Michael Sternbach

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Everything posted by Michael Sternbach

  1. Why study martial arts if you'd never fight back?

    Guess what... So was I! 🍀😅😁 Besides tomiki/shodokan aikido, the yoseikan style does free-sparring too. Practitioners even put protective gear on, and the techniques employed are sometimes pretty impressive -- then again, yoseikan is more of a mixed martial art, really, as it incorporates elements from judo and karate. In many situations, leg sweeps indeed come in very handy (LOL). They even made it into modern shotokan (sport) karate.
  2. That's great! We can only convey convincingly what we have personally understood. While I am certainly aware of the important role played by perception, I would argue that this and other realms (including our own existence in them) are structured and determined -- at least to a significant degree -- by mathematical/physical/metaphysical laws and principles which are neither arbitrary nor illusional. I am sure that that's why we see so many mandalas in Buddhist art. Yes, it may all turn out to be something like a dream at the end of the day. But we should be careful not to confuse different levels of reality with one another. What you can experience very much depends on how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go. Yes, sometimes. And sometimes it's important to acknowledge what you perceive as valid and real. I rather like that. True, language has its limitations. But I believe that it can do more than what so many spiritual seekers give it credit for. My question still stands: What are the descriptions of the 'emptiness realisation' in other spiritual systems? And I am not only asking you, but also myself, and anyone who may have something to share on this topic.
  3. Why study martial arts if you'd never fight back?

    Those 'warm ups' are typically aikido-specific qigong exercises, though. There's this great instructor Tony Annesi who frequently drives his seminar attendants mad by deriving aiki techniques directly from karate kata. 😁 But you can actually find something like that in Funakoshi's Karate-do kyohan already. Some of those moves have a definite 'aiki feel' to them, nothing like modern karate -- and yet Funakoshi emphasizes that they should be studied "according to kata." A statement I found rather curious back then in my Shotokan days, when none of the proper bunkai was generally known yet, and even high-ranking JKA instructors gave total BS explanations for most of the kata moves. Annesi made a DVD on "Funakoshi's Nine Throws," an excerpt from which can be watched here: I am not sure what happened to the soundtrack, YouTube may have stripped it off for copyright reasons. But you can switch the subtitles on for the second part of the video. The first part is self-explanatory anyway -- and if some of the throws don't look too impressive, that's simply because Annesi is going easy on his uke. Kylo Ren's opening move when he was taking on Luke Skywalker then... A pretty suicidal technique if not set up properly! And yet in aikido, it's done all the time, with or without an actual (wooden) sword. Another one of those stylized attacks that may have a purpose for learning basic movement patterns, and alright, there's a remote chance that some drunk would try to smash in your head with a bottle that way. However, I seriously doubt that any aikido-sensei would survive against an experienced sword fighter if all they knew was aiki-style 'sword technique'. Alright, that puts a creative twist on an otherwise dumb move... 😁 It is said that the reason for this is that the samurai practising those moves to supplement his sword fighting techniques didn't have to learn a completely different skill set this way. In a similar fashion, many of the kenpo moves that I practise can also be done with a stick or a knife in your hand -- better yet, with dual blades! 😁 The guy attempting to draw his sword can then trap your hand in return and use the sword handle to perform a really effective nikyo on you; then draw his sword while you're down on your knees with a damaged wrist; one of those moments when the downward strike with the sword comes in handy!
  4. The Grades of Initiation

    0 is infinitely small as a positive number. Introducing the '-' sign reverses things. Now it might be the largest negative number. Which kind of illustrates my position that zero and infinity coincide. I suspect that you aren't satisfied with my definition of 0 as 1/∞ since you consider zero to be 'disconnected' (as you said elsewhere). You may argue then that, by ongoing division, it can never be reached. But you see... That's the point. On a related note, your equation of 1 and infinity mentioned here actually makes sense to me insofar there's an infinite number of fractions between 0 and 1. It's all a question of perspective, really. BTW, I constantly find that, at an advanced level, mathematics becomes a surprisingly artistic and intuitive endeavour! 🙂
  5. deleted

    Yes, exactly. Same insight there. 🙂 We'll have to talk about that some more. 😜 Thanx for the confirmation.
  6. Would you say that Soto Zen is Gautama's Buddhism pure and simple?
  7. Everything is perfect?

