thelerner Posted January 10, 2016 Thanks for letting me know about some of Bill Bodri's lesser known works. He has a good youtube channel. Here's an interesting talk on his The Little Book of Hercules- 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jox Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) Thank you for posting this stuff Infolad1 ... Edited January 26, 2016 by Jox 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gyoko Posted February 11, 2016 Thank you for this topic. I think I will pick up The Little Book of Meditation. You mentioning that it could help in 'elucidating things you learned from your teacher' has piqued my interest to say the least. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted June 23, 2016 Thank you for this topic. I think I will pick up The Little Book of Meditation. You mentioning that it could help in 'elucidating things you learned from your teacher' has piqued my interest to say the least. Thanks Gyoko! I greatly apologize folks for the delay In getting back to this. Got momentarily overwhelmed by both mundane, and cultivation work, and it's effects. But I'm back. New entries from tonight onwards. I'm going to be at this for a minute. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted June 23, 2016 (edited) Hi everyone, I'm back! Before I begin, I need to address something I've found out over the past six months. It may have a bearing for some people, on the works of William Bodri, and Nan Huai-Chin. I put it here in the spirit of always maintaining transparency with any of the following data. Master Nan transitioned at age 94 on September 29, 2012 . Here is a letter supposedly containing his last words, as dictated to his secretaries In December of 2010: Original Link: http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/26671-master-nan-huai-chin-dead-at-94/ 1. I've read your letters. You guys want to learn from me. I've never said I was enlightened. I've never believed I was spreading Buddhism. Furthermore, I've never had any sect or students. It's been like this for more than a few decades. Everything I know are the in the books. If you read into it and get any funny ideas about me and what I said, it's you who are responsible for being duped and tricked. 2. There is saying, "rely on the law but not on people. rely on wisdom, not knowledge." If you have questions, go read the classics. Why do you have to find a person to worship and rely on? I'm 90 years. I'm tired. I have no energy to deal with so many people. 3. The college I setup is to to investigate some knowledge and to do research together. We do not take any more new students. The students that we have are just to do research together, and they were selected with some basic criteria and good serendipity. Anyone who says they have taken classes and learned here -- well, those are their words, not mine. (Emphasis Mine) 4. You guys have read too many novels and fanciful stories. Breaking your arm to learn Buddhism? Jumping in the ice river or off the top floor when I don't meet you? Kneeling until I meet you? That is psychological blackmail. Is this reasonable to common sense? Are you really learning Buddhism? Why do you use such threatening measures? It's self deception. I'm a 90 year old man. Why do you have to threaten an old man to learn the Tao? You guys are cultivated intellectuals, how can you do something like this? 5. I've never wanted to be a master. I never wanted to take students. I have no organization called Nan sect. I opposed sects and religions my entire life. That's the business of society. (Emphasis Mine) 6. You think that once you have a teacher you will become a Buddha? If you experience the esoteric knowledge in person you will reach the Tao? That's ridiculous. You guys always talk about saving others and building merit. Your own life is a mess! Start from becoming a normal person. Get a real job. Be plain and simple and do things by the rules. Don't blame heaven or people. Only using self-reflection and living a honest life is the foundation of merit. Otherwise you will just become a slacker with fanciful dreams and a burden to society. Cultivation begins with changing your psychology and habits, with meditation as mere support. Merit is the beginning of wisdom. (Emphasis Mine) 7. You want to become a buddha after learning from me? I'm 90 already, and I still haven't seen a real Buddha or immortal yet. Stop being superstitious. All the books I wrote are only book knowledge and intellectual. Don't get tricked by those books. (Emphasis Mine) Lwen Yu Summary is my main effort. There are many places to learn Zen. Go over there to meditate. I've never promoted Buddhism. When I did have Zen classes, those were just organized by colleges, and the people were screened vigorously. We just did some research together. Afterwards, everyone still had to go back to live normal lives, to rub against the difficulties of life to strengthen their heart, and to improve their habits. Everyone must walk their own paths. You want help from other people? Help yourself! If you really believe in cause and effect, start by using proper motivation and personal inspection is the intelligent way to begin. This is cultivation's heart. Your eyes are always looking outward, blaming heaven and earth, relying on gurus and saints and teachers to worship. This is self-deception and playing a joke on the world. (Emphasis Mine) Master Nan sounds like he'd had it up to here with folks! LOL! He gives a lot of great advice In this letter. People tend to turn into space cadets doing this work, so his emphasis on a balance between Heaven and Earth is refreshing. Very interesting him subtly disavowing having any actual long term students, such as Bodri. Also interesting that he calls talk of Immortals, and meeting Buddha superstition. Sounds like he was more of an armchair scholar, than an actual cultivator, which is unfortunate. However... As someone who's quoted both William Bodri, and Nan Huai-Chin extensively on here, and am currently doing posts on their major works, now would be a good time to summarize my views on the both of them. I came across Bodri's Meditation Expert site, a couple of weeks after I began to experience both Tai Hsi/Taixi/Kevala Khumbhaka, and then the real embryonic breathing. Bodri's work clearly laid out what was happening to me. Nan Huai-Chin's "Tao and Longevity" gave further details of my transformations to me, after I experienced them, which eliminated the potential for Imagining what was happening. Bodri also has encyclopedic recall on a number of cultivation texts, so he's an excellent reference for a decent bibliography to start with. Both He, and nan Huai-Chin also constantly emphasize the fact that If there aren't actual physical transformations, then what you're doing probably Isn't real. He also hammers home the fact that this process is non-denominational, and all cultures have it. His work also led me to The Tao Bums, which led me to SOTG's MASSIVE post on Scribd, which is how I ended up on Loneman Pai. So I'll be forever grateful to them both for helping me through what was Initially a scary process, and schooling me on how to assess cultivation texts, and schools. NOW. With THAT said: Bodri CONSTANTLY contradicts himself. On the one hand, he rails against chasing superpowers, but on the other hand, what Is he ALWAYS writing about? Superpowers! As you noticed, both Bodri, and Nan Huai-Chin, come down hard on the form schools, and force techniques. But contradicting himself again, he says that force must be used sometimes, and form Is part of the path. He'd really help his position by walking the middle way, which Is the truth with ALL of this stuff. EVERY THING is from Immaterial Consciousness. As long as this is always kept In mind, and that this is the goal to be reached, then whatever tech can safely get you there, I say go for It. He COMPLETELY botched a breakdown of Egyptian cultivation methods, and mixed up, or distorted, various Neteru (Psychoid Archetypes), In his "Little Book of Hercules". Still a great book though. He obviously has major Hero worship of Nan Huai-Chin, which is understandable. We tend to put our teachers/mentors on pedestals. We just have to be mindful of mindless following. It was also Interesting to me that he has no obituary, or announcement of Nan Huai-Chin's transition. I found out from a student of mine from Shanghai, at the time. He describes some practices In his books that are very bizarre, frankly. Specifically the one practice of eating your Master's pure feces, at a certain stage of your cultivation. That was truly a WTF!!? moment for me. To paraphrase Meatloaf, "I'll do anything for Godhood, but I won't do THAT"! LOL! Psychosis DOES happen In cultivation folks, and your "Guru" might be one of those who've suffered a psychotic break. Nan Huai-Chin gives this great advice In "Tao and Longevity", and It is ALWAYS to be kept In mind. As my one teacher said,"That's why I gave all of you oracles. You never know. I may have slipped In the bathtub, and bumped my head. So If I start talking about drinking kool-Aid, please check people, that I haven't lost my mind!" LOL! With all of the great stuff that I've read from Bodri, I have NO Idea If he actually cultivates. None. He says he does, but hearsay means nothing, at the end of the day. For all we know, he may have gotten all of his information on the physical transformation processes from Nan Huai-Chin, and texts not available In English yet. Who knows? And when Drew reported that Nan Huai-Chin smoked, and when I found out how he died (pneumonia?! A supposed high level cultivator? really?!), I knew then that he didn't completely walk the talk. OpenDao, and the Wu Liu Pai school folks did make a good point about so called masters not looking like they've done any actual neidan. So at the end of the day, for me, Both Bodri, and Nan Huai-Chin have some actual knowledge, that I was able to confirm, combined with a lot of Information, all of which I haven't confirmed yet. So I just filter what I don't agree with, or put under "opinion/speculation", things I can't confirm yet. Like I do with ALL of this stuff, as should everyone. Until you experience It, It's ALL hearsay. Period. But don't throw the baby out with the bath water folks! Bodri, and Master Nan both have tons of excellent data. Just have your filters on, then test if what they say works. Keep the effective, discard the useless. So I still recommend all of their work, with the above caveats. Cheers! Edited June 23, 2016 by Infolad1 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted June 23, 2016 (edited) Now with that out of the way, let's get back to the booklist! As always, my views are my own with all of this. As I always say, believe nothing. Read, research, apply. Keep the useful, discard the useless, once you have a relatively good idea which is which. It is my hope that this booklist will help save major time for people, as they progress. With that said: Part 7 of The Energy Cultivator's Handbook by Infolad1 The Energy Cultivator’s Ultimate Booklist - 7b What is Enlightenment? Paperback – November 1, 2012by William Bodri Book Description: What is spiritual enlightenment? You often hear the term "enlightenment" in deep spiritual discussions, but it is almost impossible to find anyone who can definitively say what "enlightenment," "awakening," "union," or "self-realization" actually entails. In fact, many religions differ as to their proposals for the highest state of spiritual attainment -- which is often called salvation, liberation or becoming one with God (union) -- that often do not even include enlightenment, or they may simply recognize it under a different name. Enlightenment is the direct realization of our self-nature, source essence, or true self. This awakening constitutes directly experiencing the source and essence of reality, the original dimension of equal identity where mind and matter are one because you have found the ultimate underlying, true nature of all things. Enlightenment means to directly, experientially realize that basic substance of cosmic life where matter and consciousness are the same substance, which then consequently opens up various powers and a universal visage. That transcendental source nature you discover is often called God, Ein Sof, Allah, Brahman, dharmakaya, fundamental nature, Buddha-nature, Tao, Emptiness or Self. Some of the secular designations include Pure Consciousness, pristine awareness, one mind, uncreated light, clear light or infinite universal illumination to denote the fact that It is the ultimate substratum that gives birth to the knowingness of manifest consciousness. The way to this realization is through meditation and other spiritual practices that teach you to stop clinging to states of consciousness. You must always allow consciousness to arise, but should not cling to thoughts to thus become a perfectly free, effortless, natural and spontaneous individual. As your thoughts quiet down because of this practice, your body's chakras and chi channels will open up (you will experience a kundalini awakening) and you will gradually stop identifying your body and mind as your self. In time you can attain a pristine realization of selflessness (a state absent of the ego, I-thought or sense of separate "I-amness") that constitutes enlightenment.Regardless of your religious tradition, when you diligently cultivate spiritual practice you will gradually pass through many transitional stages of progress and particular spiritual experiences. These experiences can include