Maddie

Is it always unbridled?

The problem with those explanations is that if it's only or mainly about procreation then why don't human beings just go into heat for a brief time like other animals procreate and then forget about it for the rest of the time?

Yes, I think the article made a good point when it showed that many of the questions that the Buddha refused to answer later on when other monks did answer gave rise to these issues that you pointed out that distort the teachings.

https://tricycle.org/magazine/there-no-self/

I agree. I've tried to understand the Christian view of virtue in suffering, but it does not make any sense to me.

In this regards yes they are the same.

I would imagine that this practice is a hybrid of both approaches.

Also do you know what the Mahayana interpretation of the skandha's are? I'm under the impression the Mahayana interpret them as "things" whereas the Theravada view them as "functions"?

I don't mind waiting but since you did mention the karmic storehouse it did make me remember that when I'm feeling out of sorts due to a karmic release nothing external seems to have any effect what so ever. Herbs the normally help don't, acupuncture has no effect. Basically any method that I normally use to feel better for any other cause has no effect when its a karmic release.

If you don't mind my asking, may I inquire as to why you migrated from Theravada?

Since I have had increasing difficulty with meditation lately I have been pleasantly surprised with the effectiveness of an external TCM approach to cultivation. I've learned much more about it lately, much in the way a blind man's hearing becomes more sensitive out of necessity.

Much is said here about Neidan and for good reason as it is an interesting and important topic, but very little is said about Weidan or external alchemy. I suppose the cliche notions of emperors being killed from mercury poisoning while taking the Cinnabar pill to obtain immortality can be a little off putting, but what about all the other Weidan techniques developed over the centuries with safer herbs and other techniques? I think there is merit in looking into this further. As a TCM herbalist I have had some success with these methods and thought the issue was worthy of discussion.

From studying the Buddhist concept of anata deeply I have become increasingly convinced that the Buddha did not teach no self as is commonly assumed, but rather taught what the self is not, namely it is not any of the five skandhas. When asked if there was a self or no self the Buddha would not answer.

Oh so that is the 7th and 8th consciousness theory in Mahayana? I've heard of it, but like you said being mainly trained Theravadan I am only familiar with 1-6. I think the Theravada say the karmic seeds are carried in the sankhara skandha.

Unfortunately most of what I learned about meditation and theory was from the Theravada perspective so I am unaware of what "alaya" is, but would be fascinated to learn what it is. *edit: on a side note, additionally I've lately been less satisfied with Theravada and more interested in Mahayana but have much less training in Mahayana.

I find Sadguru interesting. I remember watching a video where he explained that temples were actually low level stuff (I think)

I'll have to look at that a little later. For some reason (I don't even know why) I find Hindu concepts more difficult to grasp. Perhaps this explains my tendency towards Buddhism.

I very much agree. I actually had done some vipassana in the past but didn't care for it much. I mostly had been doing Samatha.

To address this point I have been relying more on my TCM knowledge lately for a lot of things in lew of the absence of meditation.

How does one go about doing this in practice?

Humor is my middle name. So there are mantras that have a specific function to improve karma by working out the bad and increasing the good such as the Zhunti mantra for one example. With meditation when the mind quiets down then one becomes more aware of their sankhara's in the fourth skandha. The fourth skandha of volition is where karma is made and where it is stored. Become aware of your sankhara's in the fourth skanda and you begin to process them. This is how meditation deals with karma.

I realize the timeline can get a bit blurry, but the relationship issue is long in the past. My situation with money seems rather optimistic, so again it does not seem related to my current situation. I noticed it got worse when quarantine first began and I had a lot more free time to meditate, and as an introvert I loved quarantine. The point being I had nothing else going on at all and things got way worse.

This is precisely why I switched methods. From energy to mind that is. *edit: not saying the energy methods are bad or inferior, but what my own experience was.

Yes this is always the case. I've come to view them not as "more resistant to change" but there is a LOT more karma/conditioning there to work with. So not so much a qualitative issue, but quantitative.