alexandrov

QUOTE(Marblehead @ Nov 14 2009, 06:00 PM) "Emptiness meditation" is exactly that - emptiness. That is, we sit in the most comfortable position we know of and then we empty our mind. We forget what we are thiking about then we totally stop thinking. We don't think about our heart rate or our breathing or anything else. Our mind becomes totally empty. Afterall, it is only where there is emptiness where something can enter. Something may or may not enter. It doesn't matter. I was just wondering how shikantaza and taoist emptiness meditation are different? Maybe the concepts of emptiness are different in the 2 systems, but in my understanding both of these techniques have basically the same set of instructions, right?

well said, thats what i really wanted to come across, but i said it in the wrong way

The way I understand it Padmasambhava was not determining what was right for everybody, but was simply teaching things the way he thought it was best to do so for his time period and the geographical region. I dont think he meant the system he created to be for everybody. Padma was originally from the oodiyana area (or at least lived there at one point), and he would have been exposed to a huge diversity of of different teachings that were available to him at the time. In regaurd vajrayana practitioners I have spoken to many have told me that one should do practices that they are naturally drawn to. So it does seem (at least in my experience) that many vajrayana systems today contain a good deal of liberty in that sense. Also some people really need the authoritarianism, because they are too undisciplined or lack the motivation to do things on their own. In my opinion I think that everyone needs the right mix of authority and liberty in their life and the levels each individual needs are different. Every practice done in Vajrayana is definitely not for everybody, and at this stage in my life the bulk of it is not for me. But that does not mean I have to throw the baby out with the bathwater because there are some practices I can benefit from at the moment. I think that today there is a trend in many people to disregaurd entire cultivation systems because they may not agree with a single aspect of the system or its history. For example even if vajrayana buddhism did at one point create a feudal system and commit violent atrocities and such, it does not mean the practices in their system are inherently evil.

Is this really true? It is my understanding that the old system that padmasambhava set up did not have too much to do with the government other then letting vajrayana buddhism stay in tibet. From my own knowledge it was the gelugs later on in history who were more interested in political matters. Although I must say I am no expert in this field, could someone elaborate?

Recently ive been thinking about karma, its mechanisms and finding a career that i can truely make a difference in people's lifes positively with that being said im into science and was thinking of going into a career in research......but then that got me thinking about technology and all the problems it has caused......... my conclusion as of now is that technology is neither good or evil it just depends on how it is used, by technology i am not only reffering to modern 21st century stuff, i am reffering to any human innovation. Because even learning to use fire to cook, or a stick to defend oneself is technology. yoga and alchemy are also forms of technology. Then things get tricky......... lets take oppenheimer for example who made amazing developments in nuclear technology culminating in the first atom bomb. He was just doing his job, but his invention killed hundreds of thousands, and he knew what he was working on...however he didnt know how it was going to be used.......so what kind of karma does he get for this? Maybe he thought he was creating a weapon so powerful that no one would ever dare to fight wars ever again? maybe he thought he was doing the world a great favor? Plus we will never know how history would have been different if he didnt create the bomb, maybe then the US invasion of Japan would have killed even more people then the atom bomb? so my point is karma is very complicated on an esoteric level or so it seems........... another thing is today technological developments are usually treated as a mixture of technology and politics, technology is used for political means and the pure scientific method has been pushed to the side. Even many scientists scoff at the possibility of some things (like chi for example) that have not been concretely proven or disproven scientifically EVEN THOUGH THE PURE SCIENTIFIC METHOD AS LAID DOWN BY FRANCIS BACON (ONE OF THE FATHERS OF WESTERN SCIENCE) SAYS THAT ASSUMING SO IS UNSCIENTIFIC BY DEFINITION SINCE YOU HAVE NOT CONCRETELY TESTED IT. so science is not really pure science anymore its a mix of science and politics (mainly capitalism) next topic is the differences in exoteric and esoteric karma......too tired now

