Mystique Enigma

On another note thought a wise one once said ......

Teaching takes place when learning does and Learning takes place when one teaches ones self something.

i truely doubt there is any one who can teach you anything

Bows

Heck, who is here to learn ??? am here to air my ignorance

A student once asked his teacher, "Master, what is enlightenment?"

The master replied, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep."

Its amazing how difficult it is for a human being to be a simple human being .... lol

Bows

When the breath fades
In Autumn shades
Does one sit silent
To admire the blaze?

When the sun light shines
And darkness fades
Is it the mind that sleeps
Or life that awakes ?

Is it butterflies one’s chase
Or the life one desires
Forgetting to realize
The breath’s on fire ?

When emotions play
And the mind goes astray
Does the moment fade
Or is it a life that’s erased ?

May be the questions
Are irrelevant to mind
Cause ones life is curtailed
To a ‘self’ righteous mind

And so the wind blows
Undaunted and Free
As one stands silent
The mind is set free

I was training with a "student" today (he's had 30 years experience, I'm not entirely sure I'm the teacher lol)... anyways, we started discussing martial arts and qigong teachers. He said how does he know he had gotten the proper closed door teachings from his various teachers? It was more of a rhetorical question, so I didn't have time to answer. It is something interesting to ponder though. Everyone either thinks their teacher is the best and has the most secret indoor teachings of them ALL! , or tends to worry that they aren't getting the true transmission and so forth. (well OK and some folks just enjoy training and don't worry about such things).

 

But anyways, so how does one tell? There are most definitely different quality of teachers, and you sometimes wonder if a certain teacher didn't quite get all the teachings (or perhaps they just don't want to teach them in a group class, or to you in particular). Then people wonder how can you tell which teachers are better than others? Difficult when you are brand new. I have had people explain to me how when they were new to the art they gave up a good solid traditional teacher who really new their stuff, for a fancy wushu one who didn't teach nearly as deeply.

 

So how did/do each of you tell? I personally don't feel asking on internet forums to be very reliable unfortunately, as it really is a popularity contest, though sometimes it can work I'm sure. Also when online, advertising does play a role. I think asking around in person, but also trying a few. You can sort of tell which one... well at the very least which one you mesh the best with and get along the best with. Sometimes I wonder if that is more important than perhaps just a bit more skill? Folks tend to learn a LOT faster when there is a connection between teacher and student. Also one can look for commonalities. There are some basic principals that folks all cover, or at least should cover (that are unfortunately left out of group classes a lot). I found asking experienced martial artists isn't necessarily the best idea, they all tell you that their teacher and their martial art is best .

A young man caught a small bird, and held it behind his back. He then asked, "Master, is the bird I hold in my hands alive or dead." The boy thought this was a grand opportunity to play a trick on the old man. If the master answered "dead", it would be let loose into the air. If the master answered "alive", he would simply wring its neck. The master spoke, "The answer is in your hands".

 

Hi everyone,

 

I love to ponder over Taoist stories and poetry, and often get inspired to write my own. A little because it helps me to realise and capture insights, and also because I enjoy throwing a few out there to see if they catch the attention of any masters that might be reading.

 

ANYWAY... I'm sure a lot of you probably have written thoughts and stuff down that I and others might enjoy to read, so I thought why not make our own Tao Te Bum compilation..just for a bit of fun...It can be completely new or maybe a famous quote you've adapted.

 

I'll start it off with one:

 

Like looking into a flowing river unable to reflect the images of the world around it clearly,

As is the mind of men.

The mind of a sage is like that of a still valley lake,

Showing reality clearly on it's glistening surface...

The reflection itself is unimportant,

For it would not exist without the water,

And it would not be carried without the light.

Looking forward to reading your insights :-)

‘I’ the Mind

'I' create ...

