Krenx

Treat them as different religions. Like how one would treat Christianity as distinct from Islam. Because the teachings and goals for early buddhism, vs Mahayana/ tibetan/zen, later teachings are different and often contradictory. That way things make more sense, and you can continue the path you choose.

The Buddha did not say there is no self. The Buddha taught non self. If there was actually no self, none of us would be suffering. But we do suffer. It is more the process of attending to phenomena more honestly. We cling into a sense of self, and hold on to qualities of me, mine, myself not just conventionally speaking, but also internally. With ignorance, there is a self. With wisdom, the self gradually has to dissolve. The Self does not hold water, it is not dependable, unstable. We see how things are unfit to be regarded as self. The "self" in Buddhism is defined as something that is "permeant", ever lasting, does not change. But as we go through phenomena, we realize things in the world are unfit to be regarded as "self", due to the impermenant and changing qualities. And so we attend to the nature of phenomena, and navigate skillfully to release ourselves from suffering. And that involves seeing anatta, non self.

Equanimity. Stillness. Those qualities are not just developed in your formal practice, but needs to be enforced in your daily life and habits. That clarity that arises from equanimity, will dispell questions about who's energy is from where, and which is what. You will discern and know for yourself. Like choppy waters, nothing is clear, it is all muddy, guesswork, impossible to judge objectively. When you make the energies and mind settle to become clear without ripples, you can see and know. Abandoning alcohol and drugs, stop listening to music passively in the background, decrease your interaction with people who are not involved in your path, abandon harmful people in your life. These are real changes that will make a real difference besides your formal practice.

What about the last paragraph specifically do you need clarification on?

It is a mechanism to "store" value. A mechanism that is to an extent agreed upon by the society, and what they recognize as valuable. A way to store the value of your service, or product, and use that across time. As opposed to direct barter trade, where transaction of a service, or merchandise is exchanged on the spot immediately. So storing value earned in the form of money, and the ability to use it across time, allows more freedom and incentive for people to experience it value in services and creating products in their own time, and as much as they want. You can think of it also in terms of energy. Where instead of something like the sun shining onto things and making it hot. Solar panels and batteries store their energy, and use this energy across time. You can see the benefit and flexibility of such a mechanism. Money is like energy if valued stored for later use. But it is an agreed mechanism by current society. This is why when you are lost in a jungle, money is useless. It has no value in the wild, because a society of animals do not recognize it, have no use for money.

What is the quality of a simple mind. What are its signs and features? What is its conditions and attitude towards phenomena? How does it react towards phenomena? Why do certain minds decide to act in one way instead of another way? How was this mind convinced to incline towards simplicity, instead of complications? What are the practices and gradual methods to tame this mind. What level is the restraint imposed on the wild mind, and what are the treats, rewards we offer/ bring awareness to for it to understand the benefits of being tamed and cooled down. For it to understand for itself. Good questions to ask. The mind is a wild animal we picked up in this life, that does not know how to "be" on its own. It requires training, taming. It requires convincing. Like a wild animal, you begin with proper restraint. Not abuse. But healthy restraint with virtue. Virtue is very uncomfortable in the world, but gradually it beara fruits, unburdens the mind from many nonsense and potential bad results from bad action. Sets up an opportunity/ chance for the mind to achieve neutral abiding due to the unburdened lifestyle, conduct. At the awareness of a neutral abiding, the mind is cooled, at rest, collected, powerful, and awaits instructions. You direct the mind to that quality, and show itself that reward, peacefulness, and proof that is the state of has been attempting to acquire, but could not on its own. Recognized you as its master. A tamed mind, abides its masters command.

@goretex Damo's safety mechanism around Dantian training, is through refining yin qualities, to tame yang energy from creating unstable pressures and manifestations. It is good fundamentals, true, but I don't think it is enough to restraint the unstable quality of dantian building. What that kind of power becomes, depends on your cultivation and character that has been established many many years prior, and lifetimes. And that kind of character building is not just yin energy. It is your habitual life conduct and health in the mind. The success of dantian work, is depending on things not just in this lifetime. With Mark's methods, although the development of energy is released into space outside the body, we need to remember the fundemental rule of existence. All experience cannot be outside of "mind". All experience is actually an "internal" experience with our 6 sense basis. So this is still a very real internal development, of the physical layer, to the other layers. It is VERY difficult to ignore your insecurities, obstacles, blockages, flaws, defilements with Mark's methods. Because you work on all the layers, the mind cannot run from itself with this kind of training. There is alot of obvious benefits to that. If you trained under older masters, and listen to their caution, they will share very similar stories of themselves, and of masters they know who train internal body methods, dantian work, dantian power. The stories are always the same. They die early, they go blind, they go crazy, their personalities, desires become aggressive, etc. And it is specifically tied to their type dantian sinking training. To contain Qi in ways the body and mind is unable to handle or tame. My master took up Buddhism to develop the insight to filter out and abandon unhealthy training methods. The old branches of yang taiji through yang jianhou's lineages, inclines more towards mark rasmus theories. Where dantian is not really focused that way. It is just an area that is recognized to have a bigger "space" for chi to collect. But collection is not what they do. Energy just flows through it and fills to whatever ratio is available, and flows on. The practice is to purify and stabilize the energies. And when one later is stable to a certain extent, it creates a natural momentum to transform to the next later, jing qi shen, wuji, akasha etc.

