A Parabola through Buddhism

[apex_theory]

"all this pain is an illusion" - TOOL
"there is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering, and no path" -BUDDHA


"We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment"
all life is a pale and uneasy shadow compared to the lucidity of this, our own, immediate existence, this moment.

"Alive, I"
this has to be close to the essence of Zen Buddhist meditation....... there is only perfect conciousness. no 'i think therefore's....' no reason... no question, just this.

"this body holding me"
ties beautifully with the idea that our physical desires our bodies are the corporeal anchors of our spirits... and the lyrics suggest that rather respond with anger we should celebrate the opportunity to experience this world's tactile beauty.

happy, celebratory, disconnected, insightful, inspirational, qualities that this track shares with some of the best spiritual works I've read.....
you are interested want to know more, search google or something for Zen or daoism

-tracks like this are why I listen to TOOL-

[TheHollow]

OK Parabola definitelly describes the meditational experience, but I wouldn't really say it's restricted to Buddhist pranayama (or neikung) meditation. I'd say it pretty much describes what it is "to be alive and breathing", in a "holy reality" like any breathing-meditation!

Lateralis on the other hand is a step by step guide to Buddhist (I think it's Kundalini) meditation. Thankfully that can only be understood by someone that does something similar. That's good, cause it can be really dangerous to attempt to do such practices without a teacher to guide you! People have ended up insane, impotent or even dead doing so on their own!

[LyingRealist]

I was wondering when breathing medtitation would come into this.
I find that Tool seem to be very into the concept of breathing meditation and the spiritual awakening it brings on.
Third eye is basically about opening the third eye which is mostly achieved through meditation.
Parabola I always thought of as a song about once having opened the third eye learning about the true beauty of life.
My thoughts on the title parabola i think reflects the symmetry of the physical and the spiritual world and how what affects one affects the other.
I learned martial arts for a while, but had to stop because of study and exams at school. I have been taught the basic method for breathing but I am afraid to go any further without further guidance.

As someone who is keen to open my third eye, Maybe i just like to personalise the songs so i think "yay i am totally relating to this.'
but I seem to have found people who feel somewhat similar about it.


Breathe deep.

[TheHollow]

Originally posted by LyingRealist

I find that Tool seem to be very into the concept of breathing meditation and the spiritual awakening it brings on.
Third eye is basically about opening the third eye which is mostly achieved through meditation.

Very much so, in my point of view, most of Tool's post-undertow work is relative to "letting go" of this material world (AEnima), and finding the substance that life holds for each one of us individually. A spiritual awakening, as you very correctly put it.

Yes opening the third eye is achieved through breathing meditation. In Buddhist and Taoist meditation, you have to open other chakras before the third eye. First and foremost the dantien. A HOLLOW area, in which ch'i is stored, which over time becomes an actual tangible organ.

The third eye is the first chakra Hindus focus on in their meditation. The problem is that it can get pretty dangerous to open it without having the proper "voltage" (chi). That may lead to the "Kundalini disease", which has sent many people to mental institutions all over China and India.

Originally posted by LyingRealist
Parabola I always thought of as a song about once having opened the third eye learning about the true beauty of life.
My thoughts on the title parabola i think reflects the symmetry of the physical and the spiritual world and how what affects one affects the other..[/B]

I think it simply describes and praises the meditational experience. However the physical & spiritual world, YES! the yang (physical) Vs. the yim (spiritual)...

Originally posted by LyingRealist
I learned martial arts for a while, but had to stop because of study and exams at school. I have been taught the basic method for breathing but I am afraid to go any further without further guidance. [/B]

I suggest NOBODY EVER attempts breathing meditation without proper, person to person, guidance. It can be VERY dangerous. Martial arts are o way -a Tao- to reach enlightenment, just like religion is. Personally I prefer martial arts. However they're all connected more or less.

Originally posted by LyingRealist
As someone who is keen to open my third eye, Maybe i just like to personalise the songs so i think "yay i am totally relating to this.'
but I seem to have found people who feel somewhat similar about it.
Breathe deep. [/B]

Right on man! I'm stoked to have found people who are into the same stuff as I am! Be careful about that "opening the third eye" thing though. As I said it can be veeeeeery dangerous. You can learn to activate it long before opening it, which is way safer.

Breathe deep friend!

PS: If you want, drop me a line at [email protected]

[FrKmeOUT]

Exactly why is it that opening your third eye and this breathing meditation is dangerous? How do you open the third eye? Do you have to be on drugs?

[TheHollow]

Opening a chakra has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with drugs.

As for opening the third eye, if chi hits your brain, and the rest of your body doesn't have the "voltage" to back it up, then it leads strainght to institutionalization, with severe symptoms of shcizophrenia, or paranoia.

[apex_theory]

meditation isnt as dangerous as this lot make out, theres a quirk about religion, that as soon as people achieve something they have to make it exclusive.

If knowledge of self-empowerment seems remote and spiritually expensive then the value of their knowledge and achievement remains high.

experiences while meditating i find can be as powerful and different to drugs, most drugs are just trigger off the body's natural chemistry anyway, most of the experiences you get are from chemicals allready in you.

if youre new and readin this dont let the control freaks put you off, remember a person had to have discovered meditation techniques in the first place, take some initiative.

i used 'buddhist' as an umbrella term.... taoism, zen, and all the other kinds that ppl who are interested are bound to know anyway

[Shinji]

Meditation has always been in MJK's lyrics, since the first EP ("Sweat"). Breathing is a recurrent theme.