gendao

There's a fine line between a safety net for rare, "perfect storm" emergencies...and a crutch for the lazy & greedy.

My point was simply that Taoism does pass judgement. The DDJ is a manual advising harmonizing with our true Nature to maximize efficiency & positive results. This is a judgement on a better way to live life. It even goes so far as to give political advice against any large, meddlesome government that micromanages for the "common good." This is a judgement on a better way to run a country - and can easily be interpreted as anti-Communist. So, it would actually be perfectly natural for Taoists to be anti-Communist...not a "surprise" at all. I agree with most of your subsequent posts, though. Well, I'd be more than happy to discuss a successful Communist country. Name one. Reality is, the USSR & China ARE REAL Communism - an Orwellian Trojan Horse that tooled the gullible underclass (who were later killed or enslaved) to overthrow the ruling regime (and thus pave the way for its totalitarian replacement). It was always a bait & switch power-tripping psyop to begin with. And has shown these true colors everywhere its been implemented. These weren't failed experiments at all. They were successful ones. But keep the faith, if you want. Maybe one day the "real utopian" Communism will show up...along with the "real" Santa Claus (not the fake shopping mall imposters)! Excatly, that's what happens when you artificially equalize results, regardless of effort. Which is what happens under Communism. (Yes, I know that you are not arguing 100% for Communism, I am just making a general point here.) I'm really just here to debate issues, not you personally. So, no need to take every comment I make personally. No offense, but this debate is much larger than just YOU. paul walter - GIH has called me a stupid thick head asshole puffing up your chest who don't know what the fuck you are talking about...& also threatened the use of brute force...yet I haven't called him any names (other than using his own words against him to make a point). But, somehow I am the dick here? And how does capitalism ruin your life? And do you really think you'd fare better under Communism? Where a small band of ruthless thugs like Mao or Stalin micromanages your life? Where instead of letting the free market & due process decide the value of things - everything is instead based upon the whims, personal opinions & private agendas of an opaque, power-tripping cabal (regardless of any actual facts, common sense or logic)? And you, the "uplifted proletariat," have absolutely no say - in your own life?

Very interesting...& I wonder if there might be some bizarre connection with the word HULA, too? Anyone know its etymology?

Awesome, thanks! durkhrod chogori & .broken. - Are you guys seeing these lights with your eyes opened or closed? 3bob - What is the "crystal body" that that book talks about? The Tibetan Rainbow Body/Diamond Body? And what are the basic meditation tips in there? Any good ones?

No, I don't. You could have fled to any number of other Communist countries - yet you purposely preselected only capitalist ones (USA, AUS or CA). Preach Communism, practice capitalism. Check. Credibility? Plummeting... Maybe I will, by our Communizing government. Which is what I'm trying to prevent. And I am all for teamwork & helping each other out - just BY CHOICE. I'm not a hardass, really. I simply don't want to help some gangbangers living next door who deal drugs & just raped our neighbor. I don't have the luxury of living in a gated community and have to deal with these types all the time. So, I am against FORCED collectivism & charity. It's a simple matter of free will & common sense here, not lack of compassion or willingness to cooperate.

Woaaa, I've never seen you lose your cool like this. You might want to listen to yourself here, buddy. Freudian projection, check. WOW, these are some bold statements & threats! Capitalism "ruins your life" and you will resist it with force??? And yet: So as Communism was failing in the USSR...why did you chose to flee to a capitalist country like the US? Instead of another Communist country? You chose to ruin your own life? Well, both "weak" & "strong" can be vulnerable at various times. It's all relative and changing. So, the same person could be the "stronger" one today, but the "weaker" one tomorrow. Property rights thus protect everyone's property under a mutually-agreed upon ceasefire. I think when you mature, you will realize that only fairness is equitable & sustainable and enabling failure disables in the long run. Your thinking has led to 140 million deaths and untold suffering. You call that COMPASSIONATE? You don't understand shit about the world if that's what you think. If that's not dangerous territory, I don't know what is? Well, (I assume) you freely chose to move from a Communist to a capitalist country. Actions speak louder than words. I think this debate is now over. Thx for playing. Seriously, we may just have to agree to disagree here. Obviously, you are literally deadset in your beliefs...so be it. It's a free country, to each their own. ^5