special degrees of one-pointed concentration (absorption) called dhyana and samadhi attainments, which prepare you for enlightenment if you cultivate far enough. Many religions, both Eastern and Western, describe these possible achievements in great detail, and many such experiences that are not enlightenment are analyzed within so that practitioners do not incorrectly assume they have actually achieved awakening when they have only experienced inferior attainments. The various achievement levels to this awakening of self-realization that are explained. This book is the first of its kind to collect not only the rare autobiographical and biographical accounts from many traditions of individuals who achieved enlightenment (because it is a non-denominational accomplishment), but also the relevant passages in each tradition's scriptures that reveal the characteristics of the original nature that everyone awakens to (such as perfect purity, changelessness, infinity, eternality, and bliss). The reader quickly comes to the conclusion that despite sectarian differences, everyone is actually awakening to the very same thing. It cannot be anything else! The pathway to enlightenment is analyzed using many different religious paths and frameworks. Many common errors of spiritual practice and misinterpretations of spiritual states are also revealed to help individuals become correctly oriented so that they can attain enlightenment as well. Comments: Each of Bodri’s books is an encyclopedia of information from various systems, and traditions. They’re worth it just for that. He says he has a 7,000 book library. I believe him! A great book so far. I’m on page 105. It a 548 book. Let me correct that. It’s actually an over 1,500 page book PRETENDING it’s a third that size, through the use of small type. VERY small type. You’ve been warned. It also desperately needs an Index, but it’s not a deal killer for getting it. He covers enlightenment in detail, from various traditions. Bodri shows through various examples the point that he always emphasizes, and rightly so: that this process is non-denominational, and that all culture’s have experience with it, to various degrees, and levels. To me this is the primary value of Bodri’s considerable catalogue of work. To chronicle the details of these various systems for a 21st Century audience. The other thing to always remember about Bodri’s work, and that will drive some folks nuts, is that he’s super repetitive. And he does it on purpose. He’s found from years of teaching, and from my own teaching experience I’d have to agree with him, that people need to read, and hear these concepts over, and over again, so that they can start to grasp both the foundational structure, and the various details of this process, or any system for that matter. But to have a book that has collected In one place multiple examples of enlightened beings from various systems, along with showing why they’re considered enlightened, and what physiological, and mental signs can verify this, is invaluable in ways that some won’t realize for years to come, as they walk this path. Recommended. How to Measure and Deepen Your Spiritual Realization ("Measuring Meditation") By William Bodri and Nan Huai-Chin 705 page e-Book $97 Purchase Link is here: http://www.meditationexpert.com/measuringmeditation.html Book Description (It’s LONG): A tour de force of various non denominational ways to measure the extent of someone's meditation progress, using case studies that analyze ordinary practitioners and advanced meditation adepts from a large variety of spiritual traditions (Zen, Taoist, Tibetan Buddhist, Christian meditation, etc.). No other book ranks the transcendental stages of the spiritual greats according to objective criteria, and evaluates whether they had achieved samadhi or enlightenment. This 700-page instruction manual goes way past comparative religion and reveals specific yoga teachings to help you surpass each spiritual attainment level prior to enlightenment. It melds the best spiritual teachings from Eastern and Western sources. If you want to know what it's like to be taught by Master Nan and how to analyze someone's stage of meditation or spiritual progress, then this is the book to buy. Imagine Listening to an Enlightened Zen, Esoteric and Taoist Master as He Reveals Secret Meditation Techniques, Advanced Stages of Spiritual Practice, Chakra-Kundalini-Tantra Esoteric Secrets, and Teaches You How to Silence Your Internal MindA famous Zen, Tao and Esoteric school master has finally taken all those confusing Taoist teachings on cultivating your jing, chi and shen ... Buddhist teachings on breaking through the five skandhas and realms of consciousness ... the yoga teachings in Hinduism on mastering the various samadhi and dhyana you can reach in meditation ... Tibetan tantra teachings on opening your chakras and chi channels and cultivating kundalini ... Jewish Kabbalah teachings on ayin (nothingness) and the annihilation of thought ... Confucian teachings on how to perfect your behavior to attain samadhi and enlightenment ... Christian teachings on stages of selflessness and holy spiritual love ... psychic findings about heavenly realms and other metaphysical phenomena ... and all sorts of other spiritual ranking systems ... and sorted them, cross-correlated them, merged them and then applied them to provide you with a generalized map of the stages of spiritual progress that you can personally expect to experience through meditation.Why? To provide you with a clear road map through all the spiritual junk knowledge out there, and to help you with your spiritual practice by cutting off twenty to thirty years of dedicated study, frustration and dead-ends. This "course in a book," which we fondly refer to as "Measuring Meditation," creates one unified topological map explaining all sorts of unexplained metaphysical, paranormal and psychic phenomena and does something people have desired for years -- it links the various stages of genuine spiritual development or spiritual growth in all the major spiritual schools. It took me years to compile this knowledge from all sorts of traditions, both Eastern and Western, and now it is all compiled in one single place.There's absolutely nothing like this available elsewhere. Just check the testimonials from seekers who have libraries of hundreds or thousands of books, who've spent untold dollars collecting materials, going to seminars and seeking, and yet who never encountered the real dharma.All the publishers we contacted said this material was just too large to get published -- it was too jam packed with information to be printed.But I wanted to make it available to you anyway, so here it is in ebook form...In a step-by-step fashion, this course on spiritual practice teaches you how to dispense with mysticism and nonsensical New Age explanations, and apply the scientific basis of genuine spiritual teachings to your own meditation work - no matter what school you come from or presently follow. It covers practically all your spiritual efforts, all techniques, all schools and measuring systems. We're not out to convert anyone, just deepen your own practice with true cultivation content that can help guide you to the answers you've been seeking for all sorts of practices, stages and phenomena.In this manual you will finally have a single source on internal and external yoga that makes sense of the thousands of spiritual texts and metaphysical treatises sitting on dusty library shelves. No more theory, no more mysticism, no more hogwash and spiritual "mumbo jumbo" -- inside this course you'll find straight talk and straight answers. You'll find real life applications of hundreds of extremely advanced cultivation teachings and meditation techniques that embody the real heart of spiritual cultivation practice.Basically, this is the Bible for guiding a person's spiritual growth because it even has case studies of ordinary "kundalini practitioners" at the most rudimentary stages of the path. It also has case studies of advanced adepts, and enlightened sages and the gong-fu (kung-fu) they had to cultivate, or chose to cultivate before and after their enlightenment.But don't believe me about the contents and quality of this work. Instead, just read the testimonials I've posted for you. They don't lie. They're from people just like you who are searching for clear answers about esoteric matters and the spiritual trail...I guarantee that after being exposed to this information on true spiritual cultivation just once, you'll know how to meditate properly and will say good-bye to New Age fluff forever. I personally wrote it with that one purpose in mind. With this information you'll never be confused again about contradictory spiritual teachings such as "This school says this" and "That school says that." You won't run from this teacher to that one anymore, or from this school or that course to another. You won't feel like you're missing anything when you hear about all these competing schools because you'll understand the basis behind it all, and will now know how to differentiate the TRUTH from the crap.Seriously!You'll be clear about the various grading systems of the spiritual path -- whether we're talking about chakras or kundalini or tantra, clear light and chi mai and samadhi or dhyana -- and will be able to weave all these teachings together and then apply them to your own personal practice. That's the important point. This manual offers you a very personal and practical roadmap to spiritual practice.You'll be clear about all sorts of meditation methods -- such as vipassana, mantra, mindfulness meditation, pranayama, visualization, Zen, tantrism, siddha yoga, cessation and contemplation and so forth -- along with their actual effectiveness or lack thereof. From what you know and knowledge of your habits, personality and lifestyle, it'll simply be up to you to choose which method suits you best.You'll understand karma and reincarnation, and how to change your fortune and destiny as revealed by astrology, feng shui or other fate forecasting techniques. You'll understand the true way ... and not the superficial ways touted today ... for changing your character and undergoing true spiritual development.You'll also learn how to determine which Eastern and Western religions are deficient in their spiritual teachings, and why! Lots of people have been seeking this information for decades. In their heart of hearts, they know something isn't quite right about certain "religions" or specific religious teachings in particular, but until now they just didn't have the right tools or vocabulary to be able to determine what they knew was off. Now in one glance you'll be able to know for sure ... positively, absolutely ... and will have the words for it. Boy will you tick off some people if you open your mouth without thinking because they'll have nothing to say, and the truth of what you're saying will be self-evident to everybody.You'll also be able to go through case studies of famous (and ordinary) cultivation practitioners and see exactly where they stood in terms of their own progress on the spiritual trail ... something most people would like to talk about but have no yardsticks for grading the matter ...... and you'll learn how to do this through a step-by-step, iterative process that always reflects back upon previous lessons and teachings. Milarepa, Hui-neng, Ramakrishna, Edgar Cayce, Lao Tzu, Padre Pio, Steiner, Shakyamuni Buddha, Ananda, Mahakasyapa, Han Shan, Hakuin, Xuan Zang, Gampopa, St. Francis of Assisi, Yeshe Tsogyel, Jesus, Moses, Confucius, Chuang Tzu, Yogananda, and countless other spiritual greats are discussed and analyzed in this course. All the great ones you read about.But here's the key. Other books just say they were all great. In this book you learn EXACTLY how to determine their actual STAGE of spiritual cultivation and accomplishment. So the saints of Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Indian Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Vedanta, Christianity, Christian mysticism, medieval alchemy, Islam, Judaism, Sufism, yoga and other schools are analyzed to see what stage of spiritual practice they had reached. This isn't like looking at paintings in a museum where people say "everything is art," and thus relieving you of the possibility of criticizing what you see on the walls. Some of these saints WERE greater than others in terms of their stage of spiritual attainment! There's no doubt about it, but know you'll know how to measure this stage of realization.With a multitude of overlapping spiritual rating systems in your hands -- supplied by these religions themselves -- you'll be surprised to find out who was "enlightened" and who merely had samadhi attainments or just a small realization of emptiness or selflessness. No longer will you just toss up unexplained phenomena to mysticism, for now you'll know why and how the saints of the various religions were able to say the things they said, and perform the feats they did.Everyone who signs up for our ezine gets a free download of chapter 4 from this book so that they can evaluate this material and benefit from its teachings even if they decide not to buy it, but to really appreciate the depth of this material you have to look at its full Table of Contents: Preface 1 The Challenge of Correctly Measuring and Interpreting Spiritual Progress Kung-fu Mind-Body Transformations * Prajna Transcendental Wisdom * Avoiding Self-Delusion in Spiritual Cultivation * Direct Experience is Essential 2 An