Thunder_Gooch

Books like Taoist Yoga are written in a manner that makes them difficult to understand without constantly looking up and defining terms. The notion that the text could not possibly be rewritten in simple English, in a very clear and concise manner is false however. It would take probably hundreds of hours of work but it isn't something that is impossible like you make it out to be. Maybe we aren't on the same page, what I am wanting to do is something like this: http://www.enotes.com/hamlet-text/act-i-scene-i It is side by side modern translation of a hard to understand text.

I don't hate life on earth so much as I find it bizarre and death/rebirth unacceptable. Life itself just seems so bizarre, I woke up here as a child with no memories just poof here I am, I have to destroy and eat other lifeforms to continue to exist, and my body is rotting and soon in a few decades I'll be gone again back to the state I was before my birth. That is bizarre, and really if I had a choice in the matter I'd stop the cycle (if there is one) altogether. I don't want to have to go through the birth and death cycle any more, I am making an effort in this life to stop it, should it exist. If rebirth doesn't occur, that's fine too, I wouldn't see my life as wasted. I am just ready to get off the merry-go-round, that is how I feel with every fiber of my being. Eternal nonexistence while less preferable to spiritual immortality is a reasonable facsimile to it in my opinion. I don't feel that wanting to dedicate the rest of my life to training and meditation to end rebirth is superficial, but maybe you disagree with my reasoning behind the goal. Whatever, it's my life to be superficial with I guess Also you criticize me for not making something of my life, well I went into the field I enjoyed most (computer repair, networking) and I am probably the most competent tech in my area, I am one of the few A+/Net+ certified techs here. I do all the extra work I can handle on the side. I could make more money if I moved to the city, but the much higher rent, higher cost of groceries, need to have a newer car for transportation, would mean I would actually earn less than I do now, not to mention the increased stress and effects of pollution of all kinds on health. If I had to do it over again I would have gone into a better paying field like optometry or pharmacy, but that is hindsight now and I don't have the desire to go back to school for eight years to get a job I would have a hard time doing part time. I don't believe it is possible to work full time and seriously dedicate your life to training, so I am going to work part time to support myself. If I have to give up electricity, and motor vehicles to train full time I guess I will. I've thought seriously about going back to school but there are no good paying jobs that can be done part time that don't involve being around sick and dying people or infectious diseases. I spent weeks researching the BLS.GOV occupational outlook handbook which lists virtually every job type, the demand for it, it's working conditions, pay etc. I can't find anything that is in demand, that pays well,and that you can do part time. I contacted career councilors and job advisers asking this same question with no answer other than go into nursing or start your own business. I've toyed with the idea of running my own business, I know I could make it work. The problem however is time, I would be pouring more time and effort into it than I am now. That kind of defeats the point. My father is a very very very successful business man, he's made more money than I could ever hope to, but he is also very miserable and worked his body until his spine is broken (literally). He has all this money, but lost most of it due to bad business investments. He has traded his time, his very lifeblood for money, and now he's lost his most of his money. Even when he had money though, he was still miserable. Work, work, work, money, money, money, but no time to enjoy any of it. The amount of life, and soul my father poured into his quest for wealth ultimately brought him nothing, and I don't plan on following his example. I just want the basics and to work as little as possible to support a minimal existence. Also I do see monks who beg for food as similar they are basically asking the community to feed so they can focus on their training, it's just more socially acceptable that way.

My life and environment are too chaotic, I need to work less to get some sort of normalcy in my life to get back in the zone for training. I am in the process of getting into the position to pursue training full time, and I feel like I am doing the best I can. I meditate on my off days after all the shopping and chores are done and everything else is taken care of, when I work my nerves are sore and my mind is inundated with chaos. Eventually I will get around to sitting down and scanning the taoist yoga book, I plan on replacing each weird obscure term with plain and simple english, then going back and simplifying down to a grade school level. That is what it would take for me to be able to read it without wincing, and is actually on my todo list, just way in the back. I thought the mozi neidan book probably was a fake book, but the slim hope that it might be legit clouded my judgement. I was hoping that should it be legit it could be translated professionally via a group effort, although I knew the odds of such being very low. It was pretty retarded of me to believe that some guy who sells amulets on a blog could ever somehow find such an important text, I guess I just wanted to believe.

Thanks, yes I plan on asking for his advice on rebirth after I finish his book, and reread it a few times. I've asked on his forum for advice on ending rebirth only to be met with "you are a retard, rebirth doesn't occur" type flames. I as well do no know if spiritual immortals live forever as spiritual beings, but it looks like maybe if hard work and boostraps can elevate a human to a spiritual immortal, then maybe the same holds true in the afterlife, maybe it is a continue process to stay ahead of the decay of entropy, I don't know. Maybe when you die that's it, I'd be rather pleased if this was the case.

