Vmarco

Conservatives who love America? That is clearly an oxymoron. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Society/Conservatives_Deconstruct.html

Yes,...that would great if Christians read their own rules (min 4:16 in above film),...for example,...1 Thess 5:21 says "prove all things" So how can we prove who is a real Christian? Well actually, Jesus left a specific litmus test for determining the true christian faithful, as published in the canonized text,...Mark 16:16-18. A true Christian, "the man who accepts baptism,...will be able to drink deadly poison without harm". Can you imagine all the "sorry for your loss" comments that would promote on TTB

Yes,...Qi, as in Wu Chi, is not Spirit. Spirit is the foundamental inbreath-outbreath of duality. Spirit would be associated with Tai Chi. Qi has no motion,...for it is not separate from anything. Only that which is separate has motion,...motion arises from the desire to return to Source or Qi,...however, nothing real is separate. Nothing real has motion. Nothing that exhibits motion exists. Everything that exhibits motion, ie energy, is part of Dependent Origination.

Peter Russell articulate: Years of personal experience, combined with centuries of cultural learning, have taught us the importance of holding on. We hold on to our desires We hold on to what we think we need. We hold on to what promises us happiness. We hold on to our possessions. We hold on to our image of who we are We hold on to our ideas of what is right. We hold on to our theories. We hold on to our beliefs. We hold on to our attitudes. We hold on to our judgements. We hold on to the past We hold on to the future. We hold on to our grievances. We hold on to our fears. We hold on to our loves We hold on to our lovers. We hold on to money. We hold on to our thoughts. We hold on to our illusions. We hold on to our gods. We hold on to our bodies. We hold on to our lives So why do we hold on? Maybe we believe that our safety lies in holding on, That losing our grip could spell disaster, Or we may believe that holding on is the way to salvation. But do we really know it is safer to hold on? Would letting go really be so bad? Do we really gain from holding on? It is the role of the teacher to show us that such security is illusory. That holding on only holds us back. That our salvation lies in letting go. Our holding on is a constraint we've placed upon ourselves. It is an attitude, a way of thinking. And our thinking - unlike the weather or the movements of the planets - is one thing we have complete control over. The task of the teacher is to show us that we can change our minds, and that it is safe to do so. We are like a person holding on to a piece of rope. He holds on for dear life, knowing that if he were to let go he would fall to his death. His parents, his teachers, and many others have told him this is so; and when he looks around he can see everyone else doing the same. Nothing would induce him to let go. Along comes a wise person. She knows that holding on is unnecessary, that the security it offers is illusory, and only holds you where you are. So she looks for a way to dispel his illusions and help him to be free. She talks of real security, of deeper joy, of true happiness, of peace of mind. She tells him that he can taste this if he will just release one finger from the rope. "One finger," thinks the man; "that"s not too much to risk for a taste of bliss." So he agrees to take this first initiation. And he does taste greater joy, happiness, and peace of mind. But not enough to bring lasting fulfillment. "Even greater joy, happiness and peace can be yours," she tells him, "if you will just release a second finger." "This," he tells himself, "is going to be more difficult. Can I do it? Will it be safe? Do I have the courage?" He hesitates, then, flexing his finger, feels how it would be to let go a little more . . . and takes the risk. He is relieved to find he does not fall; instead he discovers greater happiness and inner peace. But could more be possible? "Trust me," she says. "Have I failed you so far? I know your fears, I know what your mind is telling you -- that this is crazy, that it goes against everything you have ever learnt -- but please, trust me. Look at me, am I not free? I promise you will be safe, and you will know even greater happiness and contentment." "Do I really want happiness and inner peace so much," he wonders, "that I am prepared to risk all that I hold dear? In principle, yes; but can I be sure that I will be safe, that I will not fall?" With a little coaxing he begins to look at his fears, to consider their basis, and to explore what it is he really wants. Slowly he feels his fingers soften and relax. He knows he can do it. And he knows he must do it. It is only a matter of time until he releases his grip. And as he does an even greater sense of peace flows through him. He is now hanging by one finger. Reason tells him he should have fallen a finger or two ago, but he hasn"t. "Is there something wrong with holding on itself?" he asks himself. "Have I been wrong all the time?" "This one is up to you," she says. "I can help you no further. Just remember that all your fears are groundless." Trusting his quiet inner voice, he gradually releases the last finger. And nothing happens. He stays exactly where he is. Then he realizes why. He has been standing on the ground all along. And as he looks at the ground, knowing he need never hold on again, he finds true peace of mind.

