Great Being ...

We offer our condolences to the family and disciples of Kyabje Dodrubchen Rinpoche, who recently passed into parinirvana. An emanation of Vimalamitra, the Fourth Dodrubchen Rinpoche was one of the most important masters of the Nyingma and Dzogchen traditions and the principal holder of the Longchen Nyingtik teachings.

Whenever a great master passes from this world, their wisdom mind is considered to be omnipresent and accessible to all students who have faith and devotion, even those who did not have the fortune to meet the master in this life. Therefore, we encourage everyone to make efforts to practice during this important time.

"It is difficult to learn the names of the vows, let alone observe them. So at least you should strive to be loving to people, especially those who are close to you such as friends, relatives, Dharma brothers and sisters, and neighbours. Try to avoid harming them. Be respectful to them, as all are enlightened in their true nature. Then, in a simple way, you are moving towards fulfilling the pratimoksha vow of not harming others, the bodhisattvas’ vow of being loving to others, and the tantric vow of pure perception."

—Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche

Use It!

Ironically, I first came upon this ultimate advice in a lavatory. It was in a shop that specialized in Oriental decorative items and Buddhist books and objects such as malas, and such. It was posted on the wall, not on the TP. That's my add.

The message is ... Use it! It might not seem to worth the proverbial steam off your shit. At first. But, one way or another, it'll sink in. 

And, I promise, it won't stink in. 

Yogananda On The Coming World Crisis

Yogananda On The Coming World Crisis

A talk given by Paramahansa Yogananda on May 19, 1940, in Encinitas, California.

"The analysis I shall give today is based upon common sense and experience. Common sense is simply intuitional reaction to one's environment. If you would develop your intuitive common sense, you would find the answers to all of your problems.

This is not a political talk. My domain is spirituality; I shall always live and act within that realm, and in the domain of Spirit I shall die. I speak only from that level of consciousness. 

Sometime, after I am gone from this earth, you will realize all I have tried to do for you. If you follow the constructive advice I shall give today, you will one day be very grateful for it.

I had thought that through her good qualities America would escape the calamities of other nations. But a great crisis is going to come, a crisis such as never before has hit this country, because the emphasis now is on spending and on increasing taxation.

When the false prosperity collapses, what will you do? There will be millions unemployed. Most are now living in blissful oblivion, unaware of the impending emergency.

There is a world revolution going on. It will change the financial system. In the karmic firmament of America I see one beautiful sign: that no matter what the world goes through, she will be better off than most other countries. But America will experience widespread misery, suffering, and changes just the same.

You are used to the better things of life, and when you are obliged to live simply, you won't like it. It is not easy to be poor after being rich. You have no idea how this change is going to affect you through the years. Never before in the history of this land has there been so deep a contrast in living standards as will visit this country—the contrast between riches and poverty.

Adopt plain living and high thinking now.

How can you meet the world crisis that is coming? The best way is to adopt plain living and high thinking. Unless you make drastic changes in your living habits immediately, you will be rudely surprised; conditions will change in a way you cannot imagine now.

You still have food and clothing, even luxuries, that people in other nations do not. So it is best to accustom yourself now to simple living.

Choose a dwelling place that is adequate, but not larger than you really need, and if possible in an area where taxes and other living expenses are reasonable.

Make your own clothes; can your own food. Grow your own vegetable garden, and if feasible, keep a few chickens to produce eggs. Work the garden yourself, or you will lose money in paying wages to a gardener.

Keep life simple and enjoy what God has provided, without seeking false and expensive pleasures. There is much in God's hidden nature to fascinate the mind of man.

Use your free time to read worthwhile books, meditate, and enjoy an uncomplicated life. Isn't this better—simple living, fewer worries, and the time to seek God—than to have a huge house, two cars, and time payments and a mortgage you cannot meet?

Man has to go back to the land; it will come to pass eventually. If you think this isn't so, you will find you are mistaken. But regardless of where your home and work are, cut out luxuries, buy less expensive clothes, supply yourself with things you really need, grow your own food, and put money aside regularly for greater security.

Everyone thinks of ways to spend money, but few think how to conserve money. Don't be wasteful, because you are going to have to learn to do without.
Parents should set the example and train the whole family to save and to avoid waste. You can save only by exercising self-control. Heed this warning. Take the best advice I can give; follow it and you will be spared much grief.

Don't spend foolishly. If you waste money on luxuries you will not be spared. Pay cash for everything you buy, and if you don't have the cash, don't buy. Don't borrow; you will have a hard time paying on the principal because of the high interest.

You must learn to save in every way possible. Don't have a poverty consciousness, but exercise whatever discipline is necessary to save and also have the means to pay your bills. No one else is going to pay them for you.

God Is Your Greatest Security.

Whoever comes to me in the right spirit, with devotion for God, will never be the same again. God has shown me how to break the secret thoughts of delusion that bind men's souls. 

