Harmonious Emptiness

Excellent! although desire can be a thief to the shen, we still must be honest about these things to live from the heart-mind, in my estimation. It's a very difficult task to explain the tandem reality of dhyana with what you said above, but I believe they exist harmoniously.. Even when we have realized the true nature of self and phenomena, form is emptiness and emptiness is form. Desires are empty, but they are also form. That's probably the closest I can get to a satisfactory ratification, but, who cares?..

Well, if the people were actually black then wouldn`t it make sense in that context?

Thanks for the response. I figured that part would be the most quickly refuted, though it wasn't the whole entire argument, and to show all the possibilities: the translations at your link for li were many / numerous / black / dark / the aborigines of Hainan / a Chinese family name

Looking forward to it!

You might not care for this, but it might be interesting here since it is a discussion of similarities between Ancient Egyptian (African) and Ancient Chinese thought. I'm not certain what to make of it without another informed opinion, but it does present some interesting evidence throughout

I'd like to add too, that beyond the definition I posted earlier, I think that karma does exist on the level of attracting like energies, like a second level of karma. This is not a mechanical system that works the same every time. I would say it's almost like a living system that works according to which ever way the water flows or the wind blows at the time. Some people may deny that they believe in "superstition" yet they will still avoid someone with or without certain energies, feeling that it will effect their lives somehow down the road. The same goes for our own output, in that when do things that create the wrong energy (emotional or otherwise), it hangs around us like karma and ends up influencing events or the lack there of. Some people feel the same thing about objects which they believe to carry the same energy with them that was put into them. We can balance this energy to become like our own, but we can also be influenced by it if we're not conscious of our own energies and intents (right intent and right meditation being part of the Eightfold Path). At the same time, recognizing all of it correctly (Right View/Understanding about phenomena and self) aids one in avoiding these things, if I'm not mistaken..

Another thing to consider is that the energy in the sacrum is not just a regular chi, it may be made up of chi but it is like super dense chi, so putting that in to parts of the body other than chakras is too much in one area and asking for trouble in form of stagnation and blockages which leads to all sorts of issues. This would not be the same as directing healing chi to a part of the body as recommended in qi gong. I think the chi in the sacrum, that used during kundalini, is like a processed type of chi, made dense enough to work on energy centers which are more ethereal and so need something more condensed. To put the same amount of chi in random parts of the body will just cause imbalance. This is not the way to do it.

If you are trying to heal the prostate of a disease, it will depend on what the ailment is. For example, cancer patients need to draw chi away from the area. This can be done by holding one hand close to the area, and the other hand at a greater distance over the dantien. This technique was taught to Zhi Gang Sha by his master who explained that it works like an open window. The energy created by the close hand will be drawn to/escape to the open space of the far hand, bringing the chi to the dantien. The principle is the same as hot air moving naturally to cold areas. I've found this useful with soar throats and other pains, though you would be best to enlist the help of a medical qi gong master for rapid and more dramatic results. If you want to strengthen your prostate: To reverse the near and far hand, with the right understanding and experience, would move the chi from the dantien to your desired area. flexing the muscles near the sacrum also healthfully flex and nourish the prostate. It may feel like spasms at some point. Freud was probably unaware of this when he advised not to be anally retentive If you are healthy, then observe that too much of any flavour can cause problems as well..

Yeah I figured that. I was about to put "peace and blessings on your journey" but then realized "peace isn't going to get him from A to B". Still, your outlook and stability might be helpful to others [recently in the same situation], while using this situation as an opportunity to deepen your spiritual path (assuming that's what you wanted to do..). So, not that I've been down that path, nor having any reassurance to share about the end of it.. it did make me think about this semi-related random thought in meantime: Jesus said "I send you as sheep amonst wolves; so be as shrewd(careful, prepared to take action) as a serpent and as harmless as a dove." What do you get when you combine a serpent and a dove?

Aaron I believe you are strong in your path. May your serenity, tranquility, and wisdom be a light unto those whom you come across along the way. Blessings on your journey, and goood luck in Washington!

