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This is the first time i am hearing of the association between djinns and kundalini.

Something which originally has no existence cannot become nonexistent (again). (referring to the question regarding the observer and how to work with that.)

My apologies, but i cannot see where that particular matter regarding animals having less merit was implied in Taoiseasy's post. If you could point it out would be good, cos i might have missed it somehow. Not sure how other traditions view this subject of merit, but in Buddhism there is no inherent clause within the practice to make the practitioner think that he or she is bad, sinful, guilt-ridden, full of weaknesses to the point that he or she has to do penance as an act of redemption. I think i know what you are saying... since men are inherently pure, why go thru the hardship of accumulating virtue and merit, right? In response, i think what the masters here (mentioned in this thread) and elsewhere in other traditions, namely, Buddhist ones, are saying is that the very act of cultivating merit and performing virtuous deeds is the outpouring of this state of purity. In other words, i think what they are pointing to is that there is a symbiotic process happening all at once. As the cultivation takes on greater meaning, there is a natural enlargement of one's capacity to touch all the hidden, inherent qualities which all beings possess, namely, joy, happiness, goodwill, natural caring, and so on. To put it in another way, the practice of accumulating merit actually happens as a spontaneous outcome of realizing one's own pure nature ~ amazingly, it goes both ways at the same time: realizing one's intrinsically pure nature spontaneously makes one want to participate in a diversity of activities which are positive, self-enhancing and also other-enhancing. Animals also have the same nature but due to their position of sentiency, they are limited in their ways of expression, as each of the other classes of beings are in their own way. Therefore, i would certainly argue that yes, your cat definitely has merit, and just as deserving of love and cherishing as any other being.

Its much more than mere morals involved, kind sir, though that would be a strong factor to consider, relative to the individual, i guess. The desire for ease fans out to cover all sentient beings, not just humans. As such, though there are imagined constraints, such exist only in the minds of the supposedly most intelligent species of them all. Yes, we are basically on the same page in terms of finding a solution to resolve self-caused upheavals spanning the various levels of human existence, which ultimately affect the existential balance of all beings and the ecological soundness they each depend on.

freezing this, just in case you decide to delete it. you must resist the temptation to delete your posts. So many good ones in the past, all gone. Such a waste.

It is easy for confusion to take hold and choke a person if the focus of practice is simply to clear out the mind, which many actually believe is the main goal of meditation. Its not. An empty mind is useless if there is no integration with the arousing of compassion. True meditation gives rise to both spontaneously.

Will you be attending his retreat in Seattle?

i think perhaps it is very accurate to assume that the ultimate revelation and realization in Buddhist practice is to see thru the limitations of tendencies to grasp at a self, and by this clinging, which also increases the reflexes of aversion at the same time, it increases the potential for unpleasant and unsatisfactory outcomes to manifest. Your observation that wisdom lies in resolving the contradictions is a really good one, because this self-created state of confusion is a very fundamental cause of emotional upheavals and ignorance in beings' minds. As to your question about what thing decides whats good from bad.. i guess the fundamental good heart of beings decide. Some call it higher nature, wisdom mind, buddha nature etc. It all points to the same thing, that every being wants to be at ease and satisfied, with as little threat to their state of well-being as possible.

i sense unhappiness may all beings, in small and great ways, find hippiness and the causes of hippiness now and always.

Emotions are in turmoil. What to do? Karma yoga. What is the essence of karma yoga? To wash away imprints that are impeding your well-being. How to wash away these projections of loss, mental fatigue, numbness and apathetic bouts of self-pity and denial? Take this energy and use it to make others happy, in the best, most sincere way possible. If you cannot do this, you are not serious enough about wanting to rekindle your state of happiness and well-being. If you are not serious, don't come here crying for help. Something i just read today, which might en-light-en you: "The real, and the seemingly real. Their connection are the negative emotions. On the path of the seemingly real, the negative emotions imprison us. On the path of the real, the emotions liberate us. There is a secret life to the emotions."

