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Everything posted by Mandrake
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the profound wisdom of forgiveness and the absurdity of attack
Mandrake replied to roger's topic in General Discussion
Prasanna, Thanks for an excellent reply. I've had the stories about Arjuna on my reading list for a while, and now I'm even more determined to delve into them I actually think that the topic of forgiveness is deep. But, it is not simple - throwing out platitudes can even damage people and hence all the nuances are important. Like the story points out, there is something as principles not being genuine, a person without the realization parroting words of the realized. This is basically putting the cart before the horse. We can understand that realized people live their lives in different fashions, and can strive to transform our inner mechanisms to finally get there. Anyway, for small matters, yes, forgive and have patience. People need some margins to be able to regret, to reform, and to change. It is also a matter of allowing oneself to being the part that misunderstood the situation. But my gripe is what to do with the big matters. I've seen 65+ old people who have forgiveness in their philosophy, still hurting from their parents physically assaulting them when they were kids. Of course they can mouth forgiveness, but it is clear as daylight that their bodies, and their personalities haven't forgiven. What are they to do? They can read books, they can listen to preeches, they can put restrictions on their behaviours, but their life has been damaged and big parts of their force and vitality have been stunted. There is the danger of your life being halted if one dwells on injustice in the past, but on the other hand, if a deep part of you has been violated, just forgiving won't release you. And this is the thing with hate and other strong emotions: these emotions are communications from a part of you that is non-verbal. Something in you may know that the "forgiveness" was just cowardice when you instead should have stood up for yourself, or that you choose weakness instead of proper uprightness. "Forgiveness in this context is Arjuna fighting for the cause of righteousness, not foregoing the evil Kauravas who would have caused extreme harm to the society by way of corruption and malpractices." And this applies to oneself as well, the corruption and malpractise that is. "... he would be forced again to fight the war because Arjuna's real nature was that of of a warrior and not of a saint who can renounce everything." Just check the warrior-immortals in Daoism. I've also close-hand seen offenders trying to wipe down unfair actions under the carpet under the name of "forgiveness" even though there was no real resolution. They don't care; but they care about the victim being silent. I've seen old people almost crying about the violence of their parents and insisting on forgiveness, when the proper responce would be to at last allow their body speak and scream " f*ck you asswh*les for what you did!" and then begin a proper path to healing. M -
the profound wisdom of forgiveness and the absurdity of attack
Mandrake replied to roger's topic in General Discussion
Apparently the profound wisdom wasn't profound? -
the profound wisdom of forgiveness and the absurdity of attack
Mandrake replied to roger's topic in General Discussion
"Isn't it obvious that to hate, to attack, and to get vengeance are very, very poor choices?" Absolutely not. There are plenty of situations where attack and vengeance are the right things to do, and where forgiving and letting things be are the wrong choices. I've found that the demons urge others to forgive. M -
Well, the article doesn't say minimal. I would love numbers. I happen to have grown up in a blue-zone myself, and it certainly wasn't "minimal." But overall I'm not one of those that believe in a magic pill-diet. M
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Off-topic. Semen retention is something else.
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Liminal_luke, For you, it is natural to approach the question, it emerges from your being and path. But in general, I am not for just freely dispensing knowledge to whoever wants to know piecemeal. There are sinister motives out there, and sinister questions when you look behind the words. For example, look at all the topics the OP has asked. How are these cultivation, how are those connected to understanding a solid path for him/her in order to get solid progress? And also - look at all the posters. You've run into it before - I am unfortunately sure - but there's a lot of bigotry and dead morality posturing as knowledge. For this is the thing, people crave vanity and power, and they want to appear as a person who "knows". So later on they can walk out into the real world and discuss homosexuality or something else even though it doesn't relate to them at all. A lot of gurus and teachers fall into this trap as well. They have some knowledge, but then believes they have to be infallible and have answers to everything, and come up with beliefs without any backing at all. Where do these come from? That old, festering ball of prejudice, morals from brainless philosophies and cultures formed by sociopaths (who don't tolerate differences), and lack of rationality. A prime example is female cultivation. Out of all the cultivation litterature out there, a miniscule amount deals with the particulars of women cultivators. An embarassing small amount is about a woman's perspective of walking the path - what you encounter and have to handle in the inner and the outer world. This is the most precious thing to you in the world, you travel and sacrifice to find more insight in this, and there's almost nothing to find. But there are plenty of men there ready to give advice on the mentioned particulars, and how women can't have success due to reasons XYZ. Why? Not because they have direct insight and great enlightenment, but because of power dynamics, greed, prejudice, and cultural habits. Now, imagine a gay cultivator. Tough. There's probably nothing out there because of the percentage of cultivators being so small. But again, because you are different, even people posing as more enlightened falling for the trap of "oh, you're different, and therefore it must be an abberation" will be more than willing to give out untested advice because it makes them feel powerful, needed, and esteemed. So see through this bullshit. There's a lot of arrogant self-assurance from people who have no real knowledge at all. Worse: they insist that they know more than you who actually cultivate and are gay. Human stupidity is incredible. A lot of the traditions - Daoist and other - was filled with old, straight men who bore a lot of cultural customs, understanding, and view of the world of that time. All that baggage isn't just suddenly dropped because they cultivate. So there's a lot of prejudice, bigotry and ignorance there - heck, I was a prejudiced bigot too. Just look at some of the input here, "spirit disturbance," and compare with the fundamentalist Southern Baptist "Pray the Gay away," "Demon possession," "Conversion therapy" and similar, that repeatedly fails to be verified empirically and scientifically. It's the same shit, but with a Daoist flower on. So to you liminal_luke, and all other in your and similar positions: Best of luck with your cultivation, and may you find people who are with you, and not well-meaning posers wearing sheep's skin. Mandrake
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Why is this a relevant question for you?