Well it's all in context I guess, if I were a Buddhist monk out with my begging bowl near a temple somewhere, that would be morally acceptable to most. If I save up to buy my own property and work 20 hours a week to support myself and pursue meditation and training full time, living below poverty level and using foodstamps I am being leech on society. It seems the dissent here is strong against this action so I will just go ahead and write it off as a bad idea morally. It's a thought I was having issues with, living on a $124 a week budget is going to be tough, much more so with no assistance. I guess technically and legally qualifying for something isn't the same as ethically and morally qualifying for it. I guess it probably isn't a good idea. I guess you are right, if I want to live in poverty I shouldn't ask for help. The way I see it there are several possible scenarios for what happens after death. Rebirth is the only one I find unacceptable, so much so I would give up on trying to live a normal life to try to prevent it. I've had some experiences that lead me to believe in rebirth, as well as other masters like John Chang, Wang Liping, and Chunyi Lin espousing their belief it happens. I've already gotten more teachings from the longmen pai system than I could possibly master in 5 years even training full time. I have plenty to work with for some time. I appreciate your opinion and input on what I should be doing, but I won't be seeking out any masters until I feel worthy as a student, that's what this is all about for me. I have to get into the position where I can better myself. It would be absolutely silly to seek out a master if I haven't done all I can with what I've been given first. I am working as much as I can handle and stay sane I am averaging 45+ hours at my current job, and I do computer repair work on the side. I am investing all I can afford to in gold and when I have enough saved I will cash in and buy property. I've put my training on hold, mostly because of the stress. I can't focus on meditation after work and being stressed I am going to have to change my environment before I can resume training. Or at least that is how I feel.

I haven't disregarded Buddhism completely, I've just never heard of any Buddhist master or otherwise claim to have freed themselves from rebirth. I've bought several Buddhist books that others suggested I read dealing with rebirth and spoken with many Buddhists about this to no avail. What I've found is that with all the Buddhists I've spoken with rebirth is a taboo subject, and there is no way to stop it because it doesn't happen. I am following the best leads I have at the moment, but I am open minded to others as well. I haven't really heard of any other systems that show results like the schools I am interested in, I am sure they are out there but I am ignorant of them. I just want out as quickly and efficiently as possible, and from my own research Buddhism doesn't seem to offer what I am looking for. Traditionally Buddhist monks used begging bowls while they meditated relying on others to feed them to survive, I believe they too could have gotten off their lazy asses and worked more as well. I'll meditate more on this, and think about it carefully before I decide anything.

Well I dunno it's an idea I'm playing with. I've never applied to such a program, but it seems like most of the community where I live uses these programs. Where I live it seems ubiquitous, and normal. It seems like one of those things that if you qualify based on your income, it would be like not taking a tax deduction you qualify for. Working a 20 hour per week minimum wage job means I will be living off about $124 a week after taxes. I won't starve on that, but assistance programs probably would help a lot. I would legally qualify for things like foodstamps at that point, and many college students also utilize them, without feeling the least bit guilty. I see what I want to do as similar to that of a college student. Maybe I am just rationalizing. Maybe it would be an unethical choice. If you think it's unethical I'll meditate more on it, I don't want to feel more guilty than I already do. I eat meat (chicken, turkey) but it's something that bothers me a lot and causes me a lot of guilt. It just seems like a normal thing to do here where I live as everyone else uses these programs.

I work a lot right now, and am looking forward to working a lot less when I can afford land. I am toying with the idea to reduce my cost of living, while still working. I don't see it as being a parasite any more than a retired person using the same services to help them get by on their limited income. My idea of retirement will be working part time the rest of my life. Maybe I won't take this route I haven't gotten there yet so I can't say. I know that working 20 hours per week at a minimum wage job would most certainly qualify me for many assistance programs based on my income, but I would still be working and paying taxes. I'll have to meditate on it more, but if I felt like I was really causing harm to society then I wouldn't do it. I just want to get my cost of living to the lowest point possible, things like minimizing electrical usage to the extreme by every method possible, and getting food as cheaply as possible, etc.

Immortality in a spiritual sense is one route to end rebirth imho. That is my interest in mo pai, and longmen pai and other similar schools. I want to live as frugally as is humanly possible and eliminate every possible expense, and work only enough to get by and still save a little bit of money for emergencies. Working a 20 hour a week job, and getting on every assistance program possible seems like a good route for retirement for me. Owning property and using a moped for primary transportation, using foodbanks and foodstamps, and other assistance programs will eliminate a lot of major expenses for me. I can spend the rest of my time enjoying the rest of my life and focusing on my goals or so my theory goes.

