Giles

No. It's not my opinion, it's my first-hand experience. I just sat on a cushion for a minimum of 20 hours per week practicing a somewhat uncommon type of meditation and I'm aware of many hundreds, if not possibly thousands, of others who did the same and got the same result (albeit, ultimately, through Grace...). I'd describe it as enlightening. 🤣 I thought I'd just stated that. Sorry that it appears that I was unclear. Jolly good. I'm pleased to hear that! 👍🏻 👍🏻

I actually find your skepticism in the face of no personal evidence to be very healthy, Maddie. 👍🏻 Nobody in their right mind would believe most of the nonsense that's written about it... Incidentally, agnosticism will get someone a lot further, a lot faster than if their head is filled with concepts, in the event that they're seeking enlightenment.

Absolutely.., it is indeed a very high bar if you choose to believe that this Buddhist definition is accurate in the absence of your own direct 1st-hand experience... 🤣

That's interesting because (merely IMO/IME) enlightenment is pretty common & reasonably easy to "attain". (It only took me about 18 months after stumbling across a method that actually works). What's incredibly unusual (again merely IMO/IME) is to stumble across someone who's managed to get on with having a normal, healthy life afterwards. In other words, the vast majority cannot even begin to "chop wood & carry water" afterwards. Furthermore, it's just struck me that most of those obsessed with the quest for enlightenment, really struggle(d) to "chop wood and carry water" in the first instance anyway.

Hi Paul, The only person that I've ever come across on this forum who might (NB might...) tick your particular boxes for you is "Rudi", although, personally, I've no idea whether he's actually "authentic" or not because I've never met the guy in person nor even tried out one of his online courses. I believe that this is website: https://authenticneigong.com/ Good Luck with your search! 🙏 Best wishes, Giles

Hi @dachengchuan. 👋🏻 Are you still based in London? Would you still like to meet more dao masters in person?

A warm Hello to you too David! 👋🏻😊 In terms of Daaoist standing practices, I suggest that you buy a copy of "The Way of Energy" by Sifu Lam Kam Chuen. I have checked its availability on amazon.com for dispatch to Serbia and, unfortunately, it will cost you over US$53.93 to buy it and to have it shipped to you ($14.95 for the book + a staggering $38.98 in amazon global shipping fees 😮). However, this is considerably cheaper than having lessons from a teacher directly, and, in my own experience, it was certainly an effective way to learn because when I actually eventually got round to attending Sifu's Lam's classes in person, he didn't need to correct my posture. I should add that I used the book in conjunction with the videos of the practice that you can locate on YouTube. Here is Day 1 of the 10 day series: As far as breathing is concerned, while doing this practice, it should be entirely natural. I hope that this information is of use to you on your journey. 🙏 Warmest regards, Giles

Translator’s Introduction The Ashtavakra Gita is an ancient spiritual document of great purity and power. Pure, because it is relentlessly one-pointed. Every word is aimed at triggering Self-realization--no suggestions for self-improvement, no rules for moral behavior, no practical wisdom for daily life. Powerful, because the mere reading—or repeated reading--of it can be enough to send a ripe mind reeling into Truth. Little is known about the Ashtavakra Gita. Ashtavakra is a name that appears in Indian lore, but almost certainly he did not write it. The author, likely an anonymous sage, merely uses the characters of Ashtavakra and King Janaka to set up a classic dialogue between guru and disciple. It quickly becomes a guru-guru dialogue, however, because after the first salvo of wisdom from Ashtavakra, Janaka realizes his true Self, and from then on they get into an advaitic jam session of the highest sort. Because of this, some translators have done away with the dialogue format and attributed everything to Ashtavakra. Indeed, since all the verses of the Ashtavakra Gita exist at the highest possible level of spoken wisdom, it would appear meaningless to attribute some to the teacher and some to his newly-enlightened disciple. There is nevertheless a story line set up in the Ashtavakra Gita, and for me it goes something like this: Chapter 1: It all starts when King Janaka asks the sage Ashtavakra how he can attain Knowledge, detachment, liberation. Ashtavakra tells him. Chapter 2: It works! Upon hearing Ashtavakra’s words Janaka realizes his True Nature. Enraptured, he describes the joy and wonder of his new state. Chapter 3: Ashtavakra is delighted for Janaka but sees inconsistencies. He fires off a series of confrontational verses about attachment to worldly pleasure. Chapter 4: Janaka asserts that the Lord of the Universe can do as he pleases. Chapter 5: Ashtavakra does not disagree, but in a terse four verses points to the next step—dissolution. Chapter 6: Janaka says “I know that already,” matching him in style and number of verses. Chapter 7: Unable to leave it at that, however, Janaka goes on to further describe his enlightened state. Chapter 8: Still hearing too much “I” in Janaka’s language, Ashtavakra instructs him in the subtleties of attachment and bondage. Chapter 9: Ashtavakra continues to describe the way of true detachment. Chapter 10: Ashtavakra hammers away at the folly of desire—no matter how elevated or subtle. Chapter 11: Ashtavakra further describes the state of desirelessness to which he points. Chapter 12: Janaka replies by describing the state of timeless stillness in which he now finds himself. Chapter 13: Janaka, having been instructed by Ashtavakra in Chapter One to “be happy,” reports that he indeed is. Chapter 14: Janaka then summarizes his exalted state with calm indifference. Chapter 15: Impressed but not through teaching, Ashtavakra relentlessly points to the vast emptiness of Self. Chapter 16: Ashtavakra attacks the futility of effort and knowing. Chapter 17: Ashtavakra describes the nature of one who is truly free. Chapter 18: Finally, Ashtavakra hits him with everything he’s got—100 verses of pure non-duality. If this doesn’t do it, nothing will. Chapter 19: It works! Janaka no longer describes his enlightened state, but can speak only in questions revealing absence. Chapter 20: In a final flurry of questions pointing only at their own meaninglessness, Janaka burns off the last vestiges of personhood and enters dissolution. He ends with: “No more can be said.” Ashtavakra smiles, nods approvingly, and says no more. Bart Marshall August 2005