I think its probably not a good idea to approach sexual sublimation if you are new to meditation and energetic practices. It is an advanced practice. Just reduce your sexual thinknig and masturbation practices. I personally think jelqing can be very dangerous so i would be careful with that as well. Thinking about women a lot especially if you have a particular woman in mind has caused me more harm then it ever did good. thats just my experience and it may or may not apply to you I think you are worried too much about getting a girl, that you probably act very nervous around girls you find somewhat attractive. If this is the case then girls will think you are weird, and wont be attracted to you. From your posts it sounds like you are really worried about this and you come off with a tone of desperation. If a feminile being of any species detects a hint of desperation in you she will 99% turn you away, thats just how they are. You dont need to be really powerful or wealthy in my experience its more important that you dont act desperate and have confidence the trick is to first make friends with many girls that you from the beginning have no intention to do anything with, that way you learn how to be comfortable around them, you learn how they act, what they want etc. And always when you do go after a girl try not to develop emotions for her until you are with her otherwise you might become real desperate and might have trouble talking to her the way you would want to. Its best to try and get with her, but also realize if you get rejected its no big deal. This way you care less and if you dont care you act like yourself and things go smoooth. also about geting old.....older guys usually get with younger girls, thats just the way our society is set up. so dont worry too much about that best wishes

but seriously I have the same dilemma as I young person I am deceiding on what to do with my life. I also have my problems, and for me the best thing is to find balance. my advice to you would be to sort your life out, make a word document and write everything down you want to possibly do with your life and think to yourself how you can best acheive those things. With cultivation its easy to make unrealistic goals especially if you need to do a lot to make it materialistically speaking. What helped me was to change my viewpoints on materialism. I used to be very anti-material if that makes any sense, but you have to realize that material wealth is in fact a spiritual virtue in a way, because it can allow you to have the time and resources to help others and yourself, if you renounce everything and become a monk or whatever sure you can help yourself, but will you be able to help your parents when they get old? my advice would to be to first sort your life out make a plan and work hard for it to make sure you are materially well off (and different people of corse have different material needs) Most people can find an occupation that at least intrests them a little bit. and living a moderate lifestyle, eating good, and getting some excercise can do wonders for your body even if you dont seriously cultivate. In my experience it is difficult to cultivate well when you are worried about where you are going with your future, but then again everyone is different and for some this wont effect their cultivation too much

OH YE GREAT ANGEL OF DA TAO DA WAY INITIATE THIS NON (BUM) INTO DA PATH OF SUPREME (TAO) BUMMNESS, BY WAY OF YE EVERLASTING POWER. MAY HIS NEWFOUND BUMNESS SURPASS DAT OF ALL DA IMMORTALS OF LORE. MAY LAO-TZU HIMSELF CANNONIZE HIM WITH THE IMMORTALITY EXLIXXXERS AND MAY 10,000 VIRGINS DESCEND FROM THE HEAVENS AND SECURE HIS FAITH IN DA GREAT PATH. MAY ALL TAO BUMS OF THE 3 TIMES GIVE THE TAOBUM HAND SALUTE AS LAID DOWN BY DA OLD PROPHETS IN DA BUM CODEX AS A GESTURE OF INITIATION AND MAY THIS HERE FORMERLY (NON) BUM BE ELEVATED TO THE LEVEL OF (TAO) BUM. MAY THIS HERE NEW (NON) BUM UNDERSTAND THAT AFTER INITIATION THERE BE NO SUCH GOING BACK, AND IF HE BREAKETH ANY OF DA 108 TAO BUM RESTIRCTIONS (SUCH AS PROFANING DA CHIA DOCTRINE O' SEMEN RETENTION) THAT HE WILL BURN IN DA AVITCHI AND HAVE UNDERFED CRAB LIKE CREATURES PINCH AT HIS GONADAL REGIONS FOR ETERNITY. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH BYE BYE NOW! ALEXIU-MAHA-LINGALAM-YONI-PENETRATUS-MAXIMUS

Hi All I was just wondering from an energetic standpoint weather it would be unwise to adpot a reversed sleep pattern over long periods of time (years) where one sleeps during the day and is awake at night? I am reffering to a permanent pattern where one sticks with this regimen daily for years or decades. I know humans evoled to have melatonin stimulated by darkness and that sunlight is beneficial to the body in many ways, and feel free to comment on such topics, but my main question is one reffering to processes/phenomena OTHER then sunlight or lack of it I know some people like sivananda advised against it for unspecified energetic reasons, and that certain taoists talk about "ideal" times during the night for sleep etc. So feel free to share what you know or personal experinces on this topic, as it seems that is is not something too frequently discussed in cultivation circles. thanks

another thing to add i have noticed recently. When I do stay up all night and sleep at aroung 5-7 am and wake up at around 12-2 pm I crave more yang foods then I normally would. Usually I have a definite craving for meat throughout the rest of the day that I normally dont otherwise get on a day where I sleep at a more normal time.

