Chakras in Tao, Buddhism, Khemetics, Yoga

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Edited June 9, 2011 by Harmonious Emptiness

[Apech]

Link will not work for me.

 

The list of chakras and temple sites seems a little confused to me - where does this information come from?

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Link will not work for me.

 

The list of chakras and temple sites seems a little confused to me - where does this information come from?

 

It's just a travel website, but for the most part it seems to line up with what I've read of these gods, except that the 3rd eye is usually called the Eye of Horus and is why Horus usually has a cobra(kundalini serpent) over his 3rd eye. Perhaps there was other significance with The Sphinx who I'm pretty sure was related to Isis/Bastet.

 

Also, from what I have read, the crown chakra leads up to union with a divine mother, though I'm not sure if it's specifically Isis, Nut, or others.

 

Again, I'm looking for more information on this side of it all, so please, let me know what you've got!

 

(edit: do the temples not match the chakras? or the gods don't match? How do you understand the relationships to be? From what I've seen, you seem to be the most familiar with Egyptian spirituality here, so I'm looking forward to your contribution to the topic!)

 

The website is basically a travel thing (not the most reliable, but it seemed pretty close at least for a jumping off point. There's so much complexity and interrelatedness with Khemetic symbology that it's hard to be sure what is totally off or just coming from another aspect of the teaching).

 

maybe paste the two parts together:

 

http://www.freewebs.com/

 

spiritualegypt/thechakrasofthenile.htm

Edited June 9, 2011 by Harmonious Emptiness

[C T]

This book http://www.amazon.com/dp/1559392355?tag=mommmyst-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1559392355&adid=1Z203H4SC6GYTMSR0CN2& comes highly recommended as a very dependable reference in light of your interest here.

 

Haven't read it myself, but friends of mine, some with more than 10 years of Vajrayana practices under their belt, never leave their homes without it. I understand it provides quite an in-depth instruction on how to begin working with the energetic pathways and chakras according to the advanced path of Buddhist tantra.

[Vajrahridaya]

This book http://www.amazon.com/dp/1559392355?tag=mommmyst-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1559392355&adid=1Z203H4SC6GYTMSR0CN2& comes highly recommended as a very dependable reference in light of your interest here.

 

Haven't read it myself, but friends of mine, some with more than 10 years of Vajrayana practices under their belt, never leave their homes without it. I understand it provides quite an in-depth instruction on how to begin working with the energetic pathways and chakras according to the advanced path of Buddhist tantra.

 

Yup, including karmamudra.

 

Yes, I bought this book sometime in the 90's when I was still doing Shaivatantra. I've recommended it a number of times. It's not going to feel as juicy as a transmission from a living master, but it's got the required information in it.

[C T]

Yup, including karmamudra.

 

Yes, I bought this book sometime in the 90's when I was still doing Shaivatantra. I've recommended it a number of times. It's not going to feel as juicy as a transmission from a living master, but it's got the required information in it.

Yeah, sometimes its difficult to recommend materials over a forum.

 

It can only take one so far on the juice-o-meter, as you have pointed out, but some merit-imbued individuals can actually benefit from such works and take the teachings a couple of notches deeper, beyond the conceptual level.

 

Direct introduction from a Ngagpa/Ngakmo can be very swift and clear, yes.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

This book http://www.amazon.com/dp/1559392355?tag=mommmyst-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1559392355&adid=1Z203H4SC6GYTMSR0CN2& comes highly recommended as a very dependable reference in light of your interest here.

 

Haven't read it myself, but friends of mine, some with more than 10 years of Vajrayana practices under their belt, never leave their homes without it. I understand it provides quite an in-depth instruction on how to begin working with the energetic pathways and chakras according to the advanced path of Buddhist tantra.

 

Thanks for the tip. Hopefully I can get my hands on one soon .

[C T]

Thanks for the tip. Hopefully I can get my hands on one soon .

No worries. Hope you can derive some benefit when you get it, and it'd be great if you can come back here and give us a review at some stage. But if it takes you to rainbow body within a couple of weeks, then consider that an exemption from the review?

