Taoist Meditation

[Mudfoot]

Well... 

 

A teacher also need an income. 

A professional teacher might be able to give you more, but at a cost. 

 

And to many teachers have the experience that things given free are not appreciated or valued. 

 

There are buddhist groups teaching Vipassana for free or for a cost covering their expanses, but generally things of value have a prize. 

 

If you find an exception to this, congratulations!

[gendao]

On 8/26/2017 at 5:46 PM, Marblehead said:

Not that I would be able to participate in a discussion but I would enjoy you speaking of the significance of the turtle in Chinese culture/philosophy.

The "world turtle" is actually a "root" mythological emblem used in Asian/Turtle Island aboriginal cultures...that arose after the cataclysmic Flood.

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there was a great flood, destroying many life forms. Nanaboozhoo, a few animals and birds survived. All agreed that they needed land in order to survive.

This was followed by a great flood which destroyed the harmony and balance of the good red Earth. Great Spirit spoke to his People, reminding them that life is connected, and that we should honor, respect and protect the Earth, our Mother.

Muskrat dived deep into the water. He was gone for a very long time. The other animals and Nanaboozhoo thought that for sure the muskrat must of drowned. After they had given up bubbles popped through the water surface and up floated a very exhausted muskrat. Barely alive, Nanaboozhoo picked up the little creature and found some earth between his paws. That earth was put on the turtles back and from that Turtle Island was formed.

Nanaboozhoo, the muskrat, was fearless, he dived so deep, that the others thought he had drowned.  After a long time below, he surfaced, barely breathing, with earth between his paws.  This earth was carried on the backs of turtles.  This was how Turtle Island was created.

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The most detailed accounts that link Nü Gua with water relate to the story of the taming of the floods that is chronicled in the Huainanzi.

Nü Gua smelted the five-colored stones to patch up the azure sky, cut off the turtle’s legs to reestablish the four limits

 

a second and later version of the Flood myth in which

She used a tortoise for support of the world

Quote

The creator goddess Nüwa (or Nukua) cut the legs off the giant sea turtle Ao (鳌) and used them to prop up the sky after Gong Gong damaged the Buzhou Mountain that had previously supported the heavens.

In Chinese culture, especially under the influence of Taoism (道教) the tortoise is the symbol of heaven and earth, its shell compared to the vaulted heaven and the underside to the flat disc of the earth. The tortoise was the hero of many ancient legends. It helped the First Chinese Emperor to tame the Yellow River, so Shang-di rewarded the animal with a life span of Ten Thousand Years. Thus the tortoise became a symbol for Long Life…which is likely why stone grave steles on a stone tortoise are commonly found or  tomb objects seen in China-Mongolia, Korea and Japan. The tortoise is also regarded as an immortal creature. This probably indicates the symbolism of rebirth and regeneration cycle of life.

See 鳌 (ao) & 贔屭 (bixi)...

Edited August 28, 2017 by gendao

[Wu Ming Jen]

Wŭdāng Wŭxíng Qìgōng. Part 1 - 龟 Guī (The Turtle)

Element: Water

Yin Organ: Kidneys

Yang Organ: Bladder

The Turtle is known as a wise, quiet and calm animal, it is used to symbolise longevity, patience and determination. During practice of the Turtle Form the movements mimic the calm and graceful nature of a turtle swimming through water.

Internally the main focus for practice of the Turtle Qigong Form is to enhance the function of the kidneys. The kidney is known as the dwelling place of 智 zhì (wisdom or Knowledge) with a function of storing Pre-birth Jīng 精 an essence that is past to us by our parents. The amount of Pre-birth Jīng that our kidneys contain is determined at birth and cannot be increased. We can however manage the rate at which it depletes by leading a balanced life style in terms of our daily activities. The kidneys also store post-birth Jīng. This form of Jīng can be increased by refining or enhancing Qì 气 obtained from what we eat, drink and the air we breath. This will be covered in more detail in the Tiger and Snake sections. By making healthy lifestyle choices in regards to our activities, our diet, and the environment we spend our time in, we can develop a means to create an excess of Qì in the body that can be converted into Post-birth Jīng. This reduces our demand on Pre-birth Jīng, thus, providing us with a way of becoming like a turtle and gaining longevity. In traditional Chinese medicine the kidney is also related to the production of marrow. A healthy Kidney provides a good supply of marrow to the bones and brain, providing replenished bones and fertile soil for wisdom to grow.

