- dharma is a multivalent term with at least a dozen distinct meanings. In India, dharma usually means "social duty or obligation," and Dharma (capitalized) customarily refers to the Buddha's Dharma or Doctrine, the Teachings of the historical figure Siddhartha Gautama. The word can loosely be construed to mean "religion," but religion did not mean religion in pre-British invasion India (Maha Bharat), so equating the terms is incorrect.
Showing posts with label Tibetan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tibetan. Show all posts
Friday, January 2, 2026
Dalai Lama, how do we find our dharma?
Monday, October 6, 2025
Mt. Everest: Storm traps 1,000 rich climbers
Hundreds trapped by out-of-season blizzard conditions on Mount Everest
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| COST: Price of completing the world’s most iconic mountain climbs (outforia.com) |
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Heavy snowfall, wind, rain has trapped hikers on the slopes of Mount Everest
Saturday, May 24, 2025
"The Heart Sutra" (RAP version)
"Heart Sutra - Rap" by Chogyal Rinpoche
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| Avalokita [Kwan Yin] hears the cries of the world |
ma sam jö mé sherab parol chin
makyé mingak namkhé ngowo nyi
soso rangrig yeshe chöyulwa
dü sum gyalwé yum la chaktsal lo
diké dak gi töpa dü chik na
chomdendé gyalpö khab jagö pungpö ri la gelong gi gendün chenpo dang
changchub sempé gendün chenpo dang tab chik tu zhuk té
dé tsé chomdendé zabmo nangwa zhejawa chö kyi namdrang kyi ting ngé dzin la nyompar zhuk so
yang dé tsé changchub sempa sempa chenpo pakpa chenrezik wangchuk sherab kyi parol tu chinpa zabmo chöpa nyi la nampar ta zhing
pungpo ngapo dedak la yang rangzhin gyi tongpar nampar ta o
dené sangye kyi tü
tsé dang denpa sharibü changchub sempa sempa chenpo pakpa chenrezik wangchuk la diké ché mé so
rik kyi bu gang lala sherab kyi parol tu chinpa zabmo chöpa chepar döpa dé jitar labpar ja
deké ché mepa dang | changchub sempa sempa chenpo pakpa chenrezik wangchuk gi tsé dang denpa shara datibu la diké ché mé so
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| Wait, wait! Shouldn't we decide if we're East Coast or West Coast first? (sanghabuild.org) |
teyata | om gaté gaté para gaté | para samgaté | bodhi soha
sharibu rik kyi bu am rik kyi bumo gang lala sherab kyi parol tu chinpa zabmo chöpa chepar döpa dé ditar nampar tawar ja té
pungpo ngapo dedak kyang rangzhin gyi tongpar nampar yangdakpar jesu ta o
zuk tongpa o | tongpanyi kyang zuk so
zuk lé tongpanyi zhen mayin no
tongpanyi lé kyang zuk zhen mayin no
dezhindu tsorwa dang | dushé dang
dujé dang | nampar shepa nam tongpa o
sharibu detawé na chö tamché tongpanyi dé
tsennyi mepa | makyepa | magakpa
drima mepa | drima dang dralwa mepa
driwa mepa | gangwa mepa o
sharibu detawé na tongpanyi la zukmé
tsorwa mé | dushé mé | dujé nam mé | nampar shepa mé
mik mé | nawa mé | na mé | che mé | lü mé | yi mé
zuk mé | dra mé | dri mé | ro mé | rekja mé | chö mé do
mik gi kham mepa né yi kyi kham mé
yi kyi nampar shepé kham kyi bardu yang mé do
marikpa mé | marikpa zepa mepa né gashi mé
gashi zepé bardu yang mé do
dukngalwa dang | künjungwa dang
gokpa dang | lam mé | yeshe mé | tobpa mé
matobpa yang mé do
teyata | om gaté gaté para gaté | para samgaté | bodhi soha
sharibu detawé na changchub sempa nam tobpa mepé chir
sherab kyi parol tu chinpa la ten ching né té
sem la dribpa mepé trakpa mé dé
chin chi lok lé shintu dé né nya ngen lé depé tarchin to
dü sum du nampar zhukpé sangye tamché kyang sherab kyi parol tu chinpa la ten né
lana mepa yangdakpar dzokpé changchub tu ngönpar dzokpar sangye so
detawé na sherab kyi parol tu chinpé ngak
rigpa chenpö ngak | lana mepé ngak
minyampa dang nyampé ngak | dukngal tamché rabtu zhiwar jepé ngak
midzünpé na denpar shepar ja té
sherab kyi parol tu chinpé ngak mepa
teyata | om gaté gaté para gaté | para samgaté | bodhi soha
- Tibetan and English translation of the Heart Sutra: lotsawahouse.org/words-of...
