Neirong

It is a prevalent logical misconception that "Everyone cannot be wrong." Someone must be correct and have all the right answers. The first place to turn to is someone famous, reputable, and has a massive following. Surely, all these people cannot make mistakes? If people follow this practice en masse, it is a worthy teaching. Cults are built on that very principle. Instead of following and seeking truth, people seek an authority figure who will be certain of what "the truth is" and will take care of it for them and would usually acknowledge their naive ideas about cultivation/reality. Esoteric forums and communities rapidly degrade into a circle-jerking activity based on praising each other Ego by agreeing with the terms and words/concepts that form together a collective psychosis or an illusion. It does not even matter what those terms and concepts are; they could be about people having no Ego, loving-kindness, having an immortal soul, or any other idea. The results of Daoist practices are verifiable; the tangible result is death, and everyone dies the same. There is not any known case of a Daoist teacher out there who attained immortality in any shape or form. At least we have not seen any of such teachers/students growing. This flaw goes further down the rabbit hole. Some people cannot even accept the possibility of themselves being wrong and mistaken. Any kind of information that would dismantle their entrenched views and beliefs apart is taken like a malicious lie and gets immediately rejected. People who do this get labeled or attacked (ad hominem). For a delusional being, protecting and reinforcing his delusions is one of the core priorities and requires constant effort. The more time and effort they invest into walking this path, the harder it is to turn back. I am just giving that as an example, but there are millions of those cases. Surely, a lot to pick up if you are trying to discern information. Tao Garden was built in an array formation, it is naturally a place of power that has a particular quality of energy associated with Daoism Egregore and teachings flowing through it. It is same thing as if you would come to a church, or a temple of any religion, where people come and pray regularly. The whole idea of having a place with proper conditions for cultivators to gather and train regularly is good. The management of the TG and the commercial policy trying to milk/target wealthy tourists, while selling junk food, worthless massages and trash tier seminars is terrible. Basically, you have the original idea, and the realization that fall into two completely opposite sides.

The expectations of many, who come across Mantak in the past, was to meet an awakened sage, who hones his skills, evolves himself constantly, opens new doors/gains wisdom. Early on it was even proposed that Mantak is close to immortality and non-aging body. That kind of figure can LEAD people forward. Write New books, develop new methods. But when you meet him in real life, you face a reactionary NPC celebrity, who is primarily interested in Fame and Money, and is mostly occupied with mundane activities like fighting with his ex-students or trying to milk more money. He has little development of his upper chakras, closed third eye, only good rooting/grounding and lots of visits to medical clinic to upkeep his hair color and put make up on to look healthier for the picture. He won a lucky ticket in life. Being among the first to put his name down, he basically inherited the Empire, the resort, and the Tao Garden. Those things came on a silver platter. There were other people who came with him, but he deleted their names. I don't feel like he properly used the resources that were given to him in this life. It is really such a waste. You are dealing with the Image of the person created by followers. It is like meeting a celebrity from Holywood and believing he is Iron Man or the Holy Knight. The actual human behind the name is something entirely different; Mantak's teachings can be summarised to "clench your ass and smile." Wherever you go for beginner or advanced seminars or read all the books, buy individual lessons, there is no depth in it. If there were this whole thing, it would smell and look different, and after 50+ years, you would see a lot of attained masters and powerful beings who evolved through this system. But there is none. That said when people bash Mantak's teachings, they often propose alternatives that are ten times worse. Modern daoism trend is all about having a massive beer belly (Chi Belly, Lower Dantian Belly), smoking cigars, drinking whiskey, being entirely bald, talking non-stop for hours, writing narcissistic IG posts and spending your life running a schizoteric cult.

Every once in a while, a new "gifted" person makes an appearance who is selling casual practices, like strolling out for a walk, breathing, or stretching, as some God-given sacred techniques.

It is a good idea to develop some sort of ESP, perception, and third-eye ability in the first five years of cultivation practice. Then you won't have to wander around blindly looking for medical doctors and documented evidence to find legit practices and teachers. You also won't end up being brainwashed into a narcissistic cult, where the teacher only knows how to blah blah endlessly but cannot even meditate or keep away from cigars/whiskey. The first rule of thumb is that people who exude too much confidence are usually the inhabitants of Mt. Stupid.

Human body like most mammals cannot digest seeds, they will come out the same way they came in. It doesn't matter what valuable stuff and nutrients is inside, if you absorb zero of it.