[Harmonious Emptiness]

No worries. Hope you can derive some benefit when you get it, and it'd be great if you can come back here and give us a review at some stage. But if it takes you to rainbow body within a couple of weeks, then consider that an exemption from the review?

 

I appreciate your vote of confidence

Edited June 9, 2011 by Harmonious Emptiness

[Apech]

It's just a travel website, but for the most part it seems to line up with what I've read of these gods, except that the 3rd eye is usually called the Eye of Horus and is why Horus usually has a cobra(kundalini serpent) over his 3rd eye. Perhaps there was other significance with The Sphinx who I'm pretty sure was related to Isis/Bastet.

 

Also, from what I have read, the crown chakra leads up to union with a divine mother, though I'm not sure if it's specifically Isis, Nut, or others.

 

Again, I'm looking for more information on this side of it all, so please, let me know what you've got!

 

(edit: do the temples not match the chakras? or the gods don't match? How do you understand the relationships to be? From what I've seen, you seem to be the most familiar with Egyptian spirituality here, so I'm looking forward to your contribution to the topic!)

 

The website is basically a travel thing (not the most reliable, but it seemed pretty close at least for a jumping off point. There's so much complexity and interrelatedness with Khemetic symbology that it's hard to be sure what is totally off or just coming from another aspect of the teaching).

 

maybe paste the two parts together:

 

http://www.freewebs.com/

 

spiritualegypt/thechakrasofthenile.htm

 

OK found it through google

 

My link

[Harmonious Emptiness]

That's the one. The author actually seems to have some background, as she guides people through the chakra meditations at the different temples. I wouldn't be the one to prove this, there seems to be some knowledge there.

 

It seemed obvious to me that The Egyptians had different gods associated with the chakras since they had gods associated with pretty much everything, similar in some way to how Taoism associates different elements to everything.

 

It would be really interesting to hear an expansion on their views of chakras since they may have been influential on other systems around the world, but also since it seems their architecture and other things were influenced by them, not to mention the seemingly superhuman abilities (not exclusive to the Khemetics) that they seemed to have had. Not that I would get that far without total life commitment and perhaps some divine favoritism.

 

 

So the dantien harmonizes the the upper chakras with Aswan: the "Source of the Nile."

By this description and what I know of Microcosmic Orbit, the bottom chakra is really the Pool of Elixer/Jing.

 

Zhi Gang Sha has a lotus hand posture over the 4th chakra to open it.

Someone on TTB mentioned a method to open the Heart Chakra which involved dual cultivation with another dedicated practitioner.

 

I haven't heard any Taoist practices to open the 3rd and 5th Chakra, which Khemetics associated with power, healing, and magical potential. The 5th is associated with communication.

 

Looking at the way the pyramids were built, we can see the focus on building up the bases before getting to the top. I've only heard mention of the 3 dantiens in Taoism. Maybe there was something in Opening The Dragon Gate about these other 2?

 

Would opening these chakras be done similar to activating the dantien? Is it a matter of energizing the Chakra, or opening? Makes me think of Chi Kung, retaining and releasing, purifying movements.

 

I've heard of using rocks to energize the chakras. Does anyone know anything about that?

[Harmonious Emptiness]

((edit: not to say anything dogmatic about opening the Kundalini spontaneously, or that it should never be done without developing all the other centers.

 

-- I suppose that would be an exception for comparative discussions.

 

Any words on the difference it makes after and before the Kundalini is awakened?

 

What was also interesting was that the top chakra eventually enables astral travel. Taoism and Buddhism speak about similar things, yet there are a lot of how-tos on astral travel while your still alive. There is also astral traveling in Dragon Gate Taoism if I'm not mistaken.

 

No wonder the pyramids were lined up as if they were made for ETs, eh? Was the Giza pyramid was like a glactic telephone?

[Apech]

Hi,

 

What this lady Caroline Dekker appears to be doing is using the energy of particular Egyptian temple sites to energize and harmonize the chakras. This in itself seems valid (provided it works). What was confusing me was some of the choices of sites and also the description of the deities and so on.

