Simplicity Rules

And I respond with a deserving "shoo shoo"..That's the way to deal with cows, Tao or not

Well, by those standards, you should be the Indra of Tushita heaven You probably are, else how would you know about vacancies there? So you shuttle between void and Tushita heaven? OP - Thankfully, you still remember of the original poster? The thread is about compassion and as usual, you talk about it, like everything else, endlessly. Meaningless, truthless words. Borrowed from here, borrowed from there, generously sarcastic and full of pomp. But, is there even an iota of experience or insight there? Does not seem to be! Why not link articles, sutras, tantras first hand? Saves you the redundant effort of duplication! Now, go bully someone else or shower your compassion (i.e. words and sermon) elsewhere. Let others have some meaningful discussion minus your unsought "compassion".

CowTao, Thanks for distributing merit badges and five stars. Did you get them with your samaya precepts? And where did all the grandeur in your writing go? The compassion of a Bodhisattva seems to have disappeared all of a sudden? Are you running a tour program to Tushita heaven? Do I need to be in your bully bunch if I need to get a special ticket to Yama and Nirmanarati heavens too? Is that a guided tour? Talking of reflection, do you ever reflect on what you write or simply project what you gather from books? I don't know if I deserve your insincere "smile", but I accept it anyway. Purity and Impurity know I not. Remember that those who spend most of their waking time offering sermons here, shall sometime get a taste of it too

Ya Mu, Wanted to say a quick thank you for the knowledge you share here. I, for one, really appreciate and cherish the practical and down-to-earth fashion which you adopt to say what you have to. There is no fake humility, sarcasm hidden behind meaningless smilies, and a hypocritical advice to loosen up when caught pants down. As I have said before, I am a Buddhist. I have studied Buddhism for several decades and have done so because I have found it to be the best path for me. When I come here to Tao Bums however, I do not come with the preconceived notion that Buddhism is best for everyone. I come here with an open mind to listen to what others have to say. And when I disagree with someone, I don’t always have a compulsive need to argue without evaluating about the degree of good that comes from it. I do not come here with a notion, ‘Oh yes! Buddhism is the Best! Let me see how this thing that they say here compares with it”. I do not come here to always say, but to listen, as much as I can. I am not here to always counter a Taoist/Hindu/Sufi tool with a bigger and better Buddhist tool. I may share what I have found valuable in Buddhism, but within a context, without an agenda and not to the point of ad nauseam. I come here to learn about Taoism, for that is the chief topic of this forum? Agreed, this forum allows for sharing of every view, but what is the need to bring in Buddhism and Vajrayana and Pratityasamutpada to every thread, related or not? When the discussion here is about Medical Qigong, what is the point of derailing the thread by talking endlessly about compassion? Who disagrees here about the virtue of compassion? But people fail to understand that not everyone comes here to read endlessly about Buddhism, or Nirvana or Compassion or Enlightenment. There are many who care about health issues, injury, day to day problems etc. You may disagree and look down upon their pursuit as aspiritual or ignoble but who am I or you to judge on what is right, or what is best? Everyone needs to have space to learn and share without a bunch of Buddhists jumping on them every time a point is made. Compassion and Vajrayana and all that may be valuable to you, but why repeat them endlessly in every thread, relevant or not? Those who come here not to listen but to preach, need to develop a great level of magnanimity and sometimes offer the “lowly” ones some space, even if it is to err. Can’t the Buddhists not stop ganging up and jumping on everyone and everything? Can they ever appreciate anything that is not Buddhist or pat someone other than those who agree with them? If not, why are they here? Ya Mu shares here useful, practical stuff. He shares his unique insight and does not parrot endlessly what can be found in any good book. He speaks of things relatable and without unwanted verbage and fanfare. And he does it with no pretension. Rather than appreciating a fact that here is a person who is sharing his special knowledge in a field, do we need to criticize him unnecessarily? Do we need to use useful threads such as these to show off Buddhist bookishness and make it a nightmare for everyone? Are there not enough threads where the purpose is to talk endlessly about Buddhism on this Daoist forum? I have not seen Ya Mu jump in and deliver a sermon on medical Qigong on the numerous argumentative threads on Buddhism where none of the so called Buddhists exhibit any basic percept of Buddhism but parrot endlessly from various books or teachers. On another popular Buddhist forum, numerous experienced practitioners simply stopped sharing their valuable insights because of a few obtusely loud and dogmatic individuals. I see the same happening here, and teachers like Ya Mu will leave than continue to have to unnecessarily defend themselves all the time. Not all of us are here to talk theory and compassion and awareness or read quotes long bookish quotes, and I assume it is reasonable to spare at least a few threads for “my” kind of ignorants to listen and learn, at our own pace. Please show a little compassion here and not make everything written here them vs Buddhists. If deep indoctrination and dogma does not allow you to look beyond it, then please do keep attacks and arguments and sermons on compassion and dependent origination to a few specific threads. Ya Mu, I sure hope you will continue to share your practical insights on Medical Qigong here. I greatly look forward to reading your posts.

