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Truly, Taoist Texts literal explanation aside, the version of the Zhuangzi we now have could well be described as ‘The Swept Leaves’ version, or even ‘The Swept Path’ version. The original, now lost, 52 chapter version was radically edited by Guo Xiang around the year 300 CE..... His edition soon became the standard version and has survived to the present day. Most enlightening, Guo Xiang also wrote a postscript to explain the revisions he undertook. This postscript is still extant in the Kozanji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. Here Guo Xiang says that he found Zhuangzi's work full of strange ideas, daring metaphors, and lofty expressions. To make his meaning clear to the uninitiated, he found it necessary to revise the text radically. A certain number of chapters—altogether about one-third of the old manuscript—were excluded completely. "Some of them," he states, "were similar to the Shanhai jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), others resembled the manuals used by dream interpreters. Some came from the Huainanzi, others again belonged to works dealing with speculations about names and reality." The text seems to have been widely varied, containing profound and shallow parts side by side. Guo Xiang says he found it hard to make sense of the work as a whole, but tried his best to include as much as possible in the coherent philosophical system he outlines in his commentary. As he has it, "I contented myself with summarizing all and refrained from inquiring into its logic. I reduced the text to thirty-three chapters, selecting its best and most complete parts, those which could reasonably be made into one whole." Guo Xiang therefore thoroughly reorganized the Zhuangzi. He eliminated folkloristic parts and shortened the manuscript, as he himself admits; from later citations it is evident that he also rearranged the text and removed those sections he considered merely explanatory to his commentary. Guo Xiang did thus not hesitate to impose his personal understanding and philosophical preferences on the text. The ancient original Zhuangzi was lost and ever since the fourth century it has been received through Guo Xiang's eyes. His philosophical systematization had a tremendous impact on the later tradition. Once his views were found agreeable to Chinese literati, his interpretation was accepted as the correct standard and all variants gradually vanished in the mist of history. (From Livia Kohn, Early Chinese Mysticism.)

anything that can dream exist All of its own self without being dependent on anything?

Anything that can err , or dream.

Matter is part of the dream. Those who manipulate matter are just stuck in the world of illusions

If you are thinking about "what's good for the world" ... then you are anyway lying because you are not present to the situation at hand, you are speaking, but in your head you are planning plotting and have an agenda - even if it is a good agenda. Therefore you are lying. When you read the papers, you can say "oh he's a f******* a******e" and get angry at many people. But if you are in front of those people are you really going to say the same thing. Looking into their eyes, seeing that they are just crazy monkeys, all wanting to be happy, trying to deal with a difficult world. Is it really honest to shout at them ? Or is it an indulgence in your own fantasy. You want to shout at people, so you can continue to be not present and indulge in the dream of hatred in your head. Likewise if you are really nice and compassionate and want to save the world .... when speaking to people. Are you present ? Or is this a different dream ? Are you present to yourself, and are you looking into the eyes of the person in front ? Or do you look to the side to allow you to keep dreaming and get your agenda out ? Life is not painful or hurtful if you are there. Just be there. Be honest right here. Again and again.

Great .... now this , is 'a thing ' ..... now, apparently, anything can mean anything you want it to . It is the “The art of realizing meaningful coincidence in the seemingly mundane with mystical or esoteric significance.” or even ; " multi contextual research " ..... research ! ! ! ? . It used to be an obvious sign of confirmation bias We seen a bit of this happening here . http://realitysandwich.com/1377/the_cryptic_cosmology_synchromysticism/ " The synchromysticism research Jake Kotze publishes on his websites include information-dense videos, artwork and articles punctuated by images illustrating various mystic/pop culture linkages. His articles and videos usually focus on esoteric symbols or memes (possibly stemming from a collective unconscious mind) reoccurring throughout a wide range of sources, especially mass media. Such symbols include numbers, words, archetypes, shapes and various visual motifs or patterns such as portals and checkerboards. The total effect is a mind-blowing labyrinthine reality mash-up linked by a type of dream logic. " It is also the beginnings of certain psychotic paranoid delusions < raises eyebrows> . ... but try and tell them that !

Hi guys It has been just under 1 year since I recieved 6 rasa sessions. I certainly felt something during them, and then I was proclaimed "level 1000" by multiple people. I do feel how it describes - I don't identify my body as I, I feel like I am a seperate but connected entity of Self (one consciousness), however this is where the similarities between my state and the website stops. I still have mood swings, I still (though rarely) act out of ego, I still dream and fantasize about material wealth or objects. All of these things that RASA claims to eliminate, because they are egoic properties. However they do say it can take 7 years for your experiencial state to catch up with your energetic state (the crown chakra being fully open). I have spent quite a few months recently having DNOTS for a day then elation/bliss the next and so on. Seems like I am purging all my past memories / karma / stored emotions. Would I recommend it? Probably. Do I know if the rasa transmissions actually caused this? Nope. Because I started reading lots of buddhist texts, started praying, started doing water fasts, started doing energy work (doo wai breathing exercises), started generating bodhiccita and compassion for everyone. So I can't nail down a specific thing. It just so happened RASA happened first. I wouldn't get it from Ausar though. I found him very non-genuine. I recommend a guy called Elias, or Ramaji himself.

