C T

(delighted to see some new Chain pullers here! ) know the truth below secrets hidden in basements funny... two left shoes!

Nicely said, 5E. Imo, Not only do they not bring fulfillment, they create such a big hunger in one that whatever fulfillment that was there before the seeking began would be overshadowed by the deep yearnings for the actualization of said needs. Many who have sought and not found enter into the death's presence armed with nothing but despair and bitterness... no wonder the Wheel of Life will not cease revolving. How could it not turn, when there is so much self-justified desires left unfulfilled in the hearts of men and women as they meet death? They (meaning the mindstreams that carry unresolved desires, and not the individual person or soul) will just have to come back, lifetime after lifetime, to seek recompense for the things which had eluded them. Power, love, money, dreams, lost loves, revenge, approval....whatever's left undone, these are just some of the energies that feed Yama, who presides victoriously over the Wheel. Only those who have quelled all desires truly get the power to disengage Yama's claws. The elements offer up exquisite gifts only to the deserving, and none are more deserving to partake of these gifts than those who are desire-less. The tricky part is, how does one overcome the desire to be without desire?

In many people's eyes, Amma is regarded as a living saint. Is being hugged by a living saint something that you see could bring more meaning into your existence, thus making you feel as though you have elevated your spiritual status? If yes, then by all means, go. If not, no need to follow the crowd. Many seekers see such meetings with so-called realized beings as opportunities to notch up meritorious spiritual airmiles, which is quite sad, in some ways.

The Tibetan word for Meditation is 'Gom'. Its a most appropriate word that is totally relevant to today's world. Gom, loosely translated, means 'getting used to' - for someone used to a particular way of life, a set of beliefs, or some habitual, quirky ways of looking at things, they would use Gom in the context. They also use Gom in relation to meditation practices. Very pragmatic indeed. For a culture so steeped in mysticism, one would think they would have as mystical a word to describe something that many see as very deep and profound. But no, they say meditation is the same as getting used to something, or making something newly acquired into habit. Once it becomes habit, it is no longer a necessity to always be mulling over what it is, how it is, and why it is. It replaces old habits, and one begins to see with 'new eyes'. So, whatever it is we are used to, that is Gom. If we are used to delusion, then delusion is our Gom. If we are used to ignorance, then that too is our Gom. If we are used to the fixated routine of drinking 16 cups of coffee a day, then this is our Gom. When we decide that we are no longer happy with certain thoughts and behaviors that are limiting our spiritual aspirations, and earnestly set out to replace the old patterns with new ones, then all it takes to succeed in this is... you guessed it, Gom! To answer this question set by the OP, i would say that if 'Nay' is perceived, then Nay becomes the Gom, and if 'Aye' is perceived, then this too, becomes the Gom. Neither one is better than the other... its about investigation of habits, and see which ones have made us comfortable. They are the ones that usually need to be discarded. The process undertaken to do this investigation, is again, Gom. I think its a good way of understanding Meditation...

Point well taken 3bob. Certainly one's intrinsic nature of buddhahood cannot be created - if it can be forged, as you nicely put it, then it can only be a mental fabrication at best. When there is complete resting in wisdom awareness even the concept of enlightenment is let go of. Of what use are man-made conceptual views to one who neither comes nor goes? Clearing mental veils gradually reveal this intrinsic wisdom awareness. As clarity replaces obscure and dualistic thoughts, one no longer see the need for too many words. Here, one is reminded of the mind-to-mind transmission that the Tathagata gave to the senior monk Mahakasyapa (flower sutra). Thanks for sharing your insight.