Imagine, if you are not already aware, that Earth Energy is Red Light on the eletrodynamic spectrum, while Heaven is Violet, and the Heart id Green,...when those 3 (lights) are spun together that uncover the White Light of One. Keep in mind, that the One is not the Tao, but to realize the Tao, understanding the nature of One is necessary. The Hua Hu Ching correctly said, "The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to yin and yang. Yin and yang give birth to all things....The Tao gives rise to all form, yet is has no form of its own." The Tao is not One, it merely gave birth to One,...to put that more correctly, the Tao did not cause the One; the One effects it's motion from the Tao. Another point in reference to another post above,....be clear, that Qi is NOT energy,...energy effects its motion from the illusion of being separate from Qi. Hapkido Grand Master Jeong told, and shown me, "Ki is in the stop [or zero point] before the kihap." The power is not in the yell; the yell is simply an incidental byproduct of the Ki process. The kihap is just the exhale. A kihap uttered without connecting with the stop is mere posing or pretending. Instead of martial artists’ practicing a yell, they should be practicing the stop. When power comes from the stop, the kihap simply happens. Ki Master Koichi Tohei said, "We are able to move most rapidly and violently when we remain perfectly calm." Ki permits energy to flow more freely when the bodily, mental, and heart faculties are relaxed. Ki itself is a still silence that is similar to the eye of a hurricane or typhoon. The kihap or yell that martial artists use, when done correctly, is simply the exhale, or a place where the still eye of the hurricane meets the eye wall of the storm and manifests physical destruction. The greatest power arises through the greatest relaxation. The lower a hurricane’s pressure at its center, the more devastating the storm is at the eye wall. The more relaxed the martial artist, the more overwhelming the energy that extends from the Ki. The greatest (and only)power in the universe unfurls from a zero-point.

Many say that about the Christian Gospels. The oldest textual sources of Christianity however, is hundreds of years after the Gospels were historically known.

The English version of the 81 songs of the Hua Hu Ching that I quote from was adapted from a Master Ni Hua-Ching. From what I've read, the Hua Hu Ching, said to be collection of Lao Tzu sayings, has not been historically verified before 300 CE,...which coincidently, was the period when Buddhism emigrated to China. I've seen no contraditions between the Hua Hu Ching and Prajnaparamita Buddhism,...the Second Turning of the Wheel. Interestingly, some scholars insist that the Heart Sutra came from China. However, isn't the most important question, does the Hua Hu Ching offer a meaningful contribution towards the understanding of the Tao, regardless of anal historians and their limited cerebral-centric approach to knowledge. Lao Tzu said, "To attain pure Tao you must understand and integrate within yourself the three main energies of the universe: The first is the earth energy. Centered in the belly, itexpresses itself as sexuality. Those who cultivate and master the physical energy attain partial purity; Second is the heaven energy. Centered in the mind, it expresses itself as knowledge and wisdom. Those whose minds merge with the Universal Mind also attain partial purity. Third is the harmonized energy. Centered in the heart, it expresses itself as spiritual insight. Those who develop spiritual insight also attain partial purity. Only when you attain you achieve all three - mastery of physical energy, universal mindedness, and spiritual insight - and express them in a virturous integral life, can you attain pure Tao." Hua Hu Ching, sixty-two

Yoga of the Clear Light (Osel) According to the Tantric tradition, everyone experiences the Clear Light of the Void shortly after death. Its brilliance, however, is so overwhelming that the departing consciousness usually recoils in fear and is drawn instead into another samsaric rebirth. By learning to recognize the transcendent Light of the Nirvanic Buddha Consciousness during his lifetime, an adept may return to it without difficulty when the shock of death threatens to disorient him. Try the What is Light thread to go further: http://thetaobums.co...-what-is-light/