THE HEART SUTRA (English)
Standard English translation (by the great Edward Conze) with minor edits by Wisdom Quarterly (The Heart Sutra | Buddhist Traditions | Amherst College)
Om! Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom, the Lovely, the Holy!
Avalokita, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond.
He looked down from on high, beheld but five heaps, and saw that in their own-being they were empty.
Here, O Sariputra,
Emptiness does not differ from form, and form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is emptiness, that is form.
The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.
Here, O Sariputra,
all dharmas [phenomena] are marked with emptiness;
They are neither produced nor stopped, neither defiled nor immaculate, neither deficient nor complete.
Therefore, O Sariputra,
in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness;
[There is] no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables [tangibles], or objects of mind; no sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to:
[There is] no mind-consciousness element; there is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to: there is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death. There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path.
There is no cognition, no attainment, and no non-attainment.
Therefore, O Sariputra,
it is because of one's non-attainmentness that a bodhisattva, through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought-coverings one has not been made to tremble.
One has overcome what can upset, and in the end one attains to Nirvana.
All those who appear as buddhas in the three periods of time [past, present, future] fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect Enlightenment because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.
Therefore one should know the prajna-paramita as the great spell [mantra], the spell of great knowledge, the utmost spell, the unequalled spell, allayer of all suffering, in truth -- for what could go wrong? By the prajnaparamita has this spell been delivered. It runs like this:
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
(Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, all-hail!)
This completes the Heart of perfect Wisdom.
What's rap if not bad lyrics 'n a good beat?
Wisdom Quarterly COMMENTARY
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| Get Out The Way: "Move B**h" (Ludacris) |
It's the beat, the beat, the beat propelled by a propulsive lyrical accompaniment consistent with the feel or underlying sentiment of the genre. One has to wonder if N.W.A would have had as much success -- with the exact same musical elements -- if their lyrical content and message were "Officers Is Nice" instead of "F*** the Police." Similarly, what is arguably the greatest rap song ever [if such a thing were possible to accurately determine] might not really be with weaker lyrics. In the case of Ludacris' "Excuse Me, Miss, If I May Just Get Through," or as it is known on internet radio "Move B*tch," where "bitch" refers, of course, to a pregnant dog driving in front of him and his featured artists. Ergo, if we're going to really have a Heart Sutra Rap, methinks we need to get real, gritty, and street, not simply rely on poetic feet.
The corrosive effects of listening to rap music on violent office workers
- MC Yogi, "Heart Sutra [Mantra] Rap," 2023; Chogyal Rinpoche, Sept. 18, 2022; Edward Conze (trans.), "The Heart Sutra"; Office Space (Mike Judge); Grandmaster Flash; Weird Al Yankovic, "White & Nerdy"; Ludacris, "Move B*tch"; Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon, Amber Larson, Brother Jason (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Jan. 4, 2025
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Whites of Japan: Ainu, Emishi, Jomon?
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| Why do the Ainu people seem to have Caucasian features? (vrogue.co) |
The fascinatingly mysterious origins of the Ainu
We examine the strange and somewhat mysterious case of the Ainu tribe [with possible origins in Africa as "Black Asians," as happened with many groups like the early blue-eyed Blacks of Ireland and British Isles, or even the Australian aboriginals and ubiquitous Polynesians] and other members of Y-Haplogroup D. In doing so it breaks down what exactly happened in Asia during prehistory.
Background Music by Kevin Macleod: The Fascinatingly Mysterious Origins of the Ainu
- Untold History, Feb. 2, 2024; TREY the Explainer, 3/18/18; CC Liu, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Saturday, January 4, 2025
Sex: Forbidden Fruit? (Robert Sepehr)
The Forbidden Fruit: Robert Sepehr
[A "mystery school," according to Dr. Ammon Hillman, is essentially a drug cult teaching the "mysteries" of ecstatic union with the substance or with a divinity through practices and the substance. The dedication of adepts is around a goddess or deity, in which initiates are introduced to reality through plant helpers and divine beings.
