dwai

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Everything posted by dwai

  1. I recently had some conversations with one of my spiritual mentors and subsequently one of my spiritual brothers. The topic of being stable in the Self-knowledge came up. Being stable in the Self-knowledge to me means, never losing track of the fact that it is the Self that is witnessing all the drama which unfolds on a daily basis upon the body and the mind. Have a hard day at work or at home or in traffic or ______ (fill the blanks in)? If we get caught up in the issues (and hence suffering), then we are not stable in Self-knowledge. Because being stable means we will not suffer one bit. Even if the occurrences obfuscate our true blissful and unaffected nature for even an instant, in the very next instant the knowledge will pull us out of suffering, like a safety line will pull a bungee jumper out of the river as he/she takes a plunge. Being stable means our peaceful nature is never dependent on or is threatened by any occurrence or event. Our true nature is like the sky, which unaffected by the different shapes, sizes of clouds, winds and storms that blow across it. Similarly, irrespective of samsāra and its processes (good or bad), we are always the unaffected, unafflicted awareness.

  2. Chakras & Enlightenment

    dwai replied to greatsaiyaman's topic in Daoist Discussion

    I’m not disagreeing with you, however I’d like to add a few lines. The “doing nothing” is really abiding as pure awareness/being. That’s all. I observed that our (most people) tendency is to always focus on/concentrate on one thing. It could be a chakra or the MCO or whatever. But what most beginner/intermediate practitioners don’t get is that the objective of said action is to bring the mind back inward, from outer objects to inner objects and further inward until one is resting in/as pure awareness. From there even if a thousand actions arise, they can be considered non-actions (not doing) because they arise from Being.

  3. Zhan Zhuang alignment "rule"

    dwai replied to marko's topic in General Discussion

    Another small variation in stance we do in temple style is to angle the big toes inward slightly, such that if you drew straight lines from the toes, they would converge eventually at a distance. This is needed to open up the lower back. However if someone doesn’t have the flexibility, toes should at least point straight ahead (such that they are mutually parallel). While standing, we should not be crashing our weight into the ground, but rather feel like we are suspended from the crown. This will develop a feeling of our central equilibrium. So intially it is a good idea to keep maintaining awareness on the crown point suspension. Once the suspension is lost, we will end up feeling more weight on the feet. If suspension is going well, it will feel light. Often we do standing meditation like this for an hour or more. But we build it up slowly.

  4. Zhan Zhuang alignment "rule"

    dwai replied to marko's topic in General Discussion

    Another alignment thing we do in temple style is suspending the crown, instead of lifting the crown. Like the crown is suspended from a point higher above the body. When it clicks there is a sensation of a mini tornado whirling above the crown. If done correctly the chin will tuck on its own.

  5. Chakras & Enlightenment

    dwai replied to greatsaiyaman's topic in Daoist Discussion

    We don't have to build either dantians or chakras. if we didn't have them, we'd not have a body. What we do, is to cultivate the energy in the dantians. There are many who claim dantians and chakras are not the same. They are not different either Dantians and chakras are interfaces between our subtle body and the physical body. While Dantians are the perspective from physical side, the chakras are the perspective from the subtle side. Oh and yes Kundalini awakening will bring one to a realization of Being beyond the body-mind. Is that enlightenment? It is the beginning. There are of course three types of kundalini awakening. One is called the "prana kundalini" awakening (which is popularly associated with "kundalini, yoga and awakening"). There is another called "chita kundalini" awakening. This type of kundalini is awakened when employs the direct path of jnana yoga (no asanas, pranayama etc). But in order to embark on jnana yoga (which is what is entailed in following the Vedanta path), one has to have sufficient purification of the mind, ego, intellect. The Chita kundalini awakening happens as a result of realization, not any psycho-somatic exercise. The realization happens from meditation on and inquiry into our true nature. The third type of kundalini awakening is not possible in the human body.

