Taobums Q&A with Kosta Danaos

[Earthbound]

Kostas recently did an interview with The Times of India newspaper. I've attached a copy of his original answers to the questions, along with the interview the newspaper published.

 

As well as, hopefully, being an interesting read, you can see the difference between an author's original work, and what it ends up like after the editing process.

 

Enjoy and my best for the season.

 

Kostas interview Times India - original.pdf

Kostas - 18 December 11.pdf

 

 

What happened with the questions to Kostas? Did I miss something?Did he replied?

[Ish]

taobums.pdf

 

Here it is

[Earthbound]

Here it is

 

Thanks a lot Ish.

[someone else]

He had a school after the water flood back in 2002 in the same area in Kato Patisia. He held it until 2007-2008 I think, although the school was running by his older students at that time.He only came once a week to train students.

@Earthbound, I knoq Kostas is not in Greece 2005-2008, so how is possible to have school? Maybe students have school.

 

Also I know he has interest since 2002 only for study Greek history martial arts and his own pammachon. Nothing with Mo Pai since ten years for sure.

[Earthbound]

@Earthbound, I knoq Kostas is not in Greece 2005-2008, so how is possible to have school? Maybe students have school.

 

Also I know he has interest since 2002 only for study Greek history martial arts and his own pammachon. Nothing with Mo Pai since ten years for sure.

 

Nope. He was in Greece at that period. He was coming to school to teach, but not on a regular basis. His students held the school as I said. The thing is that very few of his students were hard working students on martial arts, most of them wanted to pose as Kostas's students, and maybe talk with him. That's the hardest training they had. Talking.

[someone else]

Nope. He was in Greece at that period. He was coming to school to teach, but not on a regular basis. His students held the school as I said. The thing is that very few of his students were hard working students on martial arts, most of them wanted to pose as Kostas's students, and maybe talk with him. That's the hardest training they had. Talking.

Sorry Earthbound but you are wrong. I dont know who you are, but I am Greek and old student of Kostas; I know him and his family. I know he is outside Greece 2005-2008; very easy to check this if you know where he works.

 

Actually this has not to do with subject of thread really. But I feel before, and now we can see, you want to talk bad and feel important. So now you we can see. If you want to talk bad, though, be a man and say everything. You talk bad about student, but what is student name who is bad? Maybe they want to talk to you face to face, what you think?

[Chen]

Sorry Earthbound but you are wrong. I dont know who you are, but I am Greek and old student of Kostas; I know him and his family. I know he is outside Greece 2005-2008; very easy to check this if you know where he works.

 

Actually this has not to do with subject of thread really. But I feel before, and now we can see, you want to talk bad and feel important. So now you we can see. If you want to talk bad, though, be a man and say everything. You talk bad about student, but what is student name who is bad? Maybe they want to talk to you face to face, what you think?

Easy guys.......

Probably Earthbound is thinking of me when he mentioned "bad students", I was the lazy one.....

"Someone Else" is right,but also wrong.

Costa never had a school,with the meaning of owning a school and have incoming of it.

Even that years "mo pai era", we were sharing the expenses of renting a basement and once a week we were gathering for practice.

The most important thing was that after the practice we were going to continue with beer and food in nearby tavernas....

The only time that I heard for a more organized place was during the visit of J.C when in front of me, he asked of Costa to find a bigger place ,because after his demonstration there,this place would be packed of new students.

This is important because it gives an answer to Jim's claims that J.C had decided to "kicked out " Costa since 1996.

The visit of J.C,was around 2001....

Resuming, although this seems to be a mean less conversation it can prove a lot about the qualities of the character of Costa.

And for the record Costa never kicked out but he left for his own reasons.

For more information visit his site "Pammachon.gr" and you will find a lot about his way of thinking and acting...

[brother12]

Easy guys.......

Probably Earthbound is thinking of me when he mentioned "bad students", I was the lazy one.....

"Someone Else" is right,but also wrong.

Costa never had a school,with the meaning of owning a school and have incoming of it.

Even that years "mo pai era", we were sharing the expenses of renting a basement and once a week we were gathering for practice.

The most important thing was that after the practice we were going to continue with beer and food in nearby tavernas....

