One more addition:

https://isha.sadhguru.org/us/en/wisdom/article/dont-school-breath

I included the above because of Sadhguru's comments on Chinese Buddhist breathwork vs. Indian Buddhist breathwork - nowhere else have I found any mention of this split

One other resource:

 

Here is a link to a Sadghuru quote from Mystic's Musings on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras

 

https://ibb.co/wdBRVwc  < Read This!

 

https://www.ishafoundation.org/public/ebooks/mystics-musings-preview.pdf

 

Apparently the Yoga Sutras is itself a Yantra and if you read the entire thing certain new dimensions may open up!

Just thought I'd drop by and post a link to some transcripts I did of some Sadhguru talks. If you're interested in how to attain to the Pragna Halos...you might want to read all 3 transcripts.

 

Enjoy!

 

https://happypanda.dreamwidth.org/?skip=20#entry-3294

 

and

 

https://happypanda.dreamwidth.org/8581.html

In the interests of transparency I have to admit I no longer do these chants. They are quite powerful. For me that was true. However, I now firmly believe it is better to have a guru initiate you into Name Chanting rather than picking one of more willy-nilly from a book or video.

 

At the time I first made this post I was unaware of some of the debilitating downsides to this practice if one doesn't have the backing of a guru parampa overseeing it. Not least is nasty karmic backlash that is completely unnecessary. Sadhguru actually has a Sadhguru Exclusive video about this. I had no idea at the time I made this that the need for a guru parampa prepared to go to war and defend their "young fledglings" is an actual "thing" - if you catch my drift. I was quite shocked when he said it's a real thing that gurus have to (to paraphrase) go to war with...uh...not-so-kindly...higher (ie...demonic) powers sometimes on behalf of the disciples under their care.

 

Some of the downsides of doing certain practices without a guru parampa are echoed by Rajarshi Nandy in the following video. Actually it's video 1 of a 4 video set that gives a good overview. Some nasty side effects could include things like...attracting not-so-magnanimous "beings" to put it mildly. Or you might tick off not only the deity who's name you are chanting but..uh...other deities who are adjacent or related in some manner to the deity (or Buddha) who's name you are chanting if you don't do it correctly. Apparently being ignorant of how to do things properly doesn't excuse you from the backlash the Universe throws at you.

 

 

 

So I guess I would say..if you do decide to Name Chant DIY anyway...proceed at your own risk. It's easy to get enthused about the benefits as I was. Much less easy to hear people speak about some of the not-so-great downsides.

 

FYI - the other 3 videos in this set are just as amazing - including one on Possession as explained by Yogis and Tantrics. (good reminder not everything of the more subtle Planes is all sweetness, kindness and light).

42 minutes ago, Cobie said:

 

I’m one of the “readers” but did not “get the idea”. Could you please elucidate?

 

 

 

 

The subtler aspects of one's Being / Soul is busy converting back to one or more of the physical elements though I don't know the group Chinese term for such. An analogy would be like a multi-cellular animal devolving back down to a single celled one. Simpler life, fewer possibilities. Evolving from single-celled to multi-cellular gave Life new opportunities and arrangements to radiate out from its earliest life-forms and now displays diverse possibilities all over the planet in every kind of environment. The same thing would be happening to you (that is, devolving into fewer future possibilities for ones life trajectory and expression) if you draw the breath too deep below the navel.

On 3/29/2020 at 11:13 AM, Omiiran said:

I have a matter in regard to Buddha-recitation cultivation dharma door that I wanted some clarification about. I am currently pursuing pure land dharma door, reciting amitabha name while walking, with rosary, etc. I wanted to deepen my practice and I had a pureland handbook by YongHua and the technique could be questionable(probably not?), he recommend reciting amitabha's name at the navel, as he say "just recite the Buddha’s name as you place your attention on your navel."

