nightwatchdog

This description of Kunlun as a fire method explains quite succinctly why it seems so different to my path. I've refrained from commenting on Kunlun since joining this site because; a. I recognize that different individuals sometimes require different methods. b. There is a long tradition in Taoism of different schools using these different means to reach the same end. c. The acquisition of power is not inherently wrong. d. In my experience, unless you've tried something, you can't really know what it is. While I see that many of the Kunlun folks disagree that it's a fire method, the focus on acquiring abilities seems to be a very frequently mentioned goal of the work. In fact it seems enlightenment, or union with the Tao is something that is thought will be achieved in it's own natural way once sufficient levels of "ability" have been secured. My path is exactly the opposite, wherin the idea of working towards union with Tao, or insight comes first, and abilities are a fringe benifit... one that we are even encouraged to suppress or ignore. Leaving the Fire/Water dicotomy aside (which frankly is foreign to me in the way it's being used in this discussion anyway), does this seem an accurate assesment, or am I missing something?

*cough* Wisdom of Insecurity *cough*

My buddy Greg took a snapshot at the exact moment of my enlightenment:

That's not a bad answer. It's not a great answer either. It is funny though. What happens when you realize that the "idiot below asking the question" is you?

Oh, but this is not the patience you really meant, was it? As I read, I remembered the answer to the thosand armed bodhisattva's compassion... In the world of causation, things are dualistic, and we understand the world with an "I, me, mine" mode of personhood. In this mode, it is true that patience only exists where there is non-patience. So also, does the idea of patience, does it not? (I'm very happy with your play on words, Lin) But patience in this mode is really just an illusion. It does not exist in the world that is free from dualism. But I wish to also throw this into the soup to play with: We're REALLY patient, that is patient as a Bodhisattva, only when we remember that to exercise patience is to "Scratch our own Itch." In other words, patience and vows disappear. It is then that we appear patient, and only then that we TRULY are patient. In other words, patience arrises when there is no patience. And so you said it first. No? Thank you so much for your nice article Lin.

So the question is, are we having fun yet? I suppose some of us must be, because we're still here. I'd like to start playing the world peace game soon. (I know the World's already at peace, but you know what my ego means by that phrase too. It's the later option I'm reffering to. I want to play together nicely for awhile and see how that goes...) Now that we're figuring out who we are in (hopefully) greater numbers, MAYBE we can change things up a little. I'm getting tired of killing, arguing with, and eating myself. You're good with ketchup though.

Answer: Changes... changes... Form in Emptiness, emptiness in form. That was a good one thelerner! Now for an oldie, but a goody: Koan: "A man hangs in a tree by his teeth over a precipice. His hands grasp no branch, his feet rest on no limb, and under the tree another person asks him: `Why did Bodhidharma come from the west?' If the man in the tree does not answer, he fails; and if he does answer, he falls and loses his life. Now what shall he do?"

Adam you have made clear what was once obscure. You also know how to turn a phrase. I'm not so good with the words, but I must ask the others: What benefit does intitiation truly possess? I've had my head shaved, recieved transmission in the Medicine Buddha tradition (While a jet-lagged rinpoche loudly snored I might add, a joke I didn't get until later ), I've had funny symbols drawn over my head by enlightened folks who's name I can't remember... It was a big deal to me. Then I spent a year just sitting by myself, and I learned something; I was always sitting by myself. And I was never alone. Now initiation seems not such a big deal. Still I am sitting. Or as some Zen dude said, "I left, and then I returned. It was nothing special." Or as Dogen Zenji pointed out, "Already we possess the real features of a person who is enlightened to the ultimate: we should therfore not be concerned about the already present matter that we call 'enlightened to the ultimate'." Or as Buddha Shakyamuni exclaimed in the moment of his awakening, "Amazing! Wonderful! All beings at once are enlightened in this very moment!"

This a take on it. Nothing personal, but just a take: Forget all that nonesense. You were pushing your own buttons. Period. Visualization? Of course you "see things" and have "visitations", that's what visualization does! But here's the rub; it's all mental masturbation. It's good that you understand it's self created. Time to let it go. It isn't ultimate reality. Well, it is, but it isn't. Ultimate reality is right in front of you. It's your thoughts, your garbage, and your flowers. It's the computer screen your staring at, and it's that those feelings churning around inside. Even your "ego", which you want to make "dead" so very badly, is ultimate reality. So is everything around you, that chair you sometimes fart into, and eveyone you see. It's everything! That's why it's "ultimate". Your neck is closed up because you are stuck in your head. You're stuck in your head, because you want to learn the mystery, catagorize it, and file it away as "Been there, now I'm enlightened, wise, in on the secret handshake." The problem is, there ain't no secret handshake, and the mystery is staying mum forever as long as you use those mental words and images to try to make it sit still. My advise, since you asked by implication, is to practice more sitting and forgetting.

Three Pounds A monk asked Tozan when he was weighing some flax: `What is Buddha?' Tozan said: `This flax weighs three pounds.'

"Shakyamuni exclaimed: 'Wonderful! Wonderful! How can it be that all sentient beings are endowed with the intrinsic wisdom of the Tathagata?' Even though one believes that one has oneself attained enlightenment, if, from his point of view other creatures are not enlightened as well, one's enlightenment is not genuine. With one's realizing one's Buddha-Nature, the possibility of which is possessed by every person, all sentient beings attain thier Buddha-Nature. This is the meaning of the above quote from the Nirvana Sutra, 'All sentient beings have Buddha-Nature." -A Study of Dogen, Masao Abe

Oh that's great! George Xu "set me on the path" so to speak, as he was the first high level internal master I had met and worked with. I've been working on his advice gleaned from a single seminar for almost a decade now. It seems like every master I've met since usually gets around to emphasizing things he gave me in just a few hours, but it normally takes them many months. He's a wellspring of information, cuts right to the chase no B.S., and he is SO amazingly strong. As far as Hsing-i is concerned, the five elements are where it's at so it's all good. Your example concerning long years of solo work is inspirational, and reminds me that it really CAN be done. I hope to see more from you. Bodhi

Amituofo, Lin Aiwei.

