doc benway

What I find interesting to contemplate is what it is that is "carried over" from life to life. From the Buddhist perspective, there is no self - so what is "carried over?" If it is the "spark of the Divine" then how is that "spark" differentiated from every other spark? What is "carried over?" If it is the "soul [which] returns to God," is that soul somehow separate and distinct from God or does it return to the source? If the latter, what is it that is carried over? It is quite easy for me to accept a concept of reincarnation. There is birth, life, death, birth, life, death, ad infinitum - this is the cycle. I can easily accept each birth to be a reincarnation of whatever substrate one postulates as that which gives rise to life. What I have not yet formulated to any degree of satisfaction is something that remains intact and isolated from the substrate, such that it "carries over" as a distinct and finite entity from one life to the next. Perhaps it works that way, perhaps it doesn't - I'm not too concerned with knowing "the truth" if there is such a thing, but I do find it fascinating to contemplate from time to time.

Can you ask the practitioner?

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs - 3rd in the series of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

It's fortunate that the techniques you are working with are helping. I agree with Old Chi and will add something else. It may be helpful to consider the fact that those things we experience, even the difficult and painful, are somehow a part of what we need to grow. Certainly we want to speed up the process when we are in pain (or slow down the process when we are relishing) but that effort and frustration that we manifest when we are unsatisfied with wherever we are at any given moment are, in and of themselves, a major source of our suffering. In addition to your efforts to get rid of the symptoms and diagnosis there is enormous healing potential in finding a way to simply be as you are and find fulfillment in life along with whatever symptoms you are manifesting. If you listen deeply to what the symptoms and circumstances have to tell you, there may be deep insights. Manitou, a member here and a beautiful soul, is very insightful regarding how and why we manifest certain things. As far as qigong goes, just about any system will be helpful - the 8 Brocades comes to mind, it is gentle and accessible and there are lots of practitioners and teachers you can connect with. I have no experience with the other systems mentioned but suspect they would also help. What is more important than which style is to learn how to practice skillfully from a master, IMO. If you have access to a credible shamanic practitioner, that is something that could also be very helpful. Good luck!

My gratitude to all those who serve _/\_

http://www.men-tsee-khang.org/medicine/pills.htm Look under the precious pills link.

Yes, the sword testers were among the most elite of swordspersons in feudal Japan. They took the job very seriously. I doubt the prisoners were executed before testing for humanitarian reasons. Rather they didn't want them wiggling and potentially damaging an important sword. Only highly valued swords were tested.

It was also common practice in Japan to use prisoners for the so-called "cutting tests." They would practice different types of cuts, multiple bodies, and so forth. Fortunately, they would kill the prisoner first. Often the results of the tests were inscribed on the tang of the sword. Here's info on a sword that was able to cut through 3 bodies in a cutting test! PS - the practice you mention was outlawed around 1600, after which it was punishable by death

慈 is pronounced ci and refers to compassionate, merciful, or loving In Buddhist writings, compassionate is often referred to using two characters -慈悲 ci bei

It's true that most of the cutting is done in the distal 1/4 - 1/3. That is also the area kept sharpest in Japanese swords, it's referred to as the monouchi. Whether the rest of the sword is unsharpened, I don't know. I've never seen an antique Japanese sword that wasn't fully sharpened. I've only handled a few antique jian and they were fully sharpened as well.

I do not look at mindfulness as escapism. I look at it as finding the proper balance between paying attention to our thought and emotion, and paying attention to everything else. The key is not whether the thought or emotion arises, it is to what degree we dwell on it. It's instructive to look at what happens in our mind. Let's say we have something on our mind that is a problem or a source of strong emotion. What we do is spend an excessive amount of time with the same patterns of thinking going through our head, over and over and over.... it never ends. It becomes a loop of painful, unproductive thought and emotion. And the answer to the problem does not come from that painful, obsessive place. It is often an enormous waste of time and source of stress and distraction. Our best ideas do not come to us when we are trying to think of a solution. They tend to come when we are relaxed and in a good, open, and creative frame of mind. When we can't think of a certain word, what do we do? We forget about it altogether and voila, it's there. we rarely find it when we try. Creativity comes from a deeper place than the thought that claims the title of thinker. No matter how mindful we try to be, thoughts and emotions will arise. When they come up, it is not necessary to push them away or try to escape them. Better to give them an appropriate amount of attention, allow them to express themselves fully, and then let them go. The problem is that most of us spend far too much unproductive time ruminating over things such that we get disengaged from life. If that is a problem for us, mindfulness is a very useful tool. If it is not a problem, no solution is needed.

