TzuJanLi

Greetings.. That's no 'illusion'.. it is unreasonable to label something as an 'illusion' because you don't understand it, or your 'guru' has told you what to say.. The Eternal You, the Source, has no relationship/feedback with which to understand its own existence.. all it can understand is "I AM".. it asks itself in natural curiosity "What AM I"?.. we/us/Life ARE the answer to that first prime natural question, the same prime motivation that we each share, "What AM I"? "AS above, so below".. There is no 'authenticity' in 'illusions and dreams'.. the Source has no need to control or manipulate or intervene, it has no 'agendas', when the question arises 'naturally, 'What AM I'? the Natural response is honest, sincere 'Self-examination', find out the 'Truth'.. As the eternal Source, and in the state of Undifferentiated Wholeness, there is only one way to examine yourself.. Set yourself apart from yourself (some people explain it as the 'big bang').. Engage yourself in interactive, interdependent relationships, and.. to understand "What AM I"? there can be no constraints on freedom of choice, there can be no predetermined result.. its an open-ended process of "Self-exploration", just as we/us/Life explore our existence, we do so as our Eternal Self does, too.. again, "As above, so below".. This is the paradox that has confused mankind forever.. that we/us/Life are BOTH: One Undifferentiated Eternal Self-Aware Entity, AND the Diverse Multiplicity that is the Cosmos at exactly the same time.. it is the 'Sentience' we understand as the 'You' reference, whether it is Whole or Individuated.. Consider the Taiji Symbol (Yin/Yang), and relate it to the 'Process' we experience.. The 'Source-You' individualizes itself so it can experience its own existence, and.. as the Taiji Symbol so simply and elegantly expresses it.. the Individualized-You seeks 'reunion' and re-integration into 'Wholeness'.. a continuum of movement, each flowing into the other, and.. within each, the other is never 'not'.. We/us/Life are the Answer to the question: "What AM I"? As Eternal 'You' manifested in physical Individuality, it is precisely your freedom to experience your existence in relationship with 'you' as other Independently Functioning Versions of Source-You, and as the Cosmos at large.. that reveals "What I AM"! It is the interactive, interconnected, interdependent Experiential Relationships that 're-unite' into the Collective Wholeness that Re-Individualizes into we/us/Life to continue this Grand Self-Exploration.. The Taiji Symbol, a brilliant and elegantly simple reference, Existence in a continuum of motion (see my Avatar) of Light defining Dark defining Light defining The Essence of Life, Change.. Within each of the contrasting principles of light and dark in the Taiji Symbol, is an island of its contrasting principle.. a 'clue', the 'stillness' at the center of movement.. Be well..

Greetings.. Isn't anonymity great? "Fear, 'you' sense? i'm sure 'you' do.. Life is right here, right now.. all the mind-play and BS theories and psuedo-religious rituals don't hold a candle to the Light of Day, when that day includes one breath of fresh air and freewill.. No, it's not my misunderstanding, 'Lucky'.. it doesn't 'mean' One, it IS One.. you really don't have a clue, do you? Eternal = Forever in ALL directions.. You = that which experiences its own existence in relationship with ALL that IS, including ALL that IS.. and, it chooses its experiences.. really, watch, it's amazing.. Be well..

Greetings.. WTF? What does that mean.. do you simply have some unconscious need to apply your disturbed version of Buddhism to everything posted..? Hi SS Wolf: The reply wasn't intended to be disrespectful, it's simply my nature to move toward simplicity.. unlike the belief systems that first construct the many-multi-layered 'Onion', then prescribe ritual after mindless ritual to get their unfortunate victims to peel layer after layer of the imaginary Onion that was never there to begin with.. In fact, i am delinquent in expressing gratitude for your clear and insightful contributions to the forum.. so, Thanks, Stoner... Be well..

Greetings.. No thanks.. 'freewill' says it all.. why add layers of analogy and visualization? just get on with it, Live it with unconditional sincerity and gusto.. Be well..

