doc benway

Great post, thank you Luke

Any thoughts on how to present these ideas to a loved one who may need help? Someone who may find it difficult to acknowledge, or want to share with me personally, there is a problem?

It was a long time ago! I do remember she discouraged focus on the lower dantian during active menstruation. She recommended focusing primarily at the heart. At the time I was far more focused on taiji, xingyi, and bagua.

Hi Tim and welcome! Which martial arts do you teach?

I met her at a workshop many years ago. The topic was female perspectives on Daoist practice. I'm not female, nor was I then, but I signed up because it was the only workshop she was offering that weekend and I really wanted to meet her! Needless to say she was a wealth of information and I had a wonderful experience. I mainly kept my mouth shut, listened, and learned. We then had a chance to chat informally at the end and it was really a delight. Have a wonderful time.

That never crossed my mind! My question was more about sharing brief excerpts from such restricted materials. I'm guessing the answer is 'when in doubt, don't.'

I think you are more likely to have problems practicing random routines found online than practicing basic Zhang Zhuang. No problem as long as your qigong teacher can give you corrections, as needed, on your posture. In my experience, Zhan Zhuang is one of the safest, most productive, and most accessible practices one can do without expert guidance. The Way of Energy is an excellent resource. Zhan Zhuang is a great, perhaps the best, place to start on your exploration of the mind/body/energy connection. When I studies Chinese internal martial arts, qigong, and Daoist meditation, we were required to start with standing meditation. My recommendation is to start with the basic posture, hands at the sides, natural standing, for a very long time before moving to more physically demanding postures. My only criticism of using Master Lam's book is that people tend to get bored of the easy stuff or feel that they "understand" it long before they get a taste of what it's all about, and move on to more advanced and demanding postures much too soon. For example, when I learned zhan zhuang, I was taught to stand in the basic posture until the other postures arose naturally, something that takes months or years... Consequently many self-taught students fail to benefit from the gradual development that occurs from taking it slow and allowing the mind and energy to settle deeply into the body's structure. Standing meditation, not to mention the most advanced sitting meditation, work by allowing the mind and body to rest very deeply. It's all about accessing very subtle levels of awareness and connection in oneself. At least that's my experience. Overall, I have found standing to be a very safe practice. Good luck!

I have a question for those here who are knowledgable about Buddhist practice. Is it permissible to share brief excerpts from restricted materials, such as what CT often shares here, or is even that prohibited? Thanks!

I would suggest a touch of caution when reading about thodgal from any but the most authoritative sources. Most of what I read here and elsewhere is inaccurate.

I like the new layout as well. Sleek!

it's so beautiful to see someone express openness to alternative ideas. The ability to truly listen to others and consider the possibility that their perspective is valid, as valid as your own, is huge! In fact, I doubt there's any more important result from ngondro, not to mention spiritual practice in general, than genuine openness. You're going to be fine no matter what direction you go. Just keep cultivating that ability to be open. 🙏🙏🙏

God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason. - Dag Hammarskjold

A lot of practitioners and seekers reach a paradox. When there is a direct realization of the basic Nature, there is the recognition that it is always, already present. It is the very core of our being and not other than the very core of all being. Nothing we do brings it about, we just 'wake up' to what was always, already there. There's no way to tell if all or any of our efforts were needed or not. On one level it is clear that they were not necessary. On the other hand, we did it and if we had not we would probably not be precisely where we are. Some need to make Herculean efforts, some stumble right into it, others are denied it in this lifetime. This is why it is often referred to as a blessing and why things like ngondro and guru yoga are emphasized in Dzogchen. Stabilizing and integrating this direct experience into our lives is very challenging, this is why K emphasized the need for such enormous energy and dedication, and why faith and devotion are such an important part of Dzogchen. This sort of undertaking, must be completely effortless and yet requires enormous commitment - it's a bit of a paradox. I'm currently reading teachings on an ancient Bön Dzogchen transmission. One of the chapters describes the Natural State in terms of nothing but paradoxes. This is to illustrate that the basic Nature is not limited or accessible to rational thought or perception. I think this sort of realization leads to the idea of the "guruless approach" as well as the "new agey" sounding sound bytes like "you are already enlightened" and leads to frustration that often arises when those who have had such an insight try to share it with those who haven't. We've seen some of that on this board over the years. That very insight is at the heart of K's message and at the heart of the Dzogchen view, a direct, personal experience of non-duality. I like the comment made about this by Peter Fenner - 'If I didn't do what I didn't need to do, I would not have known I didn't need to do it.' I don't deny any of the criticisms about K. I studied his writings for quite some time and eventually got away from them. I got a lot out of his ideas but find far more support for my practice in the Dzogchen model. Thanks for posting the videos of Trungpa and K, I've never watched those.

