senseless virtue

Sleep deprivation certaintly is harmful if your body isn't detoxed, purified, and energetically wired through deep meditation to withstand the effects of reduced sleep.

Dr. Yan Xin and others who have disappeared form the limelight have already have left public teachings behind, haven't they? Like @freeform said above, the masters of sufficient caliber know the karmic conditions whether their continued public presence and teaching would benefit people or not.

Now that's a stretch if I ever saw any. What I meant was obvious: The lineage holders are not concerned over whether their styles find popular support or government approval. If it's time to return to obscurity or the style to get lost in time, then so what. It's not a big deal.

Fragrant Qigong already was a secret style strictly passed from one practitioner to another inheriting it before Tian Ruisheng made it public. It would only be natural that it becomes a secret and elusive style once again.

Look. You are getting way over your head when you seek complicated theories to satiate your hunger for rational explanations. If you suspect something is bad for you, then avoid it. Problem solved.

Everything is the manifestation of the mind, even the physical body. The body is just some established karma already in action, so it will have natural course if it's not changed. Following is reproduced from here: https://thrangumonastery.org/about/kagyu-lineage/naropa/ Eventually, Naropa saw Tilopa sitting on a very high cliff. He went over to him and prostrated, again requesting Tilopa to be his teacher. Tilopa responded by saying, "If you were really desperate and determined to learn the teachings, you would obey my order to jump off this cliff without any hesitation because you would be able to understand how important it is to follow the commands of your master." Naropa jumped off the high cliff and fell to the ground. All his bones and joints were broken into many, many pieces. Tilopa went down to Naropa and inquired, "Are you experiencing any pain?" Naropa replied, "The pain is killing me!" This is how Naropa got his name. ("Na" in Tibetan means "pain," "ro" means "killing" and "pa" makes the word a noun.) Tilopa gently touched Naropa's body and all his broken bones joined together and were healed.

@angstg Poor kidney health can lead to schizophrenia, paranoia, and other mental health issues because kidneys sustain brain, nerves, and essential vitality. If your kidneys are already in poor condition somehow, then your sexual indulgences and leaking energy may agitate the pre-existing condition towards a pathology where your reasoning process turns aberrant. These are much more likelier explanations than your outlandish speculation so far.

It would absolutely be a challenge and direct blow against the credibility of the CCP and their justice department. It may make one question the effectiveness of the method, but it mainly casts doubt on the competence of the practitioner. I think some of the rumors brought up in here earlier are exactly for this latter purpose, i.e. character assassination. I agree. Qi is energy, karma is mind. Energetic workings can bypass some karmic issues, but not indefinitely. Deep karmic issues can only be healed by personal wisdom practices that go beyond energy healing capabilities. Cultivation masters and enlightened beings can choose to extend their physical bodies indefinitely, but that is shunned as unorthodox conduct.

I haven't read any commentaries, but I quickly looked up some resources: https://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm https://terebess.hu/english/hsin.html In the last link you may have to look around to find some commentaries that aren't mentioned on the front page.

I am quite surprised how some members are readily advocating the likelyhood of Tian Ruisheng's untimely death. There have also been rumors of Qigong Grandmaster Dr. Yan Xin's death which are equally dubious. While either is not an impossibility, let's consider another perspective. Fragrant Qigong is one of the styles that got really popular during the Chinese Qigong craze, which was aided by the fact that group gatherings make the practice much more effective for healing. Tian Ruisheng used to conduct mass events held in stadiums with thousands of practitioners. The booming and open Qigong culture period ended in China when the Chinese Communist Party basically enforced a suppression of all Qigong styles that could gather huge crowds or didn't readily conform with the party doctrine about whatever was official "knowledge" about internal arts, as we can see from the contemporary reports of even Daoist temples directly reporting to certain offices of CCP and that Beijing draws up plans to outlaw criticism of traditional Chinese medicine per Guardian and other news outlets. If CCP wanted Mr. Ruisheng to stop his public career and popularity, then what would be easier than simply state that he is dead and defame both the family name and the style's ethical connotations through a fraud allegation? Mr. Ruisheng is the lineage holder and therefore the most advanced practitioner the style has. I doubt he has any practical or personal need to interfere with the pettiness in Chinese politics or to resist falsehoods cast against him. There is very little gain in there against a huge political machine that is known to harshly violate against dissidents. Bottom line: I wouldn't take anything CCP reports at face value, especially when the reports concern topics sensitive to them.

