“Where is the source of human grief, lamentation, pain and agony? Is it not to be found in the fact that people are generally desirous. They cling obstinately to lives of wealth and honor, comfort and pleasure, excitement and self indulgence, ignorant of the fact that the desire for these very things is the source of human suffering.

From its beginning, the world has been filled with a succession of calamities, over and above the unavoidable facts of illness, old age and death. But if one carefully considers all the facts, one must be convinced that at the basis of all suffering lies the principle of craving desire. If avarice can be removed, human suffering will come to an end.

Ignorance is manifested in greed that fills the human mind. It comes from the fact that people are unaware of the true reason for the succession of things. From ignorance and greed there spring impure desires for things that are, in fact, unobtainable, but for which people restlessly and blindly search.

Because of ignorance and greed, people imagine discriminations where, in reality, there are no discriminations. Inherently, there is no discrimination of right and wrong in human behavior; but people, because of ignorance, imagine such distinctions and judge them as right or wrong.

Because of their ignorance, all people are always thinking wrong thoughts and always losing the right viewpoint and, clinging to their egos, they take wrong actions. As a result, they become attached to a delusive existence.

Making their deeds the field for their egos, using the working of discrimination of the mind as seed, beclouding the mind by ignorance, fertilizing it with the rain of craving desires, irrigating it by the willfulness of egotism, they add the conception of evil, and carry this incarnation of delusion about with them.”

How to react if someone is angry with you?

One time Brahmin Akkosaka got angry at Buddha, because a man from his clan had become a Bhikkhu. Akkosaka was yelling and insulting the Buddha.

Buddha: “What do you think, Akkosaka? Do your friends, relatives, and guests sometimes come to visit you?”
Akkosaka: "Sometimes they do, Master Gotama.”
Buddha: "Do you then serve them with a variety of food and drinks?”
Akkosaka: "Sometimes I do.”
Buddha: “But if they don’t accept it, who do those food and drinks belong to?”
Akkosaka: “In that case Master Gotama, they still belong to me.”
Buddha: “In the same way, Akkosaka, when you abuse, harass, and attack me, who does not abuse, harass, and attack, I don’t accept your insults. They still belong to you, Akkosaka, they still belong to you!"

- SN 7.2 Akkosaka Sutta #anger #Buddha

“Since everything in this world is brought about by causes and conditions, there can be no fundamental distinctions among things. The apparent distinctions exist because of people’s absurd and discriminating thoughts.

In the sky there is no distinction of east and west; people create the distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.

Mathematical numbers from one to infinity are each complete numbers, and each in itself carries no distinction of quantity; but people make the discrimination for their own convenience, so as to be able to indicate varying amounts.

Inherently there are no distinctions between the process of life and the process of destruction; people make a discrimination and call one birth and the other death. In action there is no discrimination between right and wrong, but people make a distinction for their own convenience.

Buddha keeps away from these discriminations and looks upon the world as upon a passing cloud. To Buddha every definitive thing is illusion; He knows that whatever the mind grasps and throws away is insubstantial; thus He transcends the pitfalls of images and discriminative thought.”

“Both delusion and Enlightenment originate within the mind, and every existence or phenomenon arises from the functions of the mind, just as different things appear from the sleeve of a magician.

The activities of the mind have no limit, they form the surroundings of life. An impure mind surrounds itself with impure things and a pure mind surrounds itself with pure things; hence, surroundings have no more limits than the activities of the mind.

But the mind that creates its surroundings is never free from memories, fears or laments, not only in the past but in the present and the future, because they have arisen from ignorance and greed.

It is from ignorance and greed that the world of delusion is born, and all the vast complexity of coordinating causes and conditions exists within the mind and nowhere else.

Both life and death arise from the mind and exist within the mind. Hence, when the mind that concerns itself with life and death passes on, the world of life and death passes with it.

An unenlightened life rises from a mind that is bewildered by its own world of delusion. If we learn that there is no world of delusion outside the mind, the bewildered mind becomes clear; and because we cease to create impure surroundings, we attain Enlightenment.

