Creation

I would be curious what an example of a xinggong first teacher would be. Even Wang Liping, who is unquestionably Longmen and teaches mostly still seated practice, says that the jing to qi level of cultivation is minggong (and that qi to shen is a mix of minggong and xinggong, and shen to wu is pure xinggong, as I recall).

There are some similarities for sure, building and pressurizing energy below the navel, working up to working with refined essences, the essences from the lower body rising up and the essences from the upper body dripping down. But I would say that even though you can find connections and similarities, when you lay out the complete process of development, it's quite different.

No problem at all.

Bon voyage. I haven't done the mco course material, I'm waiting to get the same material from the weekly academy lessons, sometime in the second year. Plenty to work on from the weekly lessons in year one so far, plus some of the stand alone workshops.

It's not that the anatomy is different, it's that the development of that anatomy is different. Think powerlifter vs gymnast vs skateboarder vs chess master vs couch potato. They have the same physical structure, developed in different ways. When you add in the higher bodies, you can get some very very different types of development.

I don't know about the connection between stars and pantheons, but I agree that different paths develop the higher bodies in radically different ways, and this affects the place in the etheric realms that you go when you die, that you will go to be with others who have developed their higher bodies similarly through the law of resonance.

Good question. From the stories I've heard, Daoist practice makes you really good at dhyana/samadhi - being able to sit in meditation for days etc. Whereas this type of meditative absorption is not considered so important in the Tibetan traditions - I haven't heard of Tibetan masters sitting for days on end. They are going instead for knowing nature of all things as emptiness, in all states of consciousness. I don't have the knowledge to know how the mechanics of each practice support these different goals.

I have a bit of experience with both. The aspects of the energy system being accessed and the methods of access are different, even though there are also similarities. Tibetan Yoga is designed to work with the central channel and the red and white bindu within the chakras along the central channel, and uses the left and right channel and five vayus (prana and apana in particular) to facilitate this. The methods for channeling energy involve strong muscular contractions and strong mental focus. Daoism is working with the energies of the five phases (which might have overlap with the five vayus, but also have correspondences with organs and energy channels not present in the Indian-derived traditions), and mixing and transforming pre and post heaven jing, qi, and shen in the three dantians, which spill over into the whole body, particularly along the channel system (microcosmic orbit, etc.). The methods involve gaining conscious control of the body's connective tissue, using the absolute minimum of muscular or mental effort. Not sure if that helps.

I don't particularly find those to correlate to the political spectrum, do you?

The scholar-warrior dichotomy is one dichotomy which correlates with the left-right dichotomy. Others are urban-rural and open minded-closed minded (per OCEAN Big 5). Now I'm curious to think of more.

@Antares, I'll try to the points you raise as best as I can. Damo doesn't list his teachers, and does seem to teach a kind of potpourri of different methods at first glance. The reason I trusted he is authentic, to be completely honest, is @freeform said he is, that his methods are all in service to the process of neigong and neidan in one line of Longmenpai, and I trust freeform. Notice "one line of Longmenpai". Different lines can do things quite differently, Longmenpai has been around a long time and spread over across huge distances. So if your line does things differently, that doesn't mean someone else's line is counterfeit. "First of all what breath is he talking about?" -Scholar and martial fire breathing. "Second - Dao Yin is more health orintated, there are ancient forms of Dao Yin and some schools use it as preparatory methods but not as method of Neidan. Neidan methods are unique and comprise the Pai' unique method but this is not Dao Yin or Qigong. To me he seems to mean the sitting as main method. Sitting produces Yin. Also Neidan does not use breath as it is postheaven energy, Neidan does not work qith postheaven energy." -Damo talks about neigong, alchemy, and meditation as three interlinked but different processes. Dao yin means movement exercises that strongly lead qi to the limbs, for instance for purging purposes, vs qigong which concentrates energy in the torso. Both of these are useful along the path of neigong and neidan as supplementary exercises. For instance, Damo's core "entry level" curriculum that is in his books and courses (both online and in person) contains 2 primary qigong sets and 2 primary daoyin sets, which are done standing, neigong work for building yin and yang qi in the danitan, which can be done seated or standing, and working with the firing process and the microcosmic orbit through the scholar and martial breathing, done sitting, as entry level alchemy work once you've made some progress on the former. I don't have any authority to speak for Damo, and have only studied his online course, that's just my best attempt to paraphrase how I have heard him explain things.

