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I dont think this generalisation that Buddhism (as a whole) touts kundalini-type practices is helpful. It gives out the wrong message. Not all Buddhist traditions tout esoterica, only the tantric, and on a leaner scale, the mantric ones do. The (real) teacher or guru never simply shows (directly) because its pointless to do so. No one is born ready. Even those who have been recognised as tulkus, incarnations of high lamas some of them, are put thru the stages of development, beginning from the basics up. The notion that a guru can snap his fingers and dismantle some wide-eyed wanderer's complex layers of delusional habits on the spot may hold water in some contemporary 'spiritual' camps, but certainly, in authentic Vajrayana lineages, this is seen as a foolish belief. Even the Buddha worked tremendously hard for his freedom despite all the favourable signs at birth proclaiming him to be a great sage.

If you are referring to kundalini-type practices prior to samatha/vipassana, then i would vehemently disagree with your recommendation. No proper (Buddhist) teacher will initiate a student into esoteric practices bypassing the foundational development of samatha/vipassana, for obvious reasons. But maybe you were alluding to samatha/vipassana. Its not clear from your statement.

But are they prescribed for developing dharana (concentration)? I do not recall that they are.

So where does kundalini fit in to the picture?

Many advanced Theravadin adepts have developed high concentrative abilities without the need for kundalini activation. Tibetan teachers i have studied with, none of them in fact, advocate kundalini-type practices for developing concentration. Only a combination of samatha and vipassana meditation is encouraged.

How do you equate kundalini as the power of consciousness? Based on your belief?

He (or it could well be a she) who throws the punch is not punishing you (the generic 'you'). Its self-punishment, if one wants to call it that. The Buddha said that if someone offered a gift, and if this gift is diplomatically declined, who then does the gift belong to? When declined in the most correct way, that which was offered will not even be seen as a 'gift', nor the bearer seen as one who has attempted to present it. After such an exchange, no residue remains. No yin, no yang. No need for unnecessary post-analysis after the fact. Its gone... done and dusted. If there is residual pondering, only then does karmic imprint and subsequent mental continuum and karmic traces begin to form. Sometimes, the only way to 'help' the aggressor, and yourself, is to punch back. And immediately, forget it ever happened. Although peace, love and compassion are touted as pillars of practice in Buddhism, such are not to be confused with becoming a punching bag, or a door-mat. Hitting a person out of sheer anger is easy. Flailing your arms in response to reactionary emotions is quite the habitual norm. Try hitting a person with perfect equanimity within... This then is the premier séparateur. The way of Buddhism is not set in stone... it is a flexible path, a training in the perfection of response without traces, allowing for action where action is deemed appropriate. Appropriate and exacting responses that elicit mutual benefit require, firstly, a trained mind. 'Mutual benefit' must be the key factor at the forefront of all responses, be it from body, speech or mind. Essentially, this is achieved through the proper balance of wisdom & compassionate practices. A trained mind rests effortlessly in the middle, neither yin nor yang, even in the midst of great conflict & turmoil. A trained mind knows when and how to act appropriately, under all circumstances. A trained mind is not to be confused with a limp, docile demeanour... on the contrary, remaining always open, it neither accepts nor rejects, simply allowing for all energetic exchanges to arise and subside with little to no need for hindsight. Hindsight is for those with too much time on their hands. Hindsight and regrets are like a pair of terrible twins. Contemplating ceaselessly (meditating) on impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and non-self, karma does not accrue in such a mind. This is the path of the thus-gone.

GURU RINPOCHE https://vimeo.com/130946131

http://theshrug.com/she-plays-hotel-california-but-ive-never-heard-it-performed-like-this-wow/

