Liu I-Ming 18th century Taoist Adept

[lifeforce]

1 minute ago, Wondo said:

And if you do not do any of those things, how do you cultivate?

 

Sit silently. Walk in natural surroundings. Eat unprocessed food. Avoid toxic mainstream media. Adapt to whatever circumstances life throws at me.

[Wondo]

1 minute ago, lifeforce said:

 

Sit silently. Walk in natural surroundings. Eat unprocessed food. Avoid toxic mainstream media. Adapt to whatever circumstances life throws at me.

Sounds good to me.

[Taoist Texts]

Well folks you are all right and all wrong at the same time. LYM does have a very physical practice except its not what you think. And  his main practice was non-physical one and its not what you think either.

 

Which is all good, because you would not like nor the former neither the latter. Peace out!

Edited March 4, 2019 by Taoist Texts

[kondensation]

2 hours ago, Taoist Texts said:

Well folks you are all right and all wrong at the same time. LYM does have a very physical practice except its not what you think. And  his main practice was non-physical one and its not what you think either.

 

Which is all good, because you would not like nor the former neither the latter. Peace out!

How would you describe them?

[Taoist Texts]

14 minutes ago, kondensation said:

How would you describe them?

No can do, sorry. Its a secret.

[freeform]

Clear a patch of soil. Fertilise it. Plant a seed. Pay attention, pull the weeds, protect from extreme weather, irrigate. = Effort

 

Then allow the seed to sprout, grow and then bloom = No effort

[Wondo]

5 hours ago, freeform said:

Clear a patch of soil. Fertilise it. Plant a seed. Pay attention, pull the weeds, protect from extreme weather, irrigate. = Effort

 

Then allow the seed to sprout, grow and then bloom = No effort

Yes.

[Rocky Lionmouth]

On 2019-03-04 at 8:06 PM, Taoist Texts said:

No can do, sorry. Its a secret.

 

Why?

 

”Also my secret.”

To quote a young Jackie Chan in a tailed version of a beatles-mop in the movie ”Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin”, in which he also demonstrates Pheonix Eye Fist technique by first flipping this big brawler guy the bird. English dubbed version is great, the Ting Brothers are a group of hilarious side-story villains you simply mustn’t miss!

[Taoist Texts]

50 minutes ago, Rocky Lionmouth said:

Why

Why what?

[Mudfoot]

Taoist Texts, interpreter of the sacred scrolls and keeper of the seven keys. 

 

Share with us, miserable creatures, the true Dao of Ming and Xing, so we might walk Peng-Lai carefree with the other Immortals. 

 

Free us from the cycle of behaviour that leads to death, help us to revert to the pristine state. 

 

As a token of respect, we present this 🐉🥕 (both dragon bones and ginseng, how can you say no😁) 

[lifeforce]

What's with all the secrets ? 

I've always thought of this forum to be a great place for sharing information useful to seekers of the Way.

I guess some people just want to feel special. Food for the ego.

[Taoist Texts]

35 minutes ago, Mudfoot said:

Taoist Texts, interpreter of the sacred scrolls and keeper of the seven keys. 

 

39 minutes ago, lifeforce said:

I've always thought of this forum to be a great place for sharing information

No. But it used to be a great place to make fun of the angry neidaneers. But now the angry ones are gone, only a couple of the good natured ones remain, and its just not the same. (sigh)

[Mudfoot]

The Age of Man is over. 

The time of the Orc has come. 

[Mudfoot]

35 minutes ago, Taoist Texts said:

 

But now the angry ones are gone, only a couple of the good natured ones remain, and its just not the same. (sigh)

Yes. 

The time of the secret Ming, and the importance of the houtian bagwa. 

 

And the translation wars. 

[Mudfoot]

3 hours ago, lifeforce said:

 

I've always thought of this forum to be a great place for sharing information useful to seekers of the Way.

Is there any Nei Dan thread that have shared information?

Or do they share insults? 

[freeform]

58 minutes ago, Mudfoot said:

Is there any Nei Dan thread that have shared information?

 

LYM claimed that the most complete and simple map to the Neidan process is all written in The Journey To The West.

 

[Mudfoot]

Actually, I understand the reluctance to share methods. 

Those that knows, often have payed with money and effort to get acess to that knowledge. 

 

And since I avoid talking about "the great dharma of Kong and Jin(g)", I cannot complain too much when the Nei Daners refuse to publish their manuals and personal notes 😁

[Taoist Texts]

1 hour ago, Mudfoot said:

personal notes 😁

With the clouds the harvest snow has came, now is the three coldest decades,

It’s the time when the mountains are snowed over and closed.

