expound on your experiences, struggles and steps you took in this part of your journey ?.......I understand and experience that words are of limited/no use, while trying to convey the higher wisdom/experience that we all try to understand/experience. ZOOM, I think your question has been answered (and more), by Jeff's post (i have linked to it).

Hello fellow buddhists, I found this forum yesterday, doing a search for something i wanted explanation for. Great forum, and i am happy i found it. I am not a taoist - don't even know what Tao is, but i have been practising buddhism for many years, and would love to follow the great community here. I look forward to discussions here. - S.

I see a forum called "Personal Practice" where many have posted their personal daily practice. I want to follow couple of people who are posting their development in Buddhism. Any suggestions on how i can find suitable/advanced candidates to follow in that forum ?

This thread is more than a month old. I am not sure what you state is now, but here are some tools to use : Everyone knows that body and mind are connected. But, we grossly underestimate the influence of one on the other. So, step #1 is purification - that is .... detox of body, in order to purify the mind from ground up. Read up on detox on internet, and start a detox program that lasts atleast 7 days - juice fast OR fruits/veg only diet OR detox kits would help. Toxins in body build up through years of normal operation (just like a car engine that gets oil leaks into the engine, over age) - or toxins could result from bad diet or habits. Toxin build up is the main cause of physical or mental discomfort. Toxins could also come from prescription medications - read ( using the internet) all warnings and side effects for each medicine you are taking. There will be strong reaction to the detox program, like head aches and such. Read about detox side effect, and u can take care of it too, using the omni potent internet Next step is to stimulate the body into well being - like someone suggested earlier, go out in the sun (or snow) for a good walk. If you work, this can be done during lunch and in evening/night. Adjust exercise based on age/ability. Do as much as you can, so that you get tired and sleep well for 8 to 10 hrs a day. Take very hot showers every morning and night. This stimulates blood circulation inside as well as in the capillary tubes that run just below the skin. Toxins are eliminated when blood circulation in body is increased. Hot water on the head at night, will also initiate good rest at night. Sound sleep is critical part of recovery, since both body and mind need it to function well. This is the reason why most of the mental prescription meds simply put you to deep sleep. During the 7 day detox program, initiate purification of the mind simultaneously. To do this, spend as many hours as possible in reading words of a spiritual leader - take your pick based on your belief - Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed. Then, upon waking up & before sleep, do meditation or prayer (based on your beliefs). The goal is to totally focus on your prayer/meditation and nothing else for 15 to 60 mins each time (depending on time availability). More the better. Ask for protection, ask for forgiveness and give forgiveness to those who hurt you. Finish the prayer/meditation with Love/Compassion to all those you will encounter in your life, friend or enemy. Remove Unwholesome actions/thoughts : This means going cold turkey on all intoxicants, sex, lying and such. Once this is done, you are walking the path of purity. Evil will not touch purity. Have faith. Spiritual leaders (like Buddha, Jesus) cured clinically insane people with simple instructions. So, you will feel great after sometime, if you follow all their instructions, to the letter. Modern medicine knows nothing about the depths of the mind. Metta to you - S.

Finally they found Tao, and it gave them so much happiness ...... - it was my chinese neighbour's dog.