I just thought I'd post some links to vids I stumbled across recently in order to provide a traditional counter perspective to some of the other materials being discussed on the forums. Martial Chi Kung at it's finest: Wudang Tai Chi Chuan There are many others on youtube, but these were demonstrations I enjoyed. I hope you do also.

I am undergoing a fast now following a bout of influenza over this weekend (natural purge/colonblow lol)... This led me to look into fasting, and calorie reduction among Taoist traditions. I have found some interesting stuff anecdotaly, and apparently a body of research concerning life extension, proven in laboratory settings, following severe calorie restricted diets. Nutrients are kept at maximal levels, only calories are restricted. The researches believe it's due to a reduction of free radicals (dirty Chi?) in the diet. Supposedly lab mice live 200% longer. A wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction Thoughts, experiences, or comments?

My mistake. Intentionally doing damage to the nervous system sounds like a bad idea to me. If it's part of the practice you enjoy doing, I cannot help you. Perhaps you should ask your teacher's advice.

Thank you for the link. Bodhi

Excellent thoughts everyone. I would like to add that there is a very practical exercise to develop this quality of dropping mind, which ironically is also the foundation for all of the work done in either Taoist or Chan/Zen traditions; basic meditation. I preffer to use a Zen term, shikantaza, which means "to just sit." This practice of paying absolute attention to the moment of sitting is what most eastern schools use to reveal the truth. Almost everything else we hear of is secondary to this simple, yet profound practice.

I've broken my fast already now, but at the time I wasn't taking anything in, just pushing out for two days until my ailementary canal was completly empty. I enjoyed the feeling, so following two days of recovery where I ate normally, but much more mindfully than usual, I fasted again for 24 hours, again eating nothing. I drank a glass or two of lukewarm water.

The purpose of Zhan Zhuang is not, Not, NOT, not to build muscles. It is used to build internal linkages, develop and expand Chi, develop a pure mind, patience, perseverance, thread the Chi throughout your body, and learn to express fajing, to name a few. The pain you are feeling could be for a variety of reasons, but if you are standing correctly, it's usually discomfort associated with Chi blockages being cleared. Who are you learning from?

Thanks for the article link Trunk! The whole thing is good reading, and great advice. This is something everyone involved in Sexual kungfu should consider from the article: "The Healing Tao system advises a comprehensive approach - yet sometimes people don't recognize it. Sometimes a person just picks up one of the books on sexuality, and neglects the surrounding practices. But the surrounding practices are what allow you to integrate the energy that you are saving. (This is sort of a stock message, I know, but it's true and is worth saying.) " In other words, sexual practices are a part of certain Chi Kung practices. No legitimate system claims it's the whole enchilada.

Oh I checked out your youtube stuff too. Very nice. Have you met George Xu? Any chance we'll get to see you do some Hsing-i? High regards, Bodhi

Carlo, it's not a good idea to use the fingers to press on the perinium, if that's what you are talking about. Doing so just dumps the semen into the urinary bladder where it will simply be emitted when you urinate. You can look closely and see it for yourself in the toilet if you aren't sure. This means that you won't be actually cultivating Jing, and you also can damage your ability to achieve the coveted "voluntary control" in the future. It's also bad for your prostate. The preffered method is to use the Big Draw and to just slow down, stop, or even withdraw for a moment until the energy cools enough that you can continue to make love. You are giving up orgasms for awhile until you start building enough Kungfu that you'll have something better, but it will be worth it. Many of the members of this forum seem to have better luck building up slowly and gradually, lengthening the times between ejaculation by days instead of weeks, weeks, instead of months. Take it slowly. You will have accidents sometimes, and these are a good thing, actually. They may spend some Jing, but they relieve pressure. It only happens when you aren't using what you save for filling channels. Sexual Kungfu is a very advanced method, and I'm assuming you know that you should really be spending more time meditating than masturbating (I mean this as a joke, but it IS true). I actually found that masturbation should be kept to a rather rigid schedule that is NOT diviated from. This is not supposed to be play time. It is serious spiritual work. Play time happens after you master the techniques and have a partner to cultivate with. Good luck! Cameron, I know you really like your teacher, and he's telling you things about other teachers that are less than favorable. There are different teachers who go about things in different ways, and because of this, not everyone agrees. Everyone should find a great teacher, and then apply what they are given wholeheartidly once they make the commitment to practice... BUT this does not mean that we should adopt the attitude that one way is best and everything else is deluded crap. There are many different lineages of authentic Taoist traditions. Mantak Chia's is one. It has a great following, with many success stories and adherents. For those who choose to follow the ways of "Clouds and Rain", his teachings, and those based upon them are second to none here in the west. If you don't follow that approach, then no worries. Train with someone else.

Hi Carlo! Welcome to Taobums! There are several ongoing discussions concerning Sexual Kungfu in the Taoist discussion forum. I hope you find what you're looking for.

Welcome to Taobums Jane! It's great to have an experienced practitioner to share. As you may be aware, there were questions about Water Method, Water Path, and thier differences (if any) right here: http://www.thetaobums.com/Mixing-Practices-t3893.html Bodhi