nightwatchdog

For more mind-food on interdedpendant co-origination (a more precise term according to my understanding), try "Each Moment Is The Universe" by Dainin Katagiri, Roshi. His words are clear as a bell. Gassho.

You have a solid foundation here. Now it is time to set aside the discussion, and take action. The thinking mind is very aware of what we are trying to accomplish, and a wonderful road map has been drawn up. All of your questions have already been answered. Everything changing, nothing solid, like the scenery passing by as you go your Dharma way. Where are you now?

Try reading the Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra. The Diamond Sutra is about as long as the Tao te Ching, and is deep enough to require a lifetime of contemplation to really understand deeply. It's a beautiful text. I like Cleary's translation, but there are other good ones too. The Heart Sutra is extremly short, but is often accompanied by reams of commentary. There is usually a copy in many Buddhist Primers from any Mahayana lineage. A Google or an Amazon search will yield good information. I second the recommendation to look up Lin Shirfu. He is sincere.

Here is the perspective of a few teachers whom I respect. Although they come from various backgrounds, it seems telling that they agree so easily with each other! <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ay5TnoEy5w&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ay5TnoEy5w&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ay5TnoEy5w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Thank you for the link. A very straight forward explanation that I shall share with others.

The original Dragon Gate is a holy Taoist site on the Yellow river. It is said that if a carp can ascend the waterfall it becomes a dragon. Do you see any?

Someone has asked for a recipe, and recieved a sack of flour. To concentrate on the breathe simply means to pay attention to the sensations produced by ones breathing, without interfering with it. You may feel senstions in your nose, throat, mouth, lungs, belly, really there are so many breathe sensations, it's impossible to list them all here. Pay attention. That is the most important part. Pay attention. This is practice is mindfulness. It becomes emptiness instantly, and without interference by the ego all by itself. Sung is simply a state of relaxed, yielding, yet responsive sensitivity. It means you are open to what is, and free from tension. In meditation it refers to the "step one" of quieting the mind. Spectrum was saying, essentially, "First quiet the mind, then effortless emptiness is achieved by itself." I would suggest you avoid trying to intellectually understand these things. Instead just concentrate on step one. Pay attention (in this case to the breath) and your mind will become still (after much struggle, ordinarily) and the state of wuji /satori / samadhi / realization.... whatever it is called to you.... maybe in western parlance "figuring out who you are"... happens all by itself. This might happen instantly, but for most everyone it takes practice. Hope this helps.

"No one is coming to save us from ourselves." Very nice. Thanks for the link.

I like the analogy of the tree very much, but my experience has been quite different. My daughter was fascinated with silent meditation. She always wanted to come to the zendo with me, and she would sit with us for hours. My son was totally disinterested, but he loved martial arts. He would train with me doing that for hours. Chi Kung included. Daughter thought it was stupid, and wanted nothing to do with it. Most masters have trained since childhood. In fact I've never met one who didn't. But things are different in western countries. Giving the child what they are willing to take seems to be the way to go within our cultural context. It isn't the only way. I was literally forced to practice at a very young age. I hated martial arts until I was in my late teens. Then I couldn't get enough. Now I like doing my practices in a balanced way, just an hour or so a day. As a child I thought an hour was too long. As a teen it was too short. Now it's just right.

It is beautiful! Transformed in the alchemical fires of the taobums. Hearts opening. There is consciousness here.

There is a long tradition of children being trained as monks and nuns since childhood. Also, most notable martial artists have followed this path. Who has heard of ill effects? Surely with thousands of years of practice, if such have been common there will be accounts. Thoughts?

It's usually easier to recognize the manifestations of ego in others, rather than in oneself. Nevertheless, the response is the same: the ignored ego cannot survive. We notice it, and let it go. Unfed, it dissolves and takes on another shape. It's good practice. Our own egos usually balk at such a response as well. "I can help them see the light! They don't know the REAL teaching. I can save them." By letting it go, our own ego is weakened along with thiers. A fresher energy becomes available. Like a pair of tuning forks, we begin to vibrate at a similar frequency. As Shakyamuni Buddha said, "As I am enlightened, all beings are enlightened." We know the ego isn't real. It's a game of let's pretend that has gotten out of hand. Care to play a new game?

I became intimately aquainted with the pain that only ego is capable of producing. Gentleness blossomed. Anger lessened. Ego became easier to recognize. I realized that peace and the happiness with no opposite would not be found outside, but rather inside. Now it's easier to recognize my own addictive patterns. Correcting them is a matter of deciding not to suffer. Being here in the world. Not resisting. Sometimes it feels like trying to awake too early in the morning, and maintaining prescence is very difficult. I often fail. But the important thing is that I am capable of recognizing myself out of balance. Being unenlightened is uncomfortable. I know it when I am awake, and with ever greater frequency, I know it when I'm not. This knowing is not merely intellectual any longer. In short, I learned that unless I'm awake, I'm day-dreaming a nightmarish fantasy. My task now is to wake up permanently. Thanks for the reminder.

Yes, breaking off from conditioned living takes effort for nearly all of us. Those who come to understand themselves spontaneously are very rare. For me it takes ongoing practice. Thank you for your article.

When one knows the Tao, one is the Tao. Subject and object dissolve and become one. Any practice can lead to a deepening of awareness, and awareness is limitless, bottomless, and inexhaustable. My practice today: I read some. I mopped a floor. I ate food. I practiced Hsing-i. I sat and observed. I cleaned my house. I meditated. None of these practices is greater or lesser than any other. The quality of awareness is the important part. Emotional issues, physical problems, egoic sense of self, all dissolve and are transformed when pure attention is applied to whatever activity is undertaken. Everything is spiritual. Everything leads to Tao. Seperation is an illusion. The relative opposites, yin and yang, return to their primordial beginning. Every moment is a doorway to this. Activity and form are incidental. Gassho.