Venerable Dawg, I came across this thread (and forum), while searching the net for an online pdf file on Abi Dhamma, which is on my todo list now. (Last time i read a translation, i got bored and ditched the book half way through). Now, I want to start by saying a heartfelt thank you to you, for sharing your experiences, in a manner that is easy to understand. It is good kamma to hear the words from people like you (and some others in this thread) who are far more advanced and liberated than my house holder's practice. I know nothing about Tao. But i read few things about Hinduism and Buddhism, since i was born and raised in the land of these two. Spirituality is woven into the social fabric, and it was easy to spend the summer in the local library, reading tons of books written by liberated beings of that land. While spending several months in a meditation center in 2007, i started reading the buddhist canons. But, my practice and growth was cut short due to family difficulties and bad karma. Again in the last couple of years, i have strengthened my practice and made an earnest committment to spend my golden years in the path of dhamma. During last year, i completed reading Digha Nikaya and it strengthened my meditation practice. I hope i can read all buddhist canons before i die. So, all the quotes i have highlighted below are from Digha Nikaya (Long discourses of the Buddha). I found this forum less than 48 hrs ago - it took me nearly 24 hrs to read all posts in this thread. I was shocked as well as excited to find many liberated people online here. In order to clarify things in my mind, i have the following questions and comments: (i also request other liberated beings, like Dominicus etc, to feel free to comment on these). Terminology....Words such as liberation, arhantship, enlightenment are often interchangably used, these days. So, i request all who are posting in this thread to clarify their level of liberation using the terminology of the Buddha, the Supremely Enlightened One whose is the teacher of teachers : 'There are, Ananda, these eight liberations. What are they? (I) Possessing form, one sees forms. That is the first liberation. (2) Not perceiving material forms in oneself, one sees them outside. That is the second liberation. (3) Thinking: "It is beautiful", one becomes intent on it. That is the third. (4) By completely transcending all perception of matter, by the vanishing of the perception of sense-reactions and by nonattention to the perception of variety, thinking: "Space is infinite", one enters and abides in the Sphere of Infinite Space. That is the fourth. (5) By transcending the Sphere of Infinite Space, thinking: "Consciousness is infinite", one enters and abides in the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness. That is the fifth. (6) By transcending the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness, thinking: "There is no thing", one enters and abides in the Sphere of No-Thingness. That is the sixth. (7) By transcending the Sphere of No-Thingness, one reaches and abides in the Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception. That is the seventh. (8) By transcending the Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception one enters and abides in the Cessation of Perception and Feeling. That is the eighth liberation. 'Ananda, when once a monk attains these eight liberations in forward order, in reverse order, and in forward-and-reverse order, entering them and emerging from them, as and when, and for as long as he wishes, and has gained by his own super-knowledge here and now, both the destruction of the corruptions, and the uncorrupted liberation of heart and liberation by wisdom, that monk is called "both-ways-liberated, and Ananda, there is no other way of "both-ways- liberation" that is more excellent or perfect than this.' ....................(Mahanidana Sutta) Since it would be nice to hear from someone who speaks from direct experience, could you expound on the experience of reaching each one of these liberation stations ? You have expounded on your experiences of visiting other worlds. Some in this thread have mentioned numerous worlds that exist beyond earth. So, why is it that Digha Nikaya mentions only 31 abodes (worlds), including the fine-material Bramha/Deva worlds ? (I don't think is this of much use to me, as i focus more on my development, here and now. But, my curiosity is curious). While i spent many months at the meditation center, i encountered several visitors who would engage me in spiritual talk. And some of these people spoke about their use of psychedellic drugs to attain to the experience of reaching other realms and beings. I still remember one guy who said he had attained Nibbana !!! Some of these people were very happy, healthy, highly educated and successful. So, i neither credited nor dis-credited them, while speaking. But, i started wondering if the use of drugs plays tricks with brain chemistry and if it is easier for drug users (past or present), to reach advances in liberation. If this is possible, I wonder how many in this thread are using (OR have used) drugs to reach their attainments. The power of subconcious could be the influence for the "visions" people get during dreams ? While you have talked about the distinction between visions and ordinary dreams, i wonder how one can be sure that the visions are not the projections of the subconcious (during deep sleep). Morality: While discussing the numerous reasons why other people praise him, Buddha says "Abandoning unchastity, the ascetic Gotama lives far from it, aloof from the village-practice of sex"....... "Abandoning harsh speech, he refrains from it. He speaks whatever is blameless, pleasing to the ear, agreeable, reaching the heart, urbane, pleasing and attractive to the multitude." I can not question your decisions, but i wonder why you chose a different path, post liberation/arhantship ? Buddha has spoken about how liberated beings lose the strength of their mindfulness and equanimity, due to indulgence. Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. My metta is sent to all beings that are part of the Sangha.