Introduction to the Five Skandhas Ranking System The Selflessness of the Ego and Phenomena * The True Meaning of Religious Practice * Form Skandha * Sensation Skandha * Conception Skandha * Volition Skandha * Consciousness Skandha * Transforming, Purifying, or Exhausting the Skandhas * Cessation-Contemplation and Zen * Using the Skandhas in Cultivation * Four Cultivation Truths 3 The Taoist Time Requirements for Spiritual Kung-fu and the Consecutive Stages of Spiritual Attainment The Five Elements Schema * 8 Sensations * The Three Realms * Tao and Longevity * Jing * Chi * Shen * Why the 5 Elements Transform in the Order That They Do * The 9 Year Transformation Sequence for the Physical Components of the Body * Taoist Jing-Chi-Shen Transformations Explain the Spiritual Path * Laying the Foundation, Pregnancy, Suckling the Baby, Facing the Wall * Inedia in Christianity and Hinduism * Proper Fasting Practice Instructions * 100 Day Bigu Fasting Practice * 9 Year Bigu Fasting Practice * The 5 Requirements for Becoming Immortal * Ghost-Human-Earthly-Heavenly-Spiritual Immortals * Shakyamuni's Analysis of Immortality Techniques * I-Ching * The Many Spiritual Measurement Systems You Need to Learn 4 Twelve Enlightening Case Studies: An Analysis of the Spiritual Progress and Problems Faced by People Practicing Meditation The Kundalini Experience * The Importance of Using Tao and Longevity as a Reference * (1) HUMANITIES PROFESSOR * Fan Chi or Wind Chi * Sensations in the Legs * Meditation Reveals Latent Illnesses * (2) HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER * Fixing Problems Revealed through Meditation * Semblance Dharma * (3) ARTIST-TEACHER * Cultivation and Mental Illness * The Du-yin Shadow Consciousness * Chi at the Back of the Head * (4) PSYCHOLOGIST * Feeling Chi Sensations in the Body * (5) COMPUTER SCIENTIST * Strong Vitality and Sexual Activity on the Path * The Number of Chi Channels in the Body * The Importance of the Left Big Toe in Meditation * Spontaneous Movements * Incendium Amoris is Christian Kundalini * Pranayama * Sounds in the Head * Saint Francis of Assisi * An Explanation of Biblical Superpowers * (6) ARTIST * The Stage of Not Needing Sleep * Fullness of Jing, Chi and Shen * (7) SCIENTIST * (8) ACTRESS * Dreams of Flying * Poltergeists * (9) PSYCHOLOGIST * (10) LIBRARIAN * Excessive Damp Heat in the Body * (11) HOUSEWIFE AFTER MENOPAUSE * Cycles of Human Development * (12) PSYCHIATRIST * Seeing a Blue Diamond * Twenty-Five Doors to Meditation Reveals Many Meditation Techniques * Zen Master Hakuin Cures Himself with the So Cream Meditation * The Cardinal Spiritual Principle of Practice 5 The Five Aggregates Schema and the Various Levels of Consciousness A Discussion of the Five Aggregates * The Stories of Vasubandhu and Asanga * Form Skandha * The Four Elements and Space * The Agglomeration of Form * The Parinispanna, Paratantra and Parikalpita Natures * Perceptible Form * Imperceptible Form * The Five Sense Organs * Ching-se Sentient Matter * The Three Natures of Reality * The True Nature of Reality * Sensation Skandha * Sri Yukteswar's Yang Shen Emanation Body and Jesus' Resurrection Body * Conception Skandha * Enlightened People are Aware During Dreams * Volition Skandha * Behavior and the Spiritual Path * Emptiness of Phenomena * 10 Omnipresent Factors * 11 Virtuous Mental Events * 6 Root Afflictions * 5 Deviant Perspectives * 20 Secondary Afflictions * 4 Variable Mental Events * Shen Tsan Helps Educate His Teacher * Non-associated Motivational Forces * States of No-Mind * Boundaries of the Skandhas * Consciousness Skandha * The 8 Consciousnesses * Sleeping, Death and Leaving Samadhi * The First Six Consciousnesses * The Seventh Consciousness * 4 Ego-centered Notions * The Eighth Alaya Consciousness * Xuan Zang in The Journey to the West * Avalokiteshvara's Meditation Method of Hearing * The Dharmadhatu and Tathagatagarbha * Reviewing the Five Skandhas * Great Mirror Wisdom * Equality Wisdom * Analytical Wisdom of Discernment * All-Accomplishing Action Wisdom * Spiritual Cultivation From the Aspect of the Skandhas 6 How to Correctly Interpret a Zen Master's Progressive Attainments Vimalakirti Scolds Purnamaitrayaniputra * Han Shan Breaks Through the Form Skandha * Merit, Sexual Discipline, Emptiness * Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi * Guang Qin * Hui-Tzu is Found Inside a Tree Cultivating Samadhi * How To Arouse Someone From the State of Samadhi * Bodhisattva Candraprabha * Rainbow Bodies 7 The Spiritual Accomplishments of Four Famous Tibetan Adepts: Yeshe Tsogyel, Milarepa, Gampopa, and Machig Labdron LADY YESHE TSOGYEL * Eight Severe Austerity Practices * When Chi Flows Cannot Meet * Master T'ien-wang Wu Floats on a Lotus Flower * Fa-jung of Ox Head Mountain * Jesus Disperses the Crowd of Stoning * Cultivation Tests * Return to Maidenhood and the Woman's Road of Cultivation * Confucius' Sequence of Cultivation Progress * MILAREPA * Kundalini Cultivation * Heavenly, Earthly and Human Dan * Food Intake During Cultivation * Wei Po-Yang's Explanation of Cultivation * Shape Shifting Versus the Yang Shen * GAMPOPA * Zen Master Huai-jang and Ma-tsu * The Complete Enlightenment Sutra and Immediate Enlightenment * Bliss, Illumination and No-Thought * Renewing the Brain * MACHIG LABDRON * Tibetan Empowerments and Real Initiations * Foundations of Chod 8 Kundalini Yoga, the Four Stages of Intensified Practice, and the Five Overall Phases of the Spiritual Path Kundalini in Chinese Culture * The Stage of Preparatory Practices * The 4 Steps of Prayoga * Stage of Warming * Stage of the Peak * Stage of Forbearance * Stage of Highest Worldly Dharma * How to Grade Yoga Achievements with the Four Stages of Prayoga * Empowerments * Cultivating Chi Through Breathing Practices * The Big Knife Wind * Makhafa Path of Islam and Way of Margaret in Christianity * The Equation of Spiritual Progress * Sexual Desire and Sexual Cultivation * Step-by-Step Spiritual Transformation 9 Essential Cultivation Principles Which Few People are Ever Taught God, Buddha Nature, Allah and Other Equivalent Terms * The Three Buddha Bodies * Dharmakaya * Sambhogakaya * Nirmanakaya * How to Cultivate the Full Three Enlightenment Bodies * The Ceaseless Transformations of the Universe * The Characteristics of Form and Ultimate Nature * Nagarjuna's and Avalokiteshvara's Negations * Existence and Nonexistence * Ontology and Spiritual Practice * Behavior as the Ground, Means and Fruit of the Path * The Nature of Conscious Thought * Merit, Wisdom and Discipline Requirements in Spiritual Cultivation * Some Various Roads of Cultivation Practice 10 The Meditative Realms of the Nine Samadhi Absorptions The Definition of Samadhi and Dhyana * Tien-tai 's Six Steps for Cultivating Samadhi * General Characteristics of the Dhyana * First Dhyana * Factors Inhibiting Samadhi * Methods for Attaining One-pointedness * Dhyana Stages of Joy and Bliss * Retreat Practice * Discipline Required of the Path * Desire Realm Heavens and Inhabitants * Ching-an State of Pre-Samadhi * Alexandrine Gnosticism * Second Dhyana * Third Dhyana * Fourth Dhyana * How Other Spiritual Schools Describe the Four Dhyana * The 5 Eyes of Wisdom * Various States of No-mind or No-Thought * Bardo States * The Four Formless Samadhi Absorptions * Samadhi of Infinite Space * Peach Blossom Enlightenment * Samadhi of Infinite Consciousness * Samadhi of Nothingness * Samadhi of No-Thought * Samadhi of Neither Thought Nor No-Thought * Edgar Cayce, Rudolf Steiner, Meister Eckhart, Padre Pio * Hakuin and Master Dokyo * Zen master Hseuh-tou Ch'in * Samadhi of Extinction * The Arhat's Fractional Nirvana of Remaining Dependency * When an Arhat Passes Away * Other Samadhi Attainments * Drowsiness * Buddhism as a Guide to Cultivation * Iron Ox Master Tieh Nieu * Stupid Emptiness Samadhi 11 Purifying the Skandhas and the Fifty Great Spiritual Paths of Delusion Form Skandha Phenomena * Sensation Skandha Phenomena * Conception Skandha * Yang Shen Body * Eyes and Seeing * Clarity Within Dreams * Zen Misconceptions * Volition Skandha * Surveying Past Lives * The Whirling Force of Life * Consciousness Skandha * Buddha Gives Specific Warnings About the Paths of Delusion * 5 Skandha Pollutions * Complete Cultivation * Transmitting Spiritual Teachings * The Creation of Consciousness and the World * Gradually Exhausting the Skandhas 12 The Internal Principles of Cessation and Contemplation Are Embodied Within All Genuine Spiritual Practices Yogacara and Consciousness-Only * Sandhinirmocana Sutra * Mahakashyapa Teaches Ananda * Nirvana Sutra * The 4 Methods of Cessation and Contemplation * 25 Variations of Cessation, Contemplation and Dhyana Practice * Zen Master Yung-ming's Lesson on Cessation and Contemplation 13 The Road of Tantric Cultivation for Opening the Sushumna Central Channel Esoteric Practice Focuses on Things Outside of the Mind * The 7 Major Chakras * Chi Channels, Chi Flows, Habit Energies, and Superpowers * The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine * Various Schools Discuss the Chi and Chi Channels * An Introduction to Tibetan Esoteric Practices * The Tantric Tradition * Padmasambhava * The Resultant and Causal Vehicles * Stigmata * Master Tsong Khapa * The Yoga of Marks * The Yoga Without Marks * Generation and Completion Stage Yogas * The Stage of Generation * The Stage of Completion * Specialization of the Tantras * A Short Analysis of the Tantric Tradition * When Chi Enters the Central Channel * Biophysics of the Cultivation Path * The Four Blisses * The Four Empties * Ways of Accidentally Seeing the Tao * Signs that Chi is Entering the Central Channel * Useful Cultivation Practices * Sexual Cultivation * Consciousness Rides on Chi * Drops * Tibetan Bardo Yogas * Comparing Spiritual Schools and Their Stages of Cultivation * Incorruptibility and Sariras * Requesting Enlightened Beings to Help You in Your Cultivation * Matching the Esoteric and Orthodox Paths 14 The Great Learning, Confucian Cultivation, and the Way to Actualize Universal Salvation Blind Faith and Superstition * Confucian Cultivation * Tan Fu and Moses * The Chinese Exodus * The Great Learning * Ming De Bright Virtue * Qin Min Loving the People * Zhi Resting in the Highest Good * The Seven Step Confucian Process for Attaining Samadhi * Transforming the World with Personal Spiritual Cultivation * Bringing Peace to the World Through the Mastery of Self-Cultivation * Purifying Your Behavior * Modern Science Lags Behind Cultivation Science * The Path Ahead Appendix The "Warning to Cultivators" Chapter of the Surangama Sutra Glossary This is a virtual tour de force of various non-denominational ways to measure the extent of someone's meditation progress and how to apply this information to your own cultivation efforts. It even contains specific meditations for breaking through each level of spiritual attainment! If you've been looking for cultivation methods to try, but also WHY and HOW they work, this is the manual you need to get. It's not tiresome to read, but a treasure to read... Comments: Get it. Did you see the table of contents!? This tome is multiple books in one. Bodri really saves you a LOT of time researching. As always, his work is a cornucopia of data. Recommended. The Various Stages of the Spiritual Experience Course: An Integrated Understanding that Will Elevate All Religions By William Bodri An $800 Correspondence Course (Although he said on a Conference call a couple of years ago that he was no longer teaching it. This may Have changed) Course Description: After so many years of spiritual seeking, visiting teachers, buying shelves of books and attending retreats, spending wads of money and having the time tick away -- are you where you really want to be with your spiritual practice? How to meditate, the common spiritual methods used by religions, transcendental meditation techniques, kundalini, chakras, chi (qi), superpowers, body doubles and dream yoga, prayer, one-pointed concentration, Zen, Buddhism, japa, mantra, Taoism, mystical Christianity, reincarnation, tantra, spiritual enlightenment ... Now you can finally find dependable teachings on all the questions you've ever had about this or that spiritual path and training, or your money back!If you're an active spiritual seeker or student of metaphysics -- and especially if you're a professional psychologist, scientist, consciousness researcher, student of comparative religion or religious functionary (priest, rabbi, monk, or nun) -- then check out the Tao and Longevity and How to Measure and Deepen Your Spiritual Realization to see what we're talking about.If you like what you read and want more -- deep insights and professional level training into all the nitty gritty explanations of spiritual experiences and metaphysical phenomena with abundant examples, along with verification through hundreds of quoted spiritual sources and comprehensive maps linking the spiritual stages and meditation practices of the world's many spiritual traditions together, and how to climb those ranks yourself-- it's finally available in a special course that's jam-packed with more information than any PhD in comparative religion will ever put you through!And more personal service than you're ever going to get from your doctor, lawyer or accountant.With this training, you'll be light-years ahead of the common seeker. You'll even put the Dalai Lama to shame, not to mention the Billy Graham's of the world as well. The common comment I hear from every taker of this course is that now they don't have to buy any more books, but know exactly what