doc benway

One practice is to focus on whatever is happening at any given moment with all your being, all the time. Give yourself over to it entirely. Smell all the smells, feel whatever is in contact with your skin entirely, pay attention to every sound, taste, etc... If you're interacting with another person really try to see them and hear them as if you've never met them before. Make every moment new. Allow yourself to do whatever it is you are doing while being totally immersed in your situation - be fully present and aware. Whenever the thoughts creep in and distract, return to your senses and the present moment. Over time, it gets gradually easier. It's very difficult in the beginning. It's only when you are fully present in the moment that you are really alive. Experience it and enjoy it. Life is much too short, beautiful, and valuable to live in your thoughts. The thoughts will be there, waiting for you, you can do fine without them.

Now that's the fighting chicken form! Awesome footwork...

Yup - it's human nature. The need to "become" something "better" than what we currently are. People exploit that human desire. The longer you follow someone, the farther they take you from the truth... The truth is right here, right now, it's just obscured by a fog of thought...

Looking for something new to discuss.... Lately, the main thrust of my cultivation has been through developing real-time awareness on an ongoing basis, minute to minute, day to day... It ain't easy, obviously. I still practice seated and standing meditation, xingyiquan, and taijiquan. One thing I've noticed is the great value of the taijiquan form in helping me to achieve this real time awareness. So far, I have not found a better technique to practice this. This seems to be, at least partly, linked to the experience of not only three dimensional awareness of the body in space but the fourth dimensional awareness in time. I wonder if much of the health and well being benefits in practicing the taijiquan form are linked to strengthening the awareness - linking the "I am" with the physical experience, without the intervening fog of mind and thought. Obviously, there are physical benefits of the isometric and isokinetic movements, but there is something that goes beyond. This is something I really emphasize to my students. Any comments?

Nice thread - here's my experience today: My teacher's been encouraging me to do taiji form for 1 hr daily to help my asthma. I find it hard to find the time. Last night I decided it was important. Woke up this am at 5am without an alarm - decided I'd rather sleep than train but something wouldn't let me go back to sleep. Went out front and did the Yang 108 twice without break (~25 min each) followed by a Yang variant that supposedly predates Yang Chen Fu that's about 80 postures and takes ~ 15. All in all I did a bit more than 1 hr straight. I felt much more aware than usual. Very in touch with sounds, sights, the feel of breeze on my skin... In addition, the yi was leading the qi very consistently throughout with fewer lapses than usual. Felt much less sore than I expected in the legs, although there are several deep postures in the "ancient" form as my teacher calls it and they really tired me out a bit by the end. The day has been glorious. Several things have transpired that would normally annoy me and they haven't. My awareness practice has been better than usual at work. I haven't gotten as much shortness of breath as I often do on muggy days like today. I feel very aware and energized. Good day - hopefully, the trend will continue...

This week: 1. Nisargadatta Maharaj 2. Alan Watts 3. Jiddu Krishnamurti 4. Osho 5. Me

We practice two qigong exercises called turtle and crane breathing. The basically consist of a rotational movement incorporating the head, neck, and upper spine in forward and reverse directions, coordinated with breath and intention. I'll try to find out where my teacher learned them.

Counterclockwise first for quite some time - hard to take my eyes off the very nicely drawn breasts! Looked away for a while, came back and it was clockwise. All the women where I'm working saw it clockwise and all the men, counterclockwise. Now I can flip it with a little patience.

That's an interesting and important comment, I think. When we open up, are we feeling everyone else's stuff? Lately, it seems to me that as we open up we are feeling ourselves and how we project our stuff on the our image of what's around us. To me, it's about me, not them...

