Cameron

Sean D, how old are you? I had it in my head you were my age, early 30's.

I have no idea about Gangaji or her personal life. Ime not sure if something 'bad' happens to someone that doesn't mean they arent enlightened. There have been Zen Masters like Ikkyu who were considered highly enlightened and were sex maniacs, atleast for a period of time. From what I read he would go into brothels in Japan and just drink and fuck everything in site. Tesshu was an enlightened Samurai who was a heavy drinker and into sex. He was married but at one point had a goal to sleep with every woman in Japan to fully remove the seperation between self and other. From what I remember he finally gave up and turned to zazen and the way of the sword. You can read about his wild path to enlightenment in "The Sword of No Sword" By John Stevens. Anyway, appreciate your feedback Sean D! Stick to your guns!

I have no idea. But I like Jeannie and the quote sounded cool. So there!

One of my female teachers said in Satsang how she should have a bright neon sign abover her head that says "always open". She doesn't need it. Just being in her presence changes the energy in the room and is pretty great. And I definetly appreciate the feminine quality of her awakeness.

I am a fan of woman and think they are cool in many interesting ways! *sips cappuccino*

You should know better by now. I am the master of copy and paste. I have met the person who wrote it though if that means anything!

I was just reading about this retreat Surya Das is doing at Omega Institute this afternoon. Same place I'll be going to a few weeks after for Adyashanti. link

There is a quote from Zen Master Dogen that goes something like "To say that I am the master and you are the student is the way of demons". I think what he was trying to say is the truly enlightened have no attachments and therefore no need to be seen as superior or better than the student. One trait I have noticed I am attracted to are spiritual teachers who -moment to moment-are open to learning as much from there students as the student from the teacher. They are not into the "I know more than you" trip. I am always astonished how the Advieta teachers I study with like Adyashanti and Jeanni Zandi can meet a student right at where they are at. Really a true encounter of mind and heart to eachother, and flow with that. I wouldn't presume David Verdesi's "Masters" such as Wang Liping don't have that same childlike innocence and openness. But perhaps they wear the "clothes of tradition" to protect there lineage for a reason. I simply can't speak about things I don't really know and not familiar with. May we all see through the viels of illusion and encounter our true nature in this lifetime(if that's what you want)

Interesting stuff Wayfarer. My teacher Adyashanti says the only real difference between someone like Buddha or Ramana Maharishi and us is they are awake and we(most of us) are asleep. And if you think any of those guys had anything special that you don't have it could take lifetimes to get off that trip. I do agree with Sean D that you probably need a teacher(there might be exceptions of course). An enlightened teacher can give a level of feedback and a recognition of awakeness that would take a long time to get to on your own. Unless your a spiritual genius or something.

Wow, pretty interesting post Sean. You say you teach grade school kids? Why not go all the way and get a PhD in Taoist or Buddhist studies? Then you can really teach what you love and are interested in. Imagine teaching Taoism and Buddhism at a major American University by the time your a Professor you'll probably be so hooked up with the Masters in China you could organize special study programs for your students for credit. Spend a semester in China with Wang Liping and Professor Denty! Cam, stuck at home trying to figure out college math.

I don't think I implied that at all. If your not comfortable doing so than no problem. I havent really even introduced myself to David or said anything on your forum so I would probably do before I to start asking peoples opnion of other teachers. Wheras you are here, basically daily, sharing your views with us, so I thought it might not be a big deal for you to ask david for me, as you communicate with him regularly. No big deal, also if you do feel comfortable with this-whenever..no rush at all..by all means let me know in private PM not publically. If not, no worries.

Ok, cool. Sean, if it's not too much trouble when you have time, could you ask your teacher what he thinks of Master Tseng in Colorado? He is a lineage Taoist in both Wudang and Longmen sect and teaches Alchemy. There are several levels of the Alchemy training you go through. It looks and sounds like the 'real deal' to me. It sounds like your teacher is pretty knowledgable on who's who in the Taoist world if he could could comment on Master Tseng. I am most likely doing a workshop with him later this year. Master Tseng

I think quite a few teachers agree with you Wayfarer. In the Taoist scene David Twicken and Bryn Orr both wrote(if I remember correctly) that Taoist cultivation is not about "becoming Immortal" as much as becoming aware that you are already so. I think Bryn says it's about 'waking up' to higher dimensions/aspects of yourself. This feels more like the truth to me. When people speak of becoming Immortal it almost sounds like 'make my already huge ego even greater'. It may just be an issue of translation, I agree with David Twicken that virtue and being natural is a foundation to all of this. Whoever you end up studying with and whatever practice you do, keeping virtue and naturalness the foundation is a good thing.

Goals? I would say all of the above. I agree as far as meditation it seems when you cultivate properly(basically..don't control or manipulate) the qi does seem to know where to go. As far as meditation and cultivation I totally agree with that. I guess retention would be more a 'damage control' measure to prevent loss of qi etc. ps .Also I read david say on the foundation forum how pc contractions screw your system up if you ever want to practice his system. Something about contracting pc prevents the cultivation of yang qi or something.

Sean D, Just so I understand you, are you saying methods like testicle breathing, without much of any force, just naturally feeling sexual energy move from the testicles up the spine to the brain(naturally without much forced effort) is dangerous? I understand the worry about the Big Draw and have heard alot of people share your concern about 'forcing' hot yang sexual energy up to the brain/crown but I think Winn's approach is to do alot of testicle breathing, and if you ejaculate it's not the end of the world. I have also heard some teachers speak of 'huan jing bu nao' or something that translates to 'return the sexual energy to repair the brain' the idea being sexual energy feeds the mind and brain and even improves mental capacities, memory etc. I know when I ejaculate I feel rather low energy and my mind doesn't feel as sharp for a day or two and when I do retention my mind feels sharper, have more energy etc. Thoughts?

I would be interested in this myself. I just recently ordered 'Dragon Gate' and 'Magus of Java' from Amazon to get some basic idea of who David's teachers are. So I would be interested whether 'Magus' as well as 'Dragon Gate' are considered authentic, accurate descriptions, atleast according to David and/or Wang Liping.

Ime watching Southpark but as soon as it's over I'll check it out.

Sounds of my original 3 votes(Yoda, Sean O, Kieth(Trunk) Yoda and Trunk arent interested in going. So who would you be interested to see going. Let's all make a list of 3(You can include yourself of course if you think you would be a good canditate) and get an idea of who the TB's as a whole would like to see go. At this point, with Yoda and Kieth bowing out, my list would be either Sean O, Smile or myself(Cameron). Let's also see what everyone would be willing to pitch in for whoever. Sean D has already offered to pitch in $1000. I would be willing to pitch in $200 if they need the money this year. And up to $500 if they need it next year. Cam

Ime thinking of doing a 3 day workshop with him and Ken Cohen towards the end of the year in Colorado. Authentic Taoist lineage holder and teacher. Looks interesting. link

Got the DVD yesterday. Master Tseng has very smooth flowing movement and the form looks pretty cool. It will take me awhile to get into it if I even do. He also talks about drawing qi from the universe through the lao gung points and the crown of the head and into the tan tien. And yes, Master Tseng does consider the tan tien the lower abdomen. So he is atleast one "Chinese lineage Taoist" that seems to agree with the more mainstream qigong crowd.

hehe..I can't unleash on Max, he won't buy me dinner and a movie next time I see him in NY *kidding* Ime not much for internet verbal assault much more of an in person kind of guy. I'll make sure to throw someone extra hard in Aikido tomorrow if it makes you feel better Sean