adept

Sometimes the smallest of phrases have the most impact.

SITTING Cat sits in the sun. Dog sits in the grass. Turtle sits on the rock. Frog sits on the lily pad. Why aren't people so smart? Those who follow Tao are fond of pointing out the wisdom of animals. When they see a cat sitting motionless in the sun or a turtle who stretches her head upward in a still pose, they say that these animals are meditating. They know how to be still and conserve their internal energy. They do not dissipate themselves in useless activity but instead withdraw into themselves to recharge. It is only people who label meditation as some sort of odd religious activity. This is not the actual case. Something like meditation happens when we sleep, or when we are absorbed in reading a book, or when we "daydream" and become so lost in a thought or an image that we do not notice what is going on around us. There is no reason to think of meditation as something out of the ordinary. Quite the opposite. Meditation is the purest and most natural expression we can have. When you next look at a cat or a dog sitting still, and admire the naturalness of their actions, think then of your own life. Don't meditate because it is a part of your schedule or is demanded by your particular philosophy. Meditate because this is natural.

This is one of the most profound statements I've ever come across, and so so true. The abandoning of intellectualism in favour of the observation of the flow of life itself. Outstanding.

INTERVAL Seven geese pierce straight line over frigid bay, Intervals between them constantly equal, Pointed wings slash as if joined to an axle: Today is the ideal moment between yesterday and tomorrow. Every morning means a fresh start on things. If yesterday was trying and exhausting, today is a given opportunity to do something different. If yesterday was full of triumph and satisfaction, today is a free chance to go further. All too often, we wake up, think of our schedules, and assume that we must act according to the same dull script. We need not. If we find what is unique to each day, we will have freshness and the greatest fulfillment possible. Although we have talked about our relationship to Tao in terms of positioning and timing, the clear discerning of intervals is just as important. Geese keep a perfect distance between them to establish a dynamic equilibrium; so too must we fit in with the intervals of a day's events. If we, like the geese, act in unison with these moments, with each other, and with the season, then we will be in total concert with Tao. Today is poised between yesterday and tomorrow. What you may have started yesterday can be continued or interrupted today. What you want for tomorrow may be planted or destroyed today. Every morning is a new day. That observation is so simple as to seem trite. If we could observe the simple, there would be no need to study Tao.

BALANCE Summer withered grass to flaxen yellow, Scorched leaves to brittle paper, Dried lakes to cracked clay. Chill autumn brought little relief -- Only frosted the devastation. But with the early gentle rains, The earth's fissures softened And desiccated plants began to dissolve. Slowly, balance comes once again. Many cultures describe old people as having seen many winters. Those elders have seen many cycles come and go, and their wisdom comes from long observation of life's rising and falling. If we have a long-range view, then we realize that equilibrium comes in the course of nature's progression. Nature does not achieve balance by keeping to one level. Rather, elements and seasons alternate with one another in succession. Balance, as defined by Tao, is not stasis but a dynamic process of many overlapping alternations; even if some phases seem wildly excessive, they are balanced by others. Everything has its place. Everything has its season. As events turn, balance is to know what is here, what is coming, and how to be in perfect harmony with it. Then one attains a state of sublimity that cannot be challenged.

PROGRESSION When meditation stales, Change methods quickly. For those who follow Tao, there is no such thing as just one meditation that you practice for the rest of your life. All of Tao changes and flows, so too should meditation. It is not a static discipline but rather a progressive means of spiritual living. Beginners have their meditation, advanced students have theirs. Simple people have simple meditations, complicated people must have meditations that engage them fully. No matter what kind of person you are, there are times when you will exhaust all the potential of a certain contemplative method. After all, a method is only an arbitrary structure, whereas the subconscious that you are trying to master is infinite, changeable, elusive. Therefore, when a method is exhausted, you have to change to another one. Sometimes, it is enough to switch back and forth between methods; at other times, you will need to go to a higher stage of meditation. As long as you feel restless, it is a sign that you have not yet become fully mature on the spiritual path. The ultimate levels of meditation deal with a complete stillness of the mind. In this state, one feels nothing, thinks of nothing, worries about nothing. When meditation becomes stale, there is a preoccupation that will prevent you from attaining this stillness. That is why you change, until the day when restlessness naturally recedes and stillness is all that remains.

