Internal Practices Suitable for Self-Study

senseless virtue · March 16, 2020

Internal Practices Suitable for Self-Study

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Some people want to train internal arts independently without a teacher. What are internal practices suitable for self-study?

It's an interesting question with two complementary answers. There is the perspective of complete formal practice that allows the practitioner to advance from complete naivety to mastery within its self-contained systemic framework. The other view is that of wisdom and insight into what is this thing "self" that we consider as defining, or confining, us. This wisdom aspect is a vitally important element which enables the formal routines to provide abundant benefit and success.

Wisdom

Wisdom develops heartfelt awareness because it sublimates base desires like greed and fear. How are desires and rejections building into a habit of relating our personal "self" to our experiences? Are we our experiences or actions? This is a call to observe and not an intellectual deduction nor an argument. When a baby is born pretty much all she does is to observe, eat, shit, cry, and smile. The baby doesn't have any functioning conception of self-worth for herself or for others. This doesn't prevent her from experiencing life and reality naturally like a human baby does. Only later in the childhood would she learn that people assign worthiness to their experiences and infectiously project these out on personal level. A labeled world of good and bad phenomena is traded around like a collectible card game, and the only way out of this is to realize that it can be suspended or quit. The path of wisdom is returning to that earlier puerile innocence which didn't see the world through permanent divisive categories or absolute judgments: we could call this practical non-duality. It asks for genuine inquiry, curiosity, and considering the context of experiences. The world and its people reveal themselves as they are: sometimes sweet, sometimes annoying, often helpful, and rarely committed to wisdom its full scope. None of these observations are anything but transitory insights into human condition, which makes no impact to our innate worth and how we are free to evaluate and judge our worthiness or just leave it as undefined like it naturally is.

It's about opening up instead of closing in. Please do not see what I described as any sort of nihilism or radical equalization of all experiences. Defaulting views to nothingness or indifference are marks of not having much understanding nor insight. The high point of wisdom is to train and live through a natural relaxed and flexible view that easily defaults to undefined. The real you is spontaneous and true to your own innate goodness underneath those acquired habits that cloud it.

There are many ways to purify one's wisdom, but these all have the same flavors of becoming fully aware of our own self-caused suffering and that this narcissism is not the entire picture nor permanent at all. Yogis can go as far as to train heartfelt awareness which connects to everyone or they can offer their selfless service to the world in the face of abuse and scorn, up to the point of martyrdom. Make no mistake: The real challenge of wisdom is in facing all our fears and disdain without taking up victimhood. All the things we would rather avoid and not confront are the very same poisons which when taken in correct doses and with good skill become safe antidotes and healing medicine that sets us free from these compulsions.

In the Western world we have relatively little active culture into the study and preservation of universal wisdom. This problem can be solved through studying some living wisdom tradition and looking in what the masters advice over inquiring about one's limiting conceptions of self and how none if has real permanence. An essential part of accessing wisdom is having a stable heart, so we should have awareness and care over our own emotional regulation.

First, I would offer good and short videos that talk about compassionate awareness, perceptions of stress, how people themselves can give rise to real life changing skills and realizations. The core offering here is that if you want to change yourself and your sense of self, then you should first have a healthy and happy sense of self.

Assorted Videos about Self-Compassion and Emotional Welfare

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvtZBUSplr4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmUayKnHWWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKy19WzkPxE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRtBHF-WPpM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD4O7ama3o8

Videos are unembedded on purpose.

Getting a Clue about Wisdom and Virtue (De)

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The Empty Boat

He who rules men lives in confusion;

He who is ruled by men lives in sorrow.

Yao therefore desired

Neither to influence others

Nor to be influenced by them.

The way to get clear of confusion

And free of sorrow

Is to live with Tao

In the land of the great Void.

If a man is crossing a river

And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,

Even though he be a bad-tempered man

He will not become very angry.

But if he sees a man in the boat,

He will shout at him to steer clear.

If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,

And yet again, and begin cursing.

And all because there is somebody in the boat.

Yet if the boat were empty.

He would not be shouting, and not angry.

If you can empty your own boat

Crossing the river of the world,

No one will oppose you,

No one will seek to harm you.

The straight tree is the first to be cut down,

The spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.

If you wish to improve your wisdom

And shame the ignorant,

To cultivate your character

And outshine others;

A light will shine around you

As if you had swallowed the sun and the moon:

You will not avoid calamity.

A wise man has said:

"He who is content with himself

Has done a worthless work.

Achievement is the beginning of failure.

Fame is beginning of disgrace."

Who can free himself from achievement

And from fame, descend and be lost

Amid the masses of men?

He will flow like Tao, unseen,

He will go about like Life itself

With no name and no home.

Simple is he, without distinction.

To all appearances he is a fool.

His steps leave no trace. He has no power.

He achieves nothing, has no reputation.

Since he judges no one

No one judges him.

Such is the perfect man:

His boat is empty.

Source: The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton, pp. 114-115, New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1965 New York. This is an adaptation based on a famous parable in the classic Chinese wisdom text Zhuangzi in the chapter 20.

For a good introduction to a wisdom tradition that can take the sincere practitioner all the way to great merits and yogic accomplishment I recommend getting to know about Shanrendao and its virtue healing tradition. It's inspired by the Confucian tradition where the central teachings is that the person should seek to perfect his role and function in the society and within his family — gracefully and gratefully accept all "polishing" others may unkindly serve him — and still remain true to himself and not suppress his emotions nor desires, but work these for everyone's favor. The formula is simple, but difficult to master because people might be unable to express their emotions in a true or meaningful way. More about this later.

I personally have a strong liking towards Confucian view of De because it is humanizing and emphasizes that cultivation truly isn't about this or that formal technique but becoming wise and genuine person with a crystal-clear conscience. The lessons of virtue are especially important in our age because, in my opinion, there is growing neglect in teaching classic virtues like patience and self-sacrifice. Unvirtuous behavior such as blaming others, worrying over myriad possibilities, and anxious rationalizations easily lead to escalating tensions in the body and sourness that taints human connections. By avoiding faults and honing ourselves instead of others, we can engage in good speech which is timely and harmonizing, and therefore our words will stay ageless and gentle to the heart.

