Hara - Beyond the Concept

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This topic has 16 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 2 months ago by Peter.

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September 16, 2024 at 8:31 am #438146

shinnen
Participant

Hi all,

I’ m not quite sure where this belongs, spirituality or relaxation; but I ran across this site

a couple of weeks ago, “Hara – Beyond the Concpt” by Tomas Nellisen and found it very intersting;

both from the perspective of zen, and deep relaxation.

Have a look at it. I think that zen advocates will be quite familiar with it; but also the technique

which he describes at the bottom of the article is extremely calming.

…. john

September 16, 2024 at 10:56 am #438153

anita
Participant

Dear shinnen/ John:

Will you be kind enough to summarize the writing you are referring to, or any part of it, in a simple, easy to understand way?

anita

September 17, 2024 at 9:09 am #438176

shinnen
Participant

Hi all,

I’ m not quite sure where this belongs, spirituality or relaxation; but I ran across this site

about a month ago, “Hara – Beyond the Concpt” by Tomas Nellisen and found it very intersting;

both from the perspective of zen, and deep relaxation.

The majourity of the page talks about how, for many moderners, the focus of one’s center has shifted from their hara to their brain, which he feels is counterproductive. At the bottom of the page is a short description of a method aimed at correcting this problem by shifting one’s focus back to the hara, where it should be. I have performed this ‘exercise’ for about a month now, and find it to be extremely calming, and an excellent segue into meditation. As regards it’s spiritual effectiveness, i.e. shifting my focus from brain to hara, only time will tell.

Do have a look at the page, as it contains a more comprehensive description than I’m providing. You can find it here

https://www.tomasnelissen.com/downloads/TOMAS%20NELISSEN%20-%20HARA%20BEYOND%20THE%20CONCEPT.pdf

……. john

September 17, 2024 at 9:38 am #438181

anita
Participant

Dear John: thank you for the link. I will read and reply at a later time.

anita

September 17, 2024 at 12:14 pm #438192

Roberta
Participant

Hi John

Thanks for the link to the article. I too enjoyed the exercise at the end. I encountered the Hara when being taught Karate also I think it may also called dantien. In both Tai Chi & Karate I was taught to move from the hips rather than the head & shoulders, also Tai Chi helped to slow my breathing down.

Regards Roberta

September 18, 2024 at 10:31 am #438209

shinnen
Participant

Hi Roberta,

Same here, only in my case it was Judo, which resulted in life long devotion to Buddhism.

…. john

September 18, 2024 at 12:07 pm #438210

anita
Participant

Dear John:

“Every person has an inexhaustible creative and innovative energy. We can mobilize this energy in order to grow… Daoist saying: ‘When you are ‘sick’, do not seek a cure. Find your centre (Hara) and you will be healed.’…

“Practicing Hara breathing… With your mouth closed, breathe in, only using the muscles of your lower abdomen, gently pushing and breathing out. With each inhalation feel your abdomen filling and expanding – like a balloon… Gradually slow down your breathing, allowing an ever-longer interval of time after each exhalation and before the next inhalation”.

(End of Quotes). The boldfaced above is very meaningful to me, and the Hara breathing- I will practice it. Thank you.

anita

September 18, 2024 at 8:36 pm #438223

Helcat
Participant

Hi Shinnen

Thank you for sharing! That was an interesting read.

There are a lot of meditations focusing on the Hara out there and even practices designed to activate and improve its function, if you can find the right teacher. One thing that I have heard is that we lose our connection to it in puberty.

The article had a lot of advice about health that is also present in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Something that is not mentioned in the article is that the food quality has severely dropped. Not too long ago people did not even have refrigerators. Processed food didn’t exist either. Everything has preservatives in it now. Sometimes it is even cheaper to buy takeout instead of cooking from scratch.

Corporations are not concerned about health of customers, they are concerned with their bottom line and how much they can make you buy. In America, even the bread is artificially sweetened. You don’t notice until you visit another country how sweet everything is.

Fascinating stuff! Thanks again.

Love and best wishes! ❤️🙏

September 19, 2024 at 8:46 am #438245

shinnen
Participant

Hi Helcat,

Well, I’m very fortunate to be married to an excellent cook, who makes her own bread, with the minimum of salt, to keep my blood pressure under control; so I imagine that the old ways of perserving food (with salt) would probably have killed me before now. So, if I’m not good to her, I will probably notice a marked increase in the saltiness of my food ;- )

……. john

September 20, 2024 at 2:29 am #438251

Helcat
Participant

Hi John

Mmm fresh bread sounds amazing! Haha at least you always know if she’s in a mood or not. 😂

Love and best wishes! ❤️🙏

September 23, 2024 at 9:36 am #438297

Peter
Participant

I found Karlfried Graf Durckheim book – ‘Hara: The Vital Center of Man’ helpful

If you google ‘Path of Initiation – the wisdom of Karlfried’ there is a Youtube video worth listening to.

September 23, 2024 at 9:56 am #438299

anita
Participant

* Thank you, Peter!

anita

September 23, 2024 at 4:14 pm #438317

shinnen
Participant

Hi Hellcat,

Yes, there’s that to it.

….. john

September 23, 2024 at 5:38 pm #438320

shinnen
Participant

Hi Peter,

I found this book, Hara, the Vital Centre of Man, on the net. It’s here https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Hara.pdf

if anyone is interested. I’ve read a few books, that touch on the subject: Zen and the Ways, Zen Training, the Hagakura, A Second Zen Reader, but they’re all either vague, or difficult to follow. Hopefully I’ll be able to follow this one.

THANKS for this. ….. john

September 24, 2024 at 12:46 pm #438349

Peter
Participant

The book is hard to find so the link is apricated.

I find when it comes to books on Zen a good practice is to not to hold the words to tightly. Zen tends to use language to ‘slap’ the student so that they might avoid falling into that temptation of mistaking the map for the territory. Though it may not always appear so, Zen never asks that the student to understand or believe.

Man is originally endowed and invested with Hara. But when, as a rational being, he loses what is embodied in Hara it become his task to regain it.

To rediscover the unity concealed in the contradictions through which he perceives life intellectually is the nerve of his existence. As a rational being he feels himself suspended between the opposite poles of heaven and earth, spirit and nature. This means first the dichotomy of unconscious nature and of the mind which urges him to ever increasing consciousness; and second the dichotomy of his time-space reality on this earth and the Divine beyond time and space. Man’s whole existence is influenced by the tormenting tension of these opposites and so he is forever in search of a life-form in which this tension will be resolved. – Karlfried Graf Durckheim
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