dwai

Yes (albeit some will claim "Te" is virtue and about morality etc). According to the grandmaster of the system I practice "Temple Style Tai Chi and Dao Gong", "Te" is a copy of the "dao". It can be accessed via meditation and tai chi/neigong/daogong and once we connect with Te we get Dao.

When doing is not doing, then it is aligned with Dao. The doing manifests on its own. The circumstances that led you to action also manifest on their own. We will know when something is aligned with Dao or not. It's only about being able to "feel" the alignment (or misalignment). It is hard to articulate

Qi is also Light. It is also non-different from Consciousness, it is also Empty. Movement is an appearance based on the movement of the mind. imho.

De is your True Self. It is non-different from Dao.

Why do you say the LDT is limited in how much Qi it can hold? If we are storing the Qi properly, it can hold limitless Qi. In it's essence, the LDT is just a portal to emptiness. The limitation is in how effortlessly we can sink the Qi into the LDT. If we can't do it naturally, we will be burning up Qi by thinking (over-thinking). If we can do it with ease and naturally, it will just keep filling the LDT (as it goes into infinite space inside the LDT). The reason why we emphasize slow and gradual progression is so that the mind doesn't over-work, as that is the way Qi is depleted. The practice should be developed gradually, with patience. Best, Dwai

“First one sees the Self as objects, then one sees the Self as void, then one sees the Self as Self, only in this last there is no seeing because seeing is being.” BHAGAVAN -(Day by Day with Bhagavan-- (21-7-1946)

I used to eat meat all the time. Until I met my Teacher. When he initiated me, I went through what some might call Samadhi, for several days. During this time, I lost all interest in meat. I used to feel the pain and suffering of the animals (spiritually) and the sight of meat would make me want to throw up. Since then, I started eating seafood again as my body needed. But I was unable to eat meat any more. Seafood is losing it's appeal to me and I mainly tend to gravitate towards tofu, beans etc. Meat in my experience dulls the senses and makes the body less sensitive to energetics. It also introduces mental churning. Even with Seafood, certain types are more benign in terms of negatively affecting consciousness than others. Typically bigger fish, crabs, lobsters etc tend to affect the consciousness and energetic sensitivity more than shrimps, prawns or smaller fish. Why is it? I don't know..maybe because of the inherent sentience in the creatures. Similarly with other stimulants etc. I do drink once in a while and I haven't experienced any negative effect from the drink but my body seems to reject the alcohol beyond a certain point. Simple foods such as green vegetables, leafy vegetables, whole grains, tofu, water help keep the consciousness less stained by mental churning.

Interesting talk. Also interestingly, he answers a question raised by our resident "sanskritologist" Gatito. Who has adhikAra to transmit knowledge. Answered very well...

Disentangle

What are we supposed to look at? The Finger or the Moon?

Yesterday it happened and even now the words don't mean much and seem shallow and bereft of life itself. The paradox of paradoxes...the falling apart of the "i" and the uncovering of "I". That which dissolves all opposites by being them simultaneously. As I expand empty i become nothing. As I contract I become everything and then finally I become "me"...and then further, me becomes nothing. At the same time... yet that which remains constant is "I". I am that, I am, I! Words separate...silence unites.

Yes indeed! No other...haha Nisargadatta Maharaj's words about Wisdom and Love, simultaneously is. It's hard to articulate...indeed. Masters said it literally, and yet we search for metaphors and allegories and hidden meanings. All hidden because we refuse to see it in plain sight... _/\_ namaste to you too brother

The system of reality in relation to I I is all there is. But yet, the infinite things are projections of I on I. So how then does the universal laws (Dharma) manifest? Some projections are more condensed than others. The more condensed projections manifest as matter and material reality. The less condensed ones manifest as spiritual reality. They are non-different. But they appear to be so. Since opposites ultimately have no meaning, to characterize anything as "good" or "bad" is really also an illusion. So what makes something more ascended than something else? it is the level of condensation. I in my human state, am limited as a result of my condensation. More dense I am, less I remember that which I am - I. I in my spiritual/energetic/conscious state am less limited as I am not as condensed. So I remember more of that which I am - I. So while all appearances, exist simultaneously, like in slightly overlapping dimensions of manifestation, they are all I. But the less the degree of condensation, the closer to I the appearance is. That is why, a highly spiritual being is more exalted than an ordinary being. But that is also illusion. This is apparent when "i" drops and "I" remain. And disappears as "i" starts to condense into existence again.

