How does one become an immortal according to taoism?

[2netis]

It's what the Secret of The Golden Flower is all about. Darin Hamel has posted and written extensively about his 13 year journey down that path.

Yes it is an excellent resource when not taken literally. Actually it is not even possible to take the Tomas Cleary version of Secret of The Golden Flower literally. There are 2 versions/translations/interpretations and I personally much prefer the Clearly version.

[C T]

The outer body dies. Spiritual cultivation, where one moves and digs within, is a 'forever' task... many give up after a few lifetimes, even more do so after a few attempts in this one life; however, those who have found the zeal, the courage, and the perseverance to penetrate the inner life that some Buddhists like to term 'The Deathless', then, for such a one, naturally, there is no death... and no birth.

 

Perhaps the key to immortality will only be found when one fully grasp what the Buddha meant when He pointed to 'No self'. I have long been aware that many here reject this notion - that's ok, because this rejection simply illustrates clinging to a self that is unable to overcome discrimination. It is difficult to fully comprehend 'immortality' when there is such a clinging/grasping at a separate self, and a body. Of course, there are also those who fundamentally fail to understand, or adamantly refuse to accept, that all true mystics, regardless of tradition or spiritual inclinations, when attaining to deep wisdom, at the point of realization, spontaneously loses the small 'self'. The fruit of this loss of the 'small self' (and where the larger Self is seen clearly) is the stepping forth into the way of the deathless.

 

"The gates to the deathless are open. The one who listens, sees and pays attention,

is awake. Trust and relax into this moment with faith. Its a simple ability; Its not

a complicated and difficult thing to do. Its not like you have to spend years trying

to 'get it', its a natural state that is relaxed and attentive, open, receptive in the

present. So when we learn to trust in this, then we begin to recognize the way it

is..." (Ajahn Sumedho)

[Guest sykkelpump]

meditation on a really high level

It is described very well in the book:How to measure and deepen your spiritual realization

Its real and good info from an living enlightened master.It is a stage close to enlightenment.

I tried to copy from the ebook,but it was secured.

I can send a copy on epost for TS

Edited February 24, 2011 by sykkelpump

[Procurator]

I tried to ask this before, but the thread got hijacked by drew hempel.

 

How does one become an immortal according to taoism?

one does not. only the destined, who is born with "bones of a xian" does.

[exorcist_1699]

Taoist criticism on the prevailing Buddhist view of immortality (in fact, not the real Buddhist view, but misinterpreted, vulgarized view of Buddhism . Sadly,idea that is dominant is always superficial ) is that if you can't prove immortality ( whatever forms ) when you are alive, how can you claim your immortality, strangely after your passing away ?

 

Taoist ability in attaining both physical and spiritual eternity in this lifetime , in this world , ironically , is seen and accused as attachment to self, attachment to body , attachment to immortality ..how shallow a mind of those vulgar "Buddhists" ...

 

Shen , after having nourished by the yang-qi , becomes stronger and stronger and therefore can get rid of those physical limitations on It gradually , first by disentangling from the limitations of those sensational abilities : hearing , seeing .. , and finally by leaving the body behind and becomes absolutely free .

 

Yet pure Yang -Shen ( 陽神) is not the highest form of the Taoist Alchemical achievement, it is to bring the physical body with us that is the highest . But how ?

 

By qi-lizing (" 氣化") our whole physical body .

 

"Qi-lization" is an important concept in Taoism for it is said that qi :

 

" 聚則成形, 散則成氣" ( " concentrates and embodies to appear as physical forms , disperses to appear as qi again " ).

 

It is Shen, after being distracted and lost , degenerates into various physical forms (" 只因一念妄, 化作種種形" ).

 

However , only after having attained very high level of Shen can the qi-lization of the body be possible .

Edited February 24, 2011 by exorcist_1699

[ben]

I believe its a transmission, originally from master to student, its not just yogic methods. Lineage is (was) important in taoism as well.

[Jetsun]

I often wonder if the quest for immortality is all about an unwillingness to face up to your own death which is the root of fear, so it is an attempt to deny reality and avoid fear rather than face up to it. But then they say there is a sort of paradox that when you do embrace your own death and fully accept it you realise you are immortal.

[zerostao]

I believe its a transmission, originally from master to student, its not just yogic methods. Lineage is (was) important in taoism as well.

i think it is part transmission. it is an important part but not the whole enchilida.

qi-lization!! i will be using this word alot saturday thanks, exocist_1699

[zerostao]

Hi z. I remember reading about Michael Winn, during meditation, receiving a beam of energy from the dantien of a figure of an old Chinese man. Is this what you mean about "transmission?"

there are diferent transmissions. i imagine the transmission that lu dongbin received from zhongli quan would be much diferent than the one i received from my teacher.

did you receive any type of transmission from ya mu?

[zerostao]

Yes but in the end you'll get bored. Personally OK for a while and excellent to remove blockages and purify old karmas and reach a heightened spiritual level...but knowing that things eventually change and so you will...then you will be faced with this question: what if I return to the original state and shed of this body and mind?

 

The key point is: what if?

 

When one lives too many lives and several of them dedicated to the spiritual path...there is a point in time they'll ask to themselves: I just want to hop out of this carousel and have a long-lasting peace. Let me give you an example, which is rather graphical and a bit out of the religious context:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1uBn2LFIp0

 

Wise old "little" man.

 

Blessings,

 

yoda is always appreciated i do understand your post. there is one point i will contend with. when you used the word "bored" you found the one little(not so little)

idea that is my pet peeve. i apologize to all in advance for any resulting rants.