'I' the mind

'I' am the self

'I' am the life

If 'I' was no more

'I'' would not be

Life would be empty

In silence 'I'd sleep

Keeping a balance

'I' create my self

The illusion of life

An image of self

It is 'I' who lives

It is 'I' who forgets

The image of a God

The definition of a 'self'

As the journey began

So will it end

Neither the ocean

Nor the fish one appends

When a Child is a Child

When the child was a child, it walked with its arms swinging. It wanted the stream to be a river, the river a torrent, and this puddle to be a sea. When the child was a child, it didn’t know it was a child. Everything was full of life, and all life was one. When the child was a child, it had no opinions about anything. It had no habits. It sat cross-legged, took off running, hand a cow lick in its hair, and didn’t make a picture when photographed. When the child was a child, it was the time of these questions: Why am I me, and why not you ? Why am I here, and why not there ? When did time begin and where does space end ? Isn’t life under the sun just a dream ? Isn’t what I see, hear and smell only the illusion of a world before the world ? Does evil actually exist ? And are there people who are really evil ? How can it be that I, who am I, didn’t exist before I came to be ? And that someday the one who I am will no longer be the me I am ? When the child was a child, rice and dal were enough for it, and it is still that way. When the child was a child, raindrops fell into its hands as only raindrops do, and they still do. Fresh cashew nuts made its tongue raw, and they still do now. One very mountain top, it had a longing for a yet higher mountain, and in every city it had a longing for a yet bigger city. And it is still that way. It reached for guavas in the treetop with the elation it still feels today. It was shy with all strangers, and it still is. It awaited the first rain of the season, and it is still this way. When the child was a child, it threw a stick into a tree like a lance and it still quivers there today.

A marvelous lesson appeared for me just now as I was exiting thru the garage, to come to this little playplace they call an office.

As I opened the garage door, I startled a large moth, which, upon spreading it's wings, displayed a bright red "tail" hidden by the motley brown wings, more a "butterfly" than a moth.

It flew immediately to its perceived escape, the circle-topped window where it frantically tried to exit thru the invisible wall of closed glass.

I raised the third-car garage door in hopes of aiding it's escape. That caused it to fly higher and higher and become entangled in a spider web. Fearful that it would remain entangled in the web, I selected a long-handled broom to assist him escaping the tangled threads.

At this, he returned to furiously pumping his wings and banging into the glass, which was, in his perspective, the pathway of escape, but remained his cage.

By simply turning his focus to one side, he would have easily exited his prison. Rather, due to his intent on one direction, he remained confined, captive.

Once, there was a fish who lived in the great ocean, and because the water was transparent, and always conveniently out of the way of his nose when he moved along, he didn't know he was in the ocean.

Well, one day the fish did a very dangerous thing for a fish. He began to think: "Surely I am a most remarkable being, since I can move around like this in the middle of empty space."

Then the fish became confused because of thinking about moving and swimming, and he suddenly had an anxiety paroxysm, and thought that he had forgotten how. At that moment he looked down and saw the yawning chasm of the ocean depths, and he was terrified that he would drop.

Then he thought: "If I could catch hold of my tail in my mouth, I could hold myself up." And so he curled himself up and snapped at his tail. Unfortunately, his spine wasn't quite supple enough, so he missed.

As he went on trying to catch hold of his tail, the yawning black abyss below became ever more terrible, and he was brought to the edge of a total nervous breakdown.

The fish was about to give up, when the ocean, which had been watching with mixed feelings of pity and amusement, said, "What are you doing?"

"Oh," said the fish, "I'm terrified of falling into the deep dark abyss, and I'm trying to catch hold of my tail in my mouth to hold myself up." So the ocean said, "Well, you've been trying that for a long time now, and you still haven't fallen down. How come?"

"Oh, of course, I haven't fallen down yet," said the fish, "Because, because -- I'm swimming!"

"Well," came the reply, "I am the Great Ocean, in which you live and move and are able to be a fish, and I have given all of myself to you in which to swim, and I support you all the time you swim. But here you, instead of exploring the length, breadth, depth, and height of my expanse, are wasting your time pursuing your own end."

From then on, the fish put his own end behind him (where it belonged) and set out to explore the Great Ocean.

There is this wise story.......

