Vajrahridaya

Actually Buddhists were the first to posit such an understanding and systematize it. Abhidharma is pretty darn exhaustive of a cosmology as is Astavijnana or elaboration of the 8 consciousness'. Buddhist cosmology goes far deeper than these as well.

Yes, I've even posted this preface as a note on my FB. I'll have to get to this book at some point. It might even over-arch the importance of previously considered chronology of books to be read.

Wow! I'm in full agreement and emphatic yes... to the second paragraph!

Well the title alone sounds enticing! I can't read online books though. I'll need to buy the thing.

Okalydoekaly! I love Chai by the way...

HAHAHA!!! It's all good bro... practice, practice, practice... philosophy helps to fill the space for questions that arise during practice, but they don't make up for it! That's for sure. Actually... Philosophy, it seems more so in Buddhism than most other traditions is emphasized as a practice as well though. Anyway... as they say, "Refine the view, practice, refine the view, practice, refine the view, practice... " Eventually liberation ensues.

Nope, praising the porcelain god is over and done with... he swallowed well all of my offerings and kept them all down too...

Yeah... maybe Stigs and I are pointing at the same truth but getting dumb over wording? I seem to resonate better with the way you construct your phrases though? It's karmic, I'm sure.

Well there are two kinds... Sahita and Kevala. I thought you meant Kevala for some reason... my bad. Sahita Kumbhaka is indeed vase breathing. Kevala is breath retention either inner or outer and is also very powerful! I wasn't dissin' you bro... much love alwayson!

Ah... we've been deluding ourselves for way too long. The most enlightened ever on this planet had masterful guidance. Though, there are very few who came to on their own... very few. We generally just fool ourselves, so many pitfalls and it's hard to get an objective opinion about yourself from yourself. Ya know?

:lol: Kind of an oversimplification... It's not just awareness, but deeply meditative awareness or samadhi focus. There's also the breath of fire, or Bhastrika pranayama. Also sometimes vase breathing when engaging in karma mudra.

You should know that I don't see it that way and neither does Buddhism. That would be a sour misunderstanding of what I was saying. The here and now is liberated, because Samsara is Nirvana. Everything is empty of inherent existence, thus also no inherent power to bind. Liberation is merely a change in perspective. It's amazing how bad your memory is Stig. I've said this over and over again and any Buddhist that uses Buddhism for the sake of escapism instead of realizing insight-fully the nature of here and now is not understanding the teaching. In Buddhism we really just aim at removing the inner causes of psychological suffering and unconscious rebirth. So we really just remove the blockages of awareness and insight into the nature of how all this does it's doing, in the ever ungraspable... here and now. We liberate from all views. We empty all views attaining the viewless view. Your universalist view of an ontological essence is considered a view and a fixation. Boy you really have a concept here about what Buddhism teaches that hasn't been affected at all by anything I've ever said to you? So it's not an ontological essence and has no self basis for being, it is merely a convenient word used to describe a cyclical process, much like the term Samsara? He called it a mother and a source, beyond direct knowing. Sounds like another way of describing the Hindu and monistic Brahman? I do feel that the Buddhas teaching does go deeper and that is my opinion and experience and I do feel there is indeed a fundamental difference in view ultimately between the teachings of Lau Tzu (Laozi) and Buddha. The Buddha himself said that at the time he spoke there was not a teaching of liberation as clearly defined as his on Earth and he had the power of the eyes of Brahma to go into meditation and see remotely at will. I think there are individuals that can have the exact same realization of the Buddha anywhere at any time, but they would have the exact same realization, even if worded differently. Thus far, Apech7 seems the best at sharing a Taoist view that is akin with what the Buddha taught, but through Taoist terminology.

