Gerard

This topic ties in really well with the following: 1. How deep does the mind go? 2. Where is the exact location of the mind? Things, events, laws, principles, etc. start to make a lot of sense once one gets a good understanding of the above.

Let me tell you something from personal experience. As a Ba Gua circle walking practitioner this art will "open you up completely" if you are up to the task. There is virtually no end how deep it goes. We are...and I stop here, I'll let you find it out by yourself. So to answer your question: it's a must if you are ready for it. No one else knows this better than you. Whst are we really?

They were not Taoist intellectuals who were in charge of writing texts about their findings plus compiling old texts on the matter; eg. Wu Xing theory; let alone alchemists experimenting with substances that causes many a premature death but thanks to them we have a vast and rich Classical Chinese Medicine system. Herbal Medicine would be nothing today without their experiments and results; cinnabar in small doses clears the heart and calms the mind...earlier on some Taoists died while trying to figure out the correct dose.

1.Yes true but it doesn't have the widespread appeal and push as Buddhism, Hinduism and the Middle Eastern religions except for the Sufi way. 2. It has a lot IMO: Medicine, Feng Shui/Divination, Astrology and Physiognomy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaddanta_Āciṇṇa He's the monastery's abbot and learnt Mahasi's method.

No need of any research papers. It's one of those skills that can be developed through many years of internal cultivation. One interesting fact: We accumulate inside of us, etched in our consciousness all the lifetimes we have lived as our many faces. View it as TREE RINGS. I have developed an exercise that lets you peek inside others people's lifetimes while the other person is able to view yours. I tested it with myself and three other people in real life and it works. One of them did it with his partner and the guy came back to me and agreed that the method works. The power of observation.

1. What do you mean by Wood Tiger? 2. Same as the way the internal organs vibrate which can be detected by pulse diagnosis in any TCM course. This stuff is very complicated and how did ancient Taoists figure it out? POWER OF OBSERVATION. It all comes to that. The whole of Taoism is based in very accurate scientific principles which all stem from the universal law of Yin & Yang. The cascading effect: Spirit gives rise to form: Wuji ---> Taiji ---> Liang yi (Yin & Yang split like cell division: male and female, light & dark) and via the Five Forces/Spirits physical reality is created in all directions.) ---> Si Xiang ---> Ba Gua (the manifested totality). Yes very observant and highly analytical and perceptive ancient Taoists. They had nothing to do other than cultivate and observe the action of all the subtle laws within themselves and also by observing the changes in the natural environment which are a reflection of what is taking place inside of us. Change is a constant.

I'm not an intellectual. I don't read Taoist, Buddhist or books based on similar methodologies. Ba Gua circle walking, walking meditation, grounding work and a bit of seated meditation plus hiking in nature. A life of a hermit and what I know is a result of how I live. You can't buy or read about wisdom. You either get it or you don't. End of story. And here ends my contribution on this thread. I don't get involved in arguments anymore, it bocks the Qi.

Alone is good but you need a teacher who'll pass on to you a serious energetic method of self-transformation and purification/opening/release. Chinese Internal Martial Arts serve this purpose really well.

You are already getting up from the wrong side of the bed. There is no goal, only an understanding of what you really are and being aware of the changing nature of reality due to the subtle influence of universal laws. I'd start the path by looking at: Let's build a SOLID and STRONG FOUNDATION in my practice aka GROUNDING.

This one: https://biyome.com.au/meditation/the-mahasi-technique/

Another aspect that I try to highlight is the CONSISTENCY of Buddha Dhamma I can see how consistently they have missed THE LAW OF THE YIN & THE YANG for the past 2,500 years. For that very reason, it's easy to dismiss Buddhism. From my own personal perspective based on my own practice, I have no interest in their methodology.

Three in fact: Scientific. Yin is cold to touch (ice) and likewise Yang is hot (fire). Wood expands and Metal contracts (Five Forces/Spirits science). Qi travels methodically and continuously throughout the FIVE ENERGY NETWORKS. 365/24/7 Every year Qi adopts a different phase; eg. 2024 is Year of the Wood Dragon: Earth + Wood Spleen-Stomach + Liver & Gallbladder are the dominant forces in 2024. I can carry on with endless scientific laws, which are the underlying mechanism upon how reality works. ............................................

They come close hence why I disregard Buddhism completely (amongst a myriad of other reasons). It's not what the Buddha taught (so not valid). From one Buddhist monastery here in Australia (online manifesto): It aims to transcend today's bewildering confusion of Buddhist gurus, dogmas and techniques by returning to the original teachings of the Buddha as found in the early parts of the Pali canon, and in the living practice of the great meditation masters in the Forest Tradition. They sound pretty much fundamentalist, Taliban-like and dogmatic. NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Taoism (and here's where many people still don't get it), is not a RELIGION; it's actually the world's oldest SCIENCE and a very accurate one to say the least. And to respond to the OP: Religions have nothing to offer, they are the opium of the people. NO RELIGION, just self-realisation and understanding the laws of reality. It's all that it matters.

I wonder if the following cat sometimes comes across the snow leopard in any of those remote mountains of Central Asia. Do they become instant friends? Pallas cat. Not suitable as pets, it's a wild animal!