Dao Zhen was an old wise member who unfortunately hasn't posted in a few years. A few people have asked about him lately and thought I'd collect a few of his writings- I think as friends and companions, and also as Westerners exploring these Taoist Arts, we have to be objective, honest, and also have a spirit of sharing; then maybe we can make some headway... To be honest, we must seriously look at the RESULTS gained or LACK OF RESULTS. I think three basic hallmarks of a good Internal Alchemy system would be: 1. A real and tangible method to quiet the stray thoughts and desires from the very start of the journey. 2. A real and tangible method to quickly open all channels - thereby allowing the student to be free of disease and in health and also to be able to sit for longer and longer periods of time in no pain. 3. A real and tangible method to deal with the first main door one approaches - "what to do when Jing is full" - By my research and understanding from personal practice, a "SYSTEM" would address the above points in a very clear manner, and also other points that come later on..... I agree with you in a simple manner on your 4 areas that arise as dimensions of practice; though we could analyze and list quite a bit more -or maybe that is the job of the Buddhists It is good to look at a system in outline form, as it can give you some idea of where you are in your practice, if you are progressing on course, and also if perhaps you made some error, and are going in a wrong direction. Beijing able to look at a system in outline form, can also show if in fact this system has some aim of Union with Tao, and a means to provide a vehicle to allow the student to make such a journey.... I would also go one step further, and say that to qualify as a True Method, such a system should have some living examples of adepts who have made advanced headway using these methods - otherwise it is all fancy talk, legendary stories and tall tales... Without a good map, it is perhaps almost imossible to get to the destination..... In a simple way, our practice could be outlined as such: 1. Laying Foundation - 100 days 2. Incubation - 1 year 3. Journey through the Big Pass - 7 days 4. Nursing the Infant - 3 years 5. Facing a Wall - 9 years In a more complex way as listed by my senior: STEP 1 Preparatory work STEP 2 Cleanse the heart of all stray thoughts, desires and passions STEP 3 Settle mind-will in Lower Elixir Field STEP 4 Open up the Eight Extra Channels STEP 5 Administer Jing STEP 6 Harvest Yang Qi STEP 7 Revolve the first small waterwheel STEP 8 Gather Psychical Rays STEP 9 Gather the Qi of Great Unification STEP 10 Automatic revolution---Fetal Breathing STEP 11 Preserve the Buddhist Relic STEP 12 Nourish the Buddhist Relic STEP 13 Golden lightning flashes three times STEP 14 Conduct the Buddhist Relic to pass through the Three Passes STEP 15 Conceive a Fetus of the True Self in ten months' time STEP 16 Give birth to the Fetus of the True Self STEP 17 Raise the Fetus of True Self in three years' time STEP 18 Possess the same body with Tao STEP 19 Fill up the infinite emptiness with my brilliant psychical light in nine years time <me.. I haven't gone through the site, but this matches up with these steps and has more info on the bottom of the page http://www.taoiststudy.com/taoist_alchemy/whole-process-taoist-internal-alchemy might be a good link.. or not, haven't gone through it enough, could be link to Dao Zhen's system or at least info on it> If one is just practicing sitting, and encounters pain, there are a few ways of dealing with it. FIRST - in ancient times, and in many modern systems of Taoist practice, there is "preliminary" work that is done to prepare for sitting. By my personal experience these are usually Dao Yin stretches with breath training done in a cross leg posture, and also standing Dao Yin methods to stretch the body and tendon network, etc. These methods also begin some very basic work to open the meridian system, train the breath, and circulate the Qi. So look around for Dao Yin methods, or even doing Indian Yoga and Tai Chi can help lay some foundation of BODY for the work of SITTING. SECOND - When sitting there are two methods to work with in passing through the stage of PAIN. Do this, and make it past this stage, as the reward is worth the effort. The pleasure, internal peace, and UNION we gain from the journey past the PAIN stage is really worth the effort. I was taught to allow progress to take shape naturally in meditation. So one method in this regard is to allow the pain to come - say in the hips, or knees, or numbness in the feet - let is build slightly, and before it becomes HUGE, very slowly stretch the feet out and allow things to become comfortable again - then very slowly draw the feet back - AND CONTINUE THE PRACTICE - with this method, a beginer can stretch a practice session out for 1.5 to 2 hours no problem. A second method is to use the breath to push past the pain, or to seek to reach an experience of the meridian opening. This method is usually only good to use if one has a method of practice that combines with the meditation to build up the Qi. As the pain arises, you begin to focus deeply on the breath, and pumping the breath in and out from the Lower Dantian. DO NOT focus on the pain, just focus on the breath. Sometimes one will need a soft breath, sometimes a strong breath. If you can hold the mindfullness, and keep the mind and breath together, and not DRIFT off into the area of pain - oftentimes you will reach a WALL, and then suddenly the WALL breaks down, and there is an OPENING, and the channel opens, and the pain MELTS away like ice, and there is a WARM, comfortable feeling that arises, and the body feels very light, and usually this will lead one to a deep state of emptiness........ These are just to give you something to play with. Really, I wish you can all experience to learning of the hand postures - and the related other methods - as it opens things up quickly, builds a healthy qi, and leads one in a very specific direction in the practice..... Our system has nothing to do with "practices" nor "techniques".... In the first few stages, some technique must be given, some guidelines, etc.... Most never move past such a stage, and even the basic level of Transformation of Jing to Qi is given as a "technique" or method in the first steps - but even this must become natural, and the mind-will should not be involved in any direction or guiding... The process is like "growth" or a natural "movement" in a direction that you are "pushed" to from the first trainings and "transmissions" from the teacher... Yes, it is much like "seeds" or "software" is installed.... As internal "signs" arise, at times the teacher will advise the student to "employ" a slight method, and this can cause the growth to continue on in a proper direction. For example, at one stage, there is an experience of a strong light that flashes in front of the eyes three times, and at this same time the Qi feels very active and a sound like a roaring will arise from behind - at this time of these signs, there is an action to be taken to continue in the proper growth, etc... The way it was taught to me was we learned the "practice" and we also learned the "theory"... But in reality, they are two different things, and the practice is what is important. The outline of the practice course is not a reference to "technique", but a view of the main stages of growth that take place along the journey. A tree grows from a seed, to a sapling, to a small tree, to a large one.... Perhaps we can on paper chart such "stages" of growth of the tree, and give each stage a "name".... But in reality, it is one process of growth, and it is completely "seamless".... Such is the practice of Internal Alchemy.... Growth..... I do not have my stack of theory notebooks with me right now.... I am recalling now one stage of the practice where the bones will become like some feeling of "fire" and very intense pain...... I did not reach this stage yet, and am just recalling the lecture.... I will be back in Wudang in 3 weeks or so, and can go through my notebooks to look for that stage..... I also know there was talk about "false pain", being created by the "false heart" at a stage to try and stop you from practice.... This was talked about in reference to one reaching an important point of "breakthrough" in the practice. In this reference, it was advised to just sit and move through it, no matter how bad the pain gets - to totally ignore it, and give it no mind, thought, or vision - and attempt to be empty with no movement of the mind-will.... Sorry, but I do not remember all the theory, and try and practice more than memorizing such things.... Perhaps if you are a seasoned seated meditation adept, then the pain is another thing besides just sore tendons, stiff hip joints, or closed channels in the legs...... When sitting with my teacher, it was as if there was a HUGE pressure, almost crushing me about 30 min in. This would then lead to a great heat, and a huge pain, almost inside my bones, and a strong fight / flight response to open the legs due to the pain...... I would hold, breath and just be with this...... After the sessions would end, I would be soaked in sweat, and REALLY tired....... It reached a point of intensity after about 5 days, and then it was as if I came face to face with this wall, and there arose a pure and sincere intention internally, and my heart had a vow - "I do not care about this pain. I shall not move, ever....." A force arose inside, and the pressure become stronger, more pain, but this "vow" was like a light growing.... Then the pressure and pain suddenly "melted", and I had a huge breakthrough in the practice - whole body become light, like being in a shower of golden light, and I fell into emptiness, and just kept sitting and sitting, and when I came out, Teacher had already left the room, and it was quite late.... Maybe this is something like where you are at in your practice? Perhaps when the heart feels strong and it is the right "time", just sit..... Till the wall comes down........ Maybe a great breakthrough is waiting on the otherside of the pain............. <Addons 7/22/18 By Dao Zhen I think for serious students, this is a big hurdle to overcome. It is best to not get into the habit of gaining depression when an emission happens in sleep. It is natural, and go slow and do not force anything, nor become obsessed with "saving" jing. Keep practice, follow solid methods and guidelines. With time, all will become secure quite naturally. I have found the following to be a help for me in my practice. Yet this is by no means advise from an expert, as I have very little experience. In the tradition I am learning, it is generally accepted that a serious student is celibate. - Points to help prevent emission during sleep - 1. Change conditioned habits and patterns in regards to viewing and interacting with women - on the street, and in the manner we speak and deal with them in public situations - If we flirt, and have playful interaction with women, it may stir things up quite a bit, and cause trouble during sleep. Honor and respect women as your sisters in Tao, yet do not view them as sexual objects, nor project sexual fantasy on women. 1-a. Do not view pornography video, magazine, or sexual movies. 2. Diet. Do not over eat, and do not go to bed while full. I have found it best to eat the last meal of the day around 5pm or so. Also in the tradition I am learning, it is thought best to follow a simple vegetarian diet, with no spice, garlic, onion, scallion, chives, and cilantro. 3. Do not have very heavy blankets on the body that will create too much heat when sleeping. 