alleswasderfallist

Sifu Terry, I can see how the name 'Vedic' might spur a lot of charlatanism. I own a textbook on 'Vedic Mathematics' that is, according to seemingly objective fact-checkers from India, not Vedic at all - just a set of clever but useful tricks invented by a modern Indian mathematician. The author claimed to have taken a set of 16 mathematical sutras from 'the Vedas', the source of which he can no longer produce. I would like to know your opinion on Vedic knowledge that is demonstrably Vedic - like certain mantras from the Rig Veda. I have been chanting the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, mostly while working and before bed, for the last month. The first night I did this, I had a very profound dream in which I was forced to confront my fear of losing attachment to my body. Would you include this type of practice in the context of your comment, or did you mean specifically Vedic (and Buddhist) elements that have turned to book-learning and lost their substance? Forgive the ignorant question, as I haven't really delved much into the world of mainstream/degraded/modernized Buddhist/Vedic religion, and your comment was a little surprising to me.

Very interesting... could you elaborate on the internal aspects of WC (or Chu Shong Tin's lineage)? Or post a link? Thanks

Find a good teacher, and learn what he/she has to teach you. This is if you're interested in learning and not just saying 'I practice such-and-such'. If you're interested in an art that's unavailable in your area, or taught by a sub-par teacher, you can always learn it later, or practice on your own.

Very helpful indeed. I have been following your other posts and I would call your observations mind-expanding. I may be somewhere on my journey where I could easily overlook many deep things in Hellenism and Confucianism as you once did (Dao de Jing in one hand, indeed ) . What a pleasant surprise to once again find a world of meaning in the seemingly ordinary and mundane. I'll check out Sepharial for sure.

Sifu Terry, I decided to check the forum quickly before doing some FP and retiring for the night, and it's encouraging and uplifting to get a glimpse of where years of disciplined effort can take one. I remember, after trying Flying Phoenix for the very first time, having the distinct awareness that I'd truly come across a system that would bountifully reward me, based what effort I put in. This was after bumbling around with several incompetent teachings, feeling like I took a step back for every step forward, mainly from lofty and unfulfilled spiritual expectations. Reading your experiences, I am reminded of this gnosis we are blessed to have freely available - a clear path, a tangible outlet for earnest action. Thank you for your sincerity, openness, and readiness to share and help. Enjoy your retreat. - David

Because there's good and pleasure. What goes up must come down.

My understanding is that the Chinese Zodiac, as it is known in the West, is a gross oversimplification of a 60 year Taoist cosmological cycle. I don't know enough about the elements to tell you what significance metal and dragon might have together. Someone's year of birth won't necessarily be the clearest indicator of their personality anyhow. To me it seems more like a life path, a different sort of vibration than that of the months (which I believe overlaps Western astrology). Not to mention a day of birth (which, if I'm not mistaken, could have a lot to say about your subconscious? as it's analogous to a Western moon sign). So, a lot of factors influence this. I'm not very knowledgeable about Chinese Astrology to tell you the truth, I just enjoy entertaining the idea. I bought a book called 'The New Astrology', where Chinese Years and Western months are combined, for a fairly unambiguous reading with plenty of seemingly falsifiable claims. I picked the book up for fun, read my reading (Taurus Dragon), and was pretty stunned. I've been showing this book to all my friends, all of whom were also amazed to read a description of their character similar to what a wise old friend might provide if asked candidly. I give much credence to the laws of probability that would dictate that if exact statements are made (such as: so and so will leave home at an early age, be afraid of crowds, be exceedingly manipulative, have problems putting ideas into words, have many adventures around the world at the expense of others, etc), then all of these statements are very unlikely to be true together if they are truly random. With all that said, astrology is a new interest for me, and I don't feel like my knowledge is very authoritative. Though I will say that with the few astrology books I've read and the observations I've made over the last few months, things on earth do appear to reflect the macrocosm, if one takes a look.

I'm a dragon, so, at worst, I'm opposite :/ There seems to be a lot of truth to the Chinese zodiac, I'm finding.

No problem, thank you for your sharing thus far. Can you recommend any books or resources where I might find a deeper treatment of numerology than what one typically finds on new age book shelves?

Hey Slava D, I'm glad you just got volumes 4 and 5 and you're enjoying the practice. I don't have the background you do so I'm practicing 1 - 3 (and some of 7) for a few more months and then getting to 4 and 5. Looking forward to reading your experiences with the new volumes in the future.

bump looking forward to your answer, sir!

On your site it says that you only consider orders from WBBM members/VIPs... can anyone order now? Garry I sent you a pm about this, not sure if you got it.

John, do you have any paintings up that were done before you started FPCK? I'm amazed at your sense of color harmony. I'm very curious about your evolution as an artist. Just followed your FB page - I'm a big fan already.

Donald, have you also done research on numerology? Do the modern interpretations of numerology shine light on on personality, or has this science been lost, in your opinion?

Thanks, very interesting.

Thanks for your input, Zhongyongdaoist. This clears things up! I knew I must have been misconceiving something.

I like Bill Nye, and I'm glad he brought this up. Though you're right - he does little if anything to make his viewers aware of the other side of the coin. Also, I appreciate the no-nonsense attitude of 'Seeker of Tao'. Maybe I should make a separate topic where we debate astrology. I really just wanted to know what everyone thought about precession and how it affects astrology today.

I have. And I didn't look for my evidence by looking at astrologers, the same way anyone wanting to learn Christ's teachings would be foolish if he disqualified it based on the behavior of modern Christians. Astrologers != Astrology. Although the statistics you cite are interesting and good to know. I was never predisposed towards astrology - the opposite was true until only a few months ago. I realized that the claims made by astrology's real proponents are larger in scope than I was lead to believe. They are the same claims that have been made by Daoists, Buddhists and almost all mystical traditions for millenia. Any qigong master will tell you that the only way to prove it is to do it yourself. This isn't a cop-out, it's simple logic. If something doesn't fit in a box, and you're looking for evidence of it within the box, you're wasting your time. Again, the evidence you cited is equating astrology with astrologers. You can similarly disqualify accupuncture/qigong and the teachings of Christ by looking at their modern proponents and making a false equivalency. If that's good enough for you, fine. I like to use my own brain and see what's actually being claimed.

What about Burning Palm and Flying Phoenix?

In my opinion, smart people look for evidence. There is plenty of evidence for astrology, and the fact that it doesn't fit into a particular culture's theoretical framework doesn't mean squat. The same attitude is taken towards proponents of alternative medicine. I've read countless 'scientific' articles where Qi is discounted because it doesn't fit into Western science's (current) theoretical framework. This is pure stupidity, the arrogant mistakes of the past repeated by its weak minded representatives of the present. None of your objections to astrology show even a slight familiarity with the evidence. In the words of Einstein, condemnation without investigation is the height of stupidity.

Welcome to the discussion John. Very interesting and impressive artwork!

Unstructured/quiet seated meditation is a wonderful complement to FPCK practice. As long as you keep the practices separate/don't apply the principles of 'Undoing Yourself' to your Flying Phoenix practice. Until someone more knowledgeable answers in more detail, I hope this helps. Much success to you in your practice.

Thanks for the clarification.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Does this imply that the headset has changed the normal course of your FP development? I'm assuming that without the headset you wouldn't have lost the super sensitivity to sound sensation?

Thanks for your help, Sifu. I'll keep the windows closed. Noise usually isn't a problem around here (I live in a gated community), but this one experience definitely let me 'find out for myself'.