Can you please stop complaining about someone who has a good mind for facts, as if I didn't spend years meditating in an Ashram, experiencing directly the refined states of consciousness mentioned in various scriptures and seeing my past lives directly, as well as going to various realms of the gods talked about in Buddhism and Hinduism, directly, many times before I even read anything about them. I just get tired to being accused of merely being an encyclopedia of regurgitation. It's a pretty sad reflection of insecurity. This is a discussion board so of course I'm going to explain using words and I enjoy using words! I mentioned ineffable as well as transcendent. Yes, the same way Hindu's describe Brahman. I am directly familiar with the meditative experiences concerning this. Sounds like a collective unconscious, or the concept of the Store House Consciousness (Alayavijnana) in Buddhism. That would be a manifestation of Dharmakaya, the individual storehouse consciousness liberated directly and thus becomes the womb or Tathagatagarbha of Buddha manifestations from the formless enlightened potential of the collection of endless Buddhas since beginningless time. Dharmakaya is likened to a Buddha mind matrix of constant creative expression with the sole purpose of liberating endless sentient beings.

Wow! Cooool!! So you read the whole thing already?

Well that compressed singularity is considered by Buddhists, the compressed effects left over from the previous universe just waiting for conditions to arise for it to blossom. Though in this case, like a seed, but it's still not considered an inherent singularity, as it is filled with infinite potential left over from endless universal cycles connected to other dimensions or other universes active in other dimensions right now. This is too complex to conceptualize perfectly by me. But, this seed state is like the effects left in your unconscious mind from things experienced previously that arise as subtle impressions in your subconscious ongoing dream state, governing your conscious mind and these impressions come to light through your conscious mind and physical actions only when conditions arise that allow for that to happen. It's kind of how we are all individual universes existing in our own dimension arising co-dependently with other individual universes that are individual people, animals, sentient beings. Because one individual dies or collapses, doesn't mean that another doesn't continue to exist on this paradigm, or that the one that collapsed on this paradigm doesn't continue in another. As in the concept of the individual mind stream moving on into another incarnation or dimension of experience beyond this seeming realm of experience? So, supposedly, there are endlessly connected universes and this universe is not the only one active right now, so when one universe goes into collapse, there are still others in other dimensions, yet connected too that still radiate energies that cross-effect other universes. So on and so forth endlessly. All these endless amount of universes or cosmic cycles are constantly effecting each other like various levels of consciousness. Eh, my explanation is so imperfect. I tried.

Thanks Rex! Pinned it... This is a teacher of mines blog... he has a few. He's a Doctor of Tibetan Medicine and a Lappon in the Sakya tradition. Malcolm Smith

Thanks Seth! Looks good! I might get this book for my wifey!?

Because it's following the effects left over from previous universal cycles as causes for this one. There is really no primal predecessor or first cause.

Well... it seems that my expressions are hard for many to deal with anyhow... so you get a kiss planted on your full head of hair anyway.

I can understand if Tao is merely being defined as the way of mutually dependent things that arise through endless variations in cycles since beginningless time, yet is empty of inherent being, and is merely a way encapsulating through concept that which is really empty. As the Buddha taught, there is not one Dharma that has inherent essence, or self standing beingness. But, to make it an ontological essence deep within the collective and (more importantly for you as the practitioner) personal unconscious, sounds like making of it a fun box of mysterious churning's that one is expressed from and returns to over and over again, considering it the truly self existing basis and conscious law giver of it all. I don't think that considering the Tao or Way in this fashion will exhaust all possible ignorance for you as an individual, even if while on Earth one has the spiritual siddhis (powers) of spontaneous joy and even ascends to a heaven realm after for many eons.

I like flowers so I'll take it and place it on my Puja regardless of the intention behind it's throw! P.S. I was just saying that sometimes it feels on here that we all have to sit around the camp fire singing "Kumbaya" while stroking each others egos before we can have a view challenging discussion? Otherwise panties get twisted and feathers get ruffled? For all it's politics, I do sometimes miss E-Sangha where Buddhists freely challenged each others views. This is the only decent, and fun forum that I can find where views are expressed, or challenged, and experiences are shared with freedom. Which makes Tao Bums pretty awesome!

Thanks Marble! I wonder if you have a bald head to kiss?

Please explain? It does at times seem to be a mix and match from many different sources, some of the Chinese classics, Chinese medicine and martial arts, much of which is a cross pollination starting from early on between India and China from BC times. Of course the Chinese took martial arts to plateaus India never did. It also always depends upon the individual, as the individual internalizes and expands on concepts through personal experience.