Vajra Fist

Yes well, I'm an ordained Buddhist and that is my main focus. I've come back tentatively to qigong, as more a means of maintaining wellness and vitality. I don't fool myself into thinking I'm doing deep internal alchemy. Nor do I think such a thing is possible without a teacher. The taoist path is a very narrow one, and very few are able to make it. But I'm reassured somewhat in that what I am practicing is neither harmful nor too high level. Which suits me, as it is not my primary focus.

When you breathe in you visualise energy entering certain points around the orbit and when you breathe out you visualise energy moving to the next point. All the while the recording has the master saying 'om' and 'mo' respectively when the energy radiates at certain spots. I definitely feel very peaceful and harmonious after practicing and you guys saying it is unsafe is news to me. Chunyi Lin has impeccable credentials as a master and the system is widely regarded as both effective and safe. But then its been a while since I posted here, and I forget how energy practices (compared to Buddhist practices) are fraught with uncertainty over provenance and safety.

In Spring Forest, MCO is one of the first things you do. However it is a guided recording aided by the Master's energy. Would you also say that it is dangerous?

Good questions. You should ask any other ones you have on the Flying Phoenix group page, as Sifu Terry is normally around there to weigh in.

Yeah I remember my mate at university took mushrooms and spent an hour talking with God while staring at the clouds. I've got a great video of it somewhere. The trouble is, he was tripping his bollocks off and none of it was real. Another time he took them he hallucinated that Arnold Schwarzeneggar was giving him workout advice, so he was pedalling furiously on a exercise bike in his bathrobe for a good couple of hours. (This guy was my best man at my wedding) Mushrooms may invoke temporary higher states but there's a huge amount of delusion thrown in too. I think it's somewhat naive to equate states of intoxication, no matter how escatic, with lasting and profound liberation from samsara. Edit: As I suspected, he is also selling a course for $249.

I agree with you, a teacher is very important. There are a few things that need to be firm in you before you practice sexual yoga, the most important is bodhicitta - or a motivation that everything you do is for the benefit of all mother beings rather than yourself. It takes many years of dedicated practice for that, which is while sexual yoga is one of the last practices taught. If practiced with an inattentive mind, driven by lust, or with strong attachments, it can easily become a demonic practice or leave you completely burned out. Then when you die you could be reborn in a lower realm of suffering. Anyway, it's beyond the scope of this thread, but if you're serious about esoteric Buddhism (or for that matter, Bon) I would recommend seeking out a teacher like Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche or Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, both of whom offer online empowerments, have practice centres around the world, and have a wide range of material publicly available to constitute a clear path for a remote learner. Bowing out now, apologies for derailing the thread. Looking forward to hearing more stories of deity practices from other traditions.

Thanks buddy, I'll look into the books you recommended. In deity yoga there are two main stages, and the latter stage requires empowerment. The meditations above involve visualising the deity in front of you, whereas only after empowerment you will learn to visualise yourself as the deity. Moreover there are certain deities, wrathful ones particularly, which it is generally forbidden to practice the first stage even without empowerment. It is generally better to do things by the book in vajrayana as there are guardian spirits protecting the teaching and misuse can get you into trouble. Generally any mantra from the sutra is fine, as well as the meditations above. I would also say that rather than any secret mantra or sexual yoga, the real essence of the teaching is contained in open practices. For instance the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum offers a complete path to liberation by itself. It contains the essence of Avalokitesvara. Here is a nun who has made it her sole practice for 45 years.

I'm at a very early stage, having only practiced in any depth for a few months. But I would say I feel happier, healthier and more peaceful. And psychic ability seems to be developing. More than that, it feels like a path which is going to take me a long way and that I've barely scratched the surface. EDIT: For anyone interested, this hour-long Amitabha meditation is available free on SoundCloud. There are others he has that are slightly shorter which involve Tara as a yidam https://m.soundcloud.com/user-424344282/sets/tulku-thondup

Not really the easiest thing to describe. Dictionary definition is: 'love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person or activity' But feels like an opening of the heart and allowing someone in with complete trust.

Chose one thing, and do it a lot. Either mantra recitation, or as others have mentioned, jhana meditation. Do it for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. Learn from my mistakes - trying to do four or five practices at 10-15min each will give you slow progression at best. Best of luck man

There's an audio guided meditation on Amitabha in a book by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, which involves deity visualisation and receiving blessing energy. It's like blazing light filling my body. Whenever I practice other mantras, like Avalokitesvara's mani or the Medicine Buddha mantra I now see the respective deity in my mind's eye and receive blessings. One thing I noticed is that to be open to the blessing energy from a deity, devotion is really important. Without it, it's like trying to see the sun light through shuttered windows.