 

For instance Kom Ombo ... the main deity associated with this town is Set .. he was known as Nubty or 'the Ombite'. But the temple which she is referring to built by Thut 3 I think has Horus the Elder and Sobek the crocodile god. In certain periods it was considered incorrect to name Set directly ... although in the earliest time this was not the case when Horus and Set were seen as equal if opposing forces (bit like yin/yang).

 

BTW I think the lower Tantien is the 2nd chakra not the 1st.

 

Suggest you contact her and ask more questions about what she does (if there's a contact on that site) ... I googled her name and found a blog also.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Hi,

 

What this lady Caroline Dekker appears to be doing is using the energy of particular Egyptian temple sites to energize and harmonize the chakras. This in itself seems valid (provided it works). What was confusing me was some of the choices of sites and also the description of the deities and so on.

 

For instance Kom Ombo ... the main deity associated with this town is Set .. he was known as Nubty or 'the Ombite'. But the temple which she is referring to built by Thut 3 I think has Horus the Elder and Sobek the crocodile god. In certain periods it was considered incorrect to name Set directly ... although in the earliest time this was not the case when Horus and Set were seen as equal if opposing forces (bit like yin/yang).

 

BTW I think the lower Tantien is the 2nd chakra not the 1st.

 

Suggest you contact her and ask more questions about what she does (if there's a contact on that site) ... I googled her name and found a blog also.

 

 

Yeah, Kom Ombo was just the site where the temple is.

 

The Dantien is the 2nd, which harmonizes the 1st with the other 5. Since the 1st is the source of the Nile, this sounds to me like in Taoism when they talk about the source of Jing/vital fluid/some say sexual fluid. It's usually said that the 1st chakra is at the base of the spine but I think that was just being non-descriptive so as not to freak out cultural fear of sex and to keep it from being seen as this big sexual thing which I don't think it really is since these practices all warn that sexual lust will misdirect your energy focus.

[Vajrahridaya]

Oh yeah, that's right, I did see this and read through it. Ok, thank you.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

On reading my last post here, I'm remembering, too that there was a lot of sex involved in certain Egyptian celebrations and maybe rituals. The worship of different gods was/is comparable to the diversity in Hinduism, though I'm pretty sure I've read it was a "Bast cult" and maybe a particular Osiris cult. The religion was very ingrained into the daily life at the time so what the populace did and what the highest priests did (keeping in mind that alchemy has usually been very esoteric, sometimes maybe to keep the power from misuse or from would be competitors) was not necessarily the same.

[Vajrahridaya]

On reading my last post here, I'm remembering, too that there was a lot of sex involved in certain Egyptian celebrations and maybe rituals. The worship of different gods was/is comparable to the diversity in Hinduism, though I'm pretty sure I've read it was a "Bast cult" and maybe a particular Osiris cult. The religion was very ingrained into the daily life at the time so what the populace did and what the highest priests did (keeping in mind that alchemy has usually been very esoteric, sometimes maybe to keep the power from misuse or from would be competitors) was not necessarily the same.

 

Yes, all interesting. But, I wonder how much is just a re-interpretation based upon what we know of Indian internal alchemy traditions? I for one, do not know, or remember directly. (*Remember, as in I have memories of intimate connection with ancient Egypt.)

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Yes, all interesting. But, I wonder how much is just a re-interpretation based upon what we know of Indian internal alchemy traditions?

 

That's a worthy point, but, if they were working with the same Chakras.. What else could they have been doing?

[Vajrahridaya]

That's a worthy point, but, if they were working with the same Chakras.. What else could they have been doing?

 

Plenty of things, powers, psychic, physical, etc., having nothing to do with liberation from the cycle of unconscious rebirth or freedom from Samsara as defined in the Indian traditions. How do we know about the chakras they were working with? I'm ignorant about that. What I find online is just new agers meshing Egyptian lore with Indian philosophy. The term Chakra is a sanskrit word meaning wheel, originally having nothing to do with spirituality. It's a word pertaining to any sort of wheel, originally speaking.

 

I've been introduced to Aleister Crowley's stuff, and all his stuff about Egyptian spirituality just talks like a re-interpretation based upon having studied some Indian Tantra? Kundalini is a sanskrit term meaning, "coiled", and that's it. Though again, I don't know... you could know more on this about the Egyptian side of things. But, I've come across many current books and these new age formulas discussing Egyptian myth which read more like a re-interpretation rather than original Egyptian intention.