In his own words, at the age of 100, Wang Ji Wu describes his principles of living a healthy life: The heart is calm and quiet as still water One must always maintain a calm heart even when influenced by the seven emotions; joy, anger, happiness, worry, sadness, fear and surprise. The heart must remain as calm as still water, never allowing any personal desires to stir up a ripple of disturbance. My thoughts are pure, in spirit I seek to forget myself and transcend the common affairs of the world, keeping my life simple and my desires few. With a clear heart, I do not contend with others or make demands upon the world, but rather seek to contribute what I can for the benefit of all, aiding those in need and protecting those in danger. Without desire one is strong, without desire one is quiet, without desire one may return to what is natural, without desire one returns to the original state. With a heart still like water, from the extreme stillness will spring action, from the void comes that which is alive, yin and yang are in harmony and the qi flows unimpeded. With a heart still like water qi is sufficient and the spirit full. When the qi is sufficient and the spirit is full, the organs functions normally, the blood is nourished, the meridians, nerves, digestion, and circulation are all healthy and the metabolism stimulated. When the factors which prevent aging all are strong, one may prevent illness and live a long healthy life. Humans are holistic beings which are possessed by of a certain vitality. The spirit and flesh are inseparable and form a complicated entity. The human vitality supports, influences, and is responsive to the person as a whole, while the spirit is the leader and controller, the "commander-in-chief" of the being as a whole. Under certain circumstances, it can be said that the spirit "pulls at one hair and the whole body follows" or at the slightest stirring of the spirit the whole being responds, and each movement of the spirit has a real effect on the individual. Therefore I put special emphasis on the spirit as the leader, ever strengthening my resolve to cultivate my spirit, maintain calmness of the heart and become as pure as light without a speck of dust. This is akin to the meaning of a Song Dynasty poet who wrote "to understand the highest virtue," applied to the present time. Better yet, this cultivation of the spirit and the heart will improve the physical constitution of the people, protect their health, and contribute to a long and healthy life. Source: Xing Yi Nei Gong: Health Maintenance and Internal Strength Development, pp. 30-31 compiled and edited by Dan Miller and Tim Cartmell Unique Publications (Oct. 1998), ISBN 0865681740

