hajimesaito

I am starting this thread so that the members here could post their experiences with various masters, sages, monks, martial artists etc who displayed abilities that seem to defy nature: like telepathy, levitation, clairvoyance, mind reading abilities, great physical strength (MAists) etc. This is just to give inspiration to many members like me who have never personally been acquainted with anyone like that. I know some would argue that these things are quite irrelevant to the real spiritual cultivation (most of whom are likely to be Buddhists), but all I can say is that I do understand the effect on ego due to the desire to acquire such abilities. Perhaps this thread will only serve to make the members aware of the possibilities that exist in human body and mind.

Yes, I have also read many such legends about Morihei Ueshiba. Similar legends exist about the founder of Bagua style - Dong Hai Chuan. According to it, he was once pursued by a rival court body guard and his wife (who was an adept at the usage of pistols) at night while he was fast asleep; but when the shot was fired, he was found to be standing behind them, after which he easily subdued them both. Another such legend says that he was once sitting on a chair near a weak wall which suddenly collapsed, sending panic to many of his disciples who were nearby. But when they began searching, someone realized that he is sitting near another wall opposite to the former one. But the grandest tale was supposed to have been told by Wan Lai Sheng (the famous Ziranmen grandmaster of our century), who said that when Dong's tomb was being attempted to lift by his most closest disciples, they could not move it an inch. Suddenly a voice came from within it, undoubtedly that of Dong's, saying that none of them could be even 1/10th in skill as much as him; after which stillness ensued, and it could be lifted and buried. I have heard similar testimonies about the strength and skill of the famous Feng Zhiqiang: a Tai Chi grandmaster who is as famous in the west as he is in China itself. Does anyone know any of his disciples to be able to confirm his abilities?

Well, I was expecting replies about people like John Chang who could utilize their spiritual abilities for both healing and martial purposes. Whats so wrong about discussing this?

I am a beginner into Taoism and would like to discipline myself (both body and mind). I would be glad if the experts could help me with these two questions that I have:- 1. I have become a lazy sleeper and find it extremely difficult to wake up early in the morning. Even the alarm doesn't help because I sleep again after switching it off in the morning, and this time for longer! What exercises should I do to be able to sleep less than 8 hours? (I sleep around 9 - 10 hours). And if I have ended up sleeping for long, then how should I negate the consequences of this oversleeping in my body? I aim to reduce my sleeping hours to around 4 hrs. My Sifu used to sleep only 3 hours everyday and was very fit and healthy. But unfortunately he refused to teach me further only because of this laziness and the habit of procrastination that I had . 2. Next I want to ask how should I erase bad memory. I mean those useless thoughts and pre-conceived notions. For example, I had seen all kinds of porn when I was younger, but now I want to forget all that and erase all the pre-conceived notions about sex developed as a result of conditioning from those videos. The same applies for any other bad thoughts too. I have heard that meditation alone will help me calm down my mind while at the same time reducing the influence of all the bad thoughts and notions in the mind, making it purer and sharper. From my own understanding of Taoism, we all need to go back to our pre-natal state of innocence to be able to live to the fullest. Even zen masters say that real wisdom lies not in accumulating knowledge but throwing away all that we have learned.

I want to send my undying love to someone quite far from me. Is there any meditative way I can do that? And is there any chant or meditative practice by which I can always keep my ego in control or perhaps even defeat it? I know there are practices in Mahayana Buddhism, usually from Tibet, by which I can send love and compassion to "all sentient beings". Don't know about all sentient beings, but if I could do that only for a single being, then I would be really glad. Thank you.

Thanks a lot. I will try both.

95% of India's spiritual Gurus are fake with nothing much to offer. True spiritual traditions of India have long been extinct there, while others escaped and took refuge in places outside India like Tibet and other parts of Asia.