We all know what happens when a fire goes out. The flames die down and the fire is gone for good. So when we first learn that the name for the goal of Buddhist practice, nibbana (nirvana), literally means the extinguishing of a fire, it's hard to imagine a deadlier image for a spiritual goal: utter annihilation. It turns out, though, that this reading of the concept is a mistake in translation, not so much of a word as of an image. What did an extinguished fire represent to the Indians of the Buddha's day? Anything but annihilation. According to the ancient Brahmans, when a fire was extinguished it went into a state of latency. Rather than ceasing to exist, it became dormant and in that state — unbound from any particular fuel — it became diffused throughout the cosmos. When the Buddha used the image to explain nibbana to the Indian Brahmans of his day, he bypassed the question of whether an extinguished fire continues to exist or not, and focused instead on the impossibility of defining a fire that doesn't burn: thus his statement that the person who has gone totally "out" can't be described. However, when teaching his own disciples, the Buddha used nibbana more as an image of freedom. Apparently, all Indians at the time saw burning fire as agitated, dependent, and trapped, both clinging and being stuck to its fuel as it burned. To ignite a fire, one had to "seize" it. When fire let go of its fuel, it was "freed," released from its agitation, dependence, and entrapment — calm and unconfined. This is why Pali poetry repeatedly uses the image of extinguished fire as a metaphor for freedom. In fact, this metaphor is part of a pattern of fire imagery that involves two other related terms as well. Upadana, or clinging, also refers to the sustenance a fire takes from its fuel. Khandha means not only one of the five "heaps" (form, feeling, perception, thought processes, and consciousness) that define all conditioned experience, but also the trunk of a tree. Just as fire goes out when it stops clinging and taking sustenance from wood, so the mind is freed when it stops clinging to the khandhas. Thus the image underlying nibbana is one of freedom. The Pali commentaries support this point by tracing the word nibbana to its verbal root, which means "unbinding." What kind of unbinding? The texts describe two levels. One is the unbinding in this lifetime, symbolized by a fire that has gone out but whose embers are still warm. This stands for the enlightened arahant, who is conscious of sights and sounds, sensitive to pleasure and pain, but freed from passion, aversion, and delusion. The second level of unbinding, symbolized by a fire so totally out that its embers have grown cold, is what the arahant experiences after this life. All input from the senses cools away and he/she is totally freed from even the subtlest stresses and limitations of existence in space and time. The Buddha insists that this level is indescribable, even in terms of existence or nonexistence, because words work only for things that have limits. All he really says about it — apart from images and metaphors — is that one can have foretastes of the experience in this lifetime, and that it's the ultimate happiness, something truly worth knowing. So the next time you watch a fire going out, see it not as a case of annihilation, but as a lesson in how freedom is to be found in letting go. Nibbana ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The More Carefree You Are, the Better Your Dharma Practice Tsoknyi Rinpoche "It’s actually fine to be happy and carefree. The more carefree you are from deep within, the better your Dharma practice is. Carefree means being wide open from within, not constricted. Carefree doesn’t mean careless, that you are sloppy or that you don’t care about others. It’s not like you don’t have compassion or are unfriendly. Carefree is being really simple, from the inside.You need to be relaxed, yet without stupidity. Sometimes people relax like this: (Rinpoche lies back limply with eyes half-closed and a vacant expression). Especially around the swimming pool! You have a swim, then you climb out of the pool and lay down with your hat, sunglasses, and maybe a cold beer. You’re very relaxed, but you’re relaxing into stupidity. You’ve relaxed into a very dull state. The point is to be relaxed and yet very clear. There is no need to create something by meditating, no need to achieve something—simply be very clear. Relaxed and bright. You need to be in charge of yourself. Check yourself out, and if you find you’re missing some qualities, then work to develop them. It doesn’t help to go about with your hands outstretched, trying to obtain good qualities from others. Take charge of yourself. Be happy. Even when it’s not funny, still smile. Think about how much time we put into