Full lotus meditation with awareness on the dantien. I also practice a moving neigong form and zhan zhuang daily, but i tend to miss a few days of sitting.

It is a very good idea but unfortunately the commitment shown by yourself probably won't be copied by many on here. It's been tried before. The guy was on his own for most of the time. Not wishing to rain on your parade mind you. Therefore, I'll join. 20 minutes of sitting meditation every day for me.

TRANSFORMATION You hurt me years ago; My wounds bled for years. Now you are back, But I am not the same. In the past, warriors fought by striking the same points that acupuncturists use. One famous swordsman nearly died in a duel in which his opponent attacked him in such a way. After that, the swordsman became a wanderer and tried to renounce the martial life. Years later, his enemy found him and challenged him to duel again. They fought. In the first flurry of blows, the aggressor stepped back in surprise. The swordsman smiled and said, "I trained for twenty years to move my vulnerable spots." With that, he was finally able to triumph. Spirituality is a process of inner healing. The wounds of the past can be the greatest obstacles for self-cultivation unless we find them all and heal them. This task can take years, but we must accomplish it. In many cases, our wounds were inflicted by other people -- enemies. This is subtle. Our enemies can be others on the street, or people much more intimate with us : parents, teachers, siblings, lovers, friends. If we move away from such people and succeed in our practice, they will have no chance to come back in our lives. How can they? We change whatever made us vulnerable in the first place.

HORIZON Single line drawn from one ocular corner to the other. White clouds firmly tethered to shadows. What is close at hand must first appear on the horizon. What is cast upon us always has a source. Life need not be the travesty of confusion and disorganization that it seems to be for so many people. When one feels this way, it is nearly always due to two things : Either one isn't even looking, or one's vantage point is too low. Those who follow Tao position themselves on high vantage points. Life never surprises them. Whatever is in their lives today, they foresaw many days before. Whatever is on the horizon, they take the time to prepare for. Such people are called wise, not because they have special abilities but because they take the care to view things from a high place. Those who follow Tao also realize that all phenomena have a source. Just as shadows on the ground are cast because clouds float between the earth and the sun, so too are the events outside of ourselves cast into our minds. A reaction in our minds is like a shadow cast by an external event. We can understand such phenomena clearly if we stand at a place where we can see them coming. We need to remember to deal with them not simply by how we feel, but also by looking at their external form, and even checking to see their source. If we take care to do this, then we shall never be deterred.

The Buddha died 2500 years ago. He does not look from anywhere, nor is he judgemental or an eternal being. He is dead. This view of an eternal infinite life is a Upanishadic or theistic teaching, not the Dhamma.

COMPLETION Only when the last spoke Has been fitted to the wheel, Is there completion. Ambitions, career, family, and everyday identity are like the outer wheel. All the different talents and deep aspects of the mind are like the spokes. The consciousness is the hub that holds all together. At the center of the hub is emptiness -- that aspect of ourselves that is open to the universal reality. Unfortunately, we are not always whole. Perhaps it is a matter of opportunities missed when we were younger. Perhaps it is a lack of education or experience. Whatever it may be, we should, through introspection, search out what we lack and then work toward fulfilling it. Once we identify and complete some part of ourselves, it is like fitting a spoke into our wheel. When we have enough spokes, we are whole. A new wheel will have a long future of rolling. Our selves, once made whole, can then serve our spiritual aspirations until the end.

Sorry folks I'm finding it difficult to make daily postings. Work is mad at the minute. Thanks Mal for filling in for me for the past couple of days.

DURATION The sun shines half a day, The moon dominates the rest. Even contemplation Should have its proper duration. Some monks meditate sixteen hours at a time. Some have sat cross-legged so long that they have calluses on the sides of their feet. Others need frames to prop their bodies up, or they rest sticks on the floor with the sharp tips at their chins, so that they are awakened by a stab if they doze off. Is this admirable? Or is it mere obsession? Meditation should have its proper duration. Once one finds the proper procedures, they should not be seen as an activity isolated from the rest of life. Those who follow Tao hold meditation to be imperative, but not exclusive. The primary point of this existence is to live, and all living things move and grow. Therefore meditation should be integrated with the flow of life. It should not dominate above all else. There is one exception to this. That is the case where one spontaneously and naturally falls into a long period of meditation. Sometimes this state will last for hours, even days. This is not the same as meditation artificially induced by forced sitting. This is a wholly different type of meditation. One is now with the universe and meditation ceases to be an activity. It becomes a natural expression.

UNCARVED Once a statue is finished, It is too late to change the arms. Only with a virgin block Are there possibilities. It's not easy to raise a child. You have to set an example all the time. Sometimes it is important for both child and guardian to understand that a child should not do certain things that the adult does. This is not hypocrisy. It is wisdom. There was once a child who responded to his father's admonitions by saying, "You do the same things." The father took his son to a carver of temple figures. In the yard were great blocks of camphor and rosewood. Inside the studios were deities in various stages of completion, from gods still with fresh chisel marks to brightly painted and gilded masterpieces. "I am older than you," said the father. "So I am more like one of these finished statues. I have my accomplishments, and I have my faults. Once this figure has been carved, we cannot change the position of its arms. "But you, my son, are like the pieces of wood in the yard, still to take shape. I do not want you to have the same faults as I do, so I do not let you do certain things. Look at me. Yes, you say I still do certain things, but doesn't that show how hard it is to undo a mistake once it is carved into you? Don't copy me, and don't make the same mistakes that I did. Only then will you become more beautiful than I."

My view of Buddhism was turned on it's head when I read the works of Stephen Batchelor. His views on rebirth and karma especially are in direct contrast the way they are taught in the orthodox religion known as Buddhism. The Buddha taught the Dhamma, not Buddhism.

MEASURE Birthdays, anniversaries, memorials, festivals Measure our progress on the path. How old are you? Have you made a life you can look back on and be satisfied? How long have you been practicing your devotions? Can you look back on years of unbroken progress? How long has it been since a significant world event? Has the world gone any further in creating collective good? Is today a day of celebration? How much have you done since the last holiday? Each day of measure is a milestone on the path. If you are just beginning on the path, then it is good to determinedly look forward to the day when you can look back on a year, a decade, or many decades of perseverance. If you are today standing on the vantage point of some anniversary, then count the time that you have maintained your progress and be glad. Those who follow Tao do not celebrate their birthdays, do not mark the anniversary of their embarking on the path. They say that following Tao is one continuous flow, not to be violated by the calendar. They are like hikers who wander, not worrying about the road, not concerned about distance or time. The rest of us have not yet attained that level of pure spontaneity. For we who are still struggling to maintain a foothold on the path, it is profitable to look forward to passing milestones as a way of encouraging ourselves and measuring our progress.

This sounds fascinating. Can this be learned from written sources or directly from B.K. Frantzis ?

Oh dear !

STILLNESS Wind stirs the bamboo, But once the wind passes, The bamboo is silent. Geese land in the chill pond, But once the geese fly away, There are no reflections. In the same way, Once the red dust passes, The mind is still. The affairs of the world are often euphemistically referred to as red dust. This is the involvement of the world that is hard to brush away and yet equally hard to hold on to. We may seek meditative detachment, but as long as the stimulations of the world continue to blow through our minds, the true stillness of meditation is impossible. If we do not involve ourselves with the difficulties of the world, there will naturally not be an y suggestion or stimulation present. Then the mind will be still. The still mind is capable of the most supreme states of existence. Obviously, total withdrawal from the tribulations, dangers, sensual temptations, and entanglements of everyday life would be one way of doing this. If you feel ready to do this and you have that option, then you should do so. You will find satisfaction and happiness very quickly. But if you are obligated to remain in the world for some time more, and still want to practice the art of tranquility, you must execute withdrawal on a more microcosmic scale. Then stillness is possible for at least short periods.

