dwai

Madhyamika's position of "no absolute position" is in itself an absolute position...or so it has been demomstrated on this forum (and others) time and time again.madhyamika is just a dialectic framework at the intellectual level in such a case. I see lucky finally "gets it" (the fallacy of DO)...

Well said. The allure of standing out as "No Self" is as great as the allure of standing out as "A Self".

What exactly is "Empty Force" Fa Jin? Obviously there is a force applied otherwise there would be no physical movement. Now "where" the force is being generated, how the energy behind the force propagates is the important question.

Nice. I'm returning to TTB after a long hiatus (and will be gone soon, for those who are alarmed by this phenomenon )...the biggest problem with "No Self" is that often we tend to fixate on negating everything using this as an instrument. The fact of the matter is that there IS a Self, even if it is that which is not the "No Self". The stream of thoughts that is the mind is still registering somewhere/in something. Otherwise it would not be a stream and would be an unbroken continuum that is aware of itself. But experience shows us that it is not and that it is nothing but a constant stream of thought "particles" flowing one after another (sometimes one triggering another, other times disconnected from one another). But what is it that knows this?

I have been practising it for a while now...it is deinitely good...helps increase chi flow and sensitivity. It also does work on opening up the basic meridians. I use it as a warm up for my tai chi practice...and usually helps with that quite well

Bone turns to water Water turns into steam Steam rises up To answer those screams

To me it means when all apparent appearances disappear, that which remians is indivisble and is the fount of all those appearances that disappeared

Dear Friends, I have spent quite a while on Taobums and feel that this might be an opportune moment to pose this question to some of those who have gone before me. With my Tai Chi practice, a couple of things have happened -- 1) Physical discomfort 2) Mental discomfort Dont get me wrong -- I think it is not so much Tai Chi or the way I have been taught or have been practicing as it is what I've started getting quite familiar with off late -- Inner Demons. I have been told and also read about these things -- of bound emotions and/or memories surfacing as practice progresses in the form of physical and/or mental discomfort and pain. One series of incidents (ranging from a stressful job change to a lost child in the first trimester of my wife's pregnancy to severe emotional trauma) left it's mark in me in the form of acute physical pain in the left side of my body, with almost a complete tightening up of the left side (from toe to crown point) and severe pain in the left neck area and near and around the left shoulder blade. My friend, a Zen Shiatsu practitioner and my teacher have said that it is a blockage and will have to be worked out of the system with practice. And by doing certain things (such as modifying my tai chi practice and using BK Frantzis's standing and releasing) the pain is more in control than it was before. But it still surfaces under stressful situations and takes a while to go away. It is almost as if the Chi rises into the left channel of the body and is trying to burst through to the top. Any one had anything similar happen to them? If so, could you please share what you did and how you brought it under control? Second series have happened since the past year or so, when my practice takes me to almost a place of utter silence when specific thought patterns shatter my meditation. They are very disturbing and seem alien to my nature. It is almost as if there is some other entity that is thinking these thoughts and introducing them to disbalance my equillibrium and disrupt my meditation. Usually while practicing on my own, it doesn't raise it's head so much. But when I am in a class or in a group these thoughts return and leave me a total mess. I know it is essential to be aware that these thoughts arise and are associated with the Ego and have to be ignored and dealt with with detachment. But these thoughts are so personal in nature and cast such aspersions on my nature that they rattle me nonetheless. Some days are easier than others. Has anyone else had such experiences? If so, what have you done to deal with it? Best, Dwai

I'd recommend reading Josh Waitzkin's book titled "The Art of Learning"...it's a very good read for taobums as well as chessbums I would connect Hinduism to Chess...the religion/culture that gave birth to Chess.

Actually those who believe in reincarnation also believe that it is not really ideal to have to keep recycling back into the material universe over and over again. So, they are more inspired to break the cycle of reincarnation and death and necessarily aspire to live by conditions that would help them break the cycle (the implications of these are available via the medium of any eastern spiritual tradition)

Thanks a lot for this wonderful gift Sean! Bruce's wisdom is as present in this interview as it is in his books. I hope one of these I'll get an opportunity to attend one of his training workshops in person...because even without ever having met him, he has made a HUGE impact on my practice and my life. Kudos for an excellent interview.