Have you ever heard of a Taoist book called the Dao De Jing? I believe you have confused non-duality with non-judgement. Because it actually gives a lot of explicit political advice: I said DESERVING effort. Which is determined via supply & demand in a fair free market in accordance with criminal laws. By which coal miners actually make about DOUBLE ($65,000) the per capita income in the US of $33,881. Given that this is a fairly unskilled, but high-risk occupation, it's probably a fair sum. It doesn't? Try taking over a hornet's nest. Or stealing a salmon away from a bear who just caught it. What do you think a tiger is doing when it marks its territory? I think if you try to simply "take what you see" in Nature - you will also find that it is not quite as simple as you think. And don't forget about all the other warriors whom YOU won't ever see coming.. And Communism has property rights too - all property simply becomes property of the State. The State pwns your ass. Tells you when to get up, when to take a sh*t & when to go to bed. How you like dem apples? But, why so defensive? What is it that feels so threatened here? Your ego? All I'm doing is challenging your personal beliefs. Not your personal safety in any shape or form.

Interestingly, "hulu" is a Chinese word for a hollowed-out gourd often carried by immortals too.

I guess this really puts their Buddhist convictions of all phenomena being merely illusive and the body just being a skin bag...to the test. I think this is a conflict that many spiritually-oriented people face - grounding in the real world, as illusive as it might be. Wow, projecting much? But ok, maybe you're right. Next time you're short on cash but just "need" something...just grab it off the shelf of a store and walk out without paying. If they accost you, tell them to calm down, go take a cold shower and stop being so greedy. Then come back here and let me know how that works out for you. Have you ever actually lived under Communism? Cuz that's actually not much of an exaggeration - as the monk mentioned. Not to mention 100-140 million DEAD victims??? Does that figure mean absolutely nothing to you? But ohhh, none of these were caused by "real" Communism...which never existed in the real world - because IT CAN'T. Because it is not based upon human nature, like capitalism. Basically, 8 billion people would have to all become enlightened for it to hypothetically "work." IOW, it's totally unrealistic. Of course if that happened - we might not need ANY form of government. Nonetheless, parts of it that were effectively implemented did result in epic failure, time & again. And again, you dodged my real world question: Would you prefer extreme wealth disparities (capitalism) or extreme poverty for all (Communism)? Remember, politics is generally the lesser of evils... Uh, I said "Or, do you support eliminating extreme dating disparities too and mandate equal sex for everyone?" Where in tarnation did I accuse you of using brute force in there? Bingo! We have a winner! It's amazing to me that a Trojan Horse that has killed over 100 million people (and made Hitler look like a Girl Scout) is still duping people today!

GIH - The problem with your analysis is that you're judging everyone based upon the same essential life path (college-cubicle career-monetary metric only). Again, it's very narrow, select criteria. Which of course some will be better suited than others for - whether that's genetically or otherwise. What you are missing is that if you were to change your focus to another life path or activity - now different people will be better suited. If you are trying to drive a nail in a board, of course a hammer will beat a nail. But if you got a screw, it will be vice-versa. If you are racing down the Autobahn, a Porsche will beat a Humvee. But if you're in a jungle, vice-versa. A failure by one metric, might be a success by another. That's the whole point behind diversity. So, Bill Gates might suck at swimming, yet be great at running a business. Some 7' tall dude might suck at horse jockeying, yet be great at hoops. Some high school dropout grease monkey making minimum wage might be getting paid 5X less but laid 5X more than a college grad cubicle slave. You can't just compare and judge everyone based upon their SALARIES alone. Quality of life encompasses MUCH more than that! Look, say some dude is born 6'5" and looks like a GQ model - another is born 5'2" & looks like a troll. The former will have a HUGE advantage with women...but how could you ever equalize that? Now, let's say that troll worked really hard to get rich to compensate for his looks. But now you equalize their wealth. Haven't you actually now UNequalized things & screwed this troll over even more now? Or, do you support eliminating extreme dating disparities too and mandate equal sex for everyone? Hey, Tiger Woods got 17 babes simultaneously! That's not fair! We need policies to correct this extreme disparity! Seriously, where would it end? Actually, you do know that the opposite is true? The poorest people actually reproduce the most & the wealthiest the least? That's one reason why they're both poor & rich. Well, extremes are naturally rare. That's how a bell curve works. Well, you attribute it mainly to extremely unfair privileges, circumstances and such. You seem to deny the fact that there may also be extreme disparities in individual effort. Given that this is also a fact, why shouldn't there also be some extreme disparities in results to match? To me, the real problem would be extreme disparities in deserving effort & wealth. As long as the wealth is well-earned & fairly gotten, I have no problem with it. Sure rich people could abuse it too - but poor people can also abuse others without wealth as well - by say, mugging them. So, that's still a red herring. Personally, there is a humungoid wealth disparity between me & Bill Gates. And I don't really care, cuz he worked his ass off for it. Now bankstas ripping everyone off on Wall St - yes, that really pisses me off! But a businessman making money "legitly"...so what? I think before you start tampering with Nature's system, you need to step back & take a look at the broader picture. It's easy to isolate any one aspect and see how certain people excel more than others at it. But that doesn't mean they excel OVERALL in ALL aspects. And inequity in one area could be counterbalanced by inequity in another. Whereas artificially equalizing just ONE thing (wealth) could actually cause more inequality in the overall picture. Anyhow, the reality-based question is: Would you prefer extreme wealth disparities (capitalism) or extreme poverty for all (Communism)? Because, "poor" people here in the US...would still be considered Middle Class people in China right now.