The only time that I heard for a more organized place was during the visit of J.C when in front of me, he asked of Costa to find a bigger place ,because after his demonstration there,this place would be packed of new students.

This is important because it gives an answer to Jim's claims that J.C had decided to "kicked out " Costa since 1996.

The visit of J.C,was around 2001....

Resuming, although this seems to be a mean less conversation it can prove a lot about the qualities of the character of Costa.

And for the record Costa never kicked out but he left for his own reasons.

For more information visit his site "Pammachon.gr" and you will find a lot about his way of thinking and acting...

 

From what i see kosta was not kicked out technically. But was refused further instruction past level 2. This is basically the same thing in my book.

[Chen]

From what i see kosta was not kicked out technically. But was refused further instruction past level 2. This is basically the same thing in my book.

Which is your book? because lately we filled with them....

...and yes you are right but that took place in another time frame....

and although someone propably will pull my ear, I can't shallow the "spirit story"...

[megamorphg]

 

Here it is

 

 

 

Thanks a lot Ish.

 

Uhh what's going on? I went through this exciting thread of half retarded beginners asking for the book. Where's the answers to those questions? Some of those questions by users were educated.

 

Edit: whoops: here it is:

http://thetaobums.com/topic/21094-taobums-qa-with-kosta-danaos/?p=310922

Edited November 15, 2013 by megamorphg

[Brian]

Some will find this to be of interest as well:

 

http://timemonkradio.com/threads/kostas-danaos-time-monk-radio-network-presents-july-30th-2011.34/

[i am]

This is the first mo pai thread that hasn't made me want to gag...

 

Thanks for resurrecting it, even though it was only to insult people.

[megamorphg]

I just really prefer people use their resources and THEN ask brainy questions. I really appreciate higher-minded conversation especially when it is uninterrupted by things like "who's kosta danaos?"

 

And for people newly reading here is the ACTUAL Q&A pdf for this thread! (i linked the wrong one earlier)
http://thetaobums.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=1792
Should've been pinned. I spent an hour looking for it lol
AMAZINGLY ACCURATE ANSWERS BTW... Master Huai-Chin Nan would approve!

Awesome talk btw brian definitely would love to discuss it after I finish listening later, I'm going to Friday prayer to mix with my community a bit now..

Edited November 15, 2013 by megamorphg

[i am]

Yeah this was the first time I saw the thread, and found the PDF ok, but I'll admit there's a lot of talk in between. Some of the clueless posts are actually by serious practitioners who just happen to be too busy with their path to worry about the weird mo pai fuss, and I did a bit of a palm to the forehead move when I saw them too, but...maybe because I've seen some of their other posts and know they aren't half retarded beginners (whatever exactly that means ), I was more kind.

 

Have a good weekend.

[megamorphg]

Yeah this was the first time I saw the thread, and found the PDF ok, but I'll admit there's a lot of talk in between. Some of the clueless posts are actually by serious practitioners who just happen to be too busy with their path to worry about the weird mo pai fuss, and I did a bit of a palm to the forehead move when I saw them too, but...maybe because I've seen some of their other posts and know they aren't half retarded beginners (whatever exactly that means ), I was more kind.

 

Have a good weekend.

 

sorry that came out the wrong way.

 

Here's what I think are the best questions and my own answers to them:

More_Pie_Guy, on 27 October 2011 - 07:49 AM, said:

1. The twin goals of "enlightenment" & "immortality" are often listed as the ultimate neidan

endgames.. However, "enlightenment" is often described as the transcendence of all duality

(including Self)...whereas "immortality" would be the eternal preservation of "Self," no? It

seems almost contradictory, but I suppose this "immortal self" that does goes on would be a

transcendence of life/death (belonging not quite wholly to either state) as Sambhogakāya?

Or no?

 

Amazing question. And yes I would have to agree. Keeping your question in mind, I would recommend you read "The Diamond Sutra Explained" by Master Nan Huai-Chin... you would have many insights.

The Tripikaya originally is considered ONE thing.

The sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya are both rupakaya. The dharmakaya is the formless aspect of that Tripikaya.

