Cameron

Curious if most Bums drink or not. I drank quite a bit in Korea. And here in China the trend seems to continue How important do you think abstaining from the sauce is to your cultivation? I have been on a pretty crazy lifeystlye schedule. Doing my practices during the week and trying to abstain then getting hammered on the weekends. But wondering if it wouldn't be for the best to just stop entirely. ps. Bijou(Chinese wine) is evil.

Been a long line of energy practice based Tao pracitioners here with some empty mind emphasis thrown in here and there. Was curious who here fully agrees with Bill Bodri when he writes basically all energy practices being a side path to cultivation? There has been quite alot of talk from different Tao school practices. From Healing Tao, Lei Shan Dao, Kunlun, Wudang, Tien Shan, Water Method as well as a huge assortment of different qigong/neigong methods. Does anyone think all these energy practices are at best a sidetrack and worse damaging to cultivation? Like another huge attachment? I notice people get into energy practice then tend to get strongly attached to there method as being the best method. You can see the evidence here. Bodri/Nan seem to emphasize just sit still and be quiet and everything that is supposed to happen energetically will happen. That the work of cultivation has to do with watching the mind, not doing this and that with energy. Adyashanti as well as most of the Zen and Advaita crowd seem to make the same point in a less serious way. So, was wondering about it. My guess is in ancient China they would discuss this and my experience lately makes me think people who emphasize emptiness meditation over qigong or energy practice methods make a good point. Since all phenomena ultimatly passes away is it a good idea to focus on energetic events rather than letting it all pass freely through the mind and not held onto? I know the energy arts are entertaining and might work well for healing or power. More interesting to people probably then sitting still and watching your mind but haven't heard anyone really strongly make that point here the way Bodri does on his site. Or do you look at it another way? Cam

I posted this on the HT board(My name over there is Golden Sun). Quite some interesting discussion . Repost here if anyone didn't see it or wants to add something to the discussion. Wow, some interesting stuff here over the past month. Good entertainment for me as I recover from knee surgery. Max has brought up the importance of merit many times here and elsewhere. I am guessing it is the work of Bill Bodri that has influenced this view. I was pretty hesitant to go through Bill's work(I purchased most of his e books)since most of it is very long and like someone said he tends to repeat the same points over and over again for hundreds of pages. From my understanding, the merit teachings take into account the Buddhist and Hindu view of 'Indra's Net' that all beings simutaneously interpenetrate and are reflected in eachother and an act of kindness(or hate) towards any part of the net(universe)would have the effect of being reflected back(karma)..or something. What I am not sure I agree with is the point Max seems to place as so important that merit is most important of all. And you better work at creating merit otherwise you have no hope of enlightenment. I don't think it is a bad teaching no doubt Buddhas have always taught Do Good Do not do evil Do Good for others etc. But the teaching to sort of "go out of the way" to " create" merit seems somehow untaoist to me and not what Lao Tzu was talking about. It seems Taoism is about simplicity and returning to natural virtue..te. I don't think going out of your way to do good good deeds for others is necissarily true te .true te, it seems, would flow efforltessly from the heart as ana ct of love of one human being to another(or other life form, animal etc.) So my feeling about this is saying merit is most important is sort of putting the cart before the horse since through meditation(it seems) and study of taoist philosphy and nature in general you develop natural te which is in alignment with Tao. The sun shines it's warmth on all it doesn't think " Oh, what kind of merit will I get from this". So the higher forces of anture are efforlessly giving there love and energy to the rest of the universe without much though of "self". Getting rid of the view of a small independant self seems to be the root of what blocks natural te from being everyday acts of kindness. But am interested in others views on this for clarification. Since Lao Tzu(whether he was a single man or group of people) thought it so important to put it in the title of Tao Te Ching. It seems to be a subtle issue to me. Just to be clear. I think charities are awesome and help people when possible but just trying to detuct whether it is really the path to be thinking of helping people in order to create merit or help people because it is good to help people! I guess it is a mute point since it's obviously not a bad thing if you get some spiritual rewards for doing good deeds but mentally isn't it better to help people out of a sense of compassion and love not out of a sense of personal gain? Or is the idea here that many people do not have a sense of service to others, love and compassion so they should just help others on faith that it is the good thing to do until it one day occurs to them they are benifitting from it and they are getting the love, rewards etc back to them and it's all good and you feel warm inside. I am sure M Winn has his own views on this which would be interesting to here. Just seems to me a true Bodhisattva would want to help others out of wanting to ease others suffering. Not out of some goal to accumulate merit. I was listening to my Thich Nhat Han CD's tonight and really got the impression he is here to help others. He talked about how the Kuan Yin statues in China or pictures with dozens or hundreds of arms expressed how much love Kuan Yin has to ease the suffering of people. I don't imagine a Bodhisattva like Kuan Yin(Avalotishvara) as having so much love for sentient beings and wanting to ease their suffering out of a sense of personal merit accumulation to herself/himself. And I think it is the spiritual experience(realizing oneness with the universe to one degree or another) that is the basis for this type of compassion .Or atleast some kind of feeling of conenction. Though I do like Bodri's point that bug world religions serve the purpouse of teaching people to do good deeds so they can prevent being sent to hell. Obviously it would be ebtter if everyone studied Tao, Zen and the like and leaenred about there true nature directly but most arent up for it or it doesn't seem appealing for one reason or another. Challeninging questions.

