Monday 31 October 2016

About Buddha Drukpa Kunley.




'One of Tibet's foremost saints, the Buddha Drukpa Kunley.

Appearing in the spiritual lineage established by Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, and Milarepa, Drukpa Kunley was recognized as an incarnation of the great Mahasiddha, Saraha.

He is greatly loved by the people of Tibet as a 'Crazy Wise' teacher and enlightened Master whose outrageous behavior and ribald humor were intended to awaken common people and yogis alike from the sleep of religious dogmatism and egoistic self-possession.

(...)

In contrast to other more ascetical teachers of the East who teach negation of the body and its desires, Drukpa Kunley used desire, emotion, and sexuality to arouse disillusionment, insight, and delight in all he encountered.

With consummate skill he followed the path of Tantra, or the realization of Bliss in the union of opposites, employing sexuality to quicken the awakening of his consorts.'

-- Quoted & edited, derived from 'The Divine Madman: The Sublime Life and Songs of Drukpa Kunley' - Translated by Keith Dowman.

How to become Lama?

Introduction.

This blog's author wishes to become Lama, but way ahead still is unclear & seems long.

Perhaps this can happen in this life, if not then in another.

Probably my mental illness is a major obstacle as well.


Who is Lama?

'Lama (Tibetan, Sanskrit: Guru): The highest or heavy with good qualities. Buddhist Teacher. One of the Three Roots. He is especially important in the Diamond Way as he is the key to the deepest teachings. Through Guru Yoga meditation on the lama, one receives blessing, through which one may momentarily experience the true nature of mind. The lama mirrors the Three States of Enlightenment.

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.'


See also if You wish: Guru Rinpoche.


The teachings for a future Lama.

'Three Year Retreat: Traditional training of many lamas in Tibetan Buddhism. It lasts three years, three months and three days. It is conducted in single sex groups. It consists of the Four Foundational Practices, outer, inner and secret yidam practices, and the Six Teachings of Naropa.

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.'


Divine Madman?

Can a mad person strive for Holiness?

History proves it can happen.



Keith Dowman,

'Divine Madman: The Sublime Life and Songs of Drukpa Kunley'.



'Drukpa Kunley (Wyl. 'brug pa kun legs) or Kunga Lekpa was an eccentric master of the 'crazy yogi' or 'divine madman' type, whose enlightened deeds and exploits, often involving women and alcohol, are commonly recounted even to this day among Tibetans and Bhutanese people.'

Source: Drukpa Kunley on Rigpa Wiki.


Blog author's comments.

Lama is also called 'Highest Wisdom'.

Lama joins blessings, methods & protection.

i think that 'Three Year Retreat' requires preparations as well, but i am not sure of it, not sure of any of the details as well.


Mantras.

MAHAKALA
OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste.

Sunday 30 October 2016

Gratitude for Less.




Introduction.

i think that expectations are causes of suffering.

i think that those who expect less are easier to appease, are happier even if they have less.

i think that by expressing gratitude, one draws more of what he or she is grateful for.


Wishes & Gratitude.

i wish all that they expect less,

i wish all to be easier appeased with less,

i wish all to crave less,

i wish all to be more grateful for less,

i wish all to be happier with less.

i am grateful for a slimmer body (less fat), for being appeased easier with less food & consumption.

i am grateful for craving less, for expecting less than before.

i am grateful for sharing with others who need, not only money.


Mantras.

OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, as well.

Sharing is Getting.

Introduction.

This blog's author thinks that best way to secure something is to share.

i think i read something about this in Lama Ole Nydahl's books.

i understood that sharing works great with the OM mantra, because we are non-exclusive that way.

The more we share, the more we get back - because energy & karma returns.

This applies not only to cash or material gifts, but also with happiness, lessons & beneficial mind states.


Convincing Arguments.



Had insights that it's often worth to give.

Even when i am broke, i can light the magickal prosperity incense sticks - for others as well.

This brings not only cash in future, but also helps to 'convince' others to stay on our friendly side.

Useful in difficult moments as well - not only Protection incense during such times - can work, especially with Wisdom & Compassion.

Wisdom is needed, because we do not wish others to 'procure' difficult times for us - so we light such sticks. As they earn, they will get. Probably not only that as well.


Wishes: Four Immeasurables.

i wish that all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering,

i wish that all beings experience happiness and the causes of happiness,

i wish that all beings are never separated from the Supreme Happiness free from suffering,

i wish that all beings remain in the great equanimity free of attachment and aversion to those near and far.


Mantras.

OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, blessed be.

Protecting Enlightened Love.

Introduction.

Love should be cared for, nurtured, otherwise it falls apart.

We should think about Enlightened Love as often as possible.

We should Protect Love as is neccessary, as well.


Namaste.

Namaste for a Buddhist friend, Hanna Łubek, who gave me this lesson - she told me that Love should be cared for, otherwise it detoriates and falls apart.

Namaste for others who did teach me related lessons, as well.


Symbols.



Lotus.


The lotus has been used in many teachings of Buddhism to impart the true nature of all mankind.

The roots of the lotus plant are stuck deep in the mud, but it still grows above murky water and blossoms into a beautiful, sweet-smelling flower.

The lotus can be analogous to how we rise up from our sufferings to reach enlightenment, beauty and clarity.

Different-colored lotus plants mean different things in Buddhism.

White means spiritual and mental purity, pink means the traditional Buddha, purple is for mysticism, red means love and compassion, while blue means wisdom.




The parasol or umbrella.


An umbrella can protect people from the different elements, like the sun or the rain.

In this context, a parasol or umbrella can mean protection from suffering and harmful forces.

It can also mean the enjoyment of the cool shade it provides.


Source: Buddhist Symbols.


Mahakala.