 

 

What made me wonder about it was Nan talking about it in Guan Yin Dharma door essay translated by seriousbuddhism "When chanting the Buddha’s name, do not use the mouth to inhale, use the nose to inhale until it reaches the dan-tian (T/N: behind the navel) until the entire body’s hair-pores. Internally, continue this, with each thought pure, and naturally there will be good news." and in Hsuan Hua's chan handbook "if you can breathe through your nose, when you inhale, bring the breath down to just behind the navel, not below it." In Essentials of meditation Zhiyi(Translated by Bhikshu Dharmamitra) mentions something similar "This refers to anchoring the mind at such locations as the tip of the nose or the navel in order to prevent the mind from becoming scattered. Accordingly, a sutra states, "One anchors the mind and refrains from falling into neglectfulness.""

 

 

 

Revisiting this thread because I learned something interesting about why one ordinarily shouldn't draw the breath too far below the navel. I'm uncertain about the exact cut off point but Sadhguru says if the breath is drawn too far below the navel the practice turns Tamasic. It increases inertia in the body and dullness of the mind. Or in Daoist terms - the practitioner's store of Chi is busy converting back to Jing and their store of Jing is converting back to...well I'm not sure what the Chinese term is but I figure readers will get the idea.

 

Which I guess defeats the entire purpose of doing one of these practices. I'm guessing exceptions to the above general guideline should only be done under the advisement of a guru. As a general rule I would probably stick with the navel or possibly 1-1.5 finger-widths below it at most. Master Nan Huai-Chin's advice seems like a good guideline. But people's bodies vary so what might work for me might end up being wrong for someone else. I'm not qualified to say more on this but thought readers might find the above extra info interesting to consider. Especially if they're doing a breath practice learned from a book or video.

New Request

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

I posted my dilemma here:

 

 

Hello DBum Mods/Tech Support

 

I need help recovering my old account name and practice journal. Old nic is JustaRandomPanda. None of the email addresses I've tried work nor does the password reset. Can someone assist me in full recovery? I'd like to keep the old nic. Recovery of the account and private practice journal is priority right now. I especially need the old account to use my new email address and give it a new password.

 

Don't know who the Mods and Tech Support is these days so anyone who can assist me in this - especially in full recovery of my old DaoBums private practice journal - is appreciated.

On 10/30/2019 at 1:47 PM, TheCove said:

Greetings,

 

I am curious about Mantras.

 

Would it be correct to consider them having strength because of the many through out the ages empowered them so?

Would be correct to consider them having strength because the tones reflect universal vibrations of reality?

 

Also what are some good three or four syllable ones?

 

I would like to use them for stillness and clarity.  My mind can go very fast and in many directions, this gets tiresome.

 

Thank you for any info.

 

TheCove

 

Try the following free resources and see if it helps.

 

Mantras Explained - Benefits of Chanting Mantras and the Science Behind It

 

and

 

Nada Yoga: The Science of Sound

 

 

Quote

Sadhguru gives us a fascinating insight into the wonderful language, Sanskrit: “If you have mastery over the sound, you will also have mastery over the form.

 

and

 

 

 

For your specific question of quieting the mind I would recommend the following as it sets you up for experiencing causeless joy in the body and mind you have now as long as you keep at it - or if you fall off the wagon you keep getting right back on at every opportunity.

 

 

and

 

 

 

and for quieting the mind - which this kriya will take time but I can personally vouch that it works:

 

 

 

and finally so that you can build a strong Ida and Pingala which also helps quiet the mind:

 

 

 

Definitely recommend some type of simple joyful physical exercise at least a few minutes a day as well as stretching a few minutes a day if you don't already do so. Eventually simple stretches can be developed into their own specialized discipline alongside Qigong/Neigong or Yoga. The traditional Chinese fascia discipline is Jibengong and the traditional Yoga/Tantric equivalent is Angamardana.