What is TTB's opnion of who Jesus was? I have heard it said from Michael Winn that he was a high level practitioner that learned alchemy in Egypt and all the miracles he performed were not for poeple to worship him but to show them the potential of human abilities. Atleast I think I remember Winn saying something like that. Of course Christians beleive he is the lord and the savioir. The son of God and the only way to Heaven. Then there are people who say Jesus is a myth. Just another in a long line of stories since ancient times based on the same virgin birth story .They say there is no factual evidence Jesus even existed. Then I have talked to christians who say they have solid evidence Jesus did exist. I guess the heart of the matter is Jesus necissary if he existed? The idea that you need to be saved from original sin. Sometimes I think Winn maybe right and all the christ talk is just some alchemical code people messed up down through the ages. I remember someone saying Christ was not the son of God but the SUN OF GOD. he was just a metaphor or human version of the spirit of the SUN which shines it rays of warmth and life on all unconditionally. And it is one of many SUNS OF GOD(alot of stars in the sky). The idea that there is one God who has one son and he has chosen this tiny planet to come to and be sacrificed and die for the sins of man seems....small to me. So what do you think? Total BS? Christ was a Bodhisattva? an Immortal? Misunderstood?

I mean Western style strength training. I guess from the Tao perspective 'external' strength or 'hardstyle' strength. Do you mix barbell/dumbbell/kettlebell training with your Tao stuff? I have been doing kettlebell training pretty seriously the last few years and am enjoying it. Or do you think it's better to just stick with qigong or IMA training? So basically, who enjoys/does strength training? One perspective I liked from a high level kettlebell teacher who is also very seriously into qigong and IMA is that kettlebell training is the Yang to the Yin of qigong or meditation. This has been my way of looking at training recently. I find if I focus too much on my qigong and meditation I get a bit too yin and then focus on kettlebell training for balance. But I will sometimes get too yang from that and cool down with qigong.

Max was telling me about this guy. Has anyone read his book that was just published in English? He is doing a 2 day seminar next month in LA. Kieth you interested in maybe checking it out. I probably have enough on my plate for awhile but if he's that amazing would be worth it.