Mahakala is Buddhist Protector, Protecting Energy, Wrathful Deity in Buddhism.


A wish.

i wish to learn & develop Buddhist means of Protecting Enlightened Love,

... to not be overcome by anger or other disturbing feelings when something or someone endangers our Love,

... either in mind, or in the external world.


Purifying the Causes of Suffering.

Dangers to Enlightened Love have Causes.

These causes have to be learned & addressed properly.

'How does one purify karma that causes pain?

This happens through four stages of one's inner attitude:
- First, one realizes that one has caused pain.
- Second, one wishes to remove what is disturbing.
- Third, one makes the firm decision not to do it again.
- Fourth, one consciously decided to act in the opposite way.'

-- Quoted from 'Buddha & Love' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Mantras.

MAHAKALA
OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, as well.

Thursday 27 October 2016

Form & Emptiness.

Emptiness, Form, Thinking & Conclusions.

... while i am not the best of Buddhist students, i still think.

in the 'Heart Sutra' by Gautama Buddha i read that it has been said:


'Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form'.



i also read in Lama Ole Nydahl's Book that understanding emptiness of suffering is understanding of suffering's transience, understanding of suffering's non-permanence.

No suffering lasts forever, any suffering passes with time.

... while my understanding is not perfect probably, i came to following conclusions:


Form is Emptiness, for there is Empty Form that contains nothing within.
Form is Emptiness even if it contains something within, for the Forms within are transient, non-permanent.
Thus, Form is non-dually Emptiness, no matter if it contains Forms within or not.

Emptiness is Form for we can think about Empty Form. Empty Form is both Emptiness & Form.
Emptiness is Empty, non-permanent, from Emptiness a Form can Emerge as well.

Form is also a Form, Empty Form or not.

Even if Empty Form disappears, being Empty, it will Emerge from Emptiness with time as well.


Mantras.

OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, as well.

Wednesday 26 October 2016

Buddha Nature.

Introduction.

'Buddha Nature: the nature of mind, the potential in everyone to achieve buddhahood.'

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


A commentary to Diamond Sutra's part.

'Enlightenment really consists of recognizing the Buddha nature that is within us already.

Our true nature is our true self. It's the self that is one with everything and realizes that fact. It's the self that is fully enlightened and perfect. In reality it's who we are right now, even if we don't realize it. It's not some goal to be achieved - each and every one of us is fully enlightened already. We just have to awaken to that fact. We just have to conquer the delusions that prevent us from realizing the fundamental truth of our being. It's not an easy goal, but there are special methods and practices that are designed to help us on the path. Few choose to be on the path and many give up.

When we have enlightening experiences that help us start to recognize our true nature, they help us to stay motivated to remain on the path. As long as we don't forget and become deluded again, the motivation will remain present.

Buddha nature is a key concept in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. It simply means that we are all enlightened already. It's because we are suffering from delusion that we don't realize it. We don't think of enlightenment as something to be achieved, like a trophy. If we contemplate this deeply, it's very significant.'

-- Quoted from 'The Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra' by Daniel Scharpenburg.
  it's only a part of commentary to Buddha's words.
  'The Diamond Sutra' is a Buddhist text from 'Prajñāpāramitā' or 'Perfection of Wisdom' collection.


Additional comments.

'The Diamond Sutra is one of most well known and beloved Mahayana Buddhist texts. It is said that hearing just a few lines from it can stir the seed of Enlightenment that is within us.'

-- Quoted from 'The Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra' by Daniel Scharpenburg.


Vajrayana Buddhism - The Diamond Way - uses 'All Tools in Action', including Mahayana Buddhism's methods.

Tuesday 25 October 2016

My Promises.

Introduction.

After a first glimpse at the Vinaya part of Kangyur, i've decided to make a four of promises under a condition.

i hope a Buddhist Woman i Love won't mind - otherwise i'll yield to her Wisdom & Compassion either to remove or modify the promises i am making - thus these promises are conditioned that way.

After reinforcing my wish to become Lama, i've decided to make a fifth promise under the same condition.

Perhaps more promises will be added later.


A First Promise.

i promise to not kill, unless there's absolutely no other way to Protect either my family - including my future family, or a woman i Love, or myself, or our friends, or our allies.


A Second Promise.

i promise to not engage myself in a sexual misconduct, in a sex against someone's will.


A Third Promise.

i promise to not take what is not given to me - to not steal.


A Fourth Promise.

i promise to do my best to not mislead others with false buddhist lessons - as much as i can.

When in doubt i'll either refrain from giving a lesson, or guard the phrases with words such as:
- 'i think',
- 'had insight',
- 'i am not sure',
- 'i feel',
- perhaps more.

Still, reader should be warned that i am still learning - there are better teachers around the World.

If neccessary i'll correct articles in future.

i'll be trying to write about the sources of the Wisdoms quoted or used.

i'll try to use illustrations that fit the articles well, if neccessary commenting them as soon as i can - in the same or in other article with a link.


A Fifth Promise.

i promise to be as non-violent in life as possible - as much as its sane, to seek non-violent solutions to conflicts whenever possible & sane. i'll train & use my patience, my humility, my calm analytical mind, my courage & my fearlessness for that. i'll try to use Mahakala (Protector) & Five Wisdom Buddhas mantras as well.

i am grateful for Martial Arts lessons that taught me patience, humility, calm analytical mind, courage & fearlessness. i'll promise to keep training these inner values still.

i still wish to develop the Power & Strength for our Protection on the Mahakala Way.

i still wish to learn ethical hacking, spiritual & physical martial Arts, other powerful ways as well.

i promise to not harm others with violence using these or other ways.

