Gerard

Why spend any money?? If you have the chance of living near the country side, this stuff really works:

1. Lift heavy objects like rocks, logs, heavy sandbags...

2. Farmer walks. Make you strong all over. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/strongman13.htm

When I was into weightlifting I used to train number 2 a lot and it really made me what I am today: big.

Gautama Buddha was also a warrior and before he went into asceticism he was a well-built man.

Build a strong external foundation and then develop your internal strength. The Chinese have a name for this but can't remember.

Today, for me is just Bagua and Vipassana.

Good luck!!

Hi BJM,

Thanks for sharing this story here in the www.

I would suggest you to not cling on to your developed siddhis or you'd deviate from the real goal, break the cycle of karma and rebirth. There is more pleasure in helping others in their suffering than focusing on power.

You developed them from strong grounding which triggered the navel chakra (lower tantien in Taoism).

The following book clearly teaches the reader how the process is done:

The Bliss of Inner Fire: Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa

Lama Yeshe

Good luck.

Bit of music to cheer up this thread.

My sincere apologies that I did not see your reply earlier. Lol, I am beginning to wish you were closer to me too Such guidance would be immeasurable. I do have glimpses of previous existences.. particle, tree, and what even appears to be the birth of the universe (is it cyclical??).

Native American Indian I feel... recently.

Honestly, I can not tell you how long I have been meditating for... Contemplation seems to come to me naturally, I have practiced this since the youngest of ages. I am still young in body, but - boy, oh, boy - I do feel so very old. To give the answer that I believe you are seeking:

 

I have made a conscious effort to meditate for the last 4, or so, years. Alas, I cannot even claim to have stuck to one particular practoce as I find is regularly encouraged.

 

Yours,

James

Just don't get too attached to siting meditation. Make sure you do heaps of grounding work so you develop power in your lower tantien. Neijia arts are the best practices you can get involved in.

Yes I know old "souls" feel that way. And this Earth is full of young ones, blind to the Dharma. A real pity!!

Keep going and never give up.

Namo Amitabha.

Immortals aside, long fasting cannot be good for you physically right? Spiritually I can see how you can gain insight from long fasting but I mean it's not something your average joe should do. I'd think that it would take a real, REAL undestanding of the body and qi for you not to degrade physically

Why not? If I was less active I would probably stop eating. No need for it, is chi what nourishes us and the one you absorb from the food is very raw, hard to process.

Read this info about that Indian sadhu I mentioned in my first post:

http://www.amazingabilities.com/amaze5a.html

For instance, after practicing Bagua this morning I had no need to it. I just had a bit of yoghurt with peanut butter for dinner. That's it. Bagua is physical and you probably need to it more than a monk that is sitting on the floor non-stop.

Anyway I am not forcing myself into non-eating, I just eat when I am hungry and my meals are 1-2.

It's not food what we need but chi.

Of course this is old news! Oh my God I get so perplexed at some scientists. Why did they think people meditated if it doesn't do anything?!?! I heard that 'they' recently did a study that showed that regular excercise is good for you! ...and they have developed a drug for 'road rage' (which now has a scientific diagnostic name!)!

LOL! This is old news since the time Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment 2,500 yrs ago.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1745053/5809864

Hahaha.

Namo Amitabha.

Cause: an action be either created by speech, mind or body

Effect: the resulting consequence.

Practicing Buddhists often engage in Vipassana retreats and follow vows of silence to purify the mind and overcome karma and of course help other sentient beings without expecting anything in return.

Namo Amitabha.

YOU ARE THE GREATEST TEACHER OF ALL!

Don't rely on others, conquer your mind and you will win the greatest war of all time.

Do what Gautama Buddha did: sit, breathe in, breathe out and let go. Do it consistently, day in and day out and you will go far.

Here's a good intro to Gautama Buddha:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2NLQGrbf5U

If you have the chance practice Ba Gua. Find a teacher in your area, if you have the chance.This martial art system will develop your internal power, Nei Gong at the highest level.

And finally, read Buddhist sutras to let go of your ego and purify your mind. Here's a good source, the original teachings of the earthly Buddha:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/

Another great site:

http://www.buddhanet.net/

As simple as that.

Namo Amitabha Buddha.

May all sentient beings be free from suffering and its causes.

