yabyum24

Nice one too. I tried a few moves from my Lee Style long form at about 1 minute a move. I was very much aware of my clothing moving around my skin. Felt very relaxed and blissful afterwards. Will do that again when I get the time. Good tip.

I very much like the first line. The problem with the second line is that many Buddhists believe that they are exposing the Hindu fallacy of the 'eternalist Atman' (aka soul). The antidote to which is 'emptiness' - the un-findability of such a 'thing' amongst its assumed basis or elsewhere for that matter (your pal Chandrakirti for example). This is a BIG issue with Buddhists of all schools. No Atman - is what sets us apart!

I don't blame you for not caring about it. It's sutra, but not even very useful sutra in my opinion. Mahamudra on the other hand is something special. What kind of direct introduction have you experienced? If I may be so bold as to ask.

Well, they put great store in Candrakirti, two truths etc. etc. In any case you must have heard of the four 'nominal' schools of Tibetan tenets - 2 hinayana & 2 mahayana. All part of the fun and games at Nalanda. No wonder Naropa left! (bump) Hindu Atman question???

Really? Wow. It just goes to show that different people get different things from what they read. I studied the Prasangika tenets for a few years. It's initially impressive but then you realise it's all head stuff and does not accord with any kind of 'direct' experience. Candrakirti's Sevenfold Reasoning says it all about his approach. You know it's coming from a disingenuous viewpoint though, don't you? It's a useful tool to refute Atman Junkies (which was why they had to cook it up in the first place I guess) but once that's sorted, then you can lay it to one side. Just a question for you. As an Indian and former Hindu, do you feel that the Buddhist's representation of the Hindu Atman is a fair one? Is it really as crude, as it's presented? I've always suspected that in some cases it's way more nuanced but you'd be better placed to say.

I don't know a thing about NeoAdvaita but I have studied Chandrakirti and Nagarjuna. Both dry logicians and pedantic scholars who spilled a ludicrous amount of ink trying to define emptiness around their pet edifice of the 'two truths'. Now, if NeoAdvaita is worse than that... On the other hand, Ramana Maharshi is a much misunderstood fellow and should not be judged on the basis of those new teachers who claim to represent his teachings. I've compared what he wrote to some contemporary commentaries and I found that they have very little in common. His writings are excellent btw.

I've heard that the Tao flows of itself and I suppose that the more 'in tune' we are with it, the better we flow too. Life presents us with choices we must make. How can we know which choice is the right one from a Tao flowing perspective? Is there a way of knowing?

I wish you well in that RongzomFan. It's a worthy aim and I hope you achieve it.

As a student of tantra and someone who has always found a deep truth in teachings that somehow encompass the anima / animus, I wondered whether there was anything in Taoism which points to this? There's the ying/yang polarity I guess but this appears more a universal truth than a teaching on this specific theme, although the overarching principles are doubtlessly still present. I just wondered if any Taoists here would know this.

Like I said, in Tibet people came from a Buddhist background and were in a position to judge between Lamas. Many studied under several before finally committing. They got close to their Lamas and were left in no doubt as to their authenticity. Contrast that with many westerners whose first point of contact with Buddhism could be a strongly devotional group of other westerners at a Buddhist centre someplace. The newbie knows zero about Buddhism but is told from day one that he must cultivate unshakable faith in the guru (who he may never have met, or only fleetingly). Sorry, but this is worse than second-rate. If you can't use your own powers of discrimination, how can you ever have more than a fanatic's shallow conviction about what you are involved in? Now lets apply this logic to the thousands of devoted followers of the founder of the Gelug lineage. Would you advise them to immediately cease viewing their Lamas as the dharmakaya? The quotes above become self-defeating when the discriminating mind is abandoned.

Thanks Harmonious Emptiness, I never knew that was the case in Taoism. In terms of exactly what I'm asking, it's hard for me to say, as I 'don't know what I don't know' and I don't know much about Taoism... if you know what I mean? So, I'm just putting some ideas in this thread to see if there is any resonance with Taoism and what you write is very interesting, as it seems there is. Is there any further information on this point which is not closed or secret?

