Leaderboard

I reckon most of us have bumped up against The Unexplained. I know I have. My experiences wouldn´t pass scientific muster but they were personally compelling.

This is the general views in the East, where there are worlds, our world, and other worlds with numerous entities and beings, some benevolent, some vicious or different from time to time - just like us. There is not a single and only source of evil which emanates out. So no evil running wild in the world. Both worlds and perhaps many other worlds mingle and is a big ecosystem. I believe the concept of a single evil stems from Abrahamic religions - one God one evil.

Ha, on Thursday, while on my route delivering meals, after stopping by the house to pack a bowl full of frosted sherbet, I listened to the full album Weasels Ripped My Flesh, I had a little grin on my face as I drove by the farms. Friday's route was Abbey Road. The madness of evil is spreading, not only to cities, but out in the woods too. Not sure which is scarier; the wolf or Red. Here, I am guarded by the remnants of a cat clan and a trio of opposums. Such sweet innocent creatures and yet, they do not cower away from evil. Facing forms of advancing evil probably wasn't on any of our things to do list,,, For those that feel they are tucked away is a safe Haven, Remember this, things change.

I've gotten to the point where I hardly think at all. I've tamed my mind, and my desire. I sit in the quiet of no thought. The Buddha was most wise to identify desire as a root of the human condition. It seems that we simply can't get enough of satisfying our cravings. I feel it, and it makes me suffer, because I realize that this is really all we are; desire is all life is. All we have is satisfying our wants. It makes me sad, how transient life is! Just to live and want and do, and then die! Even in the afterlife, should there be one, the cycle continues.

Well I agree on keeping things real so to speak. And I'm not advocating an away with the fairies view on entities. It (the idea they are real) does not fit the modern mind set though - so we seek rationalistic arguments about non-human entities. Something that has probably been accepted as true for hundreds of thousands of years by humans (I would suggest). But perhaps its worth considering that they, the gods, demi-gods, spirits and so on are each in their own realm where the rules of their realm apply. It's all about perception and we see with human eyes - so we imagine things as if they humanish. Yes the numinous mystery is real. IMO. I would not have said this a decade (maybe) ago. But there is always something unsatisfactory about 'archetypes' and psychological thought-forms etc to me. It's weak really. For instance the idea of sub-conscious is in itself poor - it should be super-conscious ... a field of super-conscious possibilities. And just part of the banality which science or scientism gives to our lives. You've got a point there. If everything is empty - then everything is possible (?).

Now you are just bragging.

Obviously ! But can you detect the code embedded in it ?

@kakapo I like that song

踵蒂吸呼--Google translates this as "heel-to-toe breathing". Looks like the passage I quoted was authored by one Fabrizio Pregadio. A website titled "International Consortium for the Humanities" offers his credentials: Fabrizio Pregadio has taught at the University of Venice (1996-97), the Technical University of Berlin (1998-2001), Stanford University (2001-08), and McGill University in Montreal (2009-10). His work deals with the self-cultivation traditions of Taoism, their doctrinal foundations in early Taoist works, and their relation to Chinese traditional sciences, including cosmology and medicine. He is the author of Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China (Stanford University Press, 2006) and the editor of The Encyclopedia of Taoism (Routledge, 2008). His translations of Taoist texts include the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality, 2009) and the Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three, 2011), both published by Golden Elixir Press. I'm guessing he's a good man to go to for an explanation based on the historical literature of the Daoist tradition. Can you place "heel-to-toe breathing" in the historical literature of the Daoist tradition regarding Neidan ("internal cultivation", literally "internal elixir")--I've heard of breathing to the heels or to the "bubbling spring" in Tai Chi, but not heel-to-toe breathing in Neidan.

I suggest wide reading, agree or disagree on the contents, but at least one can know there are so many things outside.