In keeping with his doctrine that nothing be taken too seriously, not even his own teachings, the Master loved to tell this story on himself:"My very first disciple was so weak that the exercises killed him. My second disciple drove himself crazy from his earnest practice of the exercises I gave him. 

My third disciple dulled his intellect through too much contemplation. But the fourth managed to keep his sanity.""Why was that?" someone would invariably ask. "Possibly because he was the only one who refused to do the exercises." The Master's words would be drowned in howls of laughter.

Dear qvrmy11vz

When at loss of which way to go, toss a coin in the air and then go with what ever side you hope the coin falls on irrespective of which side it falls on.

If you un satisfied, you can always toss another coin

Bows

People Come, People go
All they seek
Is what they already know
Their life seems so centered
Around them self’s they live
Never do they stop for a moment
On & on they go
Seeking the light of Wisdom
Closing their eyes to the world
They always portray an image
Of what they think of the world
Were they to stop & listen
To the silence within them self’s
The world would open in abundance
To the Universe that exist in their heads
An illusion of their life would reveal
The greatest truth of the mind
A breath taken in awareness
A breath taken divine

first you have to start by un hypnotizing your self with all that you have learned so far .....

once walked this space .....

Mesmerized

As I sit & silently ponder
How my life has come to past
Seeking what was never there
Desires of my mind & heart

Unforeseen the moment springs
Some of the greatest life it brings
Caterpillars to Butterflies
Me unto a paradise

Looking at what is not there
Listening to what is not heard
Reflections of a bird in flight
A fish swimming, a beat of a heart

A rose in all its beauty blooms
Neither thorns nor wind, can mar its blush
Radiant in its heavenly glow
Standing still, yet it did grow

A smile that lit a poor mans face
A helping hand, a peaceful place
A look around, as children play
Walking at a slowly pace

Sounds of silence in music flows
At traffic signals, at malls or home
The gap that blossoms whilst moving or still
The eyes that muse in beauty streams

The gentle wind that blows unseen
The river calm, nature serene
Bustling life, so full and free
Who am I, a no body

There is another story of Buddha's student .....

Ananda was the Buddha's personal attendent for the last 20 plus years of the Buddha's life. Besides attending to the Buddha's personal needs, his other duties included representing Buddha on occasions, memorizing the Buddha's speeches, repeating the Buddha's speeches in his absence, and being messager for the Buddha. So, he really had a very busy job!

He was so busy that he didn't even have time for his own practice. [Ed - Even without any spiritual cultivation, Ananda was said to be the kindest and most loving of all Buddha's disciples. I suspect he didn't have any time for himself partly coz he spent his free time helping other people]. So by the time the Buddha died, Ananda had still not attained Enlightenment. When the Buddha was dying, Ananda cried. In contrast, enlightened monks accepted it with calmness.

Anyway, only after the Buddha died did Ananda find time for his own practice. At that time, the Arahat Maha Kassapa, another one of Buddha's main disciples, was organizing the First Buddhist Council, a gathering of all Buddhist monks to organize and consolidate all of Buddha's teachings. Ananda was determined that he wanted to be Enlightened by the time of the Council. So everyday, he meditated very hard.

As the day of the Council was drawing closer and closer, Ananda still seem nowhere near Enlightenment.

The night before the Council, Ananda tried very very hard. But still, he was getting nowhere. It was getting late. Finally, he decided, "Maybe I'll relax and work for Enlightenment after the Council. There is no need to hurry now". Thinking so, he laid down to rest.

It was said that the moment his head touched the pillow, he attained Enlightenment.

Reminds me of a poem once written .....

