Krenx

Ignorance is the root of wrong views. But the Buddha sometimes uses them both synonymously. To not know the 4 noble truths, not realize of exist is ignorance, and people just do as they please, and fall into all the traps and harm in the world. So it is in that context. They are not aware.

The Buddha calls that ignorance. And as they continue to be unaware of their actions, a trail of victims grow in their path.

In this world, actions, intentions have consequences. And there are wholesome and unwholesome actions that lead to beneficial or harmful results. Anytime we suffer, it is a mix of our own unwholesome and ignorant deeds in our past, and the contribution of other people's unwholesome deeds affecting us. You do not really need a god to prove this to you. It is apparent in all our lives if we observe and investigate suffering deep enough. There is often the argument we hear that the animal kingdom kills, and does all kinds of insane things to survive and thrive in nature. And why don't humans adopt that mode of living. What makes what they do so wrong while having the right to exist on the same planet. Well, if you want to suffer as much as an animal, have lives as short as most in the animal kingdom, then acting like them would result in that quality of life, mind and suffering. Humanity has tried to wrestle with virtues, and find loopholes in it since it was discovered. There are no loopholes. Either you adhere to the standard of virtues most religions agree on, or pay the price for foolish unwholesome actions in your life. And the most harmful and result of unwholesome actions and views is, even if you get away for it, and nobody in the world knows what you did, YOU know, and your mind WILL be tormented by it. By the qualities of greed, hatred, delusions. The damage to your mind that does not know the way out of its suffering is a real tragedy.

Not sure what you mean by "middle center".

Yup. That is why I would disagree with Damo. The context is if you do ZZ ONLY in the beginning expecting to get results, you will not get results. But if you do it along side other important developments, it serves a good reference point to gauge improvement, until ZZ transforms to take off on its own as a stand alone cultivation.

These physical parts of the body, and gestures are used to train the "flavour" of Jin/power, force transformations. But in application, you use the flavours of these jins in a reasonable position. You do not try to insist the body part. In application, your goal is to express the jins cleanly. And that has little to do with the body position. The body parts might be used to recall the feeling of the Jin, but you do not really use the body part in an obvious way in application. Again to emphasize, body positioning, classical forms is important to "develop" the various jins and their relationships in the body, and relationship to one another. But when you apply it, you only apply the flavour of the Jin, not often the body positions. An actual fight does not allow you to do that. It is not wrong to use the body positions in application, but to assume the kung fu of the jins can only come out in particular body positions is a big mistake in understanding how jins work. Wang Yong quan's son once got a student to hold his finger, and he expressed all the jins individually with just that one finger onto the student, peng lu ji an cai lie zhou kao etc. To help the student understand what Jin really is, that it can all be expressed perfectly in just one finger, not bound by any particular form or position. To teach the distinction between training. And application of kung fu.

Beginners should not do Zhan Zhuang also a sole practice in the beginning. It should be done along side a bunch of things like loosening exercises, opening body methods, alignment practices. I think that is what he is trying to get at. Because to do Zhan Zhuang correctly, you do need all of peripheral training to support the standing conditions. Those conditions cannot easily be developed within the standing method itself "initially". But you can do it for short periods in the beginning to see if there are improvements every day.

I get fajin'ed every week from my teacher. But we are trained to release it to the ground properly resulting on that stomping and bouncing you see often in certain old videos, so we do not go flying too far horizontally. The first time I received his jin, I flew, fell, and rolled in the ground like 5 meters. But yes, a mattress would be great.

This is good push hands, Jin refinement, good fajin practice. You notice the effects of the Jin happens mostly in the one getting issued, not the one expressing the jin. If you do fajin, and the Jin ends up affecting your own body in large or forceful movements more then the opponent, then it is a sign the force has been largely not transmitted into the opponent. The goal is to issue jin, and the opponent is displaced and moved significantly more then your movement. And that difference in who moves, and who remain still, increases relative to your skill. All the classics, teachings you hear, the expected results points to this gradual quality.