I have taken quite a few supplements over the past few years and they all have interesting benifits and drawbacks. The one I think is by far the best and absolutely invaluable to someone into qigong or Taoist arts is this one. Part of the challenge of spiritual and energetic practices is how to deal with all the powerful energy that arises with practice and especially gaining control of sexual and emotional energy. Everyone has some sort of technique or method to deal with this but the only thing I have found which really offers a long term, safe and easy answer is this product. It gives you more energy and is an adaptogen and all that but the main benifit comes from this amino acid Alpathean which is only found in green tea. This stuff is amazing and the Japanese have known about it and used for over 20 years. It has the effect of stabilizing your shen so your emotions are balanced and puts you into an alpha brain wave state where meditation, qigong, yoga, martial arts or whatever you like to do is greatly improved. Do yourself a favor and buy a bottle for youself for Christmas. It's $29 for a months supply. http://dragonherbs.com/products/products.asp?sku=161

Well, I made a post along these lines years ago and thought maybe it would be cool to do again to sense what teachers we all admire and would like to study with in the flesh. So my top 5 teachers(living)on planet Earth. 1. Adyashanti- still an amazing teacher. I love how he expounds on Dharma. He has given so much in his years of teaching and remains one of the most down to Earth and humble teachers. His teachings are so alive. 2. Master Wang Liping- Even though I am very happy with my current practice, I can't help but feel that he is simply the man of Taoism. As if I got nothing but to be in this man's presence, it would be a powerful blessing on the path of Tao. 3. Sifu Max Christensen- Biased for sure. But he remains to me the "mad scientist" of Taoist Alchemy. And certainly has had a great influence. 4. Sifu Jenny Lamb- Amazing wisdom combined with relentless pointing to awareness and awakening in her teaching. Very different emphasis to Max and resembles more of my experiences with Adyashanti. 5. Master John Chang- Forget that I was basically told to check out Indonesia if I was interested in another practice(not going to happen) but the sheer volume of interest in this man and his practice is enough to make me want to check him out if he ever taught publically agaain. Not because I actually would do the Mo Pai practice but just to be in the presence of such a magnaminous figure of The Tao Bums world. Who is your top 5?

Curious what peoples experiences are practicing Sifu Jenny's 'opening channels' exercise from her dvd/workshop. I finally started practicing it regularly lately and immediately felt qi flowing through the governor and conception channels. She teaches it as a finisher to spontaneous qigong/yigong/Kunlun. A very simple practice with immediate and powerful results!

1. The Way The Way that can be experienced is not true; The world that can be constructed is not real. The Way manifests all that happens and may happen; The world represents all that exists and may exist. To experience without abstraction is to sense the world; To experience with abstraction is to know the world. These two experiences are indistinguishable; Their construction differs but their effect is the same. Beyond the gate of experience flows the Way, Which is ever greater and more subtle than the world.

Back in the day I had started a thread asking what people's top 5 practices-'spiritual' or otherwise-are. Would be interesting to get an updated feedback from Taobums practitioners. What have you found that really 'works' to make the quality of your life better? I noticed Bagua Zhang seems to be really popular here now. When I first moved to China I dropped in on the class of an internal martial artist. He gave me his teacher's Bagua Zhang book in English for free. Which I lost! I sort of took that as a sign that it wasn't my practice at this point in my life. Although perhaps later. So for myself I would say. 1. Red Phoenix 2. Kettlebell lifting 3. Bodyweight excercises 4. Yigong or Kunlun Method 5. Standing meditation What's yours?

Breath holding is essential especially when the weight gets heavy. check out Pavel Tsatsoulines work for in depth explanations on this.

Hindu squats are good for leg strength. I did them on and off for years. Best thing would b just try them out for yourself and see how you feel.

Thanks for the feedback. I tend to switch back and forth between kettlebell training and bodyweight. As they seem to develop different systems of strength. My first love was Aikido(Japanese internal martial art) but after several knee surgeries years ago just can't risk the wear and tear/trauma to the knee from that MA anymore. What are your favorite exercises? For myself, kettlebell swings and hindu(bodyweight) squats have yielded the most bang for the buck.

Bodyweight excercises are also really good. I was doing hundreds of reps of squats a few years ago for training. But prefer the kettlebell. I find meditation and good sleep or so important for good strength gains and recovery. Anyway, was just curious. My sense is most IMA stick with the particular training of their art but in our modern mixing systems world would be interesting to hear from people doing this.