With Confucian healing and wisdom in mind, I highly recommend the books Let the Radiant Yang Shine Forth: Lectures on Virtue by Liu Yousheng and Twelve Characters: A Transmission of Wang Fengyi's Teachings.

Below is a diagram that shows Wang Fengyi's Shanrendao tradition's insights into the classic Five Elemental Processes and how they connect to different human frameworks. These can also be useful in diagnosis which is clearly presented in the clinical healing cases of Liu Yousheng's magnificent book.

There currently is another English translation of Wang Fengyi's teachings available: Discourse on Transforming Inner Nature. Both this and the Twelve Characters book are among the clearest expositions of traditionally Chinese flavored spiritual cultivation that I have found anywhere. Wang Fengyi skillfully illuminates the similarities and differences in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.

Teachings about Open Awareness, Meditation and Nondual Wisdom

C T's excellent topic is a treasure trove of both Buddhist and universal wisdom:

Formal Practices

The problem with formal self-study is two-fold: it typically hinders cultivating the peace of heart and de-stressing the body correctly. Without confessing these as the primary factors there is no true cultivation or satisfaction happening, but the genesis of prolonged agitation.

Emotions Must Be Addressed First

Your heart is the window to your entire being. If you have a lot of wild emotions that are easily stirred, then it's guaranteed that your mind will not know peace, but always search for outflows to spend that restlessness. All practitioners need to cultivate earnest patience that allows feeling stable and unshakable. Don't expect miracles overnight, but work on your expectations and not making a big deal about yourself.

The most critical foundation for internal training and safe energetics is that any disruptive emotions must be healed through what could be called a process of acceptance, balance, and integration. The development of patience is crucial: If emotions flare, then the body's vital energies are diverted into excessive tantrums that weaken the whole body-mind complex. This thwarts any healing that is supposed to happen naturally, and strong emotions are a contraindication for formal meditative practices because strong emotions may deviate the how the vital energy operates in a healthy manner. Therefore, it's an incontestable premise that calmness of heart is the way to lasting vitality and energy, but it must happen naturally through wisdom and not by forcing.

Suppressing emotions is unhealthy. It shuns the wisdom and awareness of experiences as they are, so it sets the stage for growing psychological and ethical issues if not addressed early enough. These departures from proper practice, if perpetuated, will almost certainly lead to unwholesome trance states that only provide masks of happiness. You see, bliss and pleasure seeking are often convenient masks for not wanting to deal with uncomfortable emotions or traumas. There is nothing wrong in bliss and pleasure as such, but forceful desires and optimism over them will not calm the heart.

Please this topic I wrote about psychic trance states that flawed practice and emergence of psychic shadows can cause:

How to give a physical boost to improving emotional balance? You could offer sincere and deeply heartfelt personal apologies for every tantrum you have projected onto others; you could try play-acting difficult emotions in a social setting like improvisation theater hobby; and you could do exercises like Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) that are designed to unwind traumatic emotions that the human body might suppress and keep inside (see the works of David Bercelli and Peter Levine).

Please consult your health care provider before trying the following exercise on your own and decide together whether it suits you.

A Simple TRE Flavored Practice

Spoiler

1. Lie on your back.

2. Put your feet bottoms facing together as in the butterfly pose. Your knees open to the sides.

Open the spoiler tag below to see what you should be looking like right now:

Spoiler

3. Pull your knees closer together using just the barest amount of force so that they don't actually move them any closer. You want to keep engaging this threshold of muscular activation without moving them.

4. The threshold activation of your thigh muscles will tire them so they will start to shiver and shake spontaneously. Allow these tremors expand and travel to other parts of the body if it happens on its own.

5. Let spontaneous shivering and shaking happen for 20-30 minutes. If you want and are able to, it's perfectly fine and actually recommendable to vocalize any emotions you might experience while practicing.

6. Rest a while after finishing.

Please note that this exercise is not supposed to be Spontaneous Qigong or any other type of energetic exercise. It's just supposed get emotions out and help you relax.

A Caveat about Physical Stress

Another thing to consider that if you have a lot of stress and tension within your muscles and fascia, this probably is a sign that you have kept emotions inside in a very corporeal sense. In this case spiritual practices can be unsuitable because they might provoke excess irritation, unstable mind, and general disconnect and floating attitude towards mundane activities. TRE is one way to help improve the situation because it removes tension, but there also are other types of exercises designed to foster relaxation and healing like the Dharma Drum's Eight-Form Moving Meditation.

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EIGHT-FORM MOVING MEDITATION

The Dharma Drum's Eight-Form Moving Meditation was developed by Master Sheng Yen of Dharma Drum Mountain as a means of allowing people living stressful and busy lifestyles to enjoy some of the benefits of Chan meditation. The system, based on many years of practice and personal experience, has incorporated the essence of Chan meditation into a series of simple physical exercises. In addition to physical exercise, practice of the Eight Forms helps you relax your body and mind, so that you can develop a healthy body and a balanced mind.

HOW TO PERFORM THE EIGHT FORMS

Dharma Drum's Eight-Form Moving Meditation is a set of easy-to-learn exercises that can be practiced almost anywhere and at anytime. This system of "meditation through motion" is beneficial to both body and mind, and once acquired through diligent practice, can be performed whether walking, standing, sitting or reclining, so that you are always mindful of being relaxed in body and mind. By practicing the Eight Forms, you will always be composed and at ease, and at every moment enjoy the bliss of meditation and the joy of the Dharma.

Detailed instructions and pictures of the standing form behind this link!

Video breakdown of the invididual moving meditation forms in standing posture.

Video breakdown of the invididual moving meditation forms in sitting posture.