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| Yin yang at the center of the bagua |
Celibacy is an excellent way of conservation of energy for spiritual purposes. But Taoism and Tibetan yoga might also suggest tantric sex with semen retention to cultivate the forbidden "fruit" of internal energy.
It is a powerful practice with the power to awaken our divinity if undertaken properly and with guidance. It is a significant component of esoteric Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist practice by its yogis and yoginis.]
Tibetan sexual yoga?
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| Vajradhara and consort union |
In some forms of Buddhism, tantric sex is strongly associated with the practice of semen retention, as sexual fluids are considered an energetic substance that must be reserved for higher purposes.
Many Buddhist tantric texts direct the focus away from sexual emission towards retention and intentionally prolonged bliss. More]
- Internal Alchemy for Women
- Lilith and the Sacred Serpent
- Consciousness, Vril, and the Human Aura
- Flame of the Light Bearers
- Elixir of Life and Secrets of Immortality
- The Fourth Way to Enlightenment
- Robert Sepehr, Jan. 2024; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Monkey Mind w/Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Understanding the Monkey Mind
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| This gear measures meditating brain. |
Reflection question: What do you do in your daily life that helps you remember to recognize awareness?
Recognizing Awareness
Who is Ven. Yongey?
This rinpoche is a Tibetan teacher from Nepal and a master of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He is a star in the West because he is or was neurotic (a worry wart) and is very user-friendly and has written five books on the subject of meditation.
He oversees the Tergar Meditation Community (tergar.org), an international network of Buddhist meditation centers.
Royal family line
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| Who's Tibet's Guru Rinpoche? Padmasambhava |
From the age of nine [1], his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche [1], taught him Buddhist meditation [1], passing on to him the most essential instructions of the Dzogchen and Mahamudra traditions. More
Join Vajrayana Online, a virtual space with courses
and resources to explore Vajrayana (Esoteric) Buddhism with practical guidance from Mingyur Rinpoche with online webinars and recorded teachings.
Learn more at learning.tergar.org
- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche books
- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, tergar.org, ajoyfulmind.com; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Amitabha: Buddha of Infinite Light, Life?
Amitabha Buddha: Infinite Life and Light: History, Dharani, Sutras, Sadhana, and Sukhavati
[Is it because it's a fantasy that does not require effort and spiritual exertion to calm and purify the mind only to develop faith and devotion, which are much easier? In the dichotomy of hariki and jiriki, most humans prefer an "other" power rather than "self" power as a means of salvation/liberation.]
CONTENTS
- 00:00-02:57 Introduction and why is Amitabha so popular in Mahayana Buddhism?
- 02:57-05:41 Magnetizing power, charisma, and the power of Amitabha’s Lotus family
- 05:41-08:17 Amitabha’s 48 vows and the story of Bodhisattva Dharmakara (from sutra)
- 08:17-09:15 Shakyamuni Buddha explains Sukhavati Pureland of Ultimate Bliss
- 09:15-11:11 Amitabha’s name literally means “Infinite Light” and why
- 11:11-13:32 Amitabha’s appearance and symbolism
- 13:32-15:21 Padma Lotus family: Pandara, Avalokiteshvara, Hayagriva, Kurukulla Tara
- 15:21-18:55 Sukhavati Pureland: Land of Ultimate Bliss described by Shakyamuni Buddha
- 18:55-21:27 Dharani practice of Amitabha Buddha and magnetizing
- 21:27-22:21 Three shorter mantras as a daily practice
- 22:37-23:57 Amitabha’s sadhana practices and visualizing Amitabha Buddha
- 23:57-31:00 Recitation of Amitabha sadhana in full
Let's look at the story of these 48 vows later in the presentation plus the story of Amitabha as Bodhisattva Dharmakara from the sutra.
FOR A FULL FEATURE ON BUDDHA WEEKLY including the shorter sutra and dharani in English, Sanskrit, and Chinese, see: buddhaweekly.com/?p=24862.
Amitabha is the magnetic "savior" Buddha. He helps with his charismatic bliss and joy and wisdom for discernment to overcome the poisons of attachment and desire.
