dwai

I think the impact should transfer into the body of the wearer. Whether it affects the armor itself is inconsequential if the power transfers through into the wearer's body. Again, i'm purely speculating here and could be completely wrong

Just speculation.... With heavy armors I think the more effective would be to attack the head/neck. Also a short power strike (can be empty hand or with a staff/broadsword) to the body would end up with the same effect as being in a car wreck. I think a shoulder stroke would be most effective. One would have to get in close though.

In viveka chudamani, Adi Shankara talks about Pramada. He gives an example of a ball that starts rolling down a staircase. Once it gains momentum it is most difficult to catch up with it. It typically stops once it reaches the lowest step (and no where else's to roll down to). He then advises the sadhaka to beware of pramada, wherein we lose focus of our Self for but an innocent moment and thus begins a cycle of falling like the ball. If we aren't vigilant and constantly checking ourselves (ego mind-body), we run the risk of falling so far below that it might not be possible to climb back up in this lifetime. So he warns, for a sadhaka, pramada is worse than death. This is looming large for me. If we give up the constant awareness/sakshi bhava, we might end up becoming like that ball and roll all the way back out of presence. So the question of how to deal with vasanas and associated samskaras in that context. My friends/teachers said we should not fight these things. If it is a need, fulfill it and move on. If it is a want, be careful. Because once we fulfill a need, we don't crave more. When we fulfill a want, it creates more craving. Once the deed has been done (whatever it might be), we should analyze without attachment why it arose. If we find out why it arose, it will dissolve under the analysis.

Thank you. It resonates strongly with me.

IMHO, anyone who is aware of the presence and their mind-body tendencies and patterns is awakened/awakening. Witness state is being constantly aware of everything that is going on without identification with the goings on. Some thoughts/habits/tendencies are strong and do tend to disrupt the meditation (which should go on constantly, even in sleep). In my experience, there are shifts that happen away from this presence, when certain triggers arise. And you are absolutely right, there might be something lurking around to be able to affect us this way. I think this is what Michael's post about embodiment refers to (at least one such thing). I won't call them issues per se. They are habits/tendencies (at least in my experience) but they can be very distracting and for a brief period launch me into immersion into the body-mind experiences. It's hard to articulate, but some of these tendencies are still strong and can pull us astray/distract the meditation. They bother me in the sense that they are distracting enough to lose the meditation for a certain period of time. There used to be a time when I'd fall into a cycle of judgement, etc etc. That doesn't seem to happen to me much anymore (there are still triggers and it's not that I've become a psychopath).

i mean how does increasing concentration overwrite these tendencies?

How does this work? Can you explain?

You introduced a new term for me - Shenpa. Found this beautiful article on the subject -- https://www.lionsroar.com/how-we-get-hooked-shenpa-and-how-we-get-unhooked/ We call (in sanskrit/indian languages) the shenpa "Vasanas" and they give rise to "samskaras" (habits). Wonderful posts all. Thanks...

Because he had to either accept defeat (and His opponent would win and he'd have to forsake advaita Vedanta and become a disciple of opponent) or honor the rules of the Debate. This was the only reason why the judge of the debate (which ran over several weeks) refused to declare him the winner, his lack of experience in the sensual domain. If he had accepted defeat he would be doing a disservice to the world as Advaita Vedanta would not exist then (at least not as we know It now) .

Adi Shankara had already become jeevanamukta by then. The king was already dead when he took over the body. i don't think he was doing karma anymore.

This is not considered "folk-lore". This is part of advaita tradition and history. "Normal" people obviously don't have ability to do this sort of thing. Those who do, won't share it without proper vetting. My mother's uncle is a sadhu in the shakta tradition and is 100 years old now. He meditates several hours a day, cooks and cleans for himself still. When my maternal grandfather was dying, he ( moms uncle) prevented his death by trapping his spirit in a little box, till he had a chance to say goodbye to all his children (some of who lived far away). Not exactly the same thing as PKP , but this is from my own family history. I have no doubt if he (my grand uncle) wanted to, he could do PKP.

Why not? It is not improbable to astrally project. In fact when high level yogis take mahasamadhi, they exit their bodies that way. Also there's a certain period after death when a body can be entered. adi Shankara entered old King's body this way to experience things which he needed a King's body for, in order to win a debate where he asked if he had experience of certain things that a celibate renunciant could never know.

Isn't a forest a collection of trees?

Karma has meaning only locally. Non-locally karma has no meaning. By local I mean identification with the mind-body.

