[Fajin]

Hi Bagua,

Yes, there are other elemental systems like placing space/ether in the center and earth as part of the other 3. The ether/space element always keeps one in balance as it is Wu Ji in Daoist terms, so they don’t need earth as the center since they use emptiness meditation as their backbone. I like 5 elements, with ether element within the 5 connecting them as one to make six as I am both an alchemist and samadhi cultivator.

What drives the yi to want to understand eh?

“Kill the Buddha” is a good koan for those with this desire. All I want to be understood is that all paths reach the root, which is one, only ONE, not more, not less.

All the Best,
Fajin

[Fajin]

Hi Bagua,

Yes, there are other elemental systems like placing space/ether in the center and earth as part of the other 3. The ether/space element always keeps one in balance as it is Wu Ji in Daoist terms, so they don’t need earth as the center since they use emptiness meditation as their backbone. I like 5 elements, with ether element within the 5 connecting them as one to make six as I am both an alchemist and samadhi cultivator.

What drives the yi to want to understand eh?

“Kill the Buddha” is a good koan for those with this desire. All I want to be understood is that all paths reach the root, which is one, only ONE, not more, not less.

All the Best,
Fajin

[Fajin]

Hi Bagua,

I never said or meant that neutrality negates dual, if that’s what was understood.

I was talking about the 9th consciousness, or Krishna Consciousness, or Christ Consciousness, the achievement of nirvikalpa samadhi, beyond the beyond of the 8th jhana, enlightenment, or realization of immortality, whatever you call it as this non-dual state of awareness. This is the final goal of all spiritual paths, the achievementof this super-consciousness beyond all other 8.

I agree that we experience dualites, but don’t reside in them, we take the Middle Way as Buddha suggested. We find the neutral point with the Myriad things and experience the myriad as they are.

Fajin

[Fajin]

Bagua,

>>Neutrality is not the end result<<

*Is there a level of consciousness higher than the non-dual state of awareness? If no, then neutrality is the end goal.

Fajin

[Fajin]

Hi Jernej,

Ya, still here finishing up some last posts.

What’s wrong with extending elbows, keeping them unbent. It is a more flexible movement that way and provides easier circulation of qi across the tendons where hard jins are built.

It is kept consolidated across the whole arm. The elbows should be bent for fajin so as not to tear any ligaments cause such potential injuries. I would suggest that the elbows be kept bent in Taiji, for Iron Thread, keep them extended.

Hope that Helps,
Fajin

[Fajin]

Singing Ocean,

>>do you feel you have you reached “THE state of mind that alchemy should bring?” (i.e. “superconsciousness”)?<>how do you know what alchemy can bring if it is an everchanging process, and more concretely, if you have never practiced alchemical formulas?<>On a more practical level, do you feel that your practice produces a feeling of neutrality with substance that continues when you are not meditating?<<

*Meditation allows us to go deeper into that state of neutrality or stillness of the mind with each session. When we get out of meditating, our mind is less apt to get fixated on things and we maintain some of that stillness. If we don't keep up with consistent daily practice, we return to square one.

It's like building your lower dantian when you first get started in qigong. When you put your yi there, you feel it. But when we are doing other things, like watching TV, or whatever, we don't feel the qi.

Overtime, our dantian gets stronger and stronger and even when we don't do any qigong in the dantian, we still maintain that feeling of the dantian 24/7. The same works with the stillness of the mind, it is a constant process of becoming who you really are, it's not something fixed, it's keeping up with consistency.

Fajin

[Fajin]

You keep getting better and better at it. As you go deeper and deeper, the mind becomes more and more still.

Scientists measured brain waves of Zen monks and some, who have been meditating for 20 or more years, can reach very low delta wave states. These states only occur through deep dreamless sleep or coma, yet the meditator is complelely awake and fully conscious of the object of meditation, whatever it may be.

While living life, things seem more effortless each time, you are just much more aware of the moment and what’s going on around you. Probably because you don’t get caught up in thoughts from everything your senses perceive and you react to whatever is going on instantaneously.

It’s kind of like how water reacts when something touches it, it just does it. Of course, there is some effort but through practice, it becomes easier and easier. It is a state of wu-wei.

You can always make the choice to become fully aware of an object of concentration, something that you are doing.

Example: You are painting a picture. You just put your yi on the rythmical movements of the brush going back and forth, up and down, being one with the strokes. You become absorbed in it.

Or it can be anything like being mindful of the steps that you are taking when walking in the park, or being mindful of the swim strokes of the arms in the pool. It is about being aware of that what is already there, what is already happening. You have no free will to change the moment, the moment is flying by faster than the speed of light, it is timeless, you can only be aware of it. As Bagua says, attuning to what exists.

So it is not a sacrifice of yi as some people think, it more of using it at its fullest. This yi gets stronger and stronger, as it does, xin remains still. We use yi in daily life in everything that we are doing, but Zen is about maintaining this state of concentration and strengthening it. As a result, we are more conscious of whatever the yi is on.