I think that "ball of immortality" that you get when you combine your yin and yang energies, a sort of constructed immortal soul.. it could be considered a rupakaya or dharmakaya thing depending on where in the timeline you are with it.

nondualism > yin-yang converge > physical counterpart of yin chi and yang chi converge

nondual Reality realization > dharmakaya level up! > can materialize as sambhogakaya >>> yang shen projects/nirmanakaya/etc.

Reportedly during this process you will be able to sense where your yin and yang chi and unite it although many Christian, Taoist and Zen masters just achieved this "centering" in complete and total ignorance of the body's energetics! Read the religious articles on meditationexpert.com to learn more about this phenomenon.

Any transcendent evolution of consciousness originates from dharmakaya improvement acts:

drop into nondualism

learn to rest in your own center

reach true samadhi

read prajna texts to help you detach, etc.

In short, yeah you're right. I just have to add that one's quest for dharmakaya, forgetting the self and all dualistic concepts through achievement of samadhi (using whatever centering technique is best), are key to accessing the sambhogakaya bioenergetics and not letting the power corrupt you in the end.

--

"Answer: Sifu John has a book given to him by his master with the practices of the school

outlined in medieval Chinese all the way up to Level 72. I have seen it, but of course could

not read it."

 

Would be interesting to see THAT on TPB.

--

What type of meditation does Kostas prefer to practise in terms of what he believes gives

him most benefit; for instance would that be standing (wu ji, Zhan Zhuang) or seated for

instance (lotus, seiza).

Full-lotus is arguably the best for a Immortality/Enlightenment cultivator... buddha himself said so.

--

How exactly does the fusion of Yin Qi and Yang Qi in Houtian neidan (like MoPai) lead to

enlightenment and/or immortality?

It basically gives birth to something else inside of you.. the immortal fetus.

Macrocosmic discussion:

Whenever yin and yang come together (if they are able to) something (1) beneficial and (2) revolutionary happens.

With the body: yin and yang (sperm and egg) combine and give a whole new life.

On a more psychotherapeutic spectrum: yin and yang (calmness and energy) create a more wholesome individual. Try this with other spectrums.

Try it with the paramitas.

 

And.. the rest of the answers were specific to Kosta I hope my answers to these questions provide some value to others as well.

[thelerner]

Kosta comes off as very down to earth, what a pleasure to read.

[Jox]

 

"Answer: Sifu John has a book given to him by his master with the practices of the school

outlined in medieval Chinese all the way up to Level 72. I have seen it, but of course could

not read it."

 

Would be interesting to see THAT on TPB.

So ... everyone who was instructed in the basic levels, later on he/she can work furher with the book instructions only ...

[megamorphg]

 

So ... everyone who was instructed in the basic levels, later on he/she can work furher with the book instructions only ...

 

I believe he only talks about up to level 4 in his books.

Surangama sutra talks about everything though all the way up to complete buddhahood and freedom from all layers of the 5 skandhas.

[tao1]

i do not believe the interview was from Kosta, give prove of it

[giovanni]

i think it's real, thank you.

[Dioni]

Easy guys.......

Probably Earthbound is thinking of me when he mentioned "bad students", I was the lazy one.....

"Someone Else" is right,but also wrong.

Costa never had a school,with the meaning of owning a school and have incoming of it.

Even that years "mo pai era", we were sharing the expenses of renting a basement and once a week we were gathering for practice.

The most important thing was that after the practice we were going to continue with beer and food in nearby tavernas....

The only time that I heard for a more organized place was during the visit of J.C when in front of me, he asked of Costa to find a bigger place ,because after his demonstration there,this place would be packed of new students.

This is important because it gives an answer to Jim's claims that J.C had decided to "kicked out " Costa since 1996.

The visit of J.C,was around 2001....

Resuming, although this seems to be a mean less conversation it can prove a lot about the qualities of the character of Costa.

And for the record Costa never kicked out but he left for his own reasons.

For more information visit his site "Pammachon.gr" and you will find a lot about his way of thinking and acting...

Hello Chen,

I read on a discussion that you were friend with Kostas. I have read all his books but on his website now he is denying all of them and also he seems disenchanting about John Chang http://www.pammachon.gr/index.php/en/contact-us

Can i ask what happened?

Thank you very much indeed

[Aeran]

 

Hello Chen,

I read on a discussion that you were friend with Kostas. I have read all his books but on his website now he is denying all of them and also he seems disenchanting about John Chang http://www.pammachon.gr/index.php/en/contact-us

Can i ask what happened?