They should just learn to do "para kaya pravesha". That way they can transfer their consciousness into another body. Not sure of the karmic implications. Also by the time someone learns to do PKP they would have advanced spiritually enough that they'd know that maintaining a physical existence beyond what is required is just prolonging one's suffering!

I wouldn't worry about that kind of stuff really (alien abductions etc). Reality is much simpler. It is the mind-chatter that causes most issues in the world. A key part of being comfortable in our own skin is to realize that the mind (thoughts) and body are not really who we are. There is an eternal aspect to our being, that is constantly witnessing everything that happens. If you meditate properly long enough, the witness state will rise forth. Then you can realize that you are not the mind or the body. And spend more and more time in that witness state, not attaching to anything (concepts, perceptions), will result in a very profound sense of freedom, and ease of being. There is immense peace, love and joy in being this way. Spotless can explain this much better than I can

I remember doing hour-long standing meditations after more than an hour of Taiji form work. By the time we were done with the standing, my feet would feel like they were buried inside the ground, and the qi would pool up in my feet, the yongchuan points would feel swollen and when I walked it'd feel like there's water squishing around in my feet. The key to standing, in my experience, is to understand that standing doesn't just involve "rooting", but also suspending from the crown point. If we suspend from the crown point properly, the weight doesn't crash into the ground through our feet. There are a few minor adjustments in the structure that help with standing for long periods of time (which of course most seasoned folks here know) for the OP. suspend from the crown point (top of the head and not center of the head). This results in the chin tucking in slightly and eyes gaze out about 25 degrees below the horizon Lower back relaxed and tailbone slightly tucked in (like you were resting your butt on a bar stool or a large beach ball if that feels better). Make sure to not exaggerate the tail Toes point straight forward or slightly toed in (toeing in slightly is better as it opens up the lower back further) Knees bent, but not cross the toes. Weight distributed between heel and balls of the feet, so that you can still wiggle your toes from that position. Upper torso should lean forward slightly. This is what straightens the spine more. Tongue touching the upper palate, mouth closed and breathing through the nose. When these principles are followed, the weight doesn't crash down into the joints but just flows down into the ground. Minor adjustments are required from time to time. A good technique to see if crown point is suspended properly is to gently rock back and forth in front-back and then left-right directions. Rocking forward-backward, find the point where you sense a tingling (or the most tingling) in your crown. Remember that. Now rock side-to-side and look for the same sensation. With some practice you can find the best point of suspension. Throughout the standing, we have to constantly ensure we stay suspended. Eventually you won't have to think, the suspension will kick in automatically, like you were a light bulb hanging from the ceiling During standing, if you feel heaviness in your upper body and head (third-eye especially), wiggle your toes a bit. That'll send the energies downward. My first teacher, who now lives and teaches in Tucson, AZ (if anyone is interested in getting lessons from a Taiji Master) has written detailed instructions on how to suspend properly from the crown point -- http://gbolarts.com/pages/notes_archive/notes-001.html

I'd like to +1 your post and also suggest that it's better to just stand in a few postures (at least 5 minutes per posture) and just breath from the belly. Only initially, we have to be mindful of the structural alignments. After a while, you can enter the posture and the energy will kick in. Also another thing to be mindful of is, excessive sensations are felt only when the channels are opening. When they open, you should not feel any "sensations", but a whole-body, even, internal wetness or coolness, like menthol (or at least that's how it feels to me). Just stand. Sitting is not as powerful as standing in this regard, because with sitting you bypass and directly connect with your tail. In fact, if you want to sit, I'd recommend sitting on a chair. That is still better than sitting cross-legged or in lotus. Lotus has its role to play after you have re-integrated your whole body, imho.

Just don't chop wood like kalidasa

As well as neither not it, nor not not it

Balance your weight evenly between the heels and balls of your feet.

There are no special breathing techniques needed. This is not at all complicated. Hold your frame and breath slowly and gently. The worst thing beginners can do is dig many shallow wells. Dig one well and dig deep, you are bound to find water

Don't go into too deep a stance, just a slight bend in the knees and stop "looking" for qi. Just look into the horizon (eyesight should around 25-30 degrees angle down from vertical if you are aligning correctly). Just forget everything else and breath from your stomach, but don't force the breathing. Just stand, breath, relax more and more with each breath. As you relax more, you will be able to sense the qi. And don't forget to touch your tongue to your upper palate, right behind the ridge where your tongue touches as you say the "t" in "tongue".