Sunya

perhaps, Orb, we must stick together.. for these Buddhist illusions are overwhelming when taken on solo. And it seems that it truly helps to overcome the illusions by going onto online forums and masquerading as a know-it-all, to help others achieve the same awareness of these Buddhist illusions. I truly will NOT give up these Buddhist illusions until all other beings have given up Buddhist illusions. I will stay behind and act extremely cocky so people get angry and defensive with me, then I will show them the Truth and guide them towards the Light by continuing my aggressive angry and cocky attitude, for that is the way of the anti-Buddhist Bodhisattva.

Told you. He's just a troll with anger issues; ignore him like everyone else does!

guys, any clue on the cooking times for bai zhu, dang shen, and huang qi? and should I eat them with the tea or discard them? I can't afford a double boiler, but it seems that with the sites some of you gave I should bring it to a boil and then immediately lower temp to simmer, but I'm not sure exactly how long to simmer, this site says 20-30minutes but does this apply to all herbs? I would guess that it differs depending on the herbs, no? http://www.chineseacupunctureuk.com/how%20to%20cook%20chinese%20medicine.htm

Nope. I just like communicating with people and sharing ideas.

^^ NeiChuan, I used to/still do get frequent muscle spams/twitches/energetic sensations that randomly occur through the body, as well as hearing high pitched tones quite often and various other strange occurrences. It's probably energy moving around opening channels, I suggest not paying much attention to it. As joe said, it's just scenery.

ralis is just here to argue

Socrates was Plato's teacher, but this pointing toward a reality beyond the senses was present even before Socrates, maybe starting with Parmenides.

Not true. All of the 6 realms stuff is just skillful means and you can view that psychologically as in there are people who are hell being (full of anger), hungry ghosts (full of attachment), gods (full of pride), etc. The core of Buddhism is a powerful psychology that allows for real freedom in this very life. It is empirical and phenomenological and does provide many answers to the common person's dilemma of seeking happiness and truth in the wrong places. Buddhism isn't about commandments or blind guru worship, I think you're confused. There are precepts but these are more like suggestions and if you don't understand their purpose you don't have to adhere to them. Do you kill people? If not, then why not? Do you follow a commandment or do you understand why killing is wrong? This is what Buddhism is like, you inquire into all aspects and if you agree then you integrate.

True, but some people need the believe in rebirth to get them to start practicing and change themselves in this life. Think about how many people believe in just this life and yet squander it away by watching TV all the time and not truly living or doing anything valuable or meaningful.

I have a stainless steel pot so I guess i'll just have to use that!

Thanks everyone! I was confused but am clearer now, though I wonder about what sort of pot to use. I did find electric boilers specifically made for chinese herbs, but they're all about 60$ and i'm broke! Some sites say to use only ceramic for cooking herbs while others say that stainless steel is okay, what do you guys think?

when I was at Sifu Jenny's seminar there was one person there who told me about Ormus. He's a PhD Chemist and a specialist in metal toxicity. He said that he makes it himself since it has benefits. It increases jing which can then be transmuted to qi if you do practice. If you don't practice then it won't do much and can even be dangerous, he said. He gave me some to try. I tried a couple times and haven't felt anything, possibly I need to do more.

Hey TI I was going to email you, glad that you stumbled here to read my rather long review. Your prediction was right...Jenny was quite good for me. Jenny was saying that opening the 'Wisdom Eye' is the goal, and that people shouldn't focus on opening the 'celestial eye' or brow chakra because this is not the goal. She said it (celestial eye) will open naturally, everything opens naturally; it doesn't really matter when and if the celestial eye opens because it doesn't help with enlightenment; so focusing on opening the third eye is a desire that should be dropped. If you open it too soon then it can become a hindrance, distraction, and even a danger to those unprepared. The Wisdom Eye is simply a symbol for enlightenment, not literal, so it's not really an eye somewhere that is opened physically or energetically. It is knowing your true nature, and when you know that, you know everything. You know the Tao. I believe Daniel Ingram mentions the Wisdom Eye in his book (Mastering Core Teachings of the Buddha) in the Enlightenment chapter as 'untangling the knot of perception'