 

if one use’s the inhale and exhale breath in the Cinnabar Field’s centre, one exiting – one entering, one must elevate one’s consciousness. One’s sight is spying calmly. One’s Intent is without distraction as if a cat about to catch a rat, as if a soft-shelled turtle watching its eggs, guarding them and instilling a type of special power into them. The entire Spirit absorbed and paying close attention to it. The ten thousand ties and affinities are all empty and in vain.
With any distracting thought there will be no Seed. With any relaxation on the thought aspect there will be no forming of any fruit, there will be no true fruit of the Seed. There will be no true body’ Seed, no Original ody seed, no golden elixir Seed. That is why refining the Self is so strict:

[Stosh]

[Marblehead]

Beware of alligator snapping turtles.  Their neck is longer than one would believe possible.  And they have no problem with biting people who pick them up.

 

 

 

[Brian]

3 hours ago, Marblehead said:

Beware of alligator snapping turtles.  Their neck is longer than one would believe possible.  And they have no problem with biting people who pick them up.

 

 

 

A truly dangerous beast.

[Spotless]

 

[dwai]

On 8/25/2017 at 0:22 PM, kenobi said:

 

If meditation is a present state, then what is the destination of it then?

Where ever you go, there you are. That's what it means by "present". Without being "present", how can you be anything else? why should it be anything else in any meditation? 

[turtlehermit]

On 8/25/2017 at 10:07 AM, Aletheia said:

http://perceivebelieve.tumblr.com/post/159904989496/the-idiots-guide-to-taoist-alchemy-qigong

Thanks for posting. This article has some great stuff  

I like how it explains the method of putting "fire under water" to create qi. 

 

“empty the mind and fill the belly” which are reminiscent of later Daoist inner alchemy breathing practices meant to tonify the energy center in the lower abdomen. Chapter 40’s passage “the movement of Dao is reversal”

Once the Yin Qi is built up then the real lower dantian also opens the third eye."

 

This also corroborates my understanding of the method of focusing on the dantian naturally opens up the third eye. It suggests to me the fundamental nature of the alchemical process lies in this basic technique. It would seem that if one can master this process, then some of the more extraneous and complicated methods could be unnecessary. 

 

Although, all techniques serve their purpose, it would be interesting to hear some more opinions on this, and see if we can extract some more essential knowledge on meditation. 

Thanks to all   

 

 

[Rocky Lionmouth]

So regarding the two invisible of the nine, i get the impression they're still visible if employing a wide perspective and a compass, but this i cannot confirm as more than a hunch.

 

Is it just me or is the dace also fourfold before its cycle is completed?

 

[Taomeow]

3 hours ago, Rocky Lionmouth said:

So regarding the two invisible of the nine, i get the impression they're still visible if employing a wide perspective and a compass, but this i cannot confirm as more than a hunch.

 

 

 

Yes, still visible -- to advanced practitioners.  A luopan makes them visible, but I'm told you can see them with your eyes if you've come close enough. 

 

3 hours ago, Rocky Lionmouth said:

 

 

Is it just me or is the dace also fourfold before its cycle is completed?

 

 

In a sense -- one of the cycles is fourfold, to wit, the great cosmic cycle of four periods, Conception, Growth, Fruition, Consummation, aka Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and the smaller local fractal derivations of it.  But there's several interlocking cycles taking place there -- the twofold yin-yang cycle, the fivefold wixing cycle, the eightfold bagua, and the ninefold luoshu.  Together they shape Time, a cyclical phenomenon with its wheels rolling both ways into infinity, and spacetime, the immediate manifest outcome of these interlocking cycles rolling along.

 

These cycles are also fractal and can be repeating, completing, starting anew on the annual, monthly, daily or hourly basis.  There's schools that concern themselves with the largest cycles (millions, billions of years), they form the foundation of taoist cosmology.  And then there's many practical applications for the smaller ones, based on the complete cycle of the nine, which change every 20 years, the nine periods completing the cycle in 180 years. 

