Lucky7Strikes

For conversation sakes, the modern Advaita teachers teach a different approach to nondual philosophy than the more traditional sense of "achieving" enlightenment. But that's really besides the point. To anyone reading, please post! This is a serious concern today as more and more "enlightened" Advaita teachers are emerging today.

Although I somewhat agree with you, I think one should be hesitant in quickly dismissing the claims of the Neo-Advaita teachings as mere plagiarism or misunderstanding. They do carry the basic idea of traditional ideas of non dualism that everything is as is. So what is the need for cultivation then? Isn't non dualism at bottom a totally nihilist view in itself? You mention an interesting point on anything being universal and absolute. Lol...the hell does anything being absolute mean anyway, right? Instead of criticizing the teachers (which is a very valid thing to do), I believe one should attack the ideas they present foremost. To the Neo-Advaita teachers, their actions are totally justifiable and in accords with their own teachings. Well, if you could call it teachings...

To see and not see...hmm...well that just doesn't mean anything. And my guess is that's why it means a whole lot. Annnnd what I just said also doesn't mean anything. Shoot. . You can look at it from a different angle. You cannot ONLY see because there are things not seen, and you cannot ONLY not see, because things are already/to be seen. But this also doesn't make much sense....

Hi everyone! I've never posted on this site before. Only read through it on various topics. I have been practicing Kunlun for the past 8 months. Met Max twice. But I recently realized that no physical spiritual method can be truly beneficial as long as I have the ego. Here's my 2 cents. I hope the following discussions don't go around Kunlun too much, but other practices as well. I just relate it to Kunlun because that has been my main practice. It turned out to be a lot longer than I thought, please bear with me. Like most have said before me, Kunlun as a method is powerful, but taught in a misleading way. This has been the consensus ever since the practice was introduced. Not many people liked how Chris sold it or how it was all for the "bliss." In fact, one of the reasons Max said he was quitting was because he realized that many are drawn to the pleasurable side effects and not to its ultimate purpose. I dare say this is the problem in many Eastern "spiritual" practices including Yoga, Tai chi, Kung Fu etc. The benefits are there but I believe the practices themselves mislead the students. They end up feeding the ego when certain powers and abilities are attained by the practitioner. Or more often, damaging the ego when the practitioner experiences frustration in not being able to measure up to the practices themselves. The great mistake many practitioners make therefore is beginning with the attitude of the selfish ego still intact. Most do so with everything else in life. Yet, looking through the past messages of so-called enlightened teachers (I'm speaking mainly about the likes of Ramana Maharshi or even Krishnamurti. Be happy to object.) or the holy scriptures of various religions throughout history, I found that the questions, "Who are you?" "Who is it that seeks?" are highly emphasized beyond any certain methods (Or in the case of "religious" texts, to give oneself totally to the supreme God/Tao/Brahman/etc. by realizing that one is already one with It). What does this have to do with Kunlun? In my experience, Kunlun powerfully eradicates this sense of the ego and the self-image as traditionally identified with the mind-body. The mind-body consciousness one is accustomed to is forcefully stripped away because the practice is so demanding. The habit of having a ego however will try to hold on to the sense of "I." Consequently, its past confusions and contradictions will show as/become a victim to negative entities, demons, visions, and so forth. I think this is where people start having a wide variety of experiences. Max does encourage this by telling one to surrender. This is nonetheless as contradicting as trying to subdue rising thoughts in meditation through more thoughts. Kunlun is powerful enough to penetrate the grasping of the ego on the body, but I believe that it will never lead to liberation or even continual bliss for this very reason: Anything done from the perspective of an imagined "doer" will eventually lead to more and more struggles. I'm not sure if Max even recognizes this because he has become so powerful and has had such a unique life. Although I really don't doubt his good intentions towards others, (and I think he has realized this too as can be noted in his decision to stop teaching) Kunlun can easily be destructive and misused. This is not to say practices like meditation or Tai Chi should be limited only to those who feel completely secure in it. My take on many of these practices is that they are there to HEAL all the accumulations one has built up from the past from the false identification with an imaginary entity called the "I." What is happening in many cases with these practices in modern culture is that people are adding more to the ego believing that they will become like the guru/teacher. The methods are supposed to help find the person find his own true path through life in general. A lot of people are taking the wrong medicine or doing the whole process backwards because these methods have become so commercialized. Essentially, there should be liberation from the ego identification BEFORE any sort of healing can take place in its true form. Everything will become absolutely effortless in that state of mind. Think of the Zen master who is totally himself at all times. I would advise anyone who is new to Kunlun or any art to totally give into self-inquiry before deciding on a path (or even a life purpose...actually, is there a difference?). Break yourself down. Who are you? Your thoughts? Your body? It is the most relevant question not only to the members of this community but to mankind. As long as one is willing to be totally sincere and honest in that search (which I think can happen as quickly as telling someone that "it is as it is" or "everything's simply in motion"), I don't think it won't be too hard. Well, thank you for reading! One final note: I think there was a very wise man on this forum named fatherpaul who always pointed out the hypocrisy of many of the "practitioners" in these simple words and more: Who is it that practices?

