C T

prose or poetry? so asked the landed gentry as he sips Earl Grey...

if you feel like surprising your wife and in-laws with some basic Cantonese phrases, i'd be happy to help via PM. As you know, asking a Chinese person if he or she has had breakfast/lunch/dinner is more the norm than asking them how they are, food being such a big thing for them . In Mandarin, for example, its ni cher ler, mei yo? In Cantonese... Lei sek pau mei? (lit. Have you filled yourself with food yet?) Or, sek hoi farn mei? (lit. have you had rice yet?). If small-talking about the weather, which has been quite wet lately, you can say, when it starts to rain, "Hah! Yat yat tu lok yue", which translates into English as, "Hah! Raining every day".

wonderful! compassion is wonderful! thanks for this, S 0t G. (now please release that trapped bug?)

I thought you lived in Florida most of the time. Guess thats just a decoy, to throw the non-wu wei-ers off your trail, eh? I get it now. heehe...

In a total state of wu wei... sounds fine. I would imagine that state to be selfless, conditionless, non-arising, non-ceasing, no actor, no 'I' that seeks to act or not act, hence no task as such to be done or undone. That's wu wei in its totality, no? Now, a partial state of wu wei is whole different ball game altogether... Ah... passing thoughts.

Nungali, Do you think there is another stage higher than 'intelligence'? sometimes, i think the intellect is quite a limited faculty, and cannot be relied upon to do what is best without fail to engender that win/win outcome that people like to wish to happen in all their interactions.

the calypso beat a rhythmic, harmonious sound feet-tappingly good!

Who decides if there is joy or not? If there is this struggle, then its work in progress, as in, the gap between 'I' and 'other' is still to be reconciled fully. This, i think, could be the main consideration. I also think a lot of unnecessary energy could be wasted in sifting thru the discriminative mind, as in, thinking when to do what for whom, when the same, applied to self, contains no degree of hesitation whatsoever. In Buddhist meditative exercises, the contemplative is asked to investigate why this is so, and to find how solid 'I' is, and what it is that separates, bearing in mind any degree of separation creates room for conflict, and conflict arises from dualistic notions... a whole chain reaction thing, starting from ignorance back again full circle to ignorance, a perpetual wheel of unsatisfactoriness which cannot be palliated until a seemingly solid wall of separation is dissolved. How is this wall to be dissolved, that is the exercise we need to put attention to. Then we can hopefully discover the fundamental cause of why its easy to do good things for self, and not so easy when it comes to doing same for others. Of course, this does not mean that we should all go and do selfless acts wantonly. First, there needs to be wisdom -- wisdom of what non-self truly means. To begin the process, i consider the importance of Intent, to begin first at that level, to check that side of the mind each time a situation arise where we are put in a position which requires putting others before self temporarily, to see what sort of thoughts and emotions surround that situation and subsequent action which follows. If we do this thoroughly, then perhaps we might realise that joyfulness is not really in the doing, but in the wanting to do stage. That is where the basis is, i would assume. The motivation is important. Once this is fully established, then the 'doing' have room to manifest spontaneously, effortlessly. Btw, there is a good article/interview with a Christian contemplative Simple Jack posted in the Buddhist section on the subject of non-self.

If everything you do, based off a sincere wish that others can be as happy as you are, without even the slightest tinge of envy, greed, jealousy or remorse, then a life of ease is guaranteed. If not this life, definitely some life down the way. It may not be what you expected, though.

Wrok around the cRock, MH?

you got it! Brilliant!

If by clairvoyance you mean developing clarity, then yes, that is very much an emphasis on the Buddhist path, especially so when one has the will towards complete omniscience, like the Buddha. Without this clarity, it can be difficult to help others, or to teach and share buddhadharma. Whether it is an essential requirement to see the true nature of reality... hmm, not certain, but i think this is very clearly explained in the first few minutes of the clip i posted earlier.

Siddhis... even the term sounds alluring, doesn't it? I think this sort of aim is not a primary one in Buddhist cultivation, as compared to many other yogic paths in India, particularly those of the Aghora school(s) of tantra. There is nothing unworthy about wanting siddhis as long as its accompanied by deep understandings of non-attachment, but this can be very difficult to practice. One may do ok on the outer level in maintaining nonchalance and equanimous poise while developing energetic prowess, but then there are inner levels, and even 'secret' levels to this, where the grasping and ego-centred will can be hard to detect and subsequently pacified. People who follow gurus already demonstrate a puffed-up sense of pride and aloofness in the way that they carry themselves, as if saying, "my guru is the best, yours is only second rate", and then carry themselves along with this distorted reflection in their interactions with others. They cannot see this, but those with keener observations can. So, if this very 'outer' thing is already so prevalent (among buddhist groups, i am saying here), just imagine what could happen if this same 'peoples' are to be trained in the yogas of siddhi cultivation. Henceforth, it would take many years for even one student to be given such an induction, but then, that is never... never have been, the main objective of Buddhist cultivation. On a mundane level, we already possess a lot of siddhic gifts, but again, there is also this 'taken for granted' thing going on all the time. A lot of energy is lost by not harmonising the little we already have and putting these out there to bring benefit to others, with the goal of bringing cessation to our deeply-cherished notions of self before others. (ranting again, sorry)