Agreed

Nice demos! Everything is very well done. For the sake of discussion, I'll ask - can any of it really be called Wudang? In China, internal arts are often called Wudang Pai but in reality, none of them can be traced to Wudang, historically. Bagua originated in Hebei, Xingyi in Shaanxi, and Taiji in Chen village, based on available documentation. - Xingyiquan (Hsing I Chuan) originated (supposedly) in Shaanxi province and was modified in Hebei province. Those are the two major styles, though there are a few others. I'm not aware of any style that originated in Wudang. This demo looks more like Hebei style to me (although I could be wrong about that) and it's well done. - There are lots of Taijiquan forms called Wudang but none of them, to my limited knowledge, have ever been validated, unlike the Yang, Wu, Sun, and Chen forms which can be pretty reliably traced back to their origins in Chen village. The origins of Taijiquan associated with Wudang are much more legendary than traceable. - The jian form at the end of the Taiji video looks modern to me. One giveaway is the use of the modern wushu sword. Traditional jian were never that flexible. The modern sword is flexible because it is so light and lends itself to the modern, acrobatic, wu shu forms. Some people say it's flexible to show qi flow - baloney! A sword is made to cut and parry, not show qi flow.

The life force is thought to be linked to sexual energy/essence (jing). Daoist cultivation, in part, involves converting jing to qi then qi to shen then shen to wu. Most Daoist monks remain celibate to avoid "wasting" their sexual energy on reproduction and pleasure. They try to optimize their efforts at cultivation and sacrifice parenthood and indulging sexual desire. Some martial artists do the same while in serioius training. The majority of Daoists, however, do reproduce, have active sex lives, and are comfortable using sexual energy for purposes other than cultivation. It is well recognized that celibacy is not always healthy and is not always strictly practiced even by adepts and martial artists.

Mantra, Methinks you doth protest too much... You say that Max doesn't like titles, then what's up with Lama Dorje, a litany of masters, and the fact that he's mastered every spiritual discipline known to man? You say he doesn't like robes, what's up with the Chinese costume? You talk about him being a regular guy but then if the energy isn't just right in San Francisco he's going to metamorphosize or evolve into a spirt/dragon thing not to mention all the other superhuman things he talks about and tries to demonstrate in movies and photos? The inconsistencies are pervasive in everything we see and read about him. In a different thread someone recommended changing the name of this forum - I think that's a good idea. It needs to be called LamaDorjebums... It's really getting tiresome... It's very telling to notice the change in your demeanor (and his other students') when one person criticizes Max. Are you that insecure? If he really is everything you think he is why are you so sensitive to one persons criticism? These are rhetorical questions intended for your consideration, no reply is needed or solicited... I wish you and Max well. There is room for everyone on this beautiful planet.

Nope - good point!

Hi Kathryn, Being lost, confused, and frustrated is a good start. It means that you're not happy anymore with being asleep at the wheel and you're trying to wake up. I found it very tough to get much out of the standard works in the beginning like Laozi and Zhuangzi. There are some authors that can help you get a sense of what's going on in a more contemporary syntx. I resonate well with writings of Alan Watts, J Krishnamurti (wouldn't call himself Daoist but I would), Osho, and Raymond Smullyan (The Tao is Silent). Also, look into non-dualism and Advaita as they are grounded in the same basic concepts. Good luck, Steve

Hi cloud, Did you ever seek out Sailor Bob? I've never met him but from what I've seen and read he seems to be the kind of guy that would be worth talking to. Best, Steve

Hundun, I appreciate the honesty and candor of your post. I don't know you but you don't come across as someone with an axe to grind or of a vindictive nature. I didn't get the feeling that you were getting pleasure out of your criticism. Your experience is not surprising nor is the reaction of Max's supporters. Enlightenment is big business and gurus are a dime a dozen. Some are in it for the money, some for the gratification of helping others, self agrandissment, political stature, or all of the above. Either way it is a form of self-gratification and continues to reinforce their "I", their image of who they think they are or should be, based on their programming. The ones who are truly there are just there - no teaching, no selling, no seminars, no secrets, no methods or techniques, no transmissions. For them it is all the same and none of the snake oil has any meaning. The tricky and beautiful thing about enlightenment is that you can't buy or receive it, it's already there. It's just buried under the social/cultural programming. If Max was all he claims to be, he would know that, and wouldn't need to make movies of himself in archaic Chinese costume demonstrating superhuman powers.