Discussion about the meaning and importance of emotional regulation in preserving good health and being a competent internal training practitioner. There are a few ways to formulate the seven emotions in terms of Classical Chinese Medicine so here are two good sources giving slightly different points of view. Please note that this is an issue of translation and interpretation: the basic theory connecting to the five element transformations and the respective organ systems is not changed. What Are The Seven Emotions? Suwen (The Book of Plain Questions) says "The five yin-organs of the human body produce five kinds of essential qi, which bring forth joy, anger, grief, worry, and fear." TCM also believes that certain organs are related to emotional activities, i.e. the heart is related to joy, the liver to anger, the spleen to pensiveness, the lungs to anxiety and the kidneys to fear. The emotions are considered the major internal causes of disease in TCM. Emotional activity is seen as a normal, internal, physiological response to stimuli from the external environment. Within normal limits, emotions cause no disease or weakness in the body. However, when emotions become so powerful that they become uncontrollable and overwhelm or possess a person, then they can cause serious injury to the internal organs and open the door to disease. It is not the intensity as much as the prolonged duration or an extreme emotion, which causes damage. While Western physicians tend to stress the psychological aspects of psychosomatic ailments, the pathological damage to the internal organs is very real indeed and is of primary concern of the TCM practitioner. Excess emotional activity causes severe yin-yang energy imbalances, wild aberrations in the flow of blood, qi (vital energy) blockages in the meridians and impairment of vital organ functions. Once physical damage has begun, it is insufficient to eliminate the offending emotion to affect a cure; the prolonged emotional stress will require physical action as well. The emotions represent different human reactions to certain stimuli and do not cause disease under normal conditions. 喜 Joy "When one is excessively joyful, the spirit scatters and can no longer be stored," states the Lingshu (The Vital Axis). However, in TCM, joy refers to a states of agitation or overexcitement, rather than the more passive notion of deep contentment. The organ most affected is the heart. Over-stimulation can lead to problems of heart fire connected with such symptoms as feelings of agitation, insomnia and palpitations. 怒 Anger Anger, as described by TCM, covers the full range of associated emotions including resentment, irritability, and frustration. An excess of rich blood makes one prone to anger. Anger will thus affect the liver, resulting in stagnation of liver qi (vital energy). This can lead to liver energy rising to the head, resulting in headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms. In the long run it can result in high blood pressure and can cause problems with the stomach and the spleen. It is commonly observed that ruddy, "full-blooded" people with flushed faces are more prone than others to sudden fits of rage at the slightest provocation. 憂 Anxiety "When one feels anxiety, the qi (vital energy) is blocked and does not move." Anxiety injures the lungs, which control qi (vital energy) through breathing. Common symptoms of extreme anxiety are retention of breath, shallow, and irregular breathing. The shortage of breath experienced during periods of anxiety is common to everyone. Anxiety also injures the lungs' coupled organ, the large intestine. For example, over-anxious people are prone to ulcerative colitis. 思 Pensiveness In TCM, pensiveness or concentration is considered to be the result of thinking too much or excessive mental and intellectual stimulation. Any activity that involves a lot of mental effort will run the risk of causing disharmony. The organ most directly at risk is the spleen. This can lead to a deficiency of spleen qi (vital energy), in turn causing worry and resulting in fatigue, lethargy, and inability to concentrate. 悲 Grief The lungs are more directly involved with this emotion. A normal and healthy expression of grief can be expressed as sobbing that originates in the depths of the lungs - deep breathes and the expulsion of air with the sob. However, grief that remains unresolved and becomes chronic can create disharmony in the lungs, weakening the lung qi (vital energy). This in turn can interfere with the lung's function of circulating qi (vital energy) around the body. 恐 Fear Fear is a normal and adaptive human emotion. But when it becomes chronic and when the perceived cause of the fear cannot be directly addressed, then this is likely to lead to disharmony. The organs most at risk are the kidneys. In cases of extreme fright, the kidney's ability to hold qi (vital energy) may be impaired leading to involuntary urination. This can be a particular problem with children. 驚 Fright Fright is another emotion not specifically related to only one organ. It is distinguished from fear by its sudden, unexpected nature. Fright primarily affects the heart, especially in the initial stages, but if it persists for some time, it becomes conscious fear and moves to the kidneys. Adapted and slightly edited from: http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/sevenemotions.html The Seven Emotions and Qigong The seven human emotions, i.e. joy, anger, worry, anxiety, sorrow, fear, and terror are normal phenomena of life activities which do not induce diseases under normal circumstances. However, abnormal fluctuations in the “seven emotions” may directly affect he functions of the viscera, disturb the circulation of blood and Qi, and thus cause diseases. Being affected by these emotions, the exerciser of Health Qigong will not be able to enter a peaceful and calm state free of distracting thoughts. And the results of the exercise will be naturally affected. It is believed in theories of the traditional Chinese medicine that: “Anger impairs the liver, joy impairs the heart, worry impairs the spleen, sorrow impairs the lungs, and terror impairs the kidneys.” Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “Rage drives Qi upward, overjoy slackens Qi, excessive sorrow consumes Qi, terror collapses Qi, …… and anxiety causes Qi stagnation”. All of these have indicated that the excessive and over-excited “seven emotions” will impair the mental and physical health of man to certain extents. Joy is an embodiment of the happy and delighted mind. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “Joy will harmonize Qi and facilitate both nutrient and defensive Qi.” But over-joy will impair the cardiac Qi, just as Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Ling Shu: Ben Shen says: “The spirit should be hidden and kept from being lost during joy”, indicating that excessive joy will impair the mind. The heart is the core, commander, and grand master of all the five Zang viscera. It is the key to the health of the body. By practicing Health Qigong, we can regulate the blood-pumping function of the heart and enrich cardiac Qi. Anger is an embodiment of agitated emotion of man. People get angry and furious when they are discontent and unsatisfied. Generally speaking, proper expression of emotions is important for maintaining the physiological equilibrium of the human body. But persistent rage, fury, and gloominess will cause negative effects on the organism. Gloominess impairs the liver and upheaves liver Qi. Blood will ascend with the upward invasion of liver Qi, congesting the brain and causing discomfort of the body. This will lead to headaches, cerebral distension, hypochondriac pains, chest distress, dry eye syndrome, and even critical symptoms such as faint, hematemesis, and shock. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “All diseases originate from Qi…… Anger will cause adverse rising of Qi and even hematemesis or diarrhea”. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Sheng Qi Tong Tian Lun says: “Excessive anger leads to segregation of QI from the configuration; and blood stagnating in the upper part of the body will cause raged syncope.” The liver controls dispersion and blood storage. It facilitates the functional activities of Qi throughout the body, keeps unobstructed circulation of Qi in the channels of all viscera, stores blood, transports blood, and regulates and controls the blood supply for various parts of the body. Worry means something or someone that causes anxiety. Excessive worries will have negative effects on the organism, impede the movements of Qi, and cause Qi stagnation. It is believed in traditional Chinese medicine that: “anxiety causes Qi stagnation”. It was said in ancient times that: “When the shape is not straight, Qi will not move smoothly. When Qi does not move smoothly, the mind will not be at ease. When the mind is not at ease, spirit will be scattered”, indicating that obstructed circulation of Qi has a direct influence on the spirit of man. Excessive worries will lead to obscure complexion in the spleen and stomach, dyspepsia, insomnia and dreaminess, dizziness, and many other symptoms. Sorrow (depression) is the embodiment of sadness and depression. Excessive sorrow will impair the pulmonary Qi and cause short breath, just as Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Ling Shu: Ben Shen says: “sorrow will block Qi and hamper its circulation” and “deficient pulmonary Qi will cause nasal obstruction and asthenia Qi”. Fear (terror) is the embodiment of apprehensive and fright. Excessive terror will impair the kidneys and cause chaotic Qi in the viscera. Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine: Su Wen: Ju Tong Lun says: “Terror collapses Qi……Terror disorders Qi”. To sum up, all “seven emotions” have important connections with the internal organs of the human body. The “seven emotions” are normal emotional signs of man and do not induce diseases under normal circumstances. And they actually play an important role in maintaining the normal physiological functions of the human body. But over-excitation which exceeds the normal range of regulation of the human body will result in diseases. Exercises of Health Qigong are mainly featured by: Body regulation, breath regulation, and mind regulation. Body regulation is the basis for breath regulation and mind regulation, while mind regulation is the core of the “Three Regulations”. It provides good regulating effects on all the viscera. Therefore the “Three Regulations” have very good influencing, regulating, and controlling effects on the mental state and temperament of man. And the emotional changes of the “seven emotions” will in turn influence the results of Health Qigong exercise. Therefore it is of great importance and value to learn the “seven emotions” and maintain a normal state of the “seven emotions” during the practice of Health Qigong. By doing so we can gradually replenish the “three treasures” of body (essence, Qi, and spirit) to achieve sufficient essence, abundant Qi, and complete spirit and thus truly understand the essentials of health preservation, disease prevention, and body-building. Adapted from here (original source isn't available anymore): https://neigong.net/2011/09/26/the-seven-emotions-and-qigong/