Thank you very much indeed

 

 

I think you'll find most of your answers in this section of the link:

 

 

5. Wait a minute, Kosta Danaos was an idealist who gave up everything in order to search out and promote an alternative future for humanity! Who the HECK are you and what gives?

Sigh. OK, you’ve read this far, so you can’t be a complete moron, otherwise you would have already stopped reading this page.

There’s a scene in Highlander the TV series where one of Duncan’s mortal ex-girlfriends writes a series of romance novels centering on his character and adventures. At some point in the plot, another of his girlfriends (this one an immortal and avid fan of the romance novel series), asks herself “Now what would the real Duncan McLeod do?” referring to the literary construct. At this point the garlic-eating, beer-guzzling, unshaven corporeal McLeod bursts out in frustration “I AM the real Duncan McLeod!!”

I have forgotten what transpired in that particular episode, as well as most of the series, but that line was a good one, and it stuck in my mind. See, I AM the real Kostas Danaos - the other fellow is something out of a romantic novel.

Kosta Danaos was a last ditch measure, a guided missile designed for the late 1990s. At the time the books were written, I was very concerned that, given the abject capitalism that had grabbed the globe after the collapse of the Iron Curtain (the Cold War had previously provided an Enemy to restrain the greedy in the West), the world would suffer through the trepidations that we are currently witnessing (global warming, unfocused wars “on terror” which are essentially conflicts of special interest groups, the complete devastation of the environment, extreme weather as a reaction to same, religious upheaval and dogmatic resurgence, the dwindling of individual human dignity and citizen’s rights, financial turmoil, the shrinking of our resource base, the biological degradation of food sources, etc). I had the privilege of listening to a lecture by the great Stephen Hawking in Greece in September 1998, during which he discussed the current state and future of the world. According to his calculations (and I think we can agree that he knows what he’s doing), he gave humanity eight years to reverse the environmental degradation process at that point, otherwise it would be too late, and reversal would not be possible. The eight years have passed, and, sadly, both Professor Hawking’s calculations (and my own inner fears) were right on the mark. Our greed and ignorance have outstripped the logical discipline required for our long-term self-preservation.

It is already too late to save the world my generation grew up in; we have managed to eliminate what was left of it in less than 18 years. All we can do now is plan for our future survival, and embrace the change that is coming, adapting as we go in order to endure and thrive. There is no going back, no halting the process. In the next 100 years, technology will advance as much as it has in the past 20,000, and we as a species will evolve into something different, should we survive this change. We can take pieces of the past with us if we move forward with a vengeance, but there is no going back.

This is a decision we have collectively made, either through action or inaction, through intent or indifference.

Accordingly, there is no reason for Kosta Danaos to exist any longer; his time has passed. But Pammachon has been designed to fit into a cyberpunk world. Pammachon is something for the future and the times ahead, a rugged mountain villager’s treasure chest with the cultural inheritance from past millennia locked inside - you could bury it in the dirt for ten thousand years, and it would still be current.

Besides, I like Kostas Dervenis better, and he is the real Duncan McLeod.

 

As I understand it, Kosta wrote the books and undertook the wider project of attempting to bring JC into the public and scientific awareness with a specific goal in mind - he wanted people to realize the wider implications of the existence of Qi and the metaphysical nature of reality (that is, the inherent interconnection of individuals with eachother and with the environment, the existence of non-corporeal spiritual entities and of consciousness beyond death, the fact that human potential is vastly greater than we generally believe it to be in this day and age, etc), and to be motivated by these implications to make positive changes in the world on a larger scale in time to prevent the damage being caused to the planet by modern industrialized living and to society by modern nihilistic worldviews.

 

He actually lays this out quite specifically in the epilogue to Magus of Java. Tragically, events didn't play out as he hoped. His attempt to bring Chang into public & scientific awareness failed when Chang refused to continue to participate, after alleging that an immortal master within the lineage had specifically forbidden him from doing so and chastised him for breaking his oaths. On top of this, Chang refused to continue training Western students beyond a certain level, and then retired as headmaster of the lineage. 

