Cheshire Cat

Black liver... in western alchemy, it's the same "The Sage says That a wild beast is in the forest, Whose skin is of blackest dye. If any man cut off his head, His blackness will disappear, And give place to a snowy white. Understand well the meaning of this head: The blackness is called the head of the Raven; As soon as it disappears, A white colour is straightway manifested;" (The book of Lambsprink, 1677)

I agree. It's clear to me that the appearance and the whirling movements of the light reflect the state of consciousness. There's also a rythmic component to it.

Regarding the Black Liver and the crow, it reminds me vaguely of the western alchemy terminology of "cutting the crow's head/raven's head". About the problems with focusing Qi in the lower abdomen and running the MCO, I believe that to turn the mind inwardly to focus consistently on tactile sensations in specific areas of the body is an harmful meditative practice which causes subtle muscolar tensions and various imbalances. The effects are as dramatic as the concentration power of the practitioner's mind.

What is the yin and yang of black liver and rabbit marrow? Which are the two-stage yangsheng? What is the third stage of yangsheng? Unless you explain what these code-names stand for, I can't understand the english Google translations better than the chinese.

I can't understand sutras, but I've read the books of Charles Luk on ch'an buddhism. Great readings in my opinion.

How is wuwei dharma different from the Buddha dharma?

What does the Golden Elixir produce in the adept's body and life? Why would anyone invest time and effort in this cultivation? Please rely on simple terms so that someone who knows nothing about daoism could understand. Thank you

Can you describe - in simple terms- to a complete beginner what kind of results (physical, mental, spiritual, etc...) that a dedicate practitioner will experience in the process of cultivating the Dao? Thank you

I can't answer, but I have the strong impression that this particular meditation techniques might come directly from a buddhist hermitage somewhere in Thailand...

I would like to learn how to heal sick people. Is it possible to use this system to heal diseases? If the answer is yes, which ailments can be cured?

Hi all You know that my head is full of obscure weird things, but here I want to share a really really precious teaching that I found on you-tube. Master Nan teaching how to chant Namo Amituofo with english subs.

I think that what could constitute a breaktrough in this direction is a deep undestanding of the workings of the mind and the ability to strongly influence it.

I feel that the shaking practices bring a subtle layer of physichal and mental tensions which need to be released with great care after each practice session

Yes, it's possible since the human body has the ability to adapt. I've been celibate for many years. In certain animals, to post-pone reproduction has the effect of prolonging life-span... but that's certainly not the case for humans (nor for bees). Celibacy won't be better in itself than a moderate sexual activity, imho.

I feel that your understanding of Christianity is somehow naive. Why don't you read a catechism (for example, the catholic one which is available for free online) to get an idea of the real thing?

No ambiguity. The idea is to get your physical body back and resurrect like Christ ( who happened to keep the scars of his crucifixion as a proof for his apostles of being that precise physical body). Christian theology is very clear on that.

Our Lord Poseidon the Great God can never die.

According to a number of spiritual traditions, to sleep less is an important aspect of spiritual cultivation: the nath yogis and even the contemporary Buddhist teacher Nan Huai Chin used to sleep only a few hours per day. Even Gurdjieff used to sleep 4 hrs per day. But today's science tells how harmful is sleep deprivation.

It gladdens me to know that I have a skill of which some teachers speak very highly. If I were prone to superstitious ideas, I could even dare to follow such teachers. But we are who we are. Nothing special.

I can sit in full lotus for hours and I can tell you that it's just a comfortable posture for meditation. It allows you to sit on a hard surface for a long period of time without pain. It's a fundamental skill if you are a buddhist wandering ascetic who has taken the vow not to buy a cushion.

Activity always has some energy expenditures. Why should sex be an exception?

She's so beautiful

Why the Buddha would do something so counteractive to the spiritual growth of his disciples as turning them into shaved mendicants?

What about the future moment? What about death? As a human being, you're worried by death. The moment you accept a theory or the istant you get an understanding of the great unknown, you're doing something. Maybe you believe in reincarnation and the atman to get relief... and this is doing something.

Although I believe that the rhythmic repetition of sounds is a valuable exercise for the brain functions, it's completely outside of my personal experiences to be able to either meet the specific divine being of the chanted mantra or to cultivate the spiritual qualities of the heart solely by the mantra practice. The mani doesn't create compassion in my heart, the manjushri mantra doesn't generate wisdom and have no effect on my memory, the Hare Krishna doesn't produce detachment from material desires, etc... There are visualizations to get those results, but one can really use any mantras or no mantras at all. There are a few accounts of accomplished masters who weren't able to pronounce the mantras correctly, so the sound vibration myth is somehow exaggerated. My conclusion is that out of a portion of true benefit from training the mind with a mantra, hundreds of superstitions came forth and passed down through the centuries.