This is an excellent question! How many teachers is it "balanced" to study with at one time? I think one can learn a lot from that question. What is it to be balanced in one's cultivation? Does one teaching offset the other? Are they saying different things? If so, which is correct? How do we know when our teachers are correct? Do we know anything about who it is that they are teaching??? The teaching part is very simple, it's the doing that's difficult and the teacher can "do" nothing for you. You can have as many teachers as feels right, it's all the same. One, two, twenty. They will each show you their way. They will each tell you that their way will take you somewhere where you want to go. You will follow their way for a while and then look for another, most likely. That's what we tend to do. The mind tells us that what we have and who we are is not enough. We need to make it better. We need to become something else. It will never stop. You will never become what you are looking for because whatever you or I become will still need to become something else. That's the nature of our minds, never to be satisfied. How many teachers are balanced to study with at one time? As many as it takes until you recognize that the teachers can no longer help and you've got to open the door and go through (and let go of) yourself. I'm still struggling with the door but I don't think more teachers or methods can really help me much at this point... it feels to me that what needs to happen is more of a letting go and less of a learning... As I read this post over it sounds very arrogant - I apologize for that but that's where my current (attempts at not) thinking is...

One of the most profound books I've read recently is To Be Human by J Krishnamurti. His ideas are a bit radical but very much consistent with Daoist philosophy and not restricted to any particular method, practice, or system.

Hagar, I've had a very similar experience. In my case, it started with having children. My connection to them heightened my emotional experience dramatically. Now it's more pervasive. It feels to me to be a natural progression. I guess we're returning to our nature. This would seem to be more connected with physical, sensory, and emotional experience than with analytical thought. My teacher also tells me it is a normal stage in the progression. In fact, I've been actively cultivating the experience of sensory and emotional reception/awareness as a way of disconnecting from the thought train. It has reduced my daily anxiety quite a bit and has helped me connect more closely in relationships.... Steve

The Living Force hides behind my thoughts. The thought processes were very helpful in problem solving and vital to survival and consequently selected by evolution but have achieved a level of supremacy in the organism that has some unwanted consequences (anxiety, distraction from life experience,...). Reading the works of philospophers, both living and dead, has helped to raise my awareness of this pattern. Their work has pointed me to the door that I must pass through alone to be reunited. There are many gurus and the like who claim to have the key, method, technique... I'm beginning to believe that this is a part of the problem. If we accept a method or a leader, we simply reinforce the illusion that "someone" is there searching. Letting go of the search still implies there is "someone" there to let go. Sometimes it finds itself, sometimes not. We'll see...

Not a prayer, spell, or mantra... just a question that I've been vocalizing/meditating on inspired by J Krishnamurti: Is it possible, with all the complexities of daily living, to be able to let go of the shadow of conflict?

Max is no more and no less God then the rest of us, despite what some may be led to believe. Careful Cam, you may need some help my friend. Despite what you or Max may say, Chris, I suspect that he considers himself to have just a bit more ability and potential then the rest of us mere humans... A few quotes on the Lama Thunderbolt site: "The lightning had actually fused his third eye open, allowing him to see energies beyond normal human vision, at all times." "He was recognized as a "tulku" or high level reincarnate." "Ralo Rimpoche of the Nyingma order of Tibetan Buddhism, gave him the title "Ngakpha Dorje" which identifies him as one who has the power to awaken dormant powers within." Following any guru or method ultimately takes one farther and farther from the truth. The truth is what remains when the thoughts and images of the mind fall away in the face of the experience of reality in the present moment. That cannot be taught, sold, or given, only experienced. "Dao ke dao fei chang dao, ming ke ming fei chang ming" Laozi "It is only when I do not know what God is that there is God." J Krishnamurti "I don't give a hoot for a sixth-century BC Buddha, let alone all the other claimants we have in our midst. They are a bunch of exploiters, thriving on the gullibility of the people. There is no power outside of man. Man has created God out of fear. So the problem is fear and not God." UG Krishnamurti

I just started the book. The first chapter is pretty scary stuff. Anyone read this and interested in commenting? I'll be happy to post again after i finish the book. It seems to be a pretty serious work.