 

The star of the given cycle rules the "human-sized" 20 year period, then moves on.  Depending on the star we get a general backdrop of what will unfold in the world during this period, while other energies of the universe (and their fractal -- ganying -- resonances) will interact with it continuously shaping each year, month, day, hour.  If you know all about how, you can "roam the root of heaven and earth."  I.e. you can seek what's timely and avoid what isn't with absolute precision, and take a ride on the coattails of Time -- tao's means of transportation.

 

That's taoism, "simple but not easy," absolutely simple at every given step, and absolutely not easy because you're traveling an infinite road in those simple steps. 

 

Edited September 9, 2017 by Taomeow

[mrpasserby]

On 9/9/2017 at 10:52 AM, Taomeow said:

 

Yes, still visible -- to advanced practitioners.  A luopan makes them visible, but I'm told you can see them with your eyes if you've come close enough. 

 

 

In a sense -- one of the cycles is fourfold, to wit, the great cosmic cycle of four periods, Conception, Growth, Fruition, Consummation, aka Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and the smaller local fractal derivations of it.  But there's several interlocking cycles taking place there -- the twofold yin-yang cycle, the fivefold wixing cycle, the eightfold bagua, and the ninefold luoshu.  Together they shape Time, a cyclical phenomenon with its wheels rolling both ways into infinity, and spacetime, the immediate manifest outcome of these interlocking cycles rolling along.

 

These cycles are also fractal and can be repeating, completing, starting anew on the annual, monthly, daily or hourly basis.  There's schools that concern themselves with the largest cycles (millions, billions of years), they form the foundation of taoist cosmology.  And then there's many practical applications for the smaller ones, based on the complete cycle of the nine, which change every 20 years, the nine periods completing the cycle in 180 years. 

 

The star of the given cycle rules the "human-sized" 20 year period, then moves on.  Depending on the star we get a general backdrop of what will unfold in the world during this period, while other energies of the universe (and their fractal -- ganying -- resonances) will interact with it continuously shaping each year, month, day, hour.  If you know all about how, you can "roam the root of heaven and earth."  I.e. you can seek what's timely and avoid what isn't with absolute precision, and take a ride on the coattails of Time -- tao's means of transportation.

 

That's taoism, "simple but not easy," absolutely simple at every given step, and absolutely not easy because you're traveling an infinite road in those simple steps. 

 

Taomeow thanks, as always excellent information, as a newbie Taoist connecting my experiences to Match up my becoming with Taoist concepts. Thanks again 

Edited September 10, 2017 by mrpasserby
spelling

[Rocky Lionmouth]

8 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

Yes, still visible -- to advanced practitioners.  A luopan makes them visible, but I'm told you can see them with your eyes if you've come close enough. 

 

 

In a sense -- one of the cycles is fourfold, to wit, the great cosmic cycle of four periods, Conception, Growth, Fruition, Consummation, aka Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and the smaller local fractal derivations of it.  But there's several interlocking cycles taking place there -- the twofold yin-yang cycle, the fivefold wixing cycle, the eightfold bagua, and the ninefold luoshu.  Together they shape Time, a cyclical phenomenon with its wheels rolling both ways into infinity, and spacetime, the immediate manifest outcome of these interlocking cycles rolling along.

 

These cycles are also fractal and can be repeating, completing, starting anew on the annual, monthly, daily or hourly basis.  There's schools that concern themselves with the largest cycles (millions, billions of years), they form the foundation of taoist cosmology.  And then there's many practical applications for the smaller ones, based on the complete cycle of the nine, which change every 20 years, the nine periods completing the cycle in 180 years. 

 

The star of the given cycle rules the "human-sized" 20 year period, then moves on.  Depending on the star we get a general backdrop of what will unfold in the world during this period, while other energies of the universe (and their fractal -- ganying -- resonances) will interact with it continuously shaping each year, month, day, hour.  If you know all about how, you can "roam the root of heaven and earth."  I.e. you can seek what's timely and avoid what isn't with absolute precision, and take a ride on the coattails of Time -- tao's means of transportation.

