adept

Just trying to find out if anyone here has any practical experience in these methods. I'm only asking harmless questions. No hidden agenda. It is often said that the 'easy' practice is the most difficult. Guess I'll try it for a sustained length of time and find out for myself Thanks

Thanks Dainin. I've been reading some of the Japanese monk Honen lately and it seems that he took Chinese Pure Land teachings, which were still then practiced in a monastic setting (as part of Ch'an, Huayen, or Tiantai), and structured them so that anyone, regardless of age, sex, lifestyle circumstances, could practice. He became the founder of Jodo Shu, which seems to have more in common with the former Chinese PL practice (as in you need to put in the effort) than Jodo Shinshu which came later with Shinran and which I agree seems more fundamentalist. http://www.jodo.org/

That's awesome rex ! I would imagine that you would need the presence of a teacher to practice this method. Does someone who wishes to practice Tibetan PL, simply ask for that particular method ? Or would you have to go through loads of preliminary practices first ?

Sorry, couldn't resist it !

Thanks, but there are books and websites galore on this subject. If I may re-iterate : Does anyone here have any actual practical experience with these methods ?

Interesting, but in the wrong forum.

I've always been under the assumption that Pure Land Buddhism was faith/devotional based and was dependent on the culture one was brought up in. For instance in China and Vietnam, PL is often fused with other forms of Buddhism, such as Ch'an, Hua Yen etc, as well as being a standalone tradition. In Japan it's Jodo Shu or Jodo Shinshu which are PL only, while Kegon, Tendai and Shingon have PL practices within their tradition. I believe that all forms of Buddhism taken up in the west are aping alien cultures because it's not been part of our history and culture. The eastern nations have up to 2500 years head start on us. It looks like you have found something that has worked for you and would be interested to find out more. I have an interest in Pure Land practices but have had my reservations/doubts for a while now. I may be wrong but the premise seems to be a cop-out in this life in regard to a future life in a paradise style existence. Therefore neglecting our responsibilities here and now. Like I say I could have interpreted the whole thing the wrong way. Would love to talk more on this though. PM me if it's more convenient. Thanks

There was a post about bringing down energy here: http://thetaobums.com/topic/22555-energy-pressure-in-head/#entry322184 According to the story, Hakuin Zenji learned this (and other methods) from a Taoist cave hermit named Hakuyu, who he sought out in the mountains of Japan to help him cure his 'zen sickness'. Hakuyu had only 3 books in his possession. The Daodejing, Doctrine Of The Mean, and the Diamond Sutra. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It does sound like a very good method. Personally, I don't suffer from any of these symptoms but it could be a variation, and possibly easier to practice, than the water method. Not allowing any sickness to arise in the first place, has got to be better than trying to get rid of it, when it happens through malpractice.

Maybe you're going through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul. It is a temporary phenomenon which is common in spiritual cultivators. I'm not sure if I can help because I see myself as currently in this phase. In fact if I'm honest, I've probably been in the dark night of the soul for years now.

That's very good advice Boy, and over the years I've come to realize this. Commentaries, to me, are an individual's interpretation and contain personal biases which tend to warp the original text somewhat. Sometimes when I read a new text, and just don't understand it, I'll put it aside for a few days or weeks even. When I return to it, after days and weeks of meditation and contemplation, suddenly it all falls into place.

I'd like to expand on http://thetaobums.co...es/#entry335540 this topic here which has only scratched the surface of this incredible field of study. I recently came across this account which is astounding http://www.allaboutc...lity/index.html

Thanks anamatva for sharing your thoughts. Wonderful. For those of us that haven't had a NDE, but are convinced of it's authenticity, what kind of preparation practices can we do in this current life ? p.s great link !

More gullible round-eyed westerners will be parting with their cash

I'm not sure any prerequisites are needed to allow 'the mystery of mysteries' to enter one's life. Only to be like an empty vessel.

All you need to know is here: http://www.ycgf.org/Articles/XY_SanTiShi/XY_SanTiShi.html

Why would anyone want to do that ? We're humans not emotionless robots. Observe the thoughts without reacting to each and every one that comes along. Where do thoughts come from ? Where do they go ?

Well the book arrived today within two weeks and I only selected the basic shipping ! I wasn't expecting it for another month or so. Well pleased with the delivery time. I haven't had a good look, just a quick flick through as yet. Not that many pictures in it, but I'm not sure if many are needed actually. It looks chock full of good info though. The postures are seen from front and side on views. Once you've got them sorted it's down to yourself to do the work.

The Dao has nothing to do with the dantien. That is qigong or internal alchemy and is practiced by people from both traditions.

But this is Jiddu Krishnamurti. The only thing they have in common is their surname !

I've been following this thread with interest and I've ordered the new book. It's gonna take six weeks to get here in the UK . I plan to practice from it 100% and not just read it as another cool book with nice ideas. In preparation for the practice I've stopped any methods aimed at raising kundalini or mco. I was following JJ Semple's Golden Flower Meditation but as yet I haven't activated any upward energy flow, so I'll not pursue that. Maybe some emptiness meditation and zhan zhuang would be a better idea until I get the book and start practicing. Looking forward to a new phase in my ongoing development. p.s. Just noticed I'm on my 500th post !

This would definitely interest me.

was renowned for his iron fists.So much so, that the officials actually thought he had metal bars inside his gloves. This was, of course, proven to be wrong. His immense hitting power had a lot to do with his falling step technique, where his strike landed the exact time his foot/feet landed. Think hsing i style whole body force. Awesome.

I was once practicing zz on the edge of a wooded area, when a fox just strolled past me about 20 feet away, looking at me. Guess it wasn't used to us humans just standing there, connecting with the universe.

Interesting thread. I started over a month ago with GFM after re-reading JJ Semple's book and listening to his podcasts. I sit in full lotus each morning and also practice the walking meditation as JJ describes in his books and his podcasts (which are great by the way !). I've got the deep diaphragmatic breathing part pretty much sorted now and I can no longer hear the breath, either on inhalation, or exhalation. I'm not really counting the days as the 100 days is just a rough estimate, it may take shorter or longer until the practice is deeply ingrained, and the next phase (detecting, and then reversing the flow) begins. Hope everyone's doing fine. It's good to be back on the forum after a few months away.