It is our clinging attachment to things -- objects, money, ownership, and ego -- that causes suffering in samsara (the cycle of rebirth). With discernment wisdom, the wisdom of Amitabha's Lotus family, we overcome our obsessive clinging to things and ego.
His practice is the magnetizing power of the buddhas signified by his body made of red glowing light like a beautiful glowing sunset. Red is the color of magnetizing, the color of fire and the setting sun of the west, all of which are symbols of Amitabha.
Orgyen Topgyal Rinpoche explained in a teaching on Red Amitabha's Lotus family:
“The manifestations of the wisdom of discernment are the deities of the lotus family of magnetizing. The magnetizing deities (devas) have the power to bring circumstances under control.”
Magnetizing power is the power of charisma, attraction, cooperation, compassion, and loving-kindness. Amitabha's magnetizing power attracts auspicious circumstances, knowledge, good fortune, helpful people, students, business, and prosperity — as long as we are motivated by the cause for enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Khenpo Namdro explains:
Magnetizing of Amitabha's Lotus family is “that which brings within one’s power all that appears and all that exists. It goes by such a name because if you make this prayer fervently, you will be able to magnetize or bring within your power the phenomena of the entire universe.”
Monday, September 30, 2024
The Heart Sutra: Emptiness, an example
The Heart Sutra: Post canonical Buddhist discourse on the profound nature of reality
(Wisdom Tellers) Sept. 27, 2024: This video explores one of Buddhism’s most profound teachings — emptiness (the impersonal nature of all things). The heart in the Heart Sutra is the heart of wisdom. Discover the essence of emptiness, wisdom, and the path to enlightenment as taught in this timeless Mahayana text, chanted the world over with few penetrating its meaning.
#HeartSutra #BuddhasWisdom #MahayanaBuddhism #Emptiness #Shunyata #Enlightenment #Prajnaparamita #BuddhistTeachings #Avalokiteshvara #SpiritualWisdom
An example to explain emptiness
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| What is this phenomenon? Interaction of factors |
Constituents.
What does not exist?
Anything apart from those core constituents; there is no separate existence.
All is one?
Perhaps, but what is being said is that a thing is not anything (or is no thing) apart from its constituents (mere supporting causes and conditions).
Can you please give me an example? That sounds crazy.
Yes. Go get a candleflame or envision a real candleflame burning. Now ask, Does it exist?
Of course it exists. Why wouldn't it exist?
Where is it?
It's right here, right here in front of me. Don't you envision it, too?
Yes, but what I see right here is wax, wick, oxygen, heat, and a complex process of combustion. I do not find a candle "flame" itself.
Well, all of that is the candleflame, isn't it?
Is it? There are just those five, so where is the "flame"?
What do you mean, "Where is it?" It's right here!
But here are just five things. And the "flame" is the functional integration of these five. It is not a separate thing at all. It's only an illusion arising from the interdependence of these five. When these five are exhausted or fall away, the illusion of the candle "flame" is no more. It ceases.
What ceases? The flame?
No, the illusion. When it ceases one might ask, Where did it go? Did it go up, down, sideways, north, south, inside, outside?
No, none of those apply, do they? It simply went out, out of existence. It was annihilated. Having been born and created when the candle was lit, it died and ceased to exist.
No. It never was. The illusion fell away. It, not having been, could not cease to be. There were those five, which are not the candle "flame," and now they are no more, their functional integration having ceased.
So that's it?
Oh no, it's much more personal. If this can be said of a candleflame and other things (like constituent parts), what if one were to say it of me, myself, and I?
That's madness!
Madness it may be, but it's true. What is "I" but an illusion arising from five things clung to as "self"?
What five?
Form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
The self has those.
No, those very things are the self, and there's no separate existence for the self apart from them, because they are the changing constituents of self. They cling to the illusion that there is a "self."
The self clings?
No, there is no self. They (the constituents) cling. Just as feelings themselves feel, and consciousness itself is conscious, so an illusion called "self" arises and is clung to, fearing that it might die and be annihilated, wishing that it could be born and last forever.
Okay.
If they are always changing, what can be said about a "permanent" self that endures from moment to moment or life to life or even enduring unchanged through one life?
It's an illusion?
Yes, it's an illusion. ALL things are empty (and illusory) in this way. Moreover, if the mind/heart can know-and-see this in a flash of clarity and insight, one can be free of clinging, free of rebirth, free of all suffering.
