doc benway

I follow my heart Since it was liberated From my intellect

As others have pointed out, DDJ and ZZ are important core texts and should be studied, they're a lifetime study not a casual read. If asked about the very first book one should read about Daoism, I would recommend "When the Shoe Fits" by Osho. I'm not generally enamored of Osho's books and talks but this book is a brilliant introduction to Zhuangzi and Daoist thought, IMO, albeit a bit colored by Osho's unique perspective. The other book I've found to be very valuable is "Original Tao" by Harold Roth. It is a translation and commentary on the Neiyeh, possibly the oldest extant example of a practical and explicit guide to inner cultivation. For me, reading Dao De Jing and Zhuang Zi was challenging, dull, and of little value until I first had a taste of what they were pointing at. I got that through a variety of commentaries and modern teachers, including Osho, Anthony Demello, Alan Watts but, most importantly, from my own Daoist teacher and the practices he strongly prioritized over reading.

Visualization is only one method and can be a distraction, even a dead end for some. Not being able to visualize is not, in and of itself, an immovable obstacle. Same with finger surgery. Even if you lost the finger, the hand, even the arm, you can be a master. We work with what we have, whatever that may be, not with what we think we need to progress. Being human and having the motivation to practice are all you really need. Having a teacher or guide is also a great blessing and advantage, particularly on the path of Qi cultivation. Welcome to the forum and I wish you well on your path.

Recursion

Wonderful book. I've recommended it to a few people over the years and it's generally very well received. I often recommend a book by my current teacher, it is the book that introduced me to him. It's a book filled with practices which I found very easy to adopt and incorporate into my life. It's great to want to let go. The tricky part is, once you let go, what fills that space? What prevents the problems from filling us right back up? What do we connect to in order to prevent that? Where do we turn when things are really tough? Where can we find support? This book introduces us to that support, which is in and available to every one. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13227894-awakening-the-luminous-mind

Signs of proper meditation. The sign of correct meditation is that our attachment decreases and our consciousness increases. There is no separate recipe for understanding light and emptiness. Let's just stay cool and not get attached to anything. However, our alert consciousness (rigpa) is clearly present and we remain in this state. Fewer and fewer thoughts appear in our minds, while our vigilance becomes more solid and clearer. When the feeling of immediate presence shines brightly, it is called ′′ vipasjana." All the signs listed so far indicate that we are doing meditation properly. In addition, another sign of correct meditation is that one cannot put his experience into words. It is also a good sign if our drowsiness dissipates due to meditation and if we suddenly think during practice, ′′ My master is very kind, I am doing my exercise successfully, I am completely satisfied ". If we meditate during the day and continue this in our dreams at night, it is also a positive sign. . More favorable signs may be the following: our appearance remains young, our thoughts become quiet, we don't get heated emotions when visiting our relatives, and we don't have any influence on the words praising and belittling. We don't feed expectations even when we receive teachings from a Buddha himself. We don't get discouraged if the results are late. We look into our bodies, we notice signs, we become capable of telepathy, we see the six worlds and the suffering of the creatures living there. Even in the darkness of the night we see clearly. All of these are excellent signs, which manifest spontaneously, without effort, due to the effect of meditation. We feel comfortable and free from scattering. We are always balanced and neither happiness nor sorrow can disturb us. ~Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche

Care must be taken to avoid creating experiences with your mind based on descriptions and expectations. That can be a serious pitfall. Confirming and discussing results with the master is important, but the teacher knows it is equally important to allow the experience to be genuine and i contrived and will not give away too much. This is one reason why the classics are often so abstruse.

I think and talk more like a Buddhist now than I did then, no doubt. What occurs in practice defies categorization or imputation, however. I used that word with silent thunder for a specific reason.

Some discuss it as both, an initial construction and then a transcendance or release of the construct; though they generally focus on the constructive part until that stage is complete.

Actually I didn't present a Buddhist perspective. What I shared was my experience with neidan before I encountered Buddhism. The birth of the Immortal Foetus is the birth of Awakening. The Rainbow Body is the result of full maturation of Awakening which transcends form and formless.

Fractal landscape created using ontogenetic models.

There comes a time when the fortunate practitioner and their creation encounter something more pervasive and more certain than either. All construction and agent of construction are released in to the void of unbounded potential. Wu wei is the unimpeded flow of the unbounded. Immortality is the lifespan of the undifferentiated and unbounded and ultimately transcends all form and name. This is the return.

I share your love of musical improvisation. A great way to practice integration of resting in the Nature of Mind with body, speech, and mind. A stepping stone to integration of other types of activities for me.

Near the Intercontinental divide at ~ 4,000 meters

Lunas over the Hudson, from the top of Popolopen Torne

I like to gaze at the sky and take photos... Prospect Preak overlooks the Great Cacaphon and Potomac valleys

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche wrote a wonderful book on this called Spontaneous Creativity. I did a workshop with him a few years ago that combined meditation (rushen) practices with creative expression. The expression can come from the negativity of our samsaric experience or from the source itself. In the retreats he guides, we often reserve an evening for sharing such creative expressions It’s a lot of fun.