I train his system along with my taiji practice. Here are the parallels that makes his system very translatable and supports taiji practice and methods. Vital frequency = physical body, jing Astral frequency = Chi/Qi quality. Mental frequency = Shen quality. Akasha frequency = Wuji quality. So you train to transform the energies from vital to akasha, similar to jing qi shen, wuji. The term "transformation" is important. These frequencies are not just some random energy you pull out of thin air. You have to cultivate the prior energies to a certain extent before there is enough to transform into the next quality, vital being the most fundamental. You work on all of them, and some more then others depending on the phase of your training, and what you personally need for your goals. I have done Damo's methods too. I know he always downplays feelings, sensations and imagination stuff. But if you do this long enough, that kind of statements are really half truths. And half truths are quite harmful and leads to confusion. The truth about feelings, and imagination, is you need to know the context of what layer you are feeling, your attitude towards feeling, and same for imagination. The movement of the mind does trigger Qi, energy to move in specifics ways. It is not without its function in any practice. To abandon feelings and imagination completely is impossible. Developing a more refined context around it is the way to go.

I am surprised it took this long for them to do something about it. The corruption and misconduct is well known for decades.

https://suttacentral.net/an4.95/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=none&highlight=false&script=latin “Mendicants, these four people are found in the world. What four? 1. One who practices to benefit neither themselves nor others; 2. one who practices to benefit others, but not themselves; 3. one who practices to benefit themselves, but not others 4. one who practices to benefit both themselves and others. Suppose there was a firebrand for lighting a funeral pyre, burning at both ends, and smeared with dung in the middle. It couldn’t be used as timber either in the village or the wilderness. The person who practices to benefit neither themselves nor others is like this, I say. The person who practices to benefit others, but not themselves, is better than that. The person who practices to benefit themselves, but not others, is better than both of those. But the person who practices to benefit both themselves and others is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the four. From a cow comes milk, from milk comes curds, from curds come butter, from butter comes ghee, and from ghee comes cream of ghee. And the cream of ghee is said to be the best of these. In the same way, the person who practices to benefit both themselves and others is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the four. These are the four people found in the world.”

So are you declaring definitively that Transcendental Meditation Siddhi program results in the same qualities as the microcosmic orbit, Jing qi shen transformation process in the daoist arts? In a faster and easier way? And possibly superior results? Just want to make sure that is what you are saying. Because it would be quite a significant statement to make. @tao stillness

It is the Fascia. There are specific exercises and methods to train it and apply it functionally. Connect all the muscles, bones, structure optimally. In TCM, neigong, it is called the "Jin mo" 筋膜 Qi flows well when the fascia is cultivated, connected, dynamic, alive, tuned well.

You might want to specify your quotes on buddhism to refer to from Mahayana branches of buddhism. For example in your essay: Buddhism says: nirvana and samsara (existence) are one. And: Form is Emptiness — Emptiness no other than Form. That is a Mahayana Buddhist concept. Not something in early buddhism of the Pali cannon/ Theravada subscribes to. Early buddhism states nibbana is unconditioned. So samsara's existence or not, is not a condition for nibbana. Thus it is not duality, not in "unity" with samsara in that way. Yin and yang on the other hand are dual energies/qualities conditioned by the other. In that way they are a one, conditioned by one another. Buddhism has branched into different religions in the modern era. Believing different things. The differences are not minor, and actually results in quite different goals and paths. Just something to consider. Do with this information as you see fit 👍🙏.

It really depends on the context of that recommendation. But I can share with you a possible explanation from travelling to Shanghai, talking to TCM doctors. So the kind of water that is most healthy, is water that has been fully "boiled". That kind of fully boiled yang water is healthiest to drink, and can be left to cook to room temperature even. Not necessarily you need to drink it boiling hot. Less healthy is water that has not been boiled. And the most unhealthy type of water, is yin yang water. So basically you have hot water, and you mix it with cold water to cool it down immediately. That harmful for the body from a TCM perspective. So drinking cool water, you can consider making sure to boil it first, and let it cool down naturally. That is the healthiest kind of water. There is a reason why you put ice on your body when you have a heat stroke so you don't die. Probably certain practices you do might develop aggressive amounts of yang chi, hot water after might excite the yang too much, so cool water to cool it down. But this is just a maybe. You have to ask the teacher specifically the reason. I personally drink ice cold diet pepsi all the time. Lol! It does not affect my personal cultivation much. It does numb my sensitivity to external chi when drinking cold liquids. It makes my yi very passive and slow to extend/expand. So I lay off it when I need to work with external energies to do healing for others.