heheh I thought it was funny

Yes I think that's true, in my experience.. though when the arms stop moving for me I just put them back into the position with right hand at heart. I used to do right hand at throat like it's taught in the K book. Jenny did mention never have the hand above the throat. I'd keep it at heart level [when there aren't movements], since that's where the middle dan-tien is. I hear you I was broke for a while and still am, but I decided to see Jenny because she very rarely does seminars and I wasn't having any luck doing the practice solo. Max learned it from Jenny, so the form isn't different except she puts the right hand at the heart [though Scotty said Max taught it that way to him so I have no clue why it's different in the book]. She didn't really go into a lot of detail, it's very simple and I don't think it matters too much about the details because all of that goes out the window once your body starts moving The hands are relaxed, not too cupped not too straight. Armpits are open so there is room for Qi flow there. No, she had us sit in silence prior to starting to center the mind. I don't think the initial purification practice hurts though.. Max seems to have gotten it from Tibetan Tantra and I think it's very beneficial for focusing the mind and getting into a positive state. No. No, she didn't teach any of those but she did teach other practices that don't necessarily have names but I think aim at the same result, opening the channels and getting the blood/qi moving. Her exercises employ more movement and are not still, they also work with the breath. Jenny is practical, she said that many come to her to learn Level 2 and 3 and she said why do you come here asking for them if you haven't mastered level 1 yet? Level 1 is all you need, most will not master that in this lifetime. It is very powerful. Well it's taught as a self-healing practice because most peoples problems stem from bodily issues; healing first and building the foundation, that is the motto. So yes, grounding and healing, but she mentioned that the 'Yi' in Yi Gong means Mind or Awareness so that is the ultimate goal: to cultivate Awareness and reach enlightenment. She said the goal is non-duality which is enlightenment. I don't know what to tell you really, since my experience may not be yours. I know others here have gotten good results from just the book, but I didn't. I'm young, i'm closed up, my mind is nuts. So I tried and didn't get anywhere. Jenny speaks out against transmission as being unnecessary, she doesn't want you to get the Guru syndrome, but at the same time she says that learning the practice from the seminar is the best way. I think there's something that is being unsaid. Oscar Hsu (close student of both Max and Jenny) told me that she does indeed give transmission for the practice. Another angle to look at it is that the supplemental practices she gives are extremely beneficial for opening up. She told me that these practices are aimed to open channels specifically for those who aren't opening up with the Yi Gong practice. Once you have movements with the practice then the supplemental practices aren't necessary, though they still help. Like I mentioned in the review, she gave dietary advice and recommendations for what chinese herbs to use to increase Qi flow. All of these aspects contribute to getting things going. She told us a story about a woman she knew who did not get any movements. She practiced everyday for 3 months with zero movements and finally she broke loose. So the key is patience. Try emptying your mind, and lose the desire to have movements. Forget about movements. Just be empty and rest in awareness. Also, don't tense your muscles. Max seems to be generally interested in phenomena and bliss while Jenny is concerned with grounding and healing, this might be why. The throat chakra is associated with lucid dreaming and visions, while the heart chakra with compassion and ultimately enlightenment. The heart is the ending place of energy once the central channel is purified (it goes up from root to crown then back down to heart). So just curious, you don't get any kriyas anymore.. but what about internally? anything going on? interesting that things stopped for you. maybe you are proceeding to a further level. Extreme yang proceeds to extreme yin (movement to stillness)

