zen buddhist meditation on how to practice tells you the steps and ritual needed to practice this meditation, the ritual and process is necessary to learn when practice religions like zen buddhism, as this is what is needed to get in the correct mind set and meditative state.
the zen buddhist monk does full lotus posture which is difficult to achieve so just get as close to that as you can, sometimes not very close but at least sitting down.
the full lotus posture helps for stronger meditation and gets the body into better connection with meditation forces.
the zen buddhist monk explains about how the back should be and the spine should be straight, is most important in dogen, aligns the meditator with the universe by having the spine straight.
the meditation posture for the hands as well is explained in this dogen zen buddhist meditation video and why these things are important, very good meditation video explains the importance of the aspects of the zen meditation.
listen to this mantra very relaxing and good for meditation and chilling out, it is explained in there youtube description:
"This is a very beautiful rendition of the Maha Gayatri mantra. Hope you enjoy it and please feel free to leave your comments. Bhagavan blessings to all and ENJOY!
Gayatri Mantra Translation:
Om Bhur Bhuvah Svaha Tat Savitur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat
Syllable Translation
Om: Para Brahman Bhur: The Physical plane Bhuvah: The Astral plane Svaha: The Celestial plane Tat: Ultimate Reality Savitur: The Source of All Varenyam: Fit to be worshiped Bhargo: The Spiritual effulgence Devasya: Divine Reality Dhimahi: We meditate Dhiyo: Intellect Yo: Which Nah: Our Prachodayat: Enlighten
General Translation
We meditate upon the spiritual effulgence of that adorable supreme divine reality Who is the source of the physical, the astral and the heavenly spheres of existence. May that supreme divine being enlighten our intellect, so that we may realise the supreme truth. Category: Music Tags: kali gauri laskshmi sarasvati kaal shiva vishnu brahma ganesh ram sita krishna radha gayatri mantra anuradha paudwal".
hopefully this can be a help full video about the Spiritual Secrets of Money its in 3 parts this is part 1 of 3.
for the first few minutes is music so far, now the Suresh Padmanabhan is teaching about the Spiritual Secrets of Money!.
"Discover how we can be Materially Satisfied along with Spiritual Fulfillment. Powerful insights on "Spirituality" and "Materialism".
this looks like it could be a interesting video about the spiritual secrets of money, and explains that money is spiritual and that money is a spiritual thing, divine.
Japan Kyoto Daitoku Ji Zen Buddhist Temple Zuiho In Sorin Ohtomo Zen Rock Garden.
lovely picture of what a zen buddhist rock garden looks like, kind of place you would go meditate and relax in to contemplate your thoughts, a very spiritual religious garden in the budhist tradition.
some more spiritual music, this is for getting into the mood for meditating and not necessarily for meditating to, though it can be, though it might be too loud music to meditate to.
gets you in the mood to do meditation and yoga and spiritual, buddhism zen buddhist chants etc.
Feng Shui, some interesting facts on the chinese art known as Feng Shui.
Feng Shui the youtube video write up says:
"Empty Mind, No Mind, whatever you want to call it, is an awesome idea/practice. So very very awesome. What it has to do with interior decorating, no one knows.Because there is nothing to be known....
Most Western ideas about feng shui are utterly wrong and generally based on a variety of weird concepts pulled from European folklore and New Age marketing — which are in turn marketed as "contemporary and practical" feng shui.
Despite all of the books rushing into print claiming "Feng Shui this" and "Feng Shui that," the theoretical depth and full potential of the authentic material remain virtually unknown to the public.
Real feng shui does not exist to arrange the environment for our personal gain — that is what got us into our environmental mess! Feng shui exists to fit us within the environment. By doing that feng shui keeps us safe and healthy. That is why feng shui can be used to combat global warming and environmental disaster.
The theories are labeled "Mutationist" for good reason.
According to the Feng Shui Anthology, Lin Yun took the Taiji (the Primordial, Great Unity or "Yin Yang symbol," as everyone calls it) and set it spinning in its opposite direction. The Taiji and its corresponding systems move clockwise. A left-spinning Taiji — that is, one spinning counterclockwise — correlates with global culture's views of aberrant behavior, misfortune, and necromancy.
