Tibetan_Ice

Loving life is a good thing. It opens the heart and helps to create relative and absolute Bodhicitta. However, even if loving life is a good thing, according to Buddhism, it isn't going to stop dukkha. The only thing that stops dukkha is through the wisdom of resolving ignorance. It is only by realizing the true nature of reality, absolute reality, that suffering ends. The four noble truths. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths So, loving everything, although it is a good thing, does not resolve grasping and aversion. In your pizza example, you said that you like pizza. Liking pizza is a form of grasping, created by contact with the form of pizza through the senses, through the pleasurable taste of pizza. This produced grasping and craving for more pizza. Thus the grasping solidified a state deep in your subconsciousness (the alaya vijinana). You end up with a voice in your head that shouts out "I like pizza! Next meal, we eat pizza!" Then, as a result of this, when you die, you will be reborn somewhere near a pizza shop. Loving life isn't going to stop that. Buddhism is a recipe to end rebirth. It is a method of examining reality in order to ascertain the truth about existence. Have you ever heard of the five lights? Although the Buddhist philosophers like Nargajuna say that nothing is arising, there is the idea that reality begins as the rising of the five lights from the dharmakaya. If there is ignorance, then the five lights arise as the five impure elements of earth, water, fire, air and space. If there is no ignorance, then the five elements arise and are seen in their pure form as appearances of light. A being who realizes this, whom has purified their ignorance realizes the pure five lights and can walk through walls, leave their footprints in stone etc... They have realized the emptiness of reality, or, they have realized the absolute reality. For such a being, there is truly no more suffering. They could manifest pizza anytime (or fishes) although they probably wouldn't need to eat anymore. One day I was walking into the building where I work and a sort of shift happened. I found myself emerged in an ocean of white light and the normal reality that I was in appeared as a circular perception a ways away and directly in front of me. The entrance to the building, the whole visual scene had been reduced to a 5 foot sort of bubble which I was perceiving from about 5 feet away. I was amazed. It was then that I understood that I was grasping at my life, that all I had to do was desire to be back in life and that I would be back. So that is what I did. But I also realized that I was somehow separate from the bubble, and that I could grasp at other bubbles in the white light and experience those lives. So far, Buddhism has come the closest to being able to offer any logical explanation of that event. I did not cause the event, I was not doing anything in particular of a concentrative or mystical practice nature at the time. But it sure changed my understanding of what absolute reality might be. Also, Advaita Vedanta seems to be very close. So, for me it has been the case of having an experience, then the rational mind wants a logical explanation so it goes off and tries to find answers. At this point I am convinced that if one were to quit grasping totally at one's own life, they would realize that same white light state as I experienced. So any teaching that promotes non-grasping has particular value for me. Now let's not eat pizza, it is really bad for you..

No you asked me to prove, not demonstrate.There is a difference.

It is you who doesn't understand the Buddhist teaching that unless you get rid of ignorance, the whole of life is samsara, which is dukkha. Again you present that Byron Katie crap. You have been poisoned and no longer seek a way out. If Buddha had loved "what is" he would have never sought an end to samsara. He had motivation. Your formula kills motivation.

It is not up to me to prove to you that miracles are possible. You don't believe in miracles/siddhis so that is what you see. Your reality is very small. You cling to that.

You ask if there is no joy from life? You are missing some pieces here.. According to Buddhism, joy promotes samsara and will not end suffering.. The fulfillment of desires just breeds more desires. Perhaps you should now read the teaching of Dependent Origination... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Nidānas

You ask if there is no joy from life? You are missing some pieces here.. According to Buddhism, joy promotes samsara and will not end suffering.. The fulfillment of desires just breeds more desires. Perhaps you should now read the teaching of Dependent Origination... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Nidānas

Philosophy, reasoning and logic do not explain miracles. Reasoning and logic are part of the conceptual mind and since spirituality/mysticism requires that that conceptual mind be first subdued, the role they play is akin to comments from the peanut gallery. I don't even think that reasoning and logic are worth much even as post-miracle tools of evaluation because the mind will construct non-existant links between nonsensical events in an effort to maintain a logical reasonable understanding. The mind will fill in its own information just to maintain a cohesive rational pattern, however fictitious it is. There is no logic or reasoning that can explain walking on water, passing through walls, manifesting objects, precognition, distance viewing or any siddhi for that matter. Completely useless. After witnessing a miracle, the first thing that the mind screams out is denial. There has to be a logical explanation! There is nothing that is beyond reason! The mind will even go so far as to rewrite what the senses have reported in an effort to maintain its supremacy. Logic and reason are fine for manipulating objects in the physical plane but are a waste of time in spirituality and mysticism. As a matter of fact, they are hinderences, obstacles that must be overcome.