Yang taiji Quan, the older lineages through Wang Yong Quan. Yi Quan also emphasizes in natural breathing in their system. So using yin of gravity, by tuning to it, you refine yin energy, and by refinement of yin, you in turn refine pure yang as a result as well due to the duality relationship of yin and yang. The initial stages, this is done with the body. Flesh sinks to tune to yin, and bones rise/ joints expand in "relation" to the sinking flesh. Fascia stretches maintains a dynamic tensegrity that allows qi to flow continuously. And as these energies become more purified, they become discerned from each other. When they are discerned, that separation reveals that "space" between their relationship. That specific empty space that is created this way, is where qi flows. Using the breath is fine, but it has to be from the basis of this principle. The breath can be trained to have either yin or yang in the in our our breath. You can do some research on things like reverse breathing, and the golden turtle Qi gong exercise. These are some of the rare cases we include breath to assist in opening up certain parts, and condensing Qi.

What does your lifestyle look like. Do you indulge in any bad vices, bad habits on a daily basis? Are there any existing issues going on in your life situation? Level of caffeine intake daily? It is very often the case those things are where the problem is. Little to do with the practice itself. Good Experts will ask you these same questions, and you will have to be honest about it, but more importantly honest to yourself where the problem is. I have friends who have experienced things you are going through. They are good people in general. But when we dig down to it, the fault is always not in the practice, but due to existing/ past trauma in their lives, and their aversion/clinging and unresolved feelings and views around it. Bad habits etc.

The attitude towards emotions is not to suppress it. Because it is impossible to suppress an arisen emotion. But you do not act on the account of emotions, in unwholesome manners. Emotions should not dictate what you do. It is wisdom that should be the condition for any action/non action. Because emotions cannot discern. It just arises due to conditions not in your control. Unstable, unreliable, a recipe for disaster. Wisdom is discerning, and considers everything properly. Gradually improve. This is not something that happens overnight. 🙏

The Buddha actually had only one direct advice to resolve hate. And that to practice "non hate". Love is not the antidote to hate. It is non hate. How that looks like in practice, is executing restraint in your actions and behavior. Anything that you KNOW you are doing out of anger/hate/ill will, you do not do. That is the deliberate practice of abandoning hate at the level of action. When you practice that, depending on the individual, the mind will tend to rebel, increase its pressure, throw mental tantrums, shout and scream in your head all the hate it can summon. It can be painful. But you work hard to restraint yourself. Eventually you start to see how the untamed mind betrays you, and how unusual hateful thoughts arises on its own. And how it HAS to because we have been agreeing to many of its unwholesome tendencies for so long, and validated it with action, both subtle and obvious. You realize you were responsible for its current state. And this kind of restraint also allows deep rooted emotions to surface, and pressures you often cover up from habitually acting on it. And you start to be able to restraint pressures closer to the roots and tiny embers of anger. Work hard, and the wild angry mind cools down.

The more sensitive and refined your energies become, you recognize how poisonous the flavour anger is. And realize how often we partake in that poison with or without a perpetrator. So from training and knowing the flavour of this poison. You can start to make better decisions, adopt better views to cool down such tendencies of ill will. Cooling it down at a more subtle and subtle level. Anger does not suddenly arise. It shows its signs and features, patterns very very early on. Small poisonous bubbles that gradually boil and explode when not attended to. Use energy to your advantage to sense these things within you 🙏. The energetic poison of anger is really sick, acidic, and painful on the joints.

The breath is definitely used in certain practices for sure. But it is more a tool create cyclical qualities of yin and yang, expansion and absorption in the body/ or specific parts of the body. Fan certain concentration of energies like embers to generate more fire element etc. And when the body opens up, tubes to these cyclical flavours, chi can start to build and accumulate. Once chi becomes substantial, you would use the mind to guide it and demand certain qualities, leaving the breath to be mostly neutral and natural. So depending on the phase of your training. The most effective Qi gong/ taiji systems I have learned, actually emphasize natural breathing. No specific breath work. And instead uses primarily gravity as the assist and root of development for chi. An important consideration and something to contemplate why. In Buddhist meditation, the breath is the object of meditation, not so much to develop chi, but to observe its Anicca and anatta qualities, and its dependency on the body to also develop peripheral source awareness. Hope this helps. Dangers of freestyling these kinds of things, is you might turn the breath into a crutch in your practice and develop bad habits in how you move/ transform chi. There are laws in energy and safety mechanisms to develop. So definitely find a good system out there to follow, breath work or not.