All those occultists ... who are brimming with claims about the strange and the marvelous ... those occultists cheat people and delude the masses. They hold in their grasp the black arts and in their embrace all manner of false and faked means. ... if one listens to what they say, it fills the ears to overflowing. But one should seek to take hold of what might actually be found, in the end one will have gained nothing, for it is an evasive thing, akin to binding the wind or clutching a shadow.
— Gao Yong, an esoteric master (Fang Shi) and advisor to Emperor Zheng (33 to 7 BCE)
Theory For Black Sect Buddhists and other New Age types, their Bagua (or Ba Gua, Ba Qua, Pa Kua) is a so-called "mystical octagon of symbolic correlations," This cafeteria-style approach to borrowed ideas was whipped into a lovely froth from Western cultural icons and concepts.
The new bagua supposedly represents "eight fundamental life conditions" that correlate to "a different aspect of ourselves."
Yet it was created within the last thirty years and marketed entirely to New Agers ignorant of Asian culture.
According to Ho Lynn's article in the execrable Feng Shui Anthology (published and edited by Jami Lin), this new Bagua was created by self-proclaimed "wandering impostor" Thomas Lin Yun, founder and spiritual leader of an American church called Black Sect Tibetan Buddhism. The new bagua is marketed as a "revolutionary" and "innovative" step in Chinese philosophy. In fact, it is so "revolutionary" that Asians laugh it off.
As one Korean-American practitioner of martial and healing arts said,
This is the sort of thing that Asians would use to make money off non-Asians :)
There are a lot of morons in the world
Read more about this in
100 Bullshit jobs
http://800ceoread.com/products/?ISBN=...
What, Bing inquires, do a feng shui consultant, new media executive, wine steward, department store greeter, and Vice President of the United States have in common? What, too, are the actual duties performed by a McKinsey consultant? Other than sitting around making people nervous? Could that possibly be his core function? Likewise, what does an aromatherapist actually do, per se? Sniff things and rub them on people, for big fragrant bucks? Read more about this http://www.demonoid.com/files/details"
good write up there and explains a lot of details about Feng Shui, the video at top of page about Feng Shui is very good and gets 5 stars.
youtube video i put together from the best of the best 80's movie.
this is the training sequences of the film, where the american karate team prepare to face the korean karate team.
the usa karate team get trained by a mystical women from the east as to be better prepared to face the koreans and to have similar training to the eastern asian martial arts training.
there is some meditations in this training montage, where the fighters are show how to visualize and connect with there ki or chi, life force.
the american karate team get a mystical edge to there training from there new trainer katherine wade, which helps them be a bit better against the koreans.
very good spiritual buddhist youtube video 1 of 5. How to Meditate Yoga Meditation very good spiritual buddhist youtube video 1 of 5. How to Meditate Yoga Meditation.
watch this video series to learn some meditation ideas, this starts how with the basics of meditation, the basics usually being the best or core to the importance as well, so the basics are very important.
ill post the youtube video description quite a big description but it has alot of usefull words in it:
"TrungEdm April 20, 2008
http://www.encognitive.com New Age meditations are often influenced by Eastern philosophy and mysticism such as Yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism, yet may contain some degree of Western influence. In the west meditation found its mainstream roots through the hippie- counterculture social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s when many of the youth of the day rebelled against traditional belief systems. [26]
[edit] Sikhism Main article: Nām Japō
In Sikhism, the practices of simran and Nām Japō encourage quiet meditation. This is focusing one's attention on the attributes of God. Sikhs believe that there are 10 'gates' to the body; 'gates' is another word for 'chakras' or energy centres. The top most energy level is the called the tenth gate or dasam dwar. It is said[attribution needed] that when one reaches this stage through continuous practice meditation becomes a habit that continues whilst walking, talking, eating, awake and even sleeping. There is a distinct taste or flavour when a meditator reaches this lofty stage of meditation, as one experiences absolute peace and tranquility inside and outside the body.