 

See:

 

Angamardana – Mastering Your Limbs

 

One of many reasons for Jibengong/Angamardana can be read in the following:

 

Issuing Power into the Physical: The Role of Connective Tissue

 

 

Quote

Excerpt:

 

As the primary transmission route in the body, training the connective tissue tends to reinforce the health as well. It is noted for making sick men healthy, weak men strong and generating a very potent detoxification effect in those with poor lifestyle habits.

What is not so well understood is the role of the physical-astral matrix and the astral-mental matrix in all of this.

Both of these are energetically refined forms of connective, or fasciae, tissue. They act to transmit power back and forth from the mental realm into the astral into the physical. This is why frequent training of the connective tissue via the electric, and magnetic, exercises is so important toward the ability of a practitioner to work their art.

 

It is also why practitioner who do this kind of work are frequently described as forces of nature on a physical level. Socrates running naked through snow drifts, Musashi’s fashioning a wooden sword out an oar before slaughtering a whole school of rivals and similar events are all a result of this.

 

It is also why people who fail to perform this training largely engage in astral projection and achieve little else outside “energy healing” and delusion.

 

 

 

Best wishes 

Wanted to say hi to the board.

 

I'm currently a fan of Master Nan Huai-Chin and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.  My daily routine is mostly Upa Yoga these days but recently I've done name chanting as well. Upa Yoga is for the physical component that I was missing with the name chanting.

I'm now interested in it after reading the following Blog entry

 

Issuing power into the physical: the role of connective tissue

 

 

Is there anyone here who practices this Gong Fu? If so, what has been / is your experience of it?

I found the Sadhguru video that discusses the latitude/longitude and time of night for optimal "spiritual seed"-sters for Sadhana.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cJVqRUrxok&list=RDCMUCcYzLCs3zrQIBVHYA1sK2sw&index=4

The following is a partial transcript for the talk Sadhguru gave April 21, 2020

 

 

Sadhguru on Karma

 

 

Life is karma. If you want to become NishKarma - that means - people think No-Karma - if you want to become No Karma - there is no such thing. You can become very minimal Karma.

So is a Couch Potato NishKarma? No no. Lethargy is a tremendous amount of Karma. It takes a lot of work to be lethargic. In a sense you will have to generate a lot of explanations for everything and convince yourself that you don't have to do anything about it.

Right now there is virus going on. Somebody is dying around you. You have to [flits hands to wave away] - tsk - do something within yourself to not to respond to that. Otherwise it's natural for you to respond to it. So being a Couch Potato is not Nishkarma. Well a yogi can become almost like a hibernating state where everything is minimized. But still he is not free from karma. He might take less number of breaths per minute. You may be taking 12 to 15 breaths per minute. When somebody simply sits (SG demonstrates cross legged position with hands palms up and open on each knee) they may just go down - maybe 3 breaths, maybe 6 or 8 but below that you can not go.

You can even stop breathing a while for some time but it's only some time. If you stay without a breath, not by holding, just by lowering the metabolism then slowly a different level of karma will begin to pick up momentum in the body. When it picks up anyway - you will breathe. Again it may go into breathless state, again it will come back. So this way you can minimize but still you're not free. You will have to get up to drink a little water or put something in your mouth. When you put something in, something has to go out.  All these things are karmas.

 

So what is the way to handle this? Well what do you think we've been doing with you? With Inner Engineering? What do you think it is? It is simply this, many of you...(laughs)...almost all of you when you did the online Inner Engineering program you still have not done any practice. Or you went through the program first 2 days, no practice yet, first 2 days we're still talking to you suddenly after 2 days you feel a new sense of life and freedom. This thing has happened to millions of people. I know this. Suddenly you light up. Not because all your old karma went away. Just those 2 days you did not create too much fresh karma. Suddenly it's feeling so light and wonderful because you are not creating an unnecessary burden upon yourself.