In Vajrayana Buddhism (sorry, thats all i can speak from, being the limit of my practical knowledge) we are often encouraged to unite wisdom (seeing emptiness) with method (cultivating and applying compassion). This is a safeguard against being either too spaced out by emptiness or too embittered by the mundane task of keeping, as much as possible, the precepts and the daily grinds of actual practice. Therefore, one can say, seeing emptiness is the View, and applying compassion is the Conduct. The above must work in unison to avoid a lopsided spiritual development. Nagarjuna said (paraphrased), "Its really sad that some people cling so tightly to reality, but sadder still are those who cling to emptiness." Why did he said it this way? Because its easier to get stuck on the notions surrounding 'emptiness' and hard to climb back up from inside that literal well. To avoid being caught in extremes, practitioners try to observe uniting View and Conduct. This is very important. Just View alone leads to the potential for not caring at all, and just Conduct alone leads to too much caring, until one gets bogged down by all the misery and stuff one sees each day. Being inherently pure means one is like a garuda, already endowed with filght from before birth, meaning, pure and groundless by nature (groundless means primordially free, without a beginning). But, this nature of being able to fly will be of no use if the garuda refuses to fly, and sits around simply thinking, "Oh, i am Garuda, king of birds. I was already king before i was born, hence i have no need to do anything." This is a common attitude which is the bane of spiritual accomplishment. Hence, the very profound Dzogchen reminder: Swooping down from above, while climbing up from below. In one way of seeing, this means to first recognize one's nature as already perfect, not needing any addition, while at the same time, working on the mundane level according to our capacity, thru relative practices, using relative conditions. Padmasambhava's reminder is always with me. He observed thus, "Even though my View is as high as the sky, i must keep my Conduct finer than barley flour." That is why, it is said that the realization of innate perfection is only one half of the deal. There has to be an on-going performance of deeds and the accumulation of merit to compliment and complete the person. This is the practicality of Vajrayana, for what it is worth. Its about how best we can integrate both wisdom and means. Emptiness and compassion. View and conduct. (My apologies to Vitalii for any harsh words that i may have unknowingly used in this post.) edit: tidied up some words and phrases.

Are these the 3 trick questions, Chi Dragon sir? You said, "If a Taoist wants to face reality..." -- what exactly are you asking? Be very clear, because your question can easily be misconstrued.

And from there, clarity brews, and slowly drips down to moisten the heart with bodhicitta.

What most people desire are only secondary siddhis. Powers used for gain are easy to acquire. In Buddhism, the major siddhis have to do with perfecting the paramitas with self-liberation as the goal. Minor siddhis like those mentioned in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, for example, are an indirect result of how perfect one can maintain the paramitas. Its a proportionate endowment.

my partner's grandmother just turned 90 a couple of days ago. she's thinking of taking up roller-blading.

Did the master implied denial of man's inherently pure nature? I didn't pick that up in what he had said. Sorry, but i am not the sharpest tool in the box compared to all the others here.

The master's advice is absolutely spot-on.

Just watched this for the second time. Brilliant movie if you are into HK movies ala sword & sorcery, magic and gung fu. Enjoy!

Have you watched '14 Blades' by any chance? Pretty good too!

A similar series of teachings on youtube by H.E., posted by the Drikung Seattle Centre here: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=drikung+kagyu+garchen+rinpoche+mahamudra&sm=3 (i like the translations in these over the other one).

All thanks go to the Triple Gem. Sarva Mangalam! _/\_ May peace and happiness increase a thousandfold!

Here, this is for Songtsan. Will be all the more powerful if affinity is determined and empowerment supplicated. If not, it will take longer to manifest the power, but doing this practice can only generate positive merits, so dont worry about the possibility of negativity arising. http://www.geocities.ws/mahayanazengong/sitatapatra.html Sitatapatra mudra here: http://blog.shenlun.org/2013/07/mudra-sitatapatra-bhagawati/ With the mudra thus generated, recite the four-syllabled mantra -- Ja - Visualize Sitatapatra appearing in the sky before you Hum - Sitatapatra moves to the space just above the crown of your head Bam - A lotus of shimmering white opens at the center of the crown. On this lotus, a white 'OM' appears. Sitatapatra enters this sacred space and sits on the lotus, having merged with the 'OM', and together descends to the heart centre. Hoh! - Maintaining visualization of Sitatapatra in the heart centre, generate the feeling of merging with Her until union is achieved. At the end of exercise, dissolve visualization into white light and dedicate merit to all sentient beings. This is very important! Dont forget!!

Not sure exactly what your inclinations are, Songtsan. You speak of djinn, then take from the bible, and have the picture of a Vajrayana protector deity as your signature. Not mocking you, brother, but who can know for sure exactly what to recommend to address your apparent lamentation? You see, if you were to have affinity with that protector deity, you could work with that by taking refuge in the Triple Gem. After this, you could seek protection from Sitatapatra, Goddess of the White Parasol. Her mantra is very effective for eliminating disturbing spirits and malicious entities. So, the first thing is to determine where your affinity lies. Cuts out the confusion.

can be an exasperating task..