 

What is the Egyptian term for the spiritual centers in the physical system? What's the source for this term and this idea that they have a codified system for these centers like they do in India? I looked online and supposedly they work with a 13 point system according to "William Henry?" Where is the proof that they even talked about the kundalini phenomena like the Indians do? I'm not saying that they didn't experience some things, but where are the texts and the lineages that talk about such things with as much clarity as to come up with such a hypothesis in comparing ancient Egyptian spirituality with the Indian systems? I'm just curious. Who's interpreting the writing on the walls?

Edited June 18, 2011 by Vajrahridaya

[Vajrahridaya]

It is all quite interesting. But, I'm more interested in living lineage instead of assumptions and possible re-interpretation of ancient symbols based upon a projection of a conditioned ideal. Then again, I don't know, everything this person writes... could be correct?

http://www.patriciadaywilliams.com/chakrasystem.pdf

 

It's an interesting read.

[Aetherous]

Yes, all interesting. But, I wonder how much is just a re-interpretation based upon what we know of Indian internal alchemy traditions?

 

Great way to make money, and it's the majority of Egyptian stuff out there.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

It is all quite interesting. But, I'm more interested in living lineage instead of assumptions and possible re-interpretation of ancient symbols based upon a projection of a conditioned ideal. Then again, I don't know, everything this person writes... could be correct?

http://www.patriciadaywilliams.com/chakrasystem.pdf

 

It's an interesting read.

 

I'll have to write a bit more when I'm at my own computer, but, for me a lot of the proof is in the make up of Egyptian mythology. The goddess raises the sexual energy of Osiris to create Horus, both Osiris and Horus are sculpted with a serpent coming out of the 3rd eye. They may likely have had more than the 7 chakras, I can't confirm on that part. They knew the body extremely well and built their temples with a geometry that encompassed the body make up with make up of all creation and it's connection to the cosmos. I would venture to guess that their chakra knowledge coincided with their astrology, since a lot of their practices revolved around the stars and planets.

 

There were likely different practices pertaining to the same chakras, but I have no good reason to doubt that the same chakras were used for the purposes that they can be, ie - 1 chakra is the source, heart chakra is compassion, 3rd eye is the 3rd eye, crown chakra connects with the cosmos. These were understood not by logic but by the feeling they created in the body, so the feeling would be the same so long as the masters reached a certain "entry" level. From there, maybe more subtle zones were discovered. Taoists have 3 zones, Yogis have 7, maybe Khemetics had more.. They sure had a lot of freedom and time to discover, having the entire culture revolve around the priesthood and the Pharaoh being one of the highest initiates of the mysteries, for 3000 year and quite possibly many times more than that going by the water marks around the sphynx. To me, regardless of available proof, this suggests to me that they knew everything and more about it. Then other people came along and decided it was time to decentralize this power and knowledge.

[Vajrahridaya]

I'll have to write a bit more when I'm at my own computer, but, for me a lot of the proof is in the make up of Egyptian mythology. The goddess raises the sexual energy of Osiris to create Horus, both Osiris and Horus are sculpted with a serpent coming out of the 3rd eye. They may likely have had more than the 7 chakras, I can't confirm on that part. They knew the body extremely well and built their temples with a geometry that encompassed the body make up with make up of all creation and it's connection to the cosmos. I would venture to guess that their chakra knowledge coincided with their astrology, since a lot of their practices revolved around the stars and planets.

 

Interesting, yes Vajrayana systems utilize anywhere from 3 to 12 chakras dependent upon the particular "sadhana" or practice.

 

There were likely different practices pertaining to the same chakras, but I have no good reason to doubt that the same chakras were used for the purposes that they can be, ie - 1 chakra is the source, heart chakra is compassion, 3rd eye is the 3rd eye, crown chakra connects with the cosmos. These were understood not by logic but by the feeling they created in the body, so the feeling would be the same so long as the masters reached a certain "entry" level. From there, maybe more subtle zones were discovered. Taoists have 3 zones, Yogis have 7, maybe Khemetics had more.. They sure had a lot of freedom and time to discover, having the entire culture revolve around the priesthood and the Pharaoh being one of the highest initiates of the mysteries, for 3000 year and quite possibly many times more than that going by the water marks around the sphynx. To me, regardless of available proof, this suggests to me that they knew everything and more about it. Then other people came along and decided it was time to decentralize this power and knowledge.