Translator’s Preface In Vietnam when I was twenty-one a hand grenade or mortar round--the circumstances made it difficult to determine which--blew me into a clear and brilliant blackness. For the next thirty-seven years that glimpse of infinite emptiness, so intimate, so familiar, kept me looking almost obsessively in esoteric books and far corners for an explanation of myself. Then, “suddenly,” the veil, as they say, was lifted. A few months after that occurrence, as my interest in reading began to slowly return, I found myself drawn mainly to the sayings and writings of old masters. What did Buddha have to say? What did Christ? Lao Tsu? Patanjali? I wanted to read them with new eyes. Oddly, in those thirty-seven years of seeking, I had never read the Ashtavakra Gita, and indeed was barely aware of its existence. Then recently, as I sat at the bedside of a dying friend and teacher, another friend placed it in my hands. I opened it and was astonished. Here, in one concise volume, was all that needed to be said. I immediately acquired other versions and poured over them. Each had its good points, but none of them spoke the way my inner ear was hearing. The literal transcriptions from Sanskrit were valuable as reference but required patient study to understand. English translations by Indian scholars made the meaning more clear, but tended to lack a certain rhythm, poetry and nuance of language I felt need of. Translations by native English-speaking scholars were better in this regard, but sometimes ranged too far from the original, or just didn’t hit the notes I was hearing. Then one day I wrote down a verse the way I heard it. I liked what I read. It was infectious. I couldn’t stop. There are a few conventions worth mentioning. Capitalized words like Self, Awareness, God, Absolute, Consciousness, Knowledge, Witness, That, This, Void, Light, All, One, Everything, Nothing, No-thing, Being, Me, You, It, Himself, Bliss, Supreme, Unity and Truth are used as synonyms, although sometimes in context subtle—and ultimately non-existent--differences may be intended. These words all point to What Is—the true nature of Reality. The words universe, world, creation and illusion are synonyms referring to the apparently real (but not) manifest world of physical objects, people, personal self, ideas, thoughts, gods, knowledge, concepts, myths, religions, history, memories, emotions, time, space—everything we perceive through the mind and senses, including the mind and senses themselves. Maya. Synonymous words and phrases used to denote a “person” who has realized Self, who knows Truth, who perceives the Real include: wise one, desireless one, liberated one, liberated soul, great soul, sage and yogi. - Bart Marshall - Source: http://www.holybooks.com/ashtavakra-gita/

The bottom line, in my own experience:

See also my ppd and:

There was also the attempted eradication, by assimilation, of Paganism & the invention of Satan & Hell.

Quoted for truth. <thumbs up>

In some systems, in which enlightenment & the end of sufferering are the goal, the pursuit of siddhis is considered to be a dead end...

While I'm loathe to cite Wikipedia, nonetheless you, @NaturaNaturans, may find this useful: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism

Could this thread be moved into the new Abrahamic forum please @steve / @Trunk?

little fluffy clouds driven across azure skies stratospheric ghosts

Interesting: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soteriology Thank you @Apech

Like Tiny Tom.

The analogy is a straw man argument @kakapo.

Light veiled by their shade. Still the Sun illuminates, vanishing Shadows.

Not necessarily. Greyson, B. (2021). After. St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

Lest Spring bloom in vain: Rainbows 🌈 obscured by the fogs, Light veiled by their shade.

Might just be cyclical..?

Thanks for the direct link @Kaihe 🙏🏻 This practice (like Dzogchen) is cetainly a method that might enable some people to enter the Flow State.