:lol: And this is how you have been interacting here, with everyone who is not nodding their heads or sending lovey-dovey icons at you. You have done this to not just Ralis but many others on this very thread. It is anyone's guess that probably you have some very deep fear, unfulfilled life pattern or just a deep resentment towards "real" world and people therein? It is interesting that everything you accuse others of is really applicable to yourself! If only you took a moment to notice. Stop noticing the CowTaos who applaud at your digs and sneer along obscenely, take a moment to look at many others here who have valuable things to say which may not necessarily fit your deeply rooted dogma, and listen with an open mind. Even you may eventually learn something simple and valuable. Learn to listen before you expect others to listen to you. English is not my first language, but I don't that not being the case with you has done any good in making your posts crisp, coherent or connected. For all the different times you have declared since yesterday how "done" you are with this thread and forum, how "incapable" people here are to understand the depth of your realization and posts - you sure lack basic self-control. You are still hovering around with a bad case of verbal diarrhea. At least stop making statements you don't mean. I doubt there are any forums around where such behavior will be appreciated, Buddhist or not. So, there really is no place to go.

Vajrahridaya, STOP stalking me through PMs. I don't appreciate your trash talk. Whatever you need to tell me, talk to me here and directly. By the amount of posts you write I can make many assumptions, but I have a job, a life, work and an actual spiritual practice. The time I spend here, I do to read something worthwhile, say a goldisheavy, otis or a Manitou. Sorry, no time for your types. Why are you piss scared that I am going to talk to ChNN? Pero and CowTao and other Posse of yours - can think what they want. If I want to open this thread and show it to My Teacher (of course without editing you silly - complete thread) and if he wants to read it - who is Pero or Zero or some other idiot to tell me NOT to? Now are YOU guys going to take decisions on HIS behalf too? Are you going to decide what disturbs him or not? You "Buddhists" act like a ghetto and jump and attack everyone who disagrees with you. Look at this thread and two other threads on the other page. All you and CowTao do is show others "wrong" and preach. Give it a rest! He has always welcomed me warmly and has been a frequent visitor to my home, and I am not saying this to earn some points in your stupid pissing contest - I say this because I know him extremely well and understand how busy he is and what is or is not a waste of his time. So, yes, all you can do is sit here and scream, do it. He should know that his "student/s" behave in very "Buddhistic" ways in public and about the cordial threats sent to others. In fact, he is only three streets away from me. So yes, he should know about such discussions, after all, he gave you transmission according to you! I know neither you nor Ralis. I don't need to. How the both of you conduct yourselves here is enough. And Ralis has certainly earned nothing but my appreciation. Moderators - Is there a way to stop Vajra from sending me more such PMs? I don't have time for trash talk like this. I am told you are an old hand at stalking people who disagree with you on this forum. I am here to learn and not preach, in spite of how I might have come across on this forum. It was a mistake I commented on this thread, and I didn't realize the kind of E-Sangha leftovers I would run into here.