Thanks for bringing this up. Perfect time to recite the Great Compassion Mantra, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. This page offers concise instructions which I felt would be good to reflect in TaoBums:

1. Light incense and place beside shrine;

2. Prostrate 3 times to Kwan Yin;

3. Offer one (or more) glass (es) of water which Kwan Yin will bless;

4. Invite Kwan Yin to come to you and appear;

5. Bring the palms of your hands together in the prayer-mudra;

6. Invite all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to come and be present.

7. Recite the following chant:

Lu Shian dza zo,

Fa Je Mung Shin,

Dzu Fo Haj Whey Shi Yao Wen,

Swey Tsu Dje Shang Yun,

Tsong Yi Fong Yin,

Dzu Fo Shien Chuan Song.

Na Mo Shian Yun Gai Pu Sa Mo Ko Sa. (3 times)

8. Recite the following lines to purify your speech and apologize for the pronunciation errors made by you during this practice:

An Sho Li Sho Lie, Mo Ho Sho Li, Sho Sho Li, Sa Po Ho (So Ha).

9. Recite the Kwan Yin Great Compassion Mantra 3, 5, 7, 21, 49 or 108 times.

10. Recite the short mantra 10 times:

Na Mo Kwan Yin Boddhisattva.

11. Finally, drink the water blessed by Kwan Yin. This water now has healing powers.

12. Dedicate this practice of the Kwan Yin Great compassion Mantra to the benefit and enlightenment of all beings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyIIObFyK4I...feature=related (in Sanskrit)

Namo Amitabha Buddha.

May all sentient beings be free from suffering and its causes.

Jade or plastic?

Not the one I bought in Taipei:

http://dragonartwork.net/2008/01/11/more-w...ragon-carvings/

About those links, were just ideas to that user not something I encouraged him to buy.

Good quality jade is hard to find.

Anyway the best jade is found in the spirit, priceless!

Outside Samsara there is no more Yin and Yang. There is cessation of suffering, one has attained Nirvana.

protection from what?

His own mind.

Buddhist philosophy aside, I would recommend a Ba Gua symbol of jade, which is very useful especially if you practice Taoist energetic practices. Visualizing the Ba Gua in your lower tantien and in your internal organs as well as ming men area, etc. is good stuff.

Here're some I found online:

https://id215.chi.us.securedata.net/yingyuj...;products_id=30

http://cgi.ebay.com/Burma-Chinese-Jade-Jad...915104001r11542

http://jadejewelrystore.com/store/chinese-...agua-p-230.html (very similar to the one I have from Taiwan).

Good luck!

Hundun,

My biggest point of contention is that if current methods and techniques taught by current widely known systems, (mainstream Buddhism for example Zen, Vipassana etc ), were so effective then they should be turning out at least some enlightened and liberated beings each year, right?

 

That isn't happening, and if it is they are hidden away from public view pretty quickly.

 

Some masters claim there are as little as 60-100 hisens (liberated beings) on earth.

Lets do some rough math here 66 people out of 6.6 billion thats like 1 in a billion..

 

Something isn't working, the mainstream methods are ineffective.

 

Not ignoring you but I will have to post more after work either 16 hours from now, or tomorrow morning, when I have time.

What are you talking about?

The method is not the problem but consistency and controlling the mind are.

Not many beat Mara and this is the biggest obstacle of all: overcoming the darkest corners of the mind. Practitioners who live fully immersed in society have little chance. About th monastic order...hmm most lost the track, they seem more engaged in anything else but enlightenment. About hermits...Honestly, I wouldn't have a clue.

Good luck to all!!

Eat natural food as much as you can following the seasons and Yin & Yang principles, i.e. more fresh fruit and veggies in summer and steamed/warm food more in winter.

No meat because of karma of the animal you are eating and because it is too Yang.

No alcohol for same reason and because if messes up with the entire internal organ system and ultimately the mind. Same with other drugs and all pharmaceutical products.

No junk and heavily processed foods.

Eat as much as you need because Bagua is very demanding on your musculoskeletal system. Eat like a horse and sleep like a dog to recover from it.

Drink plenty of fresh purified water.

Stay away from polluted air.

Regulate sex practices, the less the better.

I think that covers most of this topic.

Note: if you were a pure Yogi then no much food will be needed as most of your chi absorption would come from air chi.

It's strange how my research and practices seem to have come full circle. Back I am with Zen

You mean Theravada (please let's start a Buddhist school war in here, we need it! ):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada

In that page you'll find the essence of what this whole samsaric existence is about (philosophy section).