So what was the trick? There are various aspects, let me not go into all the aspects now. The simplest thing is this - your ability to respond. See, whether I should do something or not, if I think about it - right now, many people are struggling with this - let us say somebody around somewhere close - let's say somebody is infected in Coimbatore. [Looks up wondering] "Now should I do something or not? Why should I do? Why should I do anything? He must have a family. Let them do."

But if we just put up that man's suffering in front of you you will have to do a lot of work to not do anything. But to respond in which ever way you can. Not everybody can go and save everybody's lives. But at least do whatever you can. It's very simple. The amount of karma you have to do - mental karma - will come down dramatically within your mind - simply because your response has become indiscriminate.

Indiscriminate in response but not indiscriminate in action. Because you cannot afford to be indiscriminate in action. In action you are always discerning because action requires physical capability, energy, intelligence, means to do it, time to do it, many things are involved. And these are all limited commodities. Nobody can do indiscriminate activity. If they do indiscriminate activity they will die very soon. And that is also a bad karma. Yes, it is. Activity is not indiscriminate but our response is indiscriminate. Wherever it is I would like to do something, if possible, everything that is possible, will do. But what is not possible we at least have a little intention.

Just because of that you came to the program and you felt such a sense of freedom. People have been asking me, "Sadhguru, how will the online program work without the practice?" I want you to know before you came for the Shambhavi Initiation already you were feeling fantastic. Simply because you stopped creating fresh karma. Old karma did not go away in those 3 or 4 days. Just that new load is not happening. For the old karma actually just living is enough. Sitting here, living, breathing, heart beating is good enough to start dissolving the old karma. A few things need a little more nudge but most of the things will simply go away if you sit here and breath, live, heart will beat by itself. You don't have to do anything. Or are you doing? [flutters hands into various mudras]. Some of you think you are doing everything.

 

The whole issue of people when it comes to their health - whatever - because everybody is an Internet Doctor now. No? They've done a lot of research. The doctors are having hell. Because every patient who comes knows more about the damn thing than the doctor is supposed to know. Doctor knows something more profound because he spent 9-10 years studying and experience of treating people. But these people looked it up after they came to know they have this particular ailment last 3 days they've looked up everything that's on the Internet. And now with all kinds of questions they go with their own prescription. "Please give me this drug. Other drugs I will not take." A whole lot of them coming to the doctor saying, "I will not take this drug. I will take only this." This is supposed to be a very educated patient. A highly educated patient means you are going to be a lifelong patient. You need to understand. Yes, if you become a lifelong doctor it's a good thing. You become a lifelong patient, very qualified patient what is the point of that?

This is simply because you think you are doing this [activity with hands] you have to check your heartbeats, everybody is wearing a band...

***edited for brevity****

[SG digressed a bit about how a great many people these days have turned into excessive neurotic worry warts about their own health]
****

All the time being worried - what is happening? What is happening (health-wise)? This itself is sickness. Too much concern about health itself is sickness and it's a terrible karma. This karma will have an enduring effect on you.

So this is all that happened in the first 3 days of Inner Engineering, online or otherwise. All that happened is that we gave you little tools with which you stop creating new karma and suddenly it felt so wonderful. You did that little homework, ok? What happened today? 5 things to write down. Just because of that homework you paid attention to what you are doing and what you're not doing, suddenly tremendous sense of liberation.

If a two and half hour program can have such an impact on you, if you pay a little more attention, in this lockdown time, you can just learn how to not create karma. Simple this, your response is unbridled. You don't decide what is worth responding or not worth responding. It's not your business. A bird, a grasshopper, and a human being, man, woman, child, doesn't matter, you respond. Do you have to act? No.

Action is always a discerning action, because there are quantities involved in action which are not unlimited. Our energy is not unlimited, our intelligence is not unlimited, our actions in no way can be unlimited they're always limited. But our ability to respond is limitless. This one thing, just this one thing, if you do you will not create any karma today. You will not add up load. Just not adding up a new load, you will see it feel like liberation. That's the kind of damage you are doing to yourself. Why do you think when you were a child you are like this (gestures at his own smile) still you had warehouse loads of karma on you but still you were grinning. Now you become like this (serious look). "A virus, Sadhguru. Virus!"