When threatened with violence - when neccessary - i'll prefer to use a nonlethal gas gun that i carry in a pants pocket, as opposed to resorting to armed or unarmed martial arts too eagerly. This is less harmful & more safe way, anyway. i'll try to use Mahakala (Protector) & Five Wisdom Buddhas mantras as well.



- Kolter RMG 19, a nonlethal gas gun -
- Looks like Glock, to confuse enemies' minds -


Mantras.

OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste.

Monday 24 October 2016

What is Noble, What is Not?




Introduction.

While this blog's author is thinking that bragging is not noble at all, he still strives for True & Spiritual Nobility on Buddha's Way.

i got inspired by Lama Ole Nydahl's words for trying that Way.


Harmlessness.

According to Buddhism, Harmlessness is Noble, Protecting is Noble, Gaining Merit is Noble, Killing is not, Stealing is not - i think.

It's better to Protect without violence, preventing conflicts instead.

Stealing from Enemies is not Noble as well, even if it's to share amongst ours, i think.

i still wish to share meaningfully, what i earn honestly.


Martial Arts.

Martial Arts can be noble, for they teach kids good manners, self-responsibility, strength & self-confidence so they do not need to prove anything by violence.

Yet still, Martial Artists can keep calm mind when faced with dangers, without fear, without doubts - this helps them to Truly Protect their loved ones, families, friends, allies & themselves, using minimum force approach as well.

Buddha Shakyamuni trained Martial Arts as well, when he was living as prince in the palace at his youth.


Noble Eightfold Path.

i think i read that Dana-Sila-Bhavana practice is a Noble Eightfold Path practice for lay people - not sure anymore, however.

Even if it's not the Noble Eightfold Path on Yogi's Diamond Way, it's at least a good start, i think.

i still wish to be on a True & Spiritual Noble Path on a Diamond Way Yogi's Path, for benefit of all.


Complete Noble Eightfold Path consists of:

Moral virtue (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla).
3. Right speech.
4. Right action.
5. Right livelihood.

Concentration (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi).
6. Right effort.
7. Right mindfulness.
8. Right concentration.

Insight, wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā).
1.Right view.
2.Right intention.


Mantras.

OM MANI PEME HUNG
OM MANI PADME HUM
i wish all 'Tiger', Buddha has Heart*
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, blessed be.


--
* Tiger refers to the Riding the Direct Experience on the Way for Enlightenment, to the Most Beautiful & Extreme parts of life on the Diamond Way, to the Dharma Spiritual work as well. it is also a tribute to a Lotus (Heart) & Sword (Tiger) Buddha families, the transformation of attachment & envy as well. it's also the tribute to the Love (Heart) & a Spiritual Martial Arts (Sword).

Regarding Religions.




Blog author's comments.

i think that even if modern Buddhism is not a Religion, it still has ancient methods of dealing with inner & outer Religions.

There are Religious lessons in it still, i think.

Different lessons are for different beings, are for different times, as well.

A good heart is an important aspect of Compassion.

Wisdom & Compassion lead to Enlightenment on the Great Way (Mahayana Buddhism) as well.


Four Immeasurables.

i wish all beings to not suffer, to not be under influence of the causes of suffering as well,
i wish all beings to be happy, to have causes of happiness as well,
May they always experience true happiness, which is totally free from suffering,
May they remain in the great equanimity, which is beyond attachment and aversion.


Mantras.

OM MANI PEME HUNG
OM MANI PADME HUM
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, blessed be.

Thursday 20 October 2016

Bad Karma & Practice.



Tibetan Vajrasattva Statue.



Recently i've told in a Polish facebook's Buddhism group that despite 'Bad Karma', i am trying to be a Buddhist.

Got interresting feedback:
- That i've overemphasized 'Bad Karma', for i have great possibilities of practicing Dharma, that i have access to Buddha's Teachings.
- That the king of all purifying practices is Buddha Vajrasattva - irreplaceable for broken vows & that i should fight for his Mantras.

i meant mostly my mental illness as 'Bad Karma', but i don't know what caused this - perhaps it was false practices or broken vows - i don't know.

Because of mental illness i cannot meditate for now.

i think i should someday (initially planning for around Spring 2017) go to a Buddhist Retreat Center in Kuchary with intent to learn advices & wisdom regarding this, learn & practice his Mantras.

i think i should learn - also during this visit - about the Causes of various mental illness' - not only for my benefit, but for benefit of all who are mentally ill, as well as of the ways to purify these - to share on this blog.


OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste.

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Buddha Shakyamuni's Life before Enlightenment & Enlightenment.

'Birth and Yout at Court.

An overview of Buddha's life makes his teachins relevant today. Approximately 2,450 years ago, he was born into a royal family in Northern India. Several centuries earlier, during one of several mass migrations, his ancestors from the Shakya clan colonized the area, coming from what is today Ukraine and center Russia. The Buddha belonged to the Warrior caste and the texts describe him as tall and very strong. His parents' kingdom lay at the southern border of what is today Nepal, near Lumbini in the region called Kapilavastu. The area at that time was rich and not overpopulated. Excavations show that there was an underground sewage system, as well as central heating between the double walls of some houses, meaning that local culture was well developed at that time. Buddha himself was certainly of no virgin birth. He was the very last chance for his parents to have a child and thus a successor to the throne.

At an age when she had already given up hope, his mother had a powerful dream announcing her pregnancy. Standing in a grove fifteen miles from the palace, she gave birthto a strong and beautiful boy. His parents were ecstatic. They gave him the name Siddhartha Gautama and expected him to become a powerful king. Without a strong general at their helm, kingdoms at that time quickly disappeared.