I think if a teacher shows a student how to fight, then that student goes on to misuse his ability and murder someone, then that teacher would also suffer karmic consequences. You see this in Tibetan delog literature, where blacksmiths who make weapons are also suffering in the hot hells. I think this is the reason teachers were picky about students in the past, because they were aware of this fact. Rather than any deep secret of magical effectiveness that has now been lost.

Decided to upgrade my prayer wheel with a sleeker, more expensive model. I have two prayer wheels which will no longer be used. They're the standard tin ones with the wooden handle that you find on eBay and Amazon for £10-£20. Contain the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. Giving them away for free. Won't lie, they're both squeaky. But with headphones on, and reciting out loud, it never bothered me. Giving them away but I'd like to see them go to good homes. I'll post for free in UK or a few quid for international. Pm me if interested.

I have no doubt that the tibet tech prayer wheels work, but it's never been my cup of tea. I like to spin the wheel while reciting manis, with specific visualisations outlined in the book 'Wheel of Great Compassion'. For those unfamiliar with prayer wheels, the benefits are tremendous. https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/benefits-prayer-wheels

Not sure if I fully believe this. On his site he talks about using psychedelics for personal development, and in this video he kinda looks high. Anyway, if he has indeed reached awakening, then I am very happy for him.

Update: both now have been taken.

If you want them they're both completely free, with free postage in the UK

Here's one (sorry for weird lighting). Didn't take a pic of the other one but it looks like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0716R15T9/ref=pd_aw_sim_sbs_201_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HNQ0D0KTB7N0A7N922PQ&dpPl=1&dpID=618VP8hovrL

I have these too and would be interested to know more about them. EDIT (added link) http://www.whitetigerkungfu.com/living_energy_dvd.htm

Hi, I'm really sorry to hear about your symptoms. The only thing I could suggest to you is to rely on 'other power' rather than your own resources to heal yourself. I think placing faith in a being like a Buddha would speed up your healing progress significantly. Personally I would try Medicine Buddha: Start by listening to this in morning and evening. Then try chanting along. Then read the Medicine Buddha Sutra. From there you might want to get an empowerment from a Lama. I hope this helps and best of luck to you on your swift recovery

Would you say you have recited it 200,000 times? If not it's probably a sign of purification as per the sutra (vomiting black substance). The good thing is that that discomfort you are feeling is likely to be the karmic effect of a major wrongdoing in the past. The karmic fruit manifested as minor discomfort now is undoubtedly lesser in impact than it would have been without the influence of the mantra. It may have caused you to be murdered brutally in future or else descend to the unbearable suffering of the hell realms. The sutra says: "..all his or her deadly karmic transgressions created since beginningless time shall be eliminated". And: "The individual will always be born in the human and heavenly realms and avoid encountering rebirth in the evil paths.." That is a huge, huge deal. Especially when you consider accounts from Tibetan delogs who say that the vast majority of people will be reborn in the hell realms, the realm of hungry ghosts, animals or asura if the dominant state of their minds are that of anger, greed, ignorance or jealousy, respectively (i.e. most of us). Recently I've made a commitment to reciting 100,000 mani mantras. With a daily commitment of at least 1080. That's less than 100 days. If it feels good, I'll go to 600,000 or 1 million. Only after that I'll look at other mantras, perhaps Amitabha or Medicine Buddha to achieve similar levels. If I were you, record your accumulations, aim for 600,000 or even 200,000. See how you feel afterwards. Its not harmful to you, whatever discomfort you may feel. When you die that will be one thing in your life you'll never have cause for regret over.

Has anyone tried this meditation? Apparently it's a purification method in hatha yoga but I can't help but notice its similarity to first stage of zhine Dzogchen meditations. http://yogawithsubhash.com/2012/04/03/trataka-candle-gazing-cleansing-technique/

Completely off topic but I love that Total Yoga DVD series. I do it most mornings. Sorry to hear they got ripped off too.

I had never heard of Phellinus linteus, the studies on it are phenomenal. Thanks for flagging it up

Would you say a candle was as conducive as the Tibetan letter A?