 

Without Chang to participate, Kosta's project was essentially dead in the water, and the events of the last 15 years seem to have confirmed to him that the world is continuing down a path of degradation and potential destruction. Combine the disappointment and regret he must feel over this with the irritation he must deal with on a daily basis from people who've read his books and demanded access to Chang or instruction in Mo Pai Nei Kung, and I think his attitude is understandable.

 

Again, I really do find the whole thing rather tragic, especially since the books really inspired me when I was first struggling to establish a regular meditative practice. Kosta made an apt comparison to Prometheus in one of the books, and it seems to have been almost prophetic.

 

 

Prometheus

Related Poem Content Details

BY LORD BYRON (GEORGE GORDON)

Titan! to whose immortal eyes 

         The sufferings of mortality, 

         Seen in their sad reality, 

Were not as things that gods despise; 

What was thy pity's recompense? 

A silent suffering, and intense; 

The rock, the vulture, and the chain, 

All that the proud can feel of pain, 

The agony they do not show, 

The suffocating sense of woe, 

         Which speaks but in its loneliness, 

And then is jealous lest the sky 

Should have a listener, nor will sigh 

         Until its voice is echoless. 

 

Titan! to thee the strife was given 

         Between the suffering and the will, 

         Which torture where they cannot kill; 

And the inexorable Heaven, 

And the deaf tyranny of Fate, 

The ruling principle of Hate, 

Which for its pleasure doth create 

The things it may annihilate, 

Refus'd thee even the boon to die: 

The wretched gift Eternity 

Was thine—and thou hast borne it well. 

All that the Thunderer wrung from thee 

Was but the menace which flung back 

On him the torments of thy rack; 

The fate thou didst so well foresee, 

But would not to appease him tell; 

And in thy Silence was his Sentence, 

And in his Soul a vain repentance, 

And evil dread so ill dissembled, 

That in his hand the lightnings trembled. 

 

Thy Godlike crime was to be kind, 

         To render with thy precepts less 

         The sum of human wretchedness, 

And strengthen Man with his own mind; 

But baffled as thou wert from high, 

Still in thy patient energy, 

In the endurance, and repulse 

         Of thine impenetrable Spirit, 

Which Earth and Heaven could not convulse, 

         A mighty lesson we inherit: 

Thou art a symbol and a sign 

         To Mortals of their fate and force; 

Like thee, Man is in part divine, 

         A troubled stream from a pure source; 

And Man in portions can foresee 

His own funereal destiny; 

His wretchedness, and his resistance, 

And his sad unallied existence: 

To which his Spirit may oppose 

Itself—and equal to all woes, 

         And a firm will, and a deep sense, 

Which even in torture can descry 

         Its own concenter'd recompense, 

Triumphant where it dares defy, 

And making Death a Victory. 

[Dioni]

As I understand it, Kosta wrote the books and undertook the wider project of attempting to bring JC into the public and scientific awareness with a specific goal in mind - he wanted people to realize the wider implications of the existence of Qi and the metaphysical nature of reality (that is, the inherent interconnection of individuals with eachother and with the environment, the existence of non-corporeal spiritual entities and of consciousness beyond death, the fact that human potential is vastly greater than we generally believe it to be in this day and age, etc), and to be motivated by these implications to make positive changes in the world on a larger scale in time to prevent the damage being caused to the planet by modern industrialized living and to society by modern nihilistic worldviews.

 

He actually lays this out quite specifically in the epilogue to Magus of Java. Tragically, events didn't play out as he hoped. His attempt to bring Chang into public & scientific awareness failed when Chang refused to continue to participate, after alleging that an immortal master within the lineage had specifically forbidden him from doing so and chastised him for breaking his oaths. On top of this, Chang refused to continue training Western students beyond a certain level, and then retired as headmaster of the lineage. 

 

Without Chang to participate, Kosta's project was essentially dead in the water, and the events of the last 15 years seem to have confirmed to him that the world is continuing down a path of degradation and potential destruction. Combine the disappointment and regret he must feel over this with the irritation he must deal with on a daily basis from people who've read his books and demanded access to Chang or instruction in Mo Pai Nei Kung, and I think his attitude is understandable.

 

Again, I really do find the whole thing rather tragic, especially since the books really inspired me when I was first struggling to establish a regular meditative practice. Kosta made an apt comparison to Prometheus in one of the books, and it seems to have been almost prophetic.

