Great Alchemist’s Denial: Why Misconstrue the Process?

Hi Michael,

I only want to quote one part, rest is for Bagua.

>>this part of your sentence contains a false assumption. Consciousness cannot die, but it can change shape. Until you integrate your persona, you don’t “own” your spirit, Humanity owns it. Nothing is lost, Humanity recycles your struggles and learning into new form that will undero alchemical transformations that are endless.

Your statement ironically accuses me of taking the Buddhist position – which is that all human consciousness in Nirvana SHOULD cease to exist, as Fajin quoted so clearly from the Wikipedia.<<

*The notion we had over false self and true self is key here. Human concsiousness is immortal concsiousness, which is our true self. Like I stated in my above post, the emotional concsiousness is just something that is built up after we are born. It is this emotional concsiousness that is being referred to which must be extinguished for nirvana, or immortality, which really are the same.

It is the ego (heart shen) that becomes still and does nothing, and the true, immortal self (yuan shen) is the one that does not die. You then "own" your spirit, not humanity. This is the true meaning of immortality, both in a Buddhist and Daoist way. They all lead to the same root. There are not 2 different roots, there is only one. They both lead to that one, Wu Ji.

P.S. I do believe Max said that there were more Buddhists in history to have reached the final goal than Daoists.

Smiles,
Fajin

What are your views on reincarnation?

Hi Bagua,

Many influences from the past is what makes us what we are now. That’s all karma, be it good or bad. The point is in being free from karma.

We are only born again because of karma from past lives, so the question is, what happens when weare free of karma, what will happen when the body goes?

To me, immortality is complete consistency. Karma is cyclical and one is not immortal if he has karma. It is the same thing Dogen struggled with between original awakening inherent in everyone and an acquired enlightenment through practice.

Inherently, yes we are immortal, but the immortality that Taoists speak of, is the same as the mahaparinirvana that Buddhists speak of. I think this is what we should work after. How I love the Zen practice of shikantaza, just sitting there like an immortal or Buddha already enlightened not needing to do anything!

Btw, why do you practice so many qigong forms if all you need is Zen practice?

Smiles,
Fajin

Not sure if this is on topic exactly.
Like to comment about the factor of time.
The astrology wheel is a map of energies moving through time. Of great value with meditation and healing practice. One reason – shows form moving around formless centre. In moving to stillness, silence, centre, one can rise up above time, be above it in a way. IMO some meditation practice can be just going back and forth to/from this still centre without much change to the form. A kind of dissociation, a little rest, zonk out. This can be useful in some ways but sometimes little learning and evolution takes place in the practice – that occurs through being bounced around by ones transits and progressions – movements in the wheel of time – bringing certain energies stored in the unconscious (memories) and prior conditioning into the fray for further learning. The great thing about inner alchemy practice is that it facilitates and accelerates this natural process. The water element stores the deep memories (as taught my Michael) – the light of consciousness in practice allows review, release of old energies and new understanding. We then move on. What is useful about astrology in this context is having some clues as to the origins of particular issues on line and how far back the roots might go. We are after all dealing with all kinds of ancestral influences and learning taking place within family groups. Having an expanded view of time an be helpful. Time means movement, spin, orbit. To just meditate on the centre and deny one’s form is the kind of ‘suicide’ being discussed here. The methods taught here emphasize interplay of formless/form – a true balance that allows things to keep on learning and evolving. Some of these old religious philosophical systems are really retarding. That’s where we are now with Pluto in Sagittarius – the ongoing evolvement of philosophical sytems through breakdown/rebuild (Pluto’s symbolism, whether dwarf planet/binary system or whatever). Anyway, just wanted to highlight time, memories and conditioning as the grist for the mill. Over.
R

>>Taoism is the only religion I know that accepts imperfect humans into the ranks of its 8 Immortals. That is why they have so captured the popular Chinese imagination of even peasants- these are not perfect virtuous goody-goody Arhats living in another realm, these are people from all walks of life with warts and blemishes and different useful skills.

Human immortality is achieved by simply allowing one’s destiny to spontaneously unfold, despite great resistance in the culture or nature.<<

Thanks! NN