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as the rooster crows a big frog crawls near my feet smiling, i made tea...

If weed was the answer, Dao Bums would be obsolete. Have you ever been to India, specifically to the regions around the Ganges? If you haven't i'd encourage you to go. Its your kind of heaven there im hazarding a guess.

Hope Mindtooloud pays enough attention to these words.

not at all. Silly maybe if they are serious into meditation, but definitely not 'bad' in the sense of doomed or condemned to hell or anything drastic like that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALQBjw6hNVI

as youth fades away cobweb a spider thus spins birthing a new morn...

If you can change things around, there is nothing to worry about. If things are beyond your control, worrying won't revert control back to you. It only serves to distort things even more. Either way... no worries.

b l o o m

SE Asia is massive. What is needed depends on your purpose of visit, and where you intend to go. Be careful. A few destinations of late are best avoided, especially some of the islands around East Malaysia. Quite a number of tourists, both local and foreign, have been kidnapped and later killed when ransom demands to govts were ignored. Common but potentially unpleasant experiences when roaming SE Asia include food/liquids poisoning, insect bites (especially dangerous would be mosquito bites and there are zillions of them there, and if unlucky, could easily catch dengue fever or malaria), or maybe upsetting the locals (both humans and spirits) by being unfamiliar with certain customs and taboos. Tales abound of visitors and tourists falling ill from accidental neglect or plain ignorance - for example, not heeding warnings to pacify local deities and elementals that guard certain places and even forests and some trees too - this can be done by making offerings and performing basic ritual sacrifices of various things which the local guide should advice. Of course all these are relevant only if you are planning to travel in the countryside. Cross-city travelling pose lesser risks in this regard, but mosquitoes unfortunately can strike anywhere. Also, be wary of fire ants, snakes, centipedes, and scorpions too. And don't venture too far from designated tracks and hiking paths. Stick to bottled water, and if you should find yourself being drawn to express your inner child when you happen to see a waterfall, of which there are plenty of them everywhere, don't get overly excited and jump in naked. The indigenous people have been known to shoot over-eager strangers with poison darts from their blow pipes. If you know where you are travelling to specifically then i may be able to offer more helpful tips. Im Asian btw.

gosh, it must have hurt (at least a little even) to get such a kind retort. Most dogs have better opportunities for advancing than a lot of humans actually. At least they dont have foul speech.

Exactly! But Wells don't buy this angle at all. He indicated many times that such are merely excuses and/or cop outs. There may or not have been Zen practitioners after Damo who may have attained to various levels of jalus. Imo its better to be open to such a possibility rather than be like the OP who's shut and bound by some sort of constrictive and opinionated mindset, which indicates that in fact the one who's searching for childish justifications is actually no one else but himself. But this is besides the point. The point is he has no first hand knowledge. He is not Zen, not Vajrayana, not Dzogchen, yet he tries to play in the same league, as if wanting to proof something or other. All that he posts here so far remains only in the sphere of speculation at best and i am saying this based on my belief that he does not yet have any concrete practice to back up his writings.

there you go!

too much tequila vanity in a bottle an easy way out...

And unless one has gathered and investigated every single tea plant that ever existed and presently existing to verify, then there is no proof otherwise. lol

Zen is a rich tradition with rich practitioners replete with realized patriachs, warriors, haiku poets, artisans, ceremonialists, etc. It is doubtful the statement you made depicts the tradition accurately. If anything, they look to primarily shed the self more than attain one.

With faulty knowledge, the whole premise becomes faulty. Thats quite evident - faulty knowledge cannot bring about correct understanding, which is the logical conclusion. Understanding comes from direct experience. Since you are taking this subject of Bodhidharma and making comparisons to others of the Zen lineage at face value, and third party accounts and recounts, assumptions and hearsay, which i could be mistaken unless you had actually witnessed this rock in person, it can be safely concluded that your deference to the term 'genius' is just as shaky. I even doubt you have met any Zen masters and find out more about this before firing from the hip as per your style. Its like me saying rabbits have horns, so now everyone who says otherwise will have to find every single rabbit that exists or have ever existed, or will ever exist for that matter, to prove they don't in fact. And if you can't find every single rabbit to prove your point, your objection is invalid?? Seems like a silly game you are playing.

Funny but i had come to the same conclusions about your knowledge since you first got interested in this subject, having switched from another tradition.

We shouldn’t get carried away. We shouldn’t get lost when things happen to us. Getting lost in good things is as bad as getting lost in bad things. We should not get lost in anything. We should always be aware and mindful. We should always follow the path no matter whether we are taking baby steps, elephant steps or kangaroo steps. Kangaroo steps are pretty big. Elephants cannot jump because their knees bend backward not forward, but Kangaroos can. Anyway, whether our steps are big or small we will get there. Our destiny is nothing more and nothing less than our potential, and our ultimate potential is no less and no more than Prince Siddhartha Gautama's. Whatever he was able to attain, we will attain. Do not worry too much about your life. Enjoy it. Just do not be too indulgent. Practice diligence but do not let your practice become a burden for you. That is not very good karma. You may find yourself thinking, “Oh no, I have to do my practice. I have to do this hard work. I don’t like it but I have taken vows so I have to do it.” This is very negative. Do not let it happen. Instead practice comfortably, happily, joyfully with honor and gratitude. It may be bad karma for me to speak like this but if it helps you to understand more clearly then that is okay. ~ Tai Situ Rinpoche ~

There's enlightening body, enlightening speech, and enlightening mind. Attaining the enlightened body (which may or may not end in jalus) is least of the 3, but somehow, it is the most fascinating maybe because from birth we all gradually develop some habitual fixations to, and fascinations with, the body. So attaining physical rainbow body is actually considered as 'small enlightenment'. Im sure there are many Zen masters like Hakuin et al who undoubtedly attained middling (speech) and great (mind) enlightenment, which not surprisingly, surpasses that of the lesser enlightenment.

Worthwhile article on mantra healing https://perfumedskull.com/2016/03/30/mantra-healing-is-an-indispensable-branch-of-tibetan-traditional-medicine/

It seems you are also misinformed with that statement.

Two versions of Medicine Buddha mantra which i chant daily. I think it will be good for you too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQwrnLoqh20

Dont worry, BES. It is not necessary to analyse every bit of information that seems to ring true for you at first glance. Just as it is not necessary to follow every single stage of how a seed germinate and grow and eventually bear fruit. Listening to teachings follows a similar process. For example, when i listen to some Dhamma talks, there are some points which do not and will not immediately register in my mindstream, but my teachers assured us that that is ok. One day, they said, when all the conditions come together, often in mysterious ways, the fruits will ripen instantaneously - there is no need to be anxious and fill ourselves with many questions. The virtue of Contemplation is not about questions - it is more about allowing the words to suffuse our being, like rubbing some balm onto an itchy spot... thinking about and wondering how it works to stop the itch will not hasten the end of the itch nor will it enhance the healing process in any significant way. Trusting in the power of words from enlightened masters to heal oneself is sometimes sufficient. These are like seeds of transformation that take time to become efficacious. Not all the seeds will sprout at exactly the same moment. Sometimes we can access healing simply by listening to healing chants or soothing mantras. This works especially well for those who are experiencing bouts of lethargy due to excessive 'washing' of karma. We might not be able to move, but even though restricted in this way, our sense of hearing is not diminished. Here's an example of a sung mantra that people i know say is very effective in inducing healing... I will hold you in my heart, and others too, as i do my daily practice and prayers.