this is a great thread, having screwed myself up with the ye old chia brute force pc squeeze technique I can say this........after almost four years I STILL HAVE NO SEX LIFE AND CANT EVEN HOLD A FEMALES HAND WITHOUT CAUSING MYSELF HARM. I had a gf in the summer and the only thing we did was hold hands. I was with her for like a month or 2 and only saw her like once a week. that ended around july........well wouldent you know im STILL RECOVERING FROM THAT EXPERIENCE NOW IN LATE NOVEMBER, and its not a real recovery its just going back to my baseline level, which does not include too much pain but a whole host of urinary and sexual dysfunctions however.....however.....one thing i did get from his technique is that I must avoid every female encounter because my sex system is really that screwed up. So in a way it made me a celibate and I am forced to stay away from women my point is this stay away from doing EXTREMELY HARD PC muscle excercises, playing around with your sexual system is serious business im not saying there arent any techniques that work out there, but im not a fan of using one muscle to stop the most powerful force in nature from escaping especially when one feels a need to release and thanks for the advice ya mu

well said......

i was wondering how this is done? looks pretty cool

So then those myths about some chigung masters getting a belly because of their excercises have truth to them? Also from these posts I get that having this kind of chi-belly serves a beneficial functional purpose. Could you guys please elaborate on this? Does it allow better chi storage? I know many famous energy masters do have bellies so.... Also in many preindustrial hunter-gatherer societies healthy people would sometimes have somewhat of a belly and some of these same individuals never lost the hair on their head or their vision or teeth even into very old age. Maybe the modern concept of having to be lean and cut in order to be in optimal health is not true? thanks

im very suprised this thread did not touch on peoples differences in metabolism. I am a very lean guy no matter what I do, I can eat as much as I want and I wont gain a pound no matter how sedentary I am. Granted I am still young, so maybe this will change as I age. I have barely got any excercise in the last year and when I dont excercise I actually LOOSE weight. The only way I can gain weight is by a lot of regular bodybuilding which just does not work for me because it puts way too much stress on my body in the codition its in at the moment. The point I am trying to make here is that people have different body types and its not fair to look at someone and say "oh your a lazy fat bastard who eats too much" just because they have a belly. The reverse is also true someone might look at a skinny guy and say he needs to lift or eat or whatever. When I used to lift a lot I was not too much bigger then I am now, but I was A Lot stronger, so you cant just tell all these things from looking at a person....unless you can see auras or something Additionally my apetite is not very good, and people often tell me I need to eat more, but would it really be healthy for me to FORCE myself to eat when im not hungry? This just strains my digestion and makes me bloated. Some people DO have more apetite then others, so telling someone they have weak control over their eating habits just because they have a stronger hunger could also potentially be arbitrary. Some people also have more efficient digestion and may use up more food even if they eat less. so therefore they may be able to gain weight easier. I for example have poor digestion, poor apetie and im thin. Does this mean I have excellent self control over my eating and workout habits? Absolutely not! Some obese people have pituitary tumors or other PHYSICAL FACTORS that make loosing weight for them very hard no matter what they do. Ultimately I guess it comes down to karma and for some people its just really tough. I am not saying people should not work hard to loose weight I am just saying it should be understood its not the same process for everybody. a good analogy is sex drive in some it is strong and in others it is weak. just because it is weaker in some does not mean they are more spiritually advanced, they could have low testosterone, or poor bloodflow to their genitals, or emotional blockages. Vice versa is true, and telling people with strong sex drives that they are lazy or have weak will or whatever without knowing anything else about them is just stupid. not everybody can rely on the same approaches to help their problems.

i have relatives that use one for back problems with good results, I occasionally use it to get blood flowing after prolonged sitting. It is very relaxing and causes some kind of relaxation response i think. This response is not the same if one does a headstand, by this i mean it feels completely different from a headstand or handstand. In a headstand i do not get the realaxation

i dont understand what you mean by this, could you please explain what happened here in another way? Especially the stepped in a hole part, did you physically have a hard fall? Did you hit your perineum? Also what do you mean by fall out, please describe the sensation more, and under which circumstances it reappears. to me the barbell squat part could possibly indicate the beginnings of a hernia especially since you mentioned too much weight. thanks

more like guaranteed to........