Hmm. So you're implying these experiences are accidental? Or in your personal experience at least? Methods aside for now, maybe share what "conditions" do you think that you were developing/developed, signs and features that could have led to those experiences? Your conclusions so far. You mentioned sincerity, sincerity to what specifically? The dao perhaps? What is the Dao in your definition. And how it is related to Wuji, taiji, yin yang. Important questions to clarify, so we know we are discussing about the same things. Or else discussions like these can get quite messy. Thanks.

Do Describe the process of how you refine yin and yang energies to become wuji, and your process of how wuji leads to revealing the dao that you experience. Also do share your experience of how Taiji Quan supports that process. Thanks.

It depends on the reference point. If the reference point is suffering, and the end of suffering, there are universal laws that function in specific ways due to the nature of the mind and existence. Specific kind of morality is to be embodied and perfected to achieve that goal. If the reference point is NOT the end of suffering, but various worldly goals. Then morality is subjective to the the various worldly goal. Worldly goals meaning goals that has attachment towards existence and craving towards sense desire as its basis. Nobody has some authority over morality. Everyone is free to choose what they want to do to achieve their goals. But cause and effect always applies, and nobody has authority and control over the nature of mind and existence either. Choose the morals that serves your goals. And be heedful what goals you pick in life.

The answer is discernment. Discernment of what is right and wrong. If a person has both right and wrong qualities, you discern as such, use that new clarity of discernment, and continue "your" training. The the measuring tools a Buddhist measure people, are provided by the dhamma/Buddha. And many of these measuring tools go AGAINST the grain and opinions of society. It is by design, as it is a path that leads to dispassion of the world after all. The Buddha has a very clear separation between a puthujjana(normal worldly person), and an ariya(noble one, who has entered one of the 4 stages of enlightenment). And they posses very specific qualities that clearly sets them apart from each other. So just in terms of Buddhism, if you follow the early teachings sincerely, and apply that measure of who is a noble one to the many famous "spiritual masters" in history, involved in politics or not. 99% do not make the cut of an ariya. Many are just puthujjanas. Some headed to woeful realms, some headed to human realms, and some headed to heavenly realms. Fyi going to heavenly realms does not necessarily mean they are ariyas/ enlightened. It just mean they have developed lots of good merits. An ariya posseses more conditions on top of good merits, specifically the factor right view, and a character that reflects that. And they do not necessarily become famous. Many are secluded and spend their time abiding in the beautiful sanctuary of a mind they have achieved. With right view, you can discern the good and bad in anything in the world. You practice discernment, to undo the dust in your eyes, and see reality properly. So a master who you assumed was an ariya, suddenly broke precepts, and seems to have been a puthujjana after all. So you discern what is right in what he taught, and discern what was wrong in his behavior, clarify that mistake, clear up that dust in your eyes, and carry on the good path. 🙏. You are in this path alone at the end of the day. Only you can do this work. Nobody can do it for you. Strive hard.

I have had personal experiences with entities that has the flavour of some higher consciousness. Giving some guidance, provide assurances and safety that things will be okay in hard times. But now as I understand phenomena a little more, it is cool, but I don't think there is anything particularly special about it. Devas if they ever interact with humans, are often in wholesome manners. Because they do recall how they ended up in heavenly realms, and are generally gracious and helpful. What interest me is how this all works, and how the concepts of gods developed in the minds of humans. And the a framework that answers all these questions. There is a deva the Buddha interacted with, Maha Brahma, a deva who resides in the highest heavenly form realms. He has the view/assumption that he created all of existence, and declares this to everyone. If a human happen to interact with such a deva, with such power, and hear him declare this, it makes sense to not question that declaration. It takes a very special kind of person like the Buddha to see what it is all about. The suttas has a really fun story about it. I have friends who has the eye to see spiritual realms. They are not buddhist, but describe to me what they see often when they practice in certain spiritual sites. How devas look, interact or move around spiritual sites, spiritual people. And it is surprisingly accurate to how the Buddha describes it. Specifically how devas sometimes change their sizes to become really small so thousands can flood into various spiritual sites to hang out. Devas again, in the context of Buddhism, are beings that reside in heavenly realms. There is no teaching of some permanent God at the top that governs/ made this whole existence. Interesting stuff. Devas, heavenly realms. Good to know how it fits into the path. Not something to worship. But something to understand in the right context.