4. Do not sleep on the stomach. Sleep on the back with one leg crossed over the other – hands resting below the navel, or on the right side with one leg tucked behind the bottom leg at the knee level – right palm cupping the ear – left palm below navel area. 5. The most important point I have found that helps is to sit for 1 - 2.5 hours or so in proper seated meditation practice before sleep. This is perhaps the most important point, and will yield the most results. In this tradition, we have a method to transfer Jing to Qi that is taught. It is termed - "Lighting a Fire", or "Burning a Soft Fire". It is very effective, and yields the effect of the Jing being transformed to Qi, and really is like something burns away and evaporates. There is great warmth generated in the Lower Dantian area that moves, and steams upward during the process in a manner that is very pleasurable and uplifting. One is left with a feeling of great expansion, and the sign that the Jing has been completely transformed, and it is safe to sleep is one has a feeling like a vast, expansive, clear blue sky. The sign that one has made some gain in transformation of Jing over a period of time, is generally one will stop to have dream activity. There is a great stillness in the sleep state, and no real strong dream activity. This is also related to the pattern of the Metal conquering Wood; Or the Po suppressing the Hun during the night. When the Hun is suppressed by the Po, it wanders away from the sphere of the liver, and the resulting experience is dreams. As Jing is transformed into Qi, and the Hun is strengthened, there is less and less dream activity during the sleep state. One sign I have also come to notice is that if I was lazy and just lie down for sleep without practice, there will be a feeling of something stirring in the lower Dantian, like a movement, or maybe even a worm or something is really moving and stirring. This is a sign that one will experience an emission during sleep, and it is important to have a strong will power, and sit up and cross the legs and sit to Burn the Soft Fire. It is also a good idea to get into the habit of getting up from sleep at any time in the night when you awake and there is a stirring in the sexual organ, or a strong erection. Just sit up, cross the legs, and lightly gaze over the Lower Dantian area and sit in stillness. In this system, they also teach a standing method of body movement, contraction and breathe retention in the first stages to strengthen the lower gate, to help prevent the emission during sleep. This stage does not last forever. It is as if the body and being is at first in a habit to let the liquid flow out, and loose the essence. Yet with slow and steady practice, the body and being learns another way. It becomes the natural state to preserve the essence, and no loss is experienced. It is an investment of time. So it takes a strong and steady will power. Constant and steady daily practice over a period of time. Persevere. from Dao Zhen I am a student, and have only studied with one teacher deeply in these arts, thus I can only offer a limited view and perhaps a partial picture of this whole process. The act of "dreaming" is related to the pattern of the Metal conquering Wood; Or the Po suppressing the Hun during the night. The Po resides in the Lung Sphere and may be thought of in one regard as Metal Element. Hun resides in the Liver Sphere, and may be thought of in one regard as Wood Element. Po sponsors Death and has a relation to Jing. Hun spsonsors Life and has a relationship to Soul. When the Hun is suppressed by the Po at night during sleeping, The Hun wanders away from the sphere of the liver, and the resulting experience is dreams. As Jing is transformed into Qi, and the Hun is strengthened, there is less and less dream activity during the sleep state. This will also reflect in the strengthening of Yang and the uprooting of Yin; so many Yin quality will be transformed or uprooted. I think the most important starting point is the Cleaning of the Heart Mind, or to Still the Mind and Clean the Heart Mind of All Desire. After this point, one may begin the process of transforming the Jing back to Qi. This is the Stage of Burning the Slow Fire or Lighting the Fire. There is a method and technique taught and a transmission given for this practice. Later it becomes a very natural state; with no artificial method or technique used, and takes place naturally. Signs from this practice include: ~ an expansion and feeling much like a vast clear blue sky. ~ a steaming, or something heavy from below becoming light, and rising up ward in an expansion that is full of a kind of bliss. ~ shrinking of the genital organ and the testicles after the transformation; like the "ball" shrinks to a very small size if you feel it after practice. ~ mental stillness, and lack of dream activity. Signs that the transformation was not done properly or enough: ~ The whole abdomen feels very wet, or damp, like there is something on the skin in the area and also something inside - but when you feel it, there is only dry skin. ~ A moving in the Dantian as you lie down to sleep, like a worm moving around. ~ much dream activity, and emission of the fluid in sleep. After such a stage has been taken for a time, with Jing transforming back to Qi, the Yang Qi will begin to be cultivated and harvested. In my experience, as Yang Qi begins to come on the scene of the practice, there can be light, strong dropping into a deep emptiness, erection, and a great overwhelming heat and most notable is the loud vibration and roaring sound........ the sound that is outside, and inside, and a sound and a substance, with a feeling, vibration, density and more..... This sound is one of the main signs of the arrival of Yang Qi. When the Heart Mind has not been stilled and cleaned enough, there can be grasping and mental activity when the Yang Qi arrives. This will lead to a great heat and a huge volume of sweat will usually pour off the body. This is a sign that the Yang Qi has transformed to a physical or Post Heaven state, and is discharged and lost. Yang Qi derives from the Emptiness that surrounds Heaven and Earth; thus it is attracted to Emptiness. So one of the aspects of the "timing" is to have "no timing" and to fall into the emptiness at the time of the arrival of the Yang Qi........ Usually one may use the "power" of the ears to "listen" and "follow" the sound...... Following it back to it's origin and root. Around this time of practice one may begin to move into the Large Water Wheel state - or the begining of this process being started. So the Yong Chuan will begin to pulse and vibrate along or in rhythm with this sound. Also the Qi moves with such a strong force and surging motion, like it wants to run its own course and has its own idea of the course it wishes to take, along with the arrival of the Yang Qi. It was taught that at this time, one should begin to practice "lying" on the back. You lay down on the back, with the belly facing the ceiling, and let the qi run its course, and allowing the Yang Qi to arrive on the scene. You forget all aspects of self. You forget all aspects of the corporeal body. You forget all aspects of ego. You fall into the deep empty state, and allow the Qi to run its course freely from Yong Chuan to Bai Hui - though really it has nothing to do with the corporeal body nor any location we may map or chart on the corporeal body and its related landmarks. This is one aspect of sleeping practice. You practice at night, and as it is not a difficult posture to hold, you may train for many, many hours in the night. The first stages of: Tempering the Heart and Cleansing of All Desire and Stray Thoughts Transferal of Jing to Qi Small Water Wheel Harvest of Yang Qi Large Water Wheel All these stages can be done in the city, and while leading a normal life. The stage of Incubation is the time one must move into an isolated place and live away from people and noise in order to complete. I just came back from Huashan and spent time with my companion of tao there. He trains in the sleeping practice of Huashan and the Dream Yoga. We sleep in caves together, and he has never given any formal teachings or ideas about such a practice. Just we lie down and face each other, and waves come over one, and states are experienced.... Deep states of emptiness, and profound Qi circulation....... Like falling into an ocean, and then rising up into the sky, then expanding into the entire vastness of the sky..... I asked him about "Sleep Practice" and he just laughed and said it is just the same as doing the "meditation" work, only you do it lying down.......... -------------------- Lucidity is the noumenon of water, while stillness its Congenital Nature. So it is also with the Heart...... Dao Zhen Those who wish to embody the Tao should embrace all things. To embrace all things means one holds no anger or resistance toward any idea or thing, living or dead, formed or formless. Acceptance is the very essence of the Tao. To embrace all things means one rids oneself of any concepts of separation: male and female, self and others, life and death. Division is contrary to the nature of the Tao. Foregoing antagonism and separation, one enters into the harmonious oneness of all things... Dao Zhen Breathing is a very important aspect of Tao Yoga practice. The success or failure of practice depends on the correct method of breathing. We may say there are generally 3 stages of breath training: ~Natural Breathing~ After Heaven State ~Reversed Breathing~ Pre Heaven State ~Fetal Breathing~ Before Pre Heaven State Within these three stages, there are generally nine methods that can be applied in practice. 1. inhale from the nose / exhale from the nose 2. inhale through the nose / exhale through the mouth 3. inhale from the mouth / exhale from the nose 4. inhale with no exhale 5. exhale with no inhale 6. subtle breathing through the skin pore 7. subtle energetic breathing through the energetic centers of the ‘5 Gates’ 8. subtle energetic breathing through the energy channels 9. subtle refined inner energetic breathing in the Dantian Learning Natural Breathing is the first step to take. We may think of this stage as returning to the natural way of breathing we experienced as children. In this method, we must regain balance of the inhale and exhale. This is done in the first steps by counting. We count 4 on the inhale, pause, and then count 4 on the exhale. The Breath must be soft, natural and drawn deep into the lower Dantian area. The mental intention one has during breath practice is very important. You must learn to practice with a healing intention and a positive heart. This is done by learning to ‘smile’ inside to yourself during breath practice. This will develop the state of ‘Self Nurturing’. We call this method the ‘Healing Smile’. As you breathe, smile deeply inside, filling yourself with joy, self love, nurturing energy and healing intention. Let the Breath and the Healing Smile join together and become one; filling the entire body and inner self with a warm, healing, self loving, nurturing energy. This is a very important first step in practice. Dao Zhen: Those who wish to embody the Tao should embrace all things. To embrace all things means one holds no anger or resistance toward any idea or thing, living or dead, formed or formless. Acceptance is the very essence of the Tao. To embrace all things means one rids oneself of any concepts of separation: male and female, self and others, life and death. Division is contrary to the nature of the Tao. Foregoing antagonism and separation, one enters into the harmonious oneness of all things... <more coming, just need some time>