Basically, it's not really not about rich vs poor - but the ability to exercise your own free will, without unfairly impinging on the free will of others. And its hard to become the top .1% of any group in any field - by definition. Cuz if everyone reached that level...it would no longer be the top .1% anymore. It's all relative. Likewise, if everyone was a billionaire, it wouldn't be considered "rich" anymore and merely Middle Class. Flat, homogeneous distributions are rarely natural. Nature usually forms bell curves, due to its heterogeneous diversity. Bell curve distributions in wealth are thus totally natural. So don't blame these bell curves on "unfairness" or see them as problems that can be fixed. It's actually a working natural mechanism that spreads risk & enhances adaptability through portfolio diversification. People supposedly pay taxes not to be good citizens, per se...but to pay for the government services & infrastructure that they enjoy. If you choose to use any of those services...like driving on a highway...then you do owe the government some money some way, somehow. There's no free lunch. Why is it a problem, if Bill Gates earned the money "fairly?" I mean, didn't I have the same freedom (if not necessarily the same business acumen & resources) that he had to do the same thing? I agree that media moguls use their outlets as propaganda mills to disseminate their own political agendas. That's why I don't even own a TV anymore. However, there's nothing keeping anyone else (per se) from doing the same thing. Nor is there anything FORCING all the idiot sheeple out there to watch this filth! Nothing "unfair" about dynastic wealth or banking, either. Your ancestors had the free choice to stock up a lot of money and pass it down to you too. You do as well for your progeny. Don't blame others for doing it, if your lineage chose not to. Someone is also free to charge 100% interest there for microloans & beat all the competition. However, I'm guessing that is not really feasible down there because the interest rate must be jacked up so high because they are loaning money to indigents with negative credit whose default rates are sky-high. So, anyone who charged less than 125% interest...probably went bankrupt & thus got weeded out.

Here's the motives at play here: 1) China is defending its border regions and doesn't want to lose a strategic region to America. This IS the real world here. Imagine how the US would react if China was actively supporting the secession of Texas? 2) America wants hegemonic influence & control over that strategic region (hence the CIA involvement). 3) Tibetans wouldn't mind being a province of China, if they had reasonable autonomy over their lives and were mainly left alone. Personally, I think the best solution here would have been for China to just leave these monks alone up in their mountains. Not cede the territory over to US imperialism...but just keep heavy hands off. Give them as much freedom as possible, without too many special privileges over other provinces to be fair. They were bothering no one, so why disturb that? Who cares, what's it to them? Trying to Sinicize & modernize them - when it was never asked for - has only backfired. Not very Taoist. The Chinese Commies have an annoying habit of trying to homogenize everyone. I understand that they sort of need to to maintain unity & prevent chaos in such a large population...but done too stringently & it will only trigger rebellious backlash.

