doc benway

For me, prostrations exercise body, speech, and mind. The physical movement works with the body, the prayers or mantras we recite during the practice works with speech, and whatever visualization we practice works with the mind. While I try to avoid mixing paradigms, there is no question that it has a positive effect on Qi flow. In the unimpeded state, Qi flows naturally without interruption. During our lives we develop blockages or obstructions related to the physical and energetic body as well as the mind. To the extent that prostrations assist us in removing such obstructions, the Qi flow will be improved. In a related way, as we are able to remove obstacles to resting in the nature of mind we can practice prostrations in that space. It is a wonderful way to exercise and cultivate our ability to rest in the nature of mind (if that is your practice) while engaging in physical activity. From a physical point of view, prostrations can be great exercise, especially for the legs. You can also do them in such a way as to get some degree of pushup like work for the arms. If I do 300 in one session at a consistent and brisk pace, I get a superb cardio workout. I've noted changes in the flexibility of my ankles and improved strength in my legs. There isn't much core exercise in prostrations but I do think it could help some with losing the gut, along with some planks and push ups, or yoga.

Continuing in the a cappella vein:

I still have all my old LP's and my turntable just bit the dust... Thinking of picking up a new turntable - music is an important part of my life in all of its forms.

My main practice, dzogchen, is also the practice of no-practice. While it sounds sort of ambiguous and nebulous, it is quite precise and challenging. Consequently, the Tibetans have codified it within a framework of preliminary and support practices to improve one's chances of success. If one is able to get it, all of the preliminary and support practices are unnecessary.

I'm in the 1% obviously, but it doesn't mean I agree with you! Thanks for the response.

Care to elaborate?

I cannot provide you with an overview. There are legitimate practices associated with the MCO. My feeling is that they are highly effective and valuable when received directly from a lineage master and in the context of a comprehensive system. Far less worthwhile when obtained through less reliable methods (books, video, forums) and out of context.

Hi Cedar Tree, My practices are Yungdrung Bön and internal Chinese martial arts. Yungdrung Bön originated as the indigenous, shamanic tradition of Tibet. It includes a wide variety of practices referred to as the Nine Ways of Bön. These include the ancient shamanic practices, sutric practices, tantric practices, and dzogchen, often referred to as the great perfection. My primary practice is dzogchen with some supporting practices from the tantras, primarily yogas of dream and sleep. Internal Chinese martial arts include taijiquan, xingyiquan, and baguazhang. I have studied all three but my primary focus is taijiquan. The distinctive characteristic of internal Chinese martial arts is the emphasis on cultivating internal power through mind-body integration. This is accomplished, in part, by standing meditation which is unique to each art: taijiquan, xingyiquan, and baguazhang. There are other internal arts such as yiquan and liuhebafa. Yiquan grew out of xingyiquan. It's founder, Wang Xiangzhai, felt that martial excellence could be achieved through almost exclusive practice of standing meditation.

One of my favorite Bulerias:

Petra Hayden reimagining a few of my favorite tunes:

Where Everything Is Music by Jelaluddin Rumi Don’t worry about saving these songs! And if one of our instruments breaks, it doesn’t matter. We have fallen into the place where everything is music. The strumming and the flute notes rise into the atmosphere, and even if the whole world’s harp should burn up, there will still be hidden instruments playing. So the candle flickers and goes out. We have a piece of flint, and a spark. This singing art is sea foam. The graceful movements come from a pearl somewhere on the ocean floor. Poems reach up like spindrift and the edge of driftwood along the beach, wanting! They derive from a slow and powerful root that we can’t see. Stop the words now. Open the window in the center of your chest, and let the spirit fly in and out.

I think Watts made a cogent and salient point in that excerpt. If you don't get it or don't agree with it, that's fine. I agree, let's let that go and get back to the point.

... I got it out of my system...

The crows show up outside my window around 7am most mornings while I'm sitting. <3

Did I? I may have commented on the subjectivity of time, but "only motion is real"? Doesn't sound like something I would say, please show me where. I'm a musician as well. What precisely are you referring to as bullshit?

All existence is vibration. The fast cycles of matter, the middle cycles of our days and lives, and the slow cycles of the yugas. "They all sing their lives" - magnificent! We were meant to be dancing all along...

I haven't seen the Game of Thrones but it gave me a chuckle anyway!