washing ourselves, freshening up, brushing our teeth, putting on make-up, and so on. It’s just as important to fix up your mind. If your mind is down, pull it up. If you’re flying too high, ground it. Take charge of yourself. Of course you can’t literally wash your mind or comb it. You can’t cut your mind’s nails when they’re too long. But you can be in charge of your attitude; you can take responsibility for your mental and emotional state. In fact, that’s the main point of the Buddhist teachings. Be aware of your own mind. Let it be undisturbed and free of confusion, because only then can you be of help to others. Otherwise, you just remain confused, confusing yourself, and there’s no way to really be of help to anyone else. Don’t get too overexcited about this, either. Just relax, sit upright, and be open—wide open and carefree. The view in the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) tradition is to be totally open and carefree. If we act a little too carefree, that is not so good either. That is called losing the conduct in the view. A lot of people do that. They revolt against a particular culture, against the system, against the establishment—against the fixed habits of this world. They shave off half their hair, or half their beard, or they dress funny, or they wear no clothes at all. It’s all a reaction against cultural mores. Sometimes they take drugs and they try to be free in that way. Actually, that’s not being free at all. That is losing the conduct in the view. Once I met a man who wore all his hair pushed up atop his head, had painted it blue, and had half his beard shaved off. I am not saying that he was a bad person; not at all. His behavior was his way of reacting against stereotypes of how we should look. But if you’re carefree and open from within, you can fit in anywhere, anyway, without having to go to dramatic extremes or make shocking statements. If you’re not open or carefree from within, you’ll find you always get bumped up against things. Your life gets so narrow, so tight, so claustrophobic. The point is to be free, not to be crazy. Be carefree and open, and feel free. Train in being free. It is said that when the dharma is not practiced correctly, practice could become a cause for rebirth in the lower realms. We’re supposed to practice in order to become free, to liberate ourselves. But if our practice only makes us more stuck, then what? What if we get stuck in the method? When you take the ferry, the ferry is the method. Once you get to the other shore you leave the ferry behind and go on. There’s no point in dragging the boat back to your house. Nor is it good to stay on the ferry, for twenty-four hours a day, forever. The state of wisdom (rigpa) is not bound by any method. It’s not stuck at all. It’s naturally free. If that’s the case, what’s the point of sitting and making up ideas in meditation? The situation becomes completely claustrophobic—why try to accustom yourself to that? If your hands are very dirty, you wash them with soap. Once you’re finished rubbing the soap, you don’t keep it on your hands. You rinse it off, because you don’t need it any longer. The soap is used to get rid of the dirt. Once the dirt is loosened from your hands, why keep the soap? Likewise, don’t hold on to the method; don’t hold on to the meditation technique. Just let be and relax. This is called nonmeditation, undistracted nonmeditation. If you meditate, it’s conceptual. If you get distracted, you’re just a normal person. So, don’t meditate, and don’t get distracted. The next point is don’t harm others, but help others. Liberate yourself, and after liberating yourself, help to liberate others. Someone who is really full of himself might think, “I am practicing something that is special. Hey, I am really something!” If one has that type of attitude about oneself, really, what is the use? It doesn’t help anyone. Far better to run away and give up practicing. Because if spiritual practice really doesn’t help oneself, why bother? It’s much better to be genuine and real about how things are. Take the truth of impermanence more and more to heart, in a very sincere way. Be more loving, more kind, more compassionate. If you find that this is happening, then the dharma is really taking effect. To have less craving and more contentment—that is the point. It’s quite okay not to be very educated. In fact, to be simpleminded is fine. It’s far preferable to being egotistical. Much better to be simple about oneself and not get into a lot of details about “what is good for me.” It’s all right to get into a lot of details and make a lot of fuss when it comes to being helpful, to helping others. But if we complicate our own lives and focus too much on ourselves, we forget how to be simple, and we are never happy." Adapted from Carefree Dignity