Seems to me that Steve´s view of seeing the qualities attributed to Gods and Goddesses as human is useful in a practice context. Such an understanding helps to avoid the error of projecting out our negative (and positive) qualities. By keeping the focus on a human level, we´re able to work with the qualities as they show up in our lives -- everything is within our "locus of control." A great advantage of TRW´s teaching, in my limited experience, is that the practices are always brought to bear on particular lived contexts. So practical! And yet I´ll admit...the ghostbuster in me likes to imagine a world inhabited by a plethora of not-entirely-human spirits, some benevolent, others not so much. Is this actually the case? Sadly, my limited powers of perception prevent me from saying for sure. But the idea of such beings adds an aura of numinous mystery that appeals. Ultimately, of course, the point is to collapse the illusory sense of separation between world and self. It´s often said that the "separate self" does not exist, and I suppose this goes for the self of Gods and Goddesses too. If Gods and Goddesses do exist then, at least on some level: they are us and we, them. All this is above my paygrade, but you know how it is with Bums like me -- we love to talk.

I’ve read through the entire discussion. Thank you! Much of it resonated with me, like the quiet chime of a familiar bell. Yes, that state - when there are no thoughts, but clarity remains, and you simply walk and act - it’s recognizable. For me, it used to be a rare visitor, a flash between long periods of inner noise. This past year, something shifted. These intervals of silence have grown longer. Thoughts, if they come, no longer carry me away — or I manage to remember their emptiness and let go before they can take hold. What’s interesting - along with this, what is around me has also changed. Or rather, my perception of it. The world hasn’t become “different,” but its inherent, slightly muted harmony seems to have revealed itself. Or perhaps I’ve stopped projecting so much inner discord onto it? I suppose that’s it. I take this as a sig - not of external progress, but of an inner tuning. And yes, it’s a different experience from the silence in meditation. That one is like a pure mountain lake, created by effort. This one is like breath that continues on its own while I speak, work, listen. I don’t know if this can be called “post-meditative practice”… Rather, it’s a practice that has ceased to have boundaries.... It simply is..... It used to wound me deeply. To see so much suffering around (and within), to feel that neither strength nor wisdom would be enough to resolve it. Now it’s quieter. The pain is seen just as clearly, but it no longer weighs me down with a sense of helplessness. It… motivates... Not toward some grand feat, but toward simple, daily movement. Because all we can truly do is work on ourselves. Not to “fix the world,” but to stop contributing new chaos to it. And then we’ll see. I wonder, do others experience something similar? When silence ceases to be a “state during meditation” and becomes the background of being? And how did you navigate that transition where suffering stopped being a wound and became… simply part of the landscape, something you can work with, rather than fight against?

I think Qinna is mostly bullshido because it largely exists at a range that has been shown to hardly exist in real fighting, the middle range. Same issue as Sticky Hands in Wing Chun. Qinna works if you accept the starting position, but those starting positions are largely artificial. It's one of those instances where is works great against people "playing the same game" as you, but I think it's gone down an unrealistic rabbit hole as many arts do when they aren't exposed to live unconstrained environments.

I don't doubt it at all. But I also think that if those people are foolish enough to think they are gaining anything of real value by paying to become as official disciple, then that's also on them. People love their certificates of achievement and public recognition And there are also good quality teachers doing there best, and coming up against the reality of the difficulties of teaching western adults who start old after a lifetime of not moving. I think part of the narrative of "withholding secrets" comes from frustration of people not making much progress. What I'd also say is that the "apprenticeship" that you speak of is built into the learning arc of something that takes as long as Chen style to learn. It's not like a secret recipe that can be obtained and then distributed. To continue the metaphor, each person has to painstakingly build the recipe into their own body. So it almost doesnt matter whether or not things are shown in public, only the "apprentices" will actually be able to receive the teaching. All I can say for certain from my own experience is that after 18 years, WHJ continues to guide me towards furthering my skill.

As i said, I look to distract myself from the quiet stillness, but when I reach to do things, nothing satisfies, and so i return to the stillness. Lately I've stopped noticing the stillness, and find myself just doing, and as I do, I find small pleasures in my daily activities.

You dont need to enter or re-enter a dream to see that , If you need to be shown the ' complex interaction between the non-dual and the manifested duality' just OPEN YOUR EYES and look around you ... at life .