I am a Buddhist too, and self-admittedly dogmatic to a certain extent. That said, I have to whole heatedly agree with Ralis. I have hosted Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, who is also my Root teacher, twice at my home and he, at no pointed prescribed to the "kind" of Buddhism that is being displayed here - arrogant, ignorant and televangelist. I write this here not because I want to add to the drama. But only to tell those that might be currently considering Buddhist studies or to study with Chogyal Namkhai Norbu or other Dzogchen or Mahamudra practices - that one should not take Vajra are representing the Master whose name is being thrown around generously here or his teachings. Don't be put off by this kind of branding here, which is obviously not close to anything that can be considered as a skillful means. Vajra is not Norbu's spokesperson and by his handling of this thread, not even an authority to comment on his teaching. I will make some posts here reachable to Chogyal Namkhai Norbu and his close circle as I am interested to see what he has to say about such representation of Dzogchen and Norbu's teachings. I will possibly require two more weeks before I can do this, but I will try. Such presentation creates a bad impression of Dzogchen and especially teachings of Norbu who has pioneered the attempt to make Dzogchen non-sectarian, if interpreted as coming from some official source of Dzogchen community. As for Namdrol, it is no secret that many prominent teachers of Tibetan Buddhism do not want to officially associate with him today, for obvious reasons. And Goldisheavy, some posts of yours on this thread are true gems! I fail to understand how someone can debate those, and that too through mere personal attacks, and repeatedly. Like you said, Dzogchen tantras do criticize everything that is non-Dzogchen, including Mahamudra. While the original tantras are moderate in their criticism, the commentators are quite critical of everything non-dzogchen, often with a good reason. Thanks for making this thread worthy of reading.

Hi Tao bums I took a workshop with Max when he was in Europe two years ago. I did not have any dramatic experiences like others during the workshop. I saw a lot of people shaking wildly and went through some kind of a group psychosis and swayed a little too. After the workshop, I found out from at least three others who experienced nothing dramatic during the workshop except for some tremors. I did practice Kunlun 1 and Red Phoenix for five months but nothing happened but for some shaking legs. Eventually, I stopped. After reading some positive reviews on this forum, I have a renewed interest in giving it another shot. Some question for long term practitioners. 1. Are there Tao Bums here who have practiced Kunlun Neigong for more than at least an year? 2. Have you received concrete benefits - like noticeable healing, bliss, energetic openings etc.? 3. Is there anyone who practices Kunlun as their main system i.e. nothing else, no other qigong or cultivation method but mainly Kunlun? 4. has anyone achieved the Golden Dragon Body or anything close to it through Kunlun? 5. Also, are there people here who tried Kunlun and gave up for some reason? It would be interesting to know why? No hateful comments please Thank you.

John, That was a very heartfelt post. Thank you for sharing that. An old friend at Kenneth Folk's forum described it the same way, which peaked my interest. He described the practice as leading to a state of relaxed and open awareness much easily than other Tantrayana and Sutrayana practices he had gone through.

Thanks Trunk. I am still slowly pondering through the Magnetic Qigong DVD. I also placed an order for the Bagua DVD, but I dont think it will reach me anywhere before a month I also like the details provided in the video, which speaks to be of being "more aware" rather than "letting go" - some reason that resonates with me better.

Perhaps too much of preaching and little practice? Or practice does not embody what is being preached? Action that is not harmonious because of clinging to concepts dear to oneself that is causing imbalance to mindful and skillful action - for there is a need to be defensive towards everything that does not accept your concept of Buddhism? Openness that is directed only towards what one's experience validates and not towards the other side of it, which, obviously is not correct or imperfect because that is not my 'experience' (or even belief?) Or simply diversion leading to inattention caused by all this give me a Buddhist high-five thing going on here? Every small action has a cause and examining it is never a worthless activity - says the oldest tantra, the Guhyasamaja, which is really the first meditation the Tantra taught. Oh all this .. may be, may be not. Metta

My background is primarily Buddhist but I have found Taoists and Taoist forums to be more accepting, open and less dogmatic than most 'Buddhists'. I am not trying to say all Buddhists are, but most seem to be. Most Buddhist forums online are filled with those who will not even consider view that opposes theirs, and such views need not be from other philosophical systems but their own - within Vajrayana, different sects, Hinayana vs Mahayana, Mahasi vs Goenka vs Thai Forest. I found this forum rather late but the openness and 'Tao' here are very very refreshing. I cannot in contrast find one Buddhist forum that is even partially-encompassing or non-exclusive even for the sake of pretension. Cheers to The Tao Bums forum.

Thank you. ZerosTao, any feedback?