People are attracted to sources of power, they feel they will get something from them. So they go see what is going on and listen. And then the misunderstand. Instead of stretching their intelligence up and struggling, they hear only what makes sense to them ... at their carnal material nature, they translate the teaching into their carnal understanding. Why were the gnostic gospels removed from the Bible ? Because the were not understood by coarse people and the gnostic material drew suspicion. Why was A Course in Miracles re-edited in 1976 with many important ideas removed ? Because they were not understood ... And so you are left with a path that looks deceptively like the original, except the original light and spirit has been removed by the 1st generation students. Why has advaita gone from being a devotional gurukul transmission path, to wise-acreing about concepts over cappuccinos ? Because it was not understood, because people were not prepared to do the work and did not really need to do the work, they were there to have an easy life, sound important and feel pleased with themselves. Perhaps the first stage of degeneration is omission through non-recognition; and the 2nd stage is wise-acring. As a new crowd arrives at the tradition, and the light has already been removed, the new crowd starts to explore the material in an intellectual way because .... nothing is happening. Nothing is happening because the 1st generation students deleted all the light, and so the 2nd generation students receiving an empty meal start to have a look in the mental realm for answers. False Compassion : Masturbation of Feelings : Insect Oneness Jesus gave 2 commandments : the first was to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, body. And the second was to love your neighbour as if he were yourself. But when I have heard people repeat Jesus's instructions, they conveniently omit the 1st instruction. They just talk about love and compassion etc... Why ? Because that is quite comprehensible to apes, who know about caring for people. Unfortunately without the 1st instruction it is all carnal and meaningless. If you don't love God (have a bridge to the light) ... then your caring is animal. After a while the students start to notice that loving your neighbour does not bring salvation, so they .... begin to try to extract more juice from loving your neighbour ... now they wish to love everyone and everything and imagine they will save the world and so on. Which is not what was intended and just fantasy. They exaggerate the 2nd instruction because they didn't hear the 1st. When the teacher doesn't know Several teachers (Nisargadatta, J Krishnamurti, UG Krisnamurti, Mooji, Adida) have stated at the end of their lives that nobody understood them, nobody got it, or very few. And so we have to question whether teachers actually know themselves how to teach, it appears to be a separate skill. Eckhart Tolle for instance struggled since he was young, going here going there, sleeping rough, trying this trying that. Finally he arrived at realisation and he teaches The Power Of Now. But .... that was not his own path. He cannot teach his own path because it was a big mess. So he made something up that might or might not work, certainly it was not how he awoke. Often the teachers are simply describing their state, like describing a summit ... .but that is not a path to get you to the summit. It is quite sad if a teacher speaks for 40 years and nobody is awakened. Osho says at the end of his life : "I leave you my dream". Dream ? Where are the instructions ? Bye thanks a lot. Jesus's early years are concealed, and Osho similarly sought to dismiss it ... in order to project a superman image. If you saw the pain suffering stupidity and banalness of their early journey perhaps students would not be impressed. Another thing I have noticed is that teachers always assume you are a beginner and want you to start at the bottom, but this may not be the case at all. Humans don't really assess their own state, and few teachers can either. So how can we do something positive then with this information : - always go to the source, read the words of the teacher yourself - study the life of the teacher himself, what choices did he make and how does it compare to your own choices - regardless of what the teacher says try to feel his state and invoke a transmission, even from a photo or song - assume that most wise-acres that follow do not understand - demand results from anyone you follow Active destruction Many teachers/groups seem to be looking for an easy life, where you can hug and screw or wise acre all day long, wear strange clothing and burn incense, and convince yourself everything is great ... rather than the light. Such groups actively destroy teachings and are suspicious of what is real. You can say that such people are at a level of consciousness where they wish to explore friendship and various things and so choose the umbrage of a spiritual tradition .... in other words they are doing what they need to do for their own journey .... but it results in the destruction of a tradition. Eating from the King's table I suppose you can say that the Light percolates into this world, and the progressive eating of the Light is how it carried into the dark world. Like Chinese whispers, each generation repeating the words with a little less light ... until what is left has no light in it, and un-differentiated from the darkness. Another mechanism of transmission into the dark world is when a being lifts himself up to hear with better ears and himself becomes lit up like a lighthouse.