WHY MEDITATE?

In modern times, although people’s material conditions have progressed, such advancements come at the cost of increased stress: stress from work, social circles, personal relationships, society, family, etc., which have collectively pushed people into a corner. While a certain amount of stress can motivate people to improve their lot, living under high pressure for extended periods of time greatly impacts one’s physical and mental health.

Body awareness and relaxation Chan

Modern people are very good at self-restraint and ignoring the messages coming from their bodies. Like an overextended balloon, we only discover that our body is too stiff and tired when the balloon finally pops. Being aware of one’s body sensations is the first step to relaxation. People are often unaware of the physical warning signs of stress, such as clenching teeth, hunched shoulders, squinting eyes, stomach aches, heartburn, occasional migraines, and clenched fists while sleeping, etc. All these bodily phenomena indicate that we are tense and stressed.

Actually, relaxation is our natural response, since people do not like the feeling of discomfort, and the feeling after releasing the discomfort is relaxation. Being aware of the source of the discomfort and releasing it, one can gradually be able to relax. Through the practice of Chan, we can observe the stiffness and tension in ourselves one step at a time, thereupon releasing physical and mental stress layer by layer.

Mind is the key to relaxation. To relax the mind is to simply let go, and letting go of the body is relaxation. While relaxation is performed through the body, the basis for relaxation is the mind itself. The body and the mind are one, and the body's reactions actually reflect one’s state of mind. Feelings of pressure in the body arise from the reaction of the mind towards the external environment as well as the ways we appraise our self-worth.

The process of regulating physical and mental stress using Chan is actually an inner journey of self-exploration. The wisdom of Zen manifests in many ways, ranging from defusing pressure to increasing self-awareness; understanding and accepting one's own characteristics; exploring the meaning of one's own life;, and, further, transcending phenomenal appearance to appreciate and enjoy the richness of life.

Source: Chan Meditation Center's website, their page on Why Meditate?

Supported by Compassion and Good Words

Praying fervently but without hope or fear for the sake of others is a great way of making the heart happy, regardless on of one's religious or spiritual views.

For those who are engaged in Mahayana Buddhism of any flavor, I would give additional advice: cultivate bodhicitta continuously!

It's my understanding that there are some particularly suitable Buddhist mantras and dharanis that would benefit just about any internal practice, but advising about recitation practice is tricky because the Buddhist path is comprehensive and not a collection of isolated methods that can be offered to just any audience without reservation: Teacher's advice would matter the most to the tenured practitioner, while the beginner would need a learn a large framework starting with the correct view, ethics, taking refuge in the Three Jewels, dedication of merits, etc. to make recitation practices truly useful. Nevertheless, I'm making few references here in case anyone wants to look up their merits:

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Buddha Mitrugpa Mantra: NAMO RATNA TRAYĀYA / OṂ KAṂKANI KAṂKANI / ROCANI ROCANI / TROṬANI TROṬANI / TRĀSANI TRĀSANI / PRATIHANA PRATIHANA / SARVA KARMA PARAṂ PARĀṆIME SARVASATVA NAÑCA SVĀHĀ

Namgylama Short Mantra: OṂ BHRŪṂ SVĀHĀ / OṂ AMṚITA ĀYUR DADE SVĀHĀ

Source: Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition website, article Lama Zopa Rinpoche on How to Help Turkeys on Thanksgiving.

Here is Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī with audio pronounciation which is a much longer recitation piece than the two mantras above. You might consider reading Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra which gives context to the dharani and its great benefits.

Getting into Cultivating Vitality

There are following main factors that make a given internal practice good for self-study:

1. Safety (It's difficult to fumble with the practice. Should be mostly safe even for the pregnant woman and her developing baby.)

2. Effectiveness (Brings good and clear results every time.)

3. Ease (Allows good practice from beginner level to relative mastery.)

4. Completeness (Not a sprawling system, but a clear sense of defined practices and gaining progress through them.)

All these together lead to the summit that the practice is self-correcting and can be well traveled without any teacher's supervision, continual corrections, or amending with advanced instructions.

It's an evergreen fare that people come looking for practices to satisfy some fixed personal desire. Often this fixity is then channeled as meeting some whimsical aim and urge to take forceful control that deviates from the laid-back wisdom of true contemplative and peaceful heart. Therefore, there's a lot of room for creating errors.

Not only are many people dissatisfied with simple and efficient exercises, but they want also to modify what they have previously seen or create their own brand-new fad methods to evoke a sense of external mastery. Some are more modest and only claim high mastery in Kungfu or meditation without modifying the established standards. All these are signs of self-initiation in contrast to an open minded and respectful self-study.

Yes, it's entirely possible to train energy in a multitude of different ways, but not all of them are beneficial in the long term nor fostering fair character development. Safety is another factor that can't be neglected especially when learning on your own. Please see the following topic I wrote about Qi deviations:

There are simple moving exercises in many Qigong styles, but even in these people may err while learning on their own or forget to uphold the correct physical relaxation. Also, I have witnessed many occasions when a disgruntled practitioner lashes out against his teacher because the physical movement apparently invites overtly critical examination and experimentation. Therefore, I have a bias against recommending very physical practices for people wishing to study on their own. Simplicity invites trust.

Visualization practices are an endless mire because they don't easily offer the mind to relax nor shed the desire to imagine new ways to cut the practice short. How could it then result in correct outcomes?

The most difficult part really is that no instruction is foolproof for teaching how to not stir the heart, but gracefully accept even difficult emotions and thoughts that may surface and witness them with laid back awareness. If this obstacle is overcome, then the self-study has a chance to bear fruit. Some practices are more forgiving with the ordinary beginner's mind such that Flying Phoenix Qigong doesn't require mental stillness for effectiveness and Fragrant Qigong encourages an idle mind so strongly that it's okay to watch TV while practicing.