they have to do with practice. The wanderlust is gone because all their questions are answered, and the only thing left is the job of pure cultivation.When you look at all the money and time and energy you've spent, what would that be worth to you? That alone, is priceless. Here are the actual contents for each of the eight lessons to this course:Lesson 1: The Five General Stages of the Spiritual Path, which characterize all true spiritual schools, are outlined and applied to show the relative depths of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Tantra, Islam, and yoga regarding as far as they take you on the spiritual trail. These five Mahayana stages are the first categorical partitioning scheme by which you can analyze and actually rank the teachings and teachers of various spiritual traditions, and you'll find out that nearly 100% of individuals in the world following the formalized religions are only on the first stage of this five step path. With this one initial measuring system, you will quickly be able to rule out some of the newer "religions" and spiritual sects as not being genuine at all, and now you'll know why. Lesson 2: "Gong-fu" Transformations Within the Physical Body are introduced next, by which you can determine what stage of spiritual practice you have actually reached yourself, how long it is likely to last, and how to guide yourself through these physical and psychological changes. This lesson focuses on the mind-body changes catalogued by Taoism, and the fact that no genuine advancement in spirituality is made without an corresponding physical change in someone's chi and chi channels. If you want to understand the metaphysics of jing, chi and shen transformations, then this is it. For the first time in print, the Western cultivation scheme of purifying the body's five elements is also analyzed in order to understand why certain meditation methods are preferred in the world's spiritual schools, why the actual sequences of cultivation practice actually follow the specific order that they do, and to lay out information for the new cultivation schools destined to develop in the West. This one lesson alone is worth the entire price of these materials.Lesson 3: Breaking Through the Five Aggregates of Experience is explained in detail by which you will learn how to identify physical, mental or spiritual experiences belonging to the Form, Sensation, Conception, Volition and Consciousness skandhas. You will learn how to surmount, purify, detach from or break through these skandha experiences and prevent yourself from falling into the trap of self-deception regarding your own stage of spiritual progress. Just as the second lesson of this course showed you how to incorporate the stages of Taoism and physical transformations into the five overall stages of the path, with this lesson you will now learn how to link the cultivation system of the five skandha realms of experience with Taoism, the five stages, and five elements purification, and will be able to cross-correlate all these ranking schemes and use them together. You'll also look at the biographical materials of various saints and their mystical experiences -- from a variety of traditions --and for the first time you will immediately be able to scientifically identify their stage of spiritual progress to know whether they had yet attained the Tao (experienced enlightenment) or simply awakened to the spiritual path.Lesson 4: Ranking the Heavenly Realms and Various Classes of Sentient Beings as a means of explaining the cosmos and its inhabitants will be taught. With this comprehensive lesson taught by Buddha, you will dispense with mysticism but instead learn why the heavenly ranking schemes described by various religions are very similar, as well as the characteristics of the various heavenly inhabitants and how to be reborn as a heavenly being yourself. The different merits and samadhi attainments of these beings, as explained by Shakyamuni Buddha, explains why they are born into certain heavenly realms, and thus information on this schema provides another means by which you can gain insight into someone's rank of meditation. Find out how Mohammed's vision of heaven actually matches with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Christianity, and how to cultivate the stages of samadhi that enable you to view those heavens yourself.Lesson 5: The Nine Meditative Realms of Dhyana and Samadhi, which form the major ladder of all genuine spiritual practice, are explained in detail along with how you can cultivate these states for yourself. Using quotations from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam, evidence is provided that these common practice vehicles are what the "saints" of all the religions actually cultivated for in their spiritual efforts. For instance, the "prophets" of the Bible were no different than the sages of Taoism, seers of India, or arhats of Buddhism, but simply had the powers they did because they cultivated to a certain level of achievement. Now you'll know what those levels are. As before, in a step-by-step fashion the various samadhi attainments are cross-linked with the physical changes of Taoism, the five skandhas system of Buddhism, the heavenly realms of various religions, and the five stages of the spiritual path as well as a variety of other ranking systems. Now you can cross-correlate them all.Lesson 6: Eight Different Levels of Consciousness are explained next, which is the most advanced and comprehensive lesson in the world on the various realms of consciousness, how consciousness came about, and how to cultivate all its various dimensions through spiritual practice. Current research in consciousness and mind-body phenomena are also introduced and explained in light of standard cultivation teachings (something all the scientists have been missing), and then non denominationally linked, of course, with our other ranking schemes . This was the toughest lesson to write, but it finally answers ontological questions that most of the popular religions avoid. Metaphysics, ontology, and consciousness studies are all explained with this material, as well as how to cultivate through the different realms of consciousness to reach the enlightenment of a Buddha.Lesson 7: Spiritual Progress as Measured by Esoteric Phenomena is the next lesson, which pulls away the cover on Esoteric Buddhism, tantra, Taoism, hatha yoga, chi cultivation, kundalini, chakras and other "esoteric" teachings. In this lesson you will also learn how the highest practices of the form-based schools are actually duplicated in Zen Buddhism, but Zen doesn't pay them too much heed because they are typically deficient roads of spiritual practice. Any experts of mysticism, tantra, yoga and Tibetan Buddhism will be shocked by this high level material that even aged monks aren't privy to. If you ever wanted just one good clear lesson on tantra or Tibetan Buddhism, this lesson is it and contains more worthwhile information than an entire library of translated Tibetan kung-fu manuals. If you previously thought that Tibetan Buddhism was the king of all cultivation schools, now you'll be able to see it and all the other form based schools -- such as Taoism, yoga and modern science -- for what they really are. You'll also see that physical measuring schemes are only relevant for very rudimentary stages of the spiritual path.Lesson 8: Proficiency in Skillful Means and the Exercise of Bodhisattva Compassion is the last lesson, which surveys the spiritual landscape and then lays out in detail how the ideals of Confucian, Socratic, Christian, Buddhist and other character-behavior based paths of spiritual practice can be used to rejuvenate the major religions and form a new character-merit-cultivation based spiritual path for today. This one lesson by itself was written to help rejuvenate Christianity and elevate all religions. It contains all the materials you need to develop a new Bodhisattva enlightenment path of behavior for the general public, and to link it with compassionate action in the world. Approaching the same topic of mysticism, spiritual stages, meditation methods and cultivation practice from many different angles, time and again the genuineness of the spiritual path is proved, as well as the unity of "true cultivation religion" rather than the disparity of religious dogma.This material contains topological maps of the spiritual trail and metaphysical areas that encompass the major phenomena people encounter in spiritual practice, and goes far beyond everything else available in actually linking modern scientific findings to these experiences. All the various areas of science, philosophy, catalogued experiences, theory, religion, mysticism and practice are woven together and shown to fit like a pair of hands and their gloves. Want a short example?To give you an idea of the course contents, there is a sample download at the bottom of this page which should help teach you some of the actual kung-fu sequences of spiritual cultivation that appear at the lower, rudimentary stages of the path. Remember that if you're not familiar with the terminology, it's simply because you didn't read the earlier material leading up to these pages....and it also shows you know hardly anything about the REAL stages of spiritual cultivation.Because the material in these lessons gives you the ability to organize, validate, cross-correlate and legitimize spiritual cultivation and spiritual phenomena, and link the various religions and their saints in an objective manner, students say it is something as revolutionary as Newton's physics, Thomas Aquinas' Christianity, Wei Bo-Yang's explanations and combining of the Chinese cultivation schools, and Maimonides' explanations of Judaism. This course is so wide in scope that I cannot promise you that you will immediately understand all the concepts in each of these lessons, so I'll be providing personal attention sending you questions and correcting them by email as a follow-up to see that you're comprehending the material. I will say that by the time you're done with this course, you will: Firmly believe that there is a genuine general path of spiritual cultivation progress, and you'll know how to locate it in almost any genuine religion. You'll also be able to tell which religious dogmas are legitimate and which are not simply by whether or not they violate basic cultivation principles Learn that some religions and their spiritual practices lead to higher levels on this path than others Acknowledge that the principles by which you cultivate this path are logically sound, consistent and universally applicable to all beings, and you'll learn a variety of meditation methods and spiritual cultivation techniques for cultivating this path to spiritual progress Realize that the various stages or levels of this path are also universally recognized by genuine spiritual sects, and you'll find evidence of this in their own scriptures Learn that the cultivation path will entail physical changes to the body, as well as mental and spiritual changes called "kung-fu" or "gong-fu," and you'll learn how to interpret these changes, how long they will last, what other masters did when they reached them and what you must do when they occur Understand how various psychic abilities and supernormal powers come about, and will have the means to explain a tremendous variety of hitherto unexplained mystical, metaphysical or paranormal spiritual phenomena And here’s the free download: FREE 189-page Taoism Lesson on Chi (Qi), Chakras, Kundalini Yoga and Other Topics from the STAGES Course on Gong-fu Transformations Comments: I’m not sure if the distance learning part of the course is still happening. Contact Bodri directly, if you’re interested. The download link is chapter two,”Gongfu Transformations Within The Physical Body”, And is a must read. Excellent breakdown. I’m reading the rest of the coursebook on Scribd, but I haven’t finished it. But if it’s as good as most of Bodri’s work, you may want to check it out. Check out Bodri's Meditation Expert website. Thousands of articles on it for free: http://www.meditationexpert.com/index.htm Okay, that's it for William Bodri's major works. Next post, I cover the rest of Nan Huai-Chin's works. Cheers! Edited June 23, 2016 by Infolad1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jox Posted June 29, 2016 (edited) How to Measure and Deepen Your Spiritual Realization ("Measuring Meditation") By William Bodri and Nan Huai-Chin 705 page e-Book $97 Purchase Link is here: http://www.meditationexpert.com/measuringmeditation.html You convinced me! I just bought it ... lol ... There is some free stuff added, if you purchase that ebook ... Pdf: 1. Antibiotic alternatives. 2. Revised spiritual marketing. 3. The story of Chinese Taoism. Ppt: 1. 7 Roads to Meditation ... 7 Different Meditations You Should Try ... 2. Anti aging. 3. Change fortune. 4. Recitation. Edited June 29, 2016 by Jox 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted June 30, 2016 You convinced me! I just bought it ... lol ... There is some free stuff added, if you purchase that ebook ... Pdf: 1. Antibiotic alternatives. 2. Revised spiritual marketing. 3. The story of Chinese Taoism. Ppt: 1. 7 Roads to Meditation ... 7 Different Meditations You Should Try ... 2. Anti aging. 3. Change fortune. 