Gradually however, his parents noticed signs that hinted at something different. Wherever the boy went, flowers appeared. "Is he a poet, a dreamer, a philosopher?" they asked. To find out, his parents invited three meditators to predict their son's future. After thorougly examining him, all said the same thing: "The boy is truly special. If he is kept from the pain and dissatisfaction of the world, he will accomplish your every wish. A perfect warrior and hero, he will conquer all neighboring kings and you will be proud of him. If however, he discovers that the world is conditioned and cannot bring any lasting happiness he will renounce everything. He will develop a new and enlightening view and bring this into the world."

Since they wanted a ruler and not an artist or a dropout, Buddha's parents acted quickly. They surrounded the growing prince with everything a healthy young man likes: five hundred select women, opportunities for sports, excitement, and above all, the important combat training that he completely mastered. They also provided the best conditions for his intellectual training and in this too he soon excelled. His every wish was met and for the first twenty nine years of his life, he experienced only shifing aspects of joy. As his store consciousness contained nothing disturbing from former lives, there were no unpleasant impressions from within that could surface. Everything that was potentially painful had been kept from the young prince. Then suddenly, his world turned upside down.


Disillusionment and Search for Meaning.

Leaving the castle on three successive days at the age of twenty nine, he met with suffering in the most immediate aspect. He saw someone desperately sick, someone wrecked with age, and finally someone dead. Returning to his palace, young Prince Siddhartha had a terrible night. He was beyond thinking of himself, but the awareness that pain strikes everyone gave him no rest. Wherever he looked, he found nothing that he could offer his dear ones as a refuge from it. There was nothing that could be relied upon. Fame, family, friends, and possessions, everything would go away. He discovered only impermanence. Nothing was real or lasting in the external or internal world.

The next morning, feeling like a question mark with his mind wrapped up in this dilemma, the prince walked past a meditator who sat in deep absorption. When their eyes met and their minds linked, Siddhartha stopped, mesmerized. This man might be showing him what he was looking for, a true and real refuge. His state displayed a mirror behind the images, an ocean underneath the waves, mind's eternal awareness through all its appearing, changing, and dissolving images. The future Buddha had a sudden insight that there might be something unchanging and conscious between and behind all ideas and impressions.

"This might be it!" he thought. Trusting the experiencer but not the changing experiences seemed utterly reasonable. Meeting that man gave the future Buddha a first and enticing taste of mind, which he knew he had to experience himself for the good of all. In a flash, he realized that the perfection he had been seeking outside must be within mind itself.

At the time there were no tools or teachings for using an exciting life to ride the tiger of direct experience to enlightenment. So the prince decided to renounce his rich but distracting private life in order to limit the number of disturbing impressions reaching his mind. He fled his palace during the night and disappeared into the clearings and woods of Northern India. He had to realize the mightiest of goals: mind's timeless essence.

Passionately wanting to know mind fully and inspired by all beings' wish for lasting happiness, no exercise was too difficult or unpleasant for the future Buddha. The following six years were hard, but he matured in every aspect. Wherever he went, he learned without fear or pride. When he was fed the dualistic teaching that the body is bad, he first fasted himself down to nearly a skeleton. But when he discovered that his physical weakness confused him rather than strenghtening his clarity of mind, making it impossible to help others or himself, he began eating again and quickly regained his strength.

All of today's known schools of thought were already present in Northern India at that time, and Siddhartha learned from the most eminent teachers of them all. Soon outpacing them, he was disappointed that they all showed him mind's potential but not mind itself. Their dualistic explainations brought him no closer to his goal. Knowing nothing of any experiencer, they could not confirm anything lasting in which he could put his trust. He therefore thanked them and took his leave.

In all non-Buddhist cultures, even the most highly gifted teachers imagined gods and other unprovable causes for the world and its events. Among them only Buddha, and his great contemporary Heraclitus in Greece, came to the unique, logical, and conclusive view that space is itself pregnant and brings forth all outer and inner worlds: that it is joyfully at play and that all possibilities reside within it.


Conditions in Northern India 2,450 Years Ago.

An unusual spiritual openness reigned in India in Buddha's time, similar to that in ancient Greece, the Italian Renaissance, and the 1960's in the West. In comparison to the freedoms enjoyed today, in part because of modern hygiene and methods of birth control, life at Buddha's time was more prudish. With regard to the depth of their motivation and the clarity of their philosophy of life, however, many of his students were more aware and much less distracted than people are today. The dominant viewpoints of materialism, nihilism, existentialism and transcendentalism were as prevalent then as they are now. Above all, however, the Indians of that time expected spirituality to influence their daily lives in positive ways and they were much less spoiled.

In Buddha's time people were not yet stigmatized by absolutism or totalitarian religions. They expected more from worldview than the wishes of personal gods who gave dogmas of faith but still had self declared imperfections like jealousy, pride, and anger. For people then to accept a philosophy of life, it had to go beyond anything personal and provide access to timeless truth. The teachings had to have a logical basis, possess useable methods, and demonstrate a reachable goal. At the same time, claims to truth were dealt with very responsibly. If during a public debate, someone advocated a point of view that someone else could refute, the loser was expected to become the winner's student. Intellectual honesty demanded it.


Enlightenment.

During his six years of learning and meditating in the then forested and pleasant plains of Northern India, the young price's promises from countless past lives matured. He only wanted to recognize mind's essence and bring the greatest of gifts to all. To achieve this, he chose a seat near a stream in a place now called Bodhgaya.

Today Bodhgaya is a village of many Buddhist temples, situated two-thirds of the way from Delhi to Calcutta. The nearest town, Gaya, lies in the now hopelessly overpopulated state of Bihar. Despite tourists, beggars, and the usual Indian confusion, the site still possesses an immense power field. Over recent years, the region around the vast Buddhist stupa and the village has become quite dangerous. The holy places, like the caves of six-armed protector to the right of road to Gaya, can only be visited during the day, in large groups, and with weapons. People are killed there by the villagers, sometimes merely for their clothes.