I really am recommending you to ponder how you would like to practice, what are your lifestyle restrictions, and what you are after. This is good to think through because there are upsides and downsides to every practice. Some styles don't mix well with others and some require adhering to specific precautions for good results.

You will have to seek my suggested formal practices from authoritative sources. I have linked the best I could find.

Video Instructions

Video instructions only rarely feature complete exercises without withholding the internal development and lineage skills as closed secrets, but there are few exceptions. Those that I have found and presented below have in-built safety mechanisms that also reinforce good results, unless deliberately acted against that design. However, the characteristic feature always is simplicity and effectiveness.

Flying Phoenix - Features breath sequencing that quickly activates spinal energy, which makes its static standing exercises uncharacteristically very safe and powerful for self-learning. It also features moving and sitting meditations.

Fragnant Qigong (Xiang Gong) - Very simple movements and powerful effects, but the practice has a lot of prohibitions. There apparently are flawed public demonstrations circulating in the Internet, so it must be learned from an authentic source.

Wu Wei Qigong by George Xu - Supposedly activates an esoteric wheel in the belly to cultivate energy throughtout the day, which is similar to Falun Gong's Qigong but without its limitations.

Written Instructions

These written instruction often are the best of complete arts that were detailed in popular booklets during the China's booming Qigong craze. These are simple enough instruction that they could be printed out and distributed.

Relaxation Qigong (Fang Song Gong) - Relaxation as a way to deep meditation, therefore dismisses forms and takes it the easy way. For advanced practitioners it provides a cool way to do meta-acupuncture for oneself.

Longevity Self-Massage (Bedside Baduajin) - A quick and simple set of external massages, but supplements with an internal aspect that is a great way to get into Buddhist flavored Anapanasati meditation.

Final Words

It's my sincere wish that you find a practice that well resonates with you, and it's not a shame to find such outside of my list of recommended practices. I really wish that I could share more recommendations, but I am quite conservative in that regard because my quality control is strict and I don't want to advertise unfamiliar practices either.

Thank you for reading!

My special thanks go to @C T, @dwai, @steve, and @freeform for their helpful suggestions and inspiration they have kindly provided.

Edited April 25 by senseless virtue
Complete overhaul!

C T · March 16, 2020

Speaking as an Asian who's mingled and lived among Europeans for many years, the observation is that Europeans are way more inquisitive and demanding than Asians. (Im referring to cultivation). Asians tend to be more patient, laid back, obedient enough to follow instructions to the letter, and most would have no hesitation to trust their teachers' words implicitly. Asians are also a lot more subservient. Maybe because the old masters cannot stand prickly and arrogant attitudes, and in order to gain access to the master's inner circle, they learn to accept all sorts of menial tasks, like emptying the master's spittoon, putting shoes on his/her feet, giving the master foot massages, doing the master's laundry and what not. Some westerners can dig it, enough to see the benefit of reverence and subservience, but most would have none of that. Its not a fault - just the way the Western psyche is wired. They think money talks, and so as long as they're willing to pay, they expect the exchange of goods to be mutually understood and accepted, but unsurprisingly, thats far removed from the truth, relative to finding an authentic guru or sifu. Resisting the urge to be humble enough to serve the guru is the SOP of the western psyche, so not a lot can be done, except where, once in a while, the odd westerner makes it to become a close disciple, and get to learn all the secrets from understanding the value of patience, devotion and humility within the sphere of spiritual/martial cultivation. Without the deep penetration of these 3 virtues, most western wannabe students seldom get much result from whatever they practice. Whats worse, they jump from path to path, school to school, without once realising the real impediment is not the system or the path or the school, but their own lack of understanding and self-awareness.

Edited March 16, 2020 by C T

C T · March 16, 2020

Just to be clear, my post does not imply that somehow Asians are superior to their western counterparts when it comes to mastering internal arts/spiritual transcendence. Far from it. In my experience, a western close disciple who's been accepted into the inner circle tend to excel to a greater degree than his or her Asian close disciples.

Rara · March 16, 2020

3 hours ago, virtue said:

Video instructions only rarely feature complete exercises without withholding the internal development and lineage skills as closed secrets. These that I have found have in-built safety mechanisms that also reinforce good results, unless deliberately acted against that design. However, the characteristic feature always is simplicity and effectiveness.

I was going to but in but then you covered it.

What, in your opinion, is the best use for instructional videos on Youtube from the more well-acclaimed schools? Personally, I feel they are fine if treated as exercises in "feeling better", provided that they are not then misused and put into one's arsenal that creates a bastardised form.

I think they have good uses for those that just want to dabble...

Rara · March 16, 2020

1 hour ago, C T said:

Speaking as an Asian who's mingled and lived among Europeans for many years, the observation is that Europeans are way more inquisitive and demanding than Asians. (Im referring to cultivation). Asians tend to be more patient, laid back, obedient enough to follow instructions to the letter, and most would have no hesitation to trust their teachers' words implicitly.

I think this is a cultural thing that few westerners grasp. We are all given voices from a young age...

...democracy can be a wonderful thing but it also allows anybody to run their mouth when they have no idea what they are talking about.

Then there's the whole attitude of meeting expectations if money is handed over. I can't think of anyone in my close circle of friends that I would take to my teachers. I think I'd be too embarrased.

freeform · March 16, 2020

I think the issue is that the internal arts are usually thought of in a very mystical, magical way.

The fact is - these arts are like any complex human endeavour.

Would you expect to become a master potter by watching videos or reading texts?

Of course not. I mean you might be able to get your hands dirty and have some fun reenacting that scene from Ghost - but will your pottery get into galleries? Will it have books written about it? Would you have commissions worth hundreds of thousands?

No. Only if you dedicate much of your time, money and effort. Only if you make it your life’s work. And even then it’s no guarantee - you still need some luck and a bit of talent to get anywhere.