4. Recitation. Excellent Jox! Yeah, Bodri has a ton of good data to sift through. Like I said, he can be more than a little repetitive at times, but you learn to sift past it. I think I still have about 3,000 more pages of his work to go through, between "Measuring Meditation, Stages, and What Is Enlightenment?". LOL! And this isn't even factoring in all of the books I've bookmarked from his references, footnotes, and bibliographies. The only thing I love more than cultivating, is researching all of this, so it balances out. Cheers! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) Hi, Everyone! I'm BACK! 9 months goes by QUICK! Perfect segue way. Infolad 1 is now Infodad! My daughter was born In January. Needless to say, time adjustments had to be made. Her training begins soon ("She shall be the greatest of them all!" LOL! ) Now... Back to the booklist! And wouldn't you know it? Bill Bodri came out with new books! I'll cover them, and the rest of his work, tonight. Easy Meditation Lessons Kindle Edition by William Bodri (Author), Shu-Mei Lee (Author) Description: "Anyone and everyone can meditate. These easy meditation lessons are designed for beginners who want to learn meditation as quickly as possible, and who wish to find the right type of meditation practice that is perfect just for them. These easy how-to lessons will also be extremely useful for those who previously tried to learn meditation but who gave up in frustration because they felt like they were not making any progress at all in learning how to calm their minds. There are several tricks to effective meditation practice. A key principle is to first adjust your body in the right way by taking a few deep breaths with slow exhalations, and then by sitting in a very comfortable position using the correct posture. With your body relaxed, you can then start practicing whatever meditation method you most enjoy. In this book, you will learn several different meditation methods you can use for the rest of your life to quickly calm your mind and enter a deep state of mental quiet and tranquility. These are the most common practices used across the world’s meditation traditions. You will learn the practice of watching your breath (anapana), watching your thoughts, how to recite mantras or prayers, and how to create stable mental visualizations to calm your mind. You will even learn how to activate your internal energies for greater health and vitality, and how to concentrate for longer periods of time without becoming distracted. With these easy meditation lessons, you will quickly learn how to meditate on your own without need of any special teacher, and will learn how these meditation practices can also be used for the popular yoga and martial arts traditions." Comments: This is the beginner's book that Bodri's "The Little Book of meditation" was supposed to be. That book grew to 388 pages, so he did this one as a basic primer for the layperson new to meditation. Visualization Power: How Scientists, Inventors, Businessmen, Artists, Athletes, Healers, and Yogis Can Improve Their Powers of Visualization and Visual Thinking Paperback – February 6, 2017 Description: Visualization skills, which are the power to form stable mental images in your mind, are used everywhere in highly competitive sports by top performing athletes. The best athletes practice their physical movements through mental rehearsal so that optimal neural circuits form in their brain and their actions become effortlessly graceful. Because visualization practice can create and reinforce neural circuits in the brain that equate with perfect skills, athletes are using it to improve their sports performance and win competitions. Mental visualization practice to achieve positive changes in life is also being used by professionals in other fields such as in health, business, the arts and sciences, yoga and spirituality. How do you train to improve your powers of mental imagery and master visualizations? If you are in the sciences, how can you become a better visual thinker? What are the proper practice steps for visualizing correctly and creating optimal neural pathways for performance skills? In what other ways are people using visualization powers? Inside you’ll discover how famous inventors, scientists, and mathematicians have trained step-by-step to use visualizations for break-through discoveries, and how you can develop similar visualization skills for innovative accomplishments. You’ll learn how artists and musicians can use visualization training to improve their performances, and how even people locked away in prison can practice inner visualizations for effective results. You’ll discover how doctors and surgeons are using it in medical training and learn how you can personally use it to heal yourself of sickness and disease. You’ll learn how yoga and spiritual practitioners are training their minds through visualization practice to improve their powers of concentration so that they can master various yogic and tantric practices. Ordinary people are using visualization practice in the fields of business and personal development to mentally rehearse skills for better and more consistent results. You can also use visualization powers to improve your confidence, forge new habits, and achieve concrete goals. Mentally training your powers of visualization will not only develop your concentration skills, such as the ability to ignore distractions but also your powers of discipline and the ability to focus. You can use it to create visions of a future life you want, regain muscle strength after injury, speed surgical recovery, or even seed your subconscious to produce colorful dreams that contain solutions to problems. Martial artists even use it to move their internal energy for feats of physical excellence while yoga enthusiasts use it to improve their stretching. There are countless benefits you can receive from mastering the power of visualization. Comments: This just came out. A basic introduction to the powers of visualization. I'll have a more detailed review of this by May. Look Younger, Live Longer: Reverse the Aging Process in One Year Using Eastern Traditions and Modern Nutritional Science Paperback – February 6, 2017 Description: "What if you could slow or even reverse the aging process and start to look years younger? It’s possible if you combine the latest methods of modern science with the ancient longevity methods of the eastern spiritual traditions. Modern anti-aging science - whether it references the findings of the "Blue Zones" or new approaches to diet and nutrition - shows us how to use the right exercises, diet, and vitamin-mineral supplements to turn back our biological clocks. By doing the right things we can slow or even reverse the process of aging so that we not only live longer but start to look younger and feel better too. There are also ways we can improve our home's environment in order to enjoy cleaner air and water as well as reduce our EMF exposure to support our health and anti-aging efforts. The second approach to anti-aging relies on the eastern spiritual traditions that teach you how to eat right, exercise and reduce stress so as to reverse the aging process. This approach - which comes from the ancient eastern schools of Yoga, Chinese Taoism, Buddhism and other traditions - promotes breathing practices, inner energy work, meditation and a proper diet for staying young and living longer. This road of longevity is centered on building up internal energy so that you can use its benefits for a longer and healthier life. Combining the eastern and western approaches is the premier approach to life extension. It constitutes a new science of anti-aging that takes the best from the east and west to heal your body, extend your life, and benefit your mind. Inside you’ll learn the best vitamins and nutritional supplements to take in order to look younger, feel better, reverse the effects of aging you’ve already experienced and extend your lifespan. You’ll also discover the best eastern practices for increasing health and longevity that - although thousands of years old - not only prepare people for progress on the spiritual trail but are actually proven remedial solutions for the many aging theories proposed by geneticists. In short, you’ll find many approaches for duplicating and even going beyond the healthy anti-aging results found in the long-lived "Blue Zones" communities." Comments: Another new book from Bodri, and one I'm very interested In reading. I'm actually starting a health, fitness, and anti-aging online platform, that also combines Eastern and Western approaches. It'll be interesting to see how our approaches both match up and differ. That's it for Bodri. Next, I finish with Master Nan's books. Then I'll list the works of Fabrizio Pergadio, Thomas Cleary, Eva Wong, and Damo Mitchell, along with a few gems that folks may have missed. Cheers! Edited April 3, 2017 by Infolad1 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echo Posted April 19, 2017 (edited) Glad to have you back here! Big congratulations for becoming a dad! Hope your doing well and the cultivation helps with all the late hours And thanks for bringing the new Bodri books to my attention! Very interested in the gems you promised, since the other authors are pretty well known around here, I guess. Still curious about your opinion on their material though Edited April 19, 2017 by Echo 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Posted April 19, 2017 Congratulations, Dad! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jox Posted April 22, 2017 Big congratulations for becoming a dad! ... but your cultivation time will be reduced "quite a bit" from now on ... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted April 22, 2017 (edited) Hi, Everyone!Finishing up the works of Nan Huai Chin in this post. Diamond Sutra Explained Paperback – January 27, 2005 Description: Master Nan Huai-Chin's discourses on the treasured Buddhist Diamond Sutra bring together a lifetime's personal cultivation experience that crosses into every single school of esoteric and spiritual practice. The great contemporary Master uses the Diamond Sutra as a tool to gauge the understanding that we must have when journeying towards understanding our true selves. The various passages from this beautiful Sutra are used to provide the student with a practical framework that combines understanding with practical cultivation. Master Nan's teachings are uniquely different compared with interpretations given by other contemporary and past teachers. Comments: Haven't read this one yet. I'm planning on reading Red Pine's translation first, then Master Nan's commentaries. Here's a link to the Red Pine (aka Bill Porter) translation: https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Sutra-Red-Pine/dp/1582432562/ref=pd_sim_14_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1582432562&pd_rd_r=F1NX122EVMVCM2W0GENS&pd_rd_w=uxZD3&pd_rd_wg=Ga9BH&psc=1&refRID=F1NX122EVMVCM2W0GENS I'm of the opinion that you should always read the original text first, in the best translation that you can find, before reading anyone's commentaries. I want as close to the original author's words as possible, free of any distortions. This book has a very Interesting history. Here's an article from Smithsonian.com that touches upon it for the layperson: Original Link: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/Five-things-to-know-about-diamond-sutra-worlds-oldest-dated-printed-book-180959052/ Five Things to Know About the Diamond Sutra, the World’s Oldest Dated Printed Book By Jason Daley "No one is sure who Wang Jie was or why he had The Diamond Sutra printed. But we do know that on this day in 868 A.D.—or the 13th of the 4th moon of the 9th year of Xiantong in Jie’s time—he commissioned a block printer to create a 17-and-a-half-foot-long scroll of the sacred Buddhist text, including an inscription on the lower right-hand side reading, “Reverently made for universal free distribution by Wang Jie on behalf of his two parents.” Today, that scroll is housed at the British Library and is acknowledged as the oldest dated printed book in existence. Chances are you know a little something about the Gutenberg Bible, the first book made with moveable type, which came along almost 600 years later. Bibliophiles might also have a working knowledge of other famous manuscripts like the Book of Kells, The Domesday Book, and Shakespeare’s First Folio. Well, The Diamond Sutra should be in that pantheon of revered books, as well. Here’s why: Origins The text was originally discovered in 1900 by a monk in Dunhuang, China, an old outpost of the Silk Road on the edge of the Gobi Desert. The Diamond Sutra, a Sanskrit text translated into Chinese, was one of 40,000 scrolls and documents were hidden in “The Cave of a Thousand Buddhas,” a secret library sealed up around the year 1,000 when the area was threatened by a neighboring kingdom. In 1907, British-Hungarian archaeologist Marc Aurel Stein was on an expedition mapping the ancient Silk Road when he heard about the secret library. He bribed the abbot of the monastic group in charge of the cave and smuggled away thousands of documents, including The Diamond Sutra. The International Dunhuang Project is now digitizing those documents and 100,000 others found on the eastern Silk Road. Content The Diamond Sutra is relatively short, only 6,000 words and is part of a larger canon of “sutras” or sacred texts in Mahayana Buddhism, the branch of Buddhism most common in China, Japan, Korea and southeast Asia. Many practitioners believe that the Mahayana Sutras were dictated directly by the Buddha, and The Diamond Sutra takes the form of a conversation between the Buddha’s pupil Subhati and his master. Why is it Diamond? A full