    That's the perspective taken by Zen and those Buddhist schools which maintain that the 'Pure land' is everywhere around us, if only we could see it. I tend to agree.
  8. deleted

    While an argument can be made for Wuji being analogous to zero, 無極 literally translates to 'without ridgepole', read: 'without limit', or 'infinite'. The apparent contradiction here again speaks to the curious coincidence of zero and infinity that I talked about elsewhere.
  9. The Grades of Initiation

    0 can be defined as the infinitely small. Just like the series of natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ... approaches infinity, their reciprocals 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, ... approach 0. Thus, 1/∞ = 0. In this sense, the number 1 can be said to be in the middle between infinity and zero. And this is where manifestation occurs.
  10. deleted

    Here, Laotzu seems to identify the Dao with Wuji. Which is a rather interesting perspective.
  11. The Grades of Initiation

    I was purposefully not overly exacting here, since the infinitely large and the infinitely small (i.e., zero) strangely coincide. As we discussed in another thread.
  12. The Grades of Initiation

    Arguably, qabalistic zero is represented by En soph. Which from one view is the zero point field that underlies the manifested world. From En soph, the Tree of Life emerges.
  13. The Grades of Initiation

    They embody the forces of resistance. Gautama had to deal with them on his way to Enlightenment. But their nature is maia, and whatever power they may have is drawn from the seeker who is facing them.
  14. For the record, I never called you 'inaccurate'. The term was introduced by Galen Burnett in this post:
  15. What are your favorite books on practical Alchemy?

    Enoch was identified with Hermes Trismegistos (a.k.a. Thoth) by the Sabians of Harran.
  16. Hi Tao Bums, This thread was inspired by the current discussion started by FraterUFA on "Alchemy - The Lost Art?" Obviously, laboratory Alchemy - appealing as it is many - is presenting anybody interested in it certain characteristic problems, a really prominent one (since times immemorial) being the question: Where do I start? Surely, there is no lack of literature, theories, suggestions... Those who really seem to be in the know are notoriously secretive and use a symbolical language which is open to interpretations on end. Moreover, the way those symbols are being employed by one Alchemist can be quite different from how another is using them... Not making things easy for those who wish to set out on the path of the Great Work in a nitty gritty manner. Therefore, those of you who have surveyed this topic to any degree: What are your favourite books or other sources? Please, let's keep the focus on practical here. If possible, share what you like about a certain book, in what way you find it particularly revealing or helpful. Of course, for starters, I will throw one my own favourites into the pot called: Mutus Liber As this book's title implies, it avoids making those often confusing words but conveys its message in a series of beautiful cartoon-like drawings inviting a more direct contemplative approach. (Yes, I am the visual type of personality.) Some of the very few words it contains are (somewhat ironically) inviting the beholder to read it again and again. Needless to say, it is open to interpretation, too, and there are a number of commentaries available in various languages, the most practically oriented ones probably being by Fulcanelli's disciple Eugène Canseliet and especially by well-known Alchemy supporter Adam McLean. I know some others as well, but they again seem to take things more into the realm of purely psychological or metaphysical symbolism - nothing wrong with that, but not what we want to focus on in this thread. I look forward to hearing from you Alchemists out there! Best, Michael
  17. Hi Stirling, This sounds all quite interesting to me as I am currently "reviewing" my prior involvement with Buddhism, early on on my personal meandering path. Having been a practitioner of Soto Zen myself back then, I can tell that the view you are expressing here is characteristic of that particular school of Buddhism. Zen is definitely very much experienced based, although it does have its specific metaphysical and literary framework (understated though these aspects generally tend to be). But it goes without saying that some of the other Buddhist schools are more talkative in this regard, and they also take different stands on the nature of enlightenment and ultimate reality. The following excerpt from the Wikipedia article on 'Pure land' is quite conclusive in this regard: In this citation, I would particularly highlight the statement that "Real sages can see that both ideas are interconnected and thus can affirm both without any conflict," as well as the actual attempts at their reconciliation that are mentioned here. Plato's cave metaphor has recently been brought up somewhere--I wasn't able to retrieve the post, however, it reminded me of my own reference to Platonist philosophy in a conversation I had not long ago with one of the Buddhist members of the forum. In that metaphor, the shadows seen on the wall of the cave--and taken as the only reality by those imprisoned inside it--are mere reflections of things that in actuality belong to a more universal order of reality. The parallels to *some* Buddhist schools of thought are IMO undeniable and even extend to the concept of a multi-layered more-than-physical universe found both in Platonism and some forms of Buddhism. Above all, being a Zen-influenced natural metaphysicist, I was excited to learn now that I am not the only one to ever find this kind of perspective essentially compatible with the Zen view of 'ordinary' experiential reality as transcendent empty! 🙂 That being said, I continue to be interested in finding a (personally) more satisfactory definition of the emptiness concept in philosophical terms (and quite frankly, I don't buy the notion that it can only be experienced but not talked about, yadda yadda). For that matter, I am quite sure that apparently rather different systems (such as the Gnosticism you mentioned) have an understanding of this as well, even though couched in terms of their own. A Buddhist-inspired cosmic vision (self-created digital image).
  18. Not that I would agree to your assumption of the Buddha and other avatars having been non-humans, or the timeline you are suggesting, but as far as the gist of your comment is concerned, you are quite correct, in my view. OMG! 😅😂🤭 Nah, I have no beef with good ol' Nungers. As at least the older forum members will know, we are just having fun to tease each other a bit from time to time. Not to mention the occasional "virtual sparring match" when we don't agree on a topic (which doesn't happen very often, though). He is indeed one of the really knowledgeable and (I'll return the compliment) rational forum members. At any rate, no hard feelings. 🙂
  19. Why study martial arts if you'd never fight back?