Says who? Some financial referee who thinks that ideally, everyone should be making the exact same amount of money, whether they're a jobless crackhead or a neurosurgeon??? Did it ever occur to you that maybe some people can choose to find happiness even under meager poverty & austere living conditions? And might prefer that - to a change in lifestyle needed to acquire more wealth? Funny, I never heard a single complaint from this monk about being poor. In fact, he recalls his happiest time LIVING IN A CAVE. So, who the hell are you to impose your standards upon him? It'd be different if these poor folks were begging for modernization & wealth - but they weren't. That was all just a ploy used to justify what the Commies were already planning on doing. Again, why is that a problem? Bill Gates is incalculably richer than I am - yet I don't see that as a problem. Do you? The real problem is not if some people are richer or poorer...but if some people were UNFAIRLY richer or poorer under their current system. And of course the Commies didn't come up with a good answer. That was never their intention to begin with. The "problem" of wealth disparity was a manufactured one from the beginning...as a prefab means to justify their endgame. And you can't draw a 1-to-1 correlation between any nation's standard of living and its government - because there are sooooo many other factors involved. For example, a military strategist might say that Sweden is geographically remote & stays neutral in wartime - thus saving billions on defense expenditures (similar to Canada). Hitler might have attributed Sweden's high quality of life to the fact that it is mostly Aryan stock. Christians might say it's because 73% are Lutherans. A nutritionist might say its because they eat a lot of herring & seafood. Etc etc.

Communism is said to have killed about (~100-140 million, depending on how you count it) people worldwide. This does not include all the massive non-fatal suffering, misery & cultural losses, either. It was literally the most destructive ideology to ever engulf mankind, thus far. And again, all originally marketed under the utopian pretense of uplifting the poor & forcing "equality" for all.

Why did they have to totally rebrand "gua sha" as the "Graston Technique?" Couldn't they just call it "Graston Gua Sha" or something? You can safely do gua sha yourself too: I would recommend using your own personal set of tools & sterilizing them...and not just any spoon or coin. That's kinda nasty for the next user. This guy recommends some GOST tools as far cheaper subs for Graston tools (which apparently are a few G's apiece!).

Communism failed because the ideology is inherently flawed. There are disparities in every society, and not only in wealth (Western materialistic focus). Some people may be poorer, but enjoy more relationships or spiritual devotion, for example. Some people choose to spend more of their time working for more wealth. Others may choose to spend more time leisurely or after other pursuits, while earning less. In the end, some of these various disparities may all somewhat balance each other out & to each their own. You reap what you sow. But Communism denies individual choices and tries to forcefit equal results (regardless of varying efforts) in just a few cherry-picked metrics (namely, financial). Now you reap what others sowed. This is fundamentally unfair and unrealistic - which is why it fails in EVERY culture it infects, bar none. How could that system possibly WORK anywhere? It certainly doesn't in Nature - which operates under harsh Darwinism where results are anything but equalized. You fail, you die. Every life is an elimination round & only the winners go on to the next one. Governments that mimic Nature will be the most successful. That is why China is starting to prosper again - because they've steadily become more capitalist. Fair competition breeds success & eliminates the ineffectual - just like in Nature. Remove quality control & you remove quality. Reward failure...and you breed more failure. Communism is also purposely a Trojan Horse for totalitarianism, btw. Most totalitarian regimes actually start off from the radical left and promise a utopia for all, especially the "materialistically downtrodden." Of course none of them start off by promising a totalitarian state - cuz who the h*ll would sign up for that? So, they try to lure & hook people in with false promises (many of which weren't even asked for) - and then pull the bait & switch once they're in power. I found this liberal rhetoric eerily familiar here in the US: One can find some parallels here between the CCP & Democrats...rumored labor camps & FEMA camps...Tibetan Buddhist monks & (often Christian) Tea Party militias, no? I found the philosophical questions here the most interesting, though. When push comes to shove, do we all revert to our basic human instincts? Can right alone conquer might? Or do you need both to assure victory?Can love or compassion conquer all? Or do they also include fairness & firmness? How important is memorizing sutras...vs just meditating? Can karma manifest amongst groups or nations?

Some interesting data points there, although I think they can all be interpreted in a number of ways.. For instance, he talks about petroglyphs "showing" people going up higher where goats go. Well, let's say that is what the ancient artists were trying to depict. Well even if that were so, why does he think they might be some ancient prophecy...and not a record of their own ancient history? Since there is no indication of time on these petroglyphs, it could be one or the other. I did find the Cambodian Stegosaurus carving pretty interesting. And I have been to DIA & personally taken photos of their murals! They have already been modified & "toned down" though due to all the subsequent controversy. Well, it does make sense if there is some huge "underground" government program to build a giant facility within a major airport complex. Would make moving large amounts of things much easier logistically and opaquely.