The Creator

It’s a pity people don’t understand
What you’re trying to say or do
They are mostly locked up in a guilt cage
In a world of an illusion so true

They rumble on a lifetime
Marvel at a world astray
Mostly talk about nothing in particular
Never in a moment they stay

Given the slightest of instance
Memories would bring on some words
Lost in a futile madness
A life so blind to this world

Their eyes see but a perspective
Imbedded in their minds are thoughts
Their love so superficial
They’d rather live an illusion not real

Going around in circles
Lives limited to a well so deep
Ignorant to the ocean that surrounds them
A deep slumber they doth sleep

Awaken oh ignorant imbeciles
The world need not be this well
Listen to the music of nature
There is a Universe up ahead

Filled with awesome beauty
Amazing is each grain of sand
The wind it blows undaunted
The trees that for ages stand

Reach out & look at your madness
The insanity of it all
You are not what the Maker maketh
You are the Creator of it all

after mastering the mind, you want one to think

I doubt i have any good advise to give you but perhaps you may enjoy a story ...........

A Fish Story

Once, there was a fish who lived in the great ocean, and because the water was transparent, and always conveniently out of the way of his nose when he moved along, he didn't know he was in the ocean.

Well, one day the fish did a very dangerous thing for a fish. He began to think: "Surely I am a most remarkable being, since I can move around like this in the middle of empty space."

Then the fish became confused because of thinking about moving and swimming, and he suddenly had an anxiety paroxysm, and thought that he had forgotten how. At that moment he looked down and saw the yawning chasm of the ocean depths, and he was terrified that he would drop.

Then he thought: "If I could catch hold of my tail in my mouth, I could hold myself up." And so he curled himself up and snapped at his tail. Unfortunately, his spine wasn't quite supple enough, so he missed.

As he went on trying to catch hold of his tail, the yawning black abyss below became ever more terrible, and he was brought to the edge of a total nervous breakdown.

The fish was about to give up, when the ocean, which had been watching with mixed feelings of pity and amusement, said, "What are you doing?"

"Oh," said the fish, "I'm terrified of falling into the deep dark abyss, and I'm trying to catch hold of my tail in my mouth to hold myself up." So the ocean said, "Well, you've been trying that for a long time now, and you still haven't fallen down. How come?"

"Oh, of course, I haven't fallen down yet," said the fish, "Because, because -- I'm swimming!"

"Well," came the reply, "I am the Great Ocean, in which you live and move and are able to be a fish, and I have given all of myself to you in which to swim, and I support you all the time you swim. But here you, instead of exploring the length, breadth, depth, and height of my expanse, are wasting your time pursuing your own end."

From then on, the fish put his own end behind him (where it belonged) and set out to explore the Great Ocean.

Bows

I wonder why i never find anyone in the chat room. Then i give up wondering and just enjoy the silence of the chat room

Three travelers on a long and exhausting journey had become companions, and shared the same pleasures and sorrows, pooling all their resources. After many days they realized that all they had between them was a piece of bread and a mouthful of water in a flask. They fell to quarrelling as to who should have all the food. Making no progress on this score, they tried to divide the bread and water. Still they could not arrive at a conclusion.

As dusk was falling, one finally suggested that they should sleep. When they awoke, the person who had had the most remarkable dream would decide what should be done.

The next morning the three rose as the sun came up and the first traveler said, "This is my dream: I was carried away to places such as cannot be described, so wonderful and serene were they. I met a wise man who said to me, 'You deserve the food, for your past and future life are worthy and suitable subjects for admiration.'"

"How strange," said the second traveler. "For in my dream, I actually saw all my past and my future. In my future I saw a man of great knowledge, who said, 'You deserve the bread more than your friends, for you are more learned and patient. You must be well-nurtured, for you are destined to lead men,'"

The third traveler said, "In my dream I saw nothing, heard nothing, said nothing. I felt a compelling presence which forced me to get up, find the bread and water, and consume them then and there. And this is what I did."

The two companions were very angry and demanded to know why they were not called when the mysterious power compelled him to consume the bread.

"But you were far from here! One of you was carried away to far places and the other to another time! How could you hear my calling?" he replied.

Taiosim is mostly about this, that, you, not about you, etc etc Mostly it is about nothing but one could feel it is all about ones self. Sometimes though it is about others

There is this interesting story ...

A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master. One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.

When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master. "Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."

After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."

Bows

When ever people see me they say HI ME and i ponder why the heck are they saying hi to them self

Why in the world would you want to teach or change anyone ?????