I dont know why he was banned and i dont think its my business. that being said, It is quite obvious to me from his posts here on the forum that the man is very well read and provides a good perspective on things. I am not saying I agree with all or most of his advice, I just think he contributed a substantial amount to this forum. His unique style of presentation is not only downright entertaining and humerous but it also causes one to think abstractly. Some people may find his writing offensive or vulgar, but I think if he can write in that style and still get multiple points across and be entertaining at the same time then he deserves some kind of award. ........................

could it not be said that eventually ones "energy body" will also degrade?

is there any specific reason for this trunk? Personally I have found that it is good to take breaks from taking herbs as their effects seem to stop working so well after a few weeks or so additionally some people take herbs that may not be suited for them at a particular time. Basically they can do themselvs more harm then good. however the same thing can be said about foods as well, some are not very suitable for particular individuals with specific conditions. I think He Shou Wu is really good stuff in my experience, but I have a sense that my spleen chi is not the strongest so I dont take it all the time. I once got some from http://www.therootofthematter.ca/cgi-bin/i...rootofthematter im not sure how good the quality is, but it worked pretty good for helping leg pain, and strengthening sexual potency

I just wanted to say that my best chigung comes right after ejaculation, the chi is so smooth, and it feels so relaxing and just "right", if I retain a while and then practice everything feels jittery, disturbed, rough, there is a lot of tension, and overall things just dont feel right. Maybe it also depends of the kind of chigung practiced, i dont know

I came across this strange looking technique I cant seem to get it to work It involves pressing an acupoint above the right nipple to acheive orgasm without ejac It seems you are supposed to touch penis/masturbate at the same time anybody know about it? Here are the instructions in broken english enjoy.... When you begin to stimulate (nipples,penis ... ) you must press the 42 point (ping ai) with your left hand and DONT stop to press, Continue pressing during all time,but soon you will feel and increible sensation and you will know you are doing it ok. If you go on stimulation , all your body will tingle and feel a marvelous feeling. But that technique has a problem ,almost for me, i need many time to be succesfull, you must feel relaxed and without bloquing emotions on head, it amplifies it,i can not tell you why,but it is real. If someone has experimented acupunture , they would know what i am talking about. In summary : relax and stimulate pressing the point ping-ai I discover it on van gullik's book.it is a very good book about chinesse sexuality , with part of older texts. In one of them was also the technique , i have not translate it because i have not the book,sorry Points location tsun the point's surface is too little,we can cover it with half rice grain. In practique when we used pressure techniques ,we considered also the area around the point, a fingertip . -Ping-ai point ,retention point It is an special point used only in man.It is a tsun on right nipple. It is an autotratament point. We press it constantly in vertical ,strong ,with index and middle fingers of left hand. It will do while dual practique (intercouse, or penis stimulation)

Hey all Recently I have been very interested in mantric science, however I have a few questions I am hoping some of you here can adress. First what I have come to see is that when people speak of mantras they are usually reffering to 1 of 2 things. Firstly there are what I dubb the "magic" mantras or the mantras that were constructed carefully by highly accomplished masters to produce certain effects involving specific entities, forces, and reality control that extend outside the practitioners physical body. Theses mantras also usually involve stimulating or directing energies within the body as well. The second type of mantra is simply a sound aka "sound mantra" that only has the effect of stimulating energetic processes inside one's body. An example of a "magic" mantra would be om mani peme hung, and a sound mantra would be something like the 6 healing sounds. I personally have a lot of concerns about the authenticity of many of the magic mantras because for example in vajrayana buddhism many of them started out in sanskrit and were translated into tibetan or other launguages. I just dont understand how if they were translated they could retain their authenticity because originally they were designed very specifically syllable by syllable. I have even heard of some tibetan buddhism teachers talking about translating mantras into english.......yikes!!! any thoughts

neat, which university do you study at? I think it would be neat to do a phd in something like that