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If it has an effect on the brain, then that is easily verifiable. But so far, nothing. Just because some sects have some strange requirements, does not render them immune to superstition. Or are we to just accept anything wholesale lie a Testament on stone tablets, just because it is spiritual? There are lot of advanced lineages that have no trouble at all with garlic et al, and in fact have the power to be able to transmute all kinds of substances. Some lineages are connected to spirits who don't like certain things - such as garlic - and others have heavenly lieages that are immune. But frankly, I lean toward a misguided and rudimentary understanding of plants from the past. M
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Lol, somebody's clearly trolling this thread. R
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I'm afraid you're in uncharted territory. My intuition is that one should go for general principles: Learn how to feel the energies in your own body, how to balance them, to clean your mai, and work with the points in the central channel. Then expand to your environment. Mantak Chia's sexual practices have screwed people up in a major way - search through past threads on this. Anyway, I've only met a handful of people who have direct understanding and experience - hence authority - of your question. PM me if you are interested. M
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Innovative mantra counting methods
Mandrake replied to nine tailed fox's topic in General Discussion
This is how I did/do it. M -
Vipassana comes in different styles, and it seems as if you've already understood that Goenka's variant isn't the only one. Ajahn Chah's is another one, but there are plenty of additional one's. Most of the practices you can find are either focused on shamatha, vipassana or some kind of devotion. You may for example find that a particular shamatha object works much better for you than another, so there is room for some tinkering. And as Steve says, shamatha is powerful, and in basically all traditions is a prerequisite for vipassana to work as intended. M
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At this point I would seriously question the "clairvoyant" that you go to. "Among those I tested was vipassana which was said to not be particularly effective for me, and theravada which was the most effective." This is a severe contradiction. Theravada is a branch of Buddhism, and vipassana is a technique of insight which is at the core of Buddhism and what distinguishes it from other Indian traditions. If your "clairvoyant" truelly had any powers he wouldn't come up with confusion and contradiction. "Is it true that theravada is mostly about cultivating a one-pointed mind in meditation, whereas vipassana is a more wider mindfulness (ie. body scanning, sound, breath)" No, it is not true at all. Theravada is a branch of Buddhism based on the pali cannon. It has a particular philosophy, psychology, aim and set of methods to take you toward that aim. One-pointedness (which is a misrepresentation) is one of the tools, but definitely not what makes Theravada different. "Moreover is theravada characterised by the Buddho mantra whereas vipassana does not?" Nope. You are placing Theravada and vipassana in the same category, which is a mistake. "Is vipassana more secular?" You ask this because you lack understanding. My advice is to get some solid, reliable information directly from the source and not from twisted outsiders. There are good introductory books by recognized masters from the Theravadic tradition. This is a lifetime endeavour that you are considering, and if you can't bother studying in order to get a clear picture then you most probably are not ripe for spiritual practice. Mandrake
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I find it curious that when people buy this retention thing, then it is very hard to bend that belief. And then other people come along and sometimes speak about traditions where retention isn't necessary, and they don't even blink. "How is this accomplished?" would be a good reaction. As people have commented on again and again on this forum, retention is inherently problematic if one carries a lot of sexual issues, conflicting morality, and is living a stressful life. The originators lived in a completely different culture, with a different societal dynamic, and the assumptions underlying the practice were completely different than what would be included in the cultivation-package today. Mandrake
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Poor people. Must be tough living with a world-view where everything is against you but a small clique of people who believe exactly as you do - and I'm not talking about you Daesh, or am I?