That's what Mahayana Buddhism believes?
No, Mahayana doesn't know what it means. That is to say, most Mahayanists do not know what it says. They imagine it means all sorts of other things, unconsciously clinging to thoughts of a self that will be eternalized and free and everlasting and luminous, all sorts of things held over from the Vedic Brahmanical and Hindu way of seeing things.
What is Mahayana?
Let's ask Asangoham to explain that.
- Wisdom Tellers (Video 1), 9/27/24; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Bhante (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Saturday, September 28, 2024
What is Mahayana Buddhism? (video)
The Ancient Teachings of Mahayana Buddhism
The Buddha is believed to have passed away (attained to final nirvana) around 400 BCE. The early texts based on the Buddha's direct teachings, known as the Pāli canon, are the texts Theravāda Buddhism uses as its foundation.
- Theravada means the "teachings" (vada) of the "elders" (theras), who were the immediate first enlightened disciples of the historical Buddha. They heard, recited, memorized, and handed down the Buddha's original words and teachings, the monastic rules and back stories for each, the sutras (discourses) and sayings. The Buddha spoke Magadhi (the language of King Bimbisara's Kingdom of Magadha), and this is Pali, the lingua franca of the area. The Brahmins were the only ones who spoke Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas and later Hinduism. And this is why Mahayana Buddhism is Buddhism in Sanskrit, itself being the Brahminical interpretation of Buddhism slanted and shifted to accord with Brahmanism (the views and religion of Brahmin priests), which was later adopted by Hinduism as its foundation in the Vedas.
It is believed that the later Mahayana tradition developed out of this early form of firsthand Theravāda Buddhism sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE. It is by bar the bigger school (90% of Buddhists), encompassing all kinds of Buddhisms apart from those in South and Southeast Asia.
What were the differences, and why did Mahāyāna Buddhism diverge/emerge? Mahāyāna Buddhism was a response to what was perceived as the elitism of the Theravāda tradition, particularly Theravāda Buddhism’s strong monastic tradition, which focused on intensive meditation, morality, monastic rules, and ascetic practices rather than lay people and their daily concerns.
Mahāyāna Buddhism sought to make the Teachings of the Buddha more accessible to ordinary people, not just something for monks and nuns.
It might best be understood as a school of Buddhism that teaches that all people have the capacity to awaken and realize the nature of reality whether in robes or lay clothes.
Mahāyāna Buddhism also tries to emphasize compassion (even over wisdom), a key aspect of the Buddha’s path to enlightenment.
This is illustrated by the Mahāyāna ideal of the bodhisattva, or a "being bent on enlightenment" like the Buddha before he became the Buddha (when he was still the Bodhisattva), who postponed his entrance into final nirvana (complete liberation from all rebirth and suffering) to teach and offer salvation to all living beings -- not just humans, but devas, and animals as well!
- The Dharma, what the Buddha taught, was actually most helpful to devas, judging by how many quickly realized the Truth gained liberation. They admired and listened to the Buddha, who was called "the teacher of gods and men" (the "gods" being devas of various orders and planes of existence and the "men" being humans of all kinds). It is easier for devas to gain insight (clear seeing) and liberation (moksha) if only they can pull themselves away from their pleasurable pursuits and parties and plans and realize that what the Buddha is saying applies to them, too.
Important, too, is that while Theravāda Buddhism recognizes only the Pāli language texts and suttas (sutras) as its official canon, regarding this massive collection as "the true teachings of the historical Buddha," Mahāyāna Buddhism includes texts called agamas and many apocryphal writings and later "sutras" as also the true teachings of, if not this Buddha, other Cosmic Buddhas (particularly Amitabha).
Many of these apocryphal texts are known to have come into existence long after the life of the historical Buddha but are still called the recorded words of the Buddha [which they are not but which may be what he allegedly really meant]. Mahayana constitutes later developments rather than original Teachings.
- Script: Matt Mackane
- Voiceover: Andrea Giordani
- Edit: Medo
- Score: Motion Array x Epidemic Music x Original Score
- DISCLAIMER 01: All ideas expressed on this channel are for entertainment and general information purposes only. There is no advice on what an individual should or should not do. Any response made by anyone after hearing this communication is their interpretation and is their responsibility. Ideas expressed by this channel should not be treated as a substitute for medical advice or professional help. If expert assistance or counselling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
- DISCLAIMER 02: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If one is or represents the copyright owner of materials used in this video and has an issue with the use of said material, please send an email to doseofquotes02@gmail.com.
