Monday, February 04, 2013

Correspondence 2: Nei Gong

Correspondence 2:   Nei Gong

..........  1/31/2013
Dear Sifu,
What is the name of the highest Nei Gong?

Is it correct to say Nei Gong is superior to Qi Gong?
In remote viewing, Tibetan gurus can see to the subtlest details in a far away future.  Is it like seeing/watching an audio-video that has not been recorded?

Thank you and regards,
Edward (AKA 'no shoes man')  

Dear Edward,

The highest level or attainment of "inner work" is best experienced or lived.  Such states of mind/being are in many ways "nameless" (i.e, hard to describe, mystical, mysterious). 
Poetry and metaphors better clothe these more refined and subtle ways of being and states of consciousness. 

Some yogis committed to intense and sustained inner working (Nei Gong) claim they will transcend and abandon their earthly body and become pure spirit (Shen) and be conscious forever.  I view these claims as confusing, paradoxical, and unlikely. 

Judgments about "Superior" (better, more advanced, highest, greatest) become less meaningful as we attain the summit of our Quest.
When the salmon (carp) jumps through the Dragon's Gate, its transformation tends to leave ordinary distinctions in the back waters of the past. 

Reasoning, philosophy, science and speculation are more likely to produce clearer visions of the future than yogic attainments. 
A lively imagination can also plum the depths of the future. 

To be alive, thrown into the world, free, and accountable, is to be steeped in one's accomplishable and chosen future - such is Dasien

As for expanding one's knowledge of Nei Gong, I recommend that you read books by Grandmaster Yang Jwing Ming, Master Bruce Frantzis, and Master Kenneth Cohen.  You might also be interested in reading:
Daoist Nei Gong: The Philosophical Art of Change  By Damo Mitchell.  Singing Dragon, 2011.  240 pages.  ISBN: 978-1848190658.  
 
Toss off your shoes, relax, and laugh,

Mike

.........   1/28/2013

Dear Sifu

Are Nei Gong and Qi Gong the same thing?

Thank you and regards,
Edward


Edward,
Some say yes, some say no. 

All exercise routines work/train/develop both the inside and outside of the body. 

Neigong involves more specific individual efforts to meditate, visualize, imagine, study scriptures, and transcend the ordinary.  Qigong involves more efforts to exercise and improve one's health, and frequently involves group efforts.   

Lots of practice and less theory is often recommended.

Mike

..........   1/25/2013

Dear Sifu

Is the Shaolin internal Luohan Gong of the Seven Star Praying Mantis a Nei Gong?
Remote viewing means viewing/seeing/watching without physically being there.  In Tibetan Buddhism it is a psychic power ability.  Is the remote viewing in Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) the same as remote viewing in the west?
Thank you and regards,
Edward


Edward,
I wrote about the Luohan Qigong on a webpage. 
Nei Gong, as I understand it, are psycho/physical/mystical practices engaged in consistently, rigorously, and in a dedicated manner.  These practices include Chi Kung or Yoga exercises, visualizations, concentration, guided meditations, breathing practices, special diets, reading and study, social action according to a positive and constructive ethics, harmonizing with the world of Nature, aesthetic cultivation, cultivating equanimity, withdrawal from sensuality, etc.  I suggest reading Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Nei Gong by , or Integral Life Practice by Ken Wilbur and Terry Patten to get the gist of this approach to a lifestyle. 
Some yogis do claim to have many amazing powers (siddhis) obtained by ascetic and spiritual disciplines, gifts from their guru, or obtained by grace from the gods/goddesses.  A few religious or psychic westerners claim to be able to view actual events (past or present) from a distance, without being present, using psychic abilities.  For the rare few that have these powers the "observational" activity seems the same, but the methods for the obtaining these unusual powers do differ considerably. 

Most of us are content with using motion pictures or video or photographs to do remote viewing of events past and present. 

I do activities like Chi Kung, Taijiquan, and yoga for pleasure, improved physical fitness, continuing sophisticated traditions, and as ways to vary my exercise activities.  The first two get me outdoors more and that is pleasant and enlivening. 

Since I am less interested in organized "religious" activities and keep a narrower sense of "spiritual" than other folks, siddhis are a set of magical power skills that I am bereft of.
Mike
 

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