 

Even before the damn virus came most people were looking so grave, it looked like they walked out of it. This is because every day building up this rubbish endlessly. Every day. Whatever happens you build it up. Build it up. Build it up. Something happens, something doesn't happen, for everything you create a mess, within yourself and that load of mess, just garbage. You're like a garbage truck I'm telling you. Yes.

But now it's a lockdown. You don't have to pick up any garbage. That's a good thing about a lockdown. You just simply - you don't be selective. Who are you to decide what is worth your attention and what is not? Whatever created this, who ever created all this do you see a blade of grass is created with as much care as this big tree or yourself or an elephant or a tiger? A little creature, a tiny little insect that is going there is better decorated than you. Hello? You have to put on all kinds of dyes, they're all very well painted by themselves. So whoever created - has creation paid any less attention to these tiny, little creatures than yourself? No. So then who are you to decide what to respond to, what not to respond to?

Your ability to respond always has to be unbridled. If you're not getting what I'm saying, well we can't come and teach you now. There is Inner Engineering Online. Just go through this 3 days, just first 3 days what is being said there, let it sink into you, soak it in completely. You will see in 3-4 days time you feel like you are floating simply because no new garbage. That's how it feels. So please make it happen. There is no need to go on adding up trash load upon your head.

11 minutes ago, C T said:

 

Out of curiosity, Random Panda, would you mind sharing what you think bliss is?

 

Hmm...

 

Well my knee-jerk response is that I assumed it was an emotion that was so amazing it could lead to tears of joy. But now I'm wondering if perhaps that is wrong? I do on occasion feel a slight bit of joyfulness at night when I chant. However, it is sporadic and never sticks around and alas I still have monkey mind though not nearly as bad as it once was.

 

I agree with  your entire post above. I could imagine someone much further along than myself being ok with self-identifying as this or that. If they want to say "I'm a so-and-so." I'm totally ok with it. In many instances I can see how such could be helpful depending on the situation it's being said in.

 

I just don't see myself as being that far along the spiritual path and the more I practice the more aware of just how "unconscious" I am of so much about everything I call "me".  OK. Truthfully I don't really know if someone posting on DaoBums is further along than myself or not of course. Which is why I posted earlier about not holding other's opinions in higher esteem than my own - or vise versa.

I would like to request the re-activation of my PPF.

 

Thanks

I'm currently reading the following:

 

 

 

 

ISBN: 93-82565-92-2

 

and

 

 

 

ISBN: 978-0-9998330-3-2

 

 

On 4/10/2020 at 4:47 PM, silent thunder said:

The old saying: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

 

has through my process morphed into...

 

"When one unfolds in presence, all of life reveals as Teacher."

 

I'm a bit behind you then as I've yet to experience any kind of "blissed-out-ness" but I'm starting to experience every day the 'just let things be what they are' and no mental categorizing or labeling too. It's why I no longer identify myself as a "Buddhist". I guess if someone really presses me on it I would say "Dharma-ist". But even that is beginning to fade now.

 

Fun fact! I just found out recently - via a cursory glance at a page in the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra - this dropping of self-identifying I'm a "Buddhist" (or Daoist, Hindu, etc) - this is one of the signs a slightly higher level chakra and meridians are starting to wake up. Talk about me being super surprised to see the very thing I'm now experiencing every day  - I'm reading about it right there on the page along with the guru's commentary and he said this is exactly one of the things that happens.

 

According to Sadhguru the ordinary human has 21 chakras fully awake and functioning. Once one becomes interested in spiritual or magical practices it's a sign the 22nd (or more) chakra is starting to wake up.  

