lifeforce

Huang Po: All Buddhas and all humans are nothing but this one mind. There is nothing apart from it. This mind is without beginning, without birth, without death. Neither green nor yellow, without form or appearance, it does not adhere to being or non-being... It is right here, just as it is — yet as soon as discursive thoughts are produced you fall into error. Like the boundless void, it is beyond measure or calculation. This one mind itself is Buddha and there is no distinction between Buddhas and humans. It is just that humans are attached to external forms and thus seek outside themselves. The more you seek after it, the more you lose sight of it. You are a Buddha seeking vainly for some "Buddha," mind trying to grasp onto mind. Try with all your might for aeons, but you will never attain it. Just put all discursive thoughts to rest and forget vain concerns, then Buddha is manifest right here. Mind just as it is, is Buddha. And Buddha just as it is, is mind. It is not lacking in ordinary people, nor is it fully present in Buddhas.

My head hurts.

http://www.stonewaterzen.org/shikantaza/

Wow, incredible. Thanks for this rex.

This is so wrong. Where are you getting this information from ? Shikantaza is quintessential wuwei. Nondoing. Just sitting. Naturalness. Nothing forced or unforced. It is for beginners and adepts and Buddha's alike . There is no difference. It is a non-technique. A non-practice. It is as difficult as it is simple. A Zen koan in physical form.

Namo Amitabha Buddha

Won Hung Lo. Sorry, couldn't resist.😜

This ^^

What exactly is a 'blockage' ? I don't think I've ever had one. Is it all in the mind ?

I should add that after I experienced recognition, I now see things through a non dual Tantrik lens, that ALL spiritual practices are equally valid. As one desires to approach the Lord, so the Lord will approach the aspirant. (bhag. gita 4.11)

I was on the fence, like yourself, despite practicing from non-dual traditions such as Daoism, Buddhism, Advaita Self-Inquiry and Sufism. Then I read these two books, put into practice their methods, and it has completely convinced me that there is only One. First I read this, which orientated me with the Tantrik world : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tantra-Illuminated-Philosophy-Practice-Tradition/dp/0989761304/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534499616&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=tantra+illuminated and then this, which swept away any lingering doubts. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recognition-Sutras-Illuminating-000-year-old-masterpiece/dp/098976138X/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534499616&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=tantra+illuminated&dpPl=1&dpID=51NE3p09B9L&ref=plSrch

This statement is implying dualism.

Yourself and your fundamental nature are two different things. Look deeper.

The most straightforward path summed up eloquently by Tantrik scholar practitioner Christopher Wallis: the ultimate goal is simply recognition of one’s own fundamental nature. That is what is most worth seeking in this world.

More contemplative words from Dogen: "put aside the intellectual practice of investigating words and chasing phrases, and learn to take the backward step that turns the light and shines it inward. Your body and mind will drop away of themselves, and your original face will manifest. If you want to get into touch with things as they are, you – right here and now – have to start being yourself, as you are".

The heaviness of the arms is part of the process. Standing re-configures everything. Extra exercises would not help. Maybe some arm swinging before practice. Start with little time holding the posture, as in 1 minute. Add 10 seconds each day, slowly working your way to longer sessions. Feel the large balloon as extremely light. Best wishes

Not from a Daoist source, but the words of Dogen. "put aside the intellectual practice of investigating words and chasing phrases, and learn to take the backward step that turns the light and shines it inward. Your body and mind will drop away of themselves, and your original face will manifest. If you want to get into touch with things as they are, you – right here and now – have to start being yourself, as you are".

Lightseeker, maybe you should start with smaller steps instead of trying to take a huge leap. Practices such as standing, reiki, meditation etc.and see where it leads.

What is the obsession with 'special powers' Lightseeker ?

Except I don't see it as a sin. Just part of the liberation process.

Psychedelics.

As someone who has been through this a few times, welcome back. How we integrate our spiritual experiences into our daily lives is a purely individual endeavour. Once we are 'back in the saddle' and can reflect and take stock of our experiences, our lives can take on a whole new meaning. Best wishes.

This is something I experienced whilst meditating with a local Sufi meditation group. I've only just come across these quotes, and of the term, ghurni. I tried explaining my experience to a few people but couldn't find the appropriate words. This sums it up perfectly. I think it stems from the Non-dual Shaiva Tantra tradition. The first quote is from a book I'm currently reading which I highly recommend. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recognition-Sutras-Illuminating-000-year-old-masterpiece/dp/098976138X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533123935&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=the+recognition+sutras&dpPl=1&dpID=51NE3p09B9L&ref=plSrch The Recognition Sutras by Christopher Wallis. "Ghurni, which usually refers to a mystical experience that is considered a sign of very high attainment, one in which the adept feels a kind of divine intoxication, combined with pleasant sensations of floating, whirling, swaying or spinning (which are sometimes thought indicate that the subtle body is moving quasi-independently of the physical body)" and: "Ghurni, Vibrant Whirling Ghurni is an untranslatable term, for the state it refers to does not belong to ordinary experience: it consists of a specifically mystical whirling, a vibration moving in all directions so intense as to defy the imagination. When its intensity increases to infinity, it becomes one with the ever-active primordial vibration and is none other than the fully-unfolded Kundalini in brahmarandhra. Staggering under the effect of his inebriation, the yogin is lifted to universal Consciousness and recognizes his identity with the entire world. Transcending spatio-temporal limits, now all- knowing and all-powerful, he experiences the final pervasion. On close examination, this whirling, ghurni, appears to refer to an inner churning that mixes the two poles of the kramarnudra, at the source of emission and resorption. On the threefold void: lower void, prior to the attainment of the fourth state; medium void, samadhi or conscious yoganidra; and higher void, the sleep of the unrelated Siva. Such a sleep resembles somewhat the attitude of surprise (caikitamudra): the mouth half opens spontaneously and the breath stands still".

This is something I've realized through xingyi where the spiralling isn't obvious from the outside looking in.