Eckart Tolle is not my guru. Having said that I am a fan and a “friend.”
I will be posting more of his videos and teachings here because we have something in common. Aside from the obvious both of us being spiritual teachers and so forth – both of us emphasize this idea of what Eckart calls the #painbody.
In general, Eckart appears to be Buddhist in philosophy in some regards in terms of perhaps his approach to healing / awakening. He incorporates other forms of teaching including Christianity, Course in Miracles etc. And for those of you who know me better – so do I.
We also both focus on meditation and of course Awareness.
In general Buddhist practices and the Buddhist path tends to be more passive. Meditation, mindful eating, walking, praying, chanting etc. All fantastic stuff!
Zen Buddhists (again – in general) lean toward more of a physical practice like Qigong, Martial Arts, King Fu etc.
Bodhi Darma is seen by some as the father of Qigong.
It was said that he traveled from India to China to bring the teachings of the Buddha to China. The Chinese government was not interested in his form of Buddhism. So he retreated to the Shaolin Temple.
At the Shaolin Temple, at that time the practices there were very traditional Buddhist with an emphasis on passive practice.
The monks there referred to the body as a big skin bag. They didn’t emphasize diet or nutrition nor did they emphasize exercise. Bodhi Darma was stunned.
Bodhi Darma reportedly told them that they would never figure out the secret to enlightenment because their bodies were unhealthy and that they would not live long enough to discover enlightenment, like the Buddha.
Bodhi Darma then retreated even further up into a cave in the mountains. It was said that he stayed there for nine years. After nine years he returned to the Shaolin Temple with some of the very first known (in modern history) Qigong exercises to train the body, mind and spirit.
Today at the Shaolin Temple there is a practice there that overshadows the other practices and it is called Kung Fu. Kung Fu is a very physical expression of Qigong.
Often times you will see monks there doing slower movements with focus on breath and flexibility and Chi cultivation. These are the Qigong exercises. You will also see them in standing or sitting meditations. These are also the Qigong exercises.
Eckart Tolle’s practices of awakening awareness don’t do much for the body. So to speak. Having said that what can be gained from these teachings in terms of growing and evolving awareness itself and learning to know oneself as awareness first and foremost is of great benefit to all.
So today I share one of #eckarttolle ‘s meditations.
And one day you see we will not have these bodies and so it is important to know oneself as Awareness as Eckart surely does because if you don’t know yourself as Awareness then your EGo, monkey mind, personality, habits all lead the way to your next incarnation. That’s right your next rebirth as it is called.
But if your habits and your unconsciousness is leading the way into your next rebirth then how will you ever know WHO you ARE? How will you ever know WHERE you ARE? And how will you ever break the cycle of endless unconscious incarnation with people and places and things and events? How will you ever end Groundhog Day?
Food for thought.
In a time of great sleep on our planet – no better time than to AWAKEN NOW!
You might find both of these instructional videos below helpful.
Eckart Tolle Meditation:
David J. Coon Qigong Class