On 2/11/2020 at 12:04 PM, SirPalomides said:

To be fair, the form of Christianity popular in the US is a deeply deformed variety by any classic Christian standard. I know many Christians who regard it as straight-up Satanic.

 

 

Seems to me this is true. John Michael Greer wrote a bit about this last month. How the OTHER, non-hierarchical Protestantism that flourished alongside the Puritanical Hellfire and Brimstone Magisterial version has been systematically erased from U.S. history books and the general populace's mind.

 

Apparently the non-hierarchical version of Protestant Baptism arrived on U.S. shores even prior to the Mayflower (which was filled with the hierarchical Magisterial obedience style believers).

 

Quote:

 

Quote

Broadly speaking, the new Christian denominations that came out of the Protestant Reformation went in one of two directions. On the one hand, you had churches and individuals that tried to establish the same kind of dogmatic uniformity that the Catholic church enforced, but with some other theology in place of Catholicism; historians call this end of the movement the Magisterial Reformation. On the other hand, you had churches and individuals that rejected the entire concept of officially established dogma and trusted instead in the personal quest for knowledge of God. Historians call this movement the Radical Reformation, and for good reason.

 

The Pilgrims we all heard about in school—the ones who sailed on the Mayflower, set up a repressive Puritan theocracy on Massachusetts Bay, and hanged witches at Salem—belonged to the Magisterial Reformation. Not all the colonists in those days were on their side of the line, though. Even in Massachusetts Bay Colony, a great many colonists were more interested in personal liberty and a better life for their families than in toeing the line of Congregational theology.  Meanwhile, other areas of the eastern seaboard—especially Pennsylvania on the one hand, and on the other the southern end of New England, from Cape Cod west through Rhode Island to the Connecticut River—became a haven for the sects of the Radical Reformation. Rhode Island in particular, which established absolute religious liberty earlier than any other English colony, was a powerful magnet for believers in strange doctrines and practitioners of curious arts.

 

These sects have been erased from most accounts of American history just as thoroughly as the rest of this country’s weird heritage.  I’ve seen people get very flustered on discovering that Roger Williams—the founder of the colony of Rhode Island, the fiery religious revolutionary who thundered “Forced worship stinks in the nostrils of God!”—was a Baptist. Of course they were thinking of today’s Southern Baptists, who have by and large swung most of the way over into the camp of the Magisterial Reformation, and not that long ago conducted a bona fide witch hunt against members of their denomination who happened to be Freemasons. Williams wasn’t that kind of Baptist; he was a General Six-Principle Baptist, and if you’ve heard of those, you’re a member of a small and well-informed minority.

 

The General Six-Principle Baptists believed that you shouldn’t be baptized until you were old enough to choose your religion for yourself. (That’s what’s behind the “Baptist” label, in case you didn’t know.) They held the six principles of Christian faith given in Hebrews 6:1-2, including conferring the priestly laying on of hands on every believer at baptism, and they taught that salvation was available to everyone, irrespective of creed—thus “General.” They held that faith in Christ is not the same thing as belief in a set of doctrines, focused on the former and didn’t worry very much about the latter, and made room for a great deal of diversity among their congregations.  Interestingly, they’re still around—like a lot of colorful American traditions, they had a near-death experience in the 20th century but came out the other side. You can find their website here.

 

It appears there was a power and public relations struggle between these various approaches to the Christian teachings in the 20th century and the Magisterial sects won.

 

I remember JMG talking about how he knew a saintly elderly lady who was a devout Christian and she told him, "The Word of God is Christ Himself. Anyone who can't see the difference between that and a book has a lot of learning to do"

I had to look up Dwai's word adhikara

 

Here's a link that gets more in-depth about it.

I've taken one of Sadhguru's online classes. I actually felt the shakti power so at least for me Sadhguru is legit. It's possible he won't be for someone else. I mean...even the Buddha had people who had karmic connections and got spiritual benefit from one of his own disciples but not at all from Him(!) and when questioned by his disciples about it he said it was due to different past actions in a prior lifetime by both himself and the disciple vis-a-vis the lay people in who's town the Buddha's Sanga were staying.