I'll approach this from another angle. The Anima Shakti, for me is more than a Jungian construct. One legend begins to shed some light onto the matter. Okay, on one level it's a Hindu deity tale but on another it is quite something else: Briefly, The legend is that, the great king Daksha Prajapati, an ancient creator god, was angry because his daughter Sati had married Shiva. Daksha performed a ceremony with an intension of taking revenge on Lord Shiva. Daksha invited all the Gods to the yagna ceremony and did not invite Lord Shiva and Sati. However, Shiva allowed Sati to attend, along with his escorts. Since Sati was an univited guest, she was not paid any attention and was totally neglected by all. Further, Daksha uttered insults against Shiva. Sati unable to tolerate the shame of this, jumped in to the pyre and committed suicide. On hearing this tragic news, Lord Shiva became furious. Soon, he reached the place of Daksha's yagna and destroyed the whole area. In a disturbed state of mind, Lord Shiva carried Sati's body and started the tandav dance of destruction, all over the world. All the terrorised and worried gods, requested Lord Vishu to take necessary action. Immediately, Lord Vishnu, with his Sudarshan Chakra, severed Sati's body into 24 parts, so that Lord Shiva could return to his sanity and once again take up his duties. Various parts of Sati's body fell at different places, across the Indian sub-continent, forming holy shrines of cosmic power which became well known as Shakti Peethas. Nowadays there are said to be 51 holy sites but the tantras originally list 24. This story is about the division of Shakti onto the duality of time/space - 24 hours of the day etc. There are also said to be 24 holy sites within the human body, as revealed in the tantras. Thus, Shakti becomes more than a 'feminine aspect' of a male personality.

That's a big problem within Tibetan Buddhism for many westerners. Followers are unequivocal that one must view one's teacher as the purest manifestation of Buddha, anything less and there can be no result to speak of. Once he is thus seen, he is utterly beyond reproach and one cannot questions instructions etc., as it demonstrates doubt, which you should not have. In old Tibet seekers would often wander from place to place, getting to know several teachers before finding one they could implicitly trust. That kind of sensible approach is now only available to wealthy jet-setters with time on their hands or those in California , everyone else tends to follow whichever 'resident' guru covers their patch - if you're even lucky enough to have one of those. Such a situation can quickly get quite 'Cult-like' and claustrophobic. Senior disciples and the inner circle pulling the strings whilst their minions operate the cash tills.

Looks like 'the invisible man'. All that work... and it would only take a fraction of the time in photoshop!

The article is a standard Vajrayana teaching. The Yidam is the main 'generation stage' practice with a selection of The Six Yogas of Naropa cultivated for 'completion stage' - depending on the specifics of the tantra.

I remember her lips, the feeling of her soft skin and that fire in her eyes. Making love. But that was not me, it was another man. He left a long time ago, in stages. I think. I didn't notice. I keep looking for her but the world is empty now. She is not amongst those of full years - the marks of others are upon them. Nor amongst the distant young with the pain of being what they must be. He took her with him and left me only his memories in exchange. Fading like mist in the rising sun.

Thanks Harmonious Emptiness. I'll have to look into that. @stosh - on reflection, I'm not sure that I can be more specific, as it's a general question. I guess if there's nothing similar in Taoism, then there's not much to say and I'm fine with that.

Thanks Stosh, I guess this may be the case. I'll think about it and see if I can clarify the question.

Love that. Very much a strategy beyond convention rather than a set of rules and regulations. A letting go of all doctrines, fetters, expectations and so on.

Hi deci belle, Many thanks for the well though out and profound reply. I guess choices are all part of the 'rendering to Caesar' self-game. I agree that within the un-become, unconditioned and non-dual, such considerations are without meaning. With 'choice' I was concerned (with some reification I admit) at how much both options are Mara's bait, and whether - sometimes - albeit rarely - an intuitive non-choice (for want of a better description) could slip through the web with unusual results. I think you answered that nicely. Duality, co-dependent arising, is the complex unfolding underpinning the three bodies, (which we non-consensually conspire to not discover). Once we expand and shimmer within this process we are within Mara. Our entire being is designed for feasting at the table of the dualistic senses - the whole rationale behind the movement from singularity, it seems. To push our faces hungrily against the window of the sweet shop - to keep coming back for more and more. What else is there? I guess catching the Tao is like the eye of the hurricane, the still-point. Just in that moment. Then there would be stillness in movement, non-action in action.

I'm not in favour. There is a way into samsara - the way we came in - and a way back out. During meditation, that path is re/discovered. The mind is complex and drugs are mind-altering. The pathway out is subtle and can be easily overlooked or trashed.

A man, who in his own lifetime, was already half myth, half reality. In 1907 Rasputin was invited by Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna to act as a healer for their only son, tsarevich Alexei, who suffered from hemophillia. Looks like he was using a very advanced system. Does anyone here know more about what it may have been?

Interesting book. Oddly enough, it's about this time that the Buddhist tantras are said to have been 'created'. I personally believe that they have far older roots but scholars trace their emergence in texts etc. to that approximate period, so some kind of dynamic was evidently at work.

He seemed to polarize opinion in Russia at the time. Some claimed he was a saint, whilst others portrayed him as a wild beast. I wonder if he was, in truth, a bit of both? The stories of his healing power are certainly impressive through.

Thanks DrT. Yes, I heard that there used to be Tibetan monasteries inside Russia - I think even in the western parts? I did wonder if he ever accessed this knowledge.