　 Many here on TTB hold to various contrive fantasies regarding what is a Bodhisattva. I've constantly pointed to authoritative definitions, yet many who read them insist that they themselves are enlightened, and thus have no use for C&P quotes of idiot charlatans. One of these self ordained New Agers implies that real compassion is turning the other cheek for your tormentors. Others have even more fanciful delusions,...like Thich Naht Hahn proselytizing that Jesus was like Buddha. The reality is that Believers believe whatever makes their delusions more palatable. For them, it is doubtful that they will ever accept the real definition of Bodhisattva, or compassion beyond their relative, sentient perceptions. For those seriously interested in what a Bodhisattva is, is not so succinct, and quite arduous to explain, because humanity as a whole are not prepared to receive such an appreciation of reality. What reality? The reality that a Bodhisattva sees,...which according to the Eight foremost Bodhsattvas, arises through the perception of profound Emptiness. Thus, teachers such as Robert Thurman, an esteemed student of HH Dalai Lama, stated, "Buddhist teachings on compassion are grounded in the direct realization of Emptiness; without which, compassion is impossible." And what does HH Dalai Lama say about compassion? "If I have any understanding of compassion..., it all comes from studying the Bodhicharyavatara" HH Dalai Lama What does the Bodhicharyavatara (Way of the Bodhisattva) say? "The whole of the Bodhicharyvatara is geared toward prajna, the direct realization of emptiness, absolute bodhichitta, without which the true practice of compassion is impossible." Of course, to many TTBers, too many to name here, but you will come upon their "spoiler" posts, those above authorities are wrong. Lao-zu said, "If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of your self." But these "spoilers" have no desire to awaken,...they insist that others follow their beliefs. Those seriously interested in the term Bodhisattva agree that bodhi is a feminine noun expressing a non-cerebral mindful understanding of the nature of things, and sattva, indicating the beingness through which that is experience, and is motivated by pure compassion. Through this pure compassion, a Bodhisattva makes a committment to suspend full enlightenment until all sentient beings have been liberated from the suffering brought about by their attachment to sentience, which the Eight foremost Bodhisattvas defines as the 6 senses. People generally believe they understand what that above paragraph means; yet they do not. First, bodhi is a feminine noun, not a masculine one. It is Yin, not Yang; expansive, not contractive. Few people on this planet have a clue to Who's Who in Duality, let alone its significance. Without understanding Who's Who in duality, the realization of Emptiness is impossible,...and without the realization of Emptiness, real compassion is impossible. A Bodhisattva sees the world through compassion, however the compassion of a Bodhisattva is much different than most can comprehend. Again,..."Buddhist teachings on compassion are grounded in the direct realization of Emptiness; without which, compassion is impossible." The compassion of a Bodhisattva is not some sentient feeling of sympathy, pity, despair, or Abrahamic religious definition. A Bodhisattva has an understanding Dependent Origination,...that is, not only why and how Form is Empty and Empty is Form,...but that feelings, etc., are also empty. It explicitly says so in the Prajnaparamita,...and the prajnaparamita is the process all Bodhisattvas used to realize emptiness, so they could uncover real compassion, without which, they are not Bodhisattvas. We can define a Bodhisattva as a being who, upon realizing Dependent Origination (which can only be understood through emptiness), forgoes enlightenment for the sake of those who consider themselves separate from Others. Seeing the illusion as illusion, Bodhisattva's committ themselves to the liberation of humanity's sentience; which is something that human beings hold dear. In response, most Sentient Beings will attempt to harm, injure, and even kill, such liberators. A true Bodhisattvas would not be perceived as wonderful people leading very moral and exemplary lives. A Bodhisattva is an assassin, who challenges or shines light upon every aspect of beliefs and faith-based delusions. A Bodhisattva can be recognized as one who is intolerant of all conditions that step between sentient beings and their direct experience. A Bodhisattva understands that an experience born of belief can only be experienced through the condition of that belief. Anyone claiming to be a Bodhisattva, without a full understanding Emptiness,...that is to say, the understanding how things really are (beyond the perception of sentience), is not a Bodhisattva. The Heart Sutra, which is the heart essence of the Prajnaparamita, is quite implicit about that. The Heart Sutra is how a Bodhisattva sees. One is not a Bodhisattva until one sees as a Bodhisattva. One does not see as a Bodhisattva, until emptiness (Perception of the Profound) is realized. Although many have recited the Bodhisattva vow,...of the thousands of posts I've read on this forum, there is only one Bodhisattva that posts on TTB. The Bodhisattva Path is one of cultivating bodhicitta,...whereas a Bodhisattva is one who participates with bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is the awareness that everything a sentient being perceives is a dream. Chögyam Trungpa, who said that real compassion is not having any hesitation to reflect your light on things,... it does not discriminate whether to reflect on a pile of shit or on a pile of rock or on a pile of diamonds,...also said, "May all beings be free from suffering and the root of suffering, May the dark ignorance of sentient beings be dispelled, May all beings enjoy profound brilliant glory."

Truth, like art, is only appreciated with the keen awareness of the beholder,...sheeple generally abhore a good collage. "If I have seen further... it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.. Isaac Newton Sheeple been indoctrinated to reinvent the wheel everyday,...it keeps them from going beyond their belief patterns. Sheeple, like "Human kind cannot bear very much reality" T. S. Eliot

Sacred Geometry is a lengthy subject. In the 90's I attended 3 separate workshops,...two were 7 full days, and the other a 5 day conference. For a little foundation on the subject, try several hours of these: http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=drunvalo+melchizedek+sacred+geometry During Drunvalo's Flower of Life Workshop that I attended, he mentioned that Walter Russell (see A New Concept of the Universe) was advanced Sacred Geometry. The book 'A New Concept of the Universe' is a guide to the threshold of the Tao.