Greetings.. No, it's not.. the physical manifestation is a 'temporary' reality that the 'Eternal' you experiences as an Independently Functioning Version of your Wholeness (the 'local' you).. Yes, the eternal You and the temporary 'local' You are interdependent, they are One AND Many of the Same.. The 'physical manifestation' is limited by the demands of maintaining and sustaining the physical vehicle, and navigating the social and cultural environment.. the mind is the interface between the 'local'/temporary You and the 'non-local' eternal You.. the 'local' mind is free to focus its awareness locally or non-locally, and a balance of both has been appropriate for my understandings.. Be well..

Greetings.. 'Freewill' is the condition that there is no 'conditions' confining our understandings and our awareness, other than the conditions we impose upon ourselves.. even conditioning and programming, are negotiable.. your 'place in the process', is whatever you have the understanding and awareness to choose.. this is not a physical issue, we are so much more than that.. Freewill is about 'You', BOTH 'local' and 'non-local'.. Be well..

Greetings.. We are cohesive units of self-aware energy, manifested physically by the frequencies unique to our individuality, and.. interconnected as Wholeness in a medium of energy that is undetectable by physical senses and described variously as Oneness, Zero Point Field, Aether, Om/Aum, Singularity, etc.. Energy, is remarkably malleable and mutable, Consciousness can affect vibration and frequency resulting in wide ranges of application depending on awareness and understanding.. Shaktipat, is a self-adjusted frequency shift inspired by the belief in a particular process.. this is born-out by the same 'guru' or facilitator attempting to effect the energetic shift on people with differing beliefs.. the non-believer gets nothing, the believer is transformed.. this is not an indictment against the process, more-over it is intended to inspire less resistance.. the effect is genuine and quantifiable.. Oh, and the 'herb' is a very effective and very tangible agent for shifting energetic frequencies.. mores-so if studied and respected as a 'sacrement', as an agent for affecting the mind's 'structure'.. it is the mind's 'structure' that is also its self-imposed prison.. appropriate use of the sacred herb can open the 'structure' enough to glimpse Wholeness, and our relationship with it.. oh, and it can resonate profoundly with Shaktipat.. "The two merge as One, a higher being.. each completing the other in an energetic Symphony of ecstatic realization that echoes forever in the Beings.." Be well..

Greetings.. The Qi i feel.. feels like Life, ALL of it.. the exhileration, the agony, the ecstasy, the horror, the tears of joy AND sorrow.. the Qi i feel feels like that, all at once, great and small.. in the tip of my finger, or surging through my entire being and echoing into the Cosmos.. from a tiny tingle to a raging thunderstorm, Qi is both your servant AND your creator.. it is Life.. Be well..

Greetings.. No, there is nothing hypocritical, i greet ALL who may read the post, then perhaps a specific reply.. the "insult" is invited by the 'insult' of redundancy, where such redundancy has been expressly rejected.. originally, i was fascinated by your beliefs, that sentient beings were so gullible.. but, the insipid repetition, even after polite refusals, eventually end up as insults, why? because you interupt productive discussions with irrelevant, univited and unwanted input, and you are consistently doing the same thing.. myself, and others, would really rather have civil discussions without having to deal with deviant Buddhist Evangelists at every turn.. again, i say: you are your own worst enemy, and a shockingly poor representative of respectable Buddhism.. And, i close with "Be well" in genuine sincerity.. as dull and vexing as you are, you ARE Life itself.. you are a Child of the Universe, whom i wish well.. by that wish, i hope you will have a realization of the ill-will you generate and reflect on how your claim of 'Buddha-nature' is soiled by your intentionally mean-spirited posts.. but, sincerely.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi Vajrahridaya: At what point does your ego's greatly embellished self-image realize that your brand of 'Evangelizing Buddhism', is detrimental to whatever wisdoms Buddha may have handed down? Simply put, you poison Buddha's message with your incompetent understandings and your trivial attempts to pretend you do understand.. you, and your ilk, represent the last, most demeaning aspects of ego that Buddha discarded, and.. sifting through the Buddha's trash, you deceive yourself with discovered trash you claim as treasure.. there is no 'loving-kindness' in your intentions, you prance around with with feigned learning and pretentious conversions as if it had 'meaning', it doesn't. You are an embarassment to any respectable Buddhist, and i know many. While i strongly disagree with your understandings of Buddhism, and your juvenile approach to sincere dialogue, you are a child of the Universe, so i wish you well.. Be well..