Most of all I emphasize that you should get busy seeking God through meditation.

God can be contacted at any moment, any day! It is possible to feel the inspiration of His presence anytime, in any place. So that whenever you think of Him, His inspiration will be there. In every lovely experience you will behold God. Just beneath the shadows of this life is His wondrous Light. The universe is a vast temple of His presence.
When you meditate, you will find doors opening to Him everywhere. When you have communion with Him, not all the ravages of the world can take away that Joy and Peace."

A Great Being Dies ... Doesn't Leave

 

In Honour and Celebration of

THICH NHAT HANH

Beloved and Revered Zen Master

11 October 1926 - 22 January 2022

NOT IN ANY DIRECTION ...

NOT IN ANY DIRECTION ...

Q: However deeply I look, I find only the mind. Your words 'beyond the mind' give me no clue.

M: While looking with the mind, you cannot go beyond it. To go beyond, you must look away from the mind and its contents.

Q: In what direction am I to look?

M: All directions are within the mind! I am not asking you to look in any particular direction. Just look away from all that happens in your mind and bring it to the feeling 'I am'. The 'I am' is not a direction. It is the negation of all direction. Ultimately even the 'I am' will have to go, for you need not keep on asserting what is obvious. Bringing the mind to the feeling 'I am' merely helps in turning the mind away from everything else.

Q: Where does it all lead me?

M: When the mind is kept away from its preoccupations, it becomes quiet. If you do not disturb this quiet and stay in it, you find that it is permeated with a light and a love you have never known; and yet you recognize it at once as your own nature. Once you have passed through this experience, you will never be the same man again; the unruly mind may break its peace and obliterate its vision, but it is bound to return, provided the effort is sustained; until the day when all bonds are broken, delusions and attachments end and life becomes supremely concentrated in the present.

- Nisargadatta, I AM THAT ch 65

"This is not a matter of mere philosophy; it is very real."

CHÖKYI NYIMA RINPOCHE

Being wise, compassionate and extremely ingenious, a buddha teaches in a manner that is practical for people to understand, which means he teaches in a gradual way. Very few of us are able to grasp the nature of things instantaneously. Therefore, Buddha Shakyamuni turned the Wheel of the Dharma in three consecutive ways. 

The first set of teachings focused on the Four Noble Truths, and the second set concentrated on the Absence of Characteristics — a synonym for emptiness. His third Dharma Wheel fully reveals the nature of things, and is therefore known as the Total Uncovering. The first set of teachings is clear, the second very clear and the third extremely clear!

Simply put, the Buddha’s message in the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma is that anyone with a dualistic frame of mind suffers. The dualistic mind entertains selfish emotions, creates karma, has worries, hope, fear and pain. Dualistic mind seems to have built-in suffering. There is an immense variety of suffering, but all of these can be included within three types: the suffering of change, the double suffering of unpleasantness piled on unpleasantness, and the all-pervasive suffering of being conditioned. 

This is not a matter of mere philosophy; it is very real. We can and do experience suffering, discomfort, distress, and worry throughout our lives. Dualistic mind is always ready to be upset, to feel uneasy. An input from the senses, a memory or anticipation that is either a little pleasant or a little unpleasant always has the power to disturb us. 

In addition, there is one suffering which we can never ultimately sidestep: death.

Political Climate Update January 2022

Political Climate Update January 2022

From a social media post January 2021 ...

It's not a good day in America when a large swath of the citizenry considers another large swath of their fellows to be so wrong as to not even merit consideration of their point of view. Yet the former is so consumed with fear of totalitarian rule by the latter that it fails to see how that very intolerance it harbors — howsoever justified — could come back and bring their worst fears up from within their own ranks.

Mostly what I hear from social media is saying even that makes me into a Trump supporter. And, I hear there are a lot of prominent media types asserting that pro-45 is the same as al Qaeda, Hitler, Stalin, Caligula ... Insert your favorite villain of choice.

Thoughts upon hearing actor Sean Penn blasted the 74 million Americans who voted for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election by camparing them to radical Islamic terror group al-Qaeda. Really!?

  
History repeating itself? No! It's just plain logic.

So, let's extend the logic ...

Finally a majority of us agree 45 is the devil incarnate. Ergo, anyone who supports such evil dastardliness is, what ... in league with the devil.

Torches and pitchforks on the ready. Let's round 'em up.

You can tell who we are who are on the right side of things by our dress. Armbands as mandatory as facemasks. What color shirts should we have as the official dress? Brown's been used before; so mid-century, anyway.

The current administration as of early 2022 is still using that sort of rhetoric, most pointedly around the Covid crisis and wanting the pass it's proposed voting rights legislation. 

Careful guys. Remember the promise to be a uniter? Draw the lines too hard and you have some trouble on our hands. Literally ... in the streets.