adept

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Posts posted by adept

  1. Posted

    Compassion is something that I have trouble with also. I would dearly like to be compassionate to every sentient being, but when I think of paedophiles, torturers and sadistic murderers and events such as the Newtown school massacre, I just can't bring myself to have any feelings of even equanimity towards such people.

    Maybe I'm just not ready for it yet.

    • Like 1

  3. Posted

    I have his book and video. Wanted to practice it but now I think it is kinda more external training which takes much time to do it. IMO better to spend your time for neikung/alchemy practice.

     

    Go ahead practice it !

    Try one move at a time for a few days, then add next one...etc etc... Once you master it, it should only take 15 minutes or so.

    If you add warm up's, stretching, stance work and meditation, it's a good 1 hour plus.

    Try the stances throughout the day, especially the horse stance, keeping correct posture and alignment.

    It looks external but hidden within is one of the best health management systems ever invented. It's that good !

    As Shifu Yan Lei says "with this practice, over time, body make own medicine" :)

    It depends on your interpretation of neikung. It means 'inner work', which this most definitely is.

    Neikung and alchemy are not all about sitting crosslegged, retention of semen, storing chi and moving it in the body etc etc. That is a crossover with Tantric practices of the southern school. It is but one way of study and practice and can be dangerous to physical and mental health if done unsupervised.

    According to the northern school of Complete Reality the Golden Elixir is nothing but our own pristine fundamental nature obscured by a lifetime of cultural and social conditioning. We merely have to 'turn around the light' and look inward.

    Read the works of Liu I Ming, Thomas Cleary (especially The Secret Of The Golden Flower) and some Ch'an literature for another perspective.

     

    Best wishes

  12. Posted · Edited by adept

    Don't know anything about him or his 'system', but I read this on the intro page and it set my BS monitor off :D

     

    'discovering this ancient form of chi activation, which is believed to extend back to Bodhidharma'

     

    Really ?

    How many more of these re-discovered forms of qigong, which always have a real famous originator, are going to emerge suddenly ?

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    This statement from the Cleary book sums up the complete practice.

    Read it, ponder over it, contemplate it, over and over.

    Put it into practice in everyday life.

     

    'The Way is present before our eyes, yet what is before our eyes is hard to understand. People like the unusual and enjoy the new; they miss what is right in front of their eyes and do not know where the Way is. The Way is the immediate presence; if you are unaware of the immediate presence, then your mind races, your intellect runs, and you go on thinking compulsively. All this is due to shallowness of spiritual power, and shallowness of spiritual power is due to racing in the mind.'

  17. Posted

    Do not flatter your knowledge. In my opinion, you only count among the misled.

     

    I wasn't flattering my knowledge. I just prefer the Cleary version.

    Please don't insult people just because they don't agree with everything you say.

    This is a discussion forum for Christ's sake. We all don't have the same preferences. It would indeed be a stale world if that was the case.

    The way you express your beliefs suggests to me that you are not like the Tao at all. Soft, yielding and pliable and open to all expressions. Instead you come across as rigid, brittle and unmovable. Please see the other person's viewpoint before hastily responding. We're all here to learn from each other.

    Peace.

  19. Posted

    misled by translators and/or ‘masters’ with no integrity.

     

    Thomas Cleary has produced some wonderful translations of Taoist and Buddhist texts.

    He has a fantastic reputation.

    The thing is, he's not just a translator/author. He's a practitioner also and has spent decades cultivating.

    So, I wouldn't say he has no integrity, nor is he misleading anyone. In fact it is the Wilhelm text that is way off the mark, and Jung's commentary is even more so.

  23. Posted

    After reading the Cleary version it's quite obvious that the 'method', if it can be called that, has nothing whatsoever to do with breathing tecniques, moving energy around the body, visualizations, sitting cross legged etc etc.

    It can be taken up by anyone, anywhere, in any situation. In fact, it's a good 'practice' to do when otherwise occupied, such as at work or out walking in nature, drinking tea etc etc. I have tried this and I can honestly say it works.

    There are glaring similarities with Japanese Zen master Bankei and his 'abide in the Unborn' teaching, which also didn't adhere to the usual strict ritualized meditation practices which were prevalent in Japanese temples. Bankei brought his Unborn teaching to the masses. From simple illiterate peasant, through the social classes, up to the most learned Buddhist scholars, from all sects.

    • Like 3

  24. Posted

    The Cleary translation states many times throughout the book that this is NOT a meditation practice per se, but a search for the source. A Taoist/Buddhist inward looking self inquiry method especially written for the layperson, and probably for one without regular contact with a teacher.

    I'm glad I've re-discovered this book. It's probably going to save me a lot of wasted time on meditation 'methods'.