    I agree that Aikido the way it's generally taught isn't too suitable for application in a real-life situation. Fending off exaggerated stylized attacks may be a good way for beginners to get the basics down, but should give way to more realistic scenarios at a certain stage. However, regardless of all the criticism the art is getting, I maintain that its principles are sound and applicable. (Ever tried to disarm a crazed knife-wielding person with a kote-gaeshi? I did it twice--it worked like a charm!) The following video addresses some of these issues:
  20. Why study martial arts if you'd never fight back?

    I never understood why there should be a dichotomy between self-defence and spiritual achievements in MA practice. Surely the Buddhist monk Takuan Soho didn't look at things that way either when he authored the content of The Unfettered Mind -- a fantastic book, BTW, that thematises the application of Zen principles to mortal combat. Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the topic.
  21. Well, they're generally unaware of the very existence of prehistoric civilisations. Even though things started shifting a bit with some of their more recent finds. This is actually a topic that I pursue with great interest, as you can see, e.g., here: Since I started that thread, I collected a lot more information and developed certain theories of my own. One day in the not-so-far future I am going to publish all this material in a comprehensive book. On a related note, the Lost Civilisation topic plays a role also in my upcoming sci-fi novel Spacepunk I -- Humanity at the Crossroads. Well, I just like to imagine that, when the archaeologists of the future will dig up and carbon date his remains one day, they will be more than surprised to find a specimen of Australopithecus originating from our time. 😉
  22. It is--insofar it's at the very centre of things. The Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra states "that the fields full of assemblies, the beings and aeons which are as many as all the dust particles, are all present in every particle of dust." This is no different from William Blake's famous vision in The Auguries of Innocence: "To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour" Even though it is possible for mere mortals to gain that kind of insight, the question is if infinity can ever be actualised to its full potential by a finite being. I once had a discussion about this with a Buddhist lady who insisted that her revered Tibetan masters were fully-realised. Wicked me maintained that this was an impossibility. If anyone had a total realisation of Being, they would be identically--and consciously--God.
  23. Why study martial arts if you'd never fight back?

    The different styles under the Kenpo umbrella today originated from James Mitose's Kosho-shorei-ryu which emphasizes yoga-like exercises and the cultivation of a peaceful mind. Here's a quote from their website: "Yet, at another level of Kosho - SHOREI is the religious system consistent with Judeo - Christian tradition added with the teachings of Buddha. In Kosho - Shorei using meditation and energy collection as techniques for development of a restful state of being necessary for achieving inner peace and harmony." https://www.kosho-ryu.com/Basics/basics.html Hey Franky, The Kenpo style that underlies my own martial art system is Ed Parker Kenpo Karate. While, the way this art is generally practised, it may indeed not appear to be overly philosophical or esoteric, its founder GM Parker showed his understanding of the spiritual aspects especially by his book The Zen of Kenpo. I am honestly not sure what kind of Taiji you are referring to. The one that I am familiar with--Old Yang style as taught by Erle Montaigue--can be every bit as devastating as Kenpo Karate anyway. I find the two arts fully compatible with each other both in principles and application and in fact combine them in my own practice, with the addition of some Aikido elements. Kenpo Karate overall is designed to enable you to end a fight quickly even when facing a bigger and stronger adversary. It does a good job at that if taught properly. It is left to the discretion of the practitioner to adjust the level of violence needed to the situation at hand. I hope you find my answer useful in some regard. But I will be happy to discuss this important topic more if you wish. Michael
  24. Unpopular Opinions

    Hey, man, don't be square! That comment really bummed me out! Lemme tell ya, the Fab Four are totally outta sight! Last night, when my pals and I were getting loaded in that karaoke bar and all singing Yesterday, it really got our groove on! I mean... Just boss! Jinx!* * You owe me a coke.