I think it is important to look carefully at what is meant by the word acceptance. There are wonderful and terrible things in our world. Despite tens of thousands of years of human evolution we remain selfish, greedy, and ignorant as to who and what we are and our relationship with each other and our environment. Technology and sophistication have permitted us to become more and more distanced and estranged from the natural world and continue to twist and distort our hearts and minds. This is fact. We can accept these facts or we can punish ourselves because the world is not what we think it should be. What we think it should be is a reflection of who we are: our expectations, desires, and preferences - our conditioning. These expectations do not exist in the world, they only exist in us as individuals and collectively as a society. This is what one meaning of chapter 5 of the DDJ when it speaks of the Dao and straw dogs. To me, acceptance is the realization that things are as they are, not necessarily as I would prefer them to be. Acceptance is to avoid over-identification with the thoughts and conditioning that would prefer things to be different. Those thoughts and feelings are natural and normal but we create problems when we over-identify with the judge. Acceptance does not mean forced inaction or approval. I accept that things are a certain way and I am always free to take action and attempt to change things as I see fit. If I am unsuccessful in my efforts, then I once again have the option to accept that as the fact that it is, or to punish myself with worry, anger, and frustration because things are not the way my conditioning tells me they should be. Acceptance is deeply related to wu wei. Just as wu wei does not mean inaction, neither does acceptance. That very drive to change something is the Dao working through me as its agent, just as the actions of every living creature is the Dao working with their particular characteristics as its tool. We are not here to do nothing with our precious lives. It is important, however, to know where our drive and actions are coming from. If they are coming from a lifetime of conditioning and ignorance, anger and selfishness, they are more likely to add to the mess. If they are coming from the openness of a deep connection to our innermost awareness and to a connection and respect for the natural world around us, they are more likely to be of benefit and in accordance with the Way. Depending on one's conditioning, acceptance can also be seen as a form of trust. Trust is also related to wu wei. We trust that the Way of things is as it is and that we are an integral part of that Way. When we act with that sort of trust and we are able to get our personal baggage out of the way, we are no longer interfering with the natural flow and yet we can be fully engaged and active in the process.

He mentions multiple, arduous journeys to the most remote place you can possibly imagine at the top of a mountain in China... And then shows a photo of a modern toilet to illustrate one of the "demeaning, dehumanizing, disgusting, disheartening" tasks he was forced to endure. Hmmm... my BS meter is peaking. Grandmasters of traditions that are thousands of years old generally honor the precious system and the lineage of masters that have come before them rather than focus the attention on themselves. I'm always wary of people who claim to be masters and treat their teachers and tradition as a big secret. If it's a secret, he shouldn't be selling the practices. If he can sell the practices, he can share the name and lineage... Just my $.02. Please let us know what your experience is like.

It is a portrait and a landscape... For one who recognizes her true self, it is a portrait. For one who remains tied to their separation from the land, it is a landscape. Either way, I find it wonderful and inspiring. Here is a beautiful painting from the APY lands called Ngayuku Ngura Kuuti Uwankara (My Country's Energy and Spirit is everywhere) The artist is Rosalind Tjanyari For anyone living in the US, there is a wonderful museum that is entirely dedicated to Aboriginal art and is a part of the University of Virginia. It is the Kluge-Ruhe museum in Charlottesville, Virginia. I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

For me, the relationship between intention and naturalness (we could speak of ziran, wu wei, and perhaps some other concepts) is a very important and interesting area of focus. In a similar way, the whole nature of thought and naturalness is related to this. I personally do not look at intention or thought as necessarily unnatural. I also don't see wu wei as necessarily being without intent. The distinctions can be very subtle and I am only sharing my perspective, not suggesting that I'm right and others are wrong. In the practices I work with, we begin by calming the mind so that we can break free of the control that the thoughts generally exert over our lives. We strongly identify with "the thinker" at a very deep level. Meditation is the process of seeing through the illusion of this thinker and opening ourselves to a more comprehensive and expansive view of who we are. With that more open view there also comes more potential in our lives. There comes a time when the meditation (whether formal or informal) is strong and skillful enough that we are no longer distracted or controlled by the thinking mind. The thoughts still come and go, emotional states come and go, and we are still able to remain with the more expansive view of who we are. We no longer identify with the thinker. It is seen for what it is, just another train of thought. At this point it can be seen that there is nothing more natural than thought, nothing more natural than intent. It is an important part of what makes us distinctly human. It is only a problem when we over identify with it. It is a very precious gift rather than something unnatural or abnormal. It simply needs to be seen accurately, put in proper context, and made to work for us rather than the other way around. So back to the OP, I don't know your level of experience or your preferred method of meditation but I suspect you are fairly new to the practice. The thinking mind is always looking for something to grab onto. It generally keeps itself very busy acting as if it is the commander, rather than simply thought. When you begin to meditate and the thinking mind is now the object of observation, it is shocking to discover how powerful, stubborn, and resourceful it can be. Today it is the breath control; once you successfully deal with that it will latch on to other things - guaranteed! This is the work - to observe this aspect of yourself carefully, patiently, and with some degree of humor and playfulness, otherwise it can become a chore and quite discouraging. Meditation, in the beginning, is the study of our thinking mind. Eventually we transcend that and find that there is a far deeper, richer, and more supportive level of being that is not currently accessible because it is subtle and drowned out by the thinker. Be patient and compassionate with yourself. If it is difficult to work with the breath, there are other techniques which occupy the mind in different ways and ultimately lead to the same place. If you're interested, I'd be happy to share information about other approaches. Good luck!

