anshino23

Wow, that's intense... when you say 3 months to recover what does that refer to exactly? Like your energetic sensitivity or that you were immensely exhausted for 3 whole months because of kidney deficiency? Haha. Yeah makes sense it would have more that effect when the Qi is already thick and therefore has deeper effects on the vessel - and to accomodate those changes, fuel is needed. At least based on my latest understanding from Damo's teachings the thicker and denser the Qi is the deeper it effects the vessel - first the skin and nervous system level, then the tissue level and later the Xi Sui Jing level where it goes deeply into the bone marrow washing, brain cleaning and even affecting the center of our bodies and the glandular system.

@Vajra Fist: I stand corrected! Freeform knows what he's talking about. Go with his advice, it works

It comes down to efficiency. If you're doing building practices where you're trying to build Qi, your body will require more fuel. Simple as that. You'll know through your practice however as your appetite should increase if the practice works in the right way. I saw in the group that he didn't recommend doing Qi building practices when fasting, but instead to rest and let the body work on cleansing. If you're used to fasting and feel good doing that, I think that's fine, but if you continue with training you might find things change and the body will need to eat more to help with its development. Just be flexible, that's all.

In Damo's words, if you want genuine results, you should probably dedicate at least two hours per day to training. He covers this in this YouTube Q/A. Here's his full explanation:

Hope that helps?

If you want to train his system, join the monthly subscription at damomitchell.com. It's a bargain of a price for what you get.

I think one of the hardest things for most of the adept semen retainers will be being humble enough to admit that they don't know (humility as freeform puts it). The trouble with the SR practice outside of a genuine or authentic tradition is that most get very high on their own energy (or frankly disturbance of their own energy due to suppression) which will make them overconfident in their abilities and lack the discernment required to ascertain their mental and physical state from an objective angle. On top of this it certainly does not help that most guys that frequent the semen retention subreddit or come here with a history of semen retention practice do not have a partner. A partner or someone close to you like a family member can be incredbily important as a way of holding up a mirror to your own internal state. Your partner will see if the practice is actually benefitting you or harming you in subtle ways we may not recognise. Things like getting angry at small things, or being less loving and caring, more or less impulsive and so forth. There was a reason that the practices which accompanied stilling the essence was done in secrecy and with the help of an overseeing Teacher - someone to make sure you kept your mind in a particular way and who would test and see if things were going the right way. And usually done in retreat or at the very least at a period and place in your life where you don't have many added stresses. Additionally the teacher would test to see if you were even ready for the intensity of practice that you think you were based on deeper insights into your energetic situation or whether more of a foundation had to be built. I hope @angstg will look into finding an authentic teacher and take the advice in this thread into his heart for reflection. Wishing him the best of luck.

The 4th sign (D) at the magpie bridge.

This is something that was recently covered by Damo in a course on the MCO - so perhaps @freeform can shed some more light on what's going on for you and whether it's not some sort of Qi deviation happening.

Have you considered watching the video? Especially now that it's freely available and doesn't require registration or anything? He explains exactly what he means by that in the video.

I think you have to take into account his disclaimer or "READ FIRST" document introducing the course: In other words, don't expect anyone here to be able to tell you the results of the practice straight off the bat It's a long process and requires a lot of foundation work to be done.

I'm honestly amazed at this generous offering by Damo - truly remarkable.

Yes, it's great

Yes. There's lots of cheap and mid-priced puerh and oolongs that taste great! But they're not the same as the high priced and special teas you can get with special connections... It is the same with herbs. There are masters and lineages that access specific herbs that are treated and cared for in a very special way and are used medicinally and are increibdly expensive and unable to be found unless you have the direct or right connections. Unfortunately just the way it is. I hope you enjoyed it

A great Wuyi rock oolong (大紅袍 - Big Red Robe) is next level. My dad managed to get some for me from one of his PhD students who has a father who is connected in the high echelons in Chinese government. That's the only way you can access that type of tea. Apparently they have guards in front of their tea plantations protecting it 24/7. And wow does it pack a punch of Cha Qi. It's pretty incredible. Some amazing pu erhs too. But for special ocassions only.

Oh yes, almost forgot. Damo Mitchell also just released an online Taijiquan program: https://damomitchell.com/taiji-program/

Adam Mizner - https://discovertaiji.com/en

At its lowest level, it is following right conduct and morality, rules and regulations (to ensure no harm is done). At this stage it's like an amateur trying to emulate a professional, while it is similar it is not the same. At its highest level it is what flows naturally out of one who has entered the Stream or the Way of the Dao. Thus, the only way to make perfect decisions is to become fully awakened to the Dao. To become fully awakened to the Dao, one must walk the Path. You may enjoy this video on the topic of 'Effortless Living' or the practice of non-doing (Wu-Wei).

I think the reasons for not holding spiritual teachers to "saintly" or higher levels are: (1) A lack of exposure to genuine Dharmic teachings either in this lifetime or in prior lifetimes thus making one's initial asssessment of the abilities and the level of development possible within the authentic process of mind-body cultivation very very limited. (2) Seeing the maxim of Everything is Mind-Only as just some theoretical Buddhist or Daoist fanciful way of describing existence - instead of an actual experiential realm that the Buddhas and authentically enlightened masters reach. (3) Juxtaposing the developments of normal practictioners (even life-time practictioners) with those of authentically enlightened people. There's a false-comparison at play which says, "If this is what normal practictioners can develop, then that must be it. That must be the end of it. There's not more to it! I've meditated 60 years!" along with "We can't expect our spiritual teachers to fulfill some idealised delusional version of reality and should just accept that it's not really possible". All of the above are simply just clear signs that we're truly in the Dharma Ending Age where genuine miracles and authentic realizations will be thrown under the bus as "superstition" and "primitive thinking" and with the inevitable subsequent conclusion that we should "lower the bar" on spiritual teachers and their spiritual teachings.