At Bodhgaya, sitting down under a spread out leafy tree near a brook, the future Buddha decided to remain in meditation until he knew mind and could benefit all beings. After spending six rich and eventful days and nights cutting through mind's most subtle obstacles, he reached enlightenment on the full moon morning of May, approximately 2,425 years ago, a week before he turned thirty five. As is known, he died on the same day forty five years later. At the moment of full realization, all veils of mixed feelings and stiff ideas dissolved and Buddha experienced the all encompassing here and now. All separation in time or space disappeared. Past, present, and future, near and far, melted into one radiant state of intuitive bliss. Thus he became timeless, all pervading awareness. Through every cell of his body he knew and was everything.

For the first seven weeks after his enlightenment, the newly Awakened One, the fourth of a thousand buddhas to manifest while there is intelligent life on earth, remained under his tree in Bodhgaya. He needed to get his body accustomed to the intense streams of energy filling it. Here, the main Hindu gods like Mahadeva and Brahma came to Buddha and requested him to teach, received instructions and took refuge, which some of them still remember and others forgot. Like the brightest people that came later, many gods did not experience Buddha as a man, a god, or something outer, but rather as a mirror to their own essential nature. His example showed them truly reliable values.'

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl,
    first published in 2008 - current version published in 2011.


Blog author's comments.

Buddha's life did not end with enlightenment, he was giving lessons till his death.

His lessons were written by his students, are available even today in many books.

Different lessons are for different beings, on different stages of development, with different Karma.

Monday 17 October 2016

Four Noble Truths.

'Seven weeks after his enlightenment, Buddha taught humans for the first time in a Deer Park near Sarnath, a town seven miles from Benares, today known as Varanasi.

(...)

Five seekers came to him there, true moralists. They had become holy in the wrong sense of the word, not whole and full of energy, but stiff and joyless instead.

(...)

They thought only of themselves, judged others, and aimed solely to get rid of their own suffering. Before Buddha's enlightenment, when he nearly fasted himself to death, they had been quite impressed. However, when Buddha discovered this approach to be useless and resolved to restore his health, they considered him too worldly and left him.

Coming upon him at the Deer Park in Sarnath, they were disturbed by his joy and effortless radiance. First they tried to ignore him, but as his power-field enveloped them, they had no choice but to pay attention and asked: "Why do you shine? How did you get this way?" In answer to these seekers Buddha gave Four Noble Truths:

1. Conditioned Existence is suffering.
2. This suffering has a cause.
3. It has end.
4. There's way leading to that end.'

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Blog author's comments.

Four Noble Truths are beginning of the Way for Liberation & Enlightenment.

Those with better Karma quickly understand these lessons & move to more advanced lessons - on the altruist level & beyond.

Egoists start from beginnings however - focus on Four Noble Truths & simplest of lessons, to work with their karma & prepare for more of a progress.

Beginnings on the Buddha Way are not pleasant at first, but with time practicioner's life & happiness gets better & better.

i think that only when someone wants to advance too fast, when someone reaches for too advanced lessons - without working with karma enough, without learning proper wisdom first, without practicing compassion enough - the more advanced lessons are not pleasant yet, nor worthwhile yet as well.

... but then, certain people prefer a very fast advancement - even if it hurts - for example because losing time hurts them more, as is in my case. Even then, a certain dose of moderation & self-restraint is sane & effective, i think.

Sunday 16 October 2016

Intoxicants.




While Buddha advises against use of intoxicants, let's look beyond appearances, political correctness & hypocrisy.

Using Cigarettes can mean 'better conduct & impressions' in certain circles that need help or support.

Smoking Cigarettes might be Meaningful & Spiritual, as an opening for help in circles that need support.

That's why i am smoking & offering it as a Dana gift in Guru Yoga, otherwise it would be an impropriate gift.

i plan to ditch intoxicants when i'll be creating family, anyway - it's too harmful for kids.


   

- Click on Image to enlarge, if You wish. -



Computer Games are addicting as well.

i reached depression & mental illness in this life by playing too much in a wrong way.

There were a certain causes, i escaped real life into a computer game world because of:
- Too restrictive, demanding, loud & dogmatic catholic family,
- Children of my age that insulted, slandered, attacked me for tens of years, wherever i went - with rare exceptions,
- Human stupidity & carelessness, as well as too many of stiff ideas - including my own,
- Overworking & Stress - i started to earn for University course without preparation.

Not all of the Catholic Church experiences were so bad, there were exceptions, however:
- Warsaw University,
- Martial Arts Clubs & Schools (BKKK - Bielański Klub Karate Kyokushinkai & other),
- To a limited degree also a XPro sp.z.o.o. - an IT Company that i worked in,
- Rare individuals (Małgorzata Męczyńska - an Artist who played roleplaying games, Agnieszka Jastrzębska - a friend from BKKK, perhaps more),

Probably, however - the deeper causes of addiction & illness happening in this life reach former lives as well, because of my Karma.

it's my fault, afterall.

i still play Computer Games however, to help kids & others - not all of the time i do enjoy, as well.

i am trying to develop ways of helping addicted computer game players that way & redirect them to more Meaningful, Spiritual Ways - among other things.

> One of results: [ http://cheajournal.blogspot.com/ ].


i have heard from a Buddhist Teacher in the Stupa House Buddhist Center that on the Diamond Way every life experience is transformed into a step toward Enlightenment, afterall.

On other Buddhist Ways as well - i hope - there are also other Ways, not only Diamond Way.


OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, blessed be.


Insights.

Insight (Skt. Vipashyana / Tib. Lhaktong).

Meditation that develops insight into the nature of mind.

This meditation practice is used as a method in the sutra way as well as in tantra way and builds on a stable experience of calm abiding (Tib. shinay).