 

In any case I figure holding in esteem anyone else's opinion above one's own to be a passing phase as much as doing the reverse (ie holding one's own opinion above others).

 

If one gets benefit from Sadhguru's talks that's fine, if not, that's also fine.

 

 

What was that phrase from (I think) it was Diogenes?

 

"You don't hand over your body to just any stranger sir so why would you do the same with your mind?"

The following is to inspire you to keep going but to strive to do what you're doing with ever increasing perception.

 

This is the power of the Still Point at a human scale. This lady found the Still Point of these rocks and look at what it achieved. Realize this is what Buddha name chanting is helping you to achieve inside yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. There was a great quote from one character to another - of all things! - in the Netflix show Altered Carbon.

 

 

 

 

"To the mind that is still, the universe surrenders."

Hello Omiiran!

 

The following is background information to help explain my other post.

I started with the breath and pain. Specifically a lot of the small aches and pains I feel in my body daily. That was my initial interest that led me to do research. Upon reading about the various nadis/meridians and chakras the kind of breath pattern and where the breath intent flows activates different qualities in your body and mind. I'm pretty sure you already knew that but it was brought home to me just how much it matters when I started digging around for info on the Sri Chakra/Sri Yantra and Shiva Chakra/Shiva Yantra.

Meridians meet in triangles inside the body and the kind of energy (pancha bhuta as just one example) flowing in and around the still point (bindu) determines how you are building yourself up and what kind of garbage you are tossing out. That's exactly what's happening to us every day. Most of us are doing it unconsciously. The goal of any kind of practice ultimately is to make that whole process under full conscious control. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev says scientists today can duplicate a true vacuum in special chambers and when they introduce energy to the vacuum different kinds of "virtual particles" (his words) pop out. That's what's happening inside of everyone reading this post - right now.

Since different people are unconsciously building up and tearing down different things in their body and mind it makes it difficult to give blanket instructions. Invariably there's gonna be that subset who don't respond well to what the majority benefit from.

 

As a side note:

 

The above process is what Agastyamuni's yoga tantra teaches one to do. That's why you don't need props, no mantras, no divinatory tools, with his system, etc. Why use intermediaries when his system teaches you those things directly using your own body as the teacher? Those poses taught alongside different kinds of breathwork are acting inside you just like the scientist's experiment with energy in a vacuum. Which meridian, the angle, the speed, the obstructions, the pressure, the rhythm, etc and which general triangular section around the still point in your body you've chosen for all that to converge at changes what you're busy becoming. As an example, I found out recently that there's a small triangular section right around Manipura chakra's bindu that's related to improving one's health and grants you the ability to help improve OTHER people's health problems too if one is so inclined to become a nurse or physician.

 

So...that's what Buddha name chanting is actually doing. The Buddha name is a recipe or to use another analogy - canned code. You aren't being an engineer from the get-go. The engineering has already been done for you. All you need to do is follow the recipe and the result will happen on its own. That's why you don't need to appeal for a response or constantly looking for a response from a Buddha or Bodhisattva for results (something Master Nan particularly warned against and said 100% guarantees problems down the line for the chanter if they do one or both of those things. Well, yeah - because it's an uncounted for addition to the recipe).

 

That's why when I read the Cosmic Doctrine I was thunderstruck by just how profound an achievement Agastyamuni's system truly is. If your goal is to gain 100% control over every single one of your internal energies then this is what your training regimen needs to look into eventually.  Judicious use of Buddha name chanting can greatly speed that process up but now you have a basic idea of why and how karmic sickness happens at all and why a Buddha name will address some problems while leaving others untouched. [p.s. Sri Rohit Arya has made the following point - As with everything in life there is a point of diminishing returns. Simply piling on Buddha name or mantra after Buddha name or mantra eventually creates a major Shakti traffic jam inside the body so that's why simpler is often better when it comes to Buddha name chanting or mantra use.]

