Squatting Monkey

I think there's a bit more to it than that.

Without jibengong (foundation) training, the internal arts are meaningless. I doubt that these people have been taught correctly. When you get hit by an internal practitioner, you don't actually get hit hard, but the effects of the strike go deep and explode from within. Very hard to explain in words. You have to experience it.

This book will help you to acquire internal strength and build a strong, healthy body. It's one of the best out there IMO. Check elsewhere online. I've seen it much cheaper ( can't remember where though )

Mr Orb The clips that you included in your post are nothing but thuggery dressed as 'sport' or 'martial arts'. In fact they are quite sickening. Wanting to beat someone half to death is wrong, so very wrong. It's obvious we are not going to agree on anything. This is a thread on Internal Martial Arts and was meant to provide constructive dialogue. Not the old argument that 'my style is better/superior than your style'. This has been done to death on dozens of forums for years and has no place here. We are here to share, compare and to learn from each other.

And what, my friend, is a REAL fighter ? How do YOU define who is a REAL fighter and who isn't ? We're not talking of the armbars, chokes, punches and kicks of the RULE based MMA world. Internal martial arts are of a different level altogether. A high level master could kill an assailant in an instant. Check out the history of these arts before you make assumptions.

An excellent question my friend, and one that has led me to the path I now walk. To find out where the mind is we have to find out what the mind is. This has led me to Buddhism, and in particular, Theravada. I learned vipassana meditation from Theravadin monks a few years ago and this has allowed me to gain insight into the nature of all phenomena. Coupled with a study of 1. The Four Noble Truths 2. The Eightfold Path 3. Dependent Origination 4. Some Mahayana sutras such as Heart Sutra, Shurangama Sutra, and Sanghata Sutra. I am starting to get to grips with learning how the mind works. The next step is a study of the Abhidhamma, which is an analytical look at human consciousness. A manual of the mind. So, what is the mind ? It isn't the physical brain. It has no form or substance. It is therefore empty of any inherent existence. It depends on other factors for it to exist. How can anything which has no form or substance have a location ?

Here's another.

Maximum power with minimum effort. Internal martial arts techniques are meant to kill or maim. Life or death. Do or die. That's why they were developed. Not for shows or tournaments. However, this isn't feudal China so the need to defend ourselves from attacks many times daily is not required. Martial artists (myself included) are all just hobbyists now.

I've trained with Alex Kozma also. This man knows his stuff. You don't travel back and forward to Asia for 25 years seeking out internal masters for nothing.

1. Xing Yi Nei Gong by Dan Miller & Tim Cartmell (THE book on moving nei/qi gong) 2. The Way Of Energy by Master Lam Kam Chuen (Zhan Zhuang for dummies) 3. Mindfulness In Plain English by Bhante Guarantana (Learn how to do vipassana). Invaluable. 4. The Four Noble Truths by Venerable Ajahn Sumedho (All the Buddha's teaching's are here)

An Auspicious Day Beautiful.

No offence but why do these neo-advaitans call themselves by pseudo-indian names ?

Can anyone recommend any writings/teachings on this fascinating subject. Not particularly bothered about which spiritual tradition they come from. Thanks in advance SM

Zazen for me. Out of all the methods I have done, this is incredibly simple.

Don't leave, I was just enjoying our discussions.

I always enjoy a cup of hot green tea.

Back to basics, practical, no nonsense teachings are what people will come back to after their failure in esoterica.

Nice avatar by the way !

I also used to make this mistake. Now I do what I can, when I can. No pressure.

Then who created the creator ?

I also think that it's also good to have different interpretations of Dogen's work. Nishijima's interpretations may differ from mainstream Soto Zen, but that doesn't mean that his is wrong(or right !). Look at how many versions there are of the Tao Te Ching for example. I'm not here to defend anyone or knock anyone either. I have only been recently introduced to Nishijima's work and as I said earlier, I think his explanation of zazen is the best I have seen so far. There's a lot of choice nowadays and I was just trying to make this valuable information available to anyone who may be interested.

Well, I've heard nothing but praise for him from other zen folks. By dumbed down do you mean because his style is more suited to western lay practitioners ? If this is so, I see nothing wrong. In the link I provided, the instructions on how to practice zazen are the most informative I've seen. If it gets more people to sit on the cushion regularly, that can only be a good thing. I've had enough of sectarian politics in spiritual/religious and martial circles.

What the hell happened to the thread I started ? It's turned into a 'my way is the only (or superior) way'. Does every topic have to descend to this ? I may go to another forum and ask for advice there.

Excellent stuff. Many thanks. The nondual/emptiness of Buddhism is definitely the practice I'm interested in pursuing. I have a background in vipassana meditation having been trained by Theravadin monks. Recently I have become interested in zen and nondual/emptiness nature of it. The information that I've received in this thread has given me much to ponder. SM

This is very much what I have in mind, it's just that I need to understand it a little first. Would you say that the self inquiry method of Nissargadatta, Ramana Maharshi etc to be different from the zen koan 'original face'? Great links by the way. I'll have a good look at these over the next few days. Thanks