Why is it that intent/intention is considered unnatural? Does intent/intention occur naturally in humans? Humans and animals possess a respiratory/nervous system that operates in 2 modes - voluntary and involuntary. This is not accidental, nor is it unnatural IMO. The whole question of what is natural and what is not is worthy of serious consideration. As far as the OP goes: 1. Consciously controlling the breath is not harmful. It is something you are currently experiencing and struggling with but your relationship to your breath will change with time and practice. If you shared with us what type of practice you are engaged in, there may be more specific solutions forthcoming. 2. Not sure focusing in any particular part of the body is the answer but focusing on dan tian certainly can be very ground and stabilizing. One suggestion is to notice the presence of one who is disturbed by being in control of the breath. Just watch that concern, that tendency. Where does it come from? Where does it go? Let go a little bit with respect to being concerned with who or what is controlling the breath. Looking directly at and being with that concern may help to allow it to release. Don't get frustrated or give up. The breath is fine with you in control and equally fine when you let it be.

Here is a description of the Namgyalma mantra from Lama Yeshe page: "The Namgyalma Mantra Namgyalma is a deity for long life and purification. Her mantra has infinite benefits. It is said to be so powerful that anybody who hears it will never again be born from the womb. Therefore, if animals hear it, they will never again be reborn in the lower realms. There is a story from the time Guru Shakyamuni Buddha was on earth concerning a deva called Paripu Denpa. Due to karma, when devas start experiencing the signs of death, they spontaneously remember their previous lives and see their future lives; they perceive that they are about to be reborn in the lower realms and so forth. Since their realm has unbelievable enjoyments thousands of times better than those of the richest country on earth, when they realize that they are about to leave a life of such pleasure and be reborn where there is incredible suffering, their minds suffer greatly. Thus, as he was dying, the deva Denpa saw that he was about to be reborn as six types of animal—dog, monkey and so forth. Very worried, he asked King Indra what to do. King Indra suggested that he see the Buddha, which he did. Buddha manifested as the deity Namgyalma and gave him the mantra. Denpa recited it six times daily and in seven days completely changed his karma so that he did not have to be reborn as those six types of animal. The Namgyalma mantra is unbelievably powerful for purification. I have translated its benefits and explained how to recite it for people who have cancer and other diseases. The kind, compassionate Guru Shakyamuni Buddha taught the benefits of reciting the Namgyalma mantra to the Four Guardian Kings. Even if you are in danger of dying because the karma that determines your life-span is running out, if you wash your body, wear clean clothes and, abiding in the eight precepts, recite the Namgyalma mantra one thousand times, you can increase your life-span, purify your obscurations and free yourself from disease. If you recite the Namgyalma mantra into the ear of an animal, you ensure that this is its last animal rebirth. If somebody suffering from a heavy disease that doctors cannot diagnose does the practice Lord Buddha taught to the deva Denpa, he or she will be liberated from that disease, bring to an end all future rebirths in the lower realms, and after death be reborn in a blissful pure land. For humans, the present life will be their last rebirth from the womb. If you recite this mantra twenty-one times, blow upon mustard seeds and throw them onto the bones of even extremely evil beings who have created many heavy negative karmas, those beings will immediately be liberated from the lower realms and be reborn in a higher realm, such as that of a deva. Throwing seeds blessed by the Namgyalma mantra onto the bones or body of a dead being purifies that being’s consciousness, and even though that being may have been reborn in hell or any other lower realm, that being can be reborn in a deva realm. If you put this mantra in a stupa or on a banner inside your house or above the roof, whoever is touched by even the shadow of that stupa or banner will not be reborn in the lower realms. Also, any being touched by a breeze that has first touched a stupa, banner or statue containing this mantra is purified of the karma to be reborn in the lower realms. What need is there to mention, therefore, how great the purification experienced by those who recite this mantra or keep it on their body. Go here to read the mantra."

I appreciate your response and, similarly; if that is how you see it, so be it... peace

Watts was quite knowledgeable about Eastern philosophy and religion; he was also a bit of a womanizer and alcoholic. He never claimed to be anything other than a "spiritual entertainer" which he most certainly was. He also sometimes referred to himself (and others) as "genuine fakes," referring to the fact that we are not who we generally think we are, so in that sense your comment is accurate. Although I don't think that was the intent of your insult. For someone to have "opened the door to non-Western thinking" in the 1960's was quite a radical and an impressive feat. Despite his imperfections, I have a lot of respect for him.