The Story of The 8 Brothers

mindfulness

This story was told by Master Sam Chin at the 2006 I Liq Chuan Intensive retreat in NY (I recall it fairly well, let me know if I've missed something):

There are 8 brothers working together to run a store.

The first five brothers are in charge of the inventory and customers, stocking the shelves etc. and represent the five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing.
The sixth brother is the mind and his role is to tallys up the totals, execute the plans. The mind is the 'sixth sense' and manages the other five).
The seventh brother is responsible for judgment and feeling, helping to determine what's important, consider strategy and plans for the future.
The eighth brother is the storage center (input/output). Whatever the seventh brother checks in the eighth brother stores perfectly and returns upon request.

The aim of our training is to kill the seventh brother.

Why kill the seventh brother? The seventh brother is only about the past and future, never the present moment. Awareness of and engagement with the present moment helps us capture the 'suchness feel'. 'Suchness Feel' or perceiving 'Things As They Are' is the explicit result of our practice.

In order to progress you must clearly understand the relationship between your 'intention' and your 'attention'. Think of I Liq Chuan as a wonderful and sophisticated toolset for the development of the 'Suchness Feel'..

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Kalama Sutta (Kalama Sutra)

Do not simply believe what you hear just because you have heard it for a long time.
Do no follow tradition blindly merely because it has been practiced that way for many generations.
Do not be quick to listen to rumors.
Do not confirm anything just because it agrees with your scriptures.
Do not foolishly make assumptions.
Do not abruptly draw conclusions by what you see and hear.
Do not be fooled by outward appearances.
Do not hold on tightly to any view or idea just because you are comfortable with it.
Do not accept as fact anything that you yourself find to be illogical.
Do not be convinced of anything out of respect and deference to your spiritual teachers.

You should go beyond opinion and belief. You can rightly reject anything which when accepted, practiced and perfected leads to more aversion, more craving and more delusion. They are not beneficial and are to be avoided. Conversely, you can rightly accept anything which when accepted and practiced leads to unconditional love, contentment and wisdom. These things allow you time and space to develop a happy and peaceful mind. This should be your criteria on what is and what is not the truth; on what should be and what should not be the spiritual practice.