A good way to view these jins, is that they are basically permutations of yin yang within the human body. Shapes and flavours of power. There are the primary 4 peng lu ji an, and the 8 of we include cai lie zhou cao. And alot more practiced by various lineages. We train these main jins, and extended Jins, to cover all the ways energy can transform. So meeting any force from the opponent, we have the Jins available to navigate, use to deal with incoming forces in a variety of ways. The purpose is to smoothen the Jins and their relationship to one another seamlessly, so the practitioner becomes free to allow changes in Jin and energy to transform to their advantage. We do not train a Jin, to insist particular jins in a fight. We train it so it is "available" to be used when the opportunity arises, and skillfully navigate between them, shape the forces to the is ideal for the situation. And how masters seem to able to use the jin they want to use, is NOT because they insisted on it. They responded with the right Jin at the connection, and transform/ guided the forces to the conditions ripe for the Jin of their choosing. It happens quickly, so it seems they use the jin they wanted. No. They created the conditions for it still following the principles of taiji Quan. They will tell you if the conditions are not there, the particular jin will not arise.

Got it.

I am curious how this test works? Do you do the forms, and he observes/senses it energetically and determines its substance? Not saying if Eric is authentic or not. Since I do not know him. But an accomplished practitioner, can make any form or movements they do have substance and power behind it, due to their cultivated internal skills. So wondering how that all works, who demonstrated those "fictitious" forms to him, does he do it himself, etc. Because of someone skilled did those fake forms, with good internals, then it makes sense Eric would say there is substance behind it. But if it is more a set of fake instructions and principles given to him, and he followed it exactly, and claim it is good, when it lacks fundamental laws of energy cultivation, then it is either the added extra stuff to the instruction to make it good, or he is as you said a scam in the area of assessing systems. So just curious about all this. Thanks

Agreed. The explosive force of Jin is a "result" of an opponent not being able to handle the speed of yin yang change. This is a very important framing to perceive Jin. Without this understanding, practitioners in combat will try to "insist" some explosive result on opponents. Real fighting does not work like that. With ting Jin, you will KNOW when the opponent's body is unable to catch up to the change. And you set up as you said, the potential energy from transformation in a way, where once you issue, you know that Jin equation is too much for the particular opponent to hua, and they end up releasing that energy in an aggressive and explosive way. Insisting on specific things to happen in taiji Quan, like explosive fajin, goes against the principles of taiji, and will result in one not being able to do that. Fajin is something you set up conditions for, and "allow" to happen. It is closer to an observed result.

Great resource by the late Dhamavuddho. Dhamma talks as well as verbal readings and comments of the entire 5 Nikayas suttas. Audio & Video Dhamma Talks https://share.google/z9ggFGXF5arrWTuqV He has a YouTube channel as well with many of his talks on different aspects on the dhamma. Great Q and A's

Phoenix mountain guy is one of the few legit ones. For yang style taiji. Very good stuff. From a familiar lineage as I. For Chen style, the master Li Qiang of the Hong lineage is one of the best. If you can find his videos.

Traditionally, taiji practitioners did physical body development (specific to internal methods), push hands, and actual fighting. Some known masters tried to take their own lives back in the day because of how hard the overall training was. Specifically the transformation of the body, fascia changing methods. So modern practitioners just need to know what they are training, if it is attributes of taiji, or application of taiji Quan. And just be clear to their students, so they don't assume attribute training is the same as combat application abilities. Attributes come first. Without the attributes and kung fu, there is nothing to apply in combat. Combat does not make you better at the attributes and taiji Quan skill. It makes you better at applying what you ALREADY have. It also serves as a good tool to "measure" your kung fu attributes, and flaws, so you can be more decisive in where you spend time going back on working on in the cultivation in forms, push hands, body transformation.