I am so sad and depressed all alone in the mountains silent,

All day long not a sound of human speech.

Under  tattered robes in two layers, I huddle in cold sitting alone,

 all night long so miserable with no end.

Still no way to sleep, the sharp wind pierces the cracks in the door.

In the morning it is time go beg in the village some food,

 by the spring on the narrow path I spy jade leaves forming berries right in the ice.

Blowing on my icy hands to get warm I am despising myself,

This my body of filthy bones and mundane flesh all is bad.

Day and night all the time harries me with the hunger and cold, makes me long for transcendence of life-death from the morning to night.

It is only my will I rely on, to push open the door to the ‘heart-moon of thousands kalpas past’.

[exorcist_1699]

On 2019/3/11 at 7:45 PM, freeform said:

 

LYM claimed that the most complete and simple map to the Neidan process is all written in The Journey To The West.

 

 

 

The novel  " The Journey To The West "  is mainly a Taoist novel although it is a story  with a Buddhist theme and  there are many  Buddhist figures appeared in it .

Nearly in  every chapter  you can find some Taoist poems, and quite a big part of them hide some keys ( that is ,  hints for solving Taoist alchemical problems/ troubles you are facing or will be facing ) , which hardly can you yourself figure them out ; in fact,  many of those poems look so plain , just  few  simple words ,that you don't  think that they have any significance until   you reach certain stage . In many cases, pre-telling them might not be anything good ;

 

But why  science  can tell people   about the truth of  this  universe  , as clear as possible, even in concise equations,  for example : F=ma  or  E=mc² , Taoist alchemy so reluctant ..

Edited March 18, 2019 by exorcist_1699

[freeform]

29 minutes ago, exorcist_1699 said:

But why  science  can tell people   about the truth of  this  universe  , as clear as possible, even in concise equations,  for example : F=ma  or  E=mc² , Taoist alchemy so reluctant ..

 

Well I’m not sure physics is that simple. You still need years of study to really understand E=mc2...

 

And so it is with alchemy, it’s just that it’s a subject that’s been largely forgotten and diluted with misinformation and misunderstanding...

 

couple that with the fact that it’s a much more subtle art than say physics...

 

and that it was thought to impart great ‘power’ or at least could be misused and so it’s been obfuscated so as to only be useful for people already on the path...

 

And the reality is that you must learn it from a teacher with the classical texts being an accompaniment to the direct transmission...

 

I just think that many people go down this path without having laid the foundations (and had them verified and authenticated) in the first place... and so they get mired in stuff they don’t really understand and could never make real use of anyway. 

 

 

[fatguyslim]

Hey everyone, first of all I thank Wondo for reviving this thread. It has been a long time since I have been on this platform so apologies for not replying sooner. Since I wrote this post my friend and I have worked hard at translating some more texts by Liu Yiming. After reading a number of his texts it is somewhat clear now that he never urged any of his students to do any practices that focuses on the post heaven. From his text it is very clear that he leaned more towards Confucian way of cultivation rather than Buddhist way of cultivation. Liu was of course a Taoist immortal and and of course understood internal alchemy which is not mentioned in any Confucian texts I have read.

From what I have gathered from Liu is that he wants every person to practice virtue. Investigating principles to know right from wrong and then act with righteousness and benevolence. In Understand Reality, Liu says this "What heaven enjoins on people is virtue; and virtue is also that whereby people requite heaven. If you have virtue, heaven is glad; then carrying out this mandate is very easy, and depends on oneself. If you have no virtue, heaven is angry; then practising this path is very difficult, and depends on heaven. Why is this? Without virtue and application, one will not be countenanced by the spirits, and there are apt to be demons which cause obstruction; suffering difficulty and sickness, one will inevitably give up along the way. Therefore, those who practise the Tao must make it a priority to cultivate virtue. When one studies and practises the Tao rich in virtue, the Tao is easy to learn and practise, particularly because heaven is glad and the obstacles of demons spontaneously vanish."

 

In his books Liu wants students to do good deeds. Appropriate to his times he gave examples of how students could help build roads and bridges which will benefit countless people. He says something along the lines that roads and bridges are to be used by countless men for many generations so the karma to do something like this would be high. This was just an example given by Liu, I think his objective is to guide people to goodness and build on virtue. And when the virtue is high in someone immortals themselves would be moved to pass on the teachings. "When the student is ready the master appears" 

This is very similar to what Mencius says in his books. Mencius only spoke of righteousness and benevolence and it is a key thing in his teachings that he wanted to pass on to the kings and rulers of his time. There is also a striking similarities between the text written by Wang Yang Ming and Liu Yiming and both these masters talk about working on virtue. There is also a great deal of emphasis put on filial piety by these masters and reminding every student about the importance of it. Anyway this is what I have learned from Liu over the years and try everyday to work on becoming a better person.

