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As a UK based Energy Arts student for some years I have been practicing Bruce’s approach to meditation regularly for a good while, and have found it really helpful in developing sensitivity to what’s going on at a physical level with some appreciation of energetic stuff. Sometimes I even manage to quieten my bucking horse mind! That said, I find it much easier to ‘do’ basic qigong, tai chi daily on an individual basis. Somehow meditation comes easier when practiced with others, and for this reason I’ve joined a local Dharma grouo (Tibetan Kagyu lineage). I appreciate that it’s important to separate the two approaches not least because the Tibetan practice, whilst beginning with basic ‘mindfulness’, seems to use visualisation more than ‘feeling’. I wondered whether others would like to comment on the benefits and limitations of cross-lineage practice.
Hi, Colin. I’m glad you brought the subject up. When I started doing inner dissolving, I could tell that something was missing. That’s when I became interested in Buddhism, and started some mindfulness and concentration practices, which really helped a lot with my Taoist Meditation, and was useful in filling in some of those gaps that I felt were missing in my training. I was mostly self-taught in the beginning, but I have attended some Mindfulness/Insight meditation retreats. I also became interested in Tibetan Buddhism/Dzogchen a few years ago, and have a short practice that has been pretty powerful, which I try to do every day as well.
I find it helpful, personally, to cross-train in this way. It could be a problem if someone were jumping from technique to technique in meditation, never staying with one system long enough to gain any depth in it. It has been interesting to learn about these different systems, and how they take different paths to what is basically the same goal. I think the combination of practices has widened my view of what meditation is and can be, as well as learning through the experience of it how my mind operates. Buddhism has also given me a wider intellectual understanding of certain concepts that seem to be universal in spiritual work, and of course one must be careful to keep a balance, and not let the intellectual approach dominate…
I am still not very familiar with the visualization in Tibetan Buddhism – I think I have a basic understanding of it, but little experience, so I can’t comment too much. I do believe visualization is used in Taoism, I know Bruce mentioned it in his book, but I have never done any with him, and don’t know if he has ever taught the subject.
So yeah, I feel that practicing more than one lineage can be beneficial, as long as someone has enough time to practice sufficiently, and chooses their teachers and lineages carefully. There’s a lot out there these days, which can be an advantage, but also means one should select wisely, of course. Interesting to see how these paths differ, and where they are similar. I would be interested to hear from other people who ‘cross train’ in meditation, and get some more views…
HI Colin,
I’m in Sydney, and just feel a good resonance with Bruce’s websites and free downloads.
I’ve also been looking more into chi kung over the last two years, having meditated for about 15 years. Dzogchen teachings have always appealed to me, and I currently attend a sangha meeting on Sundays.
I currently divide my practice into morning sitting meditation and chi kung with Guru yoga at night.
My feeling is that if you can see the context of each practice, you can deepen your experience accordingly. I think psychologically, we pick and choose what works for us to ultimately build our own practice.
Hi all,
about cross-training. I think it is pretty common to cross-train nowadays. As Catherine says there is a lot of material, some of it actually very good.
I think that cross-training is a natural consequence of the modern age. Before, it would be hard to access material. It simply would not be available. Maybe you could commit and learn from a teacher for a long time. Now, because people move a lot for work and life in general, it looks harder to keep visiting your same teacher for a long time, hence you need to develop a practice that is consistent with that reality, and new people and new styles become available in different places, so it is just natural to try other practices too.
I do think however that very few people gain real insight into energetic practices, partly because we don’t train that much (everybody has too many things to care for), and partly because of this shopping around. I think it could also be a manifestation of the monkey mind, that is never satisfied in a single place, and does not have the patience to let the real meaning of the practice manifest in due time.
In summary, it’s a double-edge sword.
……….thanks all, we seem to have an interesting and engaging thread going! In my view cross-lineage practice can be beneficial but we need to be mindful (!) of the fact that authentic lineages have developed over many lifetimes and are ‘tried and tested’ with well charted ‘pathways’, challenges and outcomes. If ‘modern’ culturally eclectic tendencies lead to overly mingled ‘pic n mix’ cross-training, then cross-fertilization could lead to unexpected, unforseen and not necessarily beneficial outcomes! That said, Chan/Zen is well documented to be a ‘marriage’ of Taoism and Buddhism. From my perspective, as a beginner, I’ll play safe and keep my Taoist and Buddhist practices separate.
Colin – I totally agree with you. Important to remember that cross-training does not mean you should be mixing traditions, unless directed by a very qualified teacher. One of my teachers used to say (and this may have come from Bruce): You might like spaghetti, you might like ice cream, but you don’t want to mix them together. Likewise, I would never try to mix the chanting I do with my Dzogchen practice with my dissolving, but they both help in my ability to keep my mind quiet and concentrated. Although it’s common today to see things like “Hip-hop Tai Chi Zen Kickboxing Class”, it’s an unfortunate by-product of a consumer culture, and not something a serious student would want to engage in!
Hi Catherine
I know this threas is from a while ago so don’t know if you’re still on here. You say:
“When I started doing inner dissolving, I could tell that something was missing…mindfulness and concentration practices… really helped a lot with my Taoist Meditation, and was useful in filling in some of those gaps that I felt were missing in my training”
Is there anyway you can elaborate – or be more specific on what you felt was missing from the Taoist practices?
Although i’ve done a range of happ-hazzard meditation practices in the past i’m starting from the beginning of this material. It seems extremely thorough and is already dealing with topics of focus and concentration in ways that i felt were missing from the mindfulness type of training I had done!! Though what I am working on now is not actually inner dissolving of course but the preparation practice in the first 4 months.
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