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Nice one! This course has been mentioned on TBs before: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=5691

To paraphrase Dumas, all generalizations are dangerous, including mine: Buddhism has extensive teachings on getting there by a number of different routes categorised under ground, path and fruition. This is more down to capacity and inclination then a particular path. Both Taoism and Buddhism have methods to repair the 'alchemical workshop' for laying a strong foundation for spiritual practice. The earlier one starts the better. Sure they do - there's teachings on Windhorse/Lung Ta and Noble Sangha. In Buddhist Yantra Yoga males and females start the physical postures and breathing exercises on different sides of the body. edited for tpyos

Pray and supplicate - even a drop raises the ocean.

Islamic Relief iffy? Not according to the UK Charity Commission who investigated Islamic Charities following 9/11 or indeed The Prince of Wales: HRH celebrates the 25th anniversary of Islamic Relief

Thanks for taking the effort to respond Marblehead, and in the spirit that you did it, it is greatly appreciated. I see parallels with other traditions in what you wrote - wisdom is wisdom regardless of the coat it wears. TzuJanLi, thanks too. Namaste!

No arguments - honest. I'm genuinley interested in other perspectives and would see it as information/education only - after all, I'm in no position to say whats right or wrong. Does Philosophical Taoism countenance Early Heaven and Later Heaven, the Five Shen and different realms of existence, or is all this the preserve of Religious Taoism? Namaste!

Why thanks Marblehead! We've heard lots of the Buddhist view - I'd be ever so grateful if you could balance it out with the Philosophical Taoist view. Now that's the universal langauge that should transcend all differences - namaste! edited for typos

Just to add a few ideas into the mix .... Maybe there are objective worlds based on one reality. I found this quote on the net ages ago: "According to the Guhyasamaja Tantra...no absolute division can be made between mind and matter. Matter in its subtlest form is prana, a vital energy which is inseparable from consciousness." From The Universe in a Single Atom. This implies a non-dualistic relationship between mind, matter and the process of becoming. So beings who share the same karmic vision share the same objective world. The usual example given is that water to humans is something to drink and wash in, pus to hungry ghosts, lava to hell beings and nectar to gods etc.. This can also lead to the idea of the inseparability of samasra and nirvana - where one reality is seen and experienced differently depending on karmic vision and propensity. Accounts of mystics who are credited with being able to walk on water or not get burnt by flames also suggests that different objective worlds can intersect.

Thanks Susan . I like a line from William Blake that goes something along the lines of "It matters not if you're heathen, Turk or Jew, but where Love, Mercy, Pity dwell, there God dwells too". If accounts of the mahasiddhas are anything to go by I don't think we can expect anything but the unexpected. They could be completely normal or totally outrageous. There does seem to be a common theme of operating for the benefit of others. I sincerely hope you don't get enlightened bastards. In buddhist terms on the path of result - read vajrayana - buddha nature is self evident in the sense that connections are established with deities and tutelary images that evoke and express particular qualities of our innermost/divine/enlightened - (cross out as appropriate) - nature. The statement was only a provisional pointer for seekers, not a definitive statement of doctrine or reality. Enlightenment doesn't have to be necessarily anthropocentric as many wisdom traditions speak of the kinship of all life at various levels of existence. Ah this old chestnut again! This has been thrashed around by pedants, the doctrinaire, iconoclasts and axe grinders in other threads, so if anyone's stifling a yawn read no further. Emptiness and buddha nature are countervailing principles that safeguard against nilhism and christ-like complexes where lunatics think they're some sort of deity. I believe the mystical paradox of the relationship between emptiness, buddha nature and identity is resolvable in the crucible of the sincere heart. I'm still resolving ...

Marvellous! In Buddhist traditions there's the path of the cause, where practitioners seek to realise buddha nature, and the path of result where inherent buddha nature is taken as a self-evident starting point. Coming from a time steeped in myth the Delphic Oracle's injunction of 'Know thyself' fits nicely with one contemporary definition of enlightenment given by Dzigar Kontrul, "Enlightenment is the complete and irreversible awakening to one's true nature, in which the wisdom of both seeing the true nature of phenomena and knowing phenomena in all their variety is revealed." Blessings to all.