In this way the world of life and death is created by the mind, is in bondage to the mind, is ruled by the mind; the mind is the master of every situation. The world of suffering is brought about by the deluded mortal mind.”

“The important thing in following the path to Enlightenment is to avoid being caught and entangled in any extreme, that is, always to follow the Middle Way.

Knowing that things neither exist nor do not exist, remembering the dream-like nature of everything, one should avoid being caught by pride of personality or praise for good deeds; or caught and entangled by anything else.

If a person is to avoid being caught in the current of his desires, he must learn at the very beginning not to grasp at things lest he should become accustomed to them and attached to them. He must not become attached to existence nor to non-existence, to anything inside or outside, neither to good things nor to bad things, neither to right nor to wrong.

If he becomes attached to things, just at that moment, all at once, the life of delusion begins. The one who follows the Noble Path to Enlightenment will not maintain regrets, neither will he cherish anticipations, but, with an equitable and peaceful mind, will meet what comes.”

Coloured sketch of Primordial Buddha, Vajradhara

Hindu God Lord Shiva (Siva)
- the Destroyer, the Adiyogi

Repa Karma Norbu Rinpoche

Repa Karma Norbu Rinpoche (ras pakarma nor bu rin po che) was an outstanding master and yogic practitioner who is known for his yogic powers and who was responsible for transmitting teachings after the Cultural Revolution. He was the Master of many practitioners of these days in Tibet as Repa Chatral Tsultrim Tharchin (rbya bral ras pa tshul khrims mthar phyin) around Nangchen and the Derge area.

As he practiced tummo (gtum mo) and perfected the practice of inner heat he wore only thin cotton cloth and became known as repa (ras pa) and even as second Milarepa (mi la ras pa gnyis pa) or White Accomplished One or Drubchen Karpo (sgrub chen dkar po) whereas his student Tsultrim Tharchin is also known as Third Milarepa (mi la ras pa gsum pa).

Karma Norbu was a great Mahasiddha, meaning “great accomplished one” or Drupchen (sgrub chen) in Tibetan) who was traditionally trained in and accomplished the Karma Kagyu path - including the 6 Yogas of Naropa. He accomplished this full path before the Cultural Revolution. After the Chinese occupation, those who knew him could not find Karma Norbu, as he had established himself in a cave at a nearby mountain.

In 1980 the Chinese government started allowing people to engage in a little bit of Dharma practice and the government also began to release many Rinpoches from prison. Many monasteries started a rebuilding process. Every Rinpoche in Tibet also began looking for great Masters that had survived the revolution. Sure enough, someone found Karma Norbu.

At that time Karma Norbu was living in a cave surrounded by a rock edifice -- this is where many disciples came to receive teachings, instructions directly from him. The journey to Karma Norbu's cave (from Gargon) took about 6 days and had to be done on horseback. Many practitioners, monks went there to receive ordination and teachings from him.

Here the Dalai Lama is enthroned in a Bön monastery, wearing the crown and holding the sceptre of a Bön master.

There can be much tension between Bön and the other Buddhist schools of Tibet as Bönpo, while following the teachings of Buddha in much the same way as the others, represents the pre-Buddhist traditions of Tibet (although whether or not the continuity is unbroken cannot be reliably ascertained).

The Dalai Lama is a proponent of the Rimé (lit. unbaised, non-sectarian) movement which promotes mutual respect and recognition between sects. I think this is absolutely essential, as sectarian conflict would only serve to weaken Tibetan Buddhism as a whole, which has been in a venerable position since Mao's cultural revolution, and thereby, the light of Dharma would wane and the Kali Yuga would grow darker yet.

To my mind Rimé is a perfect example of creating unity while tolerating diversity and is a lesson for the rest of the world today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNr8b12Ow4A

A Commentary on Tattvabodha by Swami Paramarthananda

#religion #philosophy #esoteric

"When a man who practices one version of the Way of Buddha vilifies another because it differs from his own sect, he cannot avoid the sin of slandering the Law."