Btw, for those who send me PMs asking for how to attain siddhis, or testing me, or asking for "fake" help, please abstain from doing this because you are only bringing bad karma to yourselves. Just focus on your mind and practice Vipassana meditation twice a day, if you can:

http://www.buddhanet.net/meditation.htm

Just leave me alone, I will only give advice related to Buddhist teachings and meditation. Nothing else.

Good luck.

Namo Amitabha.

Edit: added new sentence at the beginning.

Good one. Wandering matures you very quickly and helps you understand that attachment is one of the biggest obstacles towards spiritual enlightenment. Herd mentality, or samsaric gravitation, is something one must continuously observe to avoid being trapped by it.

I am sort of wanderer as well but need to work because I have no family support. I have seen any of my family members in the last 10 years. Who cares anyway, we are all alone and in a different journey. I send them my blessings from here, Australia. Hello family Lol!

Thanks for sharing this story here in this forum.

Namaste.

I am willing to put $100 on this story being complete and utter bullshit.

 

Hey, should we split this MA stuff to a new thread?

Like most of the mystical crap surrounding IMA!

Agree 100%

If you haven't met anyone with this sort of power why would you trust someone on the Internet saying this and that?

And Chinese are famous for exaggerating & faking this fantasy.

Pffffff!

Just keep training and enjoy the benefits of Nei Gong.

Namo Amitabha.

Edit:

Please, read this insightful article about Chinese culture and MA:

http://www.adamhsu.com/articles/taiwanblog_ClayFigurine.html

As someone who can't spell/write for shit!

I think you write fine and am enjoying your thread!

Good questions, others will also fine benefit in, i think.

Would rather read something posted with good heart,

rather than good grammar, LOL!

 

Keep it up!

 

Shon

 

 

Sorry, showing good grammar shows putting effort into something you firmly believe and experienced first hand. Flick through this pages:

Theravada

1. http://www.zhaxizhuoma.net/DHARMA/Tripitak...exTripitaka.htm

2. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/

Mahayana

http://www4.bayarea.net/~mtlee/

Vajrayana

http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/index.html

Taoist

http://www.stillness.com/tao/

Is the information contained in there written like this?

da nature of the zoul in buhdism is 1 ov teh tpics dat confzes

Please let's get serious or we will lose credibility if someone who is secular and comes across this page might think we are just a bunch of hippies high on mushrooms!

Namo Amitabha.

I'm interested for a long time to learn Baguazhang, but I have not found any teacher where I live.

Is it possible to learn Baguazhang from a DVD? Does anyone know a good DVD to learn from?

How about this one?

Baguazhang - 8 Trigrams Palm

 

Thanks,

ToL

No sorry you need a teacher. No videos will ever show you the subtle footwork and palm changes. Please stop here because if you start making mistakes then you create a bad habit that will be detrimental to your progress.

Good luck.

Namo Amitabha.

Forget about the mystical crappola and focus on mind and technique.

Here's something for you to get motivation:

Namo Amitabha.

...im trying to meditate as often as possible wenever i feel like im getting deaper i fall backwerds and as for standing postures i shake like a broken dryer after 2 seconds any recomendations?...

First thing, could you please tame your impatience and pit some effort into your typing skills.

It is very difficult to follow you.

Secondly,

To avoid rocking backwards is caused by inadequate sleep as your meditation is basically helping you to fall asleep. This is far from the goal of practicing yoga.

Lastly,

Typical of anyone who is still in the beginning stages of standing yoga. Try to create a firm root deep into earth by using your intent. Imagine roots growing off your feet and sinking deep into the ground. Also make sure before you start, you rock back and forth with both feet to create a stable position.

Good luck.

Namo Amitabha.

Del.

If you have a cat, you probably enjoy this beautiful story. There are bigger cats though :

http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php/2005/1...anaburi?blog=23

http://hydrojen7.blogspot.com/2008/06/tige...nchanaburi.html

I am looking forward to visit that Theravadin monastery next Christmas.

Namo Amitabha.

May I ask: is standing the only practice you do?

Are you fully relaxed (including the mind) when you stand?

Thanks.

May I ask you how old are you?

If not too old if you start Bagua right now you'll release everything! I can assure you that.It is happening to me!

I thought Yoga and Taiji would have changed me completely. How wrong I was.

Luo Dexiu is a top teacher of this art and especially Xingyi.

Good luck.