Bubbles

Hi John, From what I know, this DVD is not a legit source for Flying Phoenix. There are some posts about it in this thread or in Sifu Garry threads. It is not recommended practicing from this DVD. If I can find the posts I will quote them. GM Doo Wai is not only a outstanding martial artist but also a healer. Within GM Doo wai arts, there are recipes for soups, teas for internal cultivation and healing. I can't tell why this tea is expensive, but the recipe may come from GM Doo Wai. Edited: for some reason your avatar is not showing properly... Perhaps the image doesn't fit within the limits of TTB. Can you check? Thanks!

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You registered in sept 2013. That's the reason why you feel this way. A short time before, it was like North Korea here, I was a mod .

There was no way for me to visit Thich Nhat Hanh. But here are the latest news. Official Announcement Plum Village, France January 3, 2015 To all Plum Village Practice Centers, To all Practice Centers and Sanghas World Wide, To our Dear Beloved Friends, Happy New Year! May you and your loved ones enjoy a truly New Year, blossoming with health, happiness and peace. We would like to thank everyone for continuing to generate the energy of healing and compassion for our Beloved Teacher. In the last three weeks Thay has gradually emerged into wakefulness, and has his eyes open for much of the day, to the point where the doctors can now say that he is no longer in a coma. In his current state, Thay is able to recognize familiar faces. He is very responsive to verbal stimuli and has brought everyone great joy by starting to smile in the last few days. One of Thay’s close attendants recounted some shared memories from being on Tour with Thay. There was a particularly humorous story which, to his astonishment, even made Thay smile and chuckle. However at the present time Thay is not yet able to speak. This indicates some degree of aphasia, which is being monitored closely and may evolve favourably in response to therapy. Thay’s physical condition remains stable, and thanks to the excellent care Thay has received from the medical staff, he is able to enjoy being comfortable and at ease. Thay is investing great effort in his physiotherapy sessions. He is making daily progress, and the attendants are learning from his mind of determination, as they witness him practising the exercises from time to time throughout the day. There are plans for Thay to be transferred to a specialist Stroke Rehabilitation Clinic soon. In the Rehab Clinic he will get the best possible care and training in order to regain as much as he can in his speech ability and movements. Today in Plum Village we concluded our special Christmas and New Year Retreat. Nine hundred people, including many friends from near and far, participated in our New Year’s Celebrations on the 31st. We practised walking meditation together along Upper Hamlet’s legendary paths, burned New Year Resolutions in a bonfire, listened to a nourishing Dharma Talk from a senior Dharma Teacher, and enjoyed a festive meal and lively performances, ranging from jazz to rap, kung fu and an in-house skit of “The Goodfather”. Sister Chan Khong offered a Total Relaxation and Touching of the Earth, and the whole community sat in meditation as midnight arrived, signalled by the giant temple drum and bell. Thay has built a beautiful community for us all to take refuge in, and we know the peace and joy of our spiritual family is Thay’s peace and joy. A real sangha always carries within itself the energy of love, the energy of brotherhood and sisterhood, hope and compassion. Our sangha is our home. Our sangha is our hope. TNH, December 24, 2010 With trust and love, The Monks and Nuns of Plum Village

Hi Sify Terry, First of all, I wish you a Happy New Year for 2015! Second, I have just checked the DVD vol 4, and the breathing sequence you give in this DVD is 90 60 5 50 40... Hope it helps Best regards