- Copyright © 2022 Asangoham. All rights reserved. #mahayana #buddhism #zen #tibetanbuddhism
- Asangoham, Feb. 19, 2023; Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Friday, September 20, 2024
Back to Bihar, India: Enlightenment Grove
HIDDEN GEM IN BIHAR, INDIA! 🇮🇳 Magical Bodh Gaya
- Budh (or bodh) is the root of Buddha ("Enlightened One") and bodhi ("enlightenment, awakening"), and gaya is grove, so this place is Enlightenment Grove or the Place of Awakening.
Bodh Gaya is really worth a visit during any trip to India. We highly recommend hiring an e-rickshaw to get around to all the famous sights. #bihar #india #bodhgaya
First time exploring Bihar: MY FIRST TIME IN BIHAR! 🇮🇳 Exploring...
- 00:00 Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India: Center of the Buddhist World
- 00:35 Marasa Sarovar Premiere, Bodhgaya
- 01:43 Vegetarian Tibet Om Cafe, Bodh Gaya
- 04:45 Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya
- 07:17 Great Buddha (80 foot) statue, Bodh Gaya
- 08:58 Exploring Bodh Gaya in Bihar
- 10:40 Tibet Om Cafe, Bodh Gaya again
- 12:25 Bihar road trip
Then, the allegory goes, the wandering ascetic, having eaten and regained his bodily health thanks to the lady Sujata and her maid, wandered on in search of enlightenment. He realized that he had blamed the body for the faults of the mind/heart, punishing it needlessly.
He determined to try another approach, abandoning austerities and self-mortification. What, he wondered, if he were to allow himself the supersensual pleasure of meditative absorption (jhana). Such bliss is blameless. He wondered if this might be the way to awakening.
An inner-knowing came over him that it was. He went to the river to bathe, using his alms bowl to predict if he would succeed. Then he found another tree, having left behind Sujata's banyan.
He entered a wondrous grove and found a marvelous fig tree (Ficus religiosa) under which to sit. There he enjoyed the bliss (piti) of letting go, simply mindful of his in-and-out breathing until it became soft then still, as he entered into single-pointed focus and samadhi, purifying heart/mind.
He remembered past lives and continued to ponder the question that had prompted his spiritual quest: Why do we suffer? He followed the chain of causation (Dependent Origination), realizing that the root of present disappointment and pain (dukkha) was in the past, affecting the present and setting the future.
He broke through the 12-links to understand that, "With this, that comes to be, and without it, it ceases." He understood those factors that had led to everything and saw a means of escape from this round (samsara, simulation) of countless rebirth.
He went back and back through past lives (reappearances, relinkings, rearisings), further exploring all that had happened, with great gratitude for the tree that sheltered him.
Our journey to India
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| A few years after in San Francisco |
- TEXT: Wisdom Quarterly
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Where the Buddha awakened: Bodh Gaya
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| Tree was saved from angry monotheistic Muslims |
Mahabodhi means "Great Enlightenment," a monument next to the tree, where thousands of pilgrims come daily to meditate, prostrate themselves on slippery boards Tibetan-style, or contemplate the enormity of what the wandering ascetic Siddhartha Gautama from Scythia (Shakya Land to the west in Gandhara, modern Afghanistan and Pakistan) accomplished in finally realizing the Truth and letting go.
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| It went to Sri Lanka and L.A. |
It is a kind of wonder of the world with temples from every Buddhist country represented in a relatively small area in the present-day state of Bihar, India. It is named Bihar from the Buddhist word Vihar, a Buddhist monastic temple complex, abbey, monastery, or nunnery, where in the past so many sprouted up to put into practice the Buddha's path to enlightenment and freedom that the name stuck, and Vihar became Bihar (same pronunciation), given the penchant of Hindi to be a lot like Sanskrit but dropping the "a" at the end of so many words. Yoga becomes yog, asana becomes asan, and vihara becomes Vihar (Wihara, Bihara, Bihar). It is an extraordinary place to visit for world travelers.
Is it a real place I can visit? Millions do
- TEXT: Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly
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