Yes indeed, I think it's all about marketing. Jenny doens't talk about anything magical, nor does she even mention the word 'bliss' or 'golden dragon body' or other such marketing tactics. Her approach is very simple which you can see from her flyer http://www.easterninternalarts.org/CO%20Feb%202010.html'>http://www.easterninternalarts.org/CO%20Feb%202010.html Such a non-flashy approach doesn't attract too many people but IMO, and I think you would agree, the people that it does attract are generally more genuine in their goals, that is probably her motive. Yes I agree, Chinese are a very practical people. I guess it's my Western influence that makes me curious, since I'm interested in the true history of the practice. I think it's strange that a history was made up, i'd rather have mystery than a made up story, but that's just me. Her spontaneous practice is done sitting, but the 10 balancing practices given are done standing, and she gave some other practices that are done on the floor kneeling and on hands and knees. I thought left was yin and right was yang? At least that is how it is for the legs. I could be wrong. Anyway she taught left at lower dan-tien facing up, right at middle dan-tien [heart] facing down, though once you start getting spontaneous movements above the waist that really won't matter much. Hi Tommy, I'm glad you enjoyed it and possibly inspired as well. Her website is here http://www.easterninternalarts.org/ She said within a couple weeks it will be completely redone; right now there isn't much info there but there will be a lot of helpful stuff soon. That picture of her is old, but she still looks extremely young! It's quite amazing actually. You can see the locations of the seminars there, the one I attended was in Colorado at her home and it cost 250 (she also gave me a student discount and offered for me to stay at her home, she's extremely nice). The seminars in other places cost 300 since she has to travel and rent a place. I think for what you get, the cost is worth it. I'm pretty broke so I was hesitant but I'm glad I made the investment. It's hard to find a genuine teacher.

But the benefits aren't yours, you get it from the machine and you become dependent on the machine. What happens if the machine breaks? Then you're screwed. I'm sure this technology can be very useful but it is not a replacement for your own healing mechanisms which should be trained first and foremost, not secondary.

Why would you want that?

:lol: :lol:

My reaction is similar, though the conclusion differs:

If you close your eyes, or keep them open since it doesn't matter, and remember a fond memory. It will be vivid, you can probably remember it vividly not just visually but possibly emotionally and tactically as well. You are visualizing except you are recalling a memory. When you dream, you're visualizing too. Visualizing is just using the 6th sense, the mind. If you close your eyes again but this time instead of remembering try to imagine something in very vivid detail. A scene perhaps of a beautiful beach with the sun setting on the horizon, or whatever scene you wish. Now add yourself except your body is perfectly translucent and radiating white-golden light. Your body is perfectly pure, all channels are open, all chakras are balanced. Keep this image steady and relax into that state. This sort of visualization has obvious pragmatic purposes if you analyze. One advantage over relaxation is that you won't fall asleep. An advantage over non-visual focus is that it's easier to specify what you're intending, and easier to notice when you're falling astray from your goals.

Visualization is not just using the memory but also the imagination. The key is intent or will. Tibetan Buddhism uses a lot of visualization, I find it very difficult. I've usually favored relaxation and also focusing on tactile sensations and breathing, visualization is a whole different ballgame. It's much harder to visualize a steady image than to focus on the body or to relax. Visualization strengthens concentration to a very high degree, I think this is why Tibetans prefer this method. In Vajrayana the beginning stage is called the Generation stage, which is where you learn to generate and keep an image still in the mind, usually of a Diety representing your true nature. Once you can visualize/concentrate very well then you do the Completion stage, which are methods of playing with the energies similiar to Qi Gong. For those that want quick results, they may not prefer this path as it requires hard work at developing concentration skills, but I think there is something more to visualization than just building concentration. It strengthens the intent, or the will. We tend to, subconsciously, think in symbols. If you want to send energy to someone how do you will it? How do you form the intent? What is the best way? Visualizing it happening is a symbolic way of intending it. I think that after you can symbolically 'will' things, then directly willing things becomes easier.

who are you to laugh!! bahahhaaaa

Vortex, I agree. I think people aren't thinking clearly. It's not just a weekend.. its 8 days for $850 (just counted on my hands to make sure, you have to include the 1st day too so can't just substract! lol) which includes room and board, that's not bad at all.. consider that Kunlun seminars cost 300 for 2 days and do not include room and board. I found a shot of the national forest that it's in -- looks a very Daoist landscape

If there's one thing that gets me with some people here, it's the anti-intellectual bias. Both study and practice are essential. They compliment each other.