Fa Xin

Thanks for your response. I mean your hypothetical questions are very interesting. My landlord is an older Italian man. He keeps a picture of the Risen Christ on the dashboard of his car. When I saw that... it reflected what Jesus is all about for me. A personal and heart felt connection. I’m sure the picture brought him comfort, and maybe reminded him of something. I wouldn’t want to question the tenets of his faith, as that is a sacred thing. Why would I question *his* God? I know you say you have no beliefs, and no interest in it. But maybe you can appreciate that it is a heart based tradition, and it probably differs from one person to the next. Perhaps the mythos isn’t as important as the energy Jesus represents - the higher aspect of ourselves, the connection to the divine. Cheers!

Yikes

Hi Spotless, My question to you would be - is it necessary to believe in such things to call oneself a Christian?

The smell one is a kind of "on the go" meditation. Next time your out walking in the town, and the smell of a nearby restaurant catches your nose, focus on it for a moment. Lose yourself in that smell, as if you're "stopping to smell the roses" Even a 10 second meditation can help to bring us back to our center. The smell of rain would be an excellent practice. Start by listening to the rain drops, then when the smell catches your nose, enjoy that until it fades, then maybe a breeze from the window. It turns into an expanding of our awareness, rather than laser beam focus on one aspect. Your awareness grows to encompass the whole experience. Like you said about the brown noise, it's nice when there's a change..

Hi Steve, Thank you for the info... I also find it very interesting that energy is referred to as warmth. I like that. Curious if there's a difference between Dzogchen and "Bon" Dzogchen? I'm familiar with Bon on the surface, but didn't know if there was more than one Dzogchen? I've only studied some aspects of Kabbalah, as I find the waters get very deep and somewhat murky. Most of my exposure has been through Christian teachers who blend some Jewish mysticism in. But Kabbalah's concepts are appealing to me, as they are very unique - I've not encountered such things as the Tree of Life mapping, or different levels of the soul before. I've also found - somewhat to my surprise - the concepts were easy for me to understand and assimilate. Meanwhile, I see some conversations on here about AV or Kashmir Shaivism, and my eyes cross. Isn't it odd how our minds prefer certain frameworks and concepts...

Yes... I have to buy new pants!

Ahhh yes, I remember those discussions. Too heady for me. But thank you for the clarification. i think I’m just happier with my proverbial head in the sand about this topic, continuing along on my enjoying of energy, the present moment, and forgetting about trying to “understand emptiness”.

Hi Jeff, One conceptual framework I understand things through is a Kabbalistic one. The three "parts" of "consciousness/God" as I understand... Ain - "The Emptiness", the Primordial No-Thing-Ness ... The true nature of God is completely beyond the comprehension of mental, emotional, physical being - that God is neither "something" nor "nothing". Ain Soph - "The Infinite" - Yet from this primordial no-thingness, something arises. This quality is infinite potential. Ain Soph Or - "The Light" or "The Infinite Light" which manifests to us as Awareness. I understand this "framework" as relates to my own consciousness... so "Ain soph" being the infinite potential of thoughts that could arise... "Ain Soph Or" is the awareness, and "Ain" is tracing thoughts back and finding no source. This appears to me as being "form is emptiness", because even though we do not find anything as we trace our thoughts back, there is still "something" there... How does this compare to your idea of a blackboard? It sounds similar... Basically there is a principal (Ain or Emptiness) that is unable to be experienced, in which all things arise.

Thanks everyone. Good discussion we have going here. I'm going to quote Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, to go along with the feel of the thread. This is close to what I mean when I talk about working with a higher being... "When we see that everything arises out of voidness as the manifestation of Chenrezi, and thus recognize the expanse of infinite purity, we then no longer discriminate between good and bad, pure and impure; it is all the display of Chenrezi. Friends are Chenrezi, enemies are Chenrezi, all are one as Chenrezi." To me, this is closer to what I experience with a higher being, rather than the direct connection (though that happens, too.) I assume one can replace "Chenrezi" with some other being's name. Or the universe itself, as Jeff says. This has also been important for me when "accepting" such experiences as deemed negative or pleasurable, or could cause some friction and resistance.

Well, your name IS Raindancer, after all! I do the same practice... I focus on whatever sound I am hearing. The birds chirping is a favorite of mine, also the cars driving by. I do this for about 5 minutes. It could even be the sound of a fan blowing. This type of meditation can be done with the other senses, too... Smell - if you have incense going, or how the blowing wind feels. Sight can be distracting for me... But sound is my favorite. The senses can be a nice anchor to keep us present and centered.

Your correct yes. A natural liberation by focusing on the deity, instead of the issue. In my experience there’s a level of trust that builds when working with a higher being, where you start to let go of fears and trust them. That allows the residing to happen. on second thought, perhaps that’s more of a mental trick, rather than true residing. The question of trust I feel is important with tantra, though. At least at first. 😊

I would say the “giving it to them” is me letting it go...

This raises an interesting question. With a tantric practice - let’s say working with a higher being.... Would you say such matters of clearing are left to the being you’re working with? In my own practice, let’s say I am working with Kali ... I just kind of focus on her and let her do everything. Yes there’s a realization that we merge at some point and the dividing lines blur... but the “doing” is given up and given to her. I find it liberating and helpful when dealing with the sort of thoughts that Steve mentions. So while I agree here that noticing there is still stuff to be cleared is a good thing.... I mean more the mindset that wants to apply effort in clearing.

I’d suggest Kung fu, then. I mean, they all have an element of flow to them (except maybe Karate, at least at first...) but kung Fu seems to fit this. Tai chi would be closest, but won’t provide a cardio workout like Kung fu does.

They are all pretty good. Maybe pick out your top 3 and visit the schools. Its going to have more to do with the teachers than the style Ive found. Two people can teach the same style and it has the potential to be vastly different.

Hello, Stratomaster1618, and welcome. Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. We look forward to accompanying you on some of the way that you still have to go. Please take the time to read the post pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum Terms and Rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, Fa Xin and the TDB team Welcome Chad, Good luck on your rediscovery. I hope the forum serves you well... I would agree that suffering expedites the spiritual journey. Enjoy You are welcome to jump right in to the ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forum to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started. May you enjoy your time here. Fa Xin

This one has tricky word play. Another translation, that I think is a little more clear, 83. Jesus said, "Images are visible to people, but the light within them is hidden in the image of the Father's light. He will be disclosed, but his image is hidden by his light."

Jesus said, "The images are manifest to man, but the light in them remains concealed in the image of the light of the Father. He will become manifest, but his image will remain concealed by his light." Gospel of Thomas 83

I don’t resonate much with Paul’s writings... but I believe he is important because he shows us that you don’t need to have known Jesus personally to embody the Spirit - that it’s a living tradition, not a dead one.

For me, emptiness is more the unmanifest potential of things. It's not nothing and it's not something. Things spring up from it, and return to it. Like if you follow your thoughts back to their source, it seemingly comes from a void. So I can see the impermanent... As far as dependent origination, though, that is different than emptiness, at least in my view. Either way, I find it hard to see things as "empty". I am still learning and growing, though.

I've seen it said a lot, but never really got a good description of what it meant - hence why I said "exactly" I'm glad you chose not to walk away though. Thanks!

Thanks. What does "form is empty" mean exactly ?

Good question Emptiness is "no-thing-ness"... so is the chalk a "thing"?

The dancing girl to me is just energy. Bliss may happen but it may not, also. As far as emptiness goes, there’s nothing to talk about there.

Nice, I like this.