translation of the document's title is The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion. As Susan Whitfield, director of the Dunhuang Project explains, the sutra helps cut through our perceptions of the world and its illusion. "[W]e just think we exist as individuals but we don’t, in fact, we’re in a state of complete non-duality: there are no individuals, no sentient beings,” Whitfield writes. Why did Wang Jie commission it? According to Whitfield, in Buddhist belief, copying images or the words of the Buddha was a good deed and way of gaining merit in Jie’s culture. It’s likely that monks would have unrolled the scroll and chanted the sutra out loud on a regular basis. That’s one reason printing developed early on in China, Whitfield explains. “[if] you can print multiple copies, and the more copies you’re sending out, the more you’re disseminating the word of Buddha, and so the more merit you are sending out into the world,” she writes. “And so the Buddhists were very quick to recognize the use of the new technology of printing.” What is one quote I should know from The Diamond Sutra? It’s difficult to translate the sutra word for word and still catch its meaning. But this passage about life, which Bill Porter, who goes by the alias "Red Pine," adapted to English, is one of the most popular: So you should view this fleeting world— A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, A flash of lightening in a summer cloud, A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream." Here are excerpts from a Wikipedia article on it: Original Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Sutra "The Diamond Sūtra (Sanskrit: Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) is a Mahāyāna (Buddhist) sūtra from the Prajñāpāramitā, or "Perfection of Wisdom" genre, and emphasizes the practice of non-abiding and non-attachment. The Diamond sutra is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras in East Asia and is a key object of devotion and study in Zen Buddhism... ..."The Sanskrit title for the sūtra is the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, which may be translated roughly as the "Vajra Cutter Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra." In English, shortened forms such as Diamond Sūtra and Vajra Sūtra are common. The title relies on the power of the vajra (diamond or thunderbolt) to cut things as a metaphor for the type of wisdom that cuts and shatters illusions to get to ultimate reality. The sutra is also called by the name Triśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (300 lines Perfection of Insight sutra). The Diamond Sūtra has also been highly regarded in a number of Asian countries where Mahāyāna Buddhism has been traditionally practiced. Translations of this title into the languages of some of these countries include: Sanskrit: वज्रच्छेदिकाप्रज्ञापारमितासूत्र, Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra Chinese: 《金剛般若波羅蜜多經》, Jingang Banruopoluomiduo Jing (Chin-kang Pan-Jo-p'o-lo-mi-to Ching); shortened to 《金剛經》, Jingang Jing (Chin-kang Ching) Japanese: 金剛般若波羅蜜多経, Kongō hannya haramita kyō, shortened to 金剛経, Kongō-kyō Korean: 금강반야바라밀경, geumgang banyabaramil gyeong, shortened to 금강경, geumgang gyeong Mongolian: Yeke kölgen sudur Vietnamese: Kim cương bát-nhã-ba-la-mật-đa kinh, shortened to Kim cương kinh Tibetan: འཕགས་པ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་རྡོ་རྗེ་གཅོད་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།, Wylie: ’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa rdo rje gcod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo"... ..."The Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra contains the discourse of the Buddha to a senior monk, Subhuti. Its major themes are anatman (not-self), the emptiness of all phenomena (though the term 'śūnyatā' itself does not appear in the text), the liberation of all beings without attachment and the importance of spreading and teaching the Diamond sutra itself."... This article also contains a chronology of the various English translations. The most recent one is by Paul Harrison. Here's a link to it. The English translation is on the far right: https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=fulltext&vid=22&view=fulltext I provided all of this background because The Diamond Sutra is a primary cultivation text. Always good to have the background, and a decent translation to start with, so that you then have a foundation with which to read commentaries, like the one by Master Nan. Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen Paperback – November 1, 1997 Description: Hong Kong-based Zen Master Nan Huai-Chin is regarded as one of the foremost experts on Chinese history and culture. He is an expert in Confucianism as well as of Zen, Taoism and Esoteric Buddhism. This comprehensive introduction covers the relationship between Buddhism and the culture of India, the transmission of Buddhism to China, and to the rest of the world, and the changes that have taken place in Buddhism in different parts of the world - in other Asian countries, as well as in America and Europe. Comments: Haven't read yet, but here's the table of contents: CHAPTER 1: Buddhism and the Culture of India The Development of Indian Culture; The Background of Indian Culture; The Religion and Philosophy of Ancient Indian Civi- lization; The Rise of Various Philosophical Trends; The Six Schools of Philosophy; The Buddhism of Shakyamuni versus non-Buddhist Paths; Chapter Summary. CHAPTER 2: Shakyamuni Buddha, the Founder of Buddhism Shakyamuni's Lineage; A Great Man Who Refused to be King; The Dates of Shakyamuni's Birth and Death; The Clan Tradition; Legends of Shakyamuni's Innate Spiritual Unique- ness; A Special Youth of Many Talents; Shakyamuni's Compas- sionate Temperament; Leaving Home and Awakening to the Path; The Young Prince Who Fled the World to Seek Enlight- enment; Shakyamuni Studies the Various Schools for Six Years; Shakyamuni Practices Six Years of Austerities; Shakya- muni Opens through in Sudden Enlightenment and Achieves Buddhahood; The Founding of the Teaching; Shakyamuni's Teaching and His Original Disciples; Preaching the Dharma; The Compilation of the Buddhist Scriptures; Chapter Sum- mary. CHAPTER 3: The Transmission of Buddhism to China The First Period of the Transmission; Indian Buddhism in the Time of King Ashoka; The Initial Transmission of Buddhism to China in the Late Han and Three Kingdoms Periods; Buddhism in the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties; The Founding of Pure Land Buddhism; Kumarajiva and Sengzhao; Daosheng, Nirvana, and Buddha-nature; The Heyday of Chi- nese Buddhism; The Sui and Tang Periods; The Founding of the Tang Dynasty; The Zen School's Change of System; The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism; The Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Periods; Chapter Summary. CHAPTER 4: Buddhism in Other Countries Buddhism in Asia; Korea; Japan; Burma; Thailand; Vietnam; Tibet; Other regions of Southeast Asia; Buddhism in Europe andtwo partAmerica; Britain; Germany; France; United States of Amer- ica; Russia; Chapter Summary. CHAPTER 5: Buddhism in the 20th Century The Decline of Chinese Buddhism Since the Qing Period; Sec- tarian Decline; The Change in the Character of Monks and Temples; The Buddhist Revival of the Late Qing and Early Republican Periods; The Revival of Chinese Buddhism; The Development of Chinese Buddhism; Conclusion. APPENDIX: The Zen Monastic System and Chi- nese Society The Different Societies of Eastern and Western Civilization; The Differentiation of Patriarchal Clan Society; The Early Bud- dhist Monastic System; The Origin of the Zen Monastic Sys- tem; The Zen Monastic System: Its Regulations and Guide- lines; The Abbot; The Two Echelons of Monks; The Responsible Posts in a Zen Temple; The Chief Administrators, Visiting Monks, and the Pure Congregation; Variations in the Zen Pure Rules Over Time; The Influence of the Zen Commu- nities; Equality of Status and Collective Living; Equality of Labor and a Prosperous Economy; Equality of Faith and Disci- pline in Speech and Action; Equality of All Sentient Beings; The Zen Halls: Cultivation of Practice; The Scope of the Zen Hall; The Teacher in the Zen Hall; Life in the Zen Hall; Teaching Methods Inside and Outside the Zen Hall; The Transformation of the Zen Hall; The Legacy of the Zen Community Pure Rules; Zen Master Baizhang's Biography; Zen Master Baizhang's En- lightenment; Preface to the Pure Rules of Baizhang by the Song Dynasty Literatus Yang Yi; Twenty Essential Rules for the Zen Community by Zen Master Baizhang; The Treatise of the Samadhi of the Precious King; The Zen Community and Patri- archal Clan Society; The Zen Monastic System and Chinese Culture; The Zen Monastic System and the Secret Societies; Closing Comments. Index About the Author Working Toward Enlightenment: The Cultivation of Practice Paperback – November 1, 1993 Description: In this important and fact-filled treatise for contemporary students, Master Nan Huai-Chin details the principles and practices behind the various schools of self-realization. Many Westerners have biases regarding works by Confucius and Mencius; even contemporary scholars misunderstand the philosophical approach that covers the spiritual cultivation path to enlightenment- the practice involved in attaining realization. Comments: Part one two-part magnum opus on the cultivation process. Haven't completely read yet. Here's the table of contents: TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...... vii 1 The Path of Cultivating Enlightenment........................ 1 2 Mind and Extemal Form.............................................. 19 3 The Five Skandhas...................................................... 41 4 Liberation from the Skandhas..................................... 57 5 A Talk on The Lotus Sutra........................................... 83 6 Further Lessons from The Lotus Sutra .......................103 7 Cultivation through Refining the Breath...................... 115 8 The Cultivation Path of Mindfulness ...........................131 9 Breathing and Various Ranks of Cultivation Attainment ....................................145 10 Refining the Vital Energy ...........................................163 11 Teachings of the Zen Patriarchs as a Basis for Cultivation..................... 179 12 Correctly Contemplating Mind.................................. 197 13 Stories of Zen Enlightenment.................................... 223 14 True and False Emptiness......................................... 247 Works Cited.................................................................... 279 lndex............................................................................... 283 To Realize Enlightenment: Practice of the Cultivation Path Paperback – October, 1994 Description: This is a series of lectures translated from the Chinese on the cultivation of enlightenment in the Buddhist religion by Master Nan Huai-Chin. Topics include correcting mind, body, and behavior, Samadhi, five Skandhas, etc. Comments: Haven't read this one yet (only so many hours In a day ). Read this one after reading "Working Toward Enlightenment". Here's the table of contents: TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface.............................................................................. vii Eliminating the View of the Body...........................................1 Correcting Your Mind, Body, and Behavior ........................20 Cultivating Genuine Samadhi .............................................47 An Overview of Cosmic Realms..........................................67 The Sequence for Transforming Mind and Body.................83 Samadhi and the Realms Resembling Samadhi.............. 105 Zen School Models for Cultivating Samadhi.................... 129 Entering, Abiding, and Leaving Samadhi......................... 155 The Four Intensified Practices.......................................... 173 Bodhisattva Practices....................................................... 199 The Five Skandhas ............................................................225 Liberation from False Thought........................................... 241 Contemplation on Provisional Existence........................... 261 Carrying Out Vows............................................................ 279 Works Cited...................................................................... 303 Index................................................................................. 