To my understanding from reading Buddhist sutras and commentaries on sutras, Karma arises from actions which themselves arise from attraction and/or aversion. Attraction and aversion arise from us believing in the existence of self, and they also revert us back to this belief. This is, arguably, the way we become trapped in samsara. When we give up our affinity to pleasant sensations, not attributing them to the self (realizing that self is absent to absorb them), and equally for unpleasant sensations.. then we cease samsaric actions or karmic actions. When this is done, karmic debts are erased entirely. This event is like a portal, on one side we have karma, on the other we have no karma. Step in: karma; Step out: no karma. Step in again: karma; etc., until we have trained and trained and trained and the door frame is removed; then we move to either side but the room is the same

Start anew, can we? Green leaves now turning yellow .. never stopped the sun...

To my understanding, the meridians end at the palms and at the feet, so energy is well conducted from the palms..

whoops, wrong info.. m'excusez

Sorry if we're not jumping ahead, but notice that line 39 translates Dhyana as contemplation, rather than freedom from attachments. Any idea why this is?

Whoah. Ok. missed your response.. Sounds like you might have a stomach ulcer or something. You'd be best to find that out first.. then you'll know better what qi gong to help. abdominal breathing is still basic..

Hey TenebrousMystery, Welcome! When I was having gut troubles what I found to help was abdominal breathing. When lying down, put left hand on dantien and right hand on chest. Your left hand should be the only hand going up and down. This relaxes, brings blood to the right places, massages organs, plus.. Some other things: drink only warm or hot liquid with meals so that the spleen doesn't have to heat them up when digesting everything else. Better yet, drink lots of fluids during the day and nothing within 30-45 minutes of eating. This allows more nutrients to be digested rather than washed away. Being more regular helps as well. Drink green tea, but avoid too much caffeine. Meat is harder to digest and does some bad stuff, so being mostly vegetarian can help. It's hard for me to say how much all of this worked, and how much it had to do with stress. I also seemed to have sympathetic stomach conversations with the person I was sleeping next too, as I no longer do. Abdominal breathing is foundational to qi gong as well..

I suppose they could, but in this case: they didn't.. That's what I really like about Hui Neng and Ch'an, is that they don't go on and on. Nonetheless, even the Ch'an masters studied sutras like The Surangama Sutra which clears away various confusions with logic and explanation. Though, in the Surangama Sutra does say that endless philosophy traps people in a relative reality rather than actual reality. Once you get to the shore you leave the boat behind. In the meantime, I enjoy the boat and the ride. Sometimes I forget about the boat even though I'm not at the shore, but I still want to get there eventually. Seriously, this is like catching minnows compared to the amount of compartmentalization that goes on in Buddhism. You might want to bring this up in some of those threads; though I appreciate the response anyways, and I don't disagree with you..

(edited to remove quote) I second Manitou's advice above about practicing sitting meditation. Just sit with a straight back, ears over relaxed shoulders, start with your palms face down on your lap. It's not easy at the start to just do nothing, much harder than it sounds so it is actually doing something. You could practice by just lying down with no radio or anything for 20 minutes just to get past the first part. This is like the home base of any spiritual practice. For it to carry into the rest of the day, it helps to maintain the same relaxed but erect posture. Posture often tells the mind how to feel so keeping a relaxed and straight posture helps to do the same with the emotions and mind. As for ego, to understand anything you need a point of reference, ie., yourself, so a bit of ego is necessary in the meaning that ego means self. What is not ego is false-ego or super-ego which basically plays make-believe about who it really is. This is not evil, it's a mistake. People that say "the self does not exist" are looking much deeper to the point that they see this whole existence does not exist but is like a dream. That is not something that we can just go "oh, yeah, right" right off the top, so don't worry too much about that. And to be one with the Tao, just don't worry about adding all these things to the ego and you'll be on your way. Really being one with the Tao is an incredibly high attainment which people fast for weeks and such before they do. But being one with who you are is like a micro-cosm of this, let that part approach you first. Also, wu-wei is mostly about trying too hard, using more effort than is necessary. You need to make some effort just to stand still, but to be tense and flex all your muscles is not necessary. It also applies to meeting people.. don't try to force them to like you, or to force them to hang out with you, and you will practicing wu-wei.. this is also a better way to interact as it more morally correct and considerate. It's hard to have no false-ego in the real world since everything tells us to envy everyone else and to be superman. That causes confusion for everyone that falls into it. My advice for being social -- be "fun-loving." Love to have fun. A good piece of advice I once recieved "if you want to be happy, hang around happy people." got to go peace HE