 

Now...if you want to be a Kriya Yogi and want to cultivate the ability to craft your own new recipes then eventually you'll need additional skills in addition to Buddha name chanting. You'll also need to find the right kind of Coach - aka Guru who can train you for that Profession - the Kriya Yogi Profession.

Hi Omiiran

 

I am going to make this a 2-part post. The first is to show how I've been dealing with your question myself. The 2nd post will be to fill-out why I've been going the route I have.

 

1. Each person has to decide how much they're willing to risk his/her own health and peace of mind in going the DIY route. For me, I hit some bumps here and there and the more I learn the more I realize just HOW little mastery and direct perception I have. Just simply having the ability to have a stress-free enough breath when chanting a Buddha name is itself a separate goal that some people would benefit from training separately from the goal of chanting a Buddha name.

 

 

2. There's also the separate goals of learning how to consciously practice and honestly assess yourself. So there's the part of "don't do practices mechanically". Or in modern sports training what's known as Intentional Practice. If it's not that kind of practice you're adding to the hurdles instead of adding to one's freedom. When I switched to the Intentional Practice perspective along with the self-assessment it gave a good idea of how much a beginner I am. I sometimes wonder how many Intermediates would still call themselves Intermediates if they took that kind of approach?

 

 

3. You could try treating it as a research project. Give yourself 2 weeks of Intentional Practice[separate skillset] of Buddha name chanting[separate skillset] using Master Nan's breath instructions[separate skillset] exactly (and I do mean EXACTLY) as he gives them. Do not try to get clever and "innovate" or "improve" upon Master Nan's instructions. At the end of each day do a self-assessment separate from the practice session itself. I know Master Nan scolded about dropping a Buddha name practice once one has begun but he also was saying that to his direct students, not to the general public. If anything comes up that you can't endure you need to consider dropping that practice pronto and switching to something else at a more basic, beginner level or even taking time off from anything "spiritual". If nothing else and you do need to take a break you can always focus on Karma Yoga (sila) - doing some kind of charitable service simply because you see someone else has a need that needs addressing (which does count as a separate legit path all by itself). But as long as you're getting decent results I would encourage you to continue.

 

 

My next post will go into answering your other question: Be forewarned - it will be long but it's necessary to help contextualize things. Also, I repeat I am not a guru. I am sharing what I myself have learned through research as well the school of hard knocks from the bumps and occasional hair-raising booboos I've made. If you choose to go DIY for now the need for ruthless self-honesty ramps up accordingly. And after all the warnings I do want to point out that the majority of people have great results from following instructions from books and videos and finally look for a guru when the desire for one starts ramping up (that means their practices worked and they're getting excited and delighted with the results and are now looking to take it to the next level by working with a coach - aka guru).

Can anyone tell me how the name Akshobhya is actually pronounced?  I don't know how to read international symbols of pronunciation. I am guessing it sounds like Ak-sho-hai-ya although maybe the letter 'b' in there should be pronounced?

On 2/18/2020 at 10:57 AM, dwai said:

I wasn't much of a morning person but I seem to wake up by 3:30 AM quite frequently  

And you too my friend

 

Sadhguru has a video on exactly this. Within a certain geographic latitude if one wakes around 3 am to 4 am naturally (without an alarm clock or other artificial means) one gains maximum benefit from any sadhana done at that time. If you don't naturally wake at this time it means you're a "Book Yogi" (Sadhguru's words, not mine) and sadhana at 3am forward won't gain you any benefit beyond what one naturally gains at other intervals such as sunrise, noon, sunset, etc.

 

The fact you are naturally waking around this time suggests your guru lineage has planted a spiritual 'seed' of some kind in you and it's starting to sprout.