Trunk

I didn’t see anything worth while in that book.
honestly,
Trunk

touche!
(Best subject-line-message w/no-text zinger I’ve seen in a while. .. hostile, yet witty and understated.. )

ph> When I first heard, that you were going to be more active on this forum, I was delighted that you would be sharing your knowledge. But now it really seems as if you want to stifle debate by.. >

I’ve recently thought that a large part of Michael’s background has been that of
1. prolific writer, very energetic guy.

2. leader~teacher in a…[Read more]

> the issue of how much of one’s “self” is “valid” >

I think that classical Buddhism and authentic Taoism are not so far off from each other in this regard… though you’ve gotta dig around some to see the correlations.

I don’t think that Buddhism’s no-self doctrine really is saying that there’s no self. Its just that, unless you’re…[Read more]

Bagua,

I really enjoy reading your posts, but find your method of quoting previous posts’ to be confusing. Its not clear what parts are the quotes, and what parts are your replies.

A more clear way to quote is to put the author’s initials prior to the quote and bracket the quote with characters of your choice. And one’s own text of the…[Read more]

PH> To me it’s like dismantling the factory and THEN starting to clear up the countryside. Otherwise you can be moving about, thinking you’re cleaning stuff up and not realising that you’re still a factory. >

Best analogy I’ve heard to date.

PH> I think that the REAL issue between the two camps ( and the reason why we wind eachother up so…[Read more]

> Such compelxity is fundamental to the practice of Chinese medicine – which has even more categories, because you NEED them to describe the variety of human phenomena. And the innumerable applications of this language – to medicine, martial arts, city planning, feng shui, astrology, etc. etc. arise because of the precision of the language. In…[Read more]

b> why not invite him to offer his current view, so speculation does not rule. >

Two things:
1. My post is only my view on the article that Gunther posted. I don’t claim to really know Gunther’s full view, only my take on a slice of his article, worded such as it is. Basically, “I dunno Gunther”. I should’ve worded my post-title more…[Read more]

GW> One result of this is that after many months or years of dedicated practice, many students and teachers become identified with a self-image of attainment. The mental structure of the ego assumes an identity, albeit in this instance a spiritual identity, that superficially replaces the ordinary, more pedestrian, material ego or self. This is a…[Read more]

m> include an insert into the book to read my article on the dangers of excessive packing.
Thanks, >

Thank you.

A stamp (with web-link to your article) might be easier, and more effective. It’d stay with the book to protect even the next person, if the book changes hands. Obviously your call. I’m assuming you’d do the same with books…[Read more]

Mat,

> Is it possible to elaborate a bit on what the obvious risks are. >

Legitimate question.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned to Fajin, it’s past time for my nap. I’m not being coy, its that I’ve expended more than my share on this thread already.
Best to you.

Trunk

Fajin,

> you mistook it as a “dis” about other practices traditions >

I knew next to nothing of your background, which is understandable. So, please accept my apologies for any personal offense.

As far as hashing out the specifics the 9 bottle practice, and Taoism vs. Tibetan Buddhism (in a respectful way), worthy topics, but big topics…[Read more]

Just stating the obvious.

Michael,

In this case, I agree with Max’s point:

> I’m refering to the original male sex book and iron shirt related merchandise. >

Personally, I agree with Max on the point of both books.
However, the case of the iron shirt 1 material is backed up by HT actions. ie, the following:

1. Iron shirt packing breathing is not being actively…[Read more]

The answer to “Is alchemy safe?” is clearly “nope”.

Seems to me that the more constructive question is:
“What are the dangers of alchemy?”
and
“How, specifically, can we go about navigating through those areas more safely?”

These questions lead to all sorts of very specific, and educational, conversations. Too lengthy, obviously, for…[Read more]

I think that the topics that Gunther’s article circles are very profound, and I am dubious of anyone’s answers to date. And I don’t view as realistic statements near the ballpark of “It works safely and effectively for everyone like this: 1-2-3”.

Reading biographies of accomplished cultivators is educational, I think. Unvaryingly the task of…[Read more]

f> I wasn’t saying anything bad about other traditions, I’m just saying that they are DIFFERENT >

Then we are in agreement.

> I really don’t think breath retention is a good idea because it puts strain on the lungs and adrenal glands >

Breath retention is often taught as a relaxed method, ie: when there is strain, you’ve held your breath for too long and are doing the practice incorrectly. Holding the breath for short periods in a relaxed manner lets your internal…[Read more]

btw, these sorts of issues were gone over in detail during the last wave of discussion participants (which lasted ~5 yrs) and many of the conclusions have been preserved at Alchemical Taoism.com.

> by being considerd the first person to share this information >

Though that is part of what’s going on, I think its a mis-characterization to view that as the whole set of reasons.

Probably Mantak Chia & Team did the best that they could for a first try, but the fact is that its been a messy learning curve that is taking several…[Read more]