Online discussions on 'enlightenment' and 'spiritual development' often revolve around two distinct viewpoints. One camp advocates for the power of a sudden realization, an insight into a 'noble truth,' as the ultimate goal of spiritual development. They believe that once this insight is achieved, the journey is complete. The other camp, however, emphasizes the importance of continuous training and practice. In reality, insights and realizations are indeed beneficial to the progress of an individual in the self-development path. The trickery here is that people often misjudge and falsely interpret their realizations or, to be more precise, their value. A small thought springs, but it is already an enlightenment. Because of their lack of critical thinking and discernment, people think of low-value insight as the highest-tier achievement. In the vast majority of cases, those insights and realizations are like a kid making two steps and stumbling or thinking a silly thing. The appeal of such a stance is high, as making the path easy, instant, and achievable removes all effort, hard work, and practice. Why bother with difficult practices? Why take challenges? Why bother improving yourself? Why bother even training your physical body? In my view, no insights or realizations could completely replace hard work and daily training. A trained individual will simply be on a higher level than someone who merely has an insight into the path. It is one thing when you try to be someone, and it is ultimately another thing when you are someone. Proper training/self-development should lead to lasting internal changes, not fleeting ones. Think of an insight/realization as a model. An insight into a house design plan would lead to a great house/apartment, but it still needs to be built, which is years of work. Without work and investment, it is only a piece of paper. People live with their insights in a pipedream reality. Why bother building a real house when you have a beautiful plan for an imaginary one? In the real world, when you apply your insights and realizations to practice, they will be changed by reality itself. You may have a specific plan, but as you proceed with it, you will find flaws, issues, and areas for improvement. Those are difficulties and challenges that have to be overcome; the problem, however, is that people too stuck up in their invaluable insights are not willing to test them. Now, then, we look at the opposing camp, which is all about grinding practices. Does practice alone matter? You can do a lot of work, but without any real plan ahead or insight, it can quickly turn into carrying bricks from point A to point B, only to take them back, rinse, and repeat forever. If you just practice without any mental development and discernment, you will end up doing a lot of work for no real benefit. The effort itself does not equalize the efficiency and effectiveness of training. It is different when you join the school and have a properly laid out plan of self-development in front of you. You can save yourself a lot of time and trouble.

I would be deeply concerned if anyone who claims to have an esoteric background advocated for any kind of psychedelics and even addictive poisonous substances like alcohol and tobacco. It is one concern about possible health consequences in the vast range - body - energy - and mind. Addictive substances erode willpower, making the mind weaker and cultivation impossible. However, the other more significant concern is that meditation is so much more potent. A person relying on substances to alter his state of mind is flying a massive red flag. "I cannot meditate, I never meditated, I don't know how to meditate."

People don't reside altogether in the same place or the same physical conditions - some have tidy modern apartments and houses, and some live in dirt and chaos. It would be a misconception and a mistake to think that if someone experiences the world in a certain way, everyone else feels the same. The world is a multi-layered and complex structure. Our mental landscape is shaped by the societal circles we inhabit. In some, degradation and self-destruction are prevalent, while in others, rapid development and evolution to a higher state of being are the norm. There are places where people rapidly develop and evolve to a higher state of being and existence.

That is a common pitfall; a whole chase of enlightenment is a kind of self-devouring abyss. What is more, people reach the point where they stop advancing. It is even more spectacular that people justify the stop with end points in practice and believe those exist. "Last stage of Yoga", "End goal of Buddhism", If bliss and positive feelings/sensations/emotions are all you experience in the end, what is even the purpose? People cannot see the wood for the trees. The true value of cultivation practices are entirely lost. Sensations are becoming a trap, muddling the mind and cultivation perspective. You can call your attainment whatever you want, but terms, titles, don't matter; what matters are practical results/capabilities. Can you instantly shift your energy and consciousness to another realm? Can you perceive 4-5-8-12 dimensions? What work are you capable of doing with your "enlightened" mind? How potent exactly is your mental field? Can we take an "enlightened being" and see if he can be productive in any meaningful work - field research? I guess not, why would an "Enlightened" being who reached eternal bliss and end stage of Yoga path be bothered doing some kind of petty work.

It is a trap. Learning such things from books and forums is a sure way to get internal damage. Tantra has nothing to do with sex; it is just that "Sex" and chasing primitive desires sells well, which is why all kinds of quacks are doing business on it. There is a big gap in audience size between "I want to have sex/pleasure" and "I want to evolve myself/cultivate." Funnily enough, if you choose the second variant in life, you won't ever be bothered by the first option.

If you seek to experience any real change yourself, you have the power to do so through training. It's not about waiting for someone else to fix everything, but about taking the reins and committing to your own daily training and cultivation. Otherwise, any changes that can be experienced will only be superficial and illusion-based, lingering for a while and passing through. But with daily training, you open the door to profound and lasting change. People used to believe that the earth was flat, that the sun was rotating around us, and that thunder was a sign of God's wrath. Beliefs are conditional. If you were a person from 300 years ago experiencing a modern reality, it would undoubtedly shatter your core beliefs. It is possible to see energy and interact with spiritual reality directly through third-eye development and visualization training. Energy and entities become tangible at that level. It is even possible to see energy fields, mental development and soul of other beings. But if you are looking for a miracle pill and quick enlightenment, that is not a path you should pursue. Here, we are talking about 5 to 10 years of daily training.