Sort of a long intro to the thread, hoping to have an interesting conversation on the way that society perpetuates Delusion and Suffering through its actions or saṅkhāra-khandha. In Words of the Buddha, Selections From Pali Sources when explaining the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, the Buddha speaks about Right Understanding and Delusion. This chapter reads very similar to the writing of Nagarjuna on dependent origination, and how the "I" and "Mine" just arise of the mind which just arises with what it perceives. Delusion is also said to be perpetuated by craving and down the line of it's causes. Some quick wikipediizing (so who's givin' out the new-word badges here? ) showed me an elaboration on saṅkhāra-khandha from Buddha's words in the (Pali) Samyutta Nikaya sutra: I'm seeing that if you look at the series of Delusion to Rebirth in the reverse order, then one can see how the mind arises merely by the things it perceives: Below is a Paul Carus' translation of the chapter on Right Understanding. I have a different translation in which Karma-formations is termed "(life-affirming) activities [sankhara, probably the saṅkhāra-khandha meaning]" http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/buddha2.htm

While I think it is okay to celebrate successes and virtue, nationalism just reeks of cult-like mentality in so many facets. It basically serves to turn all the citizens into cult members who must worship the inner circle of politicians without question, while everyone has to conform in various ways, and think they're better than anyone outside of the group (which is used to justify domination and cultural deprivation). It's national cultism..

sure, they're just reflections in the water so to speak, but until we're able to look up and see the moon, it's helpful to have some idea what we're looking for and where to find it..

You're right, I did on the second one, but the first one there would be correct. So the second should have been "lack of direction (water) can be controlled by calm (earth) and reduced by drive (wood)." Thanks. Another one I was thinking about is how they say the extreme of yang leads to yin and extreme of yin leads to yang. Looking at the 5 elements: extreme of fire (excitement) leads to earth (calm), extreme of water (adaptation) leads to wood (drive). An interesting correlation. Though, I'm not sure the word "extreme" would normally be used here. edit: Also, extreme of thinking (metal) ends up in wishy-washy (water) like procrastination. The extreme of wish-washy leads to drive (wood).

I've though about and used the elemental interactions in the following ways: knowing that when someone is angry and excited, being earth can put out the fire, or if that doesn't work, being water or immensely flexible can control or redirect them. Drive (wood) can control earth (tranquil) Tranquil earth leads to metal (intellect) water (openness, flexibility) can lead to drive (wood) too much intellect (metal) can lead to lack of direction (water) metal (intellect) can control or direct drive (wood) too much thinking (metal) can be reduced by acceptance and flexibility (water) thought (metal) can be controlled or directed by excitement (fire) lack of direction (water) can be controlled by calm (earth) and reduced by planning (metal) this is my feng shui Kung Fu. If only I had some credentials I might write a book about these applications (but we don't need more johnny-come-lately appropriators, in my estimation). However, they are useful for wu wei action. I have to agree with Kali, fwiw, that these can be looked at through a Buddhist lens if you wish, but they are basic Taoist 5 elements theory, whereas Buddhism came from India which had different elements, I believe they don't have metal and they add air. So to think these go back to Buddhist theory would be categorically incorrect, though understanding them would certainly be useful for anyone on the Eightfold Path, imo. Perhaps you didn't mean to imply otherwise, but the OP did seem to read as though the five spirits were part of Buddhist philosophy..

I guess this has been said in various ways, but I think it is pretty obvious that to attain high levels of self mastery, one has to also master their desires so that they are not mastered by them. At the same time, we need to know which desires to listen to, especially for most people. Pregnant women have weird desires for strange food because their body craves something in that food for good reason. I think the same goes for animals who eat fruit kernels before the fruit itself - they listen to their instincts and their body and so they allow it to tell them what they need. Ignoring these calls can be unhealthy, but mastering desires is also part of knowing which ones to listen to. When someone is at an extremely high level of mastery then other standards will apply, but there are stages. Note my signature as well which comes from a Taoist text. Basically, concentration requires the ability to shut out competing desires, so someone who is cultivating spirit as in Taoism will naturally realize the depleting effect on this of being led by desires. Also, for people distressed by poverty or circumstances, bringing them back to tranquility by dropping their raging desire for change can save their sanity and their lives. But I agree that a proper evaluation of the role of desires is important. To have no drive would indicate a weak liver according to TCM.