Yup..come to China sometime we can do some sacred mountain hiking trips and jam with Chinese metal bands:) To OP..take it slow..if you think it's not helpful drop it. Did you just take 1 Kunlun seminar?

Yikes! This is a major reason I am always cautious in sharing Kunlun with people. I have done the practices for 7 years but don't think it's for everyone. My feeling is most people would do better just doing exercise and some simple meditation that doesn't stir up so much energy. I am fine with the energy and don't think 'snake' energy is 'demonic'. But if your feeling bad you need to assess that and take everything else in your life into account as well. But in the short term, I would discontinue the practice and get with a good Chinese medicine doctor. Something that I did for awhile after first learning Kunlun was get hiking regularly. Get out into nature, breath fresh air, enjoy the beautiful sunrise and sunsets. If your qi is too low for that get with a good doctor and build that up first with acupuncture and herbs. Take long walks or join a good yoga or tai chi class. Good luck!

The Temple of Heaven is a cool place. I go there occasionally. But more often the Temple of Earth and it's surrounding park since it's in my neighborhood.

Interesting interview

anyone know what it is?

I know most guys watch porn and get off and no big deal. but as qigong is the foundation of my life I want to be aware of the energetic ramifactions of all that I do and allow into my qi field. I remember the first time I saw hardcore porn was when I was in elementary school. Our hoursekeeper lived on the first floor of my house in Westchester. I had some friends over..I was probably like 12..and we went down into her room for some reason and I somehow started going through her drawers and then somehow stumbled upon this video and then somehow me and my friends were watching this girl take it in the pussy and the ass This was before I had even ever mastrubated but I was basically addicted to porn from that point. I am not a real addict I doubt I watch more porn than your average married guy with an internet conenction but I have people send me emails with porn all the time. It got to the point where people I know or family members that I know are just sending porn I delete there emails without reading them! Ok..what is the point of this post? I have noticed a pretty unpleasent qi after i watch pornography. Now that I am accutely aware of my qi sensations it seems porn is bad for my qi somehow .I dont'e ven eman ejaculatin just wathcing aporno..it starts of pleasent..the jing gets aroused and stars flowing up into my body/brain. If feels nice and I am like cool..porn is goof for qi! Then I notice aFTER I watch the porn, the movie is voer, I have other things to do..I almost immedietly have the nice tingly sexual sensations turn into almost pure crap .It's gross actually. Obviously sexual cultivation is about being with a partner and exchanging or sharing sexual energy in a loving and open way so maybe that has something to do with it. I don't know. I guess I should just not watch porn.

I have been taking a couple of brain boosters over the last few weeks . Quite amazing stuff really. The first is Spike from the guys over at T-nation.com This stuff is intense .We are talking about a 12 hour "buzz' where you feel completely focused and "on your game". This is a product that I would say is idea for people who are very very active or really do alot of mental stuff, like have to sit in front of the computer for 6 hours at work or something. These guys at T-nation are Alchemists when it comes to enhancing Testosterone levels as well as turbo boosting your system for workouts. I don't think Spike is something you should use daily unless your an athlete or something, but if your interested in an almost euphoric, aphetamine like buzz accompanied by extreme focus and enhanced physical power check it out. The second, which is the one I am msot excited about, is Brain Enhancer. This is an Imperial formula brought to us by Dr. stephan chang ala Ron Diana. Ron is a wonderful guy and he sells this amazing supplement on his site Taohealing.com this stuff is based on an ancient secret formula that was the favorite of Royalty and now Ron and Dr.Chang are selling it. The writing on it from Taohealing says it increases intelligence in all capacities up to 36 times! that wasn't a typo, he says this product increases intelligence up to 36 times! All I know is I have been taking this stuff for about a week and it is probably one of the ebst supplements around .I immendietly felt a rush of fresh blood and oxygen in brain . It's like my brain has been flooded with all this nourishment. Amazing stuff. Spike is amazing to but in a totally different way .I think you can get a free sample of Spike at Getspike.com But for loong term use I will probably go with Brain Enhancer from Taohealing Peace!