I am actually born to Hindu parents and lived around Hindus all my life. The term "Hindu" by itself is pretty ambiguous. It was used first by the invading Persians to refer to the people beyond the "Sindh valley". There are various things that might be considered "Hindu" today. For example, a man-eating Aghori is a Hindu just like how a pure vegetarian Brahmin is. Thats what happens when geographical boundaries are used to define religions. Hinduism is basically nothing but polytheism with the existence of various gods and cults surrounding each of them. Most of the other good things like Yoga and tantra wouldn't be exactly called a part of Hinduism. For example, these tantrics who roam around in the Eastern India (Bengal, for example) would be persecuted in the western India (which is dominantly Vaishnavite). If people find an Aghori eating human flesh in the crematoriums of places like Gujarat, Rajasthan etc (which come under the Vaishnavite western India), then he will be killed brutally by the people. Most of Hinduism is complete bullshit like cult hero-worship of different gods, caste system, mindless rituals etc etc. Some good things exist, which, as I said earlier, due to the definition of the term "Hinduism", ended up becoming part of it despite having nothing in common with the mainstream polytheistic Hinduism. As for the antagonism between Hindus/Brahmanists and Buddhists, you should read what is written about Buddhists in many Hindu scriptures. The Hindu epic Ramayana, which is about the famous Hindu god Rama, says that Buddha was a thief. Vishnu purana, a scripture of the Vaishnavites claim that though Buddha was an avatar of Vishnu, his doctrine was heretic and false because he had deliberately taken this avatar to deceive the "demons" (Buddhists). Sankara, Kumaril Bhatta etc are all extremely famous for persecuting the Buddhists. Many Hindu scriptures (usually the puranas and smritis) ask the Brahmins to undergo extreme purification (by bathing with cow's urine!) after a Buddhist comes in his sight! Don't you find it odd that a region completely dominated by Buddhism some two millennia ago has today just the abandoned caves in the jungles and nothing else to show the trace of that glorious past? By the time the British had started invading, many people (the common people) of India did not even know who Buddha is or what Buddhism is about - the religion that had once influenced their ancestors greatly in the past. I agree with tyler Zambori on this issue. Hinduism is led by Brahmins and Brahmins, like always, have claimed the Vedas to be of utmost authority. Now if you study Vedas carefully, you will conclude that the religion is almost similar to the Zoroastrianism of the Iranians (because the Indo-Aryans too once migrated from there to India and formed the first "Brahmins") with only the gods that are propitiated being different (usually inimical to each other). In other words, if you really take the word of the supreme leader of Hinduism - the Brahmins - as what exactly Hinduism is, then you will realize that Hinduism is nothing but paganism (polytheism) very similar to what existed in middle east (Persia and Arabia) before the emergence of Islam.

It is apparent that systema was heavily influenced, if not based upon, an Asian internal martial arts (most likely Chinese). For an advanced internal style to exist in a region, we should find many other external styles; for it is the evolution of martial arts that take them slowly from external to internal levels. In China, if there is one Tai Chi, there are many other hard styles. Or in other words, there is a martial tradition. Also, in places like China, India etc, you find mind-body philosophies like Tantra/Yoga, Taoism etc, that were essential for the creation of many martial arts. But you dont find such beliefs in Russia either. I am sure there is something that is being hidden by the Systema practitioners, perhaps because of extreme feelings of patriotism or whatever. Even the PM Putin practices Judo (a Japanese style) and not that ultimate badass Russian internal martial arts that was devised by its military. Many Russian strongman, boxers etc were defeated in China by many masters (or so is the rumour that is circulating). I wish they used Systema back then instead of being strong man.

I did a quick search in this forum (and also in google) but couldn't find any thread dedicated to this topic. I know that according to tantra, during sleep men's throats and penises are stimulated (chakras that lie there) and as a result when men wake up early in the morning we have a heavier voice and an erection too. How do the Taoists interpret this? I have heard of old Taoists and internal martial artists being complimented for their ability to get morning erections even at very old age (90s). I used to get the morning wood almost regularly a few months ago and have been getting it ever since my hormones became activated (I think). However, nowadays I am a bit more concerned because I neither get any morning erection nor do I get any instant stimulation and excitement from watching something sexy (a girl in a bikini for example!). What could be the problem? I do regular exercises but my day time is spent quite lazily nowadays. I am not much into masturbation either and have in fact stayed away from it for extended periods of time in my life (a few weeks or a month).

Yuen Biao, You are right that I should focus my mind on more important things. And this is what I have always been doing. That is why I have rarely believed in watching porn or masturbating unlike other guys of my age for whom these things are a norm (I am 22). But my curiosity about that issue was not because I am myself having those personally. I just wanted to know more about how the control over senses (sex, lust etc) is related to the real love-making act. Its been more than two months that I have been practically a celibate - i.e away from any porn, masturbation or sexual thoughts. Cat, Your point regarding introverted and extroverted sexuality was quite interesting. As for your comment regarding rapid response sexuality, I was not hoping that it was of lower quality. On the contrary, from experience I believe that that should ideally lead to a higher quality than that of slower response. But contradictions come in the form of experienced grand masters of Chinese internal martial arts who have had several wives and who had kids even at the age when they should really not be in a good health to even walk properly. In conclusion, I agree that the best way is to not think about such issues too much and let the natural instincts take over when the time comes.