Starving the ego may have been effective back in the day when people had simpler lives. In today's world where everyone's egos have been so developed and victimized, the effort will most likely conjure up more negativity. Even Zen practices may be easily misinterpreted when done from the perspective of the "I." I think the process happens automatically when one instantly realizes the paradox of the ego's existence and activities. Many people on the forum are still struggling with the concept no matter how much power they attain through the practices. Is this due to Karma or some divine will? Ha ha...I don't know.

Back to the Truth - 5000 years of Advaita It's got a lot of different takes on it from various sources. 5000 years of sources...

I agree with you that the Neo-Advaita teachings are too...simplified and in many ways incomplete. But maybe that simplicity is more suitable for today's world, since there are already so many people of different backgrounds seeking spiritual attainment. And I think the sheer amount of information available today can easily become a burden for someone who becomes interested in spirituality and religion (as it did to me). In addition to that, a lot of the ancient teachings were arranged in a certain way because they were taught to people of different social status/level of spiritual maturity. All this = confusion, frustration, more damage to the self image, "screw it, it's all bogus." I see things somewhat differently regarding the idea of what today's "beginners" should be taught. A lot of people already have very tense muscles and these get tenser and tenser until the practitioner refuses to accept the idea that there is no personal ego because so much effort has been put in. I mean if I put all this effort into achieving a certain yogic posture for the past 2-3 years, believing that it will empower me, and someone tells me that there is no "me" I'd be pissed off and just go into straight denial. Imho I think the basis for most spiritual practices should be the search into the entity of the seeker in the first place. It just makes more relevant sense today. And just as a side note, my knowledge of the scriptures and traditional teachings are no where near some of the people on the site. So please correct me if I'm wrong in my very sweeping generalizations.

Hi everyone! I've never posted on this site before. Only read through it on various topics including Kunlun. I have been practicing the method for the past 8 months. Met Max twice. Here's my 2 cents. It turned out to be a long post. Still I hope people will end up reading it. Like most have said before me, the method is powerful, but taught in a misleading way. This has been the consensus ever since the practice was introduced. Not many people liked how Chris sold it or how it was all for the "bliss." In fact, one of the reasons Max said he was quitting was because he realized that many are drawn to the pleasurable side effects and not to its ultimate purpose. I dare say this is the problem in many Eastern "spiritual" practices including Yoga, Tai chi, Kung Fu etc. The benefits are there but I believe the practices themselves mislead the students. They end up feeding the ego when certain powers and abilities are attained by the practitioner. Or more often, damaging the ego when the practitioner experiences frustration in not being able to measure up to the practices themselves. The great mistake many practitioners make therefore is beginning with the attitude of the selfish ego still intact. Most do so with everything else in life. Yet, looking through the past messages of so-called enlightened teachers (I'm speaking mainly about the likes of Ramana Maharshi or even Krishnamurti. Be happy to object.) or the holy scriptures of various religions throughout history, I found that the questions, "Who are you?" "Who is it that seeks?" are highly emphasized beyond any certain methods (Or in the case of religious texts, to give oneself totally to the supreme God/Tao/Brahman/etc. by realizing that one is already one with It). What does this have to do with Kunlun? In my experience, Kunlun powerfully eradicates this sense of the ego and the self-image as traditionally identified with the mind-body. The mind-body consciousness one is accustomed to is forcefully stripped away because the practice is so demanding. The habit of having a ego however will try to hold on to the sense of "I." Consequently, its past confusions and contradictions will show as/become a victim to negative entities, demons, visions, and so forth. I think this is where people start having a wide variety of experiences. Max does encourage this by telling one to surrender. This is nonetheless as contradicting as trying to subdue rising thoughts in meditation through more thoughts. Kunlun is powerful enough to penetrate the grasping of the ego on the body, but I believe that it will never lead to liberation or even continual bliss for this very reason: Anything done from the perspective of an imagined "doer" will eventually lead to more and more struggles. I'm not sure if Max even recognizes this because he has become so powerful and has had such a unique life. Although I really don't doubt his good intentions towards others, (and I think he has realized this too as can be noted in his decision to stop teaching) Kunlun's can easily be destructive and misused. This is not to say practices like meditation or Tai Chi should be limited only to those who feel completely secure in it. My take on many of these practices is that they are there to HEAL all the accumulations one has built up from the past from the false identification with an imaginary entity called the "I." What is happening in many cases with these practices in modern culture is that people are adding more to the ego believing that they will become like the guru/teacher. In a sense, a lot of people are taking the wrong medicine or doing it backwards. Essentially, there should be liberation from the ego identification BEFORE any sort of healing can take place in its true form. Everything will become absolutely effortless in that state of mind. I would advise anyone who is new to Kunlun or any art to totally give into self-inquiry before deciding on a path (or even a life purpose...actually, is there a difference?). Break yourself down. Who are you? Your thoughts? Your body? It is the most relevant question not only to the members of this community but to mankind. As long as one is willing to be totally sincere and honest in that search (which I think can happen as quickly as telling someone that "it is as it is" or "everything's simply in motion"), I don't think it won't be too hard. Well, thank you for reading! One final note: I think there was a very wise man on this forum named fatherpaul who always pointed out the hypocrisy in many of the "seekers" in simple words. Who is it that practices?

Hi, I'm just interested in the various ways toward the so-called stage of enlightenment. This is a great forum by the way.