In this respect, the internal arts are no different.

steve · March 16, 2020

7 hours ago, C T said:

Speaking as an Asian who's mingled and lived among Europeans for many years, the observation is that Europeans are way more inquisitive and demanding than Asians. (Im referring to cultivation). Asians tend to be more patient, laid back, obedient enough to follow instructions to the letter, and most would have no hesitation to trust their teachers' words implicitly. Asians are also a lot more subservient. Maybe because the old masters cannot stand prickly and arrogant attitudes, and in order to gain access to the master's inner circle, they learn to accept all sorts of menial tasks, like emptying the master's spittoon, putting shoes on his/her feet, giving the master foot massages, doing the master's laundry and what not. Some westerners can dig it, enough to see the benefit of reverence and subservience, but most would have none of that. Its not a fault - just the way the Western psyche is wired. They think money talks, and so as long as they're willing to pay, they expect the exchange of goods to be mutually understood and accepted, but unsurprisingly, thats far removed from the truth, relative to finding an authentic guru or sifu. Resisting the urge to be humble enough to serve the guru is the SOP of the western psyche, so not a lot can be done, except where, once in a while, the odd westerner makes it to become a close disciple, and get to learn all the secrets from understanding the value of patience, devotion and humility within the sphere of spiritual/martial cultivation. Without the deep penetration of these 3 virtues, most western wannabe students seldom get much result from whatever they practice. Whats worse, they jump from path to path, school to school, without once realising the real impediment is not the system or the path or the school, but their own lack of understanding and self-awareness.

6 hours ago, C T said:

Just to be clear, my post does not imply that somehow Asians are superior to their western counterparts when it comes to mastering internal arts/spiritual transcendence. Far from it. In my experience, a western close disciple who's been accepted into the inner circle tend to excel to a greater degree than his or her Asian close disciples.

These posts could have been taken directly out of my teacher's mouth.

There is a lot of truth here, not all easy to absorb for either Easterners or Westerners.

Fortunately, there are a few masters who are happy to give away the deepest, most powerful secrets for anyone who is looking and open enough to receive. At that point the main obstacle becomes, as you observe, the tendency to jump from path to path and a related tendency to be guided too much by the discursive mind that can never settle on anything, always needs something new, something more stimulating.

My own teacher freely offers the most profound, most secretive practice there is in all of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön.

So secretive, there was a time when it was whispered by the master through a tube into the ear of a single disciple per lifetime.

Now, you don't even need to leave your couch and it doesn't cost a dime.

The only obstacle is us.

dwai · March 16, 2020

What's a little unclear to me is "what is self-study"?

That aside, yes the mind/ego abhors simplicity. The more complicated the task, the more the mind/ego loves it.

Tell someone to stand in a single posture for even 10 minutes, and it rapidly becomes unpleasant.

Tell them that they have to create 7 colored pearls and move them through some imaginary channels within the body, the mind will gladly chomp it down and do it diligently. And "do it" will get done, and then some!

That's why we have people so besotted with complicated things...more the mind/intellect engages in activity, the more "advanced" the practice seems. That is the nature of the mind. To go beyond the mind and its predilections is what I would call "Self-study", and all it really involves is staying with the feeling of "I am" that rises in the spiritual heart -- but easier said than done

steve · March 16, 2020

32 minutes ago, freeform said:

I think the issue is that the internal arts are usually thought of in a very mystical, magical way.

The fact is - these arts are like any complex human endeavour.

Would you expect to become a master potter by watching videos or reading texts?

Of course not. I mean you might be able to get your hands dirty and have some fun reenacting that scene from Ghost - but will your pottery get into galleries? Will it have books written about it? Would you have commissions worth hundreds of thousands?

No. Only if you dedicate much of your time, money and effort. Only if you make it your life’s work. And even then it’s no guarantee - you still need some luck and a bit of talent to get anywhere.

In this respect, the internal arts are no different.

I agree with all you write and yet there are self-taught artists with little or no formal training who are capable of the most wonderful craftsmanship and creativity. I personally do best with a lineage/master arrangement, I suspect I owe this to martial arts training under very traditional masters from childhood. As a Westerner, I'm one of those who has no problem with the Easter mindset regarding a teacher and single-minded practice.

That said, there are those who are capable of connecting to the source internally that allows them access to the most profound teachings sans teacher or lineage. One of my teacher's most advanced students had her first non-dual experience at age 8 with no training or preparation. There is a wonderful museum in my home town of Baltimore called the Visionary Art Museum. It is truly a sight to behold, filled with the most masterful arts and crafts from those who've had little or no formal training. Highly recommended if you live nearby or visit.

freeform · March 16, 2020

23 minutes ago, steve said:

I agree with all you write and yet there are self-taught artists with little or no formal training who are capable of the most wonderful craftsmanship and creativity.

The difference, I think, is that the internal arts are far more difficult and nuanced than almost any human endeavour...

Ive also met spiritual geniuses that have somehow accidentally jumped into Jhanna states or even gone through alchemical changes spontaneously. One of my teachers has quite a few students like that. But all of them still need to train - usually just as hard as anyone else.

On the other hand I’ve seen natural ‘spiritually talented’ types cause terrible issues for themselves as well as for others.

Earl Grey · March 16, 2020

I wanted to chip in from the mantra study that I have because of what I've learned, but a lot of people will say different things, so I will bring in the caveat that this is criteria and framework from my lineage and their respective system.

Generally speaking, making up your own mantra isn't a good idea from a Sanskrit mantra perspective under the lineage of Sadguru Sant Keshvadas. The sounds are vibration-based, not meaning, and each one is like coding the DNA ATGC code. Just like calling the wrong number, it doesn't matter how close you get to 867-5309--if you dialed 876-9309, you won't get Jenny. And some New Agers say you can just make something up with intent--doesn't work that way, you could try to call Jenny by hoping your fingers will find the right combination of numbers and still wouldn't get further than anyone with a phonebook.