 

I understand, this is for you intuitive as well as from what you have read. I have no problem with that. I don't know all that much about Egyptian systems. But yea, the Indian systems in various texts say that one can even think within a spectrum of infinite chakras. The different numbers are just for the sake of mental alignment and focus for particular outcomes. The "Kunjed Gyalpo" a major Dzogchen Semsde text talks about the non-necessity of creating a dogma around numbers and stages, yet at the same time states that one shouldn't make a dogma about that idea of thinking that the systems aren't necessary either. It's really about neither acceptance nor rejection, but knowing what is necessary in the moment for mental alignment and body practices without creating a mental dogma about any of it. There are lots of pictures from long ago of there being plenty more chakras than 7, and also pictures showing less all within Vajrayana Tantric Buddhism.

 

Even Swami Muktananda, a famous Hindu Shaivite Yogi said that there are "so many chakras in the head", but he said that one doesn't need to really elaborate on that as they open naturally when doing the 8 chakra practice, even though he mostly focused on 7 in his teachings, he also talks about the Hridaya chakra in the physical heart which opens once the sahasarara is opened, the energy goes down and centers in the chakra in the heart after all the regular 7 points and all the head chakras open up it goes down to center the body energy with the higher energies, or something to that effect. That was his experience anyway and it's what the Kaula or Trika (Kashmir Shaivite) traditions talked about too. So... eh, practice and find out!

 

Dzogchen and Vajrayana in Buddhism talks about this as well.

Edited June 18, 2011 by Vajrahridaya

[Harmonious Emptiness]

 

 

Even Swami Muktananda, a famous Hindu Shaivite Yogi said that there are "so many chakras in the head", but he said that one doesn't need to really elaborate on that as they open naturally when doing the 8 chakra practice, even though he mostly focused on 7 in his teachings, he also talks about the Hridaya chakra in the physical heart which opens once the sahasarara is opened, the energy goes down and centers in the chakra in the heart after all the regular 7 points and all the head chakras open up it goes down to center the body energy with the higher energies, or something to that effect. That was his experience anyway and it's what the Kaula or Trika (Kashmir Shaivite) traditions talked about too. So... eh, practice and find out!

 

Dzogchen and Vajrayana in Buddhism talks about this as well.

 

Yeah, really if we look at the uses of energy points, TCM would have one for pretty much every 8 inches of the body. Dragon Gate Taoism also talks about 9 centers in our scalp which correspond to the planets. So, true, there's more to learn about energy centers than the few that run up the center of the body, though they seem to be of some central importance.

 

Thanks for the names, hopefully I'll be able to find out more about them...

Edited June 19, 2011 by Harmonious Emptiness

[Apech]

The Egyptian system precisely identifies numerous points on the body and head with various deities in order to purify and empower it. In the Pyramid texts the king is said to circulate the 'mounds of Horus and Set' - these are the energy centres ... those relating to perception are those of Horus and the ones about developing power are those of Set. Significant parts of this type of practice are about establishing the heart in the body and also 'joining the head to body' which means achieving a level of integration.

 

For a long time Egyptologists suppressed the sexual content of Egyptian religion even though it is self evident and key to understanding what they were talking about. For instance the god Atum effectively masturbated the world into existence, Isis drew semen from the dead Osiris by creating a magical phallus, the god Min is shown with a erect penis and had orgiastic rites which involved the consumption of lettuce opium and Hathor was herself the goddess of joy, music, sex and so on. The word for Ba or 'soul' is sometimes written with a phallus and this is said about the resurrected king in the Pyramid Texts "Unis is lord of semen, who takes women from their husbands to the place Unis likes according to his hearts fancy." (this last quote is meant with some humour by the way).

 

So I think you can safely conclude that sex was at the heart of Egyptian teachings.