MH, There is a huge misconception about the "Scientific Method". The objective scientific method is extremely limited in it's scope, given that it would only consider measurable, reproducible, quantifiable data as scientific. This paradigm is a legacy from the times of Newton...and it is only valid for things that follow newtonian law. For phenomena such as reincarnation, the only credible evidence these days are empirical...in that a scientist researches and records cases, interviews subjects and tries to ensure that no foul-play exists (ie no cheating, no delusion). So, from the basis of statistical analysis of this empirical data, one can conclude that reincarnation is possible. It can never be proven with 100% accuracy that it DOES happen. Similarly it cannot be proven with 100% accuracy that it DOES NOT happen. I would recommend you watch a movie titled "The Quantum Activist". It is a documentary on Amit Goswami, a Prof of Quantum Physics. He explains very nicely why the paradigm generally known as "scientific method" is flawed and why. He makes some really reasonably arguments, especially in context of Quantum Physics.

There IS nothing other than the Tao

check out temple-style tai chi...we are taught single form practice. If you can't find an instructor of this style where you live, the DVDs are next best (albeit very pricey): http://www.taichitaocenter.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=14 In fact I also encountered single form (the 8 basic forms) in Paul Lam's 24-form Yang Style dvd.

Nicely said Rainbow_Vein. However I think that the relaxation practice can be Tai Chi or Yoga. Relaxation and Chi sensitivity/development are mutually complementary. As one increases the other increases too...one (Chi development) naturally follows the other. It is not easy for a beginner to be relaxed at the level of an experienced Tai Chi player. Relaxation develops with experience. Try telling a starter to be Sung...you'll see what I mean (I know I struggled with it for years even though I perfectly understood what it meant)

Can you cook your meal on a stove effectively when there's not much fuel flowing into the burner? First you need to flow the energy then it can be directed. So, first step is sensitivity to Chi flow...then it's increasing the volume of the Chi and then it is directing the Chi. After that it is flowing... I've found that two approaches can help: 1) Moving practice like Taichi Chuan or 2) Static practice with breath control (pranayama). I use both and they complement each other quite well... my 2 cents worth... Best, Dwai

Doesn't matter...to each his/her own

I was actually referring to Otis' posts. I am very much in sync with what you are saying (or so i think)... When reason is stripped away, that is the deep canyon into which Carlos jumped into -- the gap between the Tonal and the Nagual. Different systems access it in different ways -- Carlos/Don Juan's way was (at least as expressed in Carlos' books) to access the Nagual directly... Advaita Vedanta/Yoga/Tantra's Turiya state, Taoists Tao is also the Nagual...the mysterious, inexpressible which can only be experienced and cannot be talked about. I find HUGE parallels between Castaneda/Don Juan's Way of Knowledge and Power and Advaita/Yoga/Tantra/Taoism (dare I say buddhism too...but I will not emphasize that any more on this forum for fear of derailing beautiful and meaningful discussions such as this). I mean, strip away the syntax and they are all guiding the seeker to the same place. Tonal (Material World) -- Vyavaharika Satya (Relative reality/existence) Nagual (Not-Tonal) -- Paramartha Satya (Absolute reality/existence) Great Eagle - Brahman the theory and the practice are very similar...the same focus on impeccability, on being a Warrior, of stalking the "Lower" Self without respite till it can be exposed and stripped away...

And this gets exacerbated in a "This vs That" paradigm. To see the paradigm and the rules and not understand the underlying "essence" leads to this kind of thinking...imho

Very true...Great discussion.

I fail to find the hilarity in this. I suspect that your study of Advaita must have matured for you to have "run" into Turiya. A lot of preparatory stuff might not really deal with the practical aspect of it, but leave that to the practice of Yoga. In fact, Yoga is a highly relied upon practical side to a lot of indic systems, including Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta and Tantra. So, while the Turiya state is often integral part of Yogic practice and terminology, the preparatory Advaita teachings might willingly have omitted these. There is a concept of Adhikara (or Right to Know or Eligibility). And a student surely traverses the ladder...kind of like moving up from nursery to KG to primary school to finally Graduate and Post-graduate studies. I hope you get the point... It is fascinating how you can get to the root without knowing how to identify it as such. This would lead to another completely mind-numbing round of analogies and metaphors so I will leave this at that... I see you still haven't grasped the point I was trying to make. There IS NO "Other consciousness", there is only one consciousness. Only difference is whether there are objects or not. Glad you agree with the main thesis.

I did start reading Dzogchen about 10 years back...but I don't have the time to learn yet another Advaita or Taoist-like practice. Honestly, there is nothing in what I read so far that would lead me to believe that either intellectually or experientially it will be any different from what I already do. You could of course say, that I won't know till I actually try it out...and while that might be the case, I highly doubt that it would lead me to change my understanding about anything dramatically.

when it comes to non-duality, the term cosmos, cosmic etc are simply comical.