As with a dream when we are asleep, it seems real until one day you become aware that it is a dream and become lucid. Similarly for this reality...

Of course. Like I said, many call many things condensing breathing. I was referring to a daoist neigong practice

Hi Spotless, This is different from what I was referring to as "Condensing Breathing". In the way I was referring to, Condensing happens as a result of the mind-intent condensing the Qi into the bone marrow. Of course, I do acknowledge that different people/systems have different definitions of condensing breathing means. I have done pranayama quite a bit and never have I felt that kind of condensing happen. Yes, pranayama especially with breath holding builds pressure and accelerates the energy a lot. But it is not condensed into the marrow. Depending on the type of mudra being held and the ratio of inhalation:hold:exhalation, different type of "acceleration of prana" is achieved. But even that is very dangerous when done without preparation. My Yoga teacher made me do 6 months of spinal column purification...repeatedly doing the same sequence of movements (not even yoga asanas) before starting with asanas. He then made me do the asanas for a good 6 more months before introducing breath work. He then made me only do inhalation and exhalation before introducing inner hold. Then after a few months of that, he introduced outer hold. When I was doing the spinal purification, I would feel intense pressure in the head. If I over did something, it would have very nasty consequences indeed, i have no doubt about that. Condensing breathing when done right does not require physical exertion. Nor does it require contraction of muscles etc. I don't agree with your suggestion that we should let mishaps happen. That is very inappropriate advice, imho. These "mishaps" can lead to very bad consequences.

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear in my articulation. My experience is that it stays that way for a certain period of time. For me the longest was for about 15 days after my teacher initiated me. When this was the case, there were no vasanas and this period helped me dissolve many samskaras. However, there is a constant onslaught on our senses and mind in the "normal" world. So we have to keep practicing, keep dissolving and cultivating so we can stabilize in sahaj samadhi eventually.

No that was your inference What it means is that we experience that which we may have had glimpses of in the course of our practice before and intuitively grasped. This puts to rest any doubts about "that one". Much akin to how our dreams seem real while we sleep but unreal when we awaken, similarly our mundane reality will seem like a dream when we awaken to that one reality, but might forget when we go back to sleep (re-enter the dualistic state). Just as one can lucid dream to be free in a regular dream, then the work starts to be lucid in the dualistic reality dream.

It's not apathy. It is rooted in the knowledge that all this is ephemeral.

Of course. Just nirvikalpa samadhi is not enough. But Nirvikalpa Samadhi makes the reason why we need to drop the vasanas and samskaras very apparent. There is a strong inclination to lean towards simple and wholesome living, because the Sattva guns increases tremendously.

Until one goes into Nirvikalpa samadhi, the samskaras are not eliminated. Sahaja Samadhi comes after Nirvikalpa stage, when one is able to remain "nondual" while operating in the dualistic world.

Yes it is dangerous if you don't have proper instruction. It is not possible to get good is instruction from either videos, books or a shady guy whose name rhymes with Tary flyman. Only way is under direct supervision of a qualified teacher. The way I was taught, we never hold the breath. In fact breath is only a preliminary aid. The mind intent is what is pulling and condensing. Benefit is it converts qi to Jin and stores it in your marrow. Cons are it is very possible to pack "bad" stuff in. Never do condensing if you're angry, sad, or experiencing any negative emotion. This can cause mental illnesses as well as blood diseases or cancer. We only do condensing (in temple style taiji) after several years of practice in taiji forms and standing meditations. Also Jin condensing is to be done after warming up with taiji form work and standing and you are feeling empty. Never do more than a few minutes at a time.

So where does neo-Advaita draw its inferences from? Haha strangely enough I was participating in a discussion with Shastriya advaitins on FB. They are traditional scholars and practitioners of advaita. Some were Kashmir shaivaites. They all said pretty much the same thing I said. If you went to them and told them they were neo-advaitins, they'd literally roll on the floor laughing!

The Emptiness we cultivate in taiji, when we are immersed in it such that there is no thought or object, is what nirvikalpa samadhi is.

So why do we have to take a Buddhist's understanding/interpretation of Nirvikalpa samadhi as being the final word? The "I" that goes away is the relative I (Egoic I). Buddhists don't seem to understand this. The impersonal, undifferentiated consciousness cannot go away. The Egoic I can never fully disappear as long as there is the physical body. But it will remain in a diminished capacity (enough to maintain the basic needs of the body) until the body itself is no longer needed. And before we go further into a Buddhist interpretation vs Hindu traditional description, please remember this is the Hindu sub-forum (not the Buddhist one)