So self-study of mantras like the internal arts is a complex human endeavor (to borrow from freeform's words! Thank you old chap!), and the study I have had came from Namadeva Acharya (Thomas Ashley-Farrand) and still had further guidance from his successor and widow Satyabhama through e-mail correspondence and soon mantra teacher training.

Some of the ridiculous mantra teaching came from Osho, who said you could just make a neurolinguistic association with a phrase like "coca-cola" in Sex to Superconsciousness I believe, and that was a mantra. That is not how the methodology of chanting works according to what I have learned, and like dear Shixiong freeform has said before about people doing LDT focus meditation, there are no easily noticeable kinds of damage for the untrained, but there is damage to them. Likewise, as you are working on karma, the vibration of the wrong mantra practice can actually burn you instead and dial the wrong "individuals" so to speak.

So working with mantras by making your own is not good, and getting pronunciation right is important for Sanskrit. Obviously there are regional dialects and pronunciation varies, but we are strict with ours based on observation of people who are part of this practice.

Perhaps @dwai or @steve can speak more about their respective views and training on mantra in contrast to this?

Edited March 17, 2020 by Earl Grey

dwai · March 17, 2020

1 hour ago, Earl Grey said:

I wanted to chip in from the mantra study that I have because of what I've learned, but a lot of people will say different things, so I will bring in the caveat that this is criteria and framework from my lineage and their respective system.

Generally speaking, making up your own mantra isn't a good idea from a Sanskrit mantra perspective under the lineage of Sadguru Sant Keshvadas. The sounds are vibration-based, not meaning, and each one is like coding the DNA ATGC code. Just like calling the wrong number, it doesn't matter how close you get to 867-5309--if you dialed 876-9309, you won't get Jenny. And some New Agers say you can just make something up with intent--doesn't work that way, you could try to call Jenny by hoping your fingers will find the right combination of numbers and still wouldn't get further than anyone with a phonebook.

So self-study of mantras like the internal arts is a complex human endeavor (to borrow freeform's words, thank you old chap), and the study I have had came from Namadeva Acharya (Thomas Ashley-Farrand) and still had further guidance from his successor and widow Satyabhama through e-mail correspondence and soon mantra teacher training.

This is very true. Not everything can be a ‘real’ mantra. The word ‘Mantra’ literally means ‘that using which the (compulsive) patterns of the mind can be transcended’ (mananam trayate iti mantrah).

The other aspect is that mantras (Sanskrit — I think most eastern mantras come from Sanskrit ones) are composed of the phonemes of the Sanskrit language (50 in total) — and there is an entire school of tantra (Kashmir Shaivism) that deals with consciousness , creation and sound ( matrika chakra). So we shouldn’t take mantras lightly.

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Some of the ridiculous mantra teaching came from Osho, who said you could just make a neurolinguistic association with a phrase like "coca-cola" in Sex to Superconsciousness I believe, and that was a mantra. That is not how the methodology of chanting works according to what I have learned, and like dear Shixiong freeform has said before about people doing LDT focus meditation, there are no easily noticeable kinds of damage for the untrained, but there is damage to them. Likewise, as you are working on karma, the vibration of the wrong mantra practice can actually burn you instead and dial the wrong "individuals" so to speak.

So working with mantras by making your own is not good, and getting pronunciation right is important for Sanskrit. Obviously there are regional dialects and pronunciation varies, but we are strict with ours based on observation of people who are part of this practice.

Yes. From a Hindu perspective, the meter (rhythm) and pronunciation and intonation are all very vital. The sāma Veda is all about this.

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Perhaps @dwai or @steve can speak more about their respective views and training on mantra in contrast to this?

Shared my two cents worth. I was first ‘officially’ initiated into mantras when I got my sacred thread. There is an entire system of practice among Hindus that deal with what is called ‘brahmopadesham’ (transmission into the knowledge of Brahman/Self realization).

I received two other mantras at different stages of my life in dreams/in between waking and dream states which I believe was a result of past life karmic fruition.

Only one mantra I took up myself, based on my personal deity of choice. If we have devotion towards a deity then it is okay to pick up a simple mantra and practice with full dedication and love.

PS: I need to mention that mantra chanting also has rules — the number of times to chant in one sitting, as well as how many times to chant overall for it to bear fruit.

Typically the number of syllables in the mantra determine how many times to practice. For e.g., if your mantra is “Om NAMAH SHIVAYA”, it is a 6 syllable mantra — so if someone undertakes its practice, one has to practice every day, at least 108 times in one sitting and 600,000 repetitions as one “full cycle”. Sometimes the teacher will tell us to do more than one cycle. It is a serious responsibility.

Edited March 17, 2020 by dwai

dwai · March 17, 2020

7 hours ago, Rara said:

I think this is a cultural thing that few westerners grasp. We are all given voices from a young age...

...democracy can be a wonderful thing but it also allows anybody to run their mouth when they have no idea what they are talking about.

Then there's the whole attitude of meeting expectations if money is handed over. I can't think of anyone in my close circle of friends that I would take to my teachers. I think I'd be too embarrased.

In the Hindu traditions there is something known as ‘adhikara bheda’ (literally meaning differentiation based on qualification). It implies that not everyone is entitled to knowledge simply because they were told that the world is a democratic place, and that all people were created equal.

Being tongue-in-cheek here. While I do believe that all have the right to the same knowledge (by that I mean highest spiritual knowledge), not everyone is qualified to wield it. Knowledge of certain kind is fortified in tradition for a reason — that it doesn’t fall into the hands of the unqualified. The rules for qualification are often wrongly attributed to race, caste, religion etc. But really it is about how ‘ready’ is the student to have his/her world torn apart by the truth

steve · March 17, 2020

I agree with everything Earl Grey offers. We cannot create mantra. We should not take it lightly. We cannot create it with the mind or from desire or ego, and as beginners it is far better to adopt time tested mantras handed down by those that have gone before. It is good to trust those.