This translation presents the skull exhibiting its opinions in a dream of Chuang's. As usual , the final lines may be taken in either vein , as rhetorical ,, that the skull thinks its both logical and preferable to sit and do nothing- as a dead skull. Or , as an admission ,that if there was a way to get living again ,the skull would choose fleshly life,, with its ups and downs, ,,whether its logical to do that or not.

When Master Chuang went to Ch'u, he saw an empty skull. Though brittle, it still retained its shape. Master Chuang tapped the skull with his riding crop and asked, "Did you end up like this because of greed for life and loss of reason? Or was it because you were involved in some treasonous affair and had your head chopped off by an ax? Or was it because you were involved in some unsavory conduct, shamefully disgracing your parents, wife, and children? Or was it because you starved or froze? Or was it simply because your time was up?" When he had finished with his questions, Master Chuang picked up the skull and used it as a pillow when he went to sleep. At midnight, the skull appeared to him in a dream and said, "Your manner of talking makes you sound like a sophist. I perceive that what you mentioned are all the burdens of the living. When you're dead, there's none of that. Would you like to hear me tell you about death, sir?" "Yes," said Master Chuang. "When you're dead," said the skull, "there's no ruler above you and no subjects below you. There are no affairs of the four seasons; instead, time passes leisurely as it does for heaven and earth. Not even the joys of being a south-facing king can surpass those of death." Not believing the skull, Master Chuang said, "If I were to have the Arbiter of Destiny restore life to your physical form, to give you back your flesh, bones, and skin, to return your parents, wife, children, and village acquaintances, would you like that?" Frowning in deep consternation, the skull said, "How could I abandon 'the joys of a south-facing king' and return to the toils of mankind?"

I guess you are referring to DDJ Chapter 8, right? The reference of water had made me to think, water can be also devastating as river floods or sea tsunamis (granted the water is pushed by jolts underground, for what I know). Living without a money to me is a bad marketing idea, it doesn't work, unless you live under the help or patronage of someone. And you are right about to develop a skill of value, some may make go by some make you rich. And still money is needed. You see, in the hood where I live there are nice houses and not affordable to everyone and still you see people living in those huge houses or nice houses. Then on the other side of the freeway there are the real homies and people don't want to live there but they can afford it and they live the American dream. So money still needed. And the question I asked how can you live in frugality when money is needed for the nice things in life.

