longevity or realization. is there a difference?

[kalidastony]

why do taoists want to prolong life with all the wierd practises they carry out?. why cant the dalai lama give you liberation when he says that he has nothing to give you? am not into marketing dvds or books, just see a lot of lost people on the site and maybe if i share some of the things i hvave been through it might just help.

[mYTHmAKER]

why do taoists want to prolong life with all the wierd practises they carry out?. why cant the dalai lama give you liberation when he says that he has nothing to give you? am not into marketing dvds or books, just see a lot of lost people on the site and maybe if i share some of the things i hvave been through it might just help.

 

The Dahli Lama and realized beings, saints etc cannot choose who will be liberated.

it is a matter of whether you are ripe to receive.

Just being in their presence, listening to them, reading what they have to say, living in the manner in which they suggest will help, but if it is not your destiny it won't happen in this lifetime. So living longer gives you more time to work on yourself , to prepare yourself for the next time around.

Are taoist practices any stranger than those of Christianity, Moselms, Judiasm, Buddhism, Hinduism (sorry if i left anyone out LOL) or any other religion if they are seen with an open mind.

BTW the Dali Lama is a Buddhist

[Marblehead]

BTW the Dali Lama is a Buddhist

 

Hehehe. That gave me a chuckle.

 

Okay. Just to set the record strainght: I am NOT a Buddhist.

 

Yes, there is a belief with many Taoists that we can prolong our life by doing certain things. These folks are normally referred to as Alchemic Taoists. I am NOT one of these either.

 

However, I believe that we can live our life to its full potential (whether that be ten years or one hundred and twenty years) if we live our life wisely and in accordance with Taoist philosophy.

 

Okay, so I didn't live very wisely when I was younger so some of my potential has already been cut short. Hehehe.

 

Some people enjoy having rituals in their life. I don't see that as a problem. But I wouldn't recommend drinking mercury.

[kalidastony]

The Dahli Lama and realized beings, saints etc cannot choose who will be liberated.

it is a matter of whether you are ripe to receive.

Just being in their presence, listening to them, reading what they have to say, living in the manner in which they suggest will help, but if it is not your destiny it won't happen in this lifetime. So living longer gives you more time to work on yourself , to prepare yourself for the next time around.

Are taoist practices any stranger than those of Christianity, Moselms, Judiasm, Buddhism, Hinduism (sorry if i left anyone out LOL) or any other religion if they are seen with an open mind.

BTW the Dali Lama is a Buddhist

[kalidastony]

Actually its all about signposts on the way. BTW I am not going to diss anyone but i will simply tell my story. This was prevoked by reading a post that wasn't very complimetary about Lama Surya Das because he had exposure to Kashmir Shaivism (Hindu) and Tibetan Buddhism (Buddhism). He is way up in my estimation as a seeker. Mine starts with being in an orphanage at 4 years of age and sitting watching the dandelion clocks putting out parachutes in an afternoon breeze and being filled with wonder. or lying in a field of waving grass and red poppies on the South Coast and watching a skylark on the breeze singing its heart out. or meeting Fr. Killian Lynch or the Order of Carmelites who was a saint by any definition which such humility. Or going to an open session at the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain where the psycic walked up to me and said she could see a person in orange robes standing behind me smiling and she was kind of put out. The going to a session held in a flat near Hyde park and seeing all these people chanting to a picture of Swami Muktananda and i wanted to high tail it out of there. Then operating a camera when Swami Venkatesananada visited London and I was spaced out so much I couldnt focus. All milestones. Then... kashmir shaivism talks about a blue pearl which is the real you and is the vehicle of the soul for migration to wherever when you take your leave from this coil. I had to rush home to Wales from Toronto a while back was my brother was dying. Just made it in time with 12 hours to spare because I was big brother. When it was time to go, i saw this amazing blue pearl come from him, cycle around the room as if looking for a direction, then leave. Another milestone. Well that's it for now. there are a lot of other milestone I have come across, but like most people caught up in consumerism I am only just getting it. No labels please because they are meaningless and the last thing i want to happen is someone to convince me that this being or creed is the way to get it. Not. That you cannot describe cannot be figured out by the mind, and you cant get it from amazon.com LOL

[Marblehead]

Yep. Our personal experiences are just that: Personal Experiences.

[kalidastony]

Yep. Our personal experiences are just that: Personal Experiences.