And if we are connected to the source, mantra can also spontaneously arise. That mantra is not made up but is, in the deepest sense, self study. You can trust it fully, but only if you are truly connected to the source. Because the mantra is the song of the source, it is the source itself speaking in its own language. Not the language of the mind.

All indigenous traditions include mantra and often we need to discover it on our own in these traditions, while some are standardized and handed down. In many traditions we find our own songs of battle, of death, of prayer... As we moved away from the hunter/gatherer who needed to know each aspect of life to the agrarian community that divided responsibility we seem to have lost, or given up the ability, the confidence, and the knowledge to find it ourselves. So we depend on our shamans and priests to give them to us and that is not a bad thing, particularly as most of us are not able or ready to find our owns

My teacher brought a new melody to an ancient mantra of our tradition. Not everyone is comfortable with that, not even me at first. But I believe it came from a deep and personal place connected with the source and, as such, it does have the power of mantra. As I open more to it, I connect to it more deeply.

So we must first have that connection, know where to look, and be open and quiet enough inside to hear and recognize. And until we reach that point, which is quite subtle and elusive, we are far better off connecting with and trusting a tradition that can guide us in the right direction. If we do the work and it is effective, then is the time to create... for me. I can only speak for me, from my experience, and from my heart. We each need to find that in our own way.

And I see there’ve been a few replies while I’ve typed but I’ll post this first.

steve · March 17, 2020

2 hours ago, dwai said:

What's a little unclear to me is "what is self-study"?

That aside, yes the mind/ego abhors simplicity. The more complicated the task, the more the mind/ego loves it.

Tell someone to stand in a single posture for even 10 minutes, and it rapidly becomes unpleasant.

Tell them that they have to create 7 colored pearls and move them through some imaginary channels within the body, the mind will gladly chomp it down and do it diligently. And "do it" will get done, and then some!

That's why we have people so besotted with complicated things...more the mind/intellect engages in activity, the more "advanced" the practice seems. That is the nature of the mind. To go beyond the mind and its predilections is what I would call "Self-study", and all it really involves is staying with the feeling of "I am" that rises in the spiritual heart -- but easier said than done

And easier done with patient, daily remembering...

steve · March 17, 2020

2 hours ago, freeform said:

The difference, I think, is that the internal arts are far more difficult and nuanced than almost any human endeavour...

Perhaps because the internal arts are the investigation of the root of all human endeavor, the investigation of the mind, body, and spirit.

Edited March 17, 2020 by steve

moment · March 17, 2020

On 3/16/2020 at 6:01 AM, virtue said:

The problem with self-study is two-fold: it typically hinders cultivating the peace of heart and body correctly. Without confessing these as the primary way there is no true cultivation or satisfaction happening, but the genesis of agitation.

It's an evergreen fare on this forum that people come looking for practices as a means to satisfy some fixed personal desire. Often this fixity is then channeled as meeting some whimsical aim and urge to take forceful control that deviates from the laid back wisdom of true contemplative and peaceful heart. Therefore there's a lot of room for creating errors.

Not only are many people dissatisfied with simple and efficient exercises, but also they want to modify what they have previously seen or create their own brand new fad methods in order to evoke a sense of external mastery. Some are more modest and publicly only claim high mastery in kungfu or meditation without making alterations to established standards. All these are signs of self-initiation, which is in contrast to an open minded and respectful self-study.

Yes, it's entirely possible to train energy in a multitude of different ways, but not all of them are beneficial in the long term or fostering fair character development. Safety is another factor that can't be neglected especially when learning on your own.

Static standing exercises like Zhan Zhuang in internal martial arts offer simplicity and stability, but finding the correct beneficial physical alignment on your own can be very difficult, and especially so if starting when in ill health and a tense body. There are simple moving exercises in many Qigong styles, but even in these people may err while learning on their own or forget to foster adequate physical relaxation. Also, this forum has witnessed many occasions where a disgruntled practitioner lashes out against his teacher because the physical movement apparently invites overtly critical examination and experimentation. Therefore I have a bias against recommending very physical practices for people wishing to study on their own.

Visualization practices are an endless mire because they don't easily offer the mind to really relax and diffuse the baseline agitation nor shed the desire to imagine new ways to cut the practice short. How could it then result in correct outcomes?

The most difficult part really is that no instruction is foolproof for teaching how to not stir the heart, but gracefully accept even difficult emotions and thoughts that may surface and witness them with laid back awareness. If this obstacle is overcome, then the self-study has a chance to bear fruit. Some practices are more forgiving with them such that Flying Phoenix doesn't require mental stillness for effectiveness and Fragrant Qigong encourages an idle mind so much that it's okay to watch TV while practicing.

There are upsides and downsides to every practice. Some don't mix well with others, some require adhering to specific precautions.

Video instructions only rarely feature complete exercises without withholding the internal development and lineage skills as closed secrets. These that I have found have in-built safety mechanisms that also reinforce good results, unless deliberately acted against that design. However, the characteristic feature always is simplicity and effectiveness.

Written instruction often are the best of complete arts that were detailed in popular booklets during the China's booming Qigong craze. These are simple enough instruction that they could be printed out and distributed.

Video Instructions

Flying Phoenix - Breath sequencing that quickly activates energy, which makes its static standing exercises uncharacteristically very safe for self-learning
Fragnant Qigong (Xiang Gong) - Very simple movements, but apparently there are flawed public demonstrations circulating in the Internet, so it must be learned from an authentic source
Wu Wei Qigong by George Xu - Supposedly activates an esoteric wheel in the belly to cultivate energy for the practitioner, which is similar to Falun Gong but without its limitations

Written Instructions

Relaxation Qigong (Fang Song Gong) - Relaxation as a way to deep meditation, therefore dismisses forms and takes it easy
Longevity Self-Massage (Bedside Baduajin) - A quick and simple set of external massages, but supplements with an internal aspect

I will keep updating this list if I receive convincing arguments why some certain practice should be included above. Please bear in mind that I am keeping the bar very high and I will not include anything without careful examination. Examples of what will not qualify for self-study: Taiji Qigong Shibashi, all spontaneous Qigong styles without any exception. If you don't understand why, then read my article again and contemplate what might be missing.