Thank you LimA! Here is one for you! What I like about this one - is that most of the unsuspecting people also knew the song (as do I) for it was taught in every high school choir for decades and sung at their Christmas programs - so they sang along!! It will also show you what everyday people at the mall over here are like. (there might be a short advertisement at the very beginning, easily ignored/skipped) Enjoy! and then go get some sleep, lol. Dream true! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

Certainly, if you mean by that what was my approach to my practice, I would answer that I practiced assiduously, mindfully and with all my heart and soul. At the outset I paid great attention to capturing as many subtleties as possible from the videos. My previous training has enabled me to capture subtle nuances, and I made full use of that. I kept a daily journal of my practice for a considerable amount of time, but eventually decided this was not the best use of my time. Now if you are asking how did I go about teaching myself the meditations, I have no problem with explaining that. Just let me know. Which way the wind blows today, I wonder? Look at the date of that quote. The observations I have made recently relate to my experience sharing with the FPCK community on this thread. During this period, whilst continuing to learn and practice the FPCK meditations, I was also observing the quality of instruction, attention to the needs of students, and other factors which helped shape the impression I eventually formed of Terry Dunn. To begin with, I was happy to have found this art, and had great hopes that Terry Dunn would fulfil the promise of my initial confidence in him. I read through pretty much the entire thread, taking notes, and an impression began to form in my mind in combination with my actual experience of interacting with him over several months. My attempts at communication with him were ignored, I was not even able to order the DVDs from him, as my emails and repeated personal messages were never answered. In addition to this, when he did in fact eventually respond to me on the thread it became clear that he did not make the connection between the information I had originally provided by email and my actual identity. I can understand the confusion in part, due to the fact that I changed my name to the one you see now, after which my previous identity simply vanished, along with years of previous posts on TTB under my previous name which I cannot now remember, but I do remember changing it because eventually it sounded pretentious to me, although it was sincere. I believe it was WuWei Shen. But the moderators could find no record whatsoever of either that identity or my posts. It may even have been another forum with similar content. Sometimes my aphantasia can produce this type of situation, and there is really nothing I can do about it. In any case, if you read my initial posts, you will see for yourself how long I had to wait to receive any sort of reply from Terry, and in fact I then asked for answers from any experienced practitioners, but received no reply. Eventually, as I say, Terry Dunn did begin to respond to my questions, but what people do not realise is that by the time that he did answer the number of questions had accumulated to such a point that he could never answer all of them, and many in fact did remain unanswered, which made my practice all the more difficult. Nevertheless, I persevered, and from time to time contributed to the thread with comments on other posts, questions and reports of what seemed to me to be important signposts in my cultivation practice. There was never even an acknowledgement of any of my other contributions, so eventually I just stopped contributing to the thread. I may have wrongly perceived Terry Dunn's reaction to my post regarding the pace of my meditations, but I got the distinct impression that he did not believe me, and he made remarks which I honestly felt would have been far better communicated by PM, rather than on the thread, because challenging me to provide a video as proof in the way that this was worded was something I found really offensive. I posted several times about my feeling alienated on the thread, and later provided a considerable amount of information documenting each of the questions I had raised or comments I had made which had been summarily ignored by the entire community. Had this occurred in a class situation I would have directly confronted Terry Dunn in private, as I do not accept this type of disrespect from anyone, and if this was the way I was to be treated, and he made no effort to change his attitude, then I would simply turn my back on him and leave the kwoon. But in the context of a forum like this, and given the fact that I was actually in need of answers to questions directly relating to my practice, you can imagine that my patience was beginning to wear thin. You accused me of paranoia, well, do you find it surprising, given the circumstances? Should a forum member need to beg in order to obtain the necessary attention he can see everyone else receiving? Terry Dunn was fully aware of the pain I had been suffering, and that I needed help, and must have known how difficult it would be for me to undertake this practice, and that I would therefore need a considerable amount of support. As I saw how much attention other members were receiving, when they were really contributing very little to the thread, my impression of the character of Terry Dunn as a master began to diminish. As I recognised more and more obvious character flaws, I found myself drawn toward seeking another teacher elsewhere. During this lengthy period I had been approached by several other members who agreed that I was being treated badly, and they were very kind and supportive toward me and showed me great respect. Eventually I found that I was not alone in my misgivings about Terry Dunn, and the more time went on, the more my doubts were confirmed. At one point I became so incensed by him inculcating his occult ideology on this thread that I seriously considered calling him out over it. I believe I have already expressed my opinion on this matter and done my best to explain why I have such a low opinion of Aleistair Crowley, although there is a great deal more I could add. Terry Dunn is clearly misinformed on this topic, and not taking into account the extent to which young impressionable minds of many of the new members might be affected, because there is a considerable amount of adulation which Terry actively attracts toward himself, and such members are very likely to simply accept what he tells them without question. It got to the point that I found myself having to make an effort to avoid the copious number of posts to the thread having absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Flying Phoenix system, and the more this occurred the more it irritated me. This thread is extremely lengthy, and a newcomer already has to wade through an immense amount of information in order to find anything of value. This is due to the fact that there has constantly been a tendency to treat this threat like a social media platform, with members chatting about pretty much anything that takes their fancy. This makes no sense to me whatsoever, given that this is really the only source of information for would be practitioners of this art. The final chapter in this was when I observed Terry's behaviour during the situation which has arisen surrounding Ausar. I feel that there is no way I can now accept any of his claims to be the highly evolved individual he claims to be, and for the first time ever I have withdrawn the honorary appellation of Sifu, because I no longer feel that he deserves it. Not that he was in fact ever my Sifu. He obviously took a considerable amount of time and trouble to answer my questions, but his answers came so late that the damage was done. By the time Terry eventually responded to my accusations and asked me to continue to contribute it was too late... Can you not see how this might appear to me that you are continuing to insult me? You comment is once again dripping with sarcasm...maybe you cannot help yourself - possibly something you way want to address. I am not the slightest bit interested in learning Sunn Yee Gung thank you. I find myself resonating with the Flying Phoenix energies - it is the teacher I am not satisfied with. Again you have taken my statement out of context. Are you trying to be deliberately obtuse or are you really stupid? Are you unable to read between the lines and understand that I was saying that at the time I came across that video of Garry Hearfield performing that sitting meditation it was a revelation to me, because I had never seen anything in Terry Dunn's videos even approaching the degree of serenity and total immersion in the meditation I witnessed on that video on Youtube. It is a shame it since disappeared, otherwise I could link you to it. But at the time I had already begun my Flying Phoenix training, so as I said, it simply inspired me to achieve a similar level within that art. How could you fail to glean that? Yes, and I just made that distinction when I asked you whether you were referring to Terry Dunn as master with a capital M - in other words a fully realised master, or a master as in Sifu, which frankly I could call myself in other arts if I so desired. I was not confused. Anyone reading the content of this thread would be led to the conclusion that Terry Dunn is a fully realised master. This is the impression he himself promotes of himself, and my statement was to the effect that I do not believe that a fully realised master would behave as he does. And there is no way anyone could persuade me otherwise. Is he skilled in martial arts? I would hope so, but the idea many forum members and students have of him far surpasses the status of Sifu. Hence my statements and my reaction to your description. Above are a few quotes from comments just from your last post which I find insulting. Perhaps this is a cultural misunderstanding. Quite frankly, if you were saying what you have said to me in person I would assume you wanted to cross hands with me. It is not a question of hurting my sensibilities it is a question of crossing the line and being deliberately impertinent and offensive. This is about loss of face, something you should understand. Or do you really think that you could get away with talking the way you have been to a complete stranger who you know is a martial artist without them taking offence? You seem to believe so, just like all the armchair warriors who fill forums like these. I'd just like to let you know that I am not one of them, and even in my condition you really don't want to fuck with me, I can assure you. As I already told you, I removed myself from the thread. I only returned once, and that was when I was informed that Terry Dunn had uploaded a video of him in a Skype conversation with GM Doo Wai. Since watching as much as I could of that before it turned my stomach over, I have never returned to the thread, so no, I have not been following events and have no idea what this is all about. I watched the video in the link you provided, but I fail to see how it connects to Ausar, as it only shows a discourse by a very much younger GM Doo Wai. The only information I managed to dig up on the subject of the Blue Buddha Ascending to Heaven was this, taken from Ausar's Facebook page: Blue Buddha Ascending to Heaven – A Legendary System of “Fire Samadhi” and a Relic of the Shaolin Temple – Now Available in complete form with all 18 levels released for the first time in history.Removes all Karmic Hindrances, Cultivates the Light body and manifests the ability to ignite objects on fire with the palm and with the mind. Is this the subject matter of the video which was removed from Ausar's website? I would need you to explain the situation for me and how the two videos relate to one another in order to be able to comment. Now my question to you: How did Ausar manage to come by the photographs showing him in such an intimate situation with GM Doo Wai, and the video material showing him being instructed by GM Doo Wai? I have never met GM Doo Wai in person, but having been a professional artist I have a very good eye for detail, and I believe that I have seen a sufficient number of photographs taken throughout the years, as well as videos showing his features to be able to define that the eyes and bone structure are of the same person. To me the person in both the photographs and the videos appears to be GM Doo Wai. The quality of the video uploaded by Terry Dunn of the Skype conversation was of very poor quality, whereas the video uploaded by Ausar is very clear. And one can clearly see that GM Doo Wai is actually physically touching Ausar's arm at one point in the video, in order to correct a movement in the form Ausar is learning. Faking that is not impossible, but it would require great expertise and incur considerable expense. Frankly given the very few students that Ausar has, I really don't see the point in going to so much trouble to create such an elaborate scam. And who would risk incurring the wrath of GM Doo Wai or indeed other members of his lineage and possible legal action in order to do this? It just does not make sense to me and I find this really perplexing. Well, if the hat fits....thank you for confirming my suspicions young Padawan. There are also many who do so in person and manage to pull the wool over people's eyes, I quite agree with you. But your statement once again begs the question: what attainment do you have to allow you to discern whether a master is fully realised or not? Certainly there are character traits which may be a dead giveaway, but I am intrigued to know how many such master you know of? You seem to be living in a dream world my friend. Or perhaps I was correct and you are Chinese and have never had to wade through swathes of false teachers whose only desire is wealth and fame. I do know the difference. I have had the fortune to train with some real high level Sifus, but the majority made me waste many years of practice, not getting back what I was putting in. That is all too often the case in the UK where I spent most of my life. Not only that, but you are also forgetting that things change over time. When I began my training around the age of 20 around 1977 things were very different, and people understood far less about these matters than they do today - there was no Internet, and most information came through personal contact or books and magazines, or sometimes rarely, video footage. There was very little knowledge of what real Gongfu was, so masters started springing up everywhere teaching absolute crap and getting away with it. In fact I am only talking about Gongfu, but in fact I started off with various Karate styles when I was in my teens before that. I am sure that you cannot possibly imagine the minefield one was confronted with in the search for something authentic... If you are fortunate enough to live in the USA, then I really doubt that it would have been anything like as difficult to find a real Sifu than it was for seekers like me. Nevertheless, I did gain the respect of several Sifus in London's China Town, and maintained a wonderful relationship with them for many years. But being Gwai Loh they could not teach me. I carry the scars from bad training, hard gongfu conditioning without Ditdajow which left my legs ruined and broken limbs from sparring in full contact competition before I was really ready. But that was many years ago, and since then I was fortunate enough to eventually learn from some pretty good instructors, some of them very high level. I stayed the course and paid my dues. Around 1987-'88 I finally moved away from Shaolin Gongfu to the IMA and never looked back. But my experience has been that even masters with real skill and attainment do not necessarily have impeccability - as I said, everyone has their price, and all too many eventually sell out. It was the introduction of these arts to the western world, and in particular to the highly materialistic values of our society which have made this type of corruption possible. Exceptions are very rare. For the most part greed is the name of the game. Look you silly little twat I am really beginning to lose my patience with you, I am not going to risk a lawsuit by posting a video of GM Doo Wai in which this can clearly be seen, instead I will provide an example: Golden Lotus Flying Phoenix Volume 4 Seated meditation 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. If you cannot see what I have quite accurately described you are obviously blind as well as slow witted. Listen, I am not prepared to waste any more of my time and energy replying out of courtesy to your posts. I have already explained how many hours it takes me to write due to my inner dialogue, and I am not prepared to sacrifice my nights sleep in order to continue to defend my position against someone who clearly has a closed mind and thinks they know it all. So good luck to you as well, and thank you for your time and energy.

