dwai

Evergreen

Do you want a PPD where you can post these topics @Draco ? This might be better placed in a PPD, given that it's primarily your posts on this thread.

Well said! I understand. I’ve heard the following (and variations thereof) many times over — “So will someone who has no preferences (in context of this discussion ) not do anything to save their loved one? Will they not feel the pain/suffering of another?” The answer is, of course they will try to save their loved one. That is called duty/responsibility and love. And certainly will feel the pain/suffering of another. That is called empathy. The constitute what one could call the “human dharma”. Often what is blurred (in gen pop) is the line between empathy, love and duty/responsibility and clinging attachment. I’d written this article which explores what love is in the nondual context that some might find interesting — https://www.medhajournal.com/non-dual-awareness-is-without-attributes-but-what-about-love/

No preference doesn’t mean no action though. In my experience, this no preference results in correct and timely action when necessary.

There is no “Buddhist/daoist/*ist” True Nature. There is only True Nature

I know the impulse you mention @manitou but you are what this community needs. Some might not read your posts, some others might read and not understand, but there are seeds of wisdom you plant through your interactions. What is the rest of humanity, if not suffering from one or more forms of (form) addictions? So, if you want to leave, that's your prerogative. But there are those of us who value your presence.

No. If you truly have overcome fear of death, you also must have overcome the desire for this or that. Yes, it is indeed wasteful to die without realizing your True Nature. Once you realize your True Nature, you will no longer fear (period), and neither will you cling to/run away from anything that arises in your experience.

Not sure how many here have watched the 6-round boxing match between DK Yoo and former UFC fighter Bradley Scott. I was initially only casually curious about it, since it was being positioned as a “martial artist vs trained professional fighter/athlete” type of contest. I’ve seen some of DK Yoo’s YouTube videos where he seems to be blending systema, Chen taijiquan, etc into a JKD type of system — a curiosity for sure. He reminds me of Bruce Lee with his movements etc. Anyway, I was curious enough (and/or bored enough) last night to pay the 20$ for the fight and watched it. I have to say, we can give credit to DK Yoo for stepping into a fight with a pro fighter (retired, iirc) who outweighed him by ~ 50 Lbs, and was a good 3” taller, and about 10 years younger. He lasted 6 full rounds, though he spent the entire time evading his bigger opponent. Which flies in the face of most MMA-types who were pontificating pre-fight that this would be over in the first round with a violent KO (by Bradley Scott). He showed decent stamina, ate some mean body shots, guarded himself reasonably well, and even got a few strikes in. So what was the outcome of this fight? That isn’t quite clear to me. It obviously wasn’t as definitive a thing as many had predicted — Yoo survived. Did it do him any good? Maybe more good than not — he after all has bragging rights now (as a martial artist who survived 6 rounds against a pro fighter). Did it do Bradley Scott any good? Maybe (made some money). Maybe not because he couldn’t demolish this guy in the first round like he said he would. The fight promoter made some money in the process. what do you all think?

The "clinch" is a valid (strategic) tool in Boxing. https://shortboxing.com/why-is-clinching-allowed-in-boxing/

What many others have said is valuable advice. Stop doing this until you get your health issue sorted out by a trained professional. After it is sorted out, if you want to continue your practice, first learn to stand and sink your qi to the stomach/lower stomach area. It is not a good idea to consolidate qi in that region before you can get to a point where the qi sinks to the stomach and then starts flowing back out to your extremities. Find a good teacher (either in person or online) Moderation is key in these kinds of things -- not too much, not too little. How does one know when it is enough? When you find yourself straining too much mentally, physically, or both, you have gone too far. You should feel energized after you do your practice, not feel exhausted. The "no pain, no gain" attitude is extremely detrimental to this kind of stuff.

It wasn’t like that (or at least not apparent). Yoo didn’t look comfortable by any definition of the word, but it wasn’t as if he was struggling too much either. He used the clinch and given that he was outweighed by the bigger opponent, got tossed many times.

moderator note: this thread has been cleaned up of controversial posts. Any more posts here on COVID controversial/political/alt fact topics WILL result in a 7 day suspension. The split thread has been moved to the “current events” sub-forum.

Did you mean drink some spirited stuff? Agreed. I live a very cold part of the US and need centralized heating...using a fireplace is optional (for really cold days, or to make the living room cheerful on a bleak winter day/night).

then problem solved

Skip showers/baths for a few days -- that should keep you warmer. How people will react to you is a completely different story...

I’ve been working on supine Qi ball (we call it taiji ball in temple style parlance) for a few years now. It’s really amazing how well it works on the legs/feet which can feel overloaded in standing qigong practices. Another very interesting observation which I hadn’t made earlier on in my qigong/taiji practice is that qi flow and awareness go hand in hand. Supine qi ball practice helps in becoming aware of the larger circulation from the feet to the crown/crown to the feet. And connecting the (center of the) qi ball to the ren and du channels while moving up and down the central line, will circulate the MCO quite effectively.

Whatever isn’t a thing (object in the subject-object duality) is “no-thing”

Most religious traditions (Abrahamic ones especially) view God as male, Light, illuminating. This has been wired into our psyches and minds for the most part, even in ancient civilizational cultures like India which emphasize the divine feminine quite emphatically (a result of colonization/cultural cross-pollination with the abrahamic traditions, imho). A most interesting lucid dream happened in the early hours of the morning today. I was having a conversation/discussion with someone about the nature of light and darkness, God as the male God of Light. This person was arguing that God is male, Light, and how darkness is “bad”. My counter to that was, “Have you considered that God is actually female, and that darkness is not necessary bad/opposite of light?” And further more, “consider God as the Mother, nurturing and nourishing us. We are nourished and nurtured in the dark with dreams, where entire worlds arise within our minds, processing/resolving issues encountered in the waking state. Also, deep relaxation and rest in the darkness of deep sleep. The night/darkness is not something to be feared, but rather, something to revel in. The mother rests when darkness turns to light. She nurtures and nourishes us at night, so we can act in the world of waking during the day…” So my dream debater asked, “So, what then of the God of Light/The Father?” At which point, regrettably, I came out of the dream. And it got me thinking. What indeed? Are light and darkness two separate things? Are they not, two sides of the same coin? One can’t know light without darkness, and vice versa. The duality only exists if one looks at them as two distinct and separate things. It’s always darkness and light, mother and father, yin and yang (Of course, none of this is new stuff for the daoists here…). Is the divine really “male” anymore or any less than it is “female” ? Aren’t we the ones projecting certain attributes on to the divine based on our own predilections/fears/whims?

You mean this one?

Moderator note: Suspended for 7 days

Moderator’s Note: This is not a “sense of humor” thing. Humor can and often is used as a foil for insulting others, or their beliefs/ideas. I do hope YOU will reconsider how you present yourself here - an attitude of nonchalant bravado accompanied by thinly veiled insults is certainly not what one should be projecting, and yet that’s how some of your posts come across.

That is my experience as well.

I can see this quite prevalent in the two newer Abrahamic religions, in the mainstream (non-mystical) traditions. Primary mover seems to be fear (or maybe it's awe -- it's hard to tell the difference). Absolutely. One can look at that unfathomable universe, the creation of the supreme Deity, and go, "imagine how mighty and powerful that Deity must be to create this vast and complex universe!" and consequently, "I am nothing...but a puny gnat in your presence O Lord!". Personally, I think it's not a good approach and is a recipe for many terrible things in the name of opposing conceptions of such a Deity.