Yes 3Bob... Everyone has the potential to bring the seed of Buddhahood into growth. Its a process of gradually diminishing the ideas of a self to be replaced by a growing sense of interconnectedness and the practice of non-harming. The wisdom of realizing interconnectedness releases grasping and ego-fixation. The wisdom of non-harming releases discriminatory biases, whereby one no longer need to dodge the perceived evils of this world, and be weighed down with the struggles of moral dilemmas, due to having attuned to a more equanimous way of perceiving things. With such an attitude, the tendency to compare and conclude whatever is perceived based on conceptual and subjective views may become more relaxed. Taking sides become less important, and the need for expecting/exacting righteous results, which is a deep form of contraction, is let go of. As this relaxation becomes a new habit, then whatever happens tend not to stick so easily on the mindstream. When things do not get to stick on the mindstream, then one can flow with less impediment, like a river that is free of debris and old wood. Most of us touch this 'growth' in our daily thoughts and activities, but due to old forces of habits still not routed out from a lack of mindful awareness and presence, such moments of integrated awareness do not sustain very long, and after a while, one will notice(or not notice) that distraction has taken place, and the mind then wanders off, becomes side-tracked from those moments where the 'self' is not the focus of one's preoccupation. When there is a smooth flow of awareness, the essence of this state of being is not different than the essence of awareness that is all-pervasive in the buddhas. In this, we are not so different than the buddhas - the difference, however, is that the buddhas are able to sustain and remain in this non-discriminatory awareness effortlessly and infinitely, whereas ours come and go, like a car that sometimes drives smoothly and at other times just chugs along, almost as if struggling against its own potential as a car. In the buddhas, such struggles have already been routed out, emptied, due simply to the realization of Shunya. Shunya is like a mirror that reflects... a mirror never retains images, all it does is reflect. When images are not retained, what is there is get stuck and create new karma? Our struggle very often is created because we dont have the power to reflect/deflect, but instead we retain so much stuff, as if our mindstream is like a camera or a camcorder. Be peace!

'Buddha' is the symbol of a realized awareness, and enlightened activity. Buddhahood is exemplified by one whose awareness has becomes unbounded, where dualistic vision has ceased, and where all subtle traces of 'selfhood' has been abandoned. One who has returned to this stateless state no longer re-acts to circumstantial arisings, but act in accordance with equanimous compassion and limitless presence, 'doing' without even the slightest trace of sensing a 'do-er'. When 'do-er' is absent, there is no identity of personhood. When there is no identity of personhood, there will be no person there to accrue any new karma. When new karma does not accrue, in time, all old karmic traces will eventually extinguish when their energetic force dissipates in accordance with the law of cause and effect. As karmic energies dissipates, the feeling of separateness, which causes grasping and aversions, gradually dissolve, whereby the gap, the self-imposed chasm that sees opposing realities, is narrowed - then the potential for endless rebirths (of the same karmic propensities and habitual reactions) loses its force accordingly. As the gap narrows, the roots of old habits and propensities for new ones (which carries old taints) will gradually lose their power to grasp at fertile space for re-growth. When such spaces are not accorded to old tendencies, it is like choosing not to refill a clean cup of crystal-clear water with stained liquids. There is nothing outdated with the above logic. It is timeless, and is present in all the authentic spiritual traditions. Any one whose realization is evolving, reaching to a point where the solidity of self is seen as without basis, because this view is the root cause of all traces of ignorance, greed and other undesirable emotions, hence work on the self to loosen its contracted past, is on the way to Buddhahood, even if he or she is not Buddhist and have not even heard of Buddhism, but this does not alter the fact that their very realization is Dhamma, and Dhamma is beyond selective biases and competition. The Buddha can be seen in all enlightened activity, and all enlightened activity can be seen thru the eyes of one who is free of clinging and aversion. Giving up clinging and aversion is not exclusive to Buddhists. Even Bashar can choose to do this. Anyone can. Anyone can be a buddha. It just takes practice. Smile.

Greetings to you both! Hope you guys are rocking to da beat! Have a great weekend, and.... Sarva Mangalam!!