Thank you for the reply. I didn't know what happened after the books, both of them inspired me a lot too.

I would like to risk to contact him for more information but it seems that it will just upset him.

I agree and actually is quite evident that the entire planet is going to pot with all the living forms in it. Humans are becoming more and more stupid and science has become the new cold and detached religion.

Our world needs masters, not to worship, but to re-discover the lost knowledge that will uncover the true power and nature that we are.

[Dioni]

Has anyone saved the file of the interview as it seems that it has been removed.

Thank you

[gendao]

On 2/19/2017 at 9:37 AM, Aeran said:

Without Chang to participate, Kosta's project was essentially dead in the water, and the events of the last 15 years seem to have confirmed to him that the world is continuing down a path of degradation and potential destruction. Combine the disappointment and regret he must feel over this with the irritation he must deal with on a daily basis from people who've read his books and demanded access to Chang or instruction in Mo Pai Nei Kung, and I think his attitude is understandable.

 

Again, I really do find the whole thing rather tragic, especially since the books really inspired me when I was first struggling to establish a regular meditative practice. Kosta made an apt comparison to Prometheus in one of the books, and it seems to have been almost prophetic.

I think there was a tiny window here that closed around 9/11.  If you came following breadcrumbs after 2000, you were already late to the party.  And at this point, it's like knocking on doors trying to crash a small backyard party that was over 20 years ago, lol...

 

Look, a lot of these Eastern esoteric arts are simple, but extremely demanding.  You need some serious DAILY self-discipline, integrated into a healthy, holistic life balance - which is basically the opposite of WEIRD culture. 

 

1) For example, Chinese all practice various forms of internal arts at around 5 AM (sunrise or earlier) every morning.  This is why you see them doing Taijiquan in parks at the crack of dawn, not early in the afternoon, lol.

 

Well, if you want to get up early, then you have to go to sleep early.  That means disciplining yourself to naturally synchronize your schedule with the Sun.  Which means no late nights out or up surfing the web.  Not to mention FAP/ejac restrictions!

 

Now, how many WEIRDOs can even do JUST THIS, day-in and day-out, for starters???

 

2) Well OK, let's hypothetically say you can somehow manage that...  You may then notice that the recommended position in most all Chinese meditation is to ideally do it in FULL LOTUS position.  (Although "John" is pictured here only in half lotus:)

Haven't done yoga before?  OK, well then add about ~15+ years of progressive stretching before you can even COMFORTABLY sit in full lotus enough to actually meditate in it!

 

3) OK, well let's say you started immediately and have been diligently stretching for 15 years.  And, you can finally get into full lotus without using your hands!  YEA!  But it is now already around 2032! Time is always of the essence when it comes to the MARATHON training these arts involve.  This is not like just getting swole at CrossFit after 2 months...

 

Hence, "John Chang" started training under a genuine MASTER's personal instruction at age 10 so he could complete Level 4 by age 32!!!  While your average WEIRDo is seeking instruction across the globe in their mid-20s or later...  I believe Jim McMillan started practicing even far later in life and only reached Level 3 before he died at 68 (and that was already considered quite an achievement)?

 

4)  15 years from now, "John Chang" has long been completely MIA and Kostas "Danaos" Dervenis is an even grumpier old guy going into retirement.  And you yourself may also be busy with a full-time job, girlfriend, or family...  Yet you are now finally ready just to START seeking qualified neidan instruction.  Well, GOOD LUCK then, MATE!

 

 

Point here being that your average naive n00b just thinks he's a young Luke Skywalker and all he needs to become Obi-Wan is to find Yoda, pass GO, & collect $200.  When in fact, you're more like a kindergartner who needs to pass through 12 grades of schooling before he can even apply for college and then hope to find a great prof, lol...

 

Look folks, if it was that easy, there'd be tens of thousands of "John Changs" already.  And yet, there are only a tiny handful...  FFS, there's farrrrr more NBA players - and just think about how hard it is to make it into the NBA!!!

 

Now, let that sink in for a moment - you probably stand a better chance of making it to the NBA, than ever reaching Level 4 in MoPai!  ...Still interested?

Edited August 25, 2017 by gendao