Truth is beginners CAN do push hands correctly. They again just need to follow the instructions property, to maintain certain strict conditions so Jin can start to emerge, even if it is very subtle. Drawing Jin out, and discerning its difference from pure Physical mechanical strength is the most important job for anyone starting out Taiji Quan. And all exercises pointing to that initial goal. A good teacher can speed this up, but simply demonstrating physical strength and internal power often on students to appreciate the difference experientially. That IS a type of Fa Jin. The old styles of the wang yong quan/ yang jian hou lineages recognize it as such. I'm curious where you read that isn't fajin? Fa = Express or issue. Jin = The flavor of power relative to the yin yang permutation of energy. So by definition, any flavor of taji quan power that is expressed is Fajin fundamentally speaking. Fajin means Jin expressed. Yes, often the term Fa Jin is ALSO to describe the phenomena of an explosive release of power, reaction. It is wrong if it is through mechanical physical movements only. It is CORRECT if it is internally driven. Fajin can be done solo, and the partner in that case is gravity and yourself. It does depend on force to be triggered in some way. So that could include opponent's force to trigger a flow and connection, or if practicing on your own, gravity to assist in that trigger. But just saying does not depend on opponent is incorrect. If there is an opponent in front of you, you should respect that reality. It is IDEAL to depend on the opponent's force. No1 it is energy efficient, no2 borrowing the opponent's force is needed to create a CONNECTION to the opponent, so the Jin can be Fa into the opponent. Without connection, the force/jin will not penetrate properly. To fajin, or just fight without respecting the opponent's forces or existence, is not a good way for anyone to fight. The "Force" you borrow, is not just the physical force. Jin is not just a physical thing. Borrowing opponent's force in taiji quan involves a process before the touch, during the touch, after the touch. If you can grasp that, taiji quan will make a lot more sense. From Yang Cheng Fu lineages onwards, alot of the old teachings and flavors of yang style has been lost. Practitioners started hiding their lack of kung fu behind their fixed forms, hiding behind tradition and culture. That is the modern taiji that started to serve "forms" and heritage, instead of refining the actual Kung fu. I've touched hands with Liang de hua, and trained with lineages of Yang cheng fu, and Wang yong quan. So my experience on the matter is quite hands on. On this journey you'll start to see which training methods betray you over the years, and which ones develops your kung fu proper and can be tested in the field directly.

The purpose and function of push hands is what's important. In a nutshell, is to cultivate the application of jins, the internal power methods of Taiji Quan; to draw out that quality. Because that is its goal and function, the conditions required to polish this skill are very specific. It does require at least one of the partners to be somewhat advanced, and both sides again seeking the same goals. Random physical grabbing and pushing around with chaotic forces with the goal to "win" some balance contest, will not develop this kung fu. It will not lead to any investigation or depth. Will not uncover phenomenas unique to taiji's Jin. There is a long list of conditions to do with the body structure alignment, the quality of the muscles, joints, nervous system, the rules around meeting force by not butting or throwing away/aversion etc. Maintaining these conditions will force the Jin to surface for appreciation, cultivation, investigation. There are overall things to listen and attend to for any jins. And some specific jins, you stack on more conditions to attend to, and when you start flowing from one jin to the other, you attend to yin yang transformations within various layers of energies along with the physical body. From push hands, how does one apply this in combat? You put on gloves, and do sparring/ fighting like any other martial art. And you apply the kung fu you have developed, learn from it, and go back to push hands to refine the kung fu, and repeat that process.

Sila also functions as a way to reveal unwholesome qualities within us that are hard to see, and only surface when it is cornered with virtue. Eventually as unwholesome and unskillful qualities are abandoned rightly, Sila/ virtue becomes effortless, and they becomes a measure of one's progress on the path. And the Arahant, fully enlightened being, would be the prime example of perfected Sila, where even the threat, or real circumstances of immediate death or bodily harm, can never cause them to break precepts.

You can either make it strong, or make it empty. There are different kinds of standing practice to achieve different goals.

As a buddhist, I do not subscribe to a god as many religions describe it. But I will say this. The quality of Chi, if you have a good amount that is cultivated, refined, stable, as it runs through your body, it feels very similar to the sensation of "love". And often more pure then the love we feel in our own relationships. The conditions for that kind of cultivation, mirrors virtues and life habits preached by most religions. Virtues, I have found to be the most important factor to such cultivation. Has a far more bigger impact then the actual qi gong techniques an practices. So Chi, energy, it is everywhere, it has this quality of love, it is not without its "rules" that if you understand and follow, not get in the way, surrender to, will lead you to harmonize with its flow. Intimacy with it increases. The phenomena of God, the experience of God, has its common experiential process across religions. It is the interpretation of these common phenomenas that differs; sometimes leading to benefit for humanity, sometimes leading to problems.