Mujū Dōkyō

"All experiences of rainbow lights are the natural manifestations of your mind. All the peaceful and wrathful forms are the natural forms of your mind. All sounds are your own sounds. All lights are your own lights. Have no doubt about that. If you do feel doubt, you will be thrown into samsara. Having resolved this to be self-display, if you rest wide awake in luminous emptiness, then simply in that you will attain the three kayas and become enlightened. Even if you are cast into samsara, you won’t go there.

***

"From this moment, it is very important to be without any hope and fear, clinging and fixation, toward the objects of your six sense faculties as well as toward fascination, happiness, and sorrow. From now on, if you attain stability, you will be able to assume your natural state in the bardo and become enlightened. Therefore, the most vital point is to sustain your practice undistractedly from this very moment."

Padmasambhava, The Dakini Teachings

"Oh! I don’t know the Mantra, the Yantra, or the Eulogies. I don’t even know how to invoke You, how to meditate on You, and even the speech behind Your eulogies. I don’t know the postures [in which to say eulogies], and I don’t know how to wail. [But] O Mother! I know that following You absolves the biggest distresses.
The offerings — which were due to the lack of knowledge of methodology, by the lack of resources, by indolence, or due to the lack of strength for submission — fallen [by me] on Your dual-feet, forgive all those mistakes, O Mother! O Shiva, Who absolves everyone! Because a son can become bad or ignorant about his duties as an offspring, but the Mother always remains a Mother.
O Mother! There are many sons of Yours on this earth and they are gentle. Amidst them, I am Your son, who is extremely libidinous. I have the feelings of possession, and I have no compassion within me. But I am Yours, O Shiva! A son can become bad or ignorant about his duties as an offspring, but the Mother always remains a Mother.
O Mother! O Mother of the world! Your feet has not been engaged upon [by me] and, even more so, Your feet has not been submitted with offerings by me. Even then, You shower immaculate benevolence on me. Because a son can become bad or ignorant about his duties as an offspring, but the Mother always remains a Mother.
At an age of more than eighty-five years, by me, who lacks the prowess to perform various rituals, the Devas have been left along. O Mother of Lambodar (Parvati)! Now, in this situation, if Your benevolence does not happens on me, then, I, the unsupported one, will take whose refuge?
O Aparna! A dog-eater (Chandala) becomes a talkative person with honey-like sweet words coming out from the tongue; and a poor man roams fearlessly for long time in golden riches, when the chants of Your name fall [seat] inside the ear of anyone. O Mother! Then, in that case, who can know the achievements due to continuous chants of Your name based on the appropriate rules?
Kapali, Who has ashes from the burnt corpses on body, Who has the directions as clothes (cloth-less), Who has thick tress-locks, Who has a garland of king of snake in neck, Who is known as Pashupati, and Who is the ruler of ghosts, attains the position of poison-destroyer and Lord of the world. O Bhavani! This is just a result of addition of You as His consort.
I don’t have the desire to attain Moksha, neither I have the desire to attain luxuries and resplendence in the world. I don’t have expectations of sciences, and O the Moon-faced Goddess! I don’t even desire for luxuries and comfort. O Mother! Thus, I beg You, that whenever I am born, give me the chanting of these names to me — Mridani, Rudrani, Shiv, Bhavani.
O Shyama! You are not revered by me, using methods or various prenoscriptions. I didn’t do anything beyond the rough-thinking and speech. But even then, if You keep me, the destitute and orphan, in benevolence, then it suits You; since You indeed are beyond everything, O Mother!
O Durga, Who is the abode of ocean of mercy! When I remember You in troublesome situations, don’t think it is stupidity. It is because when a child is hungry, the child only remembers the Mother.
O Mother of the world! You are full of benevolence for me; [but] what is the surprise in this? [Because] Even when a son is full of faults, the Mother does not ignores or disowns the child.
O Mahadevi! There is no fallen one like me, and there is indeed no absolver of sins like You. Knowing this, You do what You think as appropriate."

Bhavani Stuti by Srila Adi Shankaracharya