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Maddie
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Everything posted by Maddie
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What does it mean to "Be True To Yourself"
Maddie replied to TheCLounge's topic in General Discussion
But what does that mean? -
Buddhism is ‘liberation through Yin’, and turns you into a ghost forever. Agree or disagree?
Maddie replied to Phoenix3's topic in Buddhist Discussion
I'm going to answer the question that the title of this post raises. The ghost realm is with in Samsara and therefore impermanent and therefore not ultimate liberation which is Nirvana. -
What does it mean to "Be True To Yourself"
Maddie replied to TheCLounge's topic in General Discussion
According to the Buddha's explanation of anatta there is no self due to the fact that what ever you call yourself... isn't. So perhaps the question is to know what yourself isn't? -
CT, thanks for the thorough reply. I actually have tried to contact the local Sangha but I found them to be quite skeptical. This is led me to primarily then have to figure out how to deal with this on my own. Would you mind listing some specific devotional practices that you find to be useful?
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Spotless, yes I agree the good vs evil view of the world is a problematic issue in and of itself. This is one reason as a Buddhist I posted in the Buddhist discussion area as opposed to another place. I have felt the confusion of this entity more than once when it was harassing me and I shared my merits with it and offered it loving kindness lol. I don't see it as intrinsically evil rather I see it as a being in Samsara suffering from delusion like the rest of us, but I do wish for it to leave me be in peace.
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Vajra, interesting you should say that because though I'm mostly tend toward Theravada the one Mahayana Sutra and mantra I have found to be useful/tried was the Amitabha Sutra and the Amitofu mantra.
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What does a psychic attack ( by other human) looks like?
Maddie replied to qicat's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
First I'll start off by saying that if you think about it a psychic attack from a human and an attack by a spirit are in many ways not really that different as both are just minds and one happens to have a physical body and the other does not. With that being said just based upon my personal experience the main way I determine if something is a psychic attack or a spirit attack is first if what ever I start feeling is "out of context". By out of context I mean I can think of no obvious stimuli for what ever I have started feeling. Now this alone is not enough for me to suspect a psychic/spirit attack as the mind is very complicated and thoughts and feelings can arise from the mind for no apparent reason. So another clue is if the out of context thought is very sudden and/or intense. So for example if I'm sitting in traffic and even though I have not seen or heard an advertisement for ice cream but I suddenly start thinking of ice cream this is not a psychic attack but simply the mind and craving being the mind and craving. But if on the other hand I am sitting in traffic and I suddenly start feeling angry or anxious even though there seems to be no obvious stimuli from the other drivers, and additionally if this seemingly random feeling is not just ordinary but very strong, and/or obsessive, then I start to get suspicious. Now to the specific issue of psychic attack, if a random feeling hits me, AND its intense, AND there is no obvious reason for it, the way I tend to differentiate it as a psychic attack from a spirit is if the feeling is accompanied by either the thoughts or the feeling of a person (usually whom I know, and more usually whom I suspect is upset with me). If I feel all of these same things but do not get the impression of a specific person then I usually suspect a spirit. That is how I distinguish.- 23 replies
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I've never used the mudra before. But I chant it two ways. I will chant it out loud and I will also chant it mentally in my head. Sometimes I will even listen to it being chanted on YouTube.
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When I began Buddhism I was almost 100% exclusively interested in meditation. I had little interest in anything else such as textual studies devotional practices ECT... But as time has come to pass I'm finding that textual studies seem to be doing more for me as well as chanting than meditation. This has caused me to wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences?
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I've noticed that I can direct the mantra to help me work out Karma just as Brodi says. A couple years ago I used it to improve my relationship Karma as all my relationships I had tended to be very bad and now I have a very good one. Lately I've been using it to improve my money and success Karma and I noticed at the beginning all kinds of little petty money problems started popping up but I now recognize this as the Mantra working out my bad karma so it can be done with. I've also found it to be very effective for protection from evil spirits.
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Pythagorean/ Inner Sound New Blog? Address?
Maddie replied to Golden Dragon Shining's topic in General Discussion
Interesting. I have also noticed and experience this phenomenon of being in crowds of people and having them drain my energy and I become very tired and then afterwards my body odor becoming more foul. I had made the observation that when they take some of my energy they unconsciously send me some of theirs to create balance. This energy contains their vibration and bad karma. When I sit in meditation and work out my bad karma it often manifests has a bad odor.I also use essential oils for the smell but also their energetic vibration is helpful. -
How do you deal with a strong, recurring desire?
Maddie replied to DreamBliss's topic in General Discussion
The Buddha said in the Four Noble Truths that desire was the reason for all suffering. He also said there was a way out of suffering. This way out is the Noble Eightfold Path. Like someone else already mentioned meditation does work but you're not going to let go of your desire especially a strong one in just a few meditation sessions. Also if you're meditating to stop desire this is never going to be permanent as its only suppression. The kind of meditation that lets go of desire is seeing things as they truly are. Not fighting it not suppressing it not denying it but knowing it as it truly is as you experience it in the present moment. Whatever it is you desire you can note it with labels. The goal should not be to make the desire go away but to see what you desire isn't what you thought it was in the first place. This takes time and requires patience. -
I'm curious about other people's experience and knowledge about Buddhist chanting and mantras. It seems there is a wide spectrum of opinions and perspectives on chanting and mantras. I follow mainly the Theravada path but mainly because I learned and began practicing Mahayana mantras first use those for my chanting practice. The traditional answer I am given from most Theravada practitioners is that chanting was how the suttas were passed on and memorized. This of course makes sense due to the technology of the time and as a learning technique. But I'm also curious about the uses of chanting in the magic powers sense as well. Which suttas are typically used for which situations. The main chanting practice I have done is primarily the Zhunti Mantra with which I feel that I have had some pretty interesting results. I have also used "Om Mani Padme Hum" Green Tara, Medicine Buddha and others. I find mantras useful for times when meditation is difficult and/or there are factors in my life that I could use some extra help with. I heard the other day that it is common in the west for people to become interested in Buddhism via the path of meditation but in the east to start with devotional practices such as bowing, giving, precepts, chanting and others. I would be interested to hear others understanding and experiences with mantras and chanting.