Be courageous, let the wild mind run free within the motionless awareness of the meditation practice. Watch closely, see how it soon exhausts itself and falls still, silent and serene. It is in this state of utter exhaustion that the conditioned conceptual play of the mind finally gives way, in its entirety, to the non-conceptual or direct experience of the unconditioned clear-knowing that is its essential nature. ~ Paramito Ladakh

looks like an interesting site for pursuing/exploring Dream work http://www.awakeacademy.org/

"There are three types of practitioners - practitioners of small capacity, who die without fear; practitioners of middling capacity, who die without regrets, and practitioners of the utmost capacity, who die happily." ~ Tanya Piven

Ultimately Going Beyond All Paths "The Four Noble Truths definitely exist on the relative level. Since conventional reality forms a huge part of our experience, it is necessary for us to fully understand these precious truths. We can highlight them using the metaphor of sickness. To begin, we can say the First Noble Truth diagnoses a disease. As we all know, if we want to cure a disease, we must discover its cause. This is outlined in the Second Noble Truth. Once we know the cause of a disease, our doctor can prescribe effective treatment. Here, the Buddha is the doctor prescribing the path of Dharma, the Fourth Noble Truth. This is like the medicine that will bring us to a state of complete health, or cessation, described in the Third Noble Truth. That is the relative level. On the absolute level, the Four Noble Truths have no inherent existence—they are all based on great emptiness. Having thus pronounced the emptiness of both the ground and path, Avalokiteshvara arrives at the fruition or goal of practice: transcendent wisdom. This, too, is empty of inherent existence. “...no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment. Therefore, Shariputra, since bodhisattvas have nothing to attain, they abide in reliance upon the prajna paramita. Without obscurations of mind, they have no fear. Completely transcending false views, they go to the ultimate of nirvana.” Many practitioners reach a stage of realization in which they are still subtly attached to the state of wisdom itself. But to be truly free, it is important for them to cut through all dualistic conceptions, including those of “wisdom and ignorance,” “gaining and losing,” and “attaining enlightenment.” The ultimate view is therefore expressed philosophically as “neither ground, path, and fruition, nor no ground, no path, and no fruition.” We must try to understand this crucial point. Both samsara and nirvana are in the single state of great emptiness. Once more, this emptiness does not describe just one part of reality—it is the true nature of every phenomenon, be it related with samsara or nirvana. There is absolutely nothing we can grab ahold of and cling to forever. For this reason, we need to be brave when it comes to the true nature, but it takes time to build up our understanding and courage. If we think, “Oh, reality can’t be like that,” it means we are hesitating because we are deeply frightened of the true nature. By cultivating vajra bravery, however, we can reach the stage of experiencing total equanimity in all situations. At that point, there is neither hope nor fear, neither demons nor gods. This is the ultimate level of fearlessness. On the reality level, we exist in the same way a reflection of the moon in water exists. We experience in the same way a sleeping person experiences his or her dreams. In essence, whether we presently struggle through our dreams or enjoy them, we assume that what is happening is real and true in the absolute sense. Yet our reality is only true within the context of dreaming. When we awaken, where do our dreams go? The people, trees, and mountains we experienced were just illusions rooted in emptiness. The dream state we have just described is actually very close to our everyday waking state. When we get up in the morning, we tend to think we have awakened from an insubstantial dream into a more substantial and true “reality,” but in fact we have simply shifted from one dreamlike state to another. All of our waking perceptions are merely the results of mental habits and karmic patterns accumulated throughout an infinite series of our previous lifetimes. Since these habits are so deeply ingrained, it can be terrifying when we are shaken from the illusory security they offer. We are afraid to see things differently, and we must give up a lot of our dualistic notions to do so. Nonetheless, when we succeed in changing our old habit patterns, our experiences and perceptions will have a greater dimensionality, understanding, and clarity." ~ Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches Ceaseless Echoes of the Great Silence (pgs 51-53)

The location of the truth of the Great Perfection is the unfabricated mind of the present moment, this naked radiant awareness itself, not a hair of which has been forced into relaxation. Maintaining this at all times, just through not forgetting it even in the states of eating, sleeping, walking, and sitting, is called meditation. However, until you are free from the obscurations of cognition, it is impossible for this not to be mixed with the experiences of bliss, clarity, and nonconceptualization. Nevertheless, just by not forgetting the nature of one’s own awareness — the kind that is not a tangled mindfulness that gets more tangled in order to be mindful — at some point the unelaborated ultimate truth, transcending terms and examples, will appear. ~ Jigme Lingpa

When we allow ourselves to feel that resting nature, with mind, inspiration, and the whole body—everything relaxed—there arises a special kind of attention that is very different from what we are used to. ~ Dza Kilung Rinpoche

I study my mind and therefore all appearances are my texts. ~ Milarepa

In Mahayoga the primary emphasis relates to visualization. In Anuyoga the primary emphasis relates to working with the chakras via yoga and mudras. Maha Ati works directly with nature of mind, fusing clarity and emptiness, bypassing both the above. All three paths can lead to the threshold of complete enlightenment. Degrees of stability gained would depend entirely on the integration of View, Meditation and Action (in all three). Why three different approaches? Mahayoga is suited for those prone to unstoppable anger; Anuyoga for those who are caught in the web of neuroticism caused by greed, attachment & desire, and Atiyoga unites both via mind training, which requires more discipline and stricter observance of samayas, but swifter result. Even those who have no affinity with chakras, or who cannot for whatever reason practice Anuyoga can still train optimally towards awakening via the other two paths.

Q: In your recent publication ‘The Fundamental Landscape’ you stated that our total essence is that of the Great Light. Does that include even the essence of the wicked? Ven. SongChol: The eternal, boundless Great Light expresses itself absolutely, so everything in the universe is indiscriminately equal. The fundamental essence of the greatest people who ever lived, of the wickedest murderers and thieves, of the beautiful flowers, of the filthy pollution are all equally the Great Light. Let me give a small example. People can wear all different kinds of clothing, but that doesn't change the essence of the person. You can take pure gold and make a thousand useless things out of it, but the gold still remains pure. We purchase things with money, but the value of the money is the same whether the money is new, crumpled or tattered. Q: Well, then, what in this world is bad? Ven. SongChol: The only bad thing is not ridding oneself of delusions. Q: But contemporary society is increasingly scientific and materialistic, and it is becoming more and more difficult to live like a real human being. Ven. SongChol: That’s why I keep insisting on seeing things properly. Your essence is like that of a vast, boundless sea, and materialism is only like the foam that keeps rising on the surface. In order to learn the true nature of the sea, you don't go chasing the foam. We think that this planet earth is some really big thing, but it is only a tiny speck of dust in the vast universe. And if this planet is so insignificant, what about all of this materialism? If you're going to live like a human being, first of all you have to know the basic value of a human being. If you realize that you are Pure gold, you won't go chasing after such dust as materialism. You won’t be dragged about by materialism, and you won't march around this insignificant planet like you're really something. ~ Echos from Mt Kaya

SAMSARA At first my experiences in Samsara seemed most pleasant and delightful; Later I learned about its lessons; In the end, I found a Devil's Prison. These are my thoughts and feelings on Samsara. So I made up my mind to renounce it. ~ Sixty Songs of Milarepa.