What part of back is pain in ? I have several areas of damage in mine ; lumber can be treated by targeted exercises . Cervical by massage and manipulation - I got to the point where I can manipulate it myself now ... mostly . But thoracic was always difficult .... until I discovered the wonders of .... pool noodle ! I LUV my pool noodle ..... Lie on back knees bent and up , place noodle across back just under shoulder blades .Fold hands on chest , or if you also have a cervical issue put hands behind head and bring elbows close together to support your head and neck and lie back with head as close to floor as you can , then raise your head and shoulders X 4 working up to X 8 . Move the noodle UP one vertebra and another set , then UP again for a third set ( by then your near cervical ) - dont do it to lumbar section . Note , this is not a sit up or 'crunch ' try not to use your stomach muscles . Some times before I even do the first head lowering ..... crunch ... crack .... settle .... ahhhhhh . I haven't had thoracic discomfort since . .

I hope that wasn't a prediction ... not looking good so far

^ way to cultivate 'happy Qi ' .

Is it possible for the non-dual to achieve some development or purpose by manifesting then penetrating a duality? Are there stages/progressions within non-duality that are exercised in a duality? More simply: why do humans exist? Not how, but why! Long ago I had a dream that I later re-entered to experiment within. The dream showed me a complex interaction between the non-dual and the manifested duality. I knew intelligences that were within both.

Ah... phew! Thank goodness I'm not doing any of that.

This is rather interesting because... You already said "Peng isn’t just supportive of qinna, it’s what makes refined qinna possible at all." You mentioned how great Wang Haijun is. And despite having said all that... your conclusion is that Chen style Qinna is bullshido. So... (rhetorical question; I'm not seriously asking you), is Wang Haijun's Peng not good enough for Qinna? Actually, as you have already saw, the Qinna techniques are known by Feng Zhiqiang as well; some of the basic ones are just straight up everywhere in traditional martial arts in general. Regarding strengths and weaknesses and CZK known for Qinna, part of that also stems from marketing. In the Beijing circles, long ago, the marketing went something like this: Hong Junsheng - issuing power/energy (fa) Tian Xiuchen - neutralize (hua) Chen Zhaokui - seize (na) Feng Zhiqeng - hit (da) It's a marketing/propaganda framing because someone wanted to promote each of these individuals. And in order to do so... they wanted to assign a specialized skill to each of them, like handing out a trophy to be linked to their names. It is true that Chen Zhaokui is known for Qinna... but... that's not their primary skill set. It's not like they heavily use Qinna over other methods. It is true that Feng Zhiqiang was known for hitting... but... his tuishou skills were also top-notch. So this is really just.... a marketing strategy. In reality, some of these folks are... good at all of those things... But to market them... someone had to be compress each of them into 1 dimension. I get it. I can relate to your sentiment here. But, this is not about the Chen Family. It is not about their art being lost. This is not even about martial arts. This is about the paradigm of Skilled Trades. If you want to learn blacksmithing, you become a blacksmith's apprentice. Chinese martial arts were regarded as Skilled Trades. And Skilled Trades have "Trade secrets". The process of becoming an "apprentice" in Chinese martial arts is known as Baishi. And you can Baishi for Traditional Chinese Medicine or even some obscure musical instrument. Lots of great restaurants around the world have "secret recipes/ingredients" that they don't want others to know. In the modern times, Baishi has become very corrupt in the Chinese martial art scene. A lot of it has become a financial transaction. A lot of high-profile teachers may now have hundreds/thousands of disciples. Think about it... take $10,000, the cost to become some big name's disciple. Now multiply that by 100 people. Congratulations, you are a millionaire! And we didn't even factor in tuition costs. It has become rather scam-ish.

could also be likened to a tidal wave of black, consuming darkness coming upon us, but there are those that "stand strong' against it...

What ? You never woke up in the morning with a zombie woof behind your eyes ? I got a great big pointed fangWhich is my zomby toothMy right foot's bigger than my other one isLike a regular zombie hoof If I raid your dormitorium Don't try to remain aloof I might snatch you up screamin' through the window all naked And do it to you on the roof,

I object. I think you can stand proud. Also it’s a human right to change your mind. I do it all the time.