Before you worry about the psychological state of others, perhaps it might be a good idea to reflect back on your own - what's the deal with resorting to jibes and taunts and taking cynical potshots at what you deem to be New Age invaders? Is this reflective of the sort of (not so) high level Qigong you are supposedly cultivating, when the best you can do is deliver cheap, unfounded and fear-based criticism at a group of people (funnily enough one which no one can clearly define) that happens to exist only in your mind? This is a tad paranoid to say the least. To come here and forward a set of esoteric teachings (an incomplete set at that - reminds me of all the half-built and deserted new housing estates that was abandoned when the property bubble went POOF!) openly and now retracting your support of it certainly puts your credibility as an authentic practitioner into question. Imagine if someone new here reads your magnanimous offering (you said you were doing people a favor by posting the latihan, remember?) and then upon attempting to self-experiment (highly dangerous, imo) finds themselves in a quandary, or caught in limbo land, which is quite a common thing for beginners to experience without proper guidance - will you be accepting responsibility for this? Obviously not, seeing you have now mentioned you do not even agree with much of the contents. Why is that, i wonder? I think this is far more serious than any assumed pedantic attitude which (how dare you) have chosen to slap on me. You know why its serious? For one (which is already one too many), it screams of unaccountability... so please excuse me if i for one am not interested in whatever you are 'selling' here... lordy, no thanks. And trust me, this irresponsible action of yours, posting this Tenaga Dalam thing, says that you are definitely not in the position to judge my character, instead, might be good to first of all have a look at your own. And btw, that compliment was meant for Sloppy - and it was sincerely made, because i know he is highly intelligent, although i have yet to make, due to lack of a tenacious disposition, a strong comparative case to link intelligence, gullibility and sheer stupidity as simultaneously present all at the one time, nonetheless i suspect it does happen every so often to the best of us. But its only a suspicion so far, so please ignore this remark for now. And finally, the only Qigong that i possess(?) is the one my mom gave me at birth... oops, this isnt quite right, is it? Hmm, back to the drawing board, as Ninpo had wisely done. Peace, man, not war. (before you jump to any elitist conclusions, let me just say i have not come from your [limited] idea of the hippie culture, either) Flower power to all! (pic of daisy here?)

You want power? This OP seems to think that by following this teaching on Inner Power you will achieve your desired goals. According to this post, it appears that Inner Power is not that hard to obtain... after all, its only a very short lesson. For someone of your intelligence, i'd say you'd pick this up, digest its contents in maybe what? 15 minutes... and then you may commence practice immediately and gain Inner Power. See, its that easy! Just follow every step and parrot all the moves (remember one thing though - these are the writer's moves, not your own) and you will be on your way! You may now stop moaning that nobody gives you any proven and substantial secrets to work on. Here... (take special note of the part titled 'Stillness'): http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/15014-inner-power-tenaga-dalam/ I assure you this is not New Age stuff, just in case you are wondering. oh, and ps - This is courtesy of Mr TheTaobum, so when you attain the Power, be sure to acknowledge the source... as is the norm.

Neither. Apology not needed. I asked a simple question, but you had to step in to question my question, so i decided to forward a similarly simple question to you. Maybe you have read too much into it. If this is true, then certainly its my turn to offer an apology.

far away calls me near and dear almost all gone the swallow flies home..

Are you his deputy?

are you the new sheriff in town?

Sincere apologies. I mistook you for some other bum. Sorry.