 

if you had suggested that after one felt they had accomplished everything in this life they felt compelled or called to do and THEN at that point , feeling satisfied of accomplishing these good works, found it was a good time to lay down and rest (yoda) if this was/is the case then i cannot contest. have you not said you have a mission here to attend to? a great work to be sure every person above the "ordinary" has a certain mission they are called to fulfill.

 

why being bored is not one of the listed cardinal sins , i am just in amazement.

i often hear people in the prime of their life( i have yet to hit my primetime btw )or younger , even teenagers with all of that youthful energy complain about being "bored" ..well... a useless life is an early death.

 

a truly resouceful person is never ever never never ever bored. mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths. imo being bored is a great insult to the universe.

[FT88]

You become immortal when merging with the void. This cannot be explained in words

[ben]

I think immortality is about cultivation of free will, you have more options as an immortal.

A long life with robust health is my style of immortality.

IMO celestial immortals achieve the body of great transference while still alive, very few masters achive this; even with-in the Dzogchen tradition. Padmasambhava and Tapihrista(Bon) achieved this and some Tao immortals.

[gendao]

[Niklas]

If one truly wishes to become a Heavenly Immortal, maybe he'll need to extend his life span to 500 years or what have you ?

[宁]

Becoming an immortal??

 

I guess the first step would be finding the most expensive Qigong seminar!!!

[zerostao]

Becoming an immortal??

 

I guess the first step would be finding the most expensive Qigong seminar!!!

maybe a key ingredient to becoming a taoist immortal is to have a certain level of wealth. this will make it more dificult for me.

[gendao]

There are some very interesting parallels between Chinese & Indian cosmological models of the path towards immortality (some of it probably due to direct influence):

* The Devas and Asuras represent the positives and negatives respectively of one's personality. The participation of both the Devas and the Asuras signifies that when one is seeking bliss through spiritual practice, one has to integrate and harmonise both the positive and negative aspects and put both the energies to work for the common goal.

* The ocean of milk is the mind or the human consciousness. The mind is like an ocean while the thoughts and emotions are the waves in the ocean.

* Mandhara, the mountain symbolises concentration. The word Mandhara is made up of two words Mana (mind) and Dhara (a single line) which means holding the mind in one line. This is possible only by concentration.

* Mount Mandhara was upheld by Lord Vishnu as a Kurma (tortoise). The tortoise here symbolises the withdrawal of the senses into oneself (just as a tortoise withdraws its head into its shell) as one practices mental concentration and meditation or contemplation.

* Vasuki symbolises desire. Vasuki used in the churning of the ocean denotes that the Devas and the demons held desire (to seek immortality) as a rope and churned the mind with the help of concentration and withdrawal of the senses. Desire, if not controlled will overpower and destroy an individual.

* The Halahala poison symbolises suffering and pain (counter-reaction of the mind and body) that one undergoes at the beginning of spiritual sadhana (practice). When the mind is subjected to intense concentration, the first thing that comes out of the process is intense suffering and great inner turmoil. These must be resolved otherwise further progress is not possible.

* Lord Shiva symbolises the ascetic principle. His role in this story as the consumer of poison suggests that one can deal with the early problems of spiritual life by cultivating the qualities of Lord Shiva, namely, courage, initiative, willingness, discipline, simplicity, austerity, detachment, compassion, pure love and asceticism.

* The various precious objects that come out of the ocean during the churning stand for the psychic or spiritual powers (Siddhis) which one gains as s/he progresses spiritually from stage to stage. The seeker should be careful about these powers as they can hamper her/his progress unless s/he uses them judiciously, not for selfish gains but for others' welfare. This is the reason why the Gods and demons distributed these objects as they did not want to lose sight of their original aim which was to gain immortality.

* Dhanvantari symbolises health and signifies that immortality (longevity, to be correct) or spiritual success can be achieved only when the body and the mind are in a perfect state of health.

* Mohini symbolises delusion of the mind in the form of (or originating from) pride. It is the pride of achievement to which the asuras or the demons succumbed and thus lost sight of their goal. Pride and egoism are the last hurdles one has to overcome in spiritual life before experiencing self-realisation.

* The Amrit symbolises the ultimate achievement of the goal of self-realistion.

* Lakshmi represents universal enrichment which comes as an automatic by-product of the internal self-realization or Amrita

[zerostao]

vortex; very nice, thanks. i would like to have that up on one of my walls.

i have also heard that turtle meditation is very key to this type of goal?

in your signature it says knowledge can be taught, skill must be practiced.

do you play some baguazhang?

do you think baguazhang practice can lead to taoist immortality?

[lotus_born]

Vortex consistently has good material. Happy Sivaratri to all. This is the moonless night where the single pointed focus when doing Grandmaster's practice will open the doors to Infinity. You don't have to fast or lose sleep but if it helps for just one night, by all means, go ahead :-).

 

Names are many but God is One.

Paths are many but truth is One.

[exorcist_1699]

I think attaining the level of Earth Immortal is not so difficult as people think, some insight disentangled them from prevailing ideology , some determination ,persistence and skills are what we need . But as so many Earth Immortals for these years have been detained in the realm of earth ( although likely along with the advance of science and technology, the number of people succeeded is decreasing ...) , why we can't see them walking on the streets?

 

Different from the past, in which frequently some immortals appeared , did some good things, and before having surrounded by the mass , disappeared into the deep mountains; nowadays, means of communications are too advanced,and journalists , including those free-lance , are too many and active that if one of them appears in this morning, likely in the afternoon, on all newspapers and websites will be full of the photos of his appearance. So, how can they act like those immortals before ?

Edited March 4, 2011 by exorcist_1699