Very nice. If you like that perhaps the following videos would be of interest to you as well

I think everyone here can agree that we love genuine authentic Teachers - whether they be called Guru's, Sifu's or Master's or whether they come from Europe, China or India, it doesn't matter. An authentic Teacher/Guru/Master is priceless beyond imagining - I am forever grateful for all teachers and enlightened masters who help people on their Path - as teaching and guiding others on the path is a truly difficult task to undertake and has huge implications and karmic repercussions for all involved. I think the main point was simply that the Path is beset with obstacles - and that every part of the way is filled with pitfalls - and those very pitfalls can entice you to become a "Guru" or take the role of a Teacher and consider yourself enlightened before you've even gotten your foot in the doorstep so to speak.

Who is right? Who is wrong? How can I choose? So many doors - surely, they must all be right. This is the very reason it has been called the Dharma Ending Age - where the light of the Dharma hangs by a thread. You may argue ... "no, that surely cannot be the case! It obviously is not the case - look how many practice meditation, look how many traditions and paths are open and look how everything is shown and available to everyone". But if you trust (here it comes again) the words of the master's and feel within the depths of your bones and your heart - this is verily the case. The mind will continue to spin circles endlessly. I can only say follow the wisdom in your heart. Some don't have this sort of connection and so will have to go through endless paths until they do find something genuine. It's not wasted time - it's just like calibrating a meter. Unfortunately everything is based on cause and effect - you cannot just simply undo causes from beginningless time. Even Milarepa didn't become fully enlightened due to the compassion of Dakmema leaving a slight trace of karma still to be extinquished. Cause and effect is unfathomable to those without enlightenment, so is merit. The Buddha and a gazillion other higher beings can foresee the exact time of your complete enlightenment. Some of the prajna-paramita sutras contain endless strings of numbers. Are they just deluded? Crazy? You be the judge. If you do not resonate with what the Diamond Sutra said above or what Master Nan is pointing toward, there's really not much to say as it is pointing to something beyond provisional teachings, beyond discrimination and beyond tradition and sect. It's not a comparative analysis of the different traditions - it's not a result of cognition. That was the very point I was trying to express. Why was Mahākāśyapa the only one that smiled when the Buddha raised the flower for all to see at the assembly? The highest merit is realizing the Dao - full and complete enlightenment.

The teachings of Master Nan and his students' subsequent similar relay of his teachings have always given me the impression that prajna is something closely related to merit - and there's a prajna eye - that can only be cultivated through lifetimes of effort on the Path. It is something like a radar - or a frequency you tune into. It's what allows you to see when something is genuine or authentic or not. But it's not fully "developed"/"uncovered" until you're completely enlightened. At least the way I understand it. It is the same type of Prajna that allows you to understand why you feel immediate resonance with something like the Diamond Sutra, as explained in chapter 6 of the Sutra: Subhuti respectfully asked the lord Buddha, “Most Honored One! In the future, if a person hears this teaching, even if it is only a phrase or sentence, is it possible for that person to have a true faith and knowledge of Enlightenment awaken in their mind?” “Without a doubt, Subhuti. Even 500 years after the Enlightenment of this Buddha there will be some who are virtuous and wise, and while practicing compassion and charity, will believe in the words and phrases of this Sutra and will awaken their minds purely. After they come to hear these teachings, they will be inspired with belief. This is because when some people hear these words, they will have understood intuitively that these words are the truth.” “But you must also remember, Subhuti, that such persons have long ago planted the seeds of goodness and merit that lead to this realization. They have planted the seeds of good deeds and charity not simply before one Buddhist temple, or two temples, or five, but before hundreds of thousands of Buddhas and temples. So when a person who hears the words and phrases of this Sutra is ready for it to happen, a pure faith and clarity can awaken within their minds.” A beautiful part of The Diamond Sutra Explained by Master Nan Huai Chin (a book I highly recommend - it is a masterpiece IMHO) comes to mind that explains the prajna wisdom part a bit more:

Did you perhaps read freeform wrong here? I actually thought he was just using it as an example - the deluded practictioner might as well consider himself Jesus or Padmasambhva or Ali Baba the Great - and that his divine love is a gift to all - including his base (untransformed) desires being expressed as part of that - totally oblivious to its destructive effects. I don't think freeform was speaking specifically about the actual Sai Baba? I could be wrong though - just not how I read it

Thank you - that makes great sense. I think the evidence of their attainment thing could be misunderstood though - because transmission by itself is not necessarily a high attainment as I think you've brought up before. So what would be a way of showing evidence of their attainment from a spiritual teacher? I mean feeling a loving state or getting Zifagong by itself is something that can be stimulated through suggestion and the strong want of having something happen - often also accompanied by emotional fervor not only on part of the student in question but also all the other students - so there's like a group-mind resonance happening which makes it even more potent. At least that was my experience. So as an example bunch of students Zifagonging around a room in front of the master - with the master waving his hands in weird ways or sitting still in supposed samadhi - but the development the students go through - not really anything, their health still declining, long-term health issues not going away through the practice, no real "gong" developed. When the master then works on the student one-on-one, nobody really feels anything, but he tells you afterwards, "thousands years of karmas have just been eradicated and pulled out of you and into my own body", which I then have to burn out through Tummo, etc. So yeah that on top of a bunch of experiences of Zifagong and then the belief that it's "divine intervention" or "the Divine Mother Goddess" working through you, so you feel immensely holy and blessed and like a wonderfully special and select individual. So it really is tricky IME. That's why I love the physiological attainments/milestones at each step of the way within an authentic tradition - because they can't be faked.