One tries to maintain, from moment to moment, the view of the nun-duality of perceiving consciousness and perceived objects.

There is a direct and analytical approach to this practice.

-- Quoted from 'Buddha & Love' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Blog author's comments.

'Great Minds think alike'.

This blog's author is also on the Insight's Way.

i meditated first, then got an advice from Lama Ole Nydahl to 'do everything that i do - with a calm mind'.

i try to continuously & patiently calm & observe mind, thoughts & feelings that appear.

Occasionally i get a feeling of a mind contact with beings, thoughts & feelings arise that surpass what i've learned in this life.

i get Computer Sciences - related knowledge, Buddha Way explainations, many other as well.

Often however these 'insights' mislead or lie, so i've learned that it's better to double check - using my experience, the Internet & books mostly, occasionally by asking questions.

When something is truthful, wise & healthy i call it 'insight', otherwise it's 'mental ilness symptom' - i have both mixed together, more or less easily distinguishable from each other.

i do not know the exact nature of these 'insights' & 'symptoms', perhaps it's telepathic contact with other beings, perhaps it's knowledge from past lives, perhaps just an excellent knowledge of someone or something, creativity & imagination combined - emerging from subconsciousness ... or a mix of these.

One of insights told me that there are different insights, including 'telepathic insights' & 'self-arising insights' - it's both thoughts & feelings (empathy) appearing in mind. i got explained that 'self-arising insights' are caused by perceiving - either via usual five senses or via telepathy (including 'telepathic insights', intuition, empathy & more. i think that 'self-arising insights' can amount to 'self-arising wisdom' mentioned by Buddhism.

During a Buddhist Lecture that i took a Refuge on, Lama Ole Nydahl explained that supernatural powers are a fact. i also heard & read that while these can be useful, often these are more of hindrances than of help however - my experiences confirm that as well.

Other Buddhist sources suggest that telepathy can be real, even using Buddha's Words.

But perhaps it's not so simple as people (including me) think, telepathy & empathy work strange ways.

My insights & experiences tell me that occasionall minds are close, that thoughts & feelings are shared - for a while at least; while 'sci-fi & fantasy telepathy & empathy' can be learned & can be real - it's usually different way. Still i think that attacking someone that way is 'shooting at one's own thoughts & feelings' as well.

Occasionally i think that mind occurances & external occurances (for example hearing a word or a bird-song) can trigger a 'key' in psyche that results in mental association, then mind wanders to ideas related & thinking that way occurs.

Six Liberating Actions.

Liberating Actions, Six (Skt. Sat Paramita / Tib. Parole Tu Jinpa Druk).

The liberating actions of bodhisattvas.

Usually the following six are mentioned:
- generosity,
- meaningful conduct,
- patience,
- joyful effort,
- meditation,
- liberating wisdom.

-- Quoted from: 'Buddha & Love' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Blog author's comments.

i read that within six of paramitas there are ten of paramitas, as the six can be divided into a finer elements.

i read that by practicing even a single one of paramitas, all ten of paramitas can be developed.


'para' also means 'other', 'mita' also means 'shore' - it reminds me that with practice 'wisdom goes to the other shore' - vanishes to return in a more perfect form.


Wishes.

i wish to develop all ten of paramitas, using generosity & patience as a way to start from.




i wish to develop excellent & meaningful conduct as far as i can, learning from HH Shamar Rinpoche's books as well.


Mantras.

MAHAKALA
FIVE WISDOM BUDDHAS
OM MANI PEME HUNG

KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, as well.

Bodhichitta.

Enlightened mind (Skt. Bodhichitta. / Tib. Changchub kyi sem).

The wish to reach enlightenment for the good of all beings is the basis for the Great Way and the Diamond Way.

The enlightened mind has two aspects:
- the conditioned, or relative,
- absolute.

In the conditioned aspect, enlightened mind consists of this wish, accompanied by perfecting oneself through the Six Liberating Actions for the benefit of all beings.

The ultimate or absolute enlightened mind recognizes the inseparability of emptiness and compassion. This leads to spontaneous and effortless activity, which is beyond any concept or hesistation because subject, object, and action are no longer experienced as separate from each other.

The enlightened mind is the attitude of bodhisattva, the enlightened attitude.

-- Quoted from 'Buddha & Love' by Lama Ole Nydahl.

Saturday 15 October 2016

Golden Dawn Politics.



Simplified & Derived from the Golden Dawn resources:
(perhaps i shouldn't join contexts, perhaps there are conflicts that i've foolishly skipped).

Circle is God, Spirit, the whole existence,
The square means the physical world, the material body,
Triangle is the Spirit, Soul internally inside as our own ourself,
... the "I", which exists in this plane only for humans.

it's also macrocosm, cosmos & microcosm.

it's also Father, Son & Holy Spirit.



Introduction.

i am a Buddhist but not apostate anymore.


Closer to the Rosicrucian Catholic Church & Golden Dawn?

... i said 'Our Father' - part of Prayer (2 words only) as a gesture of friendship with the Catholic Church.

i wish for good politics with Catholic & Rosicrucian part of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as well.

if there's good deed for getting rid of anti-church apostasy, if it can be given, i give it to the Rosicrucian & Catholic part of the Golden Dawn as a noble & political token gift for a start of relations.


Politics.

i still wish to remain Buddhist however, do not want to convert.

i am more interrested in meaningful politics (so i learn Magick up to Ipsissimus level - to know the Way, Arguments & Needs of the Golden Dawn) to help forming esoteric alliances for Buddhism for the times of crises.


OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, as well.

Friday 14 October 2016

Sila.

Introduction.

Sila is a word for Buddhist Morality.

i'll keep this an article a simple overview, there's more for a curious student in Lama Ole Nydahl's Books - probably elsewhere as well.


