forestofclarity

Why not try it and see where it goes?

I don't think it's a strange experience at all. I've had similar experiences, and others have too. My young son told me some time ago he was playing with his friends when suddenly he felt like he was watching a movie. He was still playing, but he was just watching it all happen. The mind takes many postures. What I have found most helpful for me is to see what is similar between postures, rather than try to cultivate a particular posture.

I haven't listened to all of these, but I'm working through Saddarshanam by Ramana Maharshi. Anyone interested in old school Advaita Vedanta might enjoy these. Saddarshanam is taught by Carol Whitfield, a disciple of Swami Dayananda. http://www.arshakulam.org/archives.html

It is not an underestimate, but an acknowledgement that the Christian relies heavily on faith and grace. Many schools of Buddhism rely on gaining knowledge, and this is based on specific practices. -- Cardinal Ratzinger, referring to St. Theresa (Interior Castle) --- Kallistos Ware, comparing The Jesus Prayer to Non-Christian Meditation

I have not come across any mind technologies in these religions that Buddhism has. For example, the development of concentration and mindfulness in an effort to understand direct experience. Christianity, especially, lacks any coherent technique. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is the end of suffering, which comes from the cessation of clinging, which has nothing to do with the sun. The word nibbana meant to "cool", such as when you cooked something and you set it out to cool. So again, this analogy fails--- in fact, this is exactly the opposite of fire/sun. The term enlightenment is usually translated from "bodhi", which related to "buddhi" or the intellect -- the discriminating part of the mind. Again, nothing to do with the sun. I would further argue that the light referred to by many of these traditions is not the light of the sun, but the light of awareness. As for Taoism, it is as prone to persecution and religious fundamentalism as other religions (including Buddhism). How many Buddhist books and images were burned by Emperor Wuzong?

It is pretty classic in spiritual literature to compare the body to a kingdom, and the inner self to the ruler. Often, the cosmos, the government, and the individual are said to reflect one another. If the principles are universal, what is the difference between running the cosmos, the State, or the human being? http://www.goldenelixir.com/taoism/views_of_the_body.html

The further I get into this stuff, I find that simpler is often better. It took me quite a long time to appreciate Thich Nhat Hanh.

Nothing like a thought made solution to a thought made problem. Which is probably why I like Nagarjuna so much...

Parmenides and his student Zeno used this thinking to great effect. One cannot cross a room, Zeno would say, because you first have to cross 1/2 of it, then 1/2 of that, and so on, onto infinity. The point for me is that there is a difference between how we think about the world and how the world appears. Yet time and again, we often choose our thoughts about reality rather than reality itself.

The most helpful things I have come across are living a moral code and learning how to pay attention. These things will help no matter what comes next. However, many people who skip these steps seem to struggle a lot longer.

I think it is wise to avoid labels or identifying with this or that. Along those lines, consider that Daoism and Buddhism are both extremely diverse. There are many school and approaches within Daoism: religious, mystical, alchemical, etc. Some seek physical immortality, others seek to recover "original nature." You'll see more of the later among the Daoists that combine the three schools (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism). From my own point of view, depending on where you live, it can be much harder to come into connection with a good Daoist teacher --- or to say, it's not in the cards for everyone.

I highly recommend it, on one condition: actually following the meditation instructions. I believe a lot of people go on retreats and spend the entire time thinking about other things. I typically try to go on a week long retreat once a year with that type of schedule (although it doesn't always work out). I have found it to be very helpful.

From Breath of Love by Bhante Vimalaramsi :

Richard Shankman did a study of this some time ago in his Experience of Samadhi. Bhante Gunaratana (Mindfulness in Plain English) said point blank that sutta jhanas and visuddhimagga jhanas are not the same. Bhante Vimalaramsi actually tossed his practice (Mahasi noting) and went back to the suttas to see what they said. His exposition is much different --- unifying concentration as opposed to concentration on a single point.

I personally believe that any spiritual system, if earnestly practiced, will reveal its truth. However, these systems are by their nature subtle and difficult to get. Even the founders acknowledge that. The founding myth of Buddhism tells us the Buddha didn't want to teach because he didn't think anyone would get it. Should it be any surprise then that most people simply don't get it? Or if you look at the traditional criteria for Advaita Vedanta, you already needed to have the ability to restrain the mind and be fed up with the world. Just qualifying would make you a pretty advanced yogi. In my mind, there is a big difference between saying the system doesn't work for me and the system doesn't work. Of course we all think our way, our opinion, our view is the best. That is exactly the core issue these systems are designed to deal with.

Thanks. I will give it a shot.

My definition is well written, entertaining, and with something to say beyond plot points. Here's a few fiction books I liked: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham The Name of the Rose by Umberto Echo The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing. The reason I agree is that you certainly don't need concepts to see what is there. But I disagree because until I understood the concept of emptiness, I never saw it clearly in experience. It is like when you write a paper, and you have trouble proof reading it. Your mind subtly overlays corrections onto errors. But someone else can come along and point out the errors.

The Ceasing of Notions by Soko Morinaga. I keep coming back to this one again and again. As it Is, by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. What I need: good fiction.

I've dabbled in different traditions, and also in different schools within a tradition. The traditions, labels, and rituals are all different, but direct experience is all the same. As noted above, the labels don't really matter. But even so, there is a difference in the language and techniques used. In a sense, it is almost like saying "What do you mean when you say the English language, what do you mean?"

From here, it is all innards.

What are external methods? And what are they external to? For me, the direct path is the path of direct experience. My mantra is "Investigate!"

I wonder if one needs really to "kill" or "eliminate" anything.

Maybe mom was just taking a break.

For what it's worth, I don't think it is even possible to make a mistake. A mistake from who's point of view? From a larger point of view, all our personal problems aren't nearly as important as we think they are.