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=20281 I know someone in particular here whom might be interested in that thread... Jackson Peterson... Need I say more?

Has that been your experience?

http://thedaobums.com/topic/30012-a-path-to-enlightenment/?p=594947 So I have to ask, which comes first, the clearing of the delusion or kundalini?

First off, this topic concerns "how the world works" so it is not derailing the topic as you suggest.The world, for the most part works on a system of reward and punishment. We have laws, and police whom enforce them. We have natural laws which function the same way. You put your hand in the fire, it gets burned. It hurts. That is a form of punishment. Secondly, I see you've judged me. You yourself are a Judge. In the Buddhist sub forum you stated this: In that quote you have called the Christian system of reward and punishment "childish and incorrect" Why do Reward, Punishment and Judgement stop in the physical plane? Are not the same concepts and practices found in the other planes? Yes they are. You of all people, who frequent the other planes, should have known that. You should have met beings whom could have explained it to you or demonstrated it to you experientially. That is the part that leads me to thinking that you dwell in an imaginary dream world and have no practical experience of the other planes. The other planes have their laws too, don't they? It is a wonderful opportunity to discuss this aspect of reality, isn't it? Instead, you cast a few aspersions (cut and paste, a to b ), refuse to discus the topic at hand and run away. Never mind, there was another member in this forum whom had experience in the other planes. His name is Dawg. He would just explain it as he saw it, not run away and hide. For example, this is what he said: http://thedaobums.com/topic/30012-a-path-to-enlightenment/ But still, I have to say... There are gatekeepers whom will judge you. You seem to think you can fly between the cracks..

Karl, this is a Buddhist sub forum. Are you going to pull your home made logical, rational materialistic therapy routine here too? Your error here is not knowing the context and meaning of many of the terms that are used in Buddhism and you think you can apply them to ordinary language. I would suggest learning about the term "dukkha" before you go off in your tangents.. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha

I made no such claim. If mindfulness was "one and the same" as you have stated, then there wouldn't be two different words for the same concept. The method of arriving at a jhana does include some form of mindfulness but other components as well, such as directed attention, sustained attention, the absence or diminishment of the hinderences. Most books on jhana represent the acievement of jhana as a coming together of the jhanic factors. For example, when Buddha mentions "born from seclusion", seclusion is not a form of mindfulness; it is a jhanic factor. You can practice mindfulness while eating, drinking, driving, etc but it is not going to produce jhana. I have read that walking meditation might bring you to the first jhana, but nothing beyond that. So yes, one has to be careful about sweeping statements like "mindfulness is jhana" and try to examine the concepts with a little more detail. Here is some more clarification from "Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English" - Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Just answer the questions.Were your stories of adventures in the other planes just that, stories? Bullshit? Or are you afraid that you might have incurred karma by intervening in other people's karma?

You know, I just have to ask you. . You stated many times that you have been to other planes, dimensions... And that you have helped people through their death experiences. So I have to ask. Are there any guardians to these other planes? Are there gatekeepers whom assess your condition and then grant or deny entrance based on their assessment? I've tried to go back to heaven a few times now but Jesus keeps reminding me that it was my choice to come back to earth. Is that not a form of judgement? When I discovered the world of water and sky with the red sun, Max warned me to stay out until I was ready. He was standing in the astral when he warned me. It took me a week to prepare before I could get into that other plane. Is that not a form of judgement? My point is that there are other beings who guard other planes and dimensions, who can assess your state and frequency and more, and whom will either allow or deny entrance. So I don't understand why you are freaking out about karma and being judged??

This particular topic is about the first jhana. If you'd like to read about mindfulness, the right view and dharma, try some other threads.

Have you ever tried, instead of letting your attention move to the nimitta right away, trying to keep your focus in the breath?

