doc benway

Thanks for sharing your experience, Robin. I find the teacher-student relationship to be a very important and complicated thing. I can't speak to Bruce specifically other than to say he is not quite as knowledgeable about fire methods as he claims to be. I say this based on comments in his meditation books that betray a superficial understanding of fire methods even though he claims advanced instruction in such methods. His tendency to emphasize his accomplishments is somewhat of a cultural tendency (Asians tend to be overly self deprecating whereas Westerners tend to be self aggrandizing) but undoubtedly this is also an individual idiosyncrasy. I do think Bruce is an accomplished martial artist and clearly there is value to the water method he teaches. I've had interesting relationships with my two primary meditation teachers. Much of the character and stability of the relationship stems from expectations and on both sides. It is very important for both student and teacher to be clear regarding what they expect from the other and what they are able and willing to provide for the other. Like it or not, we need to be clear and acknowledge these parameters and let go of unrealistic expectations. There is only so much that a spiritual guide or teacher can provide. The most effective methods are often the most simple but require great commitment and persistence. With all due respect, I would think that after 15 years of committed daily practice, one should be relatively independent in their practice and have a good sense of where to go and how to get there. If there are more advanced levels to focus on, there should be an opportunity to get additional specific instruction or, if not, that should be made clear by the teacher (ether that there is nothing more to learn or that he chooses not to offer it). It's important to look at what you expect from Bruce as a teacher and see how that matches up to what is realistic. I've faced similar questions with my current and former teacher. We all need different things at different times depending on our individual propensities and circumstances. The one important thing is that unrealistic expectations or other challenges to the teacher-student relationship will follow us into every relationship and must be made clear. Here is a link to what I found to be a very useful talk on the teacher-student relationship by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. It may be helpful for you because, in many ways, his teaching model is similar to that of Bruce Frantzis. Good luck on your path, wherever it may take you.

PS - When one manifests poetry from the Natural State it is similar to the practice of Thodgal

You can do that with Rushen also - it's powerfully cathartic!

Seasons change and so did I

I haven't worked with sounds specifically for chakras other than that which is associated with prayer and mantra practice. I have a good friend who does and experiences a lot of benefit. He is an independent practitioner with a great deal of meditative and qigong experience in a variety of traditions and basically put together his own routine based on Indian and Tibetan principles. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche has a book and online resources for a Tibetan Bonpo practice called the 5 Warrior Seed Syllables. Each of the 5 syllables is associated with a chakra as well as its associated characteristics. Chanting the seed syllable is said to help us to eliminate energetic blockages and connect with the enlightened characteristics associated with the respective chakra. The 5 syllables are A Om Hung Ram Dza and relate to the crown, throat, heart, navel, and secret chakras, respectively. Here is a link to his book and online training program if it interests you. Here is an excerpt from the book: Our fundamental awake nature is not produced or created, but is already there. In the way the vast expanse of the sky is present but may be obscured by clouds, we too are obscured by habitual patterns that we mistake for ourselves. The practice of the Five Warrior Syllables is a skillful means that can support us to release our negative and limiting behavioral patterns of body, speech, and mind, and make room for a more spontaneous, creative, and authentic expression. In this practice, we recognize, connect with, and trust what is already there. There are five warrior syllables - A, OM, HUNG, RAM, and DZA - and each syllable represents a quality of realization. They are referred to as "seed syllables" because they possess the essence of enlightenment. These five syllables represent the body, speech, mind, virtuous qualities, and actions of enlightenment, respectively. Together, they represent the true and fully expressed nature of our authentic self. In the practice, we sing each warrior syllable in sequence. With each syllable, we focus on a corresponding energy center, or chakra, in the body and connect with the quality that corresponds with that syllable. The sequence moves from the pure open space of being to the place of the manifestation of virtue in action. It is my sincere desire that this simple and elegant practice of the Five Warrior Syllables, which is based on the highest teachings of the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition of which I am a lineage holder, will benefit many beings in the West. Please receive it with my blessing, and bring it into your life. Let it support you to become kind and strong and clear and awake. -- Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

