Subtle

This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7IIaOeVyWw

As much as I respect this man(I consider him one of my greatest teachers), I have many questions, and I'd be a liar if I pretended nothing bothers me about him. It might sound like I'm attacking him, but I mean this in the most respectful manner. A. Why did he die of pneumonia at 94 if he had control over his death? That sounds fishy to me that you would choose to die with illness if you could choose your own death. I thought Buddhas controlled their own birth and death? That doesn't sound like a controlled death to me. B. Why does he make the statement I quoted above if you hear him talking in other places talking about there CERTAINLY being immortals and Buddhas left on Earth? Why does he contradict himself?

Hello TheTaobums, I need your thoughts badly. My issue is that my neighbor keeps banging on the walls of my apartment.... Nonstop. All day. Everyday. It is pissing me off, and I'm trying not to get pissed off, but then, I get pissed off that I'm getting pissed off, which is a downward slope from there. I have tried everything. Asking God for help(I feel like he told me to ask here). Meditating on emptiness. Asking myself how God would respond to such a scenario. I still get pissed off. I tried doing it back to him, but all that did was made me feel terrible, and it gave him the reassurance that it was pissing me off, and now he does it even more. Big mistake. Should not have given him any validation. I have thought about just knocking on his door and confronting him, but I don't think I would have the strength to not kill him if he acted belligerent. Or at least attempt to kill him which would get me in deep shit. I want to avoid that route because I don't even want to worry about the temptation arising. Also, I have heard that he's a methhead, and I have definitely smelled marijuana in my apartment before due to a nearby apartment. I don't know what meth smells like. I have thought about complaining to the landlady, but at the same time, I feel like this is a GREAT opportunity for me to cultivate calmness, kindness, selflessness and detachment even when facing a difficult person. The problem is that it just pisses me off so darn much that I'm having a difficult time cultivating selflessness or kindness. How would you respond to this situation? I feel like complaining to the landlady is the easy way out. I also don't know if she would do anything because he doesn't do it much at night. Just during the day. But during the day it is ALL the time. I don't want to complain to the landlady unless I truly am unable to cultivate. I guess what I'm asking is how can I not get pissed off and cultivate? How would a wise person respond to this situation?

Not talking about complaining to the landlady, lol. Boy, I'd truly be selfless if I was worried about that. My last statement, "fuck that ugly methhead." Was what I was talking about, and as I said that all the hatred started welling up in me. I've been brewing, and i just realized how much I hate this guy. I truly, truly fucking hate this guy. It seems like all my spiritual practice (Loving-Kindness Meditation) does is suppress this deep hatred for people like this. The second it finds an opportunity to express itself it does. Does anyone else notice this, or am I the only one?

You've convinced me. I'm just going to tell the landlady, and call the cops if it continues. I know this is hateful but I've been suppressing it which isn't much good anyway. Fuck that ugly methhead.

I am in the exact same conflict. The one thing that I have been holding onto is the hope, that in the afterlife, they will get a life review (People experience these in NDEs so there must be some truth to it), which will make them live from our side. What they did to us. I truly, truly pray for that day.

Can you chant for more than one thing, or is it better to stay focused?

I don't know, but I'm having a hard time wiping the smile off my face right now. Lol! Maybe that's why Master Nan was always smiling. All that meditation stuff. I went to the bathroom like six hours ago to find that I was just smiling away, and I've been smiling ever since! I'm usually not the smiling type because it always seemed to take more effort to smile than frown, but right now it seems like it would take a collossal amount of effort to frown. I'd have to fake it. When I concentrate on the mantra, I can feel it making me smile again. Lololololololololololololol. I'm having a blast with this mantra! Anyway, just thought I'd post a quick field report. Back to my meditation!

Will be interesting to see what other people say. I've been using it for the last week, and I can't say much. Too early to tell.

2+2 still equals 4 whether you believe it or not. Nonetheless, until you know how to count and add, you will either go on parroting something you have no true understanding of, or you will continue to deny that 2+2 actually equals 4 because your beliefs do not agree with 2+2 = 4. All that is is attachment to your thoughts and beliefs which will inevitably shift in time(Law of Impermanence). Can the ultimate truth really be bastardized to only a thought?

I agree with the naysayers. When has a serious issue ever been resolved instantaneously with no work on their part(That's a new age way of thinking)? I've never even heard of one, except for these made up stories by con artists (Knowingly or unknowing). When anyone purports they can solve your issues instantaneously they are a scam artist. Plain and simple. It's like the get rich quick schemes that all the wishful thinkers flock to. You can take the blood road, or you can take the so called quick road. When someone purports to be something, then they better do what exactly they say. From what I've seen of the Yuen method, they don't even prove anything. When they say they cured someone's depression(Which is complete and utter bullshit), you're going on their word that what they're saying is true. But how do you know? You wouldn't go to a college professor who lacked the credentials to teach, so why would you listen to someone who lacks the credentials anywhere else? This monk who left Shaolin temple, why did he leave Shaolin temple? Could it have been because of the increasing difficulty as you progress? However, he parades it off as some noble exit and wanting to help people. The thing I've learned is to observe someone's actions. Not what they claim to be. Interesting how he goes right to selling expensive merchandise. All these scammy fields always pop up in areas that are difficult to prove. I wonder why that is? For a such a 'powerful' method, why is there no clear evidence that it even works? And if it can be proven, then clear my money karma and make me a billionaire. Or does the Yuen method not have the power that it says it does?

In meditation that is referred to as 'hsi.' Provided that you are not forcing a breathless state you should be fine. It occurs naturally in meditation with enough practice. Send the meditation expert (www.meditationexpert.com) an email for further information.

Ah, I see what you are saying now. Yeah, I thought you were talking about the abuse of psychic powers. I just shook my head. I'm still mostly learning about spirituality, but I know enough to know that psychic powers are a false materialistic path. How did you know?

This site doesn't have that particular sutra, but it has quite a few on the topic of enlightenment. http://www4.bayarea.net/~mtlee/

Net of indra.

If you want to do magic tricks, then you're on the wrong forum. You need to join a magician's forum. Countless spiritual paths warn about the abuse of psychic powers and the addiction to them. Better to be a heroin addict because that will only last a single lifetime, whereas psychic addiction can roll on for countless lifetimes. Psychic powers are materialistic in nature. This is not the path and not the point of any genuine spiritual tradition.

new here.