Ten Harmful Actions.

'Innumerable useful, harmful, or meaning-less actions make up everyone's life. Probably because we have ten fingers, Buddha like Moses, divided one's harmful exchange with the world into ten actions that have heavy consequences and thus are best avoided. As might be expected from Buddha, they are not commandments but logical advice from a friend.

1. Killing.
2. Stealing.
3. Causing Sexual Harm.
4. Lying.
5. Slander.
6. Coarse and offensive speech.
7. Meaningless chatter.
8. Hate.
9. Envy.
10. Ignorance.'

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


The Ten Useful Actions.

'(...) To build a stockpile of fundamentally good karma, Buddha recommended ten Useful Actions that are protective in a partnership and in all life situations, and plant a wide range of good impressions in one's mind. They are exact opposites of the actions that he seriously advises against. Logical as always, the actions are present on the levels of body, speech and mind.

1. Protecting Life.
2. Being Generous.
3. Generating Joy through Sexual Activity.
4. Speaking Truthfully.
5. Creating Harmony.
6. Speaking Calmly and Inspiring Trust.
7. Speaking Meaningfully.
8. Being Satisfied and Content.
9. Being Kind.
10. Developing Right Perspective.'

-- Quoted from 'Buddha & Love' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


More Advanced Sila.

... this blog's author is not ready to provide even a brief overview of More Advanced Sila, so leaving this part of this article empty - for now at least.

Buddha Karmapa's Words about Practicing.




A Lesson.

'You don't have to have too many sets of practices, no matter how brilliant and how positive they sound. They are a bit like when we eat food - we can eat only one mouthful at a time, not more than that. Therefore, we also have to mindfully apply one practice at a time. By doing this constantly at a good rate, just like maintaining a balanced diet, it becomes meaningful, it helps to reduce anxiety, stress, and helps us to live a very exciting 21st century life.'

-- A Quoted Lesson of Buddha Karmapa 17th, Trinley Thaye Dorje.


Blog Author's Comments.

Had insight that i have fairly sophisticated (complex) set of lessons & practices considering my Mandala (beings around me in this case).

Had insight that i should simplify my practice - it is not only for me & advanced Buddhist Students.

This occured when i looked at Buddha Karmapa's image.


OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, as well.

Loving Eyes, Disturbing Emotions & Anger.



Patience defeats anger other dangers.



Disturbing Emotions.

'Buddha used difficult mental states, seen as immoral or unsocial by varying religions and worldviews, as raw material and conscious tools for inner and secret development of his students. By means of a series of teachings and skillful methods, which have become a rich source of wisdom to contemporary psychology and philosophy, disturbing feelings are transformed into wisdoms that reside within them. In Diamond Way teachings, one uses the force of strong emotions as fuel for development.

Buddha's teachings mention 84,000 conditioned states of consciousness and mental veils, all leading to clumsy and harmful actions and words. These arise through various combinations of the main disturbing emotions; ignorance, pride, desire, jealousy and anger. In the painting of the Wheel of Life, held by the jaws of impermanence, desire and greed are separate and therefore six disturbing feelings are counted. They cause the six realms of existence, through which beings alternate until mind recognizes itself.'

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Anger.

'Those who are deeply or frequently disappointed or who habitually block their own power, often experience envy and anger. They then develop the tendency to notice everything they don't like and spread bad feelings even without wanting to do so. Here Buddha's advice is to develop compassion for others and to understand that maybe those who make mistakes cannot help it. If that doesn't work, one can also think that the same people may die tomorrow so there is only one chance to be good to them.

It is important to remember, also historically, how ignorant people are of cause and effect, and that study is no alterantive to genuine life experience. Everyone wants happiness and wants to feel good, but immature views and self-made obstacles make people gather life's thistles instead of its flowers. Compassion must arise when seeing the mess people so often make out of their unlimited potential. Then without pity or sentimentality, one does what one can for others.'

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.




Loving Eyes.



Loving Eyes Mantra.

'Today most Westerners probably know of the most popular of Tibetan mantras, pronounced:

OM MANI PEME HUNG

It invokes the Bodhisattva Loving Eyes (Sanskrit: Avalokitesvara, Tibetan: Chenrezig) and activates our compassion, which is so important everywhere. Many people use this mantra simply because it gives a good feeling, but knowing its meaning strenghtens its benefit. The vibration of the syllable OM removes pride and that of MA, jealousy. NI takes away attachment, PE cuts through ignorance, ME removes greed and HUNG, making one's heart center vibrate, transforms anger'.

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Blog Author's Comments.

i read in Lama Ole Nydahl's books that HUNG syllable transforms anger into fearlessness.

i heard during a Buddhist Lecture that a way to deal with anger is by developing patience as well, so not only the HUNG syllable mantra.

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Kangyur.

Introduction.

Kangyur (བཀའ་འགྱུར་, Wyl. bka' 'gyur) literally the 'translated words' of the Buddha. The Kangyur is a collection of the Buddha's own teachings.

The words of the Buddha are the sutras and the tantras.

Tengyur is books collection that gathers the treatises composed by the great Indian masters of the first millennium.


Kangyur's Divisions.

Vinaya (འདུལ་བ་, 'dul ba)
- Discipline.

Prajñāpāramitā (ཤེར་ཕྱིན་, sher phyin)
- Perfection of Wisdom.

Buddhāvataṃsaka (ཕལ་ཆེན་, phal chen)
- The Sūtra of the Ornament of the Buddhas.

Ratnakūṭa (དཀོན་བརྩེགས་, dkon brtsegs)
- Heap of Jewels.

Sūtra (མདོ་, mdo)
- General Sūtra Section.

Tantra (རྒྱུད་, rgyud)
- Tantra collection.
- Old Tantras.


