damdao

On 10/12/2023 at 11:13 PM, almaxy said:

Today I was watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXlxAw6EkBA&ab_channel=DamoMitchell-LotusNeiGong by Damo Mitchell, and in the minute 21:18, from what I know, he refers to the Zhan Zhuang(ZZ) posture as not good for building Qi,  and I always tought ZZ main purpose was exactly to build Qi in the body, so if it does not, what standing static practices build Qi? Basic Wuji standing?

 

Or what other practices builds Qi?

 

I recommend watching the full video for context, it's 22min total and you will understand better my question.

 

There are postures in the Zhan Zhuang training designed to build qi but they have a lot of requisites (depending on the goal of the posture, stage of training, etc.). The main one being a low stance, the idea behind this is that if you keep the posture long enough you (somewhat) transform marrow from the legs into qi.

If you have a dantian you store it there, otherwise it circulates in the system.

Immortals (it is said) are immortals because they have accomplished the fusion of xing (inner natur) and ming (life force) so, probabley there is a huge difference between them and humans, from the point of view of jing and shen too. 

Regarding the OP, it depends on what your discipline is (qigong, yangshen or neidan).

Post heaven jing depends on nourishment so every day you expends and generates it.  

Preheaven jing is another story but it is said that jing can be replenished.

Regarding best translations: Livia Kohn, for instance

The Zhong-Lü System of Internal Alchemy

 https://threepinespress.com/2020/08/01/the-zhong-lu-system-of-internal-alchemy-2/

or Louis Komjathy too.

Extensive translations (not always best, though)

Eva Wong

The Tao of Health, Longevity, and Immortality: The Teachings of Immortals Chung and Lu

Harmonizing Yin and Yang

Nourishing the Essence of Life: The Outer, Inner, and Secret Teachings of Taoism

Holding Yin, Embracing Yang: Three Taoist Classics on Meditation, Breath Regulation, Sexual Yoga, and the Cir culation of Internal Energy

I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but this references may help you:

This first is about karman properly speaking

"Between karmic retribution and entwining infusion", Maeda Shigeki in Daoism in History

https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=PAUg-Xelo-IC&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false

Then, you have another chinese concept of cause and effect, more akin with magia sympathica, and that is 感应 or resonance, response, etc.

Huai-nan Tzu: Philosophical Synthesis in Early Han Thought, Charles Le Blanc

https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=iWjqAQAAQBAJ&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

and the Chapter VI of Huainan Zi that is the source of that concept.

3 hours ago, Daniel said:

 

Please help me understand what it is about "an act of Confucian filial piety to his father." would result in not having a positive dispostion towards LaoTzi?  Or is there something else I'm missing?

 

 

The thing is that the writing of the historical records was commended to his father Sima Tan. As his father could not fullfil the project he finished it. But... he had his setbacks due to political issues, he was even castrated.

Although he was confucian (so to say) his adversary were the legalist not the daoists. If I not mistaken, he devised the distinction between philosophical Daoism (Dao Jia) and religiuos Daoism (Dao Jiao). This helped to safeguard the philosophical books such as Daode Jing, Lie Zi, Zhuang Zi and others.

Besides, he was who depicted the first emperor as a sadistic tyrant (because he was a legalist ruler). Truth is a little debatable though. 

So, I think that the reference to Laozi is neither particularly relevant here nor accurate (in the modern sense). It seems to me that he collected traditions and more or less composed a text. His more powerful endeavour was to depict the dynastic system, the characterization of leaders, etc. Political things.

Here we have another translation that matches the first possibility ofered by @Cobie that of a question, it is from The Grand Scribe's Records, volume VII, Nienhauser, ed., Cheng, Lu, Nienhauser and Reynolds, transl.:

2 hours ago, Cobie said:

That’s the rule in modern Chinese. This is not the case in Classical Chinese, there it can come either before or after. Grammar is extremely important in reading classical. The classical grammar was different from the modern one. 

 

Sorry , but I think that you are mistaken. 

In Classical Chinese more than in Modern Chinese, there are no word classes per se, so position is all important in determining if you are before a verb, a noun or an adjective (or any other class). So, if you change the order you change the meaning, the function and the class, even the pronunciation can change.

What it is more free are the coordinations, sometimes you cannot say if it is a word or two words, classical examples are 神仙, 鬼仙 that could be interpreted as two words coordinated or one word.

The modifier comes before the modified, so we can leave aside the meaning "malefic", "deleterious", etc.

I think that it could be interpreted as a rhetorical question: "Is he not, perchance, like a dragon?" Implying a "yes" as an answer.

I don't know what the OP was asking, but the wording could have a different meaning depending on the context.

In a Daoist book, it is something definitely positive. Riding the clouds and winds is a favorite occupation of immortals (maybe alluding to an ethereal quality in their bodies).

If you like Wang Liping system better begin with Nathan Brine books, as Shadow_self said.

But, it is always better to have a teacher, either online or in presence (this is better, of course).

Regarding the foundational training you may consider the Wuliu Pai lineage.

Welcome to the forum, it is great to have a daoist priest and teacher as you in the forum.