Here is a dedication Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche asks people who read the teachings given in his book- The Joy of Compassion- to do. It looks like loving-kindness: " Joy of Compassion: Dedication[Please dedicate the merit of having read the teachings in this book as follows.] “Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings, may bodhicitta, the source of all the happiness and success of myself and all other sentient beings, be generated in my own mind and in the minds of all sentient beings without even one second’s delay and may that which has been generated increase. “Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings, may all my father-mother sentient beings have all happiness, may the three lower realms be empty forever and may all the bodhisattvas’ prayers succeed immediately. May I be able to cause all this by myself alone. “Due to all the merits of the three times collected by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings, from now on may I offer extensive benefit like the sky to all sentient beings as Lama Tsongkhapa did by having within me in all my future lifetimes the same qualities that Lama Tsongkhapa possessed. “Due to the merits of the three times collected by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings—which appear to be real merits, existing from there, from their own side, as projected by my hallucinating mind’s ignorance, but are in reality empty of that—may I—which is projected by my hallucinating mind’s ignorance as a real me, a real self existing from there, appearing from there, but which is empty of that, empty of the hallucination of a real I appearing from there—achieve enlightenment—which appears to be a real enlightenment as projected by my hallucinating mind’s ignorance but which is in fact empty of a real enlightenment appearing from there—and lead all sentient beings—which appear to me as real ones from there but which are a hallucination, a projection of my ignorance, empty of being real sentient beings appearing from there—to that enlightenment—which appears to me to be a real one from there but which is a hallucination projected by my ignorance, empty of being a real one appearing from there—by myself alone—who also appears to my mind as a real one appearing from there but which is a hallucination projected by my ignorance, which means that this me, this I, is totally empty of a real one appearing from there. “May Lama Tsongkhapa’s complete path to be actualized within my mind and within the minds of my family members and all students and benefactors of this organization, spread and flourish in all directions, and may I be able to cause these teachings to be actualized in the minds of all sentient beings by myself alone.” - See more here This is probably my last post in this thread, thanks Aetherous

Please find below an extract from the chapter 2 of the Joy of Compassion by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. I haven't understood everything here, but what I am sure is that the thread is about loving-kindness- an element of it being compassion. Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinchope states quite clearly what relationship enlightenment has to compassion and bodhicitta. Hope we can come back to the main subject of this thread; "No matter how much you help the person to whom you are most attached, no matter how kind you are to that person, all you want is for that person to be happy. If that person receives help, achieves happiness, you’re satisfied. That’s your goal; you don’t want anything in return. You don’t need that person to respect you, to praise you or to do something good for you in return; you don’t have any such expectation. Your attitude is such that you are simply satisfied by that person’s receiving happiness or help. What do you call it—unconditional love? Anyway, that kind of attitude, whether it’s all sentient beings or one sentient being. First in your heart, your first priority, at least intellectually, should be all sentient beings. Then, enlightenment is the method. As in the example above, to enjoy food you need a plate on which to put it. When you’re looking for lunch, you’re not looking for the plate; your main aim is the food. So here, what we’re really looking for is the happiness of sentient beings. Although you might be thinking, “I’m working for enlightenment, practicing Dharma, doing retreat to attain enlightenment,” sometimes you can make the mistake of leaving one particular sentient being out. Even though your enlightenment depends upon that sentient being’s kindness, you leave that sentient being out; you give that sentient being up as an object of compassion or loving kindness. That sentient being becomes the object of your anger. You say, “I’m meditating to reach enlightenment,” but you use that sentient being who gives you enlightenment as an object of anger—to hurt, to give harm. You treat that person as useless, worse than garbage. If you have that kind of attitude, it’s not sure that your thought of seeking enlightenment is actual bodhicitta or not. Even though you use the term “enlightenment,” perhaps it’s just your self-centered mind wanting to attain the highest possible level of happiness for yourself. The essence, the very heart of your attitude, what’s really deep within, is the wish to experience the highest happiness yourself. It’s possible for this to happen." - See more here edited to fix the link

I don't know if it is apt to this conversation, and I am sorry if it isn't since I have hard times really following this thread, but when I first practiced Loving-kindness, I thought I had to create this feeling from scratch and that it should be done by will power. It changed everything when I realized it was done from a loving-kindness feeling that was already there in me, that has no contrary, and that was just covered by transient thoughts and emotional material that comes with likes/dislikes. It was then easier to me to wish happiness to people I don't know, and people I didn't like.