Lucky you! To anyone seriously interested in Buddha dharma or any other sacred tradition with relics, do yourself a huge favor and go acquire a relic to bless your household and neighborhood. This is my own wording of the topic. You may safely consider it flawed. When death comes to sentient beings, they get to stay in a transitional dream-like existence called bardo or limbo for a while. If they have self-delusions or karma left, they will receive vivid images of six lokas (hell, pretas, animals, humans, demigods, and gods) and be in particular tempted by copulating images of different beings after which entry to a womb is often followed. This uncontrolled transmigration continues death after death with increasing karmic retributions for engaging in self-cherishing actions. Such is samsara. The six lokas are the Desire Realm. Above that the Buddhist cosmology says is the Form Realm with different types of heavens. There beings do not suffer or experience any desire nor birth through womb. Most of these heavens will gift beings with a limited lifetime however, and some heavens even experience some type of cosmic cataclysms that periodically end their existence. The exception is the Pure Lands where the power of the Buddhas anchors their inhabitants unless they consciously seek to be reborn elsewhere. It's a technical, but highly relevant point that all these Form Realm heavens can be accessed and experienced during one's mortal life through dhyana-samadhi states which are types of meditative absorption or concentration. There are many ways to reach these absorptions like anapanasati taught by the Syakamuni Buddha or various Pure Land devotional methods such as chanting holy names (Buddha or his/her heaven). Entry into any of these Form Realms requires cultivation merit (which is alchemy of light very generally) which either stabilizes your concentration during bardo or creates an attuning to some Pure Land, so that you receive visions of Buddhas helping you and showing their Pure Lands into which you can enter then. It has also been said that the extremely virtuous go to these pure heavens straight without any bardo, and that the extremely sinful go to hell straight without any chance of higher rebirth during bardo.

