dwai
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Everything posted by dwai
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If Goethe was a result of nazi philosophy then you would by association. Or you would not like Goethe... However your analogy could be misinterpreted as your equating the tradition and culture of its origin (daoism) being identical somehow to nazis?
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What an absurd idea, if you ask me (i'll share my thoughts however even though you haven't ) I've had issues with "Western Daoism", "Western Hinduism" etc. They are all round about ways of digesting Daoism, Hinduism and other such "foreign" concepts and practices into a western paradigm. Why does there need to be a "Western" version of these. Are the originals not good enough for Westerners (note I'm replacing American with Western because this peculiarity is prevalent all over the "West")? Let this be very clear (and for those discerning thinkers who do tend to think about this, it will be) -- Everything Western is automatically a legacy of the Judaeo-Christian paradigm (primarily because of the long history associated of these associated with the West). Even those that claim to be "free' of that particular paradigm are in fact defined by it. In most cases it is unknowingly. In some cases it is knowingly. Let me be also very clear -- I am not anti-West or anything like that. I am opposed to the appropriation of these traditions in the name of convenience. If you can't make the effort to understand these traditions in the context of their cultural environment, you will not understand them at all! It is absolutely essential that a true Daoist (or whatever -ist you want to be) accept everything that is called for in the Daoist tradition. That includes the cultural baggage it comes with. It is impossible to separate the tradition/culture from the philosophy. So someone who claims to only "care for the philosophy" is not a Daoist, despite their wishful thinking in that regard.
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Through the Western Gate - Waysun Liao demonstrates internal power
dwai posted a topic in Daoist Discussion
http://books.google.com/books?id=-66pC3i4cbEC&pg=PA19&lpg=PA19&dq=waysun+liao+through+the+western+gate&source=bl&ots=bvFwxx6ztX&sig=L4_o29Z63BQhatpY23-k2SFJ1PE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JPoDUbDSD8_vqQGXnICYDg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=waysun%20liao%20through%20the%20western%20gate&f=false Interesting anecdote... White Crane? Bah! -
How are these exclusively Vedanta traps? They are traps in any spiritual tradition
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Through the Western Gate - Waysun Liao demonstrates internal power
dwai replied to dwai's topic in Daoist Discussion
Barrett has good background -- a student of William CC Chen, i believe his foundational training is solid. Also, he has some excellent ideas that he has presented in his book (which I own). One interesting one is the concept of the 3-nails, which will help developing sung-kwa. I found that very effective... I don't quite relate to the coherence theory he has presented because the "coherence" is there as soon as you become aware of your chi flow (no need of extending out through the index fingers of your hands). Of course the "trick" he teaches could be for those who don't have good chi sensitivity. -
Why learn multiplication tables when there is the Internet ?
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You should research on mnemonics used to memorize the Vedas . All misconceptions will be quelled
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http://www.taichimaster.com/tai-chi/tai-chi-and-meditation/ Read the comments on this page
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Luckily for us the oral tradition of Vedic transmissions ensure no distortion in data. Interpretation might change
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Vedanta is really not one "book". There are ten that are considered the principal books (dashopanishad). They vary in age, some of these easily predate budhha (siddhartha) by a few thousand years (going by traditional indian chronology), some a few hundred. The oldest "system" in the indic traditions (astika) is purva mimamsa, which dates back to early vedic periods...so dates around 7000 bce are very likely. Why does the age matter?
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Partha is another name of Arjuna (Partha the son of Pritha), one of the central characters of the epic Mahabharata And the recipient of the Bhagavad Gita (to whom Sri krishna revealed his true nature and the 4 yoga thereof) on the battlefield of kurukshetra.
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So we have bkf not referring to someone by name and yet the identity is "obvious"? Did he actually tell YOU that he was referring to master Liao? I have been studying under a direct student of master Liao and know for a fact that what is taught is authentic Taoist and tai chi training. Master Liao and Chen man Ching were chess buddies...and master Liao has praised Chen man Ching to my teacher quite extensively. I only pointed out the master Liao case as a point that hearsay is not valid in many cases and even a harmless statement made by someone can be embellished till it has no resemblance to what was originally said after it passes down a few mouths... And I can Assure you the pushing hands we do is not "hard" by any definition of the word. On the contrary our focus is to be as soft and relaxed as a feather...a very yin approach to pushing hands, making chance etc. we learn yang approach too but focus is on yin.
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May I ask the reason for your interest ?
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Nice. In the system i learn, we use reverse breathing to breth directly into the spinal column and natural breathing to go to ldt. Indeed reverse breathing to me feels like condensing into the marrow. It is an advanced technique imho...we werent taught rb initially...i think because rb is not to be done with straining muscles...it has to be done while relaxed.