I bow to your generous spirit!

Rara · March 18, 2020

On 17/03/2020 at 12:38 AM, dwai said:

Knowledge of certain kind is fortified in tradition for a reason — that it doesn’t fall into the hands of the unqualified. The rules for qualification are often wrongly attributed to race, caste, religion etc. But really it is about how ‘ready’ is the student to have his/her world torn apart by the truth

Is that based on dogma, with regards to reincarnation?

dwai · March 18, 2020

35 minutes ago, Rara said:

Is that based on dogma, with regards to reincarnation?

No dogma wrt reincarnation — it is as real as night and day

No, this ‘gating’ is based on the state of mental clarity of the seeker. The quest for Self-realization is so subtle that it cannot be undertaken without a pure/still/tranquil mind.

All meditative practices are preparatory steps to take the individual into stillness (samādhi).

Without stillness the knowledge of the Self cannot be known directly.

steve · March 18, 2020

On 3/16/2020 at 9:01 AM, virtue said:

I will keep updating this list if I receive convincing arguments why some certain practice should be included above. Please bear in mind that I am keeping the bar very high and I will not include anything without careful examination.

Hi virtue, I appreciate you doing this. While many will be quarantined or retreating from society, this is a great opportunity to work on ourselves. I am not going to make any effort to convince anyone of anything, no arguments here either for or against. I'll add some links below to practices that have profoundly changed my life for the better. I discovered these Bön practices after about 13 years of intensive practice of Daoist meditation, neigong, qigong, and internal martial arts. The Bön practices can be easily learned online with video guidance. These practices can be extremely powerful for clearing obstacles of body, energy, and mind. We all resonate differently with different practices so I think it is good to try things on and see how they fit.

One way to approach this is through a two part self-paced home study program you can find at the link below.

It teaches basic breathing, body movement, and meditation from the Bön dzogchen path.

It is free but you need to create an account.

https://ligminchalearning.com/starting-a-meditation-practice/

Another option is to look at the other courses available on the same website.

These are guided online programs for a fee.

One I highly recommend is The Five Elements: Healing with Form, Energy, and Light.

It is rooted in the Bön shamanic and dzogchen traditions.

https://ligminchalearning.com/

Warm regards to everyone.

I hope and pray you all stay safe through these unprecedented times.

PS - I don't see any links to videos in the OP, am I missing something?

Edited March 18, 2020 by steve

dwai · March 18, 2020

Here's my list of practice recommendations.

To develop discernment between the Self and not-self --

Spoiler

Lectures and meditation on identifying the unchanging background to the changing universe

Spoiler

rideforever · March 19, 2020

There are several types of mantra practices. Some mantras are actually breathing techniques that create a different rhythm inside you.

A second type is simply to fully occupy the "mind", so that you might if you are lucky feel your real self, and so is similar to Vipassana.

A third type is when the mantra is a technique to aid in the transmission of a state of awakening, often represented by a symbol like Siva.

A fourth type is when any energy of the lower domain is accessed giving rise to all sorts of impure experiences that fools love so much, energies man.

Perhaps there are more.

If you are doing a mantra that is meant to be a breathing regulation, then you must vocalize it ... or it won't work.

etc... these practices are often handed down with no understanding of what or why they are doing, and so might be done wrong.

On cultivation : The false self of the ordinary human is always collecting things. Money, fear, prestige, friends, mates, cars. You can remix this by collecting Qi or even FaJin. But it is the same false self doing it, for the same reason, just with a little extra sensitivity of the energy dimension.

Remember, Laozi says to become "The Valley of the Universe". Not to accumulate FaJin.

Laozi, Buddha, Jesus .... they had no lineage, they followed no one.

So for spiritual seekers ... it is good to reread their lifestories and comprehend what their choices would mean in your life.

Not that cultivation or ima doesn't have value ... but you have to discern what it is you are doing, and why.

senseless virtue · March 19, 2020

Thank you for your thoughts @C T. I think we can all agree that there's truth to your experience. It made me realize that certain types of wisdom studies in vein of Confucianism are particularly well suited for opening the hearts of Western people. These days many people are too disconnected from human affairs and their own family in particular even though we spend our lives interacting with them. I will be adding thoughts about this later as a new section.

Thank you @Rara for your contribution. I have no idea what you mean by "well-acclaimed" in this context. Completeness of the art transmitted and the practitioner's genuine commitment are critical requirements, so dabbling around is not what I would endorse as a way of getting ahead. Besides, there are dabblers everywhere and topics catering to those interests on this forum, so this train of thought will be ignored now.

Thanks to @dwai, @Earl Grey, and @steve for bringing up mantras and other cool stuff. I have also considered your points of view for self-study of wisdom and I am also going to add thoughts about Dharma materials among other things. Then I will also take some time later to review the video links you have graciously provided.

Thank you @rideforever for stopping by. Unfortunately, I find much difficulty in relating to what you are saying. The latter half of your post reads like a confused stream of thoughts and I find your four descriptions about mantras very disagreeable and imprecise. Spiritual cultivation is science, not a guessing game. Others have already pointed out well that a mantra is very much like dialing to an enlightened mind for blessings, which is also my experience.

Edited March 19, 2020 by virtue

Starjumper · March 19, 2020

@virtue If you want a practice or self study I have started putting one together, in the fourth post in the following thread. The ones with the title "Tien Shan chi Kung". This is safe as long as you don't mix it with the wrong types of shi kung.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Starjumper

GSmaster · March 19, 2020

Its both things.

1. Its unfair to tell people to avoid or not bother with spiritual practice, everyone has a chance to have a shot at something.

2. Spiritual practice is hard and deep and is not for everyone. There are many pitfalls that will stop people and sometimes for their own good.

Internal Practices Suitable for Self-Study

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