 

That's taoism, "simple but not easy," absolutely simple at every given step, and absolutely not easy because you're traveling an infinite road in those simple steps. 

 

 

If it's the ones i think they are then they are very pretty. If not then i need to go get me a luopan.

 

Thanks a million TM, i'm as always stuffed full and considering a wafer-thin mint 

 

Hitherto i've only tried to use the nine in a very short cycle, regarding footwork and positioning (to name a few) in combat, the first always relating to earth as a balanced returning point and safeguard and the second is more of a bagua superposition of it as a paired exercise, earth remains a possibility but it needs to be timed correctly and it would end the exercise rather abruptly and possibly be quite painful on the recieving end.

[LousyLaoTzu]

The earliest forms of Taoism in it's philosophical form called onto meditation to reach trance like states. They also allude to the use of tso-wang (yoga) to quiet the mind and more complete their wu-wei (non-action). No trance in this form isn't a vision like the one's described by Christian saint's such as Mother Teresa but rather a feeling, an experience. Both of which has deep connection with the Tao that can be named. Now to Lao Tzu, it seemed, trance was something approached by quiet not stiumlation. So over  complicated techniques and styles of meditation may seem to hamper the Taoist rather than aid. 


This of course, is an opinion.

Xie xie, zaijian,

Lousy Lao Tzu

[turtlehermit]

13 minutes ago, LousyLaoTzu said:

The earliest forms of Taoism in it's philosophical form called onto meditation to reach trance like states. They also allude to the use of tso-wang (yoga) to quiet the mind and more complete their wu-wei (non-action). No trance in this form isn't a vision like the one's described by Christian saint's such as Mother Teresa but rather a feeling, an experience. Both of which has deep connection with the Tao that can be named. Now to Lao Tzu, it seemed, trance was something approached by quiet not stiumlation. So over  complicated techniques and styles of meditation may seem to hamper the Taoist rather than aid. 
 

Nice to hear. It seems like followers of Lao Tzu's form of meditation would agree with a simple meditation like focusing the breath at the dantian for instance, as a way to induce this trance. Hence "empty the mind fill the belly", "let the breath become subtle as a babe". Bruce Frantzis calls this the "water" tradition of Taoism. This would explain why there is so many conflicting ideas, if you view both Fire and Water methods as equally valid, but different paths for different people, it seems like a balance is reached.

[LousyLaoTzu]

1 minute ago, turtlehermit said:

Nice to hear. It seems like followers of Lao Tzu's form of meditation would agree with a simple meditation like focusing the breath at the dantian for instance, as a way to induce this trance. Hence "empty the mind fill the belly", "let the breath become subtle as a babe". Bruce Frantzis calls this the "water" tradition of Taoism. This would explain why there is so many conflicting ideas, if you view both Fire and Water methods as equally valid, but different paths for different people, it seems like a balance is reached.

Yes, that is one of the traditions and practices I enjoy from the Internal Alchemy schools of Taoism. They're closest, I feel, to the root of Lao Tzu's original message. I'm sure a plethora of individuals have given you their thoughts on such meditations but whatever you're doing, if it feels natural, whole and makes you feel closer to your inner nature, continue doing it. 

Keep your three treasures close, pengyou! 

[turtlehermit]

Would anyone else agree that the lower dantian is one of the greatest secrets of Taoist meditation? Almost all Taoist meditation texts seem to emphasize this as the main center. The older texts specifically, while the later texts add in the third eye, and become more complicated. Zen, mentions the Hara as one of the few points in meditation, besides "just sitting".  Ofcourse it is important to have all the centers open. It is true focusing on the third eye, for example, will move chi up the body, but this assumes using the mind. A Taoist master once said, focusing on the third eye, will only give you a head ache. And some texts say when the energy rises not to give thought to it. Would it be more wise perhaps to stay focused on the breath in the dantian, and let the energy circulate naturally? As opposed to moving the attention to other centers, like the third eye?