Faith in Mind (Xìnxīn Míng 信心銘) by 3rd Ch'an Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan Attaining the Way is not difficult, Just avoid picking and choosing. If you have neither aversion nor desire, You’ll thoroughly understand. A hair’s breadth difference Is the gap between heaven and earth. If you want it to come forth Let there be no positive and negative. For such comparisons Are a sickness of the mind. Without knowing the Great Mystery Quiet practice is useless. The great perfection is the same as vast space, Lacking nothing, nothing extra. Due to picking up and discarding You will not know it. Don’t chase the conditioned Nor abide in forbearing emptiness. In singular equanimity The self is extinguished. Ceasing movement and returning to stillness, This is complete movement. But only suppress the two aspects How can you realize unity? Not penetrating the one, The two lose their life. Reject existence and you fall into it, Pursue emptiness and you move away from it. With many words and thoughts You miss what is right before you. Cutting off words and thought Nothing remains unpenetrated. Return to the root and attain the essence, For if you chase the light you’ll lose the Way. But if you reflect the light for but a moment, All previous shadows are dispelled. All previous shadows are transformed Because they were all due to delusive views. It’s no use to seek truth, Just let false views cease. Don’t abide in duality And take care not to seek, For as soon as there is yes and no, The mind is lost in confusion. Two comes forth from one, But don’t hold even the one, For when even the one mind is unborn, The myriad things are flawless. Without flaws, without things, With no birth, no mind, Function is lost to conditions, Conditions perish in function, Conditions arise from function, Function is actualized from conditions. You should know that duality Is originally one emptiness, And one emptiness unifies duality, Encompassing the myriad forms. Not perceiving refined or vulgar Is there any prejudice? The Great Tao is vast, With neither ease nor difficulty, If you have biased views and doubts, And move too fast or slow Grasping the world without measure, Then your mind has taken a Wayward path, Let it all naturally drop away And embody no coming or going, In accord with your fundamental nature unite with Tao And wander the world without cares, Being tied by thought runs counter to Truth, But sinking into a daze is not good, Don’t belabor the spirit, Why adhere to intimate or distant? If you want to experience the one vehicle, Don’t malign the senses. For when the senses are not maligned That itself is perfect awakening, The wise do not move, But the ignorant bind themselves. Though one dharma differs not from another The deluded self desires each, Objectifying the mind to realize mind, Is this not a great error? Delusion gives rise to quietness or chaos, But enlightenment has no positive and negative, The duality of existence Is born from false discrimination, Flourishing dreams and empty illusions, Why try to grab them? Gain and loss, true and false, Drop them all in one moment. If the eyes don’t sleep All dreams disappear. If the mind does not go astray The myriad dharmas are but One, And the One encompasses the Mystery. In stillness, conditioned existence is forgotten, And the myriad things are seen equally, Naturally returning to each one’s own nature. When all dharmas are extinguished It is immeasurable. Cease movement and no movement exists, When movement stops there is no cessation. Since two are not manifest How is there even one? Finally, ultimately, Principles do not exist, Bring forth the mind of equanimity And all activities will be put to rest, All doubts extinguished. True faith is upright, And nothing then remains, Nothing is remembered, And the empty brightness shines naturally Without effort of mind. There, not a thought can be measured, Reason and emotion can’t conceive it. In the dharma realm of true thusness There is neither other, nor self, One should hasten to behold it. Just say, “Not two,” For in “not two” all things are united, And there is nothing not included. The wise ones of the ten directions, Have entered this great understanding, An understanding which neither hastens nor tarries. In ten thousand years, a single thought, Not to be found within “existence and non-existence,” But meeting the eye in the ten directions. The smallest is no different from the largest, Eliminating boundaries, The largest is the same as the smallest Not seeing divisions Existence is but emptiness, Emptiness, existence. That not of this principle Must not be preserved. The one is everything, Everything, the one. If your understanding is thus, What is left to accomplish? Faith and mind are undivided, Non-duality is both faith and mind. The way of words is cut off, Leaving no past, no future, no present. https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/faith-mind/ Trans. Andrew Ferguson. From Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings. Reprinted by arrangement with Wisdom Publications, Inc., wisdompubs.org.