Followers of the Sikh religion also believe that love comes through meditation on the lord's name since meditation only conjures up positive emotions in oneself which are portrayed through our actions. The first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak Dev Ji preached the equality of all humankind and stressed the importance of living a householder's life instead of wandering around jungles meditating, the latter of which being a popular practice at the time. The Guru preached that we can obtain liberation from life and death by living a totally normal family life and by spreading love amongst every human being regardless of religion.
Taoism includes a number of meditative and contemplative traditions. Originally said to have their principles described in the I Ching, Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu and Tao Tsang among other texts; the multitude of schools relating to Qigong, Neigong, Daoyin and Zhan zhuang are a large, diverse array of breath training practises in aid of meditation with much influence from later Chinese Buddhism and with much influence on traditional Chinese medicine and the Chinese as well as some Japanese martial arts. The Chinese martial art T'ai Chi Ch'uan is named after the well-known focus for Taoist and Neo-Confucian meditation, the T'ai Chi T'u, and is often referred to as "meditation in motion".
Often Taoist Internal martial arts, especially Tai Chi Chuan are thought of as moving meditation. A common phrase being, "movement in stillness" referring to energetic movement in passive Qigong and seated Taoist meditation; with the converse being "stillness in movement", a state of mental calm and meditation in the tai chi form. Category: Howto & Style Tags: Yoga meditation Buddhism spiritual mind health how to meditate new age".
so this video will give you some understanding into the art of meditation but also add learn your own ways as well.
zen buddhist meditation zen meditation technique of lord buddha, key important parts of this meditation is breathing and posture.
this youtube video explains zen buddhist meditation and the techniques you need all things to practice on, practice this and practice that, working at different ideas, this is a good zen buddhist meditation to practice.
youtube video description says:
"AnmolMehtaCom January 05, 2008
The incredible meditation of Lord Buddha, Zazen or Zen Meditation Technique is explored in this video. A clear demonstration of Cosmic Mudra (hand position), as well as details on the posture and practice are taught Category: Howto & Style Tags: meditation buddhist zen zazen guided technique method daily practice religion spirituality".
its all about researching your meditation also bringing some of your own ideas to your meditation, but to do research on tried and tested meditation, good video.
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly. Buddha Quote".
not to get stuck on the past or future as the only time you can actively change is the present now.
the now is your most important time as it is the only place you will ever be in, so you need to be able to live in the now, and conscious of the eternal now, all other things are distractions, but obviously not saying you don't have to be organised for the upcoming now or future now, but it is all the same thing, in mysticism.
financially i would say the same thing, but money wise we have been put into a system built around the never never with a system of credit, so you still have to plan ahead in modern living even if financial matter's go against buddhist or spiritual concepts or principals, just have to try and be ahead with financies, as the credit crunch showed how people got over reached with there money borrowing.
"A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden. Buddha".
really straight forward buddha quote here, and sometimes you have to be the one to mend the broken bridges after you have family arguments or arguments with friends, if you want to live in harmony you have to learn how to love your family.
as it says a family is a place where minds come into contact with each other, this is why there can be disagreements so like the buddhist saying bring love into your family setting and it will be like a beautiful flower garden, yes i know sometimes easier said then done, but at least the positive thought and idea is the start like the little seed that grows into a tree.
Three things cannot be long hidden, the sun, the moon, and the truth".
nice quick buddha quote there, things can not be long hidden, the truth always shines through (sun) reflects back at you (the moon).
also it goes round in the circle, the truth travels around in a circle like the sun and the moon.
thats one take on that buddhist quote there are probably more, just trying to bring some light to some of these buddhist buddhism riddles as said by buddha's.
Take a look at these budha statues carved out of the rock in china, thats the thing with buddhism they put lots of statues around every where but they look really good and impressive though.
one way to make a religion last is to build lots and lots of statues, kind of stops people forgetting about the religion.