In Magic, there is a commonly used model to describe internal dynamics called Rider on a horse. Horse is your body. Rider is spirit. The thing connecting the Rider to the horse is energy. In proper development, Energy cultivation should make horse more controllable. If it becomes less, then you have problems. Then you are doing reverse-cultivation practices, i.e., instead of alleviating yourself upwards and becoming more of a spiritual being - less of a monkey, you are degrading yourself downwards and becoming more of an Ape. A lot of teachings are about degradation practices. Just because you are practicing with Qi does not mean you are evolving self. While your horse becomes more active in the process, you can actually start losing control over it. Then you find these people doing all kinds of stupid drugs while preaching about cultivation wisdom. Horse's way to alter its "state" is via substances, but if a spirit wants to modify the state of mind, it can do it directly via meditation or visualization. The problem with materialistic approach and degradation practices, is that it does not matter how much you invest into them, how much you cling to life and longevity practices, the body will eventually die. Changing the body is like changing worn-out clothes for the spirit. But for the body it is final destination, the end.

We had one student come from Frantzis, it was a truly horrific experience. Frantzis is not only a scammer, who made himself on fake fajin demonstrations, and teaching bullshido. He looks to be a victim of modern american diet.

Another one, self-taught. Daydreaming is not a practice. From your description you lack mental control and uncontrolled thoughts can come from mental parasites. Visualization training can be approached after pre-requisites are met, you did not clear those first.

I have developed third eye and see a lot of stuff on "victims" of new age teachings. I also wrote and authored several research papers on it. Cults are basically breeding ground for larvaes. Have fun with it.

It is more of a problem of dishonest claims they make during teaching to sell/push their info-business product to the masses. Even worse, they get knowledge from public books/sources and resell it as if their name has copyright on the tradition itself. If people would sell Qigong classes casually for what it is. But, no they have to add that energy cures cancer/all kinds of diseases and grants enlightenment and immortality. It is the same as saying that burnt paper is extremely valuable resource because it is literally same as diamond. Indeed, same carbon material, but not nearly the same quality. I mean seriously, there are people around who think that simple body moves and simple qigong can turn you into an immortal, enlightened being and cure all ailments. Fragrant qigong? How much more delusional can it get? Self-development is not in the same dimension as annunaki, homeopathy, astrology, flat earth, and ctulhu. People who believe any of that stuff are pretty much hopeless cases to teach. How exactly would elixir make you immortal? @Taoist Texts what kind of immortality do you expect from "internal alchemy" practices?

You have linked the video in the message where you made this statement. It is even crazier to assume that people will be willing to waste hours watching those videos. You also find the audacity to post his videos in every thread non-related to him or his school, as if there are too few of those already, despite Damien history of publicly denigrating, belittling and insulting Buddhism along with many other traditions and practices. He is also trying to be Andrew Tate and "sell masculinity" and "fake martial arts" to younger gullible audience. He is unhealthy physically and mentally. Whatever he is practicing clearly did not work for him. Transmissions are indeed a method of teaching in any internal arts school past a certain level. What you don't understand, however, is that transmission is an imprint, and an imprint will contain many things that exist in reality. Reality is not the same as the pink and fluffy unicorn imagination you create in your mind while listening to hundreds of hours of talks, where you see an enlightened Guru emitting light. Getting transmission from an unqualified "Teacher" is worse than having unprotected sex with a cheap whore; you will not only pay money, you will end up with a bunch of nasty and deadly diseases, mental and astral parasites, larvaes. That can put an end to your spiritual development prospects for your entire life and sometimes even carry over to the next one.

You can reach a level where stillness becomes permanent. Then, it won't matter if you sit, stand, or walk, and it won't require any specific physical action to work. The reason people require extended sitting in stillness is that they have too much crap floating around in their mental bodies, and they have to wait till all the residue falls down so they regain some clarity. (Think of a cup of tea with leaves). Then, when they leave their "closed 168-hr sitting retreat," they quickly return to their usual state of mind. That is incorrect. If you lift weights till your muscles give up, they will start growing and developing from the stimulus, if you lift balloons, nothing will ever happen. Thats good. Thats crazy. He has a lamp above his head. What lengths and depths do people go to prop their favorite drug addict?

His "Celestial Eye" or Third Eye lecture showed a complete lack of knowledge... It was like a person trying to talk about the cosmos and galaxies, but instead of talking about black holes, nuclear fusion and gravity, he ended up talking about zodiac signs and Virgo's relationships with Taurus.