You don't need to replenish your yuan qi prior to filling dantian, you just need a correct method. Damo Mitchell has such a method and teaches online, can't speak for other teachers. In addition to a correct method, you do need your jing consolidated rather than scattered to build the dantian. It's not just sexual activity that scatters jing, but also emotional and mental overactivity, keep that in mind. But it's not as though any thought, emotion, or sexual activity will ruin your progress if you have a method designed for householders, moderation should be sufficient. Working with yuan qi comes later.

I've given you my beginner's understanding, I not qualified to advise you more on this.

For cultivating the ming line, yes, but that is not the same as the "crosshairs" lines used to locate the dantian. That's my understanding at least. At any rate, it shouldn't actually matter - in the diagram you posted, the cauldron itself is a region not a point. If you have such precise focus that you can zoom in on the slight difference in these heights, you've practicing wrong .

Is the subtle difference you are referring to that the ming men point is slightly higher than the qi hai point, so that the first location you describe is slightly higher? If so, directly behind qi hai is the right instruction, "ming men" referred to "between qi hai and ming men" is more of a region than a point.

In Buddhism, a Buddha has three bodies, one is formless, the other two are not. So I don't think it's actually so very different. Very different process of getting there though. ...(nvm) I appreciate the place from which you share, and your mode of expressing it. _/\_

It would be a shame if somone was discouraged from looking into Damo's offerings because somone told them they would need to train at least 2 hours a day to make progress. As Damo said in the batgap interview, it depends on how far you are trying to go with it (like anything).

The path in Buddhism is sila, samadhi, prajna. At the very least for sila and samadhi there is work to stabilize and prolong the arising of qualities and mind states beneficial to the path, this is indeed how the Buddha taught in the suttas. As far as paths that primarily emphasize sudden prajna realization, for instance Dzogchen and Soto Zen, in Dzogchen the path after a glimpse of rigpa the path is precisely to "stabilize and prolong" it, and in Soto even after awakening sitting is engaged in as "practice-enlightenment".

Thanks, I never know where the line is with this kind of thing. IMO "stupid" and "poor reader" are direct insults, and the security blanket thing crosses a line, but "entrenched in a set of contradictory beliefs" is a perfectly valid thing to say on an open discussion forum, even if there are nicer or more productive ways to talk.

Is Daemon being threatened with moderator action for opining someone is clinging to a contradictory set of beliefs? Did someone request a moderator issue this warning, or are you doing so without such a request? Is character analysis a moderatable offense?

This is an effect of how these things are presented to us in our culture - your use of the word "seem" is telling. There were spiritual things happening in Medieval Europe and unspiritual things happening in Tibet.

It might be useful to recall that what dwai is describing was, and still is, called crypto-Buddhist by rival Hindu schools.

Oh, pardon my lack of clear expression, I was wondering if you would describe it for me, not question if it existed. I agree that decisive action would seem to be the opposite of qualities ilumaniren listed as yin. Though when discussing these matters I have learned not to assume .

It seems that within the yin and yang of lust there is are toxic and non-toxic expressions. For instance, you list non-toxic qualities here, a toxic expression of such yin qualities would be manipulation. If (toxic) possessiveness is yang, is there a yang expression of lust that you would find non-toxic?

Well, that's the thing. I don't really know what yang and yin are, but I know how I observe men and women to behave. I would have a better idea what you mean by yang and yin if I knew what you consider to be the yin aspect of lust.