Spiritual cultivation

[exorcist_1699]

Although it is difficult to grasp the spiritual status of our mind in cultivation, some Taoists masters are still manage to roughly classify them in different steps as follows:

 

1) Purifying our mind(澄神) : Our impure mind makes us unsettled , so, before we can get any achievement , it must first be purified .

 

The factors interfering it are : social and cultural , biological and "metaphysical "ones ; Here only the "metaphysical "has to be explained ; Simply speaking , it means even those Kantian a priori categories like time and space have to eliminate so as to attain a purest intuition . Of course, at this stage , we can't get any knowledge , but instead of being entangled by " thing-in-itself" as western philosophy claims , purifying our mind provides us a basis for further development.

 

2) Condensing (凝神) our mind: Only after our mind purified and breath settled , can it be condensed. Consensing means not only the continuation of the state of mindlessness , keeping the status of "One" inseperate, but a jump from mindlessness to a higher level . Unable to do it means your falling back into "pseudo-void" , an "unproductive" status that should be avoided notwithstanding how peaceful and unity-with- the-universe a feeling it gives you .

Edited January 4, 2009 by exorcist_1699

[宁]

Great post, please do keep them coming...

 

When writing the Chinese Characters, please write the pinyin also, it's more helpful.

 

I enjoy all your posts on meditation... they also played a part in convincing me to start a parallel daily meditation routine of at least an hour per session, half or full-lotus, just sitting and feeling the expansion and contraction of the belly, normal and reverse breathing... I pretty much do nothing, yet thing are moving inside and outside on their own accord...

 

Thanx

 

L1

[idquest]

Consensing means not only the continuation of the state of mindlessness , keeping the status of "One" inseperate, but a jump from mindlessness to a higher level . Unable to do it means your falling back into "pseudo-void" , an "unproductive" status that should be avoided notwithstanding how peaceful and unity-with- the-universe a feeling it gives you .

 

Hi 'exorcist_1699,

 

Could you please elaborate a bit on that?

 

I have always been confused with the idea of dissolving an ego to the point of ceasing to exist as an intelligent being. My understanding has always been that we have evolved for some reason. That is just discarding our complex mental structure as redundand would be wrong. It has to be applied somehow to something, perhaps helping to evolve the oneness. Hope my words make some sense.

[exorcist_1699]

Hi, Little1 ,thank.

 

 

 

I have always been confused with the idea of dissolving an ego to the point of ceasing to exist as an intelligent being. My understanding has always been that we have evolved for some reason. That is just discarding our complex mental structure as redundand would be wrong. It has to be applied somehow to something, perhaps helping to evolve the oneness. Hope my words make some sense.

 

Dissolving our own daily-life , pseudo self/ego seems to be just an initial step ; it is a precondition to nourish a real, much bigger One . Paying attention to dissolving the pseudo ego is more important than paying attention to the breathing issue . Only the pseudo one is dissolved, can a real One appear .But it is not so easy .We should not chase after It, but patiently wait for Its own appearance.

 

Careful students of Buddhism and Taoism should notice that these two systems are in fact both talking about a special entity , at certain stage of our cultivation notwithstanding which way we follow , its inevitable popping up somewhere (hidden in post/pre-heavenly bagua) from us . This One, by the Taoist way of refining jing and qi , will be easier ; by Buddhist way seems more arduous ; this One, will not still be a humble, feeble self , but a very powerful One ; this One, will not be the one who suffers, but the omnipotent dose for all sufferings;

 

In Taoism , because right from the beginning , it involves jing and qi, so they call it fetus; That is why it is an entity of both physical and mental immortality.

 

In Buddhism , basically no jing and qi are involved, so what is nourished is purely a spiritual entity . However, because our mind is anyhow linked with our body, so many enlightened monks' body , after their physical death, without special preservation treatment , can still last for 1,000 years without decay.There are many actual cases in China . Visitors can still go to some famous temple and take a look at it .

Edited January 5, 2009 by exorcist_1699

[宁]

Hi 'exorcist_1699,

 

Could you please elaborate a bit on that?

 

I have always been confused with the idea of dissolving an ego to the point of ceasing to exist as an intelligent being. My understanding has always been that we have evolved for some reason. That is just discarding our complex mental structure as redundand would be wrong. It has to be applied somehow to something, perhaps helping to evolve the oneness. Hope my words make some sense.

 

Heh, thanx for the reminder... I don't think it's exactly what you say it is, more like something close to it... I can't express exactly what.

In politics would be not to confuse the servant with the master?!

[teopakees]

I think I understand what you are saying. I have experienced/felt it ,although fleetingly. There have been times in my life I have felt a crisp clarity and rich rightness about who I am and how things...fit. An early occurance was in junior high school. I was walking to class with a friend. I noticed that he had his combination lock with him. Suddenly the words."I can open that" came out of my mouth. He looked at me and said "no way man". I said, "give it to me and I will show you." he handed it to me and I instantly turned the dial and it opened. I had no idea how i did it and couldnt do it again to save my life but for that instant "I" "felt" "right" "clear" felt that "I" "knew" and understood who "I" am and where "I" fit and where "all" fits. There have been a few instances since and some...(achievement?) in meditation but very few absolutely clear,full,real, moments. I think you are saying that this "clarity" can be reached through proper , conscious training and an "openness" from understanding how "holding back" the self/ego can be. Thanks,Shalom,Bob

[exorcist_1699]

Dissolving an ego should not lead to stillness as many people claim, a status more likely be stagnant and uncreative. Or, you just let your mind dissipates to nowhere ; instead , from mindlessness you" try to" pull together another One , having much higher quality and power. . It is a process of several sudden jumps , not once . Laotze , the book, has mentions it .

 

In a simple Taoist saying , it is :

 

Capable of maintaining One , all your sufferings and troubles will be solved and gone

 

( 守得一, 萬事畢 )

Edited January 6, 2009 by exorcist_1699

[idquest]

Dissolving an ego should not lead to stillness as many people claim, a status more likely be stagnant and uncreative. Or, you just let your mind dissipates to nowhere ; instead , from mindlessness you" try to" pull together another One , having much higher quality and power. . It is a process of several sudden jumps , not once . Laotze , the book, has mentions it .

 

Would that mean that a cultivator maintane his\her individuality while merging with oneness?

 

I agree that calmness as nothingness is not an inspiring goal for cultivation. Could be some misreading/misunderstanding/lost in translation.

[exorcist_1699]

Would that mean that a cultivator maintane his\her individuality while merging with oneness?

 

I agree that calmness as nothingness is not an inspiring goal for cultivation. Could be some misreading/misunderstanding/lost in translation.

 

A status of mindlessness is not equal to a status of One , in which an independent entity , a seemingly another Mind popping up from you . It seems another Mind now take control of your previous individuality ( likely be pseudo yet people always desperately attached to it ).

 

As the Taoist way is accompanied with the accumulation of jing and qi , when the time, you will be awakened for it . No need to guess what it is .

Edited January 6, 2009 by exorcist_1699