The Buddha's FIRE SERMON: the speech that converted 1,000 wanderers
What is the "all" that is burning?
(Buddha's Wisdom) š WE’RE BURNING RIGHT NOW — THE BUDDHA’S FIRE SERMON There’s a constant inner heat -- craving, hatred, confusion -- that drives our decisions and drains our peace.
In this guided breakdown of the Buddha’s Fire Sermon (Adittapariyaya Sutta), see exactly what’s burning, why “ALL is burning” became one of Buddhism’s most powerful teachings, and a 5-step method to stop being consumed by it, today.
DISCOVER
How the Buddha converted 1,000 fire-worshippers with a single 20-minute speech
The three psychological fires burning in our chest right now (and why they always find new fuel and never stop)
The hidden follow-up teaching that challenges even clinging to the pursuit of “enlightenment”
The 5-step method that extinguished suffering for 1,000 people simultaneously
What the Buddha taught AFTER the Fire Sermon that made even enlightened beings question everything
Master Buddhist meditation and mindfulness with the Buddha's original Fire Sermon teaching
02:50 1,000 meditators, same burn — The Kassapa Setup (near Bodh Gaya)
04:11 All is burning — the Buddha’s Fire Sermon (SN 35.28)
07:27 Silence: 1,000 awaken — What liberation felt like
09:20 How to stop burning — the 5-Step Practice
11:01 Beyond the Fire
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(Buddha's Wisdom) Inception's hidden Buddhism: The real prison was never the "dream" (maya).
Inceptionis an American science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with his wife Emma Thomas.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of targets.
To whom are we still hopelessly attached?
He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
The ensemble cast includes Ellen Page [now living as Elliot Page], Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao, and Michael Caine. More
Buddhism in The Matrix goes deeper than most of us think (other than Wachowski Brothers). The Wachowskis built this film on Buddhist philosophy—but Neo (Keanu Reeves, who played the Buddha in Little Buddha) goes on a journey that reveals something most viewers miss: Taking the red pill isn'tenlightenment, it's just the beginning. This video explores what The Matrix gets RIGHT about Buddhism, what Neo gets WRONG about awakening, and why the ending is actually the most Buddhist part of the entire trilogy. More (See The Matrix Trilogy)
HOW do we get out of this prison?
We are trapped in a prison of our own making. Realizing it does NOT free us. Letting go does. But how can we let go? We can't. It isn't an act of willpower. It's by seeing things as they are. Okay, okay, that makes sense! How are they? This is not a belief-system to believe. We must go in and see kalapas and cittas, particles and mind-moments, which means we must first cultivate samadhi (stillness, absorption) to purify and intensify the instrument of seeing (the mind). Then when we really know-and-see what is there, letting go happens by itself free of effort. The mind/heart lets go when it sees all things are marked by Three Universal Characteristics.
To practice equanimity (Pali upekkhÄ, Sanskrit upekį¹£Ä) is to be unwavering or to stay neutral in the face of the "eight worldly conditions" (aį¹į¹ha loka dhamma) [1]:
loss and gain,
good-repute and ill-repute,
praise and blame,
sorrow and happiness [2].
In the description of meditative stillness and super-consciousness (samÄdhi), equanimity is present in the third and fourth meditative absorptions (jhÄnas). More
(After Skool) It's all perfect by Ram Dass (formerly Prof. Richard Alpert, Ph.D., Harvard University)
RAM DASS ("God's Servant or Slave") was born Richard Alpert on April 6, 1931 and lived until December 22, 2019) [1]. He became a hippie and is also known as Baba ["Father"] Ram Dass. He was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga [2], academic psychologist, and writer of Be Here Now, his best-selling [3] 1971 book, which has been described by as "seminal" [4, 5, 6].
With the help of his scandalous but loving sex guru Neem Karoli Baba, he helped popularize Eastern spirituality and yoga in the West [7]. He authored or co-authored a dozen more books on spirituality over the next four decades, including Grist for the Mill (1977), How Can I Help? (1985), and Polishing the Mirror (2013).
Once when he was teaching with his long hair, beard, and linen garments, someone in the crowd asked him why he dressed like a guru from India when he was really a Jew from the U.S. Without missing a beat, his retort was, "I'm only Jewish on my parents' side." Ha ha ha, exactly!
We are born into a faith, and it's usually rammed down our throats before we have a chance to do anything but swallow. And most of us won't question it. But some of us vomit it up, leave or examine, sometimes even come back to it later.
Harvard professors Dr. Timothy Leary and Dr. Richard Alpert (cool squares rounding out)
However, it seems the job and duty of any human to question it, test it, attempt to validate it, argue against it, learn from it, grow from it, reject it all together, or make peace with it. There's a world of spirituality out there to explore. We usually need a floor, a ground, by which to test things. And almost all major religions have a mystic component or sect. That's a place to start.
Parents, what am I to do but follow my heart?
But question we must, and explore we will, and find? That remains to be seen. We are on a spiritual quest. And maybe the whole rest of the world can't be. But if Americans can't, what the F are you calling yourself an "American" for? Life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness is all you were promised -- and you're not even going to pursue it? Truth means nothing? Just taking sides? Just being controlled by your government, schools, and parents, the "powers that be"? Pathetic. Human up, and get searching.
Ram Dass was personally and professionally associated with hippie Dr. Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s. Then known as Richard Alpert, he conducted research with Leary on the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs.
In addition, Alpert assisted Harvard Divinity School graduate student Walter Pahnke in his 1962 "Good Friday Experiment" with theology students, the first controlled, double-blind study of drugs and the mystical experience [8, 9].
While legal at the time (and not yet criminalized), their research was controversial and led to Dr. Leary's and Dr. Alpert's firing from Harvard in 1963.
In 1967, Alpert traveled to India and became "Ram Dass," a disciple of Hindu Guru Neem Karoli Baba, who gave him the name Ram Dass, meaning "Servant of Ram," but usually rendered simply as "Servant of God" for Western audiences.
In the following years, he co-founded the charitable organizations Seva Foundation and Hanuman Foundation. From the 1970s to the 1990s, he traveled extensively, giving talks and retreats and holding fundraisers for charitable causes.
In 1997, he had a stroke, which left him with paralysis and