HISTORY Autumn trees swept with dawn Look as if they've been lacquered, Rooted around an old battlefield. The mists linger here like ghosts. There are still places where you can walk and feel a profound gloom. Such is the case with old battlefields. People died there. The force of their determination still resonates. You can find such places in every country. Often no one builds anything there, even when land is dear. We say that we do not want to forget our dead. We say that there should be a memorial. Others say that the disturbance there is so great that the living cannot abide with the dead. History is essential to our understanding of the present. Unless we are conscious of the way in which we came to this point in time as a people, then we shall never fully be able to plan the present and the future. We need to know what roots are still alive. We need to know how things came to be so that we can project from here. We also need to know the failures of the past so that we can avoid repeating them. History is not always glorious. Sometimes our history is melancholy. We must accept that. This life is terrible and people do terrible things to each other. If we are to live for the sake of the good and strong, then we should have as much of a background as possible.

WHOLE I hate the way this chicken comes All bagged in plastic Without head or feet; Neck, heart, liver, and gizzard Stuck into its cavity. No wonder people feel unconnected. Traditional people like to see the whole animal when they shop for their meals. In cultures where personal contacts are more meaningful and closeness to the earth is a way of life, it is no surprise that people are interested in a complete relationship to their food. They buy it or raise it, they harvest it, they clean it, and they cook it -- all before they eat it in gratitude. They don't become sentimental over their food -- practicality is to understand that we kill to survive -- but they do give thanks for what has died to sustain them. Today we have a very incomplete relationship to our food. We don't see where something grows, we eat foods out of season, we buy prepared foods made by someone we don't even know. There is a great power in knowing your food, knowing where it came from, preparing it with your own hands. This food, whether vegetable or animal, died for us. The least we can do is partake of it thoroughly and with respect. Nowadays it is quite common for people to feel isolated. They lament not having friends, not having genuine experiences, not having a sense of who they are. If even the food that we eat and the way that we eat is lacking in wholeness, then how will we feel completion in the rest of our lives?

MOON Silver disk: Let me call you goddess -- You, with your mirrored face. Tonight, of all nights, your shape is perfect, Your presence sublime. You know it too. You appear before the sun has even set, Glorious without your cloak of night, Gazing down in supreme splendor, To make this dusty world pastoral. Tonight is the harvest moon. The queen of night is at her most perfect roundness, closer to us than at any other time of the year. She glows silver in an indigo sky. People celebrate this night for many reasons. For some, it is the time to enjoy the view of the moon, and they toast it with sweets, wine, and tea. For others, it is a time of relaxation and thanksgiving for the harvest. The Moon Festival is a woman's festival, their time to worship. The harvest moon symbolizes the ascendancy of cool darkness over the bright heat of summer. This reminds us of equality in the cosmos : light and dark, male and female, heat and frost, hard and soft -- all these things are part of an overall equilibrium. If you are a woman, then tonight is your night for worship and celebration. If you are a man, then it is a night to step aside and give your wives, mothers, and sisters their privacy. But for all, we can be thankful for the riches of autumn and begin our preparations for the coming frost.

SOLITUDE There are no ancients before me, No followers behind: Only the vastness of heaven and earth On this mountain terrace. Though heaven may know the ultimate, Joy or sorrow is our own will. We stand alone in this life. No one lives our life for us. Neither drug nor sorcery can remove us, even for a moment, from our own life. We can deny it, but it is useless : We are here alone, to engage every precious moment according to our wills. The precedents of the ancients may be helpful, but in the end they are only references. The thought of those who will follow after us is likewise merely a consideration. What matters is being, pure being. Accept who you are. Be who you are. If there are gods in the heavens, maybe they know the future. As a human being, I can only say that the future is yet to be made. Let us go forth and make it, but let us make it as beautifully as we can. The degree of elegance is determined by our will and the perfection of our own personalities. Therefore, do not sigh over misfortune or adversity. Whether you are happy or sad is entirely up to you.