The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. The greatest quality is seeking to serve others. The greatest precept is continual awareness. The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything. The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. The greatest generosity is non-attachment. The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind. The greatest patience is humility. The greatest effort is not concerned with results. The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go. The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances. By Atisha
some of the concepts you need to understand or think about etc to understand buddhist concepts better.
but also applies to other religions as well, as they all have greater depth, just not always instantly apparent, have to think on deeper, more focused levels.
we find things like zen buddhism is based on riddles which are like philosophical questions.
questions that make you think, the idea is to get the moment of realisation when thinking about these questions, like the little light bulb lighting up.
What is the Zen Buddhist Religion and is it any use today, how does Meditation apply and are there Health benefits?.
Not necessarily a belief but more a addition to aid your day to day living, but with the goal of also improving ones soul journey through eternity, is one way of looking at it.
If we look at Buddhisms central core beliefs it is essentially a very simple religion, yet complex at the same time, but dont let the word complex fool you as complex is as complex does.
You will find with all Religions that they are built around Riddles.
With Riddles it means that the religion is more indepth, this means there is further truths to be found, then the obvious ones that are expressed to the observer.
It means for the seeking mind there is more to find in a Religion basically same with any Religion on earth.
With that being said lets take a look at some of the beliefs of Zen Buddhism.
Buddha saying:
"I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa".
That quote is very good and shows some of the Essence of Buddism, to see the Inner Eye, and be inside the Mind of Nirvana.
This is one of the things Buddhist Monks meditate on to be able to see or feel Nirvana with the Inner Eye, like the 3rd Eye.
Try to find moments of Realisation, this is one of the things alot of Scriptures and Religions hint at, to be at Peace and find or reach a zone of Peace and Truth within the Mind Body and Soul.
This is a Goal of Buddhism and other Religions.
So Buddhism and other Religions are Relevant today as they ever where, it is just trying to find the relevancy to your own beliefs and life, doing your own research and trying to find your own Accurate Truths.
"One is the way to gain, the other is the way to Nirvana, knowing this fact, students of the Buddha should not take pleasure in being honored, but, should practice detachment".
A way of thinking and acting in life, talking about a thought process, for example, some peoples thought process is toward greed.
So what the Buddha is saying there is understand your greed and where it would leed you.
Do not let yourself be taken over and ruled by greed etc.
This doesnt mean dont buy things or have money or possessions, it means understand what these things are, do not let them control you, or own you, you control your possessions not the other way around.
You should be detached from worldly greed, and let your mind be calm, to your wealth in life, this way it doesnt become a burden on your soul or mind.
They are just things you need to live but are not life itself, as physical life and its many items are not permanent.
think like buddha, then you will know happiness, well that might not be so straight forward, but we can try a little understanding, at the least.
buddha says:
"Joy comes not through possession or ownership, but through a wise and loving heart."
i dont think this saying get rid of everything like you see some budhists do, like they get rid of literally all there posessions, and walk round in only a robe all day.
no, but what it is saying is to understand your life and what possessions are just that items that you possess.
so keep your possessions, but know what they are, and more importantly understand that they do not make you, but it is more your heart and wisdom that makes you the person you are.
"Buddha says: Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true".
find your own truths, but be careful to make sure that they are actually your own truths, and not implanted "truths".
yes find your own truths, but like the quote says keep testing what you believe and judge to be true, but hold out reservations as well just in case you got something wrong, in your belief.
"Brian Perkins said: This sounds an extraordinary statement to make, but in fact all truth is very ordinary. It is peoples' fantasies of what is true that is so extraordinary. That that we were born and that we face eternal extinction after death is an extraordinary fantasy".
so that we make alot out of everything, and what we believe is true can be more like illusion or fantasy.
this is what i am getting from the buddhist quote.
that we are creating alot of our beliefs, a bit like modern society is created by design, where as basic truths are much more mundane, or not so much created by people.
below is a quote to help ease the tensions of today.
"Yaunwu says:
If you put your conditioned intellect to rest for a long time, suddenly it will be like the bottom fallin out of a bucket -- then you will naturally be happy and at peace".
seems to be alot fo stress around today, so i think this quote is a good one to deal with stress, its like saying, look anyway, all your problems are in your intellect, and at the end of the day they will fall away like the bottom falling out of a bucket.
if you let go of your problems in your mind then they fall away, and be at peace.
just sit quietly for a while and let your problems, or you will actually feel your problems dissolve, when you sit quietly and let your thoughts go.
"Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself".
one of the things i take this proverb to be saying is that to not worry, for example, not worry about money problems, deal with them like nature deals with the seasons, in winter it is cold, yet, the sun and warmth is just around the corner.
dont get down and stay in winter, when you can just as quickly welcome summer, and allow it to dissolve your problems, metaphorically speaking.
"Sheng-yen" says: "Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you...."
so dont let things get you down, let the problems be counted and flow away, or let the tention flow away, this way you can deal with things better, have a clearer head.
here we go, come up with the idea of putting up a or some zen quotes a day, or most days, have to be at the computer to do it of course.
so it is just good quotes to think about and apply to your day, to inspire you and help you go about your day, and apply to your money matters, but also daily matter as most are similar as most people make there money through the day.
it seems most peoples lifes are taken up with either making money or spending money and a bit of both, whish is the way it is.
but some nice quotes to enlighten the day can help either way.
quote for today is this one:
"Langya says:- Just think of the trees: they let the birds perch and fly, with no intention to call them when they come and no longing for their return when they fly away. If people's hearts can be like the trees, they will not be off the Way".
i need to put more time into this zen buddhist blog, been letting this one slide too much, and i like some of these zen concepts alot, very practical, and simple, great for making life easier.
so not only reading my blog but look up some of the philosophy of zen and buddhism, you dont have to take it super series, just take a look, and see if there is any thing that resonates in it?.
i always wonder how long should i be making these blog posts?, oh well, ill do some posts long and some posts short, best of both worlds then i guess.
have it in mind to save your money is a good attitude to have, and it can be surprising how fast it builds up, especially for those with good jobs.
in modern soceity the mind set is all built around spend spend spend, and it is all in the mind.
people make themselves happy by spending, but you can also make yourself happy by saving, it is just a mental approach, and changing your approach, so you can enjoy saving.
So i have been doing some reading up on this art or religion called zen, and here is some ideas on some of zen's basics foundations.
The idea of zen is to be int he here and now, and the zen religion basicially emphasizes the here and now, so money wise you have to not worry too much about what you lost or havnt got, but more so on what you can do now.
So how can you straight en your financies out for today, and get back on track, as you cant change the past, or the future, just prepare for it now, or as they seem to say "in the now".
So what ive done in the now is cut my spending, right down, this seems to be a effective technique, as it will leave you with more money for the so called none existent future, or the future now.
Or the continues now, so you have to be bale to flow with the now it would seem, financially, as well as spiritually, or life basically.
So try to work on what you can now, dont worry too much on past actions or what is in future except to be prepared for any so called future happenings in your diary etc.
So my future will be probably away next week.
So my blogs might not get updated for about a week, this doesnt mean i have left them.
It just means i will probably be away from my computerfor a good few days.
I have read about this in the past about trying to take a zen type buddhist approach to money.
I think it is kindof to be serine, and relaxed about financial matters, look at what you can do, to improve your money and life etc.
Everything nowadays seems to be centered around money, which isnt necessarily a good thing, so what can you do to eleviate some of htis problem?.
And i think some kind of zen approach could be one way of going about it.
As it is often reported how people are having bad financial times and how there is a credit crunch at the moment.
You hear of big financial institutions going bust and businesses having to close down due to credit problems.
And this can get you down, so i think the zen approach is to not let these external to yourself elements, effect you, but enstead concentrate on your own problems and deal with your own problems.
Its like when you watch the news it is depressing, but how does it effect you, mostly not directly, so with this zen approach deal on your own problems, or concentrate on your own financies.
I need to do more research on this approach, so i will write up in this blog what i find in easy to understand bits.
Might not be a pro blog, but some of those are difficult to read anyway, they try to be too technical and look too good, and end up being less as a result.
I try to keep my blogs simple so that they are easy to follow and easy to read!.