305 The Story of Chinese Taoism No Image available Description: If you want to learn Taoism, you truly cannot afford to miss out on this information from the man who re-established Taoist understanding in Taiwan and Mainland China Discover materials on Chinese Taoism that include correct meditation practice principles, the history of Taoism, gong-fu explanations ... and honest advice ... from a recognized Taoist master! Hard to find info on the founders of Taoism, history of Taoism, Taoist religion, Taoist meditation practice and more. China's only surviving tripartite Zen, Esoteric and Taoist master ... who has sold over seven million books in China ... recounts the history of Taoism and the principles of proper Taoist meditation practice. Inside you'll find fully comprehensive explanations of Taoism along with recommended methods and results of body-mind cultivation. For the first time in English, Nan Huai-chin's Taoist breakthrough insights are available to true Taoist seekers. Inside this work, which is the other half of The Story of Chinese Zen, published by Charles E. Tuttle, you will find discussions of Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Wei Bo-Yang, fang-shih (or ancient "magicians" of China), the Yin-Yang school, kundalini, pranayama, chi, Taoism and the sciences, feng shui, Confucianism, medical longevity sciences, I-Ching, popular Taoist meditation methods and all the major topics of Taoism, including a trustworthy history of Taoism with critical analysis (something missing in most texts). You will find information on the battles Taoism fought with Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. This is a veritable treasure trove of Taoist practice insights and history, and more importantly, it contains the proper road of meditation practice according to the real Taoism that has all but disappeared from the world. What Master Nan teaches is different than any other Taoist information you can find today as he weaves practical experience together with Taoism history of practice, and proper meditation technique. In your hands you'll have Chinese Taoism details - never before available in English - that illuminate a safe and correct road of meditation practice according to the correct Taoist vision. The translator, Dr. William Brown, once spoke to me about this text saying, "I've translated Nan Huai-Chin's works on both Confucianism and Taoism. You know the scholars say one thing about these fields, and he says another, and frankly, to tell you the truth, his revolutionary ideas are right and they're wrong!" That's why the author has sold over 7 million books in Asia, and is widely recognized as the premier Chinese authority on Taoism today. Scholars typically write dry books without any experience of the matter they're discussing, but this one seamlessly weaves a master's interpretations of facts and trends together with meditation principles and personal insights to provide you with guidance for your own spiritual efforts, even if you don't follow Taoism. In fact, the whole purpose of the book is to help you practice better by understanding how body-based cultivation schools (such as Taoism, yoga, Tantra, and Tibetan Buddhism) should be practiced correctly. With this sensational information in your hands you will avoid many of the detours discarded by ancient Taoist practice ... but popularized today by uninformed teachers. Now you can challenge them yourself using this material. Having met dozens of Taoist practitioners who hurt themselves because they thought they understood things, I have to say that what they were lacking was Nan Huai-chin's insights! At last you have a chance to have them yourself without having to learn Chinese, travel to Asia, and then spend years collecting the same sort of information. To understand more about Chinese Taoism and body-mind cultivation -- and even tantra techniques, yoga, kundalini cultivation, pranayama and Tibetan Buddhism because of their similarities of practice and shared materials -- there's nothing better than first grabbing a copy of Tao and Longevity for your own personal practice, and then a copy of The Story of Chinese Taoism to understand the broader principles and framework of Taoist practice along with the evolution of Taoist philosophy and cultivation methods. Inside this work you will find many translated source materials that you won't find in any other English publication. Furthermore, you find Taoist trends and fads put into the right perspective along with discussions of their pros and cons. This is the information that lets you reach the highest stages of Taoist cultivation. Because Taoism focuses on body-mind cultivation, you need this book to deepen your knowledge of practically any school of cultivation that focuses on the body and discusses physiological changes due to climbing the spiritual ladder. It will definitely teach you what you must do in your own spiritual practice to become a "true man," the perfected individual, and to claim all the other benefits and virtues of Taoist practice. Comments: This one is available for free download on Bill Bodri's Meditation Expert website. Original link provided above. Haven't read it yet. Table of contents provided below: Introduction Chapter 1: The Origins of the Learning and Thought of the Taoist School and Those of Huang-Lao and Lao-Chuang · The Relationship of the Taoist School with Huang-Lao · The Relationship of the Taoist School and Lao-Chuang Chapter 2: The Relationship of the Thought of the Recluse and the Taoist School · Counter-Evidence to the Legends of Ancient History · The Relationship of the Thought of Confucius and the Recluse · Relationship of the Recluses and Historical Politics Chapter 3: The Learning of the Fang-shih (Occultist) and the Taoist School · Early Natural Sciences · The Yin-Yang School Evolved Into the Humanities · Theoretical Physical Sciences Chapter 4: Origins of the Learning and Thought of the Fang-shih in the Taoist School · Ancient Traditional Culture and the Taoist School During the Chou Dynasty · Cultural Background of the Northern Chinese States of Ch'i, Lu, Yen and Sung During the Warring States Period · The Culture and Thought of the Southern State of Ch'u During the Warring States Period Chapter 5: Contents of the Learning and Thought of the Taoist School and Taoist Religion · Cosmological Theories of Heaven and Man in the Taoist School and Taoist Religion -- The Concept of the Yin and Yang -- The Concept of the Five Elements -- The Concept of Sixty Year Cycle Using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches · Learning and Thought of the Cultivation of Immortals in the Taoist School · Estimation of the Meaning of Human Life by the Taoist School and Taoist Religion The Influence of the Thoughts of the "Fang-shih" (A) The theories and methods on the cultivation of the spirit were naturally first advocated by Lao Tzu (B ) The first theories of the cultivation of ch'i and the refinement of ch'i © The reasons for the taking of drugs (D) The two theories related to the taking of alchemical drugs (E) The three types of alchemical drugs ingested (F) The three methods for ingesting alchemical drugs (G) The cultivation and practices of the sect of worship and prayer Chapter 6: The Immortal Alchemical Sect During and After the Han and Wei Dynasties · The Originator of Alchemical Texts Wei Po-Yang · The Alchemical Method of Refining Ch'i and Nourishing Life Through the Combination of the Medical Sciences of the Fang-shih and the Representations and Numerology of the Book of Changes Chapter 7: General Discussion on the Thoughts of the Founders of the Taoist School and Taoist Religion · The Meaning of "Heaven" Prior to the Split of the Confucian and Taoist Schools · The Meaning of "Tao" Prior to the Split of the Confucian and Taoist Schools · Lao Tzu -- The Concepts of the Way of Heaven, Non-Action and Spontaneity in the Thought of Lao Tzu -- Lao Tzu's Views on Benevolence, Righteousness and the Sage -- Misunderstanding of Lao Tzu's Political Thought -- Lao Tzu Has Been Falsely Charged as the Instigator of Schemes and Intrigues -- The Focal Point of Lao Tzu's Political Thought -- Lao Tzu's Theories on the Cultivation of Life (A) The cultivation of quietude begins with attaining utmost emptiness and internal stillness (B ) The cultivation of the spirit proceeds from utmost stillness to being dimly visible as if not present © The cultivation of ch'i is designed to aid the cultivation of stillness and the spirit (D) Realizing that which is shadowy and indistinct (E) The results of the cultivation of life ·The Classic of Purity and Stillness · Chuang Tzu -- The Fables in the Chuang Tzu -- Chuang Tzu's Free and Easy Wandering and the Seven Inner Chapters -- The Style of the Outer Chapters of the Chuang Tzu -- The Mutual Causation of the Ideas of Caring for Life in the Chuang Tzu and the Fang-shih Immortals · The Influences of the Yin-Yang School and Fang-shih of the Warring States Period · The Learning and Thought of Tsou Yen -- The Motives and Aims of Tsou Yen's Theories on Yin and Yang -- The Contents of the Yin-Yang Theory -- The Geophysical Thought of Tsou Yen -- The Prevalent Trend of Learning in the State of Ch'i · The "Fang-shih" of the States of Yen and Ch'i and the Origins of the Thought of Immortals During the Ch'in and Han Dynasties · Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang and the Feng and Shan Sacrifices · The Spirit Way and Spirit Immortals at the Beginning of the Han Dynasty · General Contents of the Learning and Thought of the Taoist School During and After the Han and Wei Dynasties Chapter 8: The Taoist Religion · Reasons for the Formation of the Taoist Religion at the End of the Han Dynasty · The Taoist School and Taoist Religion During and After the Chin and Wei Dynasties · The Taoist Religion During the T'ang Dynasty · The Taoist Religion During the Sung, Yuan, Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties Chapter 9: The Ideas of the Taoist School and Taoist Religion and the Educational Spirit of Chinese Culture The Story of Chinese Zen Kindle Edition Description: The development of Zen in China is really the story of the flourishing of Chinese philosophy, arts and literature beginning as far back as the Han Dynasty and earlier. Master Nan Huai-Chin offers an engaging chronicle of both in this groundbreaking work. The Story of Chinese Zen begins with the premise that the climate during Shakyamuni's founding of Buddhism in India ultimately influence the differences behind Hinayana and Mahayana thought, practice, and methods of seeking enlightenment. From there—beginning with its transmission to China—Master Nan outlines the Zen School, exploring influences on the development of Zen before the early Tang Dynasty, different meanings of studying Zen and pursuing the heart and goal of Zen." He explores the relationship between Zen and new-Confucianism and the inseparability of religion and Zen from Chinese literature and philosophy, especially Taoism. Born in Zhejiang province, China in 1918, Nan Huai-Chin has studied under thirty-two major Taoist and Buddhist masters, including the masters of the Esoteric School of Buddhism in Tibet, from whom he received the title of Esoteric Master. He has published over thirty books and is widely recognized as one of the foremost scholars on Zen and Taoism. Comment: Haven't completely read yet. Here's the table of contents: Table of Contents About the Author 1. Connections Between Buddhism and Historical Chinese Culture 2. A Brief Introduction To The Contents Of Buddhist Study Background of Indian Culture - Situations and Political Conditions of Ancient India 3. Contribution to Humankind Made by Shakyamuni's Leaving Home and Attaining Enlightenment Breaking Up Concept of Caste, Shakyamuni Preached Equality Extending to All Living Beings Shakyamuni Set Up a Phenomenology of Life, Recurring Cycles of Six Courses of Existence Shakyamuni Pioneered Views of the Universe and the World - Shakyamuni Synthesized a Metaphysical Ontology 4. Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism Hinayana Thought - The Practice of Hinayana Buddhism - Hinayana Methods of Seeking Realization 5. Mahayana Thought Mahayana Practice - Mahayana Methods of Seeking Realization 6. An Outline of the Zen School Zen and its Roots - Historical Traces of Zen - Special Transmission of Zen Outside of Buddhist Doctrine - The Work of Zen - Lankavatara Sutra to Seal Understanding of Penetrating Root Basis of Mind and the Universe 7. Influences on the Development of Zen Before the Early T'ang Dynasty 8. The Sixth Patriarch of Zen The First Issue - Step One - Step Two - Step Three - Step Four - Step Five - The Second Issue - The Third Issue 9. The Great flourishing of Zen in the Early T'ang Dynasty 10. Some Keys to Understanding Zen 11. Understanding Some Important Technical Terms Public Cases - Caning and Shouting 12. Important Points in Reading Zen Classics The Necessity of Preparatory Learning in Zen and Literature 13. The Heart and Goal of Zen 14. The Process of Zen: Mental Work and Insight 15. Nirvana and the Aim of Zen 16. Emphasizing Concentration on a Word or Saying Practice of Cessation and Contemplation, and Dhyana - Watching Thoughts - Investigating a Hua-t'ou 17. Doctrine of the Three Barriers and the Realm of Zen Investigative Meditation 18. Sources of Zen Buddhism's Influence on Neo-Confucianism 19. Neo-Confucianism and the Sayings and Doings of the Zen Masters 20. Zen and Chineses Literature 21. Importance of the Relationship of Zen and Literature Grass Mountain: A Seven Day Intensive in Ch'an Training With Master Nan Huai-Chin Paperback – May, 1986 Comments: No description. The title is self-explanatory. Haven't read yet. Here's the table of contents: Contents About the Master, vii Acknowledgments, ix Introduction, xi Prologue, xvii Day One, 1 Day Two, 15 Day Three, 37 Day Four, 53 Day Five, 69 Day Six, 89 Day Seven, 109 Glossary, 115 Bibliography, 131 Chinese Sources, 133 That's it for all of Nan Huai-Chin's books available in English. He has many more available, if you can read Mandarin. Even with my previous caveats, I still consider both his, and Bodri's works must reads, especially if you're new to all of this. Next is the Golden Elixir titles, and papers of Fabrizio Pergadio Cheers! Edited April 22, 2017 by Infolad1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted April 22, 2017 Big congratulations for becoming a dad! ... but your cultivation time will be reduced "quite a bit" from now on ... Thanks, Jox! I've actually INCREASED my cultivation time, thanks to