[mrpasserby]

On 8/25/2017 at 4:13 PM, Aletheia said:

 

Yes, the video is literally the original garden of eden -- It's the dao manifest and beyond my understanding really.

 

mrpasserby I think there's more going on in the video then most people can understand. voidisyinyang knows about it but he's banned at the moment. There are psychic energy exchanges going on between the men and the women and the women are on the ground singing in stillness while the men are dancing.

 

The women also have their menstrual cycles synced with the moon too which we see in the video and they're sublimating the energy then the men and sucking up the energy and are celibate too and then combining all the energy then leaving their bodies and astral travelling, communicating with distant lands, climbing the ropes of the gods and all kinds of other stuff I have no idea about.

 

All I know is the thing is super high level!

Aletheia,  this is film seams to show a spacial ritual, however it only seams to focus in on the startling parts of the ritual. I can Support the Reality of people connecting themselves to thought form creations, I will mention a few of the other cultures that produce slimier effects: the culture that I have recently retired form produced and maintains a temple in the form of a *tupla/tuple/Egregore within the astral plane/world of spirits, also I am aware that a group of aubergines in Australia once used a spell gifted to them, and managed to create a bonfire that appeared to the view of the astronauts as they were going around the world in the space shuttle. The Christians hold the believe that the mass forms a collective conscious that connects the people with their god. 

*Gautama Buddha and arhats are able to travel into heavenly realms using the continuum of the midstream (bodhi) and it is also used to explain the multiplication miracle of the Buddha as illustrated in the Divyavadana, in which the Buddha multiplied his emanation body ("nirmita") into countless other bodies which filled the sky. A Buddha or other realized being is able to project many such "nirmitas" simultaneously in an infinite variety of forms in different realms simultaneously.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa

https://www.google.com/search?q=Egregore&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS730US730&oq=Egregore&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65j69i59.9472j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by mrpasserby
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[Sloppy Zhang]

Great posts as always Taomeow!!! 

 

To the original poster or anyone else interested in learning Taoist Meditation, Bruce Frantzis has a Taoist Meditation Circle online group. It's $8 a month and lasts for 16 months. It lays the foundation for building awareness, lengthening your breath, and introduces the basic energies of the internal organs. 

 

http://www.energyarts.com/taoist-meditation-circle-online-group

 

It's a great foundation for the meditative aspect of his other practices, and if you have the extra money, his Energy Arts Training Circle programs have some more advanced meditation stuff in there. But it all starts with the basics, and it's cheaper than Netflix too 

[Taomeow]

Thank you, SZ.    Where have you been all this time?  Is the grass greener there?

 

Bruce was one of my learning-from-books sources before I had live teachers.  I second the recommendation, he gives the basics, and he's very much on the right track with that. 

[Sloppy Zhang]

1 hour ago, Taomeow said:

Thank you, SZ.    Where have you been all this time?  Is the grass greener there?

 

Bruce was one of my learning-from-books sources before I had live teachers.  I second the recommendation, he gives the basics, and he's very much on the right track with that. 

 

I've been around here and there  I check in every once in a while to see what's going on. Good to see the old faces are still around.

[turtlehermit]

This is a nice explanation of Lao Tzu's meditation.

 

[turtlehermit]

Here is a question. When in meditation you feel energy surging up, should you guide it up to the head, or should you remain centered in the dantian and allow the energy to take its natural course? 

[Wu Ming Jen]

3 minutes ago, turtlehermit said:

Here is a question. When in meditation you feel energy surging up, should you guide it up to the head, or should you remain centered in the dantian and allow the energy to take its natural course? 

Master Chen in the video above is awesome. I know him personally and has a great deal to offer.

 

To answer the question what goes up must come down do not forget the descending channel back to dantian.always allow energy to take its natural course just be a follower and not the director.

 

Master Chen once told me to be a bad host when thoughts arise in meditation do not cater to them.

[Marblehead]

9 hours ago, turtlehermit said:

Here is a question. When in meditation you feel energy surging up, should you guide it up to the head, or should you remain centered in the dantian and allow the energy to take its natural course? 

I'm an empty-minded meditating kind of guy.  In my opinion, if you are having these feelings you are not yet empty-minded.