That bolded statement, is the 4 Noble Truths in a nutshell... suffering is a consequence of the desire for things to be other than they are,...everything perceived through sentient beingness is other than the way things are. Yes,...I would agree that Seeing Things The Way They Are would be inclusive to enlightenment. To attempt to define that Way Which Things Really Are through the Way things Are Not is likely impossible. To realize the Way Things Really Are is synonymous with understanding Emptiness, Dependent Origination, 4 Noble Truths, etc. The film 'The Dalai Lama on the 4 Noble Truths' would be helpful. http://www.mandalabooks.com/Four-Noble-Truths-The-His-Holiness-the-XIV-Dalai-Lama

What is to Aaron a delusion, is to a Bodhisattva liberation. In the intro to the Heart Attack Sutra, it says,..."What the Heart Sutra does (the Heart Sutra was dictated by the Bodhisattva of Compassion) is to cut through, deconstruct, and demolish all our usual conceptual frameworks, all our ridid ideas, all our belief systems (like those Aaron wrote above), all our reference points, including any with regard to our spiritual path....it pulls the rug out from underneath our feet and does not leave anything intact that we can think of, nor even a lot of things that we cannot even think of,...the Heart Sutra is hazardous to your samsaric sanity." Karl Brunnholzl. Aaron's relative point of view about suffering is meaningless from the point of view truth. Because he relies on beliefs and teachers, he assumes everyone does. That is the nature of sheeple,...they believe what their 6 senses tell them. As René Descartes articulated, "All that I have tried to understand to the present time has been affected by my senses; now I know these senses are deceivers, and it is prudent to be distrustful after one has been deceived once." Aaron does not...."Recognize that everything you see and think is a falsehood, an illusion, a veil over the truth." Lao-zu

Here,...start with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRD4gb0p5RM

Lao-zu said, "...the world's religions serve only to strengthen attachments to false concepts such as self and other, life and death, heaven and earth, and so on. Those who become entangled in these false ideas are prevented from perceiving the Integral Oneness."

Sorry, back at ya,... Lao-zu said, "Do not go about worshipping deities and religious institutions as the source of the subtle truth. (Hua Hu Ching 17) ....religions are desperate, clever, human inventions that rely on hypnotic manipulation of undeveloped minds. Hua Hu Ching 78)" I have both Daoist and Buddhist acquaintences. Daoist friends raised in China say Daoism is not a religion, but a philosophy. "Recognize that everything you see and think is a falsehood, an illusion, a veil over the truth." Lao-zu 48 HH Dalai Lama said, "If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change" Buddhism is not about beliefs, but how to let go of beliefs. Neither authentic Buddhism or Daoism is a religion.

"Your ignorance and delusion are nothing strange, for it is difficult for logical thinking to understand peace." Buddha It would be advantegous to tag tonal with knowledge,...however, Nagual should be tagged with Gnowledge, because the term unknowable can be confusing.

,..."relate with what will never you, and from which you can never leave.' C&P is a handy, practical tool,...why you're adverse to them is an interesting tell. The motto above can be considered an absolute bodhicitta lojong,...nothing is missing, and it is sublime with meaning. Why relate to things that will leave you, and from which you can leave? Is not that just nonsense of diversion, disconnection, and distraction? That which can never leave you is real,...not relatively real,...but absolutely real. Do you CT, understand a single thing that will never leave you? If not,...could you say why such might be meaningless? What is a Sheeple? Is not a sheeple a follower of indoctrinations? Would it be better to call those who cling to their indoctrinations for their identity a more appeasing term? Let's call a spade a flower? Should such a term be threatening to anyone who wishes to examine their sheepleness?

Suffering is amazingly simple,...suffering is a consequence of the desire for things to be other than they are,...everything perceived through sentient beingness is other than the way things are.

Aaron believes that any dialogue that causes someone's beliefs to suffer to not being compassionate. A Bodhisattva, the essence of compassion, takes an oath to liberate all sentient beings from their sentience,...that is, their beliefs. The faith-based are obviously entrained to appease, moderate, and sustain beliefs through coddling, etc. But is that the right thing? In fact, a popular indoctrination is that it is better to happy than to be right or true. Thus, for most, happy is something directly opposite of right or true. As for Asia,...I likely would stay near Sukhothai, and tour from there. While in China, I surely want to go to Dongguan and the Guan Yin Temple of Compassion. The trip is open ended,...could very well stay there (in Asia). Also plan on visting Vulture Peak, where Buddha is said to have spoke of the prajnaparamita.