I just got the 3-DVD set from Dragon Gate Sanctuary: - Wudang Wu Family Kuan Yin Magnetic Qigong - Hirai Family Healing Mudras - Wudang Wu Family Vibrating Palm Form (Thunder & Lightning Spirit Boxing) Super impressed! I am looking at his eBay store and am a little confused. His listing includes: Wuudang Medical Qigong: Fire and Water Point methods -> Is this included in the 3-DVD set listed above? Description seems similar to the Vibrating Palm and Thunder Boxing DVD. Any idea on what is taught/covered in the Reiki-related DVDs? Any reviews/recommendation? - Ancient Japanese energy healing Jin shin reiki qi gong - The Heart of Reiki Legacy of Usui's last students Any reviews/recommendations for two other DVDs that currently interest me: - Wudang Tibetan Taoist 5 element healing methods - Kunlun Flying Needles Medical Qigong - Space Clearing & Personal Mandala Meditation Method Want to make sure I am not buying something if its already covered in the 3-DVD set. Would appreciate any recommendations/reviews for any DVD set from Dragon Gate Sanctuary.

Thanks Steve! Your response resonates with me. The reason I ask is this. Last year, I met with the grand nephew of Tian Ruisheng, the founder of Xiang Gong or Fragrance Chi gong. He mentioned that this form was very effective in opening channels and getting Chi moving and opening eight different orbits including micro and macro and did much better than many other forms. This guy teaches about twenty forms of Qigong and Taiji and told me this was his unbiased evaluation. While talking to him, he also mentioned that most other popular forms in China, while being complex and all that, did little compared to a simple form as Xiang Gong. Chunyi Lin states something similar. According to him, his form is the distillation of various other more complex forms but generating equal or greater benefit with less effort and greater simplicity. We are generally told x and y form does this and that but till one actually evaluates them against a simpler form, how does one know? I have done Zhan Zhuang, Flying Phoenix, Zhineng/Chilel, Nine dragon Bagua, Iching Gong and several other forms but was astounded when I first tried Spring Forest Qigong - it seemed to generate a lot of chi with little effort, got my orbits running and seemed more wholesome in many ways. This is the reason I asked the question about simplicity vs effectiveness. As a side, long ago, I studied for a very brief period with Nan Huai-chin, who teaches Anapana as the chief practice. He somewhat debunks Qigong, so I asked him, if one were to do Anapana/Stillness practice alone, how would one circulate chi without any dynamic meditation such as Qigong? His reply was - stillness has movement within itself. If you still need to do something, exercise, walk, run, swim or cycle. There would be no added need for a specific Qigong form. I did not follow his advice completely and still do Qigong forms but sometimes I wonder if stillness meditation and just some physical exercise will give as much benefit as any qigong form.

I know such general stuff, I was looking for a more experiential response. I totally understand what you said, having done 20 years of such practice. But thanks anyway! Looking forward to hear from others who probably got my question.

I think that is both the advantage and disadvantage of EMDR. Same experience here. It also lacked structure unlike TRE and was not very usable for me. It requires too much of work and is much harder I guess, and I never got around to differentiating it from Vipassana. Don't feel very inclined towards that, especially without taking a workshop with Bruce. Thanks, I will check this out. Unsafe? Did you mean because it can harm the lungs or lead to hyperventilation? I have done some breathwork similar to Rebirthing but involving lower dantien and a more relaxed breathing. Seemed safer and more relaxing, but was never sure if it work on releasing traumas.

Not to take this topic out of track - but are there other trauma release methods, more wholesome and addressing the entire body perhaps? I have been told Holotorpic Breathwork is one.

Is this not similar to Yi Gong or Shaking Medicine of Keeney? I tried this out this morning and felt similar shaking. I am not sure if one needs to do all the standing exercises or simply the last, but I am going to stick to only the last one. I did not get full body shakes or anything, but legs were going much crazier than in Yi Gong.

Started reading this thread this morning and it took a good hour. Twinner, you seem to be represent the Buddhist ideal more than any of the so called Buddhists here who exhibit not even civil behavior, forget compassion and equanimity. Just had to say that, I will let the "Buddhists" continue arguing and throwing insults and judge another's level of insight/realization.

Hello, A student of Buddhism - Zen and Tibetan, started with Theravada Mahasi and Thai Forest. Found this forum when looking for more info on Flying Phoenix Qigong. Metta.