  6. Zhan Zhuang alignment "rule"

    dwai replied to marko's topic in General Discussion

    +1 to everything @steve posted. One thing I found was very critical in standing, was to "release the muscles in the upper chest region". By release, I mean relaxing that region (pectoralis major). It takes a little bit of conscious effort, but then it should be instantaneous. This allows the Qi to drop to the LDT region more effectively. Many people mistake the "sink the chest" and "pluck up the back" to mean rounding the back (make more convex) so the chest becomes more concave. However, the "sink the chest" I found is really a relaxation of the upper chest region. It should feel like the chest is sliding down the front of the body (a few millimeters only) towards the ground. That will make a huge difference in sinking the qi. Sinking the chest will result in the back being "plucked up".
  7. I thought the highlighted part of your post was very apt. Especially with traditional systems. They have worked for millions over thousands of years. Odds are that we need to work more (and usually it is at shedding our mental filters). Often once we are "insiders" of one system, there can be a tendency to look at others with the intent of finding flaws. One cannot learn anything if that is the attitude, imho.
  8. The way I look at is as follows -- In the spiritual path, there are two aspects. One is that of the "deep, ground shaking opening" - The Direct experiential aspect. The other is the theoretical framework which includes study, contemplation and meditation. This stabilizes the realization that we get from the Direct experience. IMHO, there is value in debates, arguing etc, until it is not needed anymore. While we are in the seeking mode, there is a tendency to do the debates, etc (in many cases overdo it). Once the seeking ends, there really isn't any argument anymore. The argumentation, debating etc is a sign of turmoil. It can work as a process of "churning" , converting bookish knowledge into realization (like converting cream into butter). But the key for that is sincerity of intent. In indic frameworks, there are different categories of "discourse", viz. samvāda, vāda, jalpa and vitanda. Samvāda is essentially a discourse between an expert and a novice (teacher and student). The other three are described here -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debates_in_ancient_India. Care should be taken to ensure discussions don't devolve into Jalpa or vitanda. On fora such as this, imho, the effort should be to inculcate vāda and/or samvāda. But, it is easier said than done.
  9. In Advaita Vedanta studies, an analogy using the example of clay and pots (made of clay) is often used to illustrate the nature of Turiya and the three "normal" states of consciousness, namely waking, dreaming and deep sleep. The analogy goes like this - This analogy/example has a limited purpose, to illustrate and evoke in the mind of the student the relationship between Turiya/Atman and the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep. If taken too far -- for e.g. some worthies might start going into the details of comparing the chemical compositions of the clay, the firing process, the presence of the potter, etc to try and prove that the pots are indeed apart from the clay, it has gone beyond the point of utility of the example. Another example often used is that of Gold and ornaments made of gold. While Turiya is called the "4th state", it really is not a state at all. It is the Reality in which the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep rise and fall. That implies that Turiya is always present and available. People have argued as to why then is Turiya called the "4th"? It is done so with the intention of gradually drawing the student's attention from the everyday experiences of waking, dreaming and deep sleep to the ever-present reality of Pure Awareness (aka Turiya). This type of practice is known as "arundhati nyāya or arundhati darśana nyāya" in classical Indian systems, wherein the student's attention is gradually guided from the most obvious to the most subtle (the most subtle being the actual topic of study).
  10. Yes and we keep seeing this in many different formats over and over again. I think that is part of the process...in a "rage, rage, rage against the dying of the light" kind of way. This!
  11. That is your opinion and while I respect your right to hold it, I respectfully disagree with the contents therein.
  12. You have made that clear, no doubt. However, these types of reactionary responses are quite revelatory. It is more about sharing my thoughts on this, not specifically with you. There ARE other participants on this forum and thread. Unless you think that is not welcome on your thread...feel free to ignore my posts. Of course, you (or someone else on the board admin team) can choose to let me know how and why I have violated forum rules. There seems to be a trend of "banning" those who don't agree with a certain group within Daobums. Perhaps it will come to pass that I get banned too. That's okay as well. Personally I don't think I have ever insulted teachers from other systems. I did call a post juvenile -- nothing about any teacher. As far as the clay-pot vs crack-pot theory title goes -- Alan Watts was famous for using that phrase. I just borrowed it. It wasn't pointed toward any individual or group, rather to highlight how the clay pot example when taken too far can become the "crack pot" theory.
  13. Until the samskaras all disappear, dreams will appear. Some of these samskaras are associated with prārabdha karma and are already set in motion. Dreams are associated with the astral body. As we know, there are many different types of dreams. Some are processing of residual impressions from our waking experiences - this is in the realm of the so-called individual mind (taijasa). Others are astral activities and are part of the Universal consciousness/mind (Hiranyagarbha) according to Vedanta. I know we probably won't agree on this...but it is just another perspective.
  14. While Mandukya certainly doesn't propose anything besides pointing out that Turiya (Chaturtham) is none other than Atman itself, a result of recognizing and abiding as Turiya results in NOT losing that abidance in dreams or deep sleep either. It is not an opinion. This is an experiential reality. Just because there are no objects in consciousness doesn't mean there is no consciousness.
  15. This video is pertinent to the topic of discussion wrt. "awareness" in sleep.
  17. Beautiful! My experience is similar too. Unaffected awareness continuing through the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. I would venture to say that this awareness is the same even when not meditating on anything. It is a sheet anchor that grounds us to our being, irrespective of what the mind is doing -- which ranges from doing nothing, to doing mundane things in the transactional world, to interacting and merging with deities and disembodied beings in the astral and causal realms.

  18. Everyone post some favorite quotes!

    dwai replied to GrandTrinity's topic in General Discussion

    "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." -- Rabindranath Tagore
  19. That’s because of a lack of adequate knowledge of AV. Huh? And to you too
  20. The mountain is already there. The no mountain is where the mountain is negated (emptiness of self) and then the mountain appears again is when it is realized the world is none other than the Self. It is very much a part of what I'm suggesting as well. It is a stage. From the no mountain/silence comes the realization that you are the "mountain". Nothing special needs to be done...just completion of the process.

  22. Being stable in the Self-knowledge

    dwai replied to dwai's topic in Hindu Discussion

    for posterity...
  23. It could very well be. You are making qualitative judgements on the state of awareness (expanded awareness or contracted awareness), while I'm saying that all states arise and fall within awareness and are made up of nothing apart from awareness. Pure Awareness is the basis. It might be very boring, but that's what is real. Running after expanded states of awareness, of great experiences etc are just more activity of and within that very awareness That above question is a thread to use to unravel what people consider "reality". Another question would be "tell me who you are in a fraction of a second, without thinking"...
  24. @Jonesboy let us continue our discussion here. The Self-knowledge post is about what stabilizing in the Self-realization means per AV. It is about how Self-realization should work to prevent us getting entangled in samsara. When I say awareness is the Light in which objects are known, I mean that without awareness no objects can be known. Now what the value of objects without a subject may be, is not of any interest to me (as far as I'm concerned, objects don't exist without the subject). There is only awareness and all objects rise and fall in, are made up of it and are never apart from it. You can verify that yourself. Where do you experience any object? Can you ever experience anything outside your awareness?
  25. I've been asked to desist from discussing these points here by siva. So let's take this discussion to another thread - I'll be happy to explain more.