CedarTree

Stumbled upon this Pali Canon treasure today: Bhikkhu, ‘I am’ is a conceiving; ‘I am this’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall not be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be possessed of form’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be formless’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be percipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be non-percipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be neither-percipient-nor-non-percipient’ is a conceiving. Conceiving is a disease, conceiving is a tumour, conceiving is a dart. By overcoming all conceivings, bhikkhu, one is called a sage at peace. And the sage at peace is not born, does not age, does not die; he is not shaken and does not yearn. For there is nothing present in him by which he might be born. Not being born, how could he age? Not ageing, how could he die? Not dying, how could he be shaken? Not being shaken, why should he yearn? https://suttacentral.net/en/mn140

Commonly in Vedanta it comes down to "One" which is "Awareness". In Buddhism "Awareness" is empty of self. So the old koan what does the one return to? In some schools of Hinduism maybe it is self referential "It returns to the one". In Buddhism there is no one. Lol But I talk from a deluded mind so take this all with lots and lots and lots of salt. Language and concepts are skillfull means I think not awakening.

Zen Buddhists love Basho in particular his frog poem as in the tradition it is seen as uniquely zen and possibly the language of zen of awakening. What is your favorite Daoist quote or scripture or whichever that you think is incredibly eloquent and really struck you as special

What are some teachings, perspectives, experiences, or whatever that you have learned a long your walk on the path that have made a lasting and very profound impact in your life? Recently I was posting on The Dao Bums forum and someone addressed my "Sky Gazing" post and included a beautiful Chinese Taoist painting with diverse life and water falls and dimensions and what looks like the seeker within his own painting. He said this was sky gazing in his tradition and it was a good and powerful message to remember the relative is the absolute. It made me think, what have you all experienced and maybe this can really help each of us grow by cutting through the usual questions and answers and getting to the guts of our own lives

This sounds a lot like the best period of Chan and how I understand the best part of Zen teachings Also I just wanted to thank you for this amazing write up. Absolutely awesome. I made a post in the Daoist section about what exactly Daoism is to people and the teachings they have found inspirational and intense and meaningful and I would love to hear more from you. Obviously incredibly articulate

I definitely want you to go more into this!

So a lot of the posts I look at are the Buddhist and Zen ones hah but I have found lately some of the Daoist posts very interesting. I'd love to hear certain aspects of Daoist teachings you have found most mysterious, meaningful, intense, etc. Maybe explain what the practice means to you and what you do for your practice and what you would like to do for your practice. How do you see the goal of Daoism?

Great contribution! What would you say the depths of Taoist understanding are about this sky vesus maybe the emphasis on emptiness and the void in Buddhism?

In other words searching for un-regulated and un-approved posts on Wikipedia... Lol jk

I sometimes hear about: "Sky Gazing" "Watching patterns of smoke from the Chillum" "Prostration Practice". I'd love to see how everyone see's the points of these practices, especially Sky Gazing and also to list some other unique practices they have heard or come by

Great post, can you explain "drops" a bit more. I am familiar with the term "channels" but not drops.

I use to think a lot of "body" stuff was kind of secondary to the mind but I am starting to realize the body/mind difference may be a total illusion. In Buddhism in particular the tantric traditions we have "inner winds" and in Zen obviously the style of sitting, chanting, walking is all very yogic. Body/mind is the phrase for correct Zazen posture or something similar as it's not about mind or body but something beyond duality. In Daoism what would this area of study be? Look forward to being educated

Some things have recently happened that have given me the insight of how I will probably feel when I am on my death bed dying Lol And I have decided that truly what lays at the heart of my life and meaning is finding out "What the heck is going on here!" I am planning to check out places like Gyobutsuji Zen Monastery & Sanshin Zen Community both of which are in America for Zen practice. For Theravada most likely continue with Ajahn Chah places but maybe take in a Mahasi or Pa Auk associated center or do the big trip to Burma! Who knows! Maybe even check out the famous Chogyal Namkhai Norbu! All in all I wanted to thank the great community here. I may be back some day! But for now I really want to get to the heart of it all as I know that's where it is for me. Be well everyone!

Well said.

Welcome