Introductions

[BioSattva]

Hello Everyone!

I'm from the UK but I have been living in China for 6 years - I'm presently in Beijing, and intending to stay here for at least another year and a half.

I got into Zen philosophy and martial arts first and then my meditative interests branched out from there. I write a blog about my daily mindfulness practices - teachers, research, latest mainstream news, etc. - and if you want to know more about my arriving at mindfulness you can read my first blog post on seated mindfulness meditation.

In addition to daily mindfulness sitting, I practice Chinese Insight Calligraphy, the internal martial art and 'standing meditation' health system YiQuan, Wing Chun Kungfu, traditional Chinese bamboo vertical flute, and modern archery. I'm still waiting to get my teeth into Kyudo, Kendo, and Aikido in coming months, as well as green tea 'ceremonies' and PenJing Classical Chinese Garden 'Tray Landscape'. I'm really beginning to feel and understand the underlying connections between all these things - the Chinese Tang Dynasty's cultural glory around 1200 years ago appeared to be rooted in the fruits of mindfulness practice. My heart swells at the prospect of the West enjoying such a cultural boost - it seems this is just the beginning.

My general plan is to load up on classically refined 'mindful arts' and then head back to the UK to share anything with others - hopefully for free where possible.

Looking forward to meeting and discussing practice with all of you soon ,

BioSattva.

[FeeHutch]

Welcome to our community BioSattva
I look forward to getting to know you
Fee

[piedwagtail91]

hi
i'm mick. i did the 8 week mindfulness course a couple of years ago after 26 or so years on antidepressants and getting nowhere.
i married with two adult children.
i went on to do the mindfulness teaching course and in an attempt to get back to work am doing voluntary work as a mindfulness service user.
i'm also a volunteer walk leader for the local stepping out health walks.

most of what's happened to me over half my life is at the bottom of this page http://www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk/Services/Adult-Mental-Health/Mindfulness/Mindfulness-Testimonials.php - click on micks story.

my mentor asked if she could use it to see if it would help others.

[FeeHutch]

Hi Mick,
Lovely to meet you

[Steve]

Mick

Thank you so much for sharing your story - I found it very moving and incredibly inspiring. I look forward to reading your views on the things being discussed on this forum. It is great to hear how people have used mindfulness to help themselves - its a great encouragement to others. It is very easy to think 'my problems are beyond the help of something simple like meditation' but when you hear about problems others have tackled (or are tackling) with mindfulness, it makes you realise that it is worth persevering.

Steve

[BioSattva]

Mick - An incredible story!

[Gareth]

This is a truly inspiring story Mick, yet more proof how life-changing mindfulness can be. I'd love to publish it as an EM blog, would that be OK?

[JonW]

Hi Mick.
Thanks so much for sharing that story. It moved me to tears. Truly inspirational.
I look forward to reading more of your posts on the forum.
All good things, Jon

[JonW]

Hi BioSattva.
Welcome.
Really enjoyed reading your blog on seated meditation. Fascinating reading.
I look forward to reading more from you. Your list of interests is breathtaking.
I'm currently exploring Taoism, starting with the books of Alan Watts. If you could recommend any other books on the subject I'd be most grateful.
All best, Jon

[BioSattva]

Hi Jon.

Thanks for the welcome and the appreciation. Much of what I have been writing has been for my own records as well as for anyone else practicing. I'm not one for myserious, superstitious stuff - I just look for the presence of heart, or xīn 心 in anything. You probably know that heart and mind are the same character in Chinese calligraphy. It's a wonderful character to paint.

I look through JKZ's lens to find any nourishment and insight from the more Classical teachers, rather than going in the opposite direction.

From what I have gathered thus far, Daoism has had a larger role to play in Classical Chinese Zen than has been clear. There are even relatively popular theories that some of the Buddhist Sutras - for example the Heart Sutra - was back-translated into Indian Sanskrit by Daoist-educated monks who were interpreting Buddhist practice according to their own understandings of nature, and wanted to share their work in a more formally accepted manner. Here is JKZ on the Heart Sutra from an interview here:

"...the heart sutra, which is one of my favorite texts in the Zen tradition... said, "There's no place to go. There's nothing to do. And there's nothing to attain." So when you sit in that way or when you cultivate mindfulness in everyday life in that way, it's not like you become some kind of shirker or lazy good-for-nothing. It's that you're actually rotating consciousness so that you're not caught by the usual things that will just hold us in a certain kind of conventional framework that does not allow us to be free to be who are already are."

The explicit mention of Buddha Nature - a person's potential to be liberated from all suffering - doesn't have any extant existence outside of the Chinese texts - and this focus on Nature has a very Daoist flavour.

I'm not much of a fan of Alan Watts. I have preferred Bill Porter's (aka Red Pine) book on Dao De Jing, and another of his which played a huge role in bringing me to China: Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits. Of course the other classic text JuangZi/ChuangTzu - it seems any translation will hold enough value - is a must.

I must say I have learnt a lot about the deeper meanings within these Classical texts - especially the JuangZi - through practicing the accompanying arts. Beyond these arts, different scholars seem to have differing interpretations and opinions on the meanings, but like all potentially ambiguous things, they need to be tested. Anyway, this is probably all best spoken about on a separate thread.