Stosh Posted February 14, 2014 Whatever excuses or rationalizations one could make to build where they did, they actually did it for the emotional impact of the site and the symbolism of a retreat from the situation of the masses. Just look at them ! Wonderful. How could anyone ever come to another conclusion, defeats me. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jetsun Posted February 14, 2014 Ramana said the holy mountain of Arunachala was awake or conscious. No doubt some of the temples are just copies but i'm sure a lot are on sacred places where the land is more awake or there is some sort of concentration of energy. In Buddhism many are built on the spots where masters did their remote cave retreats, Paro Taktshang in Bhutan is one example where Padmasambhava did a three year retreat, then masters like Chogyam Trungpa years later had spiritual experiences in the same place, so there seems to be some sort of quality either in the mountain or created by a master meditating there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C T Posted February 14, 2014 people who feel drawn to leave (anywhere) to go somewhere else is still subject to craving. Hermits are not foolproof. They make choices too, like anyone else. Its understandable to feel swayed by their sereneness. Sure they manifest that, but a truly content person manifests that even if they are in less-than-ideal conditions. one ought to be content wherever, if the small heart and big heart are in harmony often. Its ok if its not sometimes, part of the sentient process. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adept Posted February 14, 2014 Totally agree with Gerard. It would be lovely towards the end of one's life to retire to a place such as this. When all the affairs of the world have been taken care of. To walk, sleep, eat and just be in the presence of such wonderful places, away from modern life and technology, would be a fitting end to life. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh Posted February 14, 2014 The world on its own changes beneath our feet , inevitable change... and so where there is life there will be change and suffering... all the world is burning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NotVoid Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) The link to the article that Rainbowvein posted in this thread actually provides a pretty good explanation of why at least some temples are built in these sorts of locations: _______________________________________________________________ Excerpt from: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2851&Itemid=0 Pathways Energy in the land is carried by mountain ranges, waterways, and valleys. The pathway of mountain energy is called the dragon vein, because mountain ranges are said to resemble the body of a dragon, the main range being the spine and the branch ridges being the legs and claws. Some ridges even appear to rise out of the land like a dragon with fins on its back. The Chinese word for vein is mo, which is the same word for meridian and pulse. Thus, even in its choice of terminology, kanyu recognizes a close relationship between the energetic structure of the body and the land. [figures 2 (Dragon with fins) and 3 (Himachal Mountains)] The amount of energy carried in a dragon vein depends on its "health." Just as a person is healthy when exhalation and inhalation are smooth and regulated, the energy of a dragon vein is strong when the range has many peaks (exhalation points) and dips (inhalation points). Flat-topped ridges, for example, do not have much energy because there is little breath activity. In waterways, the pathway of energy is called the water dragon, because again the course of rivers resembles the body of a dragon. The number of tributaries in a waterway and its drainage pattern determine its health: the more tributaries flowing into a river, the more energy the river carries; the more articulated and elegant the pattern of the drainage basin, the more active the energy of the water dragon. Just as a person is unhealthy when arteries are blocked, energy from a river is lost when its course is blocked by debris and dams. While dragon veins (mountain ranges) carry yang energy, valleys carry yin energy. Because valleys resemble the body of a dragon carved into the land, the pathways of valley energy are called valley dragons. Like water dragons, a valley dragon is strong when a main valley is "fed" by many branch valleys. Just as an imbalance of yin and yang energies in the body is detrimental to health, land that is overly mountainous is considered too hyperactive to accumulate energy and land that is predominantly flat is considered too lethargic to awaken energy. ... Interacting with the Energy of the Land While the use of kanyu (equated in popular jargon with feng shui) to locate and design homes and rooms is fairly well known, its use in spiritual contexts is less well known and appreciated. As noted above, kanyu has long been used to site and design monasteries, shrines, temples, retreats, and hermitages to draw energy from the land and facilitate spiritual practice. Here are a few examples that will also help to illustrate the general principles of kanyu. [figure 12 (Leh gompa)] To absorb energy directly from the dragon vein, the monastery is built on the vein. [figure 13 (pagoda on vein)] To draw energy out of the vein, the pagoda, which functions like an acupuncture needle, is built on the vein. [figure 14 (Taktsang)] To absorb energy from the core of the vein (where energy is most potent), the monastery is literally built "inside" a vein. Taktsang is the prime example. Perched on a rock platform under an overhanging cliff, the monastery can draw powerful energy directly from the "belly" of the vein. [figure 15 (Thiksey gompa)] To absorb energy bubbling out of the land, the monastery is built on an energy regulator. Architecture situated on top of a regulator acts like a valve that can amplify, channel, transform, and control the spread of land energy. [figures 16 (Buddha's Palm) and 17 (Yogini Valley)] Some landforms can facilitate specific spiritual practices because they embody the energies of that practice. For example, the formation known as Buddha's Palm is especially conducive to meditative practices such as vipassana, shamatha, and zazen. The formation known as the Yogini Valley is especially conducive to practices that cultivate "womb" or female yogic energy. [figures 18a and b (Jewel in Lotus and orienting to Jewel)] Some landforms are so conducive to spiritual practice that one only needs to have a line of sight toward them to