Greetings.. So, what exactly, was the flavor of that Kool-ade? Grape, Cherry?.. Oh, Hell NO, it can only be "Buddhist".. how very unfortunate, for you.. not about the Kool-ade, that was your choice, too bad.. but about the assuming that "I" haven't researched and practiced enough Buddhism to experience its self-imposed limitations, and Universal misunderstandings.. Buddha created a prison, and you have locked yourself in.. Be well..

Greetings.. It is my deep and abiding understanding, not a 'fixed' understanding, however, that 'Truth' wears no robes.. that 'truth' favors no beliefs, and is more profoundly simple than any 'path' or 'ism' can express.. immediately upon hearing or reading something that says 'this is what 'Truth' is', i am cautiously skeptical.. i am much more receptive to the references that 'offer' accounts of experiences that have afforded the experiencer insights and understandings consistent with "The Way" things 'are', and the nature of that 'Way'.. I find that no 'ism's adequately or accurately express even the most simple 'direct experiences' with Life.. not Buddhism, not Taoism, not any religion or philosophy.. i find Taoism to be the most sincere and authentic in so much as it inspires the seeker to find their own understandings through their own direct experiences.. i have great respect for the Buddha's accomplishments in having his own direct experiences.. and i 'listen' to 'his' understandings, but.. as the bumper-sticker so well-expresses, "Dear God: Please save me from your followers", substitute "God" with 'Buddha' or any other deity or guru.. the real teachers empower people to find their own 'way', not empty imitation of the ways of others.. There is not a Buddhist 'Truth' or a Taoist 'Truth'.. there is only 'Truth', and.. YOU are That 'Truth'.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi CowTao: One of my mentors, many years ago, explained 'Tao' in such simple and profound terms that i can't find a contradiction, and it is my skeptical nature to find contradictions.. so, this represents 'my' understandings.. and, i sincerely hope you will contemplate the practical profundity of the description.. "Tao", as a direct translation means 'road', or 'way'.. the reference using "Tao" to describe the 'mystical', is not itself 'mystical'.. rather than use some name or descriptive term that might be turned into a religion or philosophy, the word 'Tao' was used.. it was used to imply the 'Way' things 'are'.. nothing more and nothing less.. in that simplicity is the entire process of the Cosmos.. in the 'way' things 'ARE', is the very 'being' of things, the 'isness' of things.. there is no preference or discrimination, 'by' the 'way' things are, because preference and discrimination are aspects 'of' the 'way'.. 'Tao' is that which 'IS', and.. it is that which reveals 'That which IS'.. it is simply and profoundly, the 'way' things are.. Tao "fits" everywhere because it IS everywhere.. it is very unfortunate that the word 'Tao' became so entangled in the 'politics of understanding'.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi CowTao: So, as you mindlessly recite the Buddha's mad ramblings, you also find fault in others not reciting your preferred 'words'..? Well, your rambling accusations lack any substance as an intelligible reply, more the whining of poutish child.. You imply the words i posted: "are formulating and putting into words what you yourself preach against doing.".. in which case you simply lack the capacity to understand anything i have posted, and more particularly, 'me'.. so nuzzle-up next to your precious Buddha, and suffer your self-imposed ignorance in fitting silence, the whining is just annoying.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi CowTao: Why would i cringe or grimace?? Everything IS mutually interdependent, i have never understood otherwise.. of course, i also understand that there are Independently Functioning Versions of Mutual Interdependency.. Now, i imagine the grimace and cringe might be finding its way back to you.. Be well..

Greetings.. You are sadly uninformed and terminally attached to your own imaginings.. your use of the word 'meditation' reveals your ignorance of its meaning and functionality.. your constricted view that "dependent origination/emptiness" represents 'truth', further reveals your inability to comprehend reality. Please understand that invoking 'Buddha' as an appeal to Authority, has no meaning.. Buddha was just another 'meditator' of the sort you disparaged in the paragraph above, and one prone to believing his own dark imaginings.. Neither 'God', nor Buddha, nor 'Buddhahood' has any meaning.. they are 'descriptions' of a direct experience with the 'Totality of Reality', and no further descriptions are valid.. the very best we can do is 'point' the most simple and most direct 'way' for another BEing to have their own direct experience with the 'Totality of Reality'.. that 'pointing' does not include 'paths or rituals', it is most beneficial as 'Life' itself, then, as the Clarity that reveals the "ISness" of it all.. This is the sad nonsense the religions have pandered for thousands of years.. the mindless lullabye that puts sentient beings to sleep.. I, AM awake, not blundering through rituals hoping to find a way to a better reincarnation, while cheering for the Buddha Team.. THAT, is the trap that keeps you in cycles of repeated maddness, designed insure lifetimes of devout patrons.. Liberation is a choice away, a single instance of pure Clarity disolves ALL 'paths'.. it is the attachment to the 'Path' that leads you astray.. i cannot be more blunt, and more clear.. you have invested so much in your 'conversion' you will not see your own Liberation.. so, enjoy Life in the prison of Buddha's shadow, no one but 'you' can escape.. Be well..

Greetings.. No. There is only "ISness", contrasted by "IS NOTness", and the dynamic interplay of these fundamental Principles. Name it or claim it, and it is destroyed.. just 'Live' its boundless perfection, and all is revealed.. No 'paths', no gurus, no enlightenment, no fancy foreign word-play, no 'isms' Buddha's or Tao's, just simple direct english, and.. please translate this same simplicity into the languages necessary for the experiencers of other cultures to 'get it' without the rituals and paths that separate the experiencer from the direct experience of BEing..

Greetings.. Really? REALLY? YOU 'Choose' freely, of your own pathetic volition to accept a 'religion' whose spellings of words and pronunciations defy practical reason and common-sense??? You accept the mad imaginings of guy that meditates for years, cared for by the kindness of strangers.. then, in utter disregard for the care and Life he his blessed with, proclaims it all to be a 'Suffering Illusion', itself a nonsensical muttering that morphed into some sort of religious 'truth' when the equally insane caretakers decided to pretend the crazy-guy was 'crazy'.. to explain Buddha's eccentric babblings they said: "He was struck by Lightning", but.. Hell, no.. their nearly unintelligible language skills were heard to say: "He's Enlightened".. and the rest is 'twisted history'.. No, really, "Truth IS a pathless Land", as J. Krishnamurti explaind.. any path excludes that which is 'not' the path.. even the 'path' that claims ALL.. 'truth' encompasses ALL paths, and ALL that which is not a path, rendering Truth 'pathless'.. forgive the intended humor in the paragraph above, but pay attention to the meaning.. Be well..

Greetings.. Cool.. though it is a common and simple phrase, "One mountain/many paths".. there's always someone to shape the simplicity to fit 'their' perspective.. so, i won't explain the original 'message', you have no intention of understanding.. Be well..

Greetings.. Hi Vajrahridaya: Your description reveals a laborious process that 'can' lead where you suggest after appropriate discernment, but more likely one gets lost in the 'process'.. the same result can happen in an instant of true clarity.. in an instant of pure insight.. The 'mountain' has many paths, choose wisely.. Be well..

Greetings.. Nice!! Yes, i can understand your believing that sort of imagery to be 'clear'.. but, more appropriately stated: Mirror mirror in your mind do the lessons of 'loving-kind' Breed a need so 'clearly' blind That even freedom you cannot find Be well..

Greetings.. It is inappropriate to project your own self-imposed limitations upon those that have realized the bondage and compassion you speak of.. those same people that have realized the effects of bondage and compassion also cast them aside, freely and of their own accord.. you may feel helpless in your self-constructed prison of conceptual mis-understandings, but that is your burden, you chose it and you are firmly attached to it.. only 'you' can let it go.. And, letting it go is not the same as pretending it applies to others in the manner you have imposed upon yourself.. Don't stand in the way of those willing to accept the truth of existence, cloister yourself away with others equally consigned to a similar fate.. Or, choose your freedom.. Be well..

Greetings.. It is my understanding, and experience, that the "conditioning" yields to 'insight', to a truly stilled mind, and to the character of those that are sincerely interested in truth.. to accept 'conditioning' as the unsurmountable obstacle to 'free-will', is evidence of character too timid to explore its own existence.. Be well..