The danger lies in the fact that a sharp sword can occasionally split its own sheath, especially is there is a an assymetric force applied to the sheath. I've seen folks cut their own hand when the sheath split as they drew the sword (or knife).

You could contact Scott Rodell. He claims to be knowledgeable about the use of jian in particular and is the author of one of the books referenced above by leth. His webpage is - https://www.grtc.org/. Good luck! PS - there is a way to wear and draw a relatively long sword from the back. It works better with curved swords but can be adapted to jian. I can't speak to whether it was used in China. It involves drawing out with the sword hand while simultaneously pulling the scabbard down with the opposite hand. The other "trick" is that the mouth of the scabbard can be partly split on one side, allowing the blade tip to release early. The "tricky" part is knowing exactly where the opening is and not opening your self... Such split scabbards are often used with other bladed weapons such as the karambit.

I enjoy a few people here I miss a few people I ignore a few people I appreciate the sacrifice that people make to moderate the egos and I try to cut them some slack regarding their own འདི་རྨི་ལམ་ཡིན།

Yes Yes - a genuine interest My opinion

I don't remember how long I lasted as mod here... It wasn't terribly pleasant or interesting most of the time but it was useful to help me grow. Thanks for your service, Michael. I know nothing of the issues under discussion but it's always good to move on when the time is right. Peace PS - edited at mod's request... Everybody needs to lighten up... it's all a dream

As we get closer to the realization that we ARE nothing other than the universe, it's eyes and ears and tongue, then trust is effortless and spontaneous. Until then it truly is challenging because clearly there is a lot of suffering in the world.

I'll pass as I mentioned earlier.

I did not "aim" this post at anyone although I had no doubt that Karl would address it. Rand's ideas are espoused here by a number of members, although Karl is clearly the most prolific and orthodox. This post is about Rand, not Karl. I happened across the article this morning by chance and I think it points up a critical flaw in Rand's philosophy that has always made me uncomfortable with her view. I think others could benefit from the perspective offered in this article. I have no interest in debating or defending the author but I freely acknowledge that I agree with his points. This thread only needs to head to the pit if the participants are unable to discuss the subject matter in a dispassionate and respectful manner. Enjoy!

While there may be many ways to 'follow your breath,' simple is often better. The more we complicate things, the more opportunity for the mind to distract us from the simple task of being aware. Here's a beautiful brief teaching on breath awareness by Mingyur Rinpoche: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUBNLC3JfMw

I was simply answering your questions. I'll stop now. Good luck in your practice.

I agree with your conclusion. Neither yielding nor action are always appropriate, there must be an appropriate reaction to the situation at hand. One needs to trust something but the mind may not be the best choice - the mind is confused, it is the one creating the problem in the first place. Both the Daoists and Dzogchenpas talk quite a bit about non-action. This does not mean to not act. it does not mean to always yield. It means that we know how to get out of our own way. It means to trust in the space, the openness, the silence, that which is present when there is quiet and stillness. When we can get out of the way, whatever must happen will happen. Action occurs but it is not "me" doing it, it is something much bigger than the thought that claims the title "me." The Daoists would point to the Dao and the natural flow of things as the optimal agency of action. The Dzogchenpa would point to the nature of mind (not mind). I agree with Luke, it sounds like you know something must be done. I also go through the same struggle often. One must make a decision but how to do that? We can get all twisted up with judgement and choices... it can be excruciating. What I am trying to say is that when you are really ready to do something about the circumstances around you, it will happen. Best to try not to force it prematurely and equally important not to get in your way when the time is ripe. I don't think I have better advice other than to see you need to trust that you will know what to do when the time is right and let go of the inner commentary and debate for a bit. That very inner struggle is what blocks the spontaneity and creativity that is needed to act appropriately and in a timely fashion. I hope that makes some sense.

Nice try

I don't disagree with any of the points being made. I'd like to add that meditation does not have to be all about endurance and pain. It also doesn't have to be about accepting any dogmas. In fact, it should be about connecting directly with the inner truth that makes dogma irrelevant and transparent. On the other hand, when we have some experience of deep inner connection we see the truth hiding within dogma. When we gain experience and confidence in our practice, we may choose to challenge ourselves with tests of endurance. I've never experienced a Vipassana retreat but I'm not a big fan of the militaristic approach to meditation. There are lots of other, gentler options. Good luck Chi Boy