A Taoist wouldn't sit over long periods of time like zen meditators would do during sesshins because it is not natural. In chapter 78 of Lingshu, Qibo decribes the five fatigues as prolonged seeing injuring the shen-heart and the blood, prolonged standing injuring the kidneys thus the bones, prolonged lying injuring the energetic circulation, prolonged walking injuring the liver and the tendons and sitting injuring the spleen and thus the flesh. I guess taoists know the spleen likes movements and would do moving meditations too to compliment with sitting and standing. I am not talking here about the differences in aims and techniques, because there is much to say and this goes beyond my knowledge. I will only refer to Suwen chap 1 where people of the ancient times would adapt their behaviors to natural cycles and patterns, would moderate and balance all their daily activities, would keep their spirit free from any greed, desires etc.. and would then enjoy good health, wisdom etc... My 2cts edited for spelling and wording

Hi Marblehead, It would be interesting if you could explain a little the relationship between the Spirit (universal) and the Soul (individual). And how this fits into your materialism viewpoint. Don't respond here if you find it derails the thread. Thanks!

Libido is life but life isn't libido. I know you won't even consider that, but I write this down just in case it can benefit to someone, or perhaps you in a few years. You seem to stick quite hard to your story so I leave this thread here, wishing you the best! Be well,

Actually, there are some subtilities. Aristotle makes a distinction between internal and external final causes. The external one, is exterior to the thing: for example, the decoration of the temple is the final cause of a statue. The interior one, is the thing itself: for eg, playing or dancing can be done only for themselves. Thus the idea of a result is more appropriate for the external final cause, less for the internal one. I was just stopping by, sorry for any inconvenience.

Yes, a lot of reading to do.. Go ahead, please, a thread like this one is never a waste of time !

This is not something I want to laugh about. Eating 7 eggs a day and "pigged out" is a very serious way to damage your body instead of helping you. Focusing obsessively on your libido or on anything related to your genital life doesn't seem to be the right thing to do. It doesn't address the root of your problem. One's libido can be low for various reasons, your libido is just an echo of something else. For example, if your have a drug consumption and addiction background, it surely has depleted your Kidney yin and yang thus diminishing your libido, your ability to have and maintain an erection, your overall energy. Your Liver Qi may have been over-stimulated and resulting in some non-ordinary states of consciousness but again feeling fatigue, loss of drive etc as counterparts etc. Your heart-shen may have been disturbed then leading to sleep problems, depression etc So, since it is not a laughing matter, you should ask yourself some questions and answer them honestly: - What could be the causes of my health situation? What is my history : my previous lifestyle? my diet? etc? - What is the root of my problem? - What do I really want? - Am I ready to stop consuming drugs? You said you already tried: - supplements: but chemical supplements only stimulate more the Liver and lead to qi stagantion, liver wind and heat: if you had red eyes, etc.. then you know it didn't help. - herbs: which herbs? Did you consult any medical doctor? Any Chinese medicine doctor? (I would do both) Has your condition been properly diagnosed? - breathing exercises, yoga, MCO etc can be just fine but they are not a cure it all magic bullet if you don't correct your lifestyle and if you are applying them without proper judgment. It looks like you randomly tried different things and that you are now ready to: ************eat 7/seven eggs a day plus some red meat in a substantial amount ************** without really knowing what is the root of your problem********* for an indefinite period of time***********just to have your libido back ?****** I am just baffled at what I just wrote. You should find your common sense, Mike.This is not a laughing matter, it is your health and your life. If you are serious about it, you should just take care of yourself in a proper way. Smoking pot, eating like you do is just nonsense. You can't live like that for the ten years to come hoping you'll feel better. It just won't work. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against you, I am just speaking my mind frankly.

Just a post to say this is a very interesting thread. Thanks Marblehead! Wish I had more time to ponder over the subject and possibly contribute to it.

Your hair ?..I thought you had a marble head ? No? Edited: sorry, I won't derail this thread more.

FWIW: For your own sake, go back to earth planet. Eating a lot of eggs, meat without eating at the same time lots of veggies and having a lot of physical activity will just engorge your body and liver system. You are not going anywhere (the hospital in the long run perhaps?) following that kind of diet, not saying anything about cannabis. Getting horny isn't a life purpose, you know that, right? Give yourself a healthy lifestyle ( balance your diet, physical activities, etc), if you don't have a job, try to find one or give your time and energy to some meaningful organization and stop being obsessed by your testes. Take it FWIW. edited to erase a useless repetition