When cultivation is selfish, naturally anxiety would arise in others, and self. When cultivation is completely directed towards bringing benefit to others, then there is only a little room for anxiety to arise. Investigate deeply what openness means. If one's focus is directed only at self-benefit as the primary objective, then the possibility of contraction becomes very real indeed. Contracting-ness and openness cannot occur simultaneously. Openness is synonymous with expansion, and expansion is synonymous with all-inclusiveness. Those with a penchant for understanding the deeper meanings of non-dual wisdom and compassion could perhaps speak on this in more detail. I think this clip goes some way to address the OP --

You do Bagua, yes? Good. A similar practice in my tradition would be prostrations. This forms part of my 'practical stuff'. Have posted the benefits here somewhere in the past, but in case you missed it... Commentary on the practice -- http://www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=837&chid=2162 (click 'Benefits of...' in same page) Best wishes!

My routine is as odd as can be. My work finishes around 10ish at night, home usually around 11, have a shower, relax a bit with my two doggs whom i hope had missed me a bit, chat about day with partner, browse a while on the computer, then do my practice, and by the time all's done, its almost 4 or 5 in the morning, then off to bed just as the sun is about to streak the sky with hues of orange and red . Up again at around 10 am and gets on with the hectic life of being a chef... its a demanding job, so please don't take up this profession It changes a bit in summer. Sometimes i can go without sleep for 24 hours or more. That's when i get to watch sunrises. Friends of mine who are way more serious about their cultivation concur that the best time to start practice is around 4.30 am. When i spent a year away in a retreat centre, that was the time we had to start the morning practice which usually lasts for around 2 hours. After that it was breakfast time, and i remember that on numerous occasions my mind would drift forward to glorious breakfast even while reciting the hundred syllable mantra, or doing prostrations i would be imagining the satisfaction of seeing a bowl of steaming porridge in front of me when i should be visualising Guru Rinpoche sitting at the crown of my head.

Whatever, Mr Biri. Your logic here is beyond reason, so there is no point to go further. Its like hitting a brick wall.

dhīḥ the above is the seed syllable of perfect wisdom. Its association is with Manjughosa and Manjusri. Its also the seed syllable of the Prajnaparamita. hūṃ Hum is frequently the last syllable that ends a mantra. Its association is with Aksobhya, Vajrasattva and Vajrapani. In Buddhist mantras Hum is used to seal mantras so that 'leakage' is diminished. hrīḥ This is a powerful seed syllable and also seals the energy of mantras. Its associated with Amitabha. Its been cited that Hrih is a mantric solar symbol, a luminous, elevating, upwards moving sound, and one which energises/purifies the pranic channels. -------------------------- These are a few of the potent syllables used in Vajrayana Buddhist mantras when a sadhu aspires to connect and work with certain Buddha families (energetic sources) for various obvious or subtle reasons. If your interests would take you further, i'd recommend a little peek at this link -- http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures all the best! ps. apologies for deviating the topic, Soaring Crane.

The request was to be honest with yourself, not to priest nor to god, whatever that is. I know enough about Tawba -- i grew up in an Islamic country among Muslims. Its about responsibility and accountability, both of which was sorely lacking in your distasteful remark (the one cited above where you labelled another member a Satanist). FYI, there have been a good few instances of disagreement with RongzomFan, but that is not the issue here. Please dont try to deflect the matter at hand by alluding to some sort of non-existent alliance which is tickling your imagination. I have no gripe with you as an individual, so please try not to take this personally nor see it as an attack on your beliefs. If you do, it simply shows how limited those beliefs are in terms of spiritual growth and this will dampen whatever interests others may potentially have to delve deeper into your path because your words and behaviour on this board are an exemplary reflection of same beliefs.

Its always good to have the attitude of not copying 'one style' or following, blindly in some cases, without having also been given the encouragement to use one's own power of discernment to take on board what is useful and discard what is not. This essential point has always been present within the Buddhist path, with practitioners being reminded again and again to use their own investigative abilities to put teachings against life situations and see if they work or not. The Buddha even said that nothing works forever, there are no principles set in stone, and, as one moves forward and onward, what has worked will eventually change. Once whats useful has been integrated, then its time to let go and move to the next level. Only then will true lightness get a chance to manifest. There is no helpfulness in lobbing the raft on one's shoulders once the stream is crossed... a well-worn analogy. Its clear you have developed this discerning aptitude. Well done.

Actually you are mistaken. If there is no negative, there is no need even for a concept such as 'peace'. I was speaking directly to that particular denigrating remark you made. Why can't you be honest, stand up like a man, and admit your reactionary blunders? Then confess your sins and resolve not to repeat the same habitual downfall.

I am not sure you are in the right queue here. I dont think you will find any Chi experts in this aisle.

It was informative indeed. Thank you, Nungali.

i think everything is actually inside, but most times, we do not have the right perception or wisdom to consider it in that non-dual sort of way, and that is where we could begin to experience confusion/bewilderment over certain experiences which reveal themselves to us in a manner that we find either quite amusing/pleasurable/right, or quite the opposite, and this could then arouse in the experiencer some level of grasping, or aversion, depending on the way we have been conditioned due to our past thoughts and values.

lucky chap.