dwai

Atman cannot be perceived. The one who perceives is Atman In any case, I didn't want to troll the Buddhist forum with Atman posts. I just thought I'd post that article of mine, because most buddhists seem to misunderstand what Atman means...

How could he? He IS the Atman

If you read the article, it's not really a comparison. It is aimed to dispel misconceptions and strawman positioning of "atman" As you know there are many approaches to pointing to the non-conceptual.

Wonderful article. In my own case, I find my fluid intelligence petering down as I approach the mid-40s. It is not unusual to look at others who have been my peers at earlier stages of life and speculate while comparing. I've given in to that on the rare occasion too in the past. The key really is spiritual practice and knowledge of the right kind. Not just "do x, y and z" methods to gain "A, B & C" qualities/siddhis/etc etc. A genuine inquiry into our true nature is required. Which will help separate the wheat (true nature) from the chaff (personality, labels, attributes, etc etc). It seems that transition across the various "ashrams" of life happen naturally if we have a genuine spiritual practice. It is easier to "let go".

That's a good thing. The energy I feel from yijinjing a little denser/heavier than with Taijiquan (hence jing, vs qi or shen) . Its nice and the body feels well "lubricated" after going through it. I am planning to incorporate it into my daily routine, as a warm up for taijiquan practice. Yeah its fun. There's a yogic pose called "Vrikshasana" (Tree pose), which can lead to some strange results if you close your your eyes...

https://www.medhajournal.com/most-people-misunderstand-what-atman-means/

Someone I’ve been talking to on and off

Just a quick note about returning to the causal, after awakening. That is not correct imho. Causal body/causal plane is pure being veiled by Tamoguna. When awakening occurs, the limitations of the body-mind are transcended. So there is no longer going back to causal plane. The three bodies - physical, Astral and causal are realized as being appearances within the One without a second, aka the Self, which is nondual, free from all limitations, etc.

I’m saying this after interactions with a teacher who trained in the classical guru-Kula system, with a madhyāmaka master. Also with another who is a formal disciple of shifu Sheng Yen, a 3rd generation dharma heir of Hsu Yun. He also is a jivanamukta per the Advaita Vedanta tradition. I think for the most part, the misunderstanding comes from incomplete teaching (not necessarily because the teacher doesn’t know, but because the student is not yet ready to go beyond the no-self doctrine). I know this might be construed as controversial...but it’s okay to court a little controversy in pursuit of the truth

Matt, I’d recommend reading Roshi Philip Kapleau’s book “zen - dawn in the west”. He clearly outlines the zen perspective about a “universal mind”. I’ve also pointed it out in the article I linked.

There are several sutras that describe a “universal nature” varyingly as tathāgata garbha, buddhadhātū, etc. Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Brahmajalasutra come to mind. The last round on this resulted in folks screaming “Theravada is best, Mahayana is defiled by brahminical concepts” circa 2008-2010 during the buddhabum wars on TDB.

Here’s an article on what two traditions mean by the “mind”. Some people might find it useful The subtle body (energy body) is what is called the “astral body”. This is what transmigrates across multiple physics births. https://www.medhajournal.com/consciousness-according-to-zen-buddhism-and-how-it-relates-to-advaita-vedanta/

Listen to a story. Once a man entered a wood and saw a small animal on a tree. He came back and told another man that he had seen a creature of a beautiful red colour on a certain tree. The second man replied: “When I went into the wood, I also saw that animal. But why do you call it red? It is green”. Another man, who was present, contradicted them both and insisted that it was yellow. Presently others arrived and contended that it was grey, violet, blue, and so forth and so on. At last they started quarrelling among themselves. To settle the dispute they all went to the tree. They saw a man sitting under it. On being asked, he replied: “Yes, I live under this tree and I know the animal very well. All your descriptions are true. Sometimes it appears red, sometimes yellow, and at other times blue, violet, grey, and so forth. It is a chameleon. And sometimes it has no colour at all. Now it has a colour, and now it has none”.

It changes with your mind. More scattered your mind, more you expend your chi. More still your mind, more focused your chi becomes. Think of it like light through a prism becomes scattered, and light in form of a laser, concentrated and focused to a powerful point. I’m not sure what dipa ma is. But if I understand what you’re asking, Your mind is either still or not. On one end is stillness of the mind, and the other end is scattered mind with thoughts flying through it all the time. I think it’s best to start another topic if you have other questions wrt mind and Qi. The OP was about Anandamayi Ma.

Why don’t you try? Effects will be permanent after you learn how to meditate properly.

Your chi is just the active aspect of your awareness. By resting as awareness, your mind will become stilled. If your mind is stilled, then your chi will be focused. Her presence makes it easier to still the mind, resting as awareness. That is meditation. Just be, as awareness.

Ok then that IS her energy/presence. It induces great stillness and clarity, as I found sitting in that room. What do you get when you connect with that feeling, and meditate?

There IS no higher rung of the ladder, imho. This knowledge and it’s realization is the ultimate knowledge. There is no further evolution. It results in “prapancha upashamam” or freedom from the bondage of the Universe/samsara. After realizing this truth, the sage is free to be as it pleases him/her.

I don’t understand what you mean. What is ASMR?

Hi Vismund, as I was reading your post, I felt like there were parts of my own life experiences that were being described, starting with a similar peak experience that your awakening started with. I would suggest, as some others have, that you had an awakening experience, but due to karma from your previous lifetimes, wherein you must have had put in sufficient spiritual work. Even your issues with addiction, suffering etc are a result of past life karma being unfolded. Many of us go through these. Consider them as opportunities to cleanse the conditioned mind so that you can allow the awakening to fully shine through. If you don't mind me asking, Are you looking for a teacher or are you looking for someone to confirm what you have known/suspected all along? If it is the former, I'd recommend you identify one tradition that resonates with you most and finding a bonafide teacher in it (given the you seem to have done extensive studying across various spiritual traditions). You might have to start from scratch, as a beginner. But it is good to have a beginner's mind. If it is the latter, many here will confirm what you already know. But that won't help you much in "owning your awakening". For that, you have to do some work in this lifetime. Otherwise, you might have to come back again one more time. As to what that work entails, only your selected teacher will be able to tell you. My advise to you is, once you find a good teacher (and you will know when you do so), dedicate yourself to following his/her teachings. Be sincere in your practices, and genuine in your desire to fully manifest your awakening. If you do so, you might attain liberation in this lifetime.

The rub lies in the fact that this knowledge can be directly experienced. It is as real as our experiences are. If we can use our sensory perceptions and our mind and intellect, we can directly experience/realize this truth. Thats why this is called the “Direct Path”. Modem people have both the ability to use their minds/intellects and the able to use their sensory perceptions. Hence they are adequately equipped to learn this. Only two conditions are required - a strong desire to know An empty cup, as the saying goes

Any place where ever great masters used to spend time in gets charged by their presence. The energy of the room is tuned to their frequency. If you can't feel the energy, but only know how to meditate, you will be able to meditate much better in such a space.

It takes time. With practice, you don't have to "think" the connection anymore. It will happen as soon as you stand in preparation/wuji posture. I'd recommend the following. Split the "connecting" down into segments. Stand in Wuji. Become aware of the soles of your feet and the palms. Become aware of the bubbling wells and the lao gong points. Do this for a few weeks. It will become natural eventually. Next, work on the shoulder's nest and the kua. Same process. Then work on the elbows and knees. Then work on the wrists and ankles. Finally when you are naturally able to feel the connection, then just do all of them at once. You will find that it'll be much easier, and will require progressively

i sat and meditated here this afternoon. The room is still vibrating with her presence!