I was reminded of the following realization again recently, while sitting with my son around our fire pit up on Black Mountain, camping last week. That moment, sitting quietly and listening when you realize... the relaxing sounds of nature are literally the sound of millions of creatures desperately trying to get laid. Life propogates Life. Life thrives on decay, while decay nourishes all life. This cycle of life propogating life, will not easily be interrupted by mental straining. Looking back on our 29 years together, it's rather clear, that my wife and I express together, a completely unsought and natural cycle of sexual expression. We saturate in deeply entwined and near constant love making for some months... and then months long cycles of no sexual impulses at all. These are not crafted, forced or judged. We simply respond to each other and our impulses as comes naturally and among that... is a rather steady period every year of complete abstinence and coming together. wei wu wei... do without forcing... In our life together, if we cultivate anything mutually, it's open flow of expression of self and an atmosphere that creates space for our own nature to express itself without hinderance or prodding. One pivot around which my relationship with cultivation now rotates is... don't force... if anything, release more fully into that which is your essential expression... follow nature, and as nature follows dao... it's hard to stray from a path that permeates all the manifest and unmanifest. To me, all the angst and unneccesary mental and physical straining over this retention topic seems to be more problematic than the occasional wet dream and a bit of jing releasing in the very manner nature designed... <shrug>

What you describe in your dream is the essence of something called "Family Constellations", by German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger. This is essentially when a child unconsciously adopts the pain he senses in his parents as a way to show unity with them, to "belong" to his parents' family unit. Not at all! Anyone on TDB is free to PM me if they want.

I also for the past year and half recovered my ability to feel. I felt not long ago that i dont acknowledge the suffering of my own and of others mostley, i somehow dont to let them through. When i started to open up i to it i started having anxiety attacks and had a very clear dream. I was a young child in my bed where i grew up and my mother ran over to me in the middle of the night and somehow passed her fears onto me (Its not my interpretation i somehow knew that in the dream) and as a child it was to much to bare. Sounds like great realizations and i find it very inspiring, thank you. Do you mind if i PM you sometime so you can tell me more about your process ?

"The you that you think you are is both the dream and the dreamer." unknown

Feeling is a strange thing. This morning I lay in bed after hitting snooze for the second time and had an odd dream/not dream. I was awake, sorta - but not really. My body was still asleep. My muscles felt like water and were totally relaxed but my mind was aware of the birds singing in the tree outside my window. In my dream I imagined a person in three forms: 1) A person covered by a thick crust. Imagine a "Ben Grimm" kind of creature (that's a Fantastic Four reference). 2) A person hiding in a dark cave next to a still pond of fresh water. 3) A person made of wispy smoke. The first person is strong in the traditional sense. He can go out in the world and endure all the trials therein. But even when among others he is still alone since no one can actually touch him due to his thick, scaly skin. The second person is calm in the typical sense. He is soft and open but he must hide himself away in order to survive. This is akin to a hermit on a mountain. The third is the sage. He is flexible, malleable. The sage cannot be harmed because all threats pass through him and leave no traces in their wake. Thus he has no need to hide himself and can go out into the world.

In Hindu dharma/Vedanta, the three bodies are called Sthula Sharira (Gross Body), Linga or Sukshma Sharira (symbolic or subtle body) and Karana Sharira (Causal Body). The Sthula Sharira comprised of all five sheaths (koshas) - Physical body The Linga Sharira excludes the annamaya kosha (food-based sheath) but contains all the other four sheaths. -- Dream body The kārana sharīra contains only the anandamaya kosha (blissful sheath) -- Deep sleep body.

I dream a lot. I haven't really noticed a pattern like that lately. Maybe it something specific to you.

Your first two paragraphs threatened his little dream world and so he rejected it out of hand rather than look at the evidence.

Hi Steve, The V8 engines - Dream on... - Anand

I saw this coming. We have to include the concept of objective vs subjective reality in order for me to respond to your above quote. So we have defined that all awareness occurs in the conscious mind (brain). What about dreams? They occur in the unconscious brain. But at the time of dreaming they are just as real as our conscious awareness. I think it would be necessary for us to have first viewed a tree in conscious awareness before we could imagine one in a dream. (I may be incorrect here but it is part of this flow of thoughts.) I will consider the dream state as being subjective reality. This is contrary to objective reality as experienced by a well-functioning brain in full awareness. Both are real to the individual. But only objective reality is similar to what others experience. Going back to the unconscious drunk: While unconsciously drunk one can break their arm but they have no perception of it happening. This is because the brain is not functioning. No perception. But when the drunk regains consciousness the arm is really and truly broken. What happened?!?!?! Don't know. I would imagine that a tree, when perceived in conscious awareness or in the dream state, would be of the same brain functions. So I suppose that brain is needed in order for us to have any kind of perception.