Tonal and Nagual? Surely, the tonal would be in search of followers,...a nagual would most likely be not. For others reading this, I have no wish for followers. Even with one of my favorite hobbies, that is, leading hikes in the mountains near where I live, I generally lead from behind. I've already did the hike, thus don't need to be in front,...I've already seen the wow of what's around the corner, so why not let those who haven't, get an unobstructive view. My posts on TTB are rather typical,...respond to, or present a point of view, along with supporting evidence or the similiar views held by others, that draws a contrast between relative, sentient beliefs, and absolute, sapiential insights. I do not suggest that any spiritual insights should be believed, but reduced. I never suggest that thinking should be accepted as fact, but challenge anyone reading to answer the question, "have you ever thought anyhing in the present?" Is not thinking always in the past? I cannot lead anyone there, but can, and do, attempt to organize the discussion for the reader to go Further in their investigation. Even the slightest notion that my motives posting here are of a teacher/follower nature is foreign to me,...and am constantly puzzled by the emotional charges spawned by some who read them. I have little interests in tonal games. Over and over I've articulated in many ways that one of my favorite mottos is,..."relate with what will never you, and from which you can never leave. Of course, to most sentient beings such an idea threatens their sense-based beliefs. However, as this is a Daoist forum, I figure that many here would be interested in topics that delve beyond the senses. "the ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle; totally fascinated by the realm of the senses....if anyone threaten it, it actually fears for its life. Let this monkey go. Let the senses go." Lao-tzu

These are very important points when attempting to discern what those Heart-centered cultures were about. A few extra points,...1. the Heart-Mind or Higher Consciousness was not (necessarily) the heart organ. Greeks and others associated it with the thymus gland. 2. The Heart-Mind or Higher Consciousness discussed in some branches of Buddhism, is not part of the 5 skandhas, which would include the 6 organs, such as the brain or organ of thinking. For some, the Highter Mind or Heart was only accessible by means beyond the 6 senses or human sentience. Even Lao-zu described the Heart as the seat of Spiritual Insight. A problem today however, is that so many cerebral-centric belief systems have adopted a head-based heart model.

Yes,...that would be their truth. In the Valley of the blind, deluded Sheeple, the one-eyed girl is persecuted for her illness (of having some sight).

　 Of course you're drained,...because you only see compassion from your personal relative view. The Christian calendar steps between sentient beings and their direct experience of the natural world,...thus undermining their liberation from suffering. Because of your historic difficulty in comprehension, I'll lay it out again: A calendar establishes the rhythm of social life. In a large part of the world, the Christian belief system, through its calendar, infiltrates the rhythm of our years, months, and artificial religio-centric orientated weeks, and thus, albeit subtly to most, dominates society. Because Christianity’s Gregorian calendar disconnects us from the natural cycles of life, it is one of the most significant underlying impediments to peace, love, and spirituality in the world. A calendar organizes our human activities. Although the Christian calendar is an outer manifestation, it governs our inner life by obscuring the natural cycles of the outer. To establish peace, love, and a connection with spirituality in the world, we need a profound shift in our everyday consciousness that can be facilitated through a "natural calendar" one based on natural time. The CRFC (Calendar Reform for the Future of Civilization) pointed out that "by rational discourse and common sense, it has been determined that the Gregorian calendar does not represent a true or accurate standard of measure or belong to any systematic science of time, and hence, is worthy of reform." That is to say, as the sword is an anachronism in modern warfare, the Gregorian calendar is, as Rick McCarty says, "an anachronistic scheme serving the interests of men in a pre-scientific, theocratic society with a feudal economy." The Christian calendar encourages neither spirituality nor a birthing of human beingness. It stimulates unrest, disempowerment, conflict, unrighteous intolerance, and violence. A natural calendar based on the natural rhythms of earth and our relationship within the universe would promptly change everything. Our activities would ensue through an atmosphere of connectivity, versus an environment that arose from spiritually limiting Aristotelian logic and dissynchronizing theocratic beliefs. We are where our attention is. If our attention functions within a religio-centric environment, there is an obscuring of our spiritual essence. It doesn’t matter whether we think that we are becoming more spiritual; we simply are not, and we cannot cultivate the sapientialness of spirituality upon a dogmatic sciential, sentient foundation. Christianity is a patriarchal, cerebrally invented religion whose intent is to perpetuate an inferior humanity. Bottom line,...no Bodhisattva would, in any way, be supportive of the Christian calendar,...nor would any compassionate person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZgT1SRcrKE