Hi Sloppy.. Thanks for sharing your story. Always delightful to read when your passion flows like that. Not sure if you care to know or not, but i for one have absolutely no hang-ups with the accumulation of 'good' powers. When i was young, like many other young lads, really enjoyed movies where bad guys get the crap beaten out of them, but not before the good guy get rained on plenty first , but he eventually meets some hidden master who imparts to him a superskill, which he uses to kapow the baddies, hailed a hero, and goes riding off into the sunset, sometimes winning the heart of the fairest maiden along the way. This is all very nice, and btw, i still fantasize now and again about such things and continue favoring movies that retain similar themes. It feels good to watch the demolition of perceived unfairness in the world, and even better to feel that punitive goodness can triumph over the might of evil, even if its only on screen. I was 13 when Bruce Lee passed away. He was my hero. Imagine the devastation and the grief i felt then, for in my world at that time, he epitomized the image of what a real good guy is. I started learning MA seriously then, and developed visions of one day carrying on Bruce's legacy. Yeah, i know, it was that bad. Anyways, sorry for the ramble... Back to present. This is my current philosophy: Without wisdom, power accumulation has the potential to contaminate, as evident from what is going on in the world today. Your justified anger points to those who claim to possess relevant powers, and yet are empty when it comes time to walk the talk. Lets face it... even if these powers are somehow made known, realistically, how many will have the resolve, the right discipline, patience and karmic constitution to cultivate these powers? Sounds lame? Maybe, but this is a fact. Current lifestyles are herding people in the direction of destructive tendencies, and not towards cultivation of virtue. Its shaping up as if all attention is being focussed on the propagation of laziness and debauchery, and accumulation of externalities. Its a wave of gigantic proportions, sweeping everything along the way. Its force can not be stopped because, unfortunately, we are this force. We are the sole heirs to our own legacy of past disregard and impropriety. Somehow, It has to burn itself out. How did this begin? Not sure if i know all the reasons, but certainly, we can see that greed (of which power is chief among all the different yearnings) is one of the major contributing factors. Now, if wisdom had been prevalent, we could probably have averted this situation, and if not, at very least, faced with such a dilemma, we would know how to help ourselves and others by not being sucked in by this overwhelming global shift. We learn to stay ahead of the wave, hopefully. Not saying its good or bad, its just something that we have created ourselves, and will have to run its course. In light of this, i really cannot see how being powerful can somehow do anything to neutralize some of the effects of this shift, because power cannot fight power. The laws of Tai Chi says only the soft can absorb/overcome the hard. I dont know - maybe this is an outdated modality, but is it wise to dismiss something that's been proven to be true? Might be good to investigate this... So we have a choice to make here. Do we yield, or do we stand our ground, with our puny powers? If the answer is to yield, then perhaps its time to investigate what yielding really means, and whether its as weak as some us here have been led to misconstrue. Is yielding perhaps the greater power? I can only speculate that it is, but i know for sure that thru yielding, and with wisdom intact, if one day, when this body is old and worn out (and all bodies will wear out at some stage) there will be lessened bitterness as this eventuality comes to pass. If you do not believe me, go do some voluntary work with the old folks. Lots can be learned, of which humility and reduced smugness are two important curves to note. Another thing which becomes very clear is that the mind, even though diminishing with age, is always the last to cease its function. It may not be as sound, but it still works, even after some of the bodily parts have seized up. So its good to pay some attention to cultivate wisdom, which if anything, will outlast many of our physical merits. It can be really hard to work so dedicatedly to develop something and then gradually find that that which you have developed can no longer serve you, due to the greater power of natural laws, one of which demands that all that is born must one day die. Even the Son of God, in the flesh, was subject to this inescapable law. He who performed miraculous feats, yet had to bow before the might of nature. So, birth, old age and death is real. Powers come and powers go. With wisdom, we cherish these when its around, and yet, when it starts diminishing, which it will, i guarantee you, again its wisdom that will carry you to the place where watching them dissipate, there will still be gladness in your heart. We can either learn now to accept the impermanence of this body, and lose being overly attached to it, or deny this for as long as possible, until one day, we are forced to accept the fact, which usually entails lots of bitterness and conflict. Ask anyone here with older parents to verify if this is true or not. Of course there are many other issues at play, but basically, old age can be as traumatic as birth, more or less. There is nothing New age in this philosophical view at all. Its been proven to be ultimately more enduring than the cultivation of power for its own sake. (sorry for the long post. if i had better writing skills, i could have wrote this with half the amount of words. apologies) my 2 cts.

Apology unnecessary. Just that i found it quite odd that a Westerner who adopted an Eastern set of practices would be so forward in making defensive observations with regards to the perceived 'invasion' by New Agers. In the East some would view Westerners who take a shine to Eastern paths as 'New Agers' too, so be careful what views you decide to use to shape your path. Might be helpful to learn to be more accepting of others, just as others try to accept and understand why you would be holding on to your present view, but when you make biased observations directed at certain groups without any credible proof of damage done (of which there is none!) then it shows lack of respect and self-dignity. I am only saying this out of brotherly concern, as in one bum to another. I am not defending the New Age movement here, and neither am i interested in their theories and practices. Nothing personal.

Grateful for the reply, Dawg. Its one way of understanding the concept. (what you have said) Personally i like to work with mind transformation. This way, ideas of samsara and nirvana (representing dualistic existence) slowly converge, and finally transcended, whereby the individual becomes spacious and whole again, due to purification (from practice, mindfulness of right view, and contemplation) of dualistic notions and ingrained views/fixation of opposing/conflict-prone states of being. (of course much more can be said but i think all of it has pretty much been discussed and debated upon in prior threads, of which there are too many to list) Thanks again for your kind patience.