In aclchemy, we use yi to visualize, to actualize, to pulse, etc. When we strengthen our yi, our ability to visualize, actualize, etc. is made more effective. So Zen is within Dao and Dao within Zen, they are one leading to the same goal.

Master Nan Huai Chin says that Ch’an is about controlling the mind and Daoism is about controlling qi. The mind controls the qi. So when we control the mind, the qi is controlled. It can go vice-versa too.

All the Best to B.C.,
Fajin

[Fajin]

Hi Singing Ocean,

You have made a good point. You are basically saying that the vital organ spirits function is manifested through their partner (yang) organ. I agree with this.

So, spleen houses the yi, and stomach carries it out. But why carry it out? Why make the yi move from one place to another?

Daoists have learned alot from the fetus. One of the dynamic processes of life is breathing. In our mother’s womb, breathing was not dynamic, ie. it didn’t go in and out the nose. It was constant, through the navel.

So was yi, it was also constant on a single point, which was nothing. Much like sitting in forgetfulness, we make this yi still, fixed on a point, whether void itself (by doing nothing), or on a dynamic process like watching the breath go in and out.

I like how Daoist Master Ziyang said that the original spirit sinks into the thinking spirit when we are born into this world. Our primordial nature of non-thought is what stillness meditation helps us to return to.

When we allow our deep subconscious to do the work, all subtle layers of the microcosm are sunk back into their primordial nature including breathing itself, which returns to an embryonic state in very deep states of stillness.

The microcosmic orbit flows freely opening central channel, the combustion of kidney yin and kidney yang occurs to produce vita-vapour (steam), etc. All of these dynamic processes return to their non-dual state.

It is as you say, that yuan shen unifies all individual aspects of our personality, which is why I strongly detest the idea that when we are using this subconscious, or yuan shen, the individual personality aspects are destroyed. Not so, they are unfied like you say.

Xin is brought back to its primordial nature of doing nothing just like the healthy fetus. Why is a cup useful? Because it is empty, it may be filled much like the infant’s mind. We continue to make the mind useful by maintaining this emptiness, or this openess.

If Daoist nei dan alone can take one to that level, then that’s excellent. It is the shen to wu stage. I haven’t progressed through any such formulas yet, so can’t say from experience what state of mind the alchemy can bring about.

If people practiced Zen, they would know that that’s the state of mind that alchemy should bring, they would know what to expect. At the very least, they can bring this state of mind in daily life when doing things, and in meditation, they practice nei dan.

Smiles,
Fajin

[Fajin]

But that’s the major thing. That it is not that you are unconscious, but are superconscious, ie. more conscious. I just finished a post with Trunk about what people’s minds are like through Zen training and he even said that people’s minds are more like a clear sky, not a rock.

Remember, the stillness lies within the movement and the neutrality is within all of life’s dynamic processes and experiences. In the neutral state, we are much more aware of these processes when we are in deep subconscious mode, using yuan shen.

Fajin

[Fajin]

Hi SO,

I was supposed to take a break but I’ll reply to any last second replies still.

>>so, in your view, is the yi separate from the xin? it seems that you are separating all the functions of the organs’ consciousness, and that some function here in later heaven, while others are part of the wuji or something?<>If this is the case, then why do all humans have different personalities and emotional strengths? Are you saying that when humans pass into the formless state, they are an undifferentiated mass of consciousness?<<

*People have different personalities and emotional minds because they have xin. Our original nature is not to be all dead-like people, but be COMPLETELY one-pointed and by that, we are all non-grasping, non-abiding, etc. It allows us to experience life at its fullest beyond the scope of what xin prevents us from. It is not unconscious, but superconscious.

Fajin

[Fajin]

>>I disagree. I still assert that, as meditation deepens, thinking stops altogether for periods of time… This doesn’t mean that you can’t think again, ever. It just means that you get better at turning the thinking process off and on<>I say this as a matter of personal experience<<

*That makes the two of us.

At first, the eyes stop blinking and your palms are only felt (for me), then you feel like you are no longer sitting, the body freezes, breathing is very slow, body becomes immaterial completely.

Then you start witnessing thoughts as if you were someone else reading someone's thoughts, then they slowly disappear and deep stillness occurs. Could go hours in this state.

That's my experience.

Taking a break from forums, your ideas of finding stillness within the deep centers is extraordinary. It is what we do here in the Wudang lineage too. Would love to talk to you more about it when I get back.

Nice chatting,
Fajin

[Fajin]

>>the only reason one would HAVE to take a break from this forum, or decide to leave all together, (having been so intensly involved in the first place) would be because they were exerting a lot of energy here by taking it all too seriously.<<

*When people start to get a negative impression of me when I discuss with them, I have a major flaw that needs work. I need to work on that.