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It is your decision. However, very few westerners (I don't speak for others) enter conditions that are similar to those in a silent retreat for 10 days. Being alone with yourself without distractions is terrifying for many. Also, be aware that this is a controlled environment and that it is for your and the others' safety. The retreat holders know that under these parameters the system does what it is intended to do. If participants start to mix and experiment, then there are no sure outcomes, and even some risk. But individualistic westerners dislike being told to follow rules and a regimen, so they immediately get cult-vibes. Second point: people who dislike things are much more prone to go out and announce their experiences. But you will find them everywhere, for every system out there. But we almost never get to question them back: what went wrong? Did this individual misbehave, fulfill the conditions, stick to the instructions etc.? Regarding the teachings: You don't need to believe everything Goenka does (gasp!). He teaches a form of meditation. It has benefits - great for some, good for others, not much for some people. So just do it, and then you can develop from there and follow other meditation traditions if you like (including theory, behaviour, and techniques). You don't need to follow the system for years. Maybe one retreat is enough for you, but you will still learn something. Check out the youtube documentary on vipassana in Indian prisons. The retreat is for free. You have no obligations to do anything post-retreat at all. People won't turn up at your door nor spy at you. If your fear holds you back, maybe that's where you need to do work. Mandrake
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blue eyed snake & Mandrake, outdated together <3
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Earl Grey, Thanks for sharing. Though, I vehemently disagree with the quote above. There are different and more efficient methods out there for purification of karma. Not all teachers know all of them. Mantras are excellent though, and I encourage all the classical, proven ones. Mandrake
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I concur. If TTB moved to FB or similar data-mining sites, I would leave. People have lost jobs and opportunities over interests and opinions such as those discussed here.
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Nonsense. It is common for new agey people to hold all kinds of unsubstantiated beliefs. I guess it is because it flatters some people, but in the end it degrades the art. I've had the fortune of meeting some of the worlds most accomplished and able astrologers. They would at best be amused at such claims of evolution. It is different if a person of ability makes such a claim, but in that case, ability is testable. It is a claim on reality and then it needs to be reliably proven. A solid astrologer can say what all kinds of very specific things about your life, what kind of vocation you have, relations, when you will have a disease in a certain body part, when your house will burn and your family die. And all without knowing you and employing any psychic skill. A practicioner who can make real world prediction with a definitive time, place and process behind it reliably for thousands of people has an entirely different dignity; I trust statements from such a person. The esoteric arts are precise and very effective. Blanket statements without real world substance are easy to make, but of no value. Leos and Scorpios out there, rest assure that you are not less evolved; Virgos and aquariuses, rest assured too. M
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All things will be clear at the retreat ; )
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Not much to add since I'm a beginner concerning BGZ. I applaud your endeavour. It's been rewarding following you here on thedaobums and I look forward to purchasing the book. M
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If the house caught fire, turning the torch to "medium" is hardly any help at all.
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It's time well spent (in all my cases). A tip is to bring both a meditation pillow and a meditation bench (i.e. allow you options for comfort), and to take advantage of standing. Hope you have a fruitful time! Mandrake
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First of all, one has to remember that the Buddhist lineages basically died out in southeast asia. There was a huge revival in the 19th century with the resurge of national identity, and in this time period a lot of experimentation occured in order to get working techniques of vipassana back. During this interval you got techniques such as the Goenka variety, Mahasi Sayadaw etc; in typical Asian fashion many claim that they had hidden access to an ancient lineage, without much evidence of one. In the Theravada lineages you have the modern varieties such as above, and on the other hand Vipassana styles based on historical commentaries - check out the Pa Auk forest tradition, and the free books by Pa Auk Sayadaw. Roughly speaking regarding Vipassana: In Theravada/Hinayana the aim is to thoroughly realize the three marks of existence - impermanence, unsatisactoriness, non-self (anicca, dukkha, anatta) - in all parts of one's being. In Mahayana (where it is called Vipashyana in sanskrit) the aim is to realize Shunyata, which is entirely different. Realizing the three marks of existence doesn't make one realize Shunyata, but realizing Shunyata automatically entails understanding the three marks of existence. Success in Vipashyana also requires much more strict prerequisites (provess in other modes of meditation and more).
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