the Buteyko breathing method I've been fortunate enough to find out about. It also verifies and validates a number of cultivation effects that are supposed to occur. https://www.breathingcenter.com/ I'll discuss all of this after I'm done with these cultivation texts posts, but here's an excerpt from his bio page, of some of the things that Buteyko could do: Original Link: https://www.breathingcenter.com/Buteyko#KPButeyko "As many famous doctors and scientists have done, Buteyko used his own body to experiment with his method. He practiced what he referred to as “air fasting” and followed a lifestyle that promoted reduced breathing. His own experience, which his advanced students confirmed, showed that breathing normalization leads not only to an improvement of physical health but also to the clarity of mind, inner peace, and calmness. Additionally, it promotes intuition, telepathy, and other types of extrasensory perception. Buteyko started his career as a traditional doctor, but by the final period of his life, he developed characteristics of a highly developed spiritual practitioner. He was known to have some clairvoyant abilities, such as being able to read people's thoughts or to predict the future. He hardly slept, was able to exist without food for 50 days at a time, and was capable of holding his breath for several minutes. Often, the first question he would ask his patients was, "Do you believe in God?" His methods led him to a point when he did not have any doubts about the leading role of the divine, especially when it comes to healing. Buteyko understood that the door to personal evolution could be opened through breathing. This is not a new thought; it is a paradigm that was practiced in many ancient cultures. For example, one of the goals of Pranayama, a type of Indian yoga, is to breathe less. A basic meditation in Tibetan Buddhism, which is called Shine (Peace), provides a step-by-step training for developing reduced breathing. Japanese Samurai would put a feather under their nose and breathe on it. If the feather moved, the trainee would be dismissed from the Samurai army. Russian Orthodox Saints recommended their disciples reduce their breath during prayer, as they believed this would bring them closer to God. Dr. Buteyko’s achievement rediscovered the benefits of breath reduction. He had developed a health improvement method suitable for modern people—one that was especially valuable for those who are severely ill." This has enabled me to help my fiancee with all of my daughter's feedings, and still do my cultivating, art, writing, and hold down three jobs. I'll lay out more of this in later posts. Cultivating has very practical purposes. Thanks again! Cheers! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted April 22, 2017 Glad to have you back here! Big congratulations for becoming a dad! Hope your doing well and the cultivation helps with all the late hours And thanks for bringing the new Bodri books to my attention! Very interested in the gems you promised, since the other authors are pretty well known around here, I guess. Still curious about your opinion on their material though Thanks, Echo! I'll probably showcase the gems after I list all of Pergadio's work. It's really good stuff. I'll comment on work that I've read, or that I've started reading. I actually want this "handbook" to be as "just the facts" as possible. I'll indicate if I'm giving an opinion, or speculating, to help keep things simple, and drama free. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted April 22, 2017 Congratulations, Dad! Thanks, Brian! Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Awakener Posted May 19, 2017 (edited) On 11/30/2015 at 9:26 PM, Infolad1 said: Part 3 of The Energy Cultivators Handbook by Infolad1 "Appropriate Training Time: Training in Accordance with the Seasons (Month): “Spring and summer nourish yang, fall and winter nourish yin.” –Su Wen Training in Accordance with the Hour: Training hours correspond to the superficial circulation of energy meridians which is expressed in two hour increments for each meridian. Yang Hours: · Range: 11pm-11am (Tzu, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Ssu) · Energetics: Yang expands, yin contracts · Preferred Practice: Wai Gong · Preferred Therapy: Strengthen yang Yin Hours: · Range: 11am-11pm (Wu, Wei, Shen, Yu, Shu, Hai) · Energetics: Yin expands, yang contracts · Preferred Practice: Nei Gong · Preferred Therapy: strengthen yin Ancient Ideal Hours for Cultivation of Elixir Pellet (Zhen Qi): · Tzu (11pm-1am): one yang, five yins · Wu (11am-1pm): one yin, five yangs · Mao (5am-7am): four yangs, two yins · Yu (5pm-7pm): four yins, two yangs Wow! Thank you so much for all of this valuable information! I literally just turned all of your "Energy Cultivator's Handbook" parts into a mega-document so I can reference it offline in one convenient place. You're running 30495 words to date so far on all seven parts. Keep up the Amazing work, and Congratulations on becoming a father! My wife is expecting so I can understand the excitement. Edited May 19, 2017 by Awakener 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted January 17, 2018 Hi Everyone!! Happy Gregorian Calendar New Year!! My resolution is to finally get this booklist done this year. I'll start putting up new listings on Friday. Cheers! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mig Posted January 20, 2018 On 1/16/2018 at 8:13 PM, Infolad1 said: Hi Everyone!! Happy Gregorian Calendar New Year!! My resolution is to finally get this booklist done this year. I'll start putting up new listings on Friday. Cheers! Haven't read all your review and still impressed the amount of books and what you have shared. Thanks a bunch. How do you manage for all reading and comprehension? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joolian Posted February 13, 2018 I also have to say thank you for your work and compilation! Regarding the Buteyko method, do you still do it? What has it brought you so far if yes? This method sounds interesting and I believe the method should be very good for the health - I just don't understand why Wim Hof's method also works then, when having a series of strong breathings followed by a hold. Greetings 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted October 16, 2021 On 1/20/2018 at 5:19 PM, Mig said: Haven't read all your review and still impressed the amount of books and what you have shared. Thanks a bunch. How do you manage for all reading and comprehension? Hi, Mig, I've been both reading and practicing these processes for over 20 years. I've been fortunate to have learned Fitness, Qigong, Neigong, Iron Body, Meditation, Neidan, Tai Chi Quan, Theurgy, Anti-Aging Nutrition, and various Esoterica from a Western Scientific paradigm. I'm also a writer, startup founder, commercial Illustrator, and world builder. So I have a pretty extensive skillset, ergo my Handle. It's also why It's been three years since I last posted. Getting a lot of work done, in the middle of surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted October 16, 2021 On 2/13/2018 at 11:13 AM, Joolian said: I also have to say thank you for your work and compilation! Regarding the Buteyko method, do you still do it? What has it brought you so far if yes? This method sounds interesting and I believe the method should be very good for the health - I just don't understand why Wim Hof's method also works then, when having a series of strong breathings followed by a hold. Greetings Thanks, Joolian! There are various breathing methods. Wim Hof's is an amalgamation of Bhastrika Breathing, Maha Bhanda, and Kumbhaka (breath holds aka static apnea amongst freedivers). Nothing new under the Sun. Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yugenphoenix Posted October 31, 2021 (edited) On 10/16/2021 at 12:15 PM, Infolad1 said: Thanks, Joolian! There are various breathing methods. Wim Hof's is an amalgamation of Bhastrika Breathing, Maha Bhanda, and Kumbhaka (breath holds aka static apnea amongst freedivers). Nothing new under the Sun. Cheers! Indeed you come to a point where you realize just that, nothing new, just various repackaging, not necessarily for commercialization, but truly nothing new. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. Perhaps in fact each iteration might get a few into a true Practice. So it’s all good 🙂 Always dug your Handbook to browse on here, always interesting stuff. Glad you are back and hope for more cool things from ya! Are you in the USA? Tom Campbell changed my view considerably and made a lot very clear when I needed it most. Edited October 31, 2021 by yugenphoenix 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Infolad1 Posted January 10, 2023 On 10/31/2021 at 8:04 AM, yugenphoenix said: Indeed you come to a point where you realize just that, nothing new, just various repackaging, not necessarily for commercialization, but truly nothing new. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. Perhaps in fact each iteration might get a few into a true Practice. So it’s all good 🙂 Always dug your Handbook to browse on here, always interesting stuff. Glad you are back and hope for more cool things from ya! Are you in the USA? Tom Campbell changed my view considerably and made a lot very clear when I needed it most. Hi, yugenphoenix, Exactly!! As a teacher, I'm always having to repackage things. The problem nowadays is that people are so busy and preoccupied, they don't have the time, or energy to cultivate (that's intentional!) I can barely get my Tai Chi Quan students to stand for 15 minutes total a week, at home, let alone twice a day! But as you said, it IS all good. Every One in their own time. It may take me a few years, but I will finish this book list. I'm in the US. I live in Philadelphia, PA. Tom Campbell is OUTSTANDING!! I advise folks that are ready to get his new program, with his custom binaural beats:Exploring Consciousness and the Larger Reality with Thomas Campbell https://mysoundwise.com/soundcasts/1639695455662s In the early 1970s, Campbell, along with Dennis Mennerich, an electrical engineer, collaborated with Robert A. Monroe to scientifically study the out-of-body experience (OOBE). (Note: As Tom Campbell himself has noted, the term OBE is inaccurate. You project your consciousness to points other than your body. The truth is that we're never IN the body. The body, brain, etc. are Virtual, aka Samsara, Maya, etc., as we've been told for 1000s of years). This became known as the Hemi-Sync System and is the foundational tech of the Monroe Institute. The Monroe Institute, along with Ingo Swann, Hal Puthoff, and Russell Targ, taught members of the Government's Stargate program how to remote view, as detailed in the excellent "Remote Viewers": Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies Kindle Edition by Jim Schnabel https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Viewers-History-Americas-Psychic-ebook/dp/B004JN1CSS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1673393219&sr=1-1 The CIA had an analyst research the system. His findings became the report that is known as “Analysis and Assessment of The Gateway Process”. Here's a two-part Vice series about it. Be sure to download the report from the second article link below. that has the missing page 25 in it. Part1 - How to Escape the Confines of Time and Space According to the CIA https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9qag/how-to-escape-the-confines-of-time-and-space-according-to-the-cia Part2 - Found: Page 25 of the CIA’s Gateway Report on Astral Projection https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7e4g3/found-page-25-of-the-cias-gateway-report-on-astral-projection His analysis was based on the science of Itzhak Bentov. The following is from Wikipedia: "Itzhak "Ben" Bentov (also Ben-Tov; Hebrew: יצחק בנטוב; August 9, 1923 – May 25, 1979) was an Israeli American scientist, inventor, mystic and author. His many inventions, including the steerable cardiac catheter, helped pioneer the biomedical engineering industry. He was also an early proponent of what has come to be referred to as consciousness studies and authored several books on the subject. Bentov was killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 shortly after takeoff from Chicago O'Hare Airport in 1979, which remains the worst non-terrorism-related aviation disaster to have taken place on US soil." His most famous book: Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On the Mechanics of Consciousness by Itzhak Bentov https://www.amazon.com/Stalking-Wild-Pendulum-Mechanics-Consciousness/dp/0892812028/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3FITY9U374GKX&keywords=itzhak+bentov&qid=1673392190&s=books&sprefix=itzhak%2Cstripbooks%2C111&sr=1-3 Here's an Interview with Bentov that's on YouTube: Itzhak Bentov ~ From Atom To Cosmos So in summary, Parallel Dimensions, Non-Human Entities, Time Travel, and the esoteric practices and texts of Taoism, Buddhism, Yoga, etc. were all confirmed as having actual "reality" and scientific validity back in the 80s. Current catchphrases and movements like "Disclosure" and "Ascension" are late to the party. The above will be enough for folks to work with, for now. Thanks again for the kind words. Cheers!! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
searcher7977 Posted January 11, 2023 Thank you for bumping this thread infolad! I also have been reading some of bodri's work, and just bought Nan Huai Chin's Diamond Sutra. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
