XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 2 minutes ago, dmattwads said: Seeing the lack of these things as suffering is a very interesting point of view for someone that has no ego don't you think? Never did I say anything about suffering, this is called projection, some may see suffering, but there was no such word in my post. 5 minutes ago, XianGong said: I think the major flaw in this philosophy that by deleting self and minimizing it, you get people who can not do anything in life, yes they have no money, no abilities, no power, they also have no personal life, and no cultivation, they let go of themselves, and then they just die, earlier than others due to their body being weak and untrained, with no self. 3 minutes ago, XianGong said: It is also a nice excuse to do nothing and to be nothing, as you have no "Self" as Buddha taught. I have seen many Buddhists and not only waste their life and die, can't say I am sorry for any of them though. Everyone has a choice in life. Lack of attainments in life is generally a sign of weak Qi and weak Shen (Soul). It is funny when people use spirituality as an excuse for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralis Posted December 4, 2020 9 minutes ago, XianGong said: I think the major flaw in this philosophy that by deleting self and minimizing it, you get people who can not do anything in life, yes they have no money, no abilities, no power, they also have no personal life, and no cultivation, they let go of themselves, and then they just die, earlier than others due to their body being weak and untrained, with no self. The point is no separate self, not some illusion of annihilation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 Just now, ralis said: The point is no separate self, not some illusion of annihilation. Not separate from what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralis Posted December 4, 2020 1 minute ago, XianGong said: Never did I say anything about suffering, this is called projection, some may see suffering, but there was no such word in my post. I have seen many Buddhists and not only waste their life and die, can't say I am sorry for any of them though. Everyone has a choice in life. Lack of attainments in life is generally a sign of weak Qi and weak Shen (Soul). It is funny when people use spirituality as an excuse for that. If you are so much of an expert then why are you here? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 Just now, ralis said: If you are so much of an expert then why are you here? Is it not allowed? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralis Posted December 4, 2020 Just now, XianGong said: Is it not allowed? You are so sure of yourself which appears to be beyond any of us. How old are you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maddie Posted December 4, 2020 4 minutes ago, XianGong said: I think the major flaw in this philosophy that by deleting self and minimizing it, you get people who can not do anything in life, yes they have no money, no abilities, no power, they also have no personal life, and no cultivation, they let go of themselves, and then they just die, earlier than others due to their body being weak and untrained, with no self. If you don't see.... 1. having no money 2. having no abilities 3. having no power 4. having no personal life 5. having no cultivation 6. letting go 7. death .... as suffering (dukkah) then you see it as happiness and peace then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liminal_luke Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) 25 minutes ago, XianGong said: I think the major flaw in this philosophy that by deleting self and minimizing it, you get people who can not do anything in life, yes they have no money, no abilities, no power, they also have no personal life, and no cultivation, they let go of themselves, and then they just die, earlier than others due to their body being weak and untrained, with no self. But is this actually true? Seems to me that a lot of people who have minimized the notion of self enjoy abundant money, strength, power, health...etc. There are Bums I could name (but won´t). Conversely, it´s not hard to find people who are failing to thrive with outsized senses of self. Which is not to say that it´s necessary or even advantageous to have the financial, social, and bodily hallmarks of conventional success. We each have our path. Edited December 4, 2020 by liminal_luke 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralis Posted December 4, 2020 11 minutes ago, XianGong said: Not separate from what? Doesn’t mean you don’t exist, but are an inseparable part of systematic cosmic evolution. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeform Posted December 4, 2020 1 hour ago, liminal_luke said: I want to feel superhuman because some part of me feels subhuman. Yes exactly. The Daoist answer to this is... martial arts. This is exactly why martial arts is so emphasised by Daoists. It’s the Daoist approach to self-development. The idea is that through the martial arts you build confidence, get over your fears and develop a sense of humility and discipline. This process shows to teachers who is mature enough to go on to more transformative internal work. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 1 hour ago, dmattwads said: If you don't see.... 1. having no money 2. having no abilities 3. having no power 4. having no personal life 5. having no cultivation 6. letting go 7. death .... as suffering (dukkah) then you see it as happiness and peace then? Sounds like some sort of duality here. Seeing this or that as happiness or suffering is a sign of the samsaric mind. My mind has been freed from ego and delusion, and therefore it has transcended the conditional attachments of mortality. Money Power Health Cultivation Personal Life death are all temporary conditions 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maddie Posted December 4, 2020 15 minutes ago, XianGong said: Sounds like some sort of duality here. Seeing this or that as happiness or suffering is a sign of the samsaric mind. My mind has been freed from ego and delusion, and therefore it has transcended the conditional attachments of mortality. Money Power Health Cultivation Personal Life death are all temporary conditions How do you know your mind has been freed from ego and delusion as opposed to that thought being just another delusion? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 8 minutes ago, dmattwads said: How do you know your mind has been freed from ego and delusion as opposed to that thought being just another delusion? Cultivation Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maddie Posted December 4, 2020 11 minutes ago, XianGong said: Cultivation But how do you know you're cultivating your ego less or more? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 1 minute ago, dmattwads said: But how do you know you're cultivating your ego less or more? You have not tried cultivation, so I will explain. It is impossible to cultivate if you have an Ego, to begin with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maddie Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, XianGong said: You have not tried cultivation, so I will explain. It is impossible to cultivate if you have an Ego, to begin with. How would you know if I have or have not tried cultivation? If you can't have an ego to begin cultivation then what must one do in order to get rid of their ego? Edited December 4, 2020 by dmattwads Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maddie Posted December 4, 2020 4 minutes ago, XianGong said: You have not tried cultivation, so I will explain. It is impossible to cultivate if you have an Ego, to begin with. Cultivation means to grow and develop. If I cultivate crops it means I'm growing crops. If I cultivate my ego it means I increase my ego. It's possible to cultivate anything Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 1 minute ago, dmattwads said: How would you know if I have or have not tried cultivation? Is it that you will not explain it or that you cannot explain it? You have said it yourself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maddie Posted December 4, 2020 Just now, XianGong said: You have said it yourself. Can you show me the quote where I said I have not tried cultivation? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 1 minute ago, dmattwads said: Cultivation means to grow and develop. If I cultivate crops it means I'm growing crops. If I cultivate my ego it means I increase my ego. It's possible to cultivate anything Yes and Dao means path, so whenever you walk to the shop you are Daoist because you walk on the path. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 1 minute ago, dmattwads said: Can you show me the quote where I said I have not tried cultivation? I will leave this discussion here as it gets personal, I have no intention of getting involved Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralis Posted December 4, 2020 1 minute ago, XianGong said: Yes and Dao means path, so whenever you walk to the shop you are Daoist because you walk on the path. The Tao has limits? Only when shopping? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XianGong Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, ralis said: The Tao has limits? Only when shopping? Any road counts, so we have 8 billion Daoists walking every day, some to the toilet only. And also every single of them cultivates because they grow their carbon footprint and growing anything = cultivation. Edited December 4, 2020 by XianGong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liminal_luke Posted December 4, 2020 Swami Luke gazes into his crystal ball. What´s this? Why it looks like dmattwads! He appears to be sitting down on some sort of cushion, closing his eyes. Now he´s chanting mantras. A very odd practice indeed. Perhaps some sort of esoteric cultivation method or alchemical procedure... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