It is my life long goal, right now my immediate goal is much more mundane. I am working so much I can hardly function. I get to use a laptop while at work sometimes so when it is slow it is not so bad. I am saving all I can to purchase an acre of land (I hope by a stream), a camper, a metal roof over top the camper (to prevent leaks), a large metal building for storage, and a newer used car and a moped. I want to have all the basics for life paid for and owe no debt. After that milestone is met I want to work part time from then on and focus on my other goals of learning to speak mandarin, getting into better physical shape, dedicating 40 hours per week to training etc. Maybe then in 5 years or so I can go seek a master in China or Indonesia.

My goal is ending rebirth by any means possible, anything you have heard of along those lines would interest me. I do what I was taught in longmen pai, a basic meditation. Right now I am lucky if I have time to get in one meditation session a week. Hopefully things will change in the future. There are so many unproven systems and so many unproven teachers and so many unproven books, and so many frauds selling fake systems they made up to make a buck, I try to focus on schools like mo pai and longmen pai for this reason.

Taoist Yoga the book by Charles Luk?, I own it, and can't make sense of it. It's gibberish to me. Flood the orginal cavity of the spirit with the mercury from the fiery bellows and watch out for the snow while cultivating the essential nature of the spirit in the dragon cavity eat the lead from behind the mysterious gate... I could probably rewrite the damn thing myself in about 10 pages of actual instruction but haven't worked up the motivation required to dissect that book word by word and re-translate it into something a modern english speaker could comprehend. I did however just order this book that was recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Internal-Alchemy-Taoist-Practice/dp/0984308253/

Lucas took the book he claimed was written by chang's master off the market as soon as he found out we wanted to do a group buy of it. Lucas refused to speak with me further after that point. Thetaobum, and Electric Gravity are the only two people that claim to have gotten anything from lucas. It was found that lucas's last known address associated with his paypal account was from Brisbane Australia, Thetaobum is also from Brisbane. Several people have attempted to buy from lucas but nothing ever was sent. Pretty sure it is one of those scams where you send in the cash and don't even get the book that is probably fake anyway. I've washed my hands with attempting to obtain a copy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M17aG_Po2Y

If you have any better suggestions please let me know, I know of no Buddhists who openly claim they stopped reincarnation.

Yes you nailed it, lol.

Double post

As requested GoldenTaoist, There is no denying that Electric Gravity and Thundermind are the same person. Thundermind runs existing scams selling pirated copyrighted dvds as his own material, claims to be the lineage holder for a fake school called the lei hua quan which has never existed except as a fiction, and claims to be a lei shan dao master. Just because we didn't do business together because I was able to stop him from getting payment doesn't mean he isn't a scammer.

Most people want super powers, I want to become (spiritually) immortal and leave the earth as a spirit, or reach a permanent state of non-existence/non-awareness/sleep. I have no interest in controlling and manipulating other people or staying here on this earth one second more than I absolutely have to. Every day I am alive I think about my death, and rebirth, I want to make sure I am not reborn. Yes it is something with bothers me to the extreme. I do not want to be reborn again at any cost. Most other people I have met want power just for the sake of having power, and it is a DBZ fan fest.

Anywho I have to go to work at a job where I earn money legally in just 5 short hours. Sucks to actually contribute to society, I know. I'll be seeing you. Best of luck in all your enterprises! goodnight

I am not doing anything you request out of spite in case you haven't noticed you can do it yourself when you get to log back into your account in a few short days, that is assuming you are EG/TM and not his friend taking up for him. I make a lot of assumptions To be honest though, don't be naive enough to think that the local Ohio authorities and state attorney generals office are not aware of the situation. There are a LOT of ticked off customers who have reported their experiences. My advice to EG/TM is to get a real job and give up on being a Taoist businessman / con artist.

DANCE DANCE EVERYBODY DANCE! Scenario 1. The address EG/TM gave me was his friends, and the person I spoke with was telling the truth. In this case the person I spoke with was never made aware I was sending him payment either via western union (EG/TM's preferred payment method)or money order and had not given his permission for EG/TM to hand out his address for such purposes. Scenario 2. The person I spoke with was really EG/Thundermind playing dumb and pretending not to know anything about it. In either case I think it's time someone called his mommy and had a pow wow I wonder if she knows he is selling pirated copyrighted dvd's as his own, creating fake lei shan dao schools and masters and selling them to unsuspecting people.