Feel free to pm if you would like to expand on reasons why that post made you feel that way, Brian. Its not uncommon for such feelings to arise. There's been times when i felt totally bewildered by some teachers' words, or even by their mere presence, and at those times i could not pinpoint exactly why such reactions came up. I simply could not relax into the whole thing, try as I did... and sometimes the agitation/s remained long after the teaching sessions have ended. I put it down to 'lack of quality control' (on my part, of course).

Can the First Cause be Known? by Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera from Ven.'s book 'What Buddhists Believe' It is rather difficult for us to understand how the world came into existence without a first cause. But it is very much more difficult to understand how that first cause came into existence at the beginning. According to the Buddha, it is inconceivable to find a first cause for life or anything else. For in common experience, the cause becomes the effect and the effect becomes the cause. In the circle of cause and effect, a first cause is incomprehensible. With regard to the origin of life, the Buddha declares, 'Without cognizable end is this recurrent wandering in Samsara(cycle of birth and death). Beings are obstructed by ignorance and fettered by craving. A first beginning of these beings is not to be perceived. (Anamatagga Samyutta in Samyutta Nikaya). This life-steam flows on ad infinitum, as long as it is fed by the muddy waters of ignorance and craving. When these two are cut off, only then does the life-steam cease to flow, only then does rebirth come to an end. It is difficult to conceive an end of space. It is difficult to conceive an eternal duration of what we call time. But it is more difficult for us to understand how this world came into existence with a first cause. And it is more difficult to understand how that first cause came into existence at the beginning. For if the first cause can exist though uncreated, there is no reason why the other phenomena of the universe must not exist without having also been created. As to the question how all beings came into existence without a first cause, the Buddhist's reply is that there is no answer because the question itself is merely a product of man's limited comprehension. If we can understand the nature of time and relativity, we must see that there could not have been any beginning. It can only be pointed out that all the usual answers to the question are fundamentally defective. If it is assumed that for a thing to exist, it must have had a creator who existed before it, it follows logically that the creator himself must have had a creator, and so on back to infinity. On the other hand, if the creator could exist without a prior cause in the form of another creator, the whole argument falls to the ground. The theory of a creator does not solve any problems, it only complicates the existing ones. Thus Buddhism does not pay much attention to theories and beliefs about the origin of the world. Whether the world was created by a god or it came into existence by itself makes little difference to Buddhist. Whether the world is finite or infinite also makes little difference to Buddhists. Instead of following this line of theoretical speculations, the Buddha advises people to work hard to find their own salvation. Scientists have discovered many causes which are responsible for the existence of life, plants, planets, elements and other energies. But it is impossible for anyone to find out any particular first cause for their existence. If they go on searching for the first cause of any existing life or thing, they point certain causes as the main cause but that never becomes the first cause. In the process of searching for the first cause one after the other, they will come back to the place where they were. This is because, cause becomes the effect and the next moment that effect becomes the cause to produce another effect. That is what the Buddha say, 'It is incomprehensible and the universe is beginningless.' "Monks, from an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, although beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating and wandering on." ~ Gaddula Sutta http://www.buddhasutra.com/files/gaddula_sutta.htm

Misplaced Ego, fuelled by ignorance, would be the aspect of personality which prompts and solidifies grasping, imo. Until complete and irreversible awakening is attained, one can also learn to gradually transform misplaced ego with that of 'good' ego. For example, some people craves enlightenment, thats misplaced ego. But generating a strong desire to end delusion, to cultivate the necessary qualities to effect the ending of confusion, neuroses, and to practice discipline, keep mindful conduct via ethical guidelines, joyful confidence in progress with the view of achieving ultimate enlightenment... this is good ego. Its only a very thin line separating right and wrong thinking. Wrong thinking traps the mind and bind it in the chains of cause/effect and duality; Right thinking releases the mind from grasping, which is very beneficial for the spiritual process to grow and develop positively. There's much more that can be said on this subject, but saying too much also can be counterproductive as it could easily lead to solidification of delusional views which often can lead to mental & physical stagnation.