Hilma af Klint Paintings for the temple, 1906 -1915 Three representative samples pictured here from a group of 193 in the series. She is widely considered the first of the abstract painters in Europe. Her works were rooted in her experiences with spiritualism for a time.

I agree and I also feel it is important for each of us to try and identify what we need to help us progress. The right balance between the two for any given individual may not be an equal balance. I know that I tend to be too much in my head, very much an intellectual, and I have progressed far more through experiential practice than through reading and study. I was very fortunate to encounter teachers in both Daoism and Bön who emphasized the experiential, allowing me to come to this realization. I'm told by both of them that over-intellectualization is a very common defect among Westerners, whereas the opposite tends to be the case in the East. I can't verify this but it makes sense and has been my personal experience. PS - I suspect this is likely the case for anyone who is a frequent participant in online discussion groups!

My Daoist teacher was openly and explicitly opposed to reading and study. He actively discouraged it and considered it a waste of time that would be better spent in meditation or other non-academic pursuits. Along those lines, I've never seen or heard of any English translations of any writings in our system. That lack of access to scriptural resources may be a part of his position. The primary reason, however, seems to be a recognition that most Westerners are far too much in their heads and concepts whereas the majority of personal growth in the Daoist arts he valued (primarily internal martial arts, qigong, and neigong) occurs through direct experiential training methods. My Bön teachers have a very different mindset. In Tibetan culture education is highly respected and valued as are teachings, both written and verbal. Books are treated with reverence, as are teachers. Reading and studying, especially Dharma, are considered among the most blessed activities one can engage in. The effects are, of course, intellectual growth primarily. Practical benefits are also possible. All practitioners are encourage to engage in both intellectual and non-conceptual practices and the combination seems to be considered superior to either alone. The general instruction is that we need to hear the teachings from a qualified master, then put the teachings into practice in our day to day lives until we have some type of realization, then we need to check our own understanding and realization against what is present in the tantras and scriptures and make sure they agree. A third perspective comes from my, admittedly limited, exposure to Judaism. Much of the esoteric content and practices have been lost or abandoned in mainstream Judaism. One factor was the diaspora. Jews largely eschewed the mystical traditions in an effort to integrate into largely Chrisitan societies. Another factor is the long and obscene history of pogroms leading up to the holocaust which took many of the greatest teachers and their esoteric and practical knowledge from us prematurely. Consequently, Judaism tends to emphasize the intellectual. Reading and study are highly valued and have been elevated to a high art and science. Scriptures and texts are revered and studied on multiple levels using a variety of specialized techniques, such as gematria. On the other hand, while prayer and practical activity as a manifestation of the divine are important, many Jews feel that there is somewhat of a vacuum in Judaism when it comes to experiential practices. This was beautifully captured in the book The Jew in the Lotus by Rodger Kamenetz.

None taken Can’t take this stuff too seriously if it’s all just empty!

Excellent, always helpful when different teachings converge for us and don’t contradict each other. I can see your point and suspect you are correct regarding Reggie’s usage of “false.” This translation was done by Kurt Kreutzer, as I recall. Brown’s translation is also excellent. His recent series of Bönpo publications has been wonderful. Jean Luc Achard has also translated the 21 Nails. He told me it was going to be published about 2 years ago... still waiting.

The one that comes to mind is the 21 Nails - Self-originated primordial wisdom is the base. The five poisonous mental afflictions are the dynamic energy. Chasing after them is the way you are deluded. Viewing them as deficient is the error. Leaving them as they are is the method. Freeing them into vastness is the path. Non-duality is the realization

Nice quotation. I question the following bit... "Objectifications and solidifications of nondual awareness" may not be the full story, but this does not make them false. They are our life experience and are very true for us in our current form of existence, dualistic or not. I think it's more accurate and useful to refer to them as the display of the base rather than false. To see them as false is the error, according to the dzogchen texts. The other point is that asking a Westerner, whose life up to this point has been devoid of any context to give the unseen world and beings meaning, to simply accept the rich and complex pantheon of Tibetan beings is a very tall order. It is likely to cause as much confusion and distracting complication as be supportive. We need to come to these things gradually and with the right frame of mind and heart and in our own time. The cultural context is important. As I alluded to earlier, Buddhism became what it is in part to let go of much of the Hindu cultural baggage. Why now grasp onto the Tibetan cultural baggage? Lots of interesting questions and challenges to consider.

What you are proposing would no longer be Buddhism. Kind of like saying would Christianity still be effective if everyone stopped believing in Christ...? I don't think its useful to ask "what the minimum would be" in a general sense as that is undefinable. What counts is what is needed for a given individual at any given time. That is widely variable which is why there are so many different approaches within the Buddhist umbrella. Also why it's often said to take what is supportive from Buddhism for us and leave what is not. While a drop of rain may be unlikely to bring instantaneous enlightenment, it may bring one into the present moment. That alone is a profound benefit and, for me, at the heart of the Buddhist path. Yes - taking more seriously our relationship to whatever practices or teachings speaks to us is what matters. Seeing the effects in our lives is the measure. Being honest with ourselves about all of this is the requirement.