benefit from their transforming power. In kanyu, this is the principle of "orienting to patterns of enlightenment." Probably the most dramatic example of this principle in action is found at Thiksey Gompa in Ladakh. The center of Thiksey's main shrine is aligned with the jewel in the landform called Jewel in the Lotus. The kanyu classics emphasize that in order to identify patterns of energy in the land, the barrier between the microcosm of mind and body and the macrocosm of the land must be dissolved. One cannot recognize such patterns and relationships based purely on technical or conceptual knowledge. Intuition and direct experience with the qi of the land is required, which is why meditation and yogic practices traditionally formed a part of kanyu training. In fact, Jamgön Kongtrhl the Great, renowned both for his yogic and worldly understanding, and for seeing their inseparability, provides one of the pithiest summations of the understanding that lies at the heart of kanyu: To those of aberrant minds, the place is just earth, stone, water, and trees. To mistaken intellects, it appears as solid inanimate objects. To practitioners, appearances have no intrinsic nature. To those of pure vision, it is a celestial palace full of deities. To those with realization, it is the radiant luminosity of innate awareness. _______________________________________________________________ Edited February 14, 2014 by NotVoid 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Mar-Vell Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) ... I love the photographs! One of the insights associated with my event was that the location was significant. The world itself is an array of living symbols. From a dense forest of tall dark pinewood, Mount Ida rises like an island. ... Edited February 14, 2014 by Captain Mar-Vell Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted February 14, 2014 Mt Kailash - Tibet, Belukha Mountain - Russia Kailash is home to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists. Belukha to mystics of all kinds, shamans, Buddhists, and possibly wandering Daoists. Earth element and the Qian/Heaven trigram are well represented in both locations. No wood around especially in Mt Kailash which would be controlling the pure yang, hence it would weaken it. Happy full moon! To be continued. Thanks for posting! My father climbed this mountain nine months before I was born. I have pictures in the family album... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zerostao Posted February 14, 2014 "My father climbed this mountain nine months before I was born. " were you conceived up on that mountain?? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted February 14, 2014 "My father climbed this mountain nine months before I was born. " were you conceived up on that mountain?? In all likelihood at the foot of it, since only my father climbed to the top, my mother waited for him down below. Yin and yang. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NotVoid Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) (From Goethe's "Sprüche") You'd study Nature? Then remember, one and all must go together. Naught within and naught without. For what's within is still without. Hasten man, look up, behold. Her open mysteries unfold! True her seeming, real her play. Rejoice in them and her. No living thing is one, I say. It's many, everywhere. Monastery of St Stephen, part of the Meteora complex in Greece, built in the middle of the 16th century. Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapausas (Meteora complex), Greece, built in the 16th Century The Holy Trinty (Meteora complex) Monastery in Greece The monasteries of Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas (left) and Agia Roussanou (right) in Greece, part of the Meteora complex in Greece Another view of the Agia Roussanou monastery in the distance. Monastery of St. Barlaam, part of the Meteora in Greece. Temple in the region of Cappadocia in Turkey. Sumela monastery in Turkey, created 386AD, as the story goes after two priests discovered a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain, on southern shore of the Black Sea. Apparently 3,900ft. Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka Taktshang Tiger's Nest monastery, 2,300ft above the Paro Valley floor in Bhutan Edited February 15, 2014 by NotVoid 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NotVoid Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) Mati Temple, Gansu Province, China. Buddhist temple built about 1500 years ago. (click the image to get a better look. ) Daciyan Hanging Temple (大慈岩悬空寺) - near Jiande City Cangyan Mountain Qianlou Hall (Qiaolou Dian) (苍岩山悬空寺) - Hebei Province Sanqingge Pavilions (三清阁) - West Hill of Kunming, Yunnan Province Built on a steep cliff. Tulouguan Temple (青海西宁土楼观)- Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 AD) - near Xining city Chaoyang Hanging Temple (河南淇县朝阳悬空寺) - Henan Province If we consider that all matter is really forms of energy, then it is maybe a bit easier to try to relate to what these ancients seemed to have grasped and made use of intuitively. The ancients appear to have also understood that this energy is not some stagnant, stationary thing, but it flows and pools and interacts and transforms in very distinct ways. The more you understand it, the more you can make use of it for different purposes. Possibly, at least. Edited February 15, 2014 by NotVoid 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3bob Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) See Devils Tower, Wyoming Edited June 9, 2014 by 3bob 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted February 15, 2014 More beautiful locations than allow for mindful practice and purify the mind and allow you to see reality as it is: interconnected, vast, eternal....the opening to the other side must be somewhere out there akin to Alice's journey to her original world but always confronted by comfort, sensual desire, the lower self, things you can't do but want to do (as long as they are ethically correct) because they are not the norm (others' opinions, motivated by fear, the ego itself). Once you reach it then the gates will be finally open. You are free. Matterhorn - Switzerland Pure Yang and pure Yin. Heaven and Earth in balance. Easy to connect to that amazing mountain during meditation practice. I'm surprised Europeans haven't built a monastery in the area, after so many centuries. No Christian mystics either? Bizarre. Fujisan - Japan, Wollumbin - Australia, Aoraki - New Zealand They are all located along Gaia's gallbladder meridian (north-yin, south-yang, south-yin). Sister mountains. Pillars of Gaia. Meditating near any of these locations would be very intense (maybe not so much Yosemite as it is a popular destination), I think. Trango Towers - China/Pakistan border. Torres del Paine - Chile Mt Asgard - Canada Yosemite - US Taomeow, you are blessed. Adept, certainly, it is just a matter of time for those whose that ending path was meant to be. To be continued. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zerostao Posted February 15, 2014 goethe is appreciated, i wrote a paper 2 years ago comparing the moments when goethe, wordsworth, and van gogh had the encounter with the personal nature of nature. while goethe embraced it, it terrified wordsworth, (wordsworth thought the mountain was coming to punish him) van gogh was able to subjectively see it all so clearly too. he was even able to perfectly view the unseen force of turbulence and imprinted it exactly on his paintings, this was confirmed in 2005 by new mexico physicists. for those of who who are saying that the same connection can be found in the city, have you yourself ever been out in nature and had that moment of encounter, when you personally meet the very nature of nature? have you had this same encounter in the city? thoreau said that one doesnt necessarily have to connect to the wilderness but one does for absolutely have to connect with the wildness. i am adding the western perspective and even the native american perspective, they also hold mountains as sacred geographies. i have heard from folks from all over this planet that if one just enters peru their cultivation soars to higher levels. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted February 15, 2014 i have heard from folks from all over this planet that if one just enters peru their cultivation soars to higher levels. Well, if they started out from Brazil then yes, they did attain higher levels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zerostao Posted February 15, 2014 Well, if they started out from Brazil then yes, they did attain higher levels. for the record, you are somewhere just about sea level, right? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted February 15, 2014 for the record, you are somewhere just about sea level, right? You are so correct. The point of the merging of Yin and Yang. Almost equal to being with the Spirit of the Valley. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) The hermit tradition is still very alive in China today despite the country's enormous change toward heavy industrialisation following the Western model: "Most hermits living here are monks and priests. Of course, some are just the ordinary people without faith. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 5,000 hermits from all over China living in the Zhongnan Mountain." "In Buddhism and Taoism, the priests should go through a strict procedure to practice in the mountain. It means the priests have to stay by side of their masters for three to ten years, only then can go to mountain. In this picture, a 70-year-old hermit who has practiced for over 30 years walk on the cliffs of Mount Huashan as if walks on the ground." "Generally, there are some main reasons for ordinary people want to be a hermit: first, those who have got fame and looked for spiritual sustenance and self-cultivation; second, those who suffer setbacks and difficulties in real life and escape to the mountain to get a temporary peace and quiet; third, those scholars who have seen through the world and pursuit the wild mountain life." zerostao, yes, it makes a huge difference in practice even if you stop by by just few hours. Some seem to forget that Taoism was born and developed in the mountains. Meeting Infinite Dao and one of its sentinels To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, isn't it? Sailing Rock, Death Valley National Park - USA What causes the rocks to move? Les Calanques - France Edited February 18, 2014 by Gerard 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gerard Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Water generates WoodWood generates Fire Fire generates Earth Earth generates Metal Metal generates Water ....and the cycle starts all over again, endlessly Laoshan - China, birthplace of the Complete Perfection School of Daoism La Pedriza - Spain, birthplace of a future Daoist school in Europe? Gazing at the gates Happy Year of the Green Horse! Note: In the US there is the Blue Mountain Monastery, for those who are interested. Edited February 16, 2014 by Gerard 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted February 16, 2014 What causes the rocks to move? That has finally been scientifically answered. Has to do with frozen moisture on the surface and the winds that rush through the valley. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted February 16, 2014 That has finally been scientifically answered. Has to do with frozen moisture on the surface and the winds that rush through the valley. Yea some savvy folks gave a pretty good demonstration on this with a test in controlled situation. They replicated the winds in that area on a flat, moist surface, especially when it cools down pre-dawn to near freezing and found they could move stones of similar size. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted February 16, 2014 The images in this thread are awesomely mind numbing. They've all gone in my inspirational folder for random appearances on the screen saver. Love how they propel me. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NotVoid Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Hmm, interesting. People often hang pictures and paintings in their home and office, etc. of serene nature scenes. Perhaps the pictures and paintings can convey to some extent the actual energies of a real physical location. I don't know if it can be anywhere as strong as being in the actual location however. Perhaps there is more to it than a beautiful nature picture calming us just because it looks nice and serene. I think I have been motivated to start learning more about feng shui and kanyu and five element theory and practices. Thanks to all who have given input in this thread so far. Edited February 16, 2014 by NotVoid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adept Posted February 16, 2014 People often hang pictures and paintings in their home and office, etc. of serene nature scenes. Yep, I've got loads of Chinese and Japanese paintings and scrolls around the home. It makes for a nice ambience and a warm, peaceful environment. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