You need to take yourself much less seriously. You are not the center of the universe and your sexual habits are not causing the world to fall in turmoil. If you see suffering in the world and feel compassionate about it, then volunteer to help. Soup kitchens and charities need people like yourself.

While I don't know about your book suggestion, I have much warranted pessimism for trying to learn practical skills of anything through books. Book learning handily becomes cute philosophy instead of a workable art.

Shanrendao and Virtue Healing Below is a diagram that shows Wang Fengyi's Shanrendao tradition's insights into the classic Five Elemental Processes and how they connect to different human frameworks. These can also be useful in diagnosis which is clearly presented in the clinical healing cases of Liu Yousheng's magnificent book: Let the Radiant Yang Shine Forth: Lectures on Virtue. For more about Shanrendao and and its virtue healing, see the following page and its compiled links: Resources on Wang Fengyi's Virtue Healing

Sorry for the late reply, but I had a vacation and forgot about this. The tone of your short paragraph felt too unhappy and self-conscious so I deemed it important to make a bit of fun out of it if it would help lighten the mood. Apparently not. I didn't follow the intellectual arguments you wrote concerning realism and such because I am not interested in that conversation.

Didn't Gautama Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path outline much more than meditation? Besides, the essence of Mahayana Buddhism is maturing in wisdom and awareness, not formal meditation. These can be and should be integrated into daily living much more deeply than formal concentrative meditation allows anyway. There are plenty of Buddhist methods still compatible with Fragrant Qigong: mantras, atiyoga, reading sutras, and training perfect conduct are great examples.

How about syncretist? Syncretism may not cover your meaning exactly, but the amalgamation aspect clearly is there. Syncretic practice and syncretic religiosity is usually shunned by really devoutly orthodox people. The prejudiced connotation is that syncretism mixes up practices and confuses meaning by dilution and blandness.

It depends what you measure. In Ch'an/Zen Buddhism calligraphy is styled plain and done without any magic imprinting. What they seem to dig is an art of appraising who has realized awareness and emptiness (shunyata) at the moment of brushing ink. In other words, the master can look on pupils' and other people's calligraphy works and assess how neurotic or self-conscious the author has been.

Neurological issues are connected to kidneys in terms of Classical Chinese Medicine. Do you practice anything strengthening your kidney and jing? Good Zhan Zhuang practice can do wonders to improve these. Good sleep and healthy lifestyle are extremely important for preserving jing and shen like thelerner wrote. Neglecting the basics of healthy living affects health very negatively so I hope you these already well covered.

@Fido How have you been faring buddy? Are feeling better now?

Could you please find some of these sources? Sounds very interesting claim at least. Calligraphy is prized art in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Everyone seems to dig it!

Welcome to men's world: First drop pants, then ascertain if it was alright to proceed.

There is no reliable evidence for Tian Ruisheng's death in the first place.