Blog's author's Comments.

This blog's author (Andrzej Wysocki) plans to purchase Kangyur & Tengyur as soon as possible.

Bought the 'Vinaya' (complete edition) & the 'Diamond Sutra' (with comments), a part of 'Prajñāpāramitā' books already.

Bought a book about the 'Heart Sutra with Supplementary Amitabha Sutra' too. i am happy for the Heart Sutra with the supplementary Amitabha Sutra being together, for a possible case of death separating a Buddhist Woman i Love & myself in this life - this is related with Phowa, the conscious dying practice.

Bought a book of the Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom), as well. Hopefully my Buddhist Wisdom will benefit from that.

i am happy for meaningful money spending at last as well.

This blog's author plans to accept as many vows as possible on the Yogi way, but not before i read, think & discuss this with the Buddhist Woman i Love - her opinion matters very much anyway.

Sources: Kangyur - Rigpa Wiki & Lama Ole Nydahl's Books.

How does one purify karma that causes pain?

The Solution.

This happens through four stages of one's inner attitude:
- First, one realizes that one has caused pain.
- Second, one wishes to remove what is disturbing.
- Third, one makes the firm decision not to do it again.
- Fourth, one consciously decided to act in the opposite way.

-- Quoted from 'Buddha & Love' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Blog Author's Comments.

Purifying Karma that causes pain can occur because of the two reasons:
- Because we are Compassionate, we do not wish others to suffer,
- Because bad Karma chases us or we feel attacked.

When someone or something causes a pain to us, we often forget that it's our own bad Karma that caused this situation.

When we experience bad karma, we should understand it's ripening result of our own bad actions from the past.

i think we should try to understand what we did in past - in this life or in previous lives - research the Causes of current Karma & situation, then purify it using the four steps mentioned above.

An important step in Understanding the Causes of Pain is learning that Karma we seed comes back - that the energy we send returns to us ... in other words what we do to others we'll experience later as well.

This is not only a Buddhist Lesson, it's also a Polish Catholic advice: 'Don't do unto others what you don't like'; i think that other Religions & World Views also have similar lessons - i mention this for the benefit of non Buddhist readers as well.

Considering that, the Causes of Pain might seem obvious - perhaps if i am poor, it's because that i caused poverty in others, or i was greedy - so perhaps i should just make a wish that Protects every being from Poverty - then as a consequence go to honest work & share the wealth with others now instead ... but let's not forget about the deeper Causes - these should be addressed as well.


Blog Author's Wishes.

Karma Understanding & Purifying wishes:
- i wish to understand the Causes of Mental Illness that i suffer from, then purify these.
- i wish to understand the Causes of Cravings that i suffer from, then purify these.
- i wish to understand the Causes of Poverty that i suffer from, then purify these.
- i wish to understand the Causes of Lies i occassionally tell, then purify these.
- i wish to understand the Causes of Loneliness, of being Separated from the Buddhist Woman i Love, then purify these.

Other wishes:
- i wish our Mind(s) to be Stronger, our thoughts & feelings to be better Guarded - including being Guarded from being perceived by enemies or from being manipulated by enemies as well; this wish should reduce Mental Ilness i suffer from, i think; this wish should reduce other Causes of Pain i suffer from as well, i think.


Links:
- Purifying Karma without Ngöndro ... and value of non-buddhist, but nice and fine friends.


Mantras:

OM MANI PEME HUNG
KARMAPA CHENNO

Namaste, as well.

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Antisectarian Buddhism, Religions & Atheism.

Introduction.

it's written in Lama Ole Nydahl books that Buddhism can be seen as partly Religion, partly Psychology, partly Philosophy.

it's Buddha Karmapa's words that Buddhism is not a Religion, it's a Science.

i think that different Buddha Dharma Lessons are for different beings, perhaps for different times as well.

i think that in my case, after Religion stage as a Way - there's Science related with the Law of Cause & Effect.


Atheism & Sects.

i think that Atheists are often people who suffer most, lacking support of Religious Communities who help each other mostly, approaching Atheists with too much of caution, treating them worse.

it's my experience that Atheists - i was Atheist during a significial part of my life - become upset with the Religions, see mostly bad sides - this discourages Religious Communities from helping them enough, leaving them feeling alone in a crowd, without support or respect that many need.

it's an experience as of being in a Sect that Separates one from Happiness, in whatever form it might come. i think that many so-called Religious People are Sectarian that way without understanding that they are acting as a Sect that contains someone's Potential, that makes someone helpless & inferior under their ranks.


How to help Atheists?

while i am not sure, i have a few of thoughts coming from my experiences:
- honesty & even harsh truths do help - it's nice to explain Atheists gently that alone they will suffer more, that Religion comes from a word Religare, Latin word for 'Reunion',
- it's worth to tell Atheists that Wise & Compassionate Communities might be great places to seek, that it's worth to be Altruist early - before one starts to feel too old & lonely to seek meaningful Love or company, or even the Meaning of Life,
- it's worth to practice Compassion (Loving Eyes Practice in my case), to see Atheists as living beings full of Potential, instead of someone worse just because they do not go to Church or do not Meditate,
- it's worth to Speak & Act beyond Political Correctness & Hypocrisy - i advise to use even Strong & Painful methods for Advancement - to save the Time & Lives instead of wasting what we have the most precious - our time & our youth,
- it's worth to encourage Altruistic Independence in others, instead of discouraging Atheists from achieving Greatness, instead of telling them that they are too weak or too ill to work, etc.,
- certain people cannot Meditate or go to Church because of many reasons - mental illness is one of these reasons - but people can care, listen to the Wise Teachers, help & practice as they can - at least i am trying to do it that way; when a person does his or her best - do not expect more, do not treat them as inferior, please.