Thanks for your responses, cat and durkhrod. There is another thing that has been bugging me since a very long time. Usually there are two kinds of men. One who get easily aroused sexually after looking at something simple in the opposite sex. All boys when they are young also belong to this category because during that period when the hormones are just newly activated in the body, it is natural for guys to get stimulated (or get an erection, in other words) while just staring at a hot girl even if she doesn't reveal much. Then there are other guys who require extensive stimulus to get aroused. They don't get "lusty" so easily. All monks, celibates etc would come under this. My question is: which among those two categories are better at love-making and can make any girl vouch for them? I know the that the Taoists have great control over their senses and cannot be seduced so easily. But I have also heard that they would make any girl extremely happy and satisfied if given a chance. Can't say the same about Buddhist monks though. If Pamela Anderson were to do pole-dance in front of an old Tai Chi master, would he be seduced? And what about the men belonging to the first category? Would they be called perverts? And if true, it leads to another question. Is perversion inversely related to the sexual potential? In other words, would a guy who gets aroused easily after just looking at a hot girl walking by in a bikini be a better lover (in the bed) than the one who will be unmoved by such outward appearances? I know these questions are quite weird; but then, that is what makes them interesting.

Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu and other great Taoist sages had expounded the teachings of being in conformity with nature all the time and to go with the flow. Then why are there the so-called Taoist sexual practices of semen retention which is a completely anti-nature thing to do? When we (males) have sex we naturally ejaculate and forcing the semen to not come out is extremely against our body's natural functions. And it even leads to the men gaining energy from the women while not giving away anything at all. In other words, even according to Taoist theories of yin and yang, there doesn't exist any natural balance in such an unnatural practice. Could any expert explain this anomaly?

I agree with you, goldisheavy. One of the main reasons why I do not like the idea of such practices is because its an extremely selfish practice where the man uses the woman's body for his self-pleasure. The real pleasure comes in giving and sharing. Lao Tzu himself had said that the sage helps without expecting anything in return (and which is why he gets everything). The yin and yang will only be perfectly balanced when the men and women both give and take equally to maintain the balance. I think all those pervert practices in Taoism and Tantra are pretty much deviations from the true path.

I have always observed great variation in the tone of my voice in different times. Sometimes its quite heavy and at other times it is of a higher pitch. Whenever I am lazy, tired, stiff etc, my voice tends to be of a higher frequency and also it seems like I have to use greater effort to speak consistently. On the other hand, during times when my mind is peaceful, body is relaxed, and there is no laziness, my voice becomes more heavier and smoother it takes much lesser effort to speak. Another thing is that my speech becomes more intellectual whenever I am more relaxed and energetic, unlike the times of stiffness and laziness when my way of speaking reflects lesser clarity and sometimes I even forget the words which I should use. In other words, it seems that the tone of my voice (of anyone's voice for that matter), could be used as a measure of the Chi inside my body (or the quality of it). What are your opinions about it?

I've heard that in some southern Chinese martial arts like Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar, the practitioners utilise different sounds while performing their exercises and forms so as to manipulate their Chi. Is it true? I think the way we talk is also directly related to the standard of our chi within the body. Perhaps that is how the masters and experts of old could sense the level of Chi (or spirit) just be examining their ways of talking.

Its obvious that since the last two millennia of co-existences there must have been at least some, if not more, exchanges between the two religions. So the interchangeability of the terms like Tao is not surprising. Both religions overlap a lot and this made it more simpler for the ideas to blend together. Buddhism is a religion which, where ever it went, adapted to the local culture of that region. Tibetan Buddhism nowadays has its own existence after it blended with the native Bon religion. When it was first introduced to Tibet by Indian Buddhists, it must have been slightly different than what it is today. The concept of Lamas is peculiar to Tibetans and similar cultures. In Japan, Buddhism added to the native Shintoism too. Same happened in China where the religion of Taoists was not much different from many ideas of the Buddhists themselves.

Ajahn Chah was an Arahat and probably the only one in the last century. He looked like any other simple old man. Nothing ordinary about him. Thats the sign of all Arahats and enlightened men. But what goes in his mind is so profound that normal people won't ever be able to have even the slightest idea. He had all the abilities of telepathy, mind reading etc. Everyone's minds were transparent to him. Many monks who went to study under him ended up leaving because they were embarrassed by the constant thoughts of their minds which Ajahn Chah was aware of.

Isn't it written in Tao Te Ching that the Sage helps people without letting them know that he is helping them? Lao Tzu was what he followed. He helped people but his own identity was not important. Thus, he was simply called "Lao Tze" or "Great Sage". Modern historians are too much involved into names, identities etc. What do they mean when they ask "Who Lao Tzu was?"? Do they want to know what his "real" name was? Do they want to know if he was related to another historical person (another name)? Names do not convey identity, nor do relationships. It is the work of the man by which he is known. Lao Tze is known for his teachings. Do you want to know if Lao Tze existed or not? He did. Whoever was the author of Tao Te Ching was "Lao Tze". That is his identity. And since Tao Te Ching didn't drop from the heavens, and was written by someone who was wise, the only person he could be is what the modern people fantasize about "Lao Tze".