So, you personally witnessed these powers? What were they? I think if there were some visible, living examples of Western masters (of Western traditions) with real attainment, then I'd certainly be interested in learning their arts. One could say there are some individuals with some demonstrable powers in the New Age scene...but many of them are inconsistent and developed from an eclectic amalgam of practices, of natural ability or by other random means. Not to mention, many of them are extremely theoretical & talk a lot more than they can do. For example, Bernard "Drunvalo Melchizedek" Perona talks up some great theory about sacred geometry...but I still don't really see how to apply it much in real life? And have many people attained much from his star tetrahedron meditation? How many people has he healed using sacred geometry? Aleister Crowley was one celebrity Western "magician," but I've never heard of any actual power that he possessed? All this talk about sexual "magick" & esoteric symbolism, blah blah - but what could he actually DO? Wouldn't your average Reiki healer today have shown more power than him? Whereas, I've met a number of masters of Eastern arts (qigong, neidan, etc)...and have tangibly experienced their genuine power firsthand. Just compare Wang Liping to Drunvalo, for instance. The difference in actual real-life achievement is enormous. Liping can (at least in 1 case) psychically read your personal history upon meeting you & that's probably one of his lesser skills. Now, I've also felt genuine ability from various random people in the "New Age" scene - but again, they may be personally guided by their spirit guides or had latent ability - so that doesn't really fit within the East/West categories. In addition, I agree with apepch7 that many of the Western secret society esoteric practices (Hermetics?) are derived from Egyptian sources...who many believe came from an Atlantean diaspora. Which also does not neatly fit within the East/West duality. I think there have been some great examples of Western individuals demonstrating some veritable siddhis or attainment (Nostradamus, etc) - but these were more often based upon the unique individual & not some practice they were following. But if someone does know of a real live Celtic or Druidic master who has proven powers or attainment, please do let us know!

What is the mane mantra & how do you do it? Well, the waterfall method would just be Kunlun 3 (from what I can gather): Kunlun 1 = spontaneous adjustment Kunlun 2 = celestial master points the way Kunlun 3 = great water fall These are all of Yigong's physical branch, though. Kunlun = physical branch of Yigong + Red Phoenix. Whereas, the spiritual branch has not been publicized yet & I do not know exactly what its purpose is...but perhaps something to do with "manifestation?"

I agree. That's what true masters are valuable for. The rest is all just speculation & conjecture. A lot of hot air that could all be saved if someone can just SEE what the actual deal is. It's like people all arguing where a buried treasure is. This can go on for years, until someone finally hits the chest. At that point, all idle discussion immediately CEASES as all the possibilities suddenly collapse to a singularity. Clarity, insight & greater certainty are one invaluable thing that master (seers) have to offer n00bs.

Cool to hear the original names of Kunlun 1, 2 & 3 here. Also got me curious about what the spiritual side of Yigong is now? Great book recommendations too - I'm going to have to read I Am That soon.. And, is Jenny enlightened?

Finally picked this up yesterday & read the first 80 pages... Wasn't expecting much as a pop New Age book, but it was suprisingly REALLY GOOD. Basically talks about getting your mind out of the way, watching the observer (true self-awareness) & expanding out perpendicular to the space/time lines into the NOW (unlimited by spacetime). A lot of the same old concepts, but nicely bundled together through a modern experience in plain English.

Right, well these points have already all been covered by PUA.. Essentially, with the advent of feminism & welfare...women no longer "need" Beta male providers. That function has been supplanted by their own incomes or taxpayer-funded social welfare programs (WIC/TANF). Of which liberals keep passing more and more (Pelosicare) as Beta males get artificially legislated further into forced slavery for Alphas & their groupies. As a result, most men can no longer use material "bait" and financial leverage as "crutches" to attract women anymore. So, what do most Beta males have left? If they don't have looks, talent or loads of charm...they pretty much got nothing. Hence, the PUA movement arose from the grassroots to compensate for this lack. Because now, the only thing women still really NEED men for is reproduction. However, a man's income & character traits are generally deemed irrelevant for this purpose. In fact, a quick look at the most successful chick magnets will reveal that they generally treat women like disposable children, not mature adults. And these women don't care as long as their sperm donors possess the genetic traits she desires in her offspring. (Unless a woman does not want anymore children - THEN she may seek a stable Beta provider only to take care of her and cuckold any kids she already has. Which is why many of these same women don't start dating Beta males until they are effectively done breeding with Alphas.) Sexual status is thus what really makes or breaks men now. Which is why PUAs all strive to transform themselves from Betas to Alphas. Which is the real status & dichotomy here - Beta Vs Alpha.