I’m having a really hard time processing what’s happening. To me, it feels like this is a supernatural level of evil that’s invisible to almost everyone. Even for the people who notice it, the truth feels so dim and distant. It’s like living through a Rick and Morty plot there’s this total disconnect between what should be possible and what I’m actually witnessing. Yes evil is growing rapidly like a cancer.

If you use THIS definition, then yes: I'm a big fan of this description. It is clean, clear, and doesn't get lost in lists of specific behavior, or adopted ideas. Evil is typically a conceptual designation most people use for a lumped-together bunch of actions or philosophies that they fear or disagree with. I don't believe in evil as some entity that acts on people or has any particular personifications. I DO believe that there are people who will do anything to protect themselves from the ideas or things that they fear, or in a misguided attempt to make themselves feel happy or safe, often at the expense of others.

I think this is where we’re slightly talking past each other, and it hinges on an implicit assumption. I agree with your house analogy up to a point. Knowing how to build a foundation does not mean you automatically know how to build walls, install plumbing, or wire electricity. No disagreement there. My point was never that Peng alone magically teaches qinna. My point is that without Peng genuinely built into the body, qinna cannot be internal, reliable, or refined. In that sense, Peng is necessary but not sufficient, and I think we actually agree on that. Where I think your reasoning slips is here: The statement that Peng is insufficient to teach qinna is based on practitioner outcomes, with the evidence offered being that most Taijiquan practitioners lack qinna skill. But that only holds if those practitioners have successfully trained Peng as an internal body method. Without that distinction, the conclusion doesn’t follow. Bascially you assume that most Taiji practitioners have coherant Peng. They don't. Taiji practitioners are indeed data points, but the data doesn’t show “Peng doesn’t lead to qinna.” What those data points really show is how rare genuine Peng is, even among dedicated practitioners. That rarity speaks to the challenge of developing internal body method. Without Peng as an embodied condition, real qinna cannot emerge. I agree with you that: Peng alone does not teach specific qinna methods Partner training is essential Categories like qinna, sweeps, counters, and punishment must be trained directly Where we seem to differ is mostly in emphasis, causality, and what the "practitioner data points" actually point to

Without getting too much into it (as its a bit taboo to talk about the later stuff) there are very tangible results from successful neidan practice If you find a proper teacher you should develop the capabilty to feel the "real" lower dantien 24/7 fairly quickly, once you're past that point you'll always know that what you're doing is real

As you may see, we are considering establishing a private neidan subforum. Unlike most of the TDB, the contents on this forum would only be viewable by TDB members with 20 posts, would be limited to neidan discussion (based on well-recognized texts, established schools and lineages). In other words, it would be a semi-private place for neidan based discussion. The forum title would be visible to AI and general non-members, but posts and comments would not. Before proceeding down this path, I wanted to open up to community thoughts and feedback. Let us know your thoughts/concerns/issues.

Totally get what you mean, i struggled a lot with that as well, this is the advice that I wish i'd heard back then, I hope it helps you Taming the mind is fickle and not always as it seems You should self evaluate and find if you've really found that perfect middle between nothing and not-no-thing where you can be fully present and that you haven't fallen into clinging to emptiness which causes disassociation and a sense of endless longing Remember also, samadhi is just one part of the eightfold path (I assume you come from a buddhist background given the wording) If you've reached the end of where samadhi will take you that's excellent, there's always something else to work on Perhaps you could take the despair you feel and transform it using metta, feel pity for all sentient being stuck in the cycle of craving and transform that into pure compassion

This is fabulous. Do this as often as possible. Can you drive, walk, make food, in this way? If not, move toward that activity. Meditation is the perfect space for apprehending reality, since sitting in stillness is not different from what enlightened mind is. What happens when a thought DOES come up? Where does it come from? When there is no thought, is there a Cadcam? Yes, and the cause of our suffering is our attachment and aversion. How is your attachment and aversion? Are you regularly noticing where you are attached or averse to events, things, and people and dropping it? Is there suffering when the mind is still? Is there an afterlife? Excellent. Surrender is a fantastic tool.