Bye,
Fajin

[Fajin]

Greetings Wanderingoak,

I just came here to check the board one last time because I am taking a LONG break from it. So I’ll just reply this one time then I’m a gonner, OK!

A Bodhisattva is a someone who helps sentient beings towards their enlightenment. But I don’t know what a Bodhisattva ordeal is. I never studied at a Japanese Zen school, I just read many texts on Japanese Zen and practice the methods, actually just shikantaza.

I’ve actually read Indian texts on samadhi and dhyana, and many Ch’an texts. The most profound and enlightening come from Zen master Ehei Dogen, as you know, founder of the Soto Zen school.

I practice his shikantaza method for atleast 4 hours a day, I’m very dedicated. I’ve read some of his shobogenzo, very enlightening peice. Every Buddhist school has a method of “just sitting”, just different names for it. Ch’an is silent illumination for example, and Dao is sitting in forgetfulness.

What I like about shikantaza that sets it apart from other school’s variations is that Dogen wrote so much about it because it is such a misunderstood practice by many and it is so well clarified by him.

To me, the connection between Zen and Daoism is that they both use yi. Alchemy is essentially using yi to do the alchemical transformations. Without the yi, it is not possible. With yi, everything is possible. Zen is a way of, as the Wudang Daoists (my lineage) say, chaining the heart monkey mind with the horse mind. Or stilling the xin simply.

When this happens, yi is clear, deep, and very strong. One cannot penetrate the most subtle aspect of reality with this unhindered yi. Zen helps us to develop this concentration, called joriki as you are probably well aware.

One takes this yi through any visualization/actualization, or any kind of energy manipulation and has very strong yi to do it now. And it is through the stilling of the mind, that alchemy occurs without any kind of energy manipulation. Jing to qi, qi to shen, and shen to wu.

Zen is just about the wu, and the other three get cultivated. Daoism is about jing, qi, and shen, and wu is the result. They are both one and the same for me.

Fajin

[Fajin]

>>Do you know the circumstances of his transformation
from being a meaty/beefy man to not being so.<<

*I interpret your question to mean either A. Why he transformed from muscular to slimmer, or B. What were the consequences of doing so. So I will answer both in case.

A. He stopped weight lifting and his muscles became smaller. He used to be a bouncer and fought many times in street fights so he used to work out until he met Yang, Yiu Chung (excuse s/p) who taught him Old Yang Style, which HE thinks is the pinnacle of martial arts.

B. If you haven't really accumulated qi in the muscles, it won't do much. If you have and you then go slim, you will have qi dispersion, called san gong, much like a tire full of air deflating. It depends on the nature of qi flow. If you have the jin consolidated in the muscles without any kind of flow like SOME hard stylists, then it will disperse. If you have flow, then it won't disperse that much. The danger lies in what you do with the jin.

I tolderate iron thread. You don't have to contract the muscles when you do the form, it allows the force to flow. It relies on the postures in co-ordination with rooting of earth to consolidate the force. When you look at Lam Sai Wing, you see his muscles weren't overdeveloped, but they were very hard. If one can maintain flexibility and vigorous qi flow, then there won't be any problems.

Fajin

[Fajin]

Hi Michael,

Glad you didn’t turn away from the xin vs. yi issue this time.

I think it is safe to assume that Po spirit governs the involuntary functions of the body like blinking and Hun Spirit governs the mind. Yi is yi, something separate. It is yuan shen.

When xin is there, whether divine or not, our yi is not clear, and absorption cannot occur. The idle thoughts continue to arise, no matter who positive and loving they are and we grasp them and allow them to influence our actions. Guan Yin reached his enlightenment and found that thoughts are essentially empty.

Xin must be gone to achieve total absorption and oneness. I have gone through this in my meditations and every time I reach a higher state of empty-mindedness, the ego is slowly letting go its grasp on the yi.

My yi is clearer and sharper and able to penetrate reality more and more. This way I become more concsious of reality and its processes. I can see things as they are without the xin making my yi cling to anything. That’s the way to live life.

The choices part you talked about would be the same for Buddha and Lao Tzu. If Buddha and Lao Tzu have no ego, for example, they make different choices based on the reality that faces them, ie. a specific time, specific place, specific things going on around them that influences their actions. Otherwise, they would act the same because it is their Original Self doing the spontaneous acting based on the reality they experience.

Just ask yourself this, what was my original face before I was born? Did it look any different from anyone else’s? It is formless, we all looked the same. Our non-actions are the same. This is true wu-wei.

If there is an alchemy that can bring about the same state of mind that Zen can bring, and allow our yi to be clear and completely penetrating the most subtle layers of reality, that’s great, that’s where it should take us. If not, then we are missing the final peice of the continuos process, shen to wu stage.

Buddhists are there already, how long will it take for Daoists to get there too so that we may all agree?

P.S. I’m taking a BIG break from the forum, don’t know when I’ll be back that was my last post.

Regards,
Fajin

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