[kalidastony]

thanks for a quick comeback. strange as it may seem, my personal experiences are pretty common. Read Harding's material on "having no head". He got lucky in getting sudden realization which you don't get by doing Bagua. or sucking up to a whole lot of snake oil salesmen who will sell you instant nirvana enter credit card please. There are an awful lot out there. Chi Kung and Taoism is the current flavor, that has displaced Yoga. Interesting really since most of the real masters got wiped out by Mao and his Red Guards. But if you are Chinese you have the be the real thing Haha

[kalidastony]

The Dahli Lama and realized beings, saints etc cannot choose who will be liberated.

it is a matter of whether you are ripe to receive.

Just being in their presence, listening to them, reading what they have to say, living in the manner in which they suggest will help, but if it is not your destiny it won't happen in this lifetime. So living longer gives you more time to work on yourself , to prepare yourself for the next time around.

Are taoist practices any stranger than those of Christianity, Moselms, Judiasm, Buddhism, Hinduism (sorry if i left anyone out LOL) or any other religion if they are seen with an open mind.

BTW the Dali Lama is a Buddhist

[Marblehead]

But if you are Chinese you have the be the real thing Haha

 

Well, I'm not Chinese (German, actually), although there surely is a connection, so I have to do the best I can with what I have.

 

No, I cannot speak to another's personal experience. All I can do is state what I am willing to accept as illusion and delusion or fact. But there is no need for me to even mention that here.

 

Yeah, I might buy a bottle of Southern Comfort but I doubt you will ever catch me buying any snake oil.

[kalidastony]

hmm. no disrespect intended. How do you know they are realized beings? That's assuming an awful lot. The mark of a guru being realized is that you check out his/her students. A gurus purpose is to teach and transmit to you something that helps to get where you have to be. I don't see that at all, no matter how many years of book learning and chanting you do. Its a case of recognition i suppose and there are very few that have 'IT' words and deep erudition just fill the mind with a whole lot of complicated junk and by golly the Tibetan Buddhists are masters at it and as an afterthought. no one i know has come back re-incarnated and said hi. So so really takes suspension of common sense to believe that too

[Marblehead]

hmm. no disrespect intended. How do you know they are realized beings? That's assuming an awful lot. The mark of a guru being realized is that you check out his/her students. A gurus purpose is to teach and transmit to you something that helps to get where you have to be. I don't see that at all, no matter how many years of book learning and chanting you do. Its a case of recognition i suppose and there are very few that have 'IT' words and deep erudition just fill the mind with a whole lot of complicated junk and by golly the Tibetan Buddhists are masters at it and as an afterthought. no one i know has come back re-incarnated and said hi. So so really takes suspension of common sense to believe that too

 

Hehehe. I see you are priming me to talk about it here anyhow. That's okay.

 

Okay. First I must speak to the subject of teachers. There are good teachers everywhere in the world. I would agree that a reflection of a teachers value could be based on the quality of learning of the students.

 

But then, it depends on what you are trying to learn and what the teacher claims is possible. I would suggest that spending any money to learn how to levitate would be a waste of money. But if a person has anger problems an investment in an anger management course might well be worth the investment.

 

And I will agree that the more complicated we make a process the harder it will be to learn the process. Simple baby steps work pretty good.

 

I won't argue against Buddhists or Buddism here. As long as we live in a dualistic reality there will always be good and bad.

 

No, I do not hold to the concepts of reincarnation and I do not believe in ghosts. I used to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Oh, yeah, the Tooth Fairy too.

 

Once again I suggest: Test and try before you buy.

[mYTHmAKER]

thanks for a quick comeback. strange as it may seem, my personal experiences are pretty common. Read Harding's material on "having no head". He got lucky in getting sudden realization which you don't get by doing Bagua. or

 

Yes your personal experiences are pretty common. The idea not to become attached to them.

How an you be sure one can't get realization from doing Bagua.

Why do you think the way one gets realization is limited.

ANYTHING can be a trigger if you are ripe.

[mYTHmAKER]

hmm. no disrespect intended. How do you know they are realized beings? That's assuming an awful lot. The mark of a guru being realized is that you check out his/her students. A gurus purpose is to teach and transmit to you something that helps to get where you have to be. I don't see that at all, no matter how many years of book learning and chanting you do. Its a case of recognition i suppose and there are very few that have 'IT' words and deep erudition just fill the mind with a whole lot of complicated junk and by golly the Tibetan Buddhists are masters at it and as an afterthought. no one i know has come back re-incarnated and said hi. So so really takes suspension of common sense to believe that too

 

It is possible that someone you know has come back - you just might not have recognized them. Does it really matter.

Chanting is very cleansing, being around a great being is also cleansing. Something intangible is transmitted.

Layers are pealed away. Even if you don't become fully enlightened you will be a happier and better person.

Just as the universe is in constant change it might be that there are levels of enlightenment and one is continuously going deeper. That seems to be the nature of the world.