I'm no expert but it is fact that Dzogchen is considered the "highest path" by Tibetan Buddhist and Bonpo authorities, not opinion. By labeling Dzogchen as higher, the intention is not to judge. The implication is not necessarily that Dzogchen is superior. Superior and inferior are relative labels that are only relevant to a specific individual at a specific time. The reason it is considered higher is that it teaches the most comprehensive, succinct, and direct view, meditation, conduct, and result as compared to all other paths. It is said that the practitioner who accomplishes Dzogchen, accomplishes all other paths simultaneously. It is also true that there are many similarities between some tantric teachings and Dzogchen teachings. One tantra I have been exposed to has language in it that points directly to the Dzogchen path. This was specifically pointed out during a teaching by a lama whose family has been associated with that specific tantra for millennia. There is quite a bit of intertwining of the Dzogchen and tantric paths but there are also meaningful and important differences. The quotations above notwithstanding, the views and practices are different. I cannot comment on the result as I cannot claim to be that far along either path. The most important thing to keep in mind, I think, is that it is not helpful to judge one path as being superior or inferior to another other than for ourselves as individuals at specific times in our lives. What is far more important is to cultivate gratitude and commitment towards this precious and rare opportunity to connect with a teaching that can transform our lives, whether through sutric, tantric, or dzogchen paths.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is offering an online course to teach the 9 Breathings of Purification and Tsa Lung. Check here. The info presented will be similar to that in the book, Awakening the Sacred Body, but the video instruction and opportunity to get direct online support are worth the cost, IMO.

In actual reality, there is no Buddha apart from the mind, and you should not seek it anywhere other than in the realization of the nature of mind. 9th Karmapa

I'd love to respond but I promised myself to let it go... Peace

Dzogchen is a Mahayana path, you know that... I'll stop now. It doesn't matter.

That's irrelevant. Presumably Mingyur Rinpoche took bodhisattva vows.

I would still tend to disagree. I suspect Mingyur Rinpoche would as well... but that of course is conjecture. No disrespect intended.

Not even close... There are limitless sentient beings.

Do you know the provenance of this exercise? It has a Daoist flavor to it.

This is very interesting to me. When I was about the same age, I went through something of a similar experience. Mine seemed to be generated by an attempt to wrap my head around the depth and breadth of human depravity and violence. This was in the aftermath of the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides. I was also struggling with my relationships with my wife and children at the time. I had a great job, good income, everything a person could need and yet I understand what he means by the "unbearable inner longing." I was looking to connect with something genuine, something loving, something that would not so much support as complete me. I felt like it was there, it was elusive but it was there. How to approach and connect? How to relate? How to open the heart without being destroyed? How do we reconnect? Through a book or a method or practice? That may work for some, but not all. Others need nothing. Clearly the only place to look if one is serious is directly into oneself. And such an important step in our lives to let go of the superficial niceties of blindness, the conditioned addictions, and embrace our potential for going beyond and reaching the more subtle and profound inner levels of being. Our journey often begins in the intellect, in knowledge, where else can we start? With luck it will lead beyond that to a realization that mind is not within us, rather we are within mind. To grasp mind, to grasp our soul is to miss it. The wonderful Anam Cara by John O'Donohue offers a beautiful and poetic discussion of the body existing within the soul rather than the other way around. This last part is such an insightful view of our frustrated attempts at connecting and how they can affect us. The source of our pain, our addictions, our lack of satisfaction with life. Could it be any more Buddhist in its indictment of attachment? So what is the soul that Jung is describing? I think that in his way, he is writing a poetic account of that which is unaccountable. He avoids pointing too directly knowing it will miss the mark. I suspect he is hinting at something shy and elusive, something better seen in dim candlelight than in the harsh glare of digital LED. The soul compliments him, it offers the feminine to his explicit masculinity. It is everything he is not and yet it is not 'other.' How personal is it? How collective is it? Who is to say with authority? To say is to be mistaken. It is vastly more valuable than "honor, power, wealth, knowledge, and every human happiness." It is that within which knowledge and judgment dwell, it is that within which we dwell... Thank you for sharing this Yueya - it's the first I've seen of it and it is beautiful. Here is an extraordinary verse from a precious Bön dzogchen text, my teacher often refers to it as a favorite: It's positive qualities are inconceivable, Like the revelation of a king's treasure. The one who rests within its true meaning Enjoys the inexhaustible wealth of its fruition. I don't mean to imply that I understand what Jung points at or what this text point to but I think there's a relationship there. I think Jung was connecting with something deep, something fulfilling, something greater even than "every human hapiness." The Bönpos often use the analogy of returning home after many years of estrangement or a lost child returning to mother after many years. This commonality of returning to the home, to the hearth, to the heart - a belonging. It's beautiful.

It occurred to me this morning that suicide is dictated by thought and so I followed through with that idea. It is that transient, empty quanta of energy or verbage - that changes constantly, instantaneously, that comes from nowhere and goes nowhere, that tells us so many things, some true and some not - it's that which decides it can no longer tolerate itself.... And it destroys the greatest gift we have ever received in this life - our beautiful body, an opportunity to inhabit and embrace this world, experience the world, it just tosses it aside. And if it had waited a bit, no question it would have felt differently because that's what thoughts do, they change. They seem to be nothing more than little energetic offerings, little germs of possibility... what if this? what if that? try this... try that... infinite possibility is offered by thought. It's like a little possibility generating machine. And I do understand the depth of pain and hopelessness that drive people there - I've seen it first hand. Thoughts come and thoughts go... So good to simply leave them be as they do so. So sad that we take our lives or the lives of others because they have us so enraptured... so indoctrinated... so enslaved.... Anyway, just some ramblings from the morning drive to work.