You pay attention to it, and execute actions and habits that are skillful. NOT actions that stem from avoiding, or identifying with it. Simple example is let's say you have some back ache. Be attentive where this pain is, the quality of it, and if it is connected to any other parts of your body, and consider potential causes of it. Skillful habits and actions would be to seek professional help to investigate the root causes, picking up light stretching and strengthening exercises, energy work to heal and give support to the pain. Intimate attention and awareness around the pain, allows the qi to know where to go. Unskillful actions would be doing everything in your power to cover up the pain with drugs, avoid the pain by not moving at all, develop identity and an unhealthy relationship with the pain; for example using it to gain pity, as an excessive excuse to not take up responsibilities etc. The mind and body has the ability prolong pain and injury when it serves their vices. Or you hate it so much, you exert on that pain to make the injury WORSE. The skillful way is often not a pleasant process. It is bitter. In fact, when you do it right and well, you will be able to discover the "Web" root of injuries. That back pain, with enough attention, you start to reveal hidden culprits in your body, and how they contributed to repeated injuries. And when they are discovered, these culprits throw a tantrum and hurt. These culprits could be physical habits, energetic, psychological. They do not like to be found, and they will retaliate in pain. And you do the same work to address all these hidden issues. The other end of this process, is a thriving health. In my case, I had a sharp pain in my chest, and upper back that appeared every few months for about 5 years. I finally decided to use neigong to resolve it, instead of ignoring it. What happened was my practice opened up that pain, and revealed its connection to my lower back, all the way up to my neck. When that line of pain opened, it was very painful, but bearable when I kept it filled it up with Qi. That line of pain made obviously made it easy to find, and with practice keep it as open and clear as possible for qi to flow through it for 6 months, and one day it finally disappeared. I never had any pain at those areas ever again since. The qi finally was able to transform my body to end that pain after 6 months. The work of the internal and spiritual, is to help you thrive in life, mentally and physically. Not cope and survive. The cost is effort, and dedication. Such fruits and gifts are not given, but cultivated.

General rule of thumb is, if the practitioner is not able to discern/listen what they are training, and forgotten or cannot recall the goal of a specific practice, the practitioner should stop and train another time. Because the mind/yi is very important in these arts to make any progress. It needs to be able to observe things happening to maintain conditions. When the mind cannot do that, it is usually because it lacks energy. And rest, along with gradual changes in habits is needed to support future practices. The mind can actually go pretty far past the failure of the body and continue to train important attributes for internal arts. But if the body is able, and the mind is not present, it would be a waste of time, and also derail your practice and create bad habits. What supports the mind? Basic things like good health, enough rest, and decent life habits that don't get you involved in nonsonse and danger, and guilt.

Reverse turtle breathing techniques is a form of compressing the qi in the dantian. It results in consolidating and concentration. Containing the energy down there into a pill size etc. It is what it is. Buddhism approaches energy differently. And the goals are different. Not all fully enlightened disciples had psychic power. Sometimes that energy is directed towards wisdom instead. It depends on the inclination and karmic potential. But In a nutshell, they develop a mind that listens to its owner, and makes physical reality flexible. When the owner commands the mind to do something, that tamed mind will go perform the task, at whatever energetic or physical frequency is required. And it is a much more direct approach, and more the side effects of their goal. Daoist schools and teachings spread into a huge spectrum. We can generalize it to an extent, but I try judge based on the methods taught. I am sure many daoist schools also make virtue a priority in their practice.

There is a pressure. Being suffer that pressure. And beings try all kinds of methods to resolve this pressure with two main ways. First method is to feed that craving, to equalize it temporarily. For example we feel craving for candy, we eat candy. We satisfy that craving temporarily. But this method leads a person to become more ignorance and increase liability to the pressure on the future. It makes it worse, it can get worse. It is only resolved temperorily, leading to an increase of craving in the future. The other method is to see the roots of this pressure, this suffering. And use wisdom and skillful actions to uproot it entirely. So this method, the person craves for candy, they see craving, they realize with wisdom and knowledge that this "pressure to get rid of craving" is a SIGN that craving is unpleasant. If it was not unpleasant, one would not have the urge to end it. And the nuanced task is to not enable it more by feeding its wishes. One abandons it by abandoning it, and not be involved with it, and what it wants you to do. Conditions for craving are gradually starved. It is not obvious or intuitive to most people that the 2nd option is ideal for your well-being. It is difficult, it is a permanent commitment once undertaken. It leads to abandoning the entire world. It is not a worldly pursuit. People don't let go of the world that easily. But it is in our potential to do so. Potential as as far as you can claim. You cannot really claim that everyone is headed towards liberation. Just looking around, is not apparent at all, and it was not apparent to Buddha himself when he observed the world.