so you're a wiseguy, eh?? LOL... lets see if you have any smartass comments to make now.Originally Posted by Scott R. Brown
har har har
so you're a wiseguy, eh?? LOL... lets see if you have any smartass comments to make now.
Registered User
The wisey-ness of my ass is the wisdom only those of attainment can comprehend without the wordiness of false wise-nessictyso you're a wiseguy, eh?? LOL... lets see if you have any smartass comments to make now.
Resigned
mono-tony, so to speak, is truly appreciated when one understands the unique inflection of each moment...seeing the stones in your archway, I know that you are aware of this...LOL... yet you're the one monotonously chanting away here.
Resigned
you are truly a Grand Spectaculoborator!!!
Registered User
This is true....I bow to myself now....
.....and grace you with the beneficence of a nod later....
....if you quickly look out your window you may catch me at that moment and your day will be filled with the grace I have bestowed on you......
...if you miss the moment......oh well tough luck....
...try again the next time I am feeling so generous!
Itinerant practitioner
I'll repeat it again I guess.
prayer is not meditation. It is counter to any meditative practice.
mantra is not prayer, mantra is a mnemonic device.
chanting is not meditation whether it is Om Mane Padme Hum or If it's Hail Mary Full of Grace...
because oif the lack of understanding what meditation is, religious people will often excuse the act by equating it with reflection, prayer, contemplation etc etc.
But what it is is an attempt to quiet the mind so as to rest it and to reset it.
A mantra is a tool to that end.
random thought or even constructed phrases such as a recitation of prayer etc is not a meditative act, it is an active act whereby one is working the mind and not resting it.
I have had this discussion many times in my life and find that there are many misconceptions about what meditation is. This is usually coming from people who have never pursued a study of it in a strict sense and those who would like to think they can quiet their mind, but by all appearances and deeds, never actually have had the occasion to do so.
If you think meditation is reflection, contemplation, prayer etc etc. Then that is fine. Carry on and be happy with it. I am merely pointing out, that those things are not meditation and will not give the benefits that meditation will.
But please, feel free to argue until you are blue in the face and even use biblical, religious or dictionary definitions if you like. When you have perhaps come to a point where you are actually and truly in a state of meditation, IE: the mind is still, then by all means, come back and tell us how quiet it was in there.
Truth is, most people I have met and encountered have great difficulty with meditation as they are not capable of readily quieting the mind. For some people it literally takes years to be able to achieve it and after practice, the state of mind can be produced in a moment, which is extremely helpful for martial artists who seek to act from the point of 'no mind'.
Kung Fu is good for you.
Resigned
as far as I understand, there are two ways to get to "no mind", or whatever you want to call it: stillness / contemplation and contemplation / stillness; AFAIK, in the Ch'an pratice I learned, the approach is to sit in stillness, in order to be able to reach awareness / contemplation (of one's original face, or whatever); inversely, there are practices that do the reverse, using contemplation (chanting, visualization, etc.) to get to stillness; in my personal experience with the Zhuen Ti Boddhisatva practice, which is a Chinese version of esoteric Vajrayana practice, there was a relatively intricate series of mudra, mantra and visualizations that, ostensibly, were utilized to bring the mind to a state of stillness;
to me, it seems like it is going one of two ways - cutting off the mind from all stimuli to achieve quiting or giving it an excess of "stuff" to chew on to sort of "overload" it into a state of quietutde; personally, having practiced both approaches, I have experienced the effects of each;
I guess that for me, mantra chanting is one means by which stillness can be approached / achieved; so I would agree that chanting is not meditation per se, but it is means of coming into that state...
Registered User
Personally, I don't care what anyone calls anything. I'm just going at it because its something to do with my free time!
If they are happy with their practice and it gives them the results they are looking for I don't care if they call it "monkey doesn't give a sh!t!"
Cuz I don't!
Resigned
IF YOU REVEAL ANYMORE "INNER COURTYARD" TEACHINGS, I"M GOING TO SEND SHAOLIN NINJAS TO YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!!
Registered User
I've used stillness AND mantra! They both work!
To me all methods are expedient means, even Hendrik's....I just like to mess with him! He actually takes it pretty well to be honest! And that says something good about his attainment!
But not much!
Registered User
I'll double their fee and send them back to you!IF YOU REVEAL ANYMORE "INNER COURTYARD" TEACHINGS, I"M GOING TO SEND SHAOLIN NINJAS TO YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!!
Itinerant practitioner
Ok, so lets discuss the mirror and how it isn't and the dust upon it is not what we are.
Kung Fu is good for you.
Resigned
It isn't? We're NOT?!? Oh crap...Ok, so lets discuss the mirror and how it isn't and the dust upon it is not what we are.
Registered User
Okay.............................................. .......................................!Ok, so lets discuss the mirror and how it isn't and the dust upon it is not what we are.
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