Yuan Chi and the Spiritual Body

[Horus]

Interesting article suggesting that the alchemical formulas are descriptions of a natural ascension process that would happen anyway with consitent meditation:

 

http://www.vitalitylink.com/article-traditional-chinese-medicine-1125-interpretation-taoist-alchemy-tan-tien-brain

 

Obviously, the formulas with expidite the process...

 

Anyone agree or disagree with that synopsis?

[Horus]

The refinement is completely natural, without a formulaic process - probably much to the chagrin of people who love complicated methods.

 

Virtue is both external and internal. Internally, you watch your thoughts, motivations, and emotions, rejecting the negative ones. This is the tough one. People make sure to refill the gas tank and take their car for a checkup, but who really takes the time to examine themselves? It's much easier to chant mantras, meditate, and read about spinning the fire wheel, or imbibing the heavenly dew. It's difficult to really examine oneself and decide to do act better. Without changing your thought processes, all the methods in the world will not work, because you are playing with dirty water. Externally, the application of virtue is easier: seek to do good and help others.

 

Your other question. Would Buddha have become Buddha without external methods? It's hard to say. He tried all the methods that other people tried. And though he rejected all of the methods, would he still have attained enlightenment without trying those methods? Well, you can say he inborn ascended nature drove him to try them and to see past them and to find his own method, but who really knows? Call it fate, destiny, x. It doesn't matter. But I know that "everyone was a born with a Buddha nature. But all people need to development." I repeat that line to encourage people and myself to start with themselves and not worry about their inborn potential, because everyone has that potential. And needs further development. Truthfully, with a single virtuous thought you have already knocked at the door. But can you keep knocking at the door?

 

You are painting yourself in a lovely light with these comments, thetaoiseasy! Thank you..

[Seeker of Wisdom]

Bill Bodri says:

 

Is samadhi the Tao? No, but it's part of entering the path. Is opening up all your chi channels and chakras the Tao? No, but that's laying a good foundation for entering the path. Is doing good deeds and cultivating virtue and merit the Tao? Yes, it's the exhibition of the path, but it's only part of the picture because you still need realization of your true nature, your fundamental essence...

You can either ignore your body entirely in your cultivation, as done in Zen, or try to help speed its transformations so that your chi channels open, but that's just so you can ultimately forget it. You shouldn't be focusing on your body to transform it but cultivating emptiness and letting it transform.

 

Also see this on anapana.

 

Edited January 7, 2013 by Seeker of the Self

[deci belle]

But enlightenment is just the beginning. It's not even close to developing the full immortal body. To believe that many people have attained enlightenment is false, however. To find someone who has that single attainment is like finding a needle in a haystack. The person usually wears normal clothes and acts like a simpleton, not donned in monk robes and smelling of incense. You'll surely miss him unless you have the same development as the person.

 

Brilliant.❤ Ya, no doubt might look like a scruffy mountain-guide smiling with chocolate-smeared lips, haha!!

[deci belle]

Virtue can take you to the door, but without commitment to celibacy at some point in your training, you will have no energy to refine to higher energy..

 

Choosing celibacy is not the issue really, but celibacy is the reality. It is a natural evolution beyond deciding.

 

Celibacy is not only in terms of sexual activity. Not speculating in circumstantial contrivances is celibacy. Even so, sexual (or any) activity without desire (much less craving) in response to circumstances is transcendent activity, no different than any other pure action accomplished by enlightening beings.

 

I know nothing of channels and energy distinctions mentioned in the above posts. To me it is just adapting to conditions impersonally unbeknownst to anyone— Complete Reality teachings call it taking over creation and stealing potential inherent in created cycles of yin and yang.

 

Absorbing potential in innocence void of intellectualization is ingesting elixir. This feeds enlightening evolution and is the result of unminding in the face of ordinary situations— which is in fact the working definition of meditation for enlightening beings. There is no distinction of before or after sudden realization; enlightening activity is one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ed note: change "it is in fact" for "celibacy is" in my first sentence; then add the last two paragraphs

Edited January 8, 2013 by deci belle