A few things that have worked for me - 1. No electronic stimulation for at least an hour before bed (more time is better) 2. Don't eat too late at night 3. No alcohol or caffeine in the evening or night 4. Meditation before bed but make sure it is a relaxing, stabilizing type of meditation. Some methods can be quite stimulating and will work against you 5. If you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep this is a normal rhythm. Take advantage of it - sex if you have a partner is a good idea, meditation, write a poem, just don't go for any electronic stimulation 6. In general, it is the thinking that tends to keep us awake. Thinking about not being able to sleep, why, how it will affect us the next day, and so on... If you can calm the thoughts and relax into your body in an easy and comfortable way, that helps. 7. My sleep was never so good until I began a more consistent daily meditation routine (early in the morning) combined with dream yoga practices 8. Some sort of strenuous physical exercise or work during the day helps but not right before bed 9. A warm bath before bed can help also Good luck

While this state of mind must seem quite strange, as has been mentioned I don't think it's uncommon. What you are describing is a very frequent feeling associated with depression. You mentioned ups and downs - there could be a component of excessive swings of mood also. I have had such feelings but never too extreme. I have watched others (very close others) go through such phases in very extreme ways. It's very important to remind ourselves that whatever we feel in any given moment is not who we are. It is just a transient set of feelings and thoughts. People do extreme things when they over identify with these transient states of mind. Perhaps I am feeling depressed right now, or a complete lack of motivation.... just wait a bit, it will change - guaranteed. I may be feeling great right now... just wait a bit, it will change. Sometimes the changes are rapid, sometimes slow - always change is there. Our life is a manifestation of change. I will be presumptuous and add to Apech's post that one reason such feelings are important is that they define their opposite - yin/yang. One can't possibly always be highly motivated - too exhausting. Activity needs to be balanced by rest and rejuvenation. And we are ALWAYS ON in this day and age. Always overstimulated and always responding. Cycles are the fact of life, a fact of the nature of energy. When we are feeling like we have nothing more to offer, nothing more to do, that's fine - offer nothing, do nothing. Don't fight it and submit to the conditioned thoughts that judge. What does a deer have to offer or a crow? Open up to the possibility that this is exactly what we need right now. Not to do, not to give, but maybe to receive and allow. To just be, without all of the judgment associated with that. Just being is enough, you know. From an elemental view I think this state of mind can mean an abundance of earth and water elemental forces and a lack of fire and air elements. It is also a symptom of disconnectedness. A simple approach is spending some time in nature - especially sunlight and clean air. Opening up to the warmth and fire element of the sun for an hour or two. Opening to the absolute fulfillment and sustenance of slow, deep breathing outdoors. Distance from the stimulation of electronics especially, and avoidance of drugs and alcohol, especially stimulants. Drinking pure water and getting enough sleep, with all electronic devices put in a different room, if possible. Eating organic, nutritious foods, minimizing processed sugars. Practicing qigong or related exercises can also be very helpful. Spending time with a good friend or loved one is also very helpful as long as it is someone who won't have too many expectations - just a willingness to share some time and space. So well said - our mind is the source of the problem, not the answers.

There's a very strong tradition of Buddhism in Korea that, for some reason, gets overlooked in the West. I suspect it's because Koreans also more fully embraced Christianity.

If your teacher is the real deal why ask some anonymous keyboard jockeys? Seriously, have some trust and confidence that your teacher is doing his best to teach you the best way as he understands it. Don't second guess him! Rather than spend an extra hour standing or walking in a straight line before you walk circles, spend the extra hour walking the circle. Just my $.02 - it's a rare blessing to find an excellent teacher - follow what he teaches! Good luck.

You really couldn't get to Japan without going through Korea in 500AD... Simple geographic expansion I would imagine.

There is a lot of jargon in the scriptures of various traditions that can be quite esoteric and far-fetched... words like unceasing, unborn, immortal, primordially pure, unoriginated... .... and then you have an insight like this and all those silly words suddenly make perfect sense. E MA HO!

1) Begin by meditating in the desired position and gradually increase the time until you can sit for several hours comfortably 2) You can train yourself to become lucid in the dream. Once that is mastered, you can transcend dream altogether and sleep the sleep of clear light. There are methods for learning this. Search here for dream and sleep yoga.

On a related note, this book is wonderful: The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple

Quoted for emphasis Wonderful posts everyone