I agree that speaking about shamanism and daoism has become kind of fashionable. The subject presents a more complicated relationship than merely one originating the another.

But, what sinologist call "shaman" is not 薩滿, which is a modern term in chinese, but 巫. 

So keep it in mind when you read some informed comments about chinese "shamanism".

In neidan texts nobody want to become ghost immortal.

But following paths and practices that develops yin shen, the yin spirit, has as an aftermath a kind of immortality, but yin immortality, hence, you become a ghost immortal.

This a not so veiled critique to chan buddhism.

A sufi sheik here once told us that the takbir position may be related to the chinese medical theory of the phoetus shape in the ears and touching lightly the lobule acts like a kind of stimulation in the head faculties and senses (because the ear lobule corresponds to the head of the phoetus in auriculotherapy).

3 hours ago, Taoist Texts said:

congratulations. we all prayed, rooted and drunk for you today. Your guys played like true jaguars they are

Thank you! It was really hard to see today, I cannot fathom how hard was playing it.

6 hours ago, Pak_Satrio said:

Boring 90 mins but amazing extra time and pens

 

Unfortunately Argentina made it through but was good to see that brawl and last minute goal to deny them the easy win.

I'm sorry to tell you, but Argentina will be the World Champion...

31 minutes ago, Taoist Texts said:

Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations
John Minford, ‎Joseph S. M. Lau · 2000 · ‎Chinese literature
Even in broad daylight , people saw ghosts everywhere .

https://tinyurl.com/47y4njzn

Yes, I have heard the expression before (in chinese) with the value of something truly incredible, the height of a situation. I don't think that in the folk lore it is normal to see ghost in broad light.

17 hours ago, Cobie said:

“daytime ascending”

However, 

So why mention the “daytime”?
 

Because in folk religion it is believed that only 神仙 (trascendents, immortals) could stand in broad daylight (being pure yang beings), other entities are considered 鬼 (ghosts) and they, being pure yin beings, can only "manifest" themselves at night.

So, leaving your physical body in daylight means you are not a ghost but an immortal.

Simple as that.

If someone dissolves his /her body, the phrase used is something like "he leaves behind only his shoes (or fingernails, etc.)".

On 10/11/2022 at 10:25 PM, Jaguar said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but the new courses seem to be split of the original neigong course and charged extra? 

From the courses outline seems you can learn most of 1-3 from his book or the other WLP books..

 

And yeah I do understand he has to make a living haha

The new courses have some lessons added to the original ones. 

Double post. Sorry.

7 hours ago, Shadow_self said:

Doubt he'll name them, or doubt its him?

It is very unlikely that he is either in the russian school or in one of the english speaking branches.

What he says has little to do either with wuliupai or with yuxianpai. 

12 minutes ago, Shadow_self said:

 

Are you going to name them, or can I just assume you are one of AA Khokhlov's (you give me that vibe)

I don't know, but I doubt it.

4 hours ago, MetaDao said:

 

Anyone below the Di Xian level teaching 'Neidan' or 'Alchemy' is a fraud.

 

Damo Mitchell, Nathan Brine, Jerry Alan Johnson. All are frauds with no true high-level attainments.

 

I think this is not entirely true. Sometimes teachers may act independently, taking students of their own but there are schools with wide networks and, in those cases, there are advanced students teaching. Thus, the student has a teacher and after sometime does the baishi ceremony with his teacher's teacher and so on.

4 minutes ago, Cobie said:

 

So we get: 

夫道以无心为体 … the essence of Dao is to have no “thoughts and emotions” 

 

 

I say, good luck with your Dao. 

 

 

 

无心 is a technical expression, in daoism as well as in chan, son and zen. So you should not take it literally but in the theoretical context of those traditions.

15 hours ago, Shadow_self said:

Lindsey Wei actually teaches something like this. Its not so much "iron shirt" as "body protection" using dao yin methods and breathing techniques...

 

Shes 31st Generation Longmen Pai (Dragons gate) oddly enough  This lineage seems to pop up everywhere

 

She teaches an Iron Shirt method from the Chunyangmen lineage called Dagong. It has three levels and the higher ones include strong body conditioning through strikes. First you hit yourself, after that a partner hits you and later you practices with the floor, walls, etc. The foundation of this training is a kind of dantian work and replenishment.

The Yangsheng training is another system (again in three levels) for health purposes, aiming at replenishing the three treasures.

Under certain conditions Dagong can be trained as a soft health preserving set of exercises.

It is a very ancient, effective and popular method among Wudang traditions, it trains qi response and fascia reaction to hitting.

20 hours ago, terry said:

 

 

   i have all of shah's books, or most of them, and know most of the stories well enough to repeat many of them without having to look them up. I find the stories immensely useful.

 

   

  

Do you include Shah's writtings under others pennames like Arkon Daraul, Rafael Lefort, Omar Burke, Laura (I don't remeber the last name, it was about secret societies).... and the anonymous study material of his groups? 

I like the classics the way of the sufi, tales from the dervishes, knowing how to learn, knowing how to know, etc.

I found, though, a little distubing his earlier books and translations on magick and wicca.