Nothing wrong - most new seekers begin with such fundamental desires when they initially set out. This explains the general label 'Seeker'- ask any beginner on the spiritual path what they want achieve, and odds are they will mention anything other than to be a seeker of wisdom. Not being judgmental here, its merely a 'trend' observation based on personal evaluation after having started along this route myself years ago, and (thankfully) got a smack in the head soon after setting out on that path. What is troubling is that some veterans are still adamantly absorbed by the lures of cultivating supramundane abilities at the expense of first getting the mind ready for when such abilities manifest as a spontaneous effect of wisdom practices. And its not just Western folks - the younger generations of the East is the same. There is a noticeable shift occurring in this regard.. the younger Western generation appear to be more wisdom-oriented nowadays, whereas their Eastern counterparts have switched from that orientation towards desiring development of powers. I am wondering if this has anything to do with the evolving perception of having been labelled the weaker race in the past? Btw, Taobum, i think that observation you made in the last paragraph regarding the MA community being invaded by new-agers is quite silly. What has this community of trained practitioners to fear, which you have implied by remarking thus? Lack of tolerance is not a virtue of a true cultivator, and this is reflected by your words there. Please have a re-think. I like this quote, which has a bearing on the discussion: "Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; after a while, you will find that you will be doing what you thought was never possible."

In Buddhist thought, it is said that when the mind (often metaphored as a piece of land) is cleared of afflictive emotions (overgrowth and weeds), then the potential for nurturing fruitful cultivation is effected. The base has to be diligently prepared initially before any seeds have a chance to germinate. The foundation of a virtuous body is a virtuous mind, although some would say its the other way round. This contention is not really the point. In Buddhism, the body is liken to a vehicle , and the mind is like the engine of the vehicle, both are vital and complement each other, but without a good engine, no matter how attractive the vehicle body is, it will not go anywhere, and neither will the engine be of any use without the body, but... one can see why its more worthwhile to keep an engine in good working order and maybe spend less attention on the body - moreover, its not a prerequisite to have a trendy bodywork before optimally maintaining an engine so that it gets the job done efficiently.

Hmm... this might just explain their specific interest in traditional Chinese outhouses. (i mean, they could have opted to alienap a more 'fragrant' locale, like the Taj Mahal, for example.)

I think you have got it backwards here. The responses were made so that Mr Gauss and the 'silent' supporters of FD can have a chance to wash and churn out their (personal idea of) baddie karma thru exercising their muscle of 'forbearance' - the more negative you guys think the responses are, the more chance you get to increase your merits (this is according to Mr Gauss' personal view, not FD, as he has faithfully reminded on more than one occasion) - so its as if those here who patiently try to highlight the flawed premise of the OP are like bodhisattvas selflessly offering out opportunities to Mr Gauss (and supporters) to gain 'rectification' certificates of merit. Imagine if no one responded at all, it would just go to show there are no compassionate beings here on TTB, and Mr Gauss/supporter(s) would not have had the great fortune to bring their 'rectification' to another level thru increased forbearance. So do not assume that the comments are mostly negative. Its just that you have missed seeing the higher intent and good in the 'bad' ones, is all. Anyway, this is another example of a major flaw in FD.. all this talk of polarized states of things and people doing bad things and reaping bad karma and all that nonsense. Its just too simplistic a view that fail to incite any serious ponderations. This is not in accord with authentic Buddhist teachings at all, not sure about the other mainstream Eastern traditions. Such views can immediately be seen by mature, authentic practitioners as a sort of ploy aimed at fear-based brainwashing en masse. Since such weak concepts have already been proven to work big time (and is now crumbling equally as big a time) in most catholic countries, FD could have thought it a model worth emulating. Almost like hedged betting - its not a new thing. One is reminded of the potentially harmful impact such ideologies may cause.

:lol:

Wonder if the aliens knew that most of the older villages in China still do not have modern toilet facilities - instead, whats relied upon are outhouses and bucket systems. Quite eco-friendly, actually, though i have yet to figure out their bigger plan in beaming up a place where there is so much shite around.

Thank you. Appropriately said.