[lifeforce]

22 minutes ago, fatguyslim said:

Hey everyone, first of all I thank Wondo for reviving this thread. It has been a long time since I have been on this platform so apologies for not replying sooner. Since I wrote this post my friend and I have worked hard at translating some more texts by Liu Yiming. After reading a number of his texts it is somewhat clear now that he never urged any of his students to do any practices that focuses on the post heaven. From his text it is very clear that he leaned more towards Confucian way of cultivation rather than Buddhist way of cultivation. Liu was of course a Taoist immortal and and of course understood internal alchemy which is not mentioned in any Confucian texts I have read.

From what I have gathered from Liu is that he wants every person to practice virtue. Investigating principles to know right from wrong and then act with righteousness and benevolence. In Understand Reality, Liu says this "What heaven enjoins on people is virtue; and virtue is also that whereby people requite heaven. If you have virtue, heaven is glad; then carrying out this mandate is very easy, and depends on oneself. If you have no virtue, heaven is angry; then practising this path is very difficult, and depends on heaven. Why is this? Without virtue and application, one will not be countenanced by the spirits, and there are apt to be demons which cause obstruction; suffering difficulty and sickness, one will inevitably give up along the way. Therefore, those who practise the Tao must make it a priority to cultivate virtue. When one studies and practises the Tao rich in virtue, the Tao is easy to learn and practise, particularly because heaven is glad and the obstacles of demons spontaneously vanish."

 

In his books Liu wants students to do good deeds. Appropriate to his times he gave examples of how students could help build roads and bridges which will benefit countless people. He says something along the lines that roads and bridges are to be used by countless men for many generations so the karma to do something like this would be high. This was just an example given by Liu, I think his objective is to guide people to goodness and build on virtue. And when the virtue is high in someone immortals themselves would be moved to pass on the teachings. "When the student is ready the master appears" 

This is very similar to what Mencius says in his books. Mencius only spoke of righteousness and benevolence and it is a key thing in his teachings that he wanted to pass on to the kings and rulers of his time. There is also a striking similarities between the text written by Wang Yang Ming and Liu Yiming and both these masters talk about working on virtue. There is also a great deal of emphasis put on filial piety by these masters and reminding every student about the importance of it. Anyway this is what I have learned from Liu over the years and try everyday to work on becoming a better person.

 

Excellent post. This is the essence of Daoist spiritual alchemy. Not energy practices or imaginary circuit meditations.

[voidisyinyang]

1 hour ago, lifeforce said:

 

Excellent post. This is the essence of Daoist spiritual alchemy. Not energy practices or imaginary circuit meditations.

Heaven is angry?

Quote

"What heaven enjoins on people is virtue; and virtue is also that whereby people requite heaven. If you have virtue, heaven is glad; then carrying out this mandate is very easy, and depends on oneself. If you have no virtue, heaven is angry; then practising this path is very difficult, and depends on heaven. Why is this? Without virtue and application, one will not be countenanced by the spirits, and there are apt to be demons which cause obstruction; suffering difficulty and sickness, one will inevitably give up along the way. Therefore, those who practise the Tao must make it a priority to cultivate virtue. When one studies and practises the Tao rich in virtue, the Tao is easy to learn and practise, particularly because heaven is glad and the obstacles of demons spontaneously vanish."

yes Master Yan Xin says that virtue is the key to qigong practice.

And Pregadio has an article on this also. thanks

"SUPERIOR virtue" as POST-heaven alchemy

https://elixirfield.blogspot.com/2018/12/inferior-virtue-golden-elixir-and.html

just scroll down a lot - that's the Pregadio article that I blogged on.

 

Superior Virtue, Inferior Virtue: A Doctrinal Theme in the Works of the Daoist Master Liu Yiming (1734-1821). Authors: Pregadio, Fabrizio¹ Source: T'oung Pao. 2014, Vol. 100 Issue 4/5, p460-498. 39p.

Edited April 9, 2019 by voidisyinyang

[Wondo]

Void,

Yes!! This is what I was trying to say months ago. I read your blog. Very interesting and in agreement. So, there is need for the simultaneous inferior and superior practices for us mere mortals. 

[SirPalomides]

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 12:38 PM, Taoist Texts said:

LYM was Quanzhen. For those maniacs, once you blew your chance in this lifetime, its game over.

 

 

Is this true? It would explain why some of those early Quanzhen guys so callously abandoned their wives and children.