In this age, people tend to develop consumer bias and mentality, and they seek things for their own benefit. The problem with genuine esoteric circles is that they are not shops/outlets to sell stuff or attract customers. The first question would be, how can you contribute to the circle? We could go around and ask people what useful things they can do with their attainments and cultivation abilities, but it is unlikely we will get any meaningful answers. Most people never develop useful abilities, and they are incapable of making any contribution. Internal circles are not kindergartens/schools to care for you or teach you.

If you have already attained it all, why would you bother sitting? If you have not attained it and have kept sitting still for decades, maybe the practice is not working. The idea of oversimplifying the cultivation path to a single attainment and a single easily understood practice that anyone can do is extremely appealing, but how is it really different from procrastination? You found yourself or your "True Self," what next? If that is all you seek from meditation practice, are not your goal posts too low?

People get obsessed with actions and practices, but it is who is doing the practice that matters the most. If you just sit and have a strong energy flow/accumulation and deep mental attainments, it won't be the same as a newcomer who has nothing doing the very same practice. That is also why some of the practices have to be adjusted to the level of a practitioner and not be blindly taken. There are proper paths of development which unlock internal potential and train your abilities, and you won't get it all with "just sitting." I tend to think some people procrastinate for hours sitting still and believe they are cultivating. I have seen people who measure meditation attainments by hours spent in meditation, and it is far from an adequate measurement.

Picture climbing a ladder, where you can sense and feel the next step once you've achieved the previous one. Would a person who has real ESP abilities go online to seek proof that ESP abilities exist? Similarly, would someone who can spit saliva onto grass call a team of medical doctors and skeptics to record such a paranormal event? What's considered normal and casual varies for each individual. Cultivation is simply routine daily work, there are countless beings with powers, abilities, and attainments beyond human imagination and comprehension, those who have climbed higher on the ladder. The question people should be asking themselves is whether they are following the path and advancing. I.e. mind your own business and take priority for yourself. The only conclusion to be made from this thread, that OP has somehow managed to squander 14+ years without developing anything of value. The writings are both childish and deragotary towards spiritual development and cultivation as a whole. P.S. Imagine a skeptic traveling the whole world trying to find legitimate teachings, or more so, some master who would pity him enough to show something that the skeptic would believe to be "paranormal" or "extraordinary." The skeptic is finally happy and begins to cultivate after decades spent in search and realizes he is not fit or capable of doing the training required. There is another similar anecdote in society: a man spends his entire life searching for a perfect woman. After several decades, he finds her. He is excited and happy—he has finally achieved his lifetime goal. He moves his frail body and burnt-out eyes to greet her. But she responds, "Sorry, but I am looking for a perfect man."

Psychedelics and some legalized drugs change your internal state via biochemistry. Conversely, meditation involves directly changing one's internal state, thus causing biochemical changes in the body. Drugs are worthless in cultivation. It is similar to taking a hammer, hitting yourself in the head, and then claiming to achieve a "trance," "samadhi," or "advanced" state of meditation. While some people claim there are many benefits, like reducing stress, tension, and sporadic thoughts, many people take it as a medical prescription for certain ailments. This is only partly true. You have to realize that a multi-billion dollar business is behind this, with strong lobby funding and "positive" research. I am pretty sure cannabis is doing some permanent damage to the human brain if you take it consistently over a period of time. Now back to the change of the state of mind, "helping in meditation", or any other spiritual claim of cannabis (THC), Ayahuasca and just about any other psychedelic. They are not even 1/1000 as potent as you can get through proper training and cultivation. If only people would train properly instead of searching for cheat codes and faster/easier ways to progress. Human potential is far beyond that. But how would you know it if your Guru smokes cigars, drinks whiskey, sits with murky eyes and a massive pot belly, endlessly talking nonsense about spiritual cultivaiton?

All of these people are training their ethereal body. The practices are not exclusive to any particular tradition and take years to develop, similar to bodybuilding in a gym. Bodies go like this. Physical > Ethereal > Astral > Emotional Mental (Animal Mental) > Thoughts Body (Human Mental) > Spiritual Body (Mage Mental) > Causal Body (God Mental) This can also be linked to seven chakras. Siddhis are not "mystical" or "paranormal." Some people have trained physical bodies, and those who have exceptional genetics can do things most other living humans cannot. These skills or abilities are called "siddhis." The only problem, however, is that the further you go from the physical plane to a spiritual plane, the less it is possible to record or demonstrate. To begin with, most people are only able to see a physical layer of reality and do not perceive directly in astral and mental fields. It often becomes an internet circle-jerking activity where "practitioners" of a certain group believe that only "bodybuilding" is real, while meditation or astral projection is not. That said, any person who works on himself in life and develops abilities and skills on any level instead of wasting time arguing online is doing a good thing for himself. There are clear benefits in each level development.