Maddie

If you don't see.... 1. having no money 2. having no abilities 3. having no power 4. having no personal life 5. having no cultivation 6. letting go 7. death .... as suffering (dukkah) then you see it as happiness and peace then?

Seeing the lack of these things as suffering is a very interesting point of view for someone that has no ego don't you think?

Those who know do not say........

The draw to and for powers is just one of a myriad of ways the thing that we think of as being "our-Self" seeks to make itself more real. The actual "thing" that our illusion of self uses is really immaterial. Some seek wealth, some seek fame, some seek power whether it be political, influence, or mystical. Anything that supports, props up, and builds this idea we have of what our Self is, comes from that same notion of self. The problem comes usually on a subconscious level due to the fact that at some level we feel that this idea of self is an illusion but this notion of self desperately wants to survive and perpetuate itself. So therefore anything that threatens this idea of what our "true self" is we see as evil or threatening. On the other hand, anything that we perceive as building up this idea of "self" is seen as "good" or desirable". This is why when the Buddha was asked what was the most important superpower he replied that the ability to teach the dharma effectively was the most important power. And what is the dharma? It is the realization that this false idea of a self is indeed false. Letting go of the whole illusion of what we think we are is the most important superpower.

I am not doubting you but since the nature of the ego is delusion how would one know if they were or were not seeking powers of the ego and for the ego? How would one make the distinction? Seeking limitless power is still seeking power which is still of the ego.

The abilities that come as a by-product of cultivation come from the mind which is limitless. The powers that come from seeking power come from the ego which is quite limited. This is why powers of the ego weaken the being, and powers of the mind do not.

One time near a river the Buddha saw a yogi. When the yogi saw the Buddha the yogi proceeded to tell him how he had spent the past 20 years developing the ability to walk on water and that was how he had crossed the river. The yogi then proceeded to ask the Buddha how he was able to cross the river, and the Buddha replied that he just used a boat.

If you look for everything that is ego, then perhaps there won't be any ego left in the end. Desire is the product of ego. Remove ego then the basis for desire disappears of its own accord.

I've come to realize that I react very adversely to meditation and some other cultivation methods. So much so that about half a year ago I had to abandon meditation. It would affect me very negatively emotionally. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

The direction this thread went was unexpected by me. I suppose I had assumed people would be contemplating the existence or non-existence of "the gods" or other spiritual beings. I didn't really expect it to take the "qi powers" route that it took. That being said I would like to hear people's thoughts on the existence of deities and other such beings.

I'm not sure if this is what you meant in your post, but as an acupuncturist I do this approach on myself often with herbs and acupuncture. On myself I go beyond the usual clinical applications.

One could also ask, why should he not get paid?

Seeking power for the sake of power is of the ego.

From a Buddhist point of view usually seeking powers for powers, sake is discouraged as it tends to increase the delusion of the self, BUT typically powers tend to be a side effect of getting into the Jhanas. As far as immortality goes the Buddha said one of the things that creates suffering in life is impermanence such as birth, aging, sickness, and death. Since there has never been any being that didn't eventually die this would seem to indicate that immortality isn't possible.

Yeah, I get what you're saying and I think this is why for over a decade I have spent most of my free time in meditation. It was wanting to get past this that I was after, but it seemed that in my case this never happened. Haven't put me off at all, I appreciate it. No, I don't plan on abandoning it but rather finding another method that does not turn me into a crazy person.

Mostly lots of very strong unpleasant emotions. There's a small percentage of the population mostly people who have had childhood trauma that experience and called relaxation induced anxiety when they meditate.

Dynamic forms of Qigong were some of my first practices but I've not done that for quite a while.

To be honest I'm not really sure what the end goal of Taoism is.

Yeah I've seen that before, but at other times I hear of Taoist meditation masters saying to rid one's self of desire, so it gets a bit confusing. Also love your screen name, very creative.

I believe its the Mahaparanibbna sutta

Something else I had to mention that if I do to much of that also give me side effects is the Zhunti mantra. A little bit makes me feel pretty good, too much and its like instant dark night of the soul.

I think according to the Buddha this is one of the last wrong view to go before someone goes from Non-Returner to Arahat.

To me it seems like most of the major religions started with more or less the same basic idea but over time their major texts were meddled with by men more interested in their own personal power than spirituality. I think this is why all of the major religious texts have really good parts and some other parts that don't seem that great at all. A mix of genuine spirituality and man made ego added either later on, or at the time they were written.

Sometimes I like watching the atheists on YouTube because I do appreciate skepticism since in the past I was swept up into a cult and had I been more skeptical that would have not been the case but sometimes people call in and they have these examples of children remembering past lives and then researchers like Ian Stevenson follow up their past life claims and discover the details to be correct and they always just dismiss it out of hand. I mean yes obviously these things could be staged and faint but sometimes I feel like they're intentionally dense.

Yes, I stopped about half a year ago. I feel like I've been gradually improving since then.