Another successful meditation with hitting the first jhana today! I had been trying the technique of focusing on the feeling of the air as it passes by the nostrils and that technique brought three episodes of the first jhana. But it is very hard for me to reach that state with that technique somehow. Not only does it require allot of effort, but you have to sort of shift your awareness out of the mind and use the part of your awareness that is more akin to bodily feeling or sensation. Then, when the jhana did start, it was caused by a continuous sensation of the air passing into the right nostril. After having a few successful meditations using that technique, it was just about impossible to replicate the experience. I was pretty close to giving up because it was so hard. During the meditations where I was not successful I would reach the state where the body falls away, where that wave comes and passes over you followed by the state where the visions start occurring. It is very hard to focus on sensations at the nostrils while you are being bombarded by visions and the body has dropped away. I had stopped breath meditation for a few weeks and instead had been pursuing self inquiry, turning the awareness back onto itself and focusing on the "I". That is a wonderful technique... I saw lots of lights and other phenomenon but when I get to a certain location near the center of the multicolored light, I get an electric shock which jars me out of the state that I'm in. My head jerks sideways a few times and I kind of jump. I don't know what that is... Anyway, today I decided to go back to "knowing the breath" more in the style of Ajahn Brahm. I made a resolve to put more attention on "that which knows" rather than "that which feels", or "that which does". I reiterated that "knowing" is effortless and does not require motion or effort. This is not a technique of tracing the breathing up and down by pointing your attention at it. It is more like receding further back into the center of the head, close to the medulla where you are closer to "that which knows". That center knows when you are breathing in, knows when the in-breath stops, knows when exhalation is occurring, knows when the exhalation has stopped. It knows this without moving. So, centered in this location, I started to try to sustain a "knowing" of one complete breath cycle. At first, I was aware of the grosser parts of the breath cycle... I am breathing in, I am pausing for a split second, I am breathing out, I have paused a bit. Keeping aware of those four points or parts wasn't so hard. Some thoughts were coming in to distract me but I did not concern myself with them. I pointed my awareness back at the four grosser parts of the breathing cycle and continued to attempt to sustain the "knowing". I recalled that Ajahn Brahm says that you must sustain a continual "knowing" of the breathing cycles for at least an hour without distraction. Actually, I have realized that you can still think or have thoughts in the first jhana, except, the degree of ecstasy or bliss is inversely proportional to how much energy or attention you give to the thoughts. I have found that I can have a few thoughts without the flow stopping, if I quickly go back to the focusing on the breath cycle. As the meditation progressed, I strove to become aware of more and more of the details in one cycle of breath. What I was doing is trying to be aware, not only of the in/pause/out/pause, but being aware of each parsec of the in-breath, and the out-breath. After a few minutes, I succeeded in tracing, or being aware of a complete inhale along with the three other parts. Then, I succeeded in knowing a complete breath cycle and thought to myself that it was just like being in the "now". I kept at it. I wanted to know each minute detail of every aspect of one breath cycle. Then the ecstasy started but quickly went away because it caught me by surprise. I continued. I was thinking "ok, this time being aware or "knowing" a complete in-breath started the ecstasy. However, I continued trying to focus on as many details as possible in one cycle of breathing. I started noticing a bright white light in the background. Yup, the nimitta was starting up. Then the ecstasy occurred again followed by a big JOY! I was going to be successful! I continued on and sure enough, the ecstatic sensations got stronger. I thought I'd mention here that the sensations start in the root chakra. I'm starting to think that first jhana is somehow related to kundalini. I'll have to think about that one... I started to think that this method was better than the "sensing the breath at the nostrils method". The thoughts detracted from the ecstasy but as soon as I put more attention back into the "knowing of the breath cycle", the ecstasy got stronger again. I spent about 30 minutes in this state. It had taken me a while to get to it, but it was worth it. I'm feeling confident that I have the right procedure now. I have realized that the fewer thoughts you have, the stronger the ecstasy. However, when the ecstatic flow is strong, you can think a few more thoughts and it doesn't seem to affect the flow or intensity any more. And, the ecstatic flow continues long after the meditation session has ended.

You seek and enjoy sex because you haven't realized the jhanas. The 5 second orgasm that sex gives you pales in comparison to hours of jhanic bliss. Very few people can master their mind. It is not easy.

Ok here is a short quote of other peoples' thoughts.. No jiva, no fear. Ill just have to be hopefull until I realize this..

Have you ever considered that maybe the customized/bastardized AYP practices that you did did not work? I got nothing out of spinal breathing until I regulated my breathing with a strict breathing sequence, and combined it with sending a pranic heat mixture up the central channel. And most other teachings release the mulabhanda before going up the central channel. I didn't experience samadhi until I fixated on the "I" in the "I Am". TM (aka deep meditation) is not a Patanjali's practice. Further, mantra practice is supposed to be energized by a grant from a guru, which you would never get at AYP because Yogani does not make himself to the public, even for retreats. I could go on.. Maybe you went to kindergarten for 8 years. Have you ever considered that? .

No, you make up your own 'teachings' and then inflict them on everybody else. You've grown a huge "i" thought, ego, and now you are saying that to avoid suffering you should just accept it because it is perfect. Makes no sense to me.

So are you saying that all the base qualities such as hatred, pride, jealousy, stupidity, greed, selfishness, are part of perfection? The general idea in mysticism/spirituality is that there are veils, hinderences, vasanas, blockages etc that prevent us from realizing our true nature and that we should strive to clear or overcome these base traits. Karl you are at odds here with nearly every major teaching (except maybe Neo-advaita).

Again, from MWS:

I think it might be some form of Neo-advaita.