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And dealing with their idiosyncrasies and those of one's spouse's will teach you more about patience than a 100 years of reading and meditation... If you are into indian spiritual traditions, then there are four pursuits for any individual - * dharma - Spiritual practice * artha - Material success * kama - things that give you pleasure * moksha - liberation from cycle of birth and re-birth Some have a greater predilection towards one vs the other(s). But all of them in moderation will complete your life as an individual. Dare I say, karma, she's a back!!
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well said MH! It might seem that success (Material) and spiritual pursuits are at logger heads, but that's only if we look at them through a "zero-sums game" lens. Material success when harnessed properly can aid in spiritual practice (its best to be pragmatic and realize how the world operates these days).
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I want to point out that folks should not deride teachers based on hearsay. Not to deviate from discussing bkf, but there's someone on this forum who repeatedly claims that Bruce considers master Liao (waysun) as not authentic Taoist/tai chi master and that he's purportedly claimed that master Liao is a white crane guy. We have no way of corroborating these as facts (or whether someone like bkf actually made suh insinuations). Incidentally I came across a discussion on Bruce's blog or Facebook page where he indicated that he considered master Liao's book "the tai chi classics" to be one of the best and himself refers to it even now. That goes to show people (with whatever agenda) can make suspicious commentary on someone and ascribe someone else as having sajd so (to reinforce their statements) but as in this case was falsehood.
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Friends, I've published a few chapters of my novel (still work in progress). If you get a chance, read and give me some feedback... http://www.medhajournal.com/sections/articles-mainmenu-157/the-walker-of-infinity.html
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I remember when I got interested in Art of Living (the course). All of a sudden, there were advertisements all around me. The main teacher (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) visited my city a few days after I started seriously considering learning the techniques... Is it really due to the fact that because we are interested, we are more observant about things around the topic of interest? Perhaps some truth to it. But there seems to be more...
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My interest is in a compelling spiritual pot-boiler (whatever that means ) The message is subtle...or so it seems to me. Definitely not randian --- maybe a hint of pirsig (but I don't buy his metaphysics of quality so much. There was a time when he did inspire serious thinking storms) Interestingly enough I think ayn rand is great at the teenage level. I voraciously consumed ayn Rand's fountainhead and atlas shrugged when I was 17-18. Ended with a very bad attitude and an occasional upset stomach ) Richard Bach was the perfect antidote for randism.... So I'm aware of the pitfalls of shoving thoughts down the proverbial throats
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I'm afraid you misunderstood my questions/responses. I'm not questioning your motivations so much as pointing out flaws in the line of questioning taken by vmarco and therebt coloring this discussion. It's his/her prerogative and I have indeed asked for open feedback. I am grateful for the feedback and it has made me see the work developed so far with a different perspective. It has helped me overcome writers' block (at least so it seems) so thanks once again. I would like to post more (there are actually three somewhat independent sections that develop to culminate in what I foresee as the grand finale) but I'm afraid if I let too much out of the bag, what remains is not going to be compelling enough to generate buyers (I intend to sell the book as an e-book on amazon or some similar site). The question is, is what you've read so far compelling enough to want to know what happens? Note: I intend to credit the participants of the forum in my book as your feedback has been invaluable. I have written short stories and columns before but never a full length novel - so this is my first
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Indeed! But haent there been instances of lao tzu calling himself a fool...various zen masters etc. Why does it hAve to be construed as "false" humility? How do you know that the character himself doesn't actually consider what he knows as being nothing? Why does there have to be a driving need to gratify the ego by acknowledging one's knowledge as being something other than inconsequential in the grand scheme of things? Thr story isn't particularly for indians...it is set in rural india where people tend to not take themselves too seriously even today (although it is changing fast due to rampant urbanization). If i were to write about africa or native americans or where-ever else, i would represent those cultures in a way that is congruent with their reality. Do the western sensibilities find it hard to accept that there can be differences in the way entire socieities percieve themselves and interact with one another? ( ie different from how it is done in the west) Now one might be driven to inquire why i wrote in this setting? Well the answer is because i spent 26 years of my life there and it is my native culture.
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Being a vagabond doesn't imply one is callin himself stupid. And in eastern cultures bragging about one's accomplishments is considered rude. And a spiritual being (and mind you I haven't presented bhadramanu as being enlightened as such) is generally more humble because he sees the universe as this enormous place and his limited presence as a speck of sand... An what's with the hijras? Maybe you should write a novel with them as primary characters. I chose to write what I did, well because I base the characters on some real ones I've ha the fortune of interacting with...
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Point well taken What did you think of the rest of the chapters, plot so far etc?
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Very valuable feedback. Please keep it coming As far as using "native" words is concerned -- I was writing as I visualized how a village setting would unfold in rural southern india. I am considering footnoting some of these, but the challenge is in retaining the originality of the interactions without translating...
