jinjujitsu

If it works without the need to sit and stare at a wall for years trying to still the mind or doing chi kung routines for ages - if it works without all this and can heal pains, why not? Why not - if it works? I don't think stilling the mind is everyone's goal. Healing could be the one for many. So, if it works, great! People travelled for days in the past and never reached their destination at times. Technology helps there today. If there is something which "really" can replace years of meditation, why not? All that time saved on meditation could be used to spend time with family, help the sick or do something worthwhile.

Kudos! Couldn't have said better. Those who want to see the black spots alone will miss the big white background and the immense wisdom underlying therein. As a side note, Yoga Sutras were never meant to be practice manuals. They simply elaborate Samkhya and Yoga theory. Sutras are by nature cryptic and require a firm background in Veda, Purana and Grammar before attempting to understand them. For those who travel that extra mile, the rewards are plenty. There are various practical manual such as Hatha Yoga Pradipika and various Yoga Tantras dealing with practical aspects and hence serving as commentaries to the Yoga Sutra. One cannot accuse all the Hindus of being incapable of expression based on one's own lack of understanding of one particular book! Moreover, Yoga Sutra hardly represents the entire gamut of Hinduism. It does not even represent a major school of Hinduism as practiced today. Unlike most assume, it is dualistic (Patanjali's version) and hence acceptable only as an auxiliary philosophy to many other non-dualisitc schools within Hinduism. Then there are castes and those who believe in them. There have also been "outcastes" such as Aghoris, Ati Margins and Avadhutas who have existed side by side and earned their own status in a society accused frequently by the West of orthodoxy. There are people of all kinds and it is not the mistake of Hinduism if West has a picture of her as a perfect lady. But her external imperfections hardly mar her inner beauty. And is that not true with any worthy religion? How are bad Brahmins or bad Gurus sole representatives of Hinduism? How are bad commentaries available today on the Yoga Sutra indications of uselessness of Hinduism? Such generalizations hardly make sense unless the intention is blame game arising out of some frustration possibly owing to a bad experience with a Guru figure or someone similar. The argument here is similar to those who constantly accuse H H The Dalai Lama of autocracy and what not and forget the implications of what would be without him today. There is nothing ideal or perfect and no amount of whining or cussing will make it so. But those who only do that, will just do that and see no light. The wise will look beyond these imperfections and find light. And that's what Manu said with his "religion" as well, the same one that gets called Hinduism today.

Tyler, I am a busy person and would like to engage only in constructive talk. It seems to be that you have long left that track. I have nothing more to say to you. Also, how do you know my credentials? I am a research scholar of several years myself and have 40+ publications better read than the ones you name, also serving as text books. Flaunting two doctorates would probably help to make your kinds pay a little more attention to others, but that's not really my point here. I expect to be heard based on the validity of what I say and not my credentials which are secondary. While you have been sitting here passing judgments based on what bad literature you have read, I have lived for a decade in India, China and Tibet to know the pulse of the culture there. And you were the one criticizing the Brahmins, and call me self-righteous? Or you were trying a stab at humour? Be well.

Clearly you have a bias against the Hindus and one very clearly propagated by British in the late 18th century. Caste and its evils were simply a distortion of a social system blown out of proportion by European scholars. There were pros and cons and those who wanted to attack, chose this as their main reason. Buddhists did that and later the colonizing Europeans, to their own advantage. That's quite irrelevant here IMO. The cultural and philosophical exchanges between Hindus and Buddhists has been too much to distinguish one from the other and it is easy to see that Buddhists borrowed much from Hindus than the other way round. If you read critique of Tibetan Buddhism by several Theravada teachers in 70s and 80s, this exactly was their problem with the Tibetan Buddhists and their morphed Hindu Tantra with Bon elements and a Buddhistic interpretation. Prof Alexis Sanderson has done serious and dedicated study in this area and you will benefit from studying him. I would suggest you seriously need to re-consider the crap you have been reading lol! You need to do some serious study before you make some such half-assed comments based on of all the people G Samuel. Lol

True True and True. Wish had realized this a good 30 years ago

I am certainly one who does not share Tyler's opinion.

Scotty, I really like the way you put it - "participating" in life. It speaks of a certain willingness as opposed to being "forced" to live. It also suggests of life as something not so wretched, not as mere samsara which needs to be "escaped" or as "suffering" that is to be ended or transcended. At the same time, "participate" would mean going with the flow without a viscous attachment or holding on to life as a limited concept or possession. I am a newcomer here but for a Taoist forum, this forum is more Buddhist than anything else. But some statements like the one above make me remember and reflect on the great Way now and then. I have been working on a book about how Buddhist influence instilled the concept of mortal life as suffering into Hinduism, Taoism and various other cultures and your post just clicked in my head. Thanks!

YaMu, thanks for the inputs. I see on your website that you offer distance healing. Currently, is there no distance learning possible to learn Stillness-Movement from you? Thanks!

I checked out Ya Mu's site for information on his DVD but there is not much info about it. What I would like to know is: - What is the DVD all about? Qigong, Neigong? - The DVD page talks of 'shamanic movements'. Is the technique same as stillness movement Qigong that Ya Mu described here? - Does the DVD cover everything that one would learn in a stillness movement qigong workshop - in terms of techniques? If anyone has the DVD, I would appreciate an independent review as well. Thanks!

Dear Sifu, Thank you. That was really really helpful. Thanks again for sharing your insights on this wonderful practice. I sure wish you bring out more learn at home products for the various other energy arts you know as FP videos are really one of their kind - they seem to have a soul of their own. Thanks to this forum/Sean as well for having got a chance to interact with you. Looking forward to hear more from you.

Very Buddhist and so not Daoist. But whatever

Bad Feng shui lol! After the upgrade, both quality and quantity of posts seem to have taken a big hit. Hope that's just a passing phase.

This question is for Dainin I read your extremely helpful review on Amazon for Dr. Love's Meridian Qigong. Would you care to elaborate more on it? As it what it's purpose is, what the benefits have been for you and share some tips? Greatly appreciate your inputs.

Dear Sifu, I try to take the initial breaths and base my ratios for the rest on these, but I don't feel very confident. It seems inconsistent and different every time and I always wonder if I am getting it right and getting it right every time. Appreciate any tips.