It's certainly an eye opener. Compassion is the wish that all beings are free from suffering and the causes of suffering - it has aspirational and actional aspects.

Saying that everything is empty and ultimate reality is beyond good and evil runs the risk of trivializing the very real suffering experienced in the relative. There's a saying that goes something along the lines of 'while sentient beings suffer from the sickness of suffering, bodhisattvas willingly suffer from the sickness of compassion'.

Absolutely horrifying and yet another image to add to the storehouse of images that spur practice.

Taobum dreams in a taobum circus.

Unless you're gifted with special vision, no. It's a matter of spiritual faith and choosing or not choosing from the range of doctrines presented to us. Accounts of near death experiences are interesting ...

Nice one! Looking forward to future installments.

If someone has the capacity and percepton to observe, study and ask the right questions then perhaps there are no secrets. But then again, who has this capacity? There might be things that we should be aware of but aren't - that's where the teacher comes in.

Vajra's light burns very brightly, perhaps too brightly for some on occasion. His posts are an ambivalent combination of knowledge, sincerity and sheer overbearing enthusiasm which usually leave me clarifying things for myself which is good and unusual at the same time as I normally just dismiss posts I have difficulty with. Thanks Vajra Very clear thanks. Dependent origination is deceptively profound. What I was trying to express, though apparently not well enough, is that continually boiling everything down to dependent origination can be unhelpful and lack clarity. For example saying that rigpa is the result of seeing dependent origination implies that seeing dependent origination is the only way to experience rigpa. Of course you can't and I apologise that you had to take some flak on account of my original post. Yes it's down to experience. I am on the path of accumulation and your posts seems to come from someone who is on the path of seeing so there's bound to be cross path communication issues. So while you appear to see no difference between various technical terms and dependent origination, to someone who see these terms as forming the basis of distinct dzogchen series and particular practices your insight could appear fatuous, which of course it isn't, but it may appear so to others who don't have the right background. I really can't answer this, I just try to follow the instructions I've been given. I shall follow Pero's sagacious advice and refrain from airing my confusions in the wrong forum and focus on how my teacher manifests to me. Best to everyone.

Really informative thanks but your posts always trouble me because I can't understand them and they bear little relation to the teachings I've received. But thats just me so please don't see this as me giving you a hard time. I think I am confused by your use of the term dependent origination. It is clearly immensly helpful to you but I find it difficult to fathom how a simple self-evident observation of phenomena can be extrapolated to be so all-encompassing, given the status of an imperative prerequisite and used as a reductionist ontological tool in all situations at all times. I understand the Garland of Views instructs on philosophical view but I don't recall reading or hearing any teachings that state the experience Rigpa is the fruit of seeing dependent origination. Arguably if one goes by Garbab Dorje's First Statement one doesn't need an intellectual understanding of Buddhist philosophy to experience Rigpa. But perhaps we share different senses of the term 'dependent origination'? "Kadak or primordial purity is dependent origination. Seeing dependent origination is lundhrub" seems like a fine piece of reductionist rhetoric. Surely these terms are not synonyms for dependent origination? Of course pointing out that Rigpa is beyond cause and effect is not the same as saying that one can act with impunity and ignore the relative. All the best.

Hmmm ... Vaj all this seems to be a very partial overlay. Why drag dependent origination into this? Isn't the experience of Rigpa a function of kadak and lhundrup which are beyond cause and effect, and by extension, dependent origination?

An old favourite by Jampa Mackenzie Stewart: Foundations of Taoist Practice Oh and this for specific practices: The Eight Extraordinary Meridans Qigong by James MacRitchie

Discovering Qigong (Downloadable video) "Discovering Qigong" Discover qigong through: 1) an introduction to the history and scope of this ancient Chinese field of mind/body/spirit practices 2) detailed instruction in performing the Five Treasures qigong set of practices 3) practicing along with a group performing the Five Treasures set -with instruction and background music. PDF Handout on Five Treasures Practice With thanks to the generosity of the National Qigong Association. Enjoy!

Well it was just a guess - I'll lurk and learn All the best.

Just a guess: Religious Taoism = Applied Philosophy Philosophical Taoism = Armchair Philosophy

Basic sanity and bringing the best out of people.