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Hey Dawg I was interested to get your take on something. You had mentioned that the lower chakra's are all controlled by the subconscious mind. I recently graduated from Acupuncture school and therefore assume that the meridians are also controlled by the subconscious? I first got into meditation via the qigong route where I would do meditations for my meridians to resolve emotions in them. This seemed to have an effect for a while but eventually seemed to take me only so far, so I then began to focus on chakras with the same eventual conclusion. My huntch was that the meridians operate on a more gross level than the chakras and thus the chakras are more subtle? Again when I felt that working on the chakras only got me so far I moved on to Buddhist meditation but still wonder about the subtle mechanics of the energy body.
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Hey Dawg another question lol... You have talked about the spirit world quite a bit. What can one do if the spirit world is making trouble for someone in the physical world? Matthew
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Hey Dawg Thanks for all the great answers so far. I have a question about mundane reality itself. I don't really like mundane reality, the whole idea of having to have some job to sustain myself seems so pointless to me. I see all these people act like their job is this really big deal but from my point of view I just see them doing it lifetime after lifetime and it seems rather pointless. I realize that the most obvious solution would be to become a monk so one does not have to deal with that sort of thing and one could focus on issues that are more important (such as becoming enlightened) but for a couple reasons I can not do that now (such as student debt, and too much attachment to the idea of a relationship). So my question is that since for the moment I must live within mundane reality what if anything can I do to improve my situation within it? I really don't like my job at the moment and it seems like I've never really had much luck in being successful career wise. I realize part of this is my lack of interest in the mundane world so I just can really get into it, but I'm sure my lack of interest and enthusiasm relates to my lack of success in the physical world as well. I'm really baffled about what to do. Any suggestions related to this topic?
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In reference to karma I was more curious about how it affects things in this life? Such as can I meditate to get a better job for example (I really don't like my current job at all). Can meditation (or other methods) improve our karma in this life so that our day to day situation improves? A related question the other mantra I mentioned that I do the "Zhunti Mantra" is from Chinese Buddhism and is about a paragraph long. It is said of this mantra that if you say it a lot of times that it will improve your karma and help you to get what you want... up to and even including help you to realize enlightenment. What are your thoughts on this? or on chanting in general?
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Thank you Dawg.... Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu :-) One question seems to raise another. Does doing meditation to quiet the mind build good karma and/or reduce bad karma? "you have seen and confronted the monster of delusion that has controlled you all of your life… you have flushed it out in the open, and confronted it… it is no longer an abstract concept… it is real, and you have seen its nature… " Is this awareness that you speak of what makes the voice of protest that I experience during meditation so "loud"?
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Hey Dawg Thanks for the advice, I have a few questions. I notice that when I do this that my mind protests a LOT. Sometimes my breathing even becomes constricted and shallow. Why is this? Matthew
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Thanks for the feedback. I'm very glad you replied at the time that you did because I have a question about the Budo mantra. I've been using two mantras primarily the "Budo" mantra and the "Zhunti" mantra (which is about a paragraph long). What I noticed sometimes when trying to do that Budo mantra is. 1. My mind becomes extremely busy when I try to do it often. 2. Sometimes in addition to becoming busy when I do it my mind becomes somewhat anxious when I do it. So my question is is this normal? and if so what is going on? And what advice do you have for this and for doing this mantra in general? Are there normal stages of progression in doing the "Budo" mantra? Is there a lot of resistance at the beginning? ect..??
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Juliank I don't know if I can say I deal with it with laughter, but sometimes I do laugh when I hear some of the absurd thoughts my subconscious has, when I realize how ridiculous they are.
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Hey Dawg Latest development in my meditation practice. I've lately noticed that I've begun to hear my subconscious speaking more often and more clearly. It's actually disconcerting how irrational it is. Pretty much everything it believes to be true is obviously a delusion to my conscious mind, yet when I ask my subconscious why it thinks what ever its thinking is true or right usually the only answer I get is "its just the way it is, why don't you get it" in a kind of annoyed tone. The thing is, now that I'm hearing it more clearly its hard to ignore, in fact it can be rather loud at times. So what's going on? and what can I do about it? Matthew
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I've heard a lot about "standing meditation" and hear that its supposed to be very good for you, but what exactly does it do? I guess more specifically what does it to do your chakra's and channels, as well as to your energy? I would guess its good for grounding? does it affect the crown chakra as well? what else does it do?
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This month I've been doing this mantra almost exclusively and often. I've noticed that after doing a few hours worth of this mantra that I get very tired and have to pee a lot, and sometimes almost feel feverish. Is this normal?
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As a sort of reverse experiment I had been doing it regularly for a while, and then decided to focus exclusively on meditation. It's hard to articulate it, but I've noticed a difference. Probably the best way to explain it is it seems like things that had seemed relatively easy, or came easy to me became more difficult, or harder? So needless to say I just picked it up again. :-)