This note is specifically directed specifically to those who want to participate in the teaching cycle of the Zhangzhung Nyengyüd he gives at Serenity Ridge. It is a 5 year cycle offered in the winter each year. The cycle just finished on the first of this year. This coming winter retreat will be a silent week of Dzogchen practice with very little teaching, open to anyone. The cycle will probably start again in December 2020. The traditional path is an amazing experience but, like you say, not for everyone. There is no mandatory tantric Bönpo training even for those who study the full ZZNG cycle. Rinpoche offers little in the way of traditional tantric teachings. The traditional approach is not the only way he presents Dzogchen teachings. I appreciate your perspective and I agree with you that the very purity of the practice and view allows it to be adapted and adopted with minimal socio-cultural context. That is precisely what Rinpoche is doing with his teaching approach. When Dzogchen is referred to in Bön as "THE primordial wisdom tradition" it is in the context of comparing it to the other 8 vehicles in Bön. It is considered the highest simply because the Dzogchen view is the least dependent on any conceptual constructs and thus closest to "truth" as compared to the views of the other paths. Yes, most of his teachings are independent of the traditional path. I would suggest you watch a few of his free online talks or get your feet wet using the Starting a Meditation Practice workshops on Ligmincha Learning. Many of his talks are collected at oceanofwisdom.org. It's not yet well catalogued but a great resource. A good place to start is with any of his teachings on the 3 Doors - this is the core of his Dzogchen practice approach.

Hi Radix, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is a Bön Dzogchen teacher whose approach is similar to that of Choegyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche. He was close friends with Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, who was the first person to invite him to teach in the West. While he offers a traditional path for those who want it, he mostly teaches in a more progressive format. He requires no conversion, obligation, ngondro, or vows. He travels the world constantly teaching retreats but also has a vibrant online presence you can follow for free. He will soon be launching a "cyber-sangha" webpage to support the online community. I would suggest you check out his Facebook page where he offers free Dzogchen teachings on a regular basis. While his teachings often touch on other topics, like mantras (esp 3 Heart Mantras of Bön), tantric practices (dream and sleep yoga, tummo, tsa lung, etc...); his core teaching and practice always comes back to Dzogchen. Also check his organization's website (https://ligmincha.org/) and a learning resource that offers both free and paid online workshops (https://www.ligminchalearning.com/). The free workshops entitled Starting a Meditation Practice Parts 1&2 are a great introduction to his core teachings. I've been following Rinpoche's teachings for about 8 years both in person and online. I've gotten to know him well and I can say that he walks the walk. Not only does he teach the Dharma, he lives it. He is no longer a monastic. He has a wife and child and his secular life experience and time spent in the West gives him deep insight into the needs of secular Western students. My own experience has been extremely positive with Rinpoche himself as well as the Bön community. Best of luck to you. Steve Here is a sample teaching derived from the 21 Nails, a Dzogchen teaching describing the Natural State from 21 varied perspectives:

And a whole lot of truth

True, but it never stopped me before!

I agree with your points. The only place I would differ is that practices like trekchod and thodgal are really not specific methods. They simply involve resting in the nature of mind and allowing... While JK might object in principle, I believe he would agree with the "philosophy" and approach of Dzogchen overall. I don't know to what degree he was ever exposed, probably never. During his lifetime, Dzogchen remained an extraordinarily rare and restricted teaching in Tibet.

Not sure I would use any of those analogies. I think it's easier to feel sung in your opponent when pushing hands than it is to feel in oneself. There is a suppleness and flexibility embedded in strength and structure. I'll never forget the first time I pushed with someone really good, someone who had real sung, ting, and peng in their game. It was a game changer. We were pushing hands and I just could not find anything to push or pluck. He always beat me to the punch and easily yielded to anything I could give. It was like pushing with a powerful snake. I couldn't stop smiling... I think he got a little nervous! I think I learned more from a few minutes of pushing with him than from years of drills and competition. Nothing more important in learning taijiquan, IMO, than to push hands with more advanced practitioners.

He was teaching Dzogchen

The three things I found most important in realizing and developing sung are standing meditation, practicing the taiji form very slowly, and pushing hands. If you are serious about learning this you need to practice with a good teacher. Everything about taijiquan requires precision to be effective and precision requires expert guidance. In addition to everything mentioned above, I found that paying attention to tension in the face and hands is helpful. Those are two areas where we tend to carry a lot of tension and they're easy to ignore. Good luck!

In a thread about how we know what we think we know, I wonder how you know that "no one" understood what he advocated? I disagree. What he was against was advocating a specific path or method. Nevertheless, it is clear to many what he was advocating for - freedom from the known, personal investment and engagement in going beyond the limitations of discursive thought. I found his message to be very consistent and precise over the course of decades of various talks. I think there is truth to this but even more important was his advocacy for each of us investigating things like this for ourselves, not taking his word or anyone else's word for these things. At least these are a few of the things I got from studying him. And I freely admit I could be wrong about all of it!

eats cars and guitars... the voracious appetite of impermanence

leave humor behind some of us are serious regarding haiku!

The approach Krishnamurti advocated was not to elaborate but rather rest the inner voice and open to the possibility that there may be something about “tree” that transcends discursive thought, memory, the whole of the movement of mind. Can the word be even more powerful than what it represents? An intriguing question that I suggest we intend to entertain for a while before reaching any conclusions.