I have a - 1.5 on my left eye and a - 0.5 on the right. My dad once told me that meditation would again restore the sharpness of my eyes. Since I sit in front of the computer for long hours, I feel that my eyesight is deteriorating. I have experienced that during my normal lotus posture meditation, if I reach a state of relaxation and stillness of mind, my eyes also start becoming wet. What could be the reason? Does it mean that my eyesight is increasing? Or is it decreasing? I know there are other threads for myopia and I checked them out. But none of them dealt with the fruits of common meditation in improving eyesight. Has anyone else experienced the same thing?

Given that you are in this forum, I would assume that you are also a practitioner of one of the mind-body-spiritual arts (most likely Taoist). If thats the case, then your problem should have long been solved already. Buddhists and Taoists cherish celibacy and solitude because these things help the individual to develop spiritually. And once the person gravitates to higher spiritual levels instead of the mundane complexity of regular people, then self-confidence, self-esteem etc come naturally. Wisdom also comes naturally. Meditate. Thats your only solution. You are in solitude but your mind is more wilder than those who are not in the kind of isolation that you exist in. If your mind-energy is not as chaotic as now, or it tends to be still, then you will feel happy whereever you are. Associating with a master who can teach you will also be good for you. I, unlike you, like solitude and peace, and rather try to keep the level of lust to a minimum.

Yes, its true that lusty thoughts in the mind, or any confused and untamed mind for that matter, will not lead to full potential of the sexual power. Often the most pervert people are also the most impotent. Even sitting meditation will help. One who keeps watching porn most of the time, has more chances of not getting a proper erection (let alone a strong one) during the real act. Keep away from all the lust for some time, say a week, or even a month; then see how greatly you fulfil the potential of orgasm during the real act. Those who have good imagination area already gifted with better sexual quality. During the sexual act the mind should be completely empty, and you should let your instincts do the act. That is another way to improve the outcome. Some people have a very occupied mind during the sexual act, this will also lead to a wasteful sex. Also, the longest penis need not always be the best or the most satisfying for the partner. An average penis is enough, and even better sometimes; the only thing is to know the art of lovemaking and really involve the "love" part instead of making it a physical act alone.

Eat more nutritious food to increase your haemoglobin and blood quality. Don't day dream about lusty thoughts. Be active and not lazy (exercises will help). Thats all you need to get stronger erections that last longer than before!

Hello there, I am from India. I had begun studying a Chinese martial art called "Li Family boxing" or otherwise also called Tao Chi Chuan from a master (who is Indian) and had learned from a Chinese master from Malaysia. Unfortunately, due to academic obligations I had to stop in between, but I am starting it again. Okay, the above was to show my interest in Chinese Martial arts that are built over the foundation of Taoist and Buddhist philosophies. I would describe myself to be more Buddhist than Taoist however. Found this forum through google and kept reading some threads for many days before finally making an account here. Thank you. Hajimesaito

The masters do not keep secret. If the masters kept their arts then how would arts like Bagua Zhang spread from Dong Hai Chuan to several people all over China? The students have to first show their interest, dedication and allegiance to the organization for the master to completely reveal all the stuff. If you go one day for a seminar with a famous master, you cannot expect him to show his art very deeply. This would also be injustice and partiality to those disciples who have been staying with the master for years or perhaps decades. There are certain prerequisites or eligibility for some arts - and remember these arts are very deep arts that have the power to completely transform you spiritually, physically and mentally - that a student needs to meet in order for the master to teach him in depth. In general, a master would expect from his disciple the following :- 1. Great interest and determination. 2. Patience and perseverance. 3. Having studied for a minimum number of years with the master for him to judge the student properly. 4. Allegiance to the organization and respect for the master for transferring great ancient knowledge to the disciples. A master will not just put all his secrets in a book or dvd and put them in market. This is not the nature of the art. Many times the art itself demands secrecy. The great master Padmasambhava was a Bodhisattva who had compassion for every sentient being, yet he never revealed his teachings to all but a few chosen disciples who had met his requirements. One might think that padmasambhava could have saved more sentient beings by keeping his techniques and teachings open for all instead of passing it as secret. But one has to also take into account the depth of these teachings. A student cannot afford to be casual with them. He or she will have to train in it with full dedication. These masters don't impart knowledge alone that can be passed down in the form of books, but they impart training equally importantly. The student has to train under the watchful eyes of the master.