The Hunyuan Yilu

There are times when words just don't do justice.  Viewing the below video is a good example of one of those times.  This is a great performance.

Enjoy:

Nuff Said

Time: Making It, Finding It

How diligent are we?  How often do we set our intention to practice, work on certain skills, begin a new practice, or even read something related to our practice only to never really do it?  It's not as if we set out to deceive ourselves, or to set goals that we know we won't live up to.  It's not uncommon to really mean to do this or that, but never really get around to it.  So, how does that happen?  Really.  What is up with that?

Despite paving the road to hell, and so forth, good intentions do have their place.  And, even though most of us would rather not face up to it, it's really not about time.  Is it?  In so many cases, it's about follow through. It's about discipline.  Further, it's about changing behavior.  And it's about priorities.  One has to get to a place in life where he/she faces the question: What do I want; really want?

We practice these arts because we believe in and want transformation.  And that is of course possible, but we have to do the hard work.  We must have the time.  We have to find it or make it.  The best way to do that is to take a hard look at life.  What do we do with the time we have?  How much of it is spent surfing the internet; playing on Facebook; watching sitcom reruns?  Perhaps we feel we deserve a glass of wine after work, and then we don't really want to practice after having a drink.  Or perhaps we have a hobby that is taking a lot of our time.  Again, ask the question:  What do I really want?

If these arts lead to transformation, and that is what one wants, then one makes the time to practice.  The way to do that is to look.  Look at your priorities.  Look at your current activities.  Look at your practice; maybe it's not the right one for you, or with the right teacher.  Look at the hours in your day and how you spend them.  Look in your heart; determine if you really want to do the hard work, or if it's a romantic dream.  Better, determine if you really want to do this at all.

I am not writing this from a place on high, as one who has conquered these challenges.  I struggle as much as the next guy.  I'm also not saying that my path is the right and only path.  What I am saying is, if you are really interested in these arts and want more from the practice, put more in to the practice.  If at the end of the day, you look back and say "I didn't practice today because I didn't have time.", be honest with yourself.  You will likely get another chance tomorrow.

Same as It Ever Was

Welcome to 2013.  Now, what to expect?  Probably much the same as 2012, and 1992, and 1962....  I mean that in terms of our actual, internal experience.  While "the world", that that is out there, changes and spins and turns, and rises and falls, "the Self", that that is within, and always has been, always will be, is pretty much the same.  The Self, is unconditioned, eternal, is beyond the grasp of "the world" and all our associated ups and downs.  Thus, if we focus within, we find this rock; we find real peace.

Granted, that is easy to say, another thing altogether to do.  But that is why we practice: to transcend the conditioned and abide in the unconditioned.  We must remember, the unconditioned is and always has been present.  Realization is just a matter of where we attune our awareness.  Do we reside in the world of ups and downs, or a world of rock-solid peace?  Of course, as sentient beings we do  reside in the material world, but the trick, the aim of our practice, is to be in the world and not of the world; to sail through these storms and not be affected.  And that is exactly where practice comes in.

The one notable contradiction I have been struggling with over the last couple of years has been my motivation to write, or perhaps my resistance to writing.  Writing is something that has defined me for some time now--pretty much most of my life.  Upon reflection I realized that that in itself is the problem.  As practice leads us to focus within, we begin to notice conditioning, and how we ourselves contribute to the process.  Writing, as a method of self-definition, is a major ego exercise.  It has taken me a year to come to terms with that statement.  Rather, it has taken me a year to get that statement past the well-honed defenses of my ego.  I am not saying that writing is wrong, or a bad practice.  I am saying that as we progress in our practice we need to examine everything, especially our communication.

Sri Ramana Maharshi was reluctant to speak, even though he had a constant group of followers and devotees surrounding him.  It is said that he could impart much knowledge and understanding just by his presence.  However, there is a time and place for words, and even Ramana would speak when necessary.  And those words have had a profound effect for many, many people.

Which leaves me, as a communicator, in the position to carefully examine the words I use, however I use them.  I am not going to quit writing, or take a vow of silence.  However, I will try to be more mindful of my communication in all forms.

“All this is only activity of the mind. The more you exercise the mind and the more success you have in composing verses the less peace you have. What use is it to acquire such accomplishments if you don’t acquire peace? But if you tell such people this it doesn’t appeal to them; they can’t keep quiet."  Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi

The Process of Learning

Following on my last post, I want to share this video by Sam Chin on the process of learning.  "There is nothing to learn."  What we learn is to be.  To realize.  What we don't want to do is build new habits, new conditions.  We simply realize things as they are and change with the change

Simple enough?  Yeah, right.

Dancing into '13

This year is almost over.  All-in-all it has been a good one for me.  Specifically, I have increased my focus on the Chen 48 form and have taken my meditation and Qigong practice to new levels of depth.  Of course, I have also spent time with the various other aspects of my path, but I put particular emphasis on these components.  The benefits are obvious and profound.  If I merely maintain what I have developed so far, my life will be all the better.  Of course, I will aim higher.  That's the idea.

At the same time, I think it is important to realize that it is not so much a process of gain as it is one of realization.  We already are immortal, we just typically don't realize it because of all the levels of ego.  The practice is a process of peeling away the ego, much like the layers of an onion.  At the core is The Self (Dharmakaya; Tao; Christ Consciousness; Buddha Mind; Brahman; I Am): pure, healthy, enlightened, aware, and awake.  Until we make that connection, we dance.

From Wayne Liquorman, of The Advaita Fellowship:

"Life is a dance. We are dancing...we are being danced...we twirl and spin and leap and exalt in the sheer joy of this dance. There are no wallflowers here. It is all dance floor. It matters not if we have a partner dancing opposite us. We are joined in the dance by all the other dancers. We are all in this ballroom together, bound by the music and compelled to move to its rhythm.

No it is not always graceful. We bump into each other, trip over feet...others and our own. Sometimes we fall.

Funny thing about this dance of ours...the harder we try the more clumsy we become. Our grace is in the letting go. When we surrender to the music it is free to move through us unrestricted. Our bodies and minds sway freely, smooth and effortless. It is ecstasy, in its purest, simplest and most mundane form.

We are blessed indeed to hear the divine choruses, even though
those who hear not the music, think we dancers are mad!"

So, dance your dance and peel your onions.
Peace and many blessings in the coming year.
Namaste

Warriorly Advice

From Buddhist Monk, Pema Chodron:

"Many of us prefer practices that will not cause discomfort, yet at the same time we want to be healed. But bodhichitta training doesn’t work that way. A warrior accepts that we can never know what will happen to us next. We can try to control the uncontrollable by looking for security and predictability, always hoping to be comfortable and safe. But the truth is that we can never avoid uncertainty. This not knowing is part of the adventure, and it’s also what makes us afraid." Excerpted from her book, The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times

Classical Bushido in Modern Japan

The practitioners of Katori Shinto Ryu are preserving the art of true Bushido in modern Japan.  Members of the dojo take a blood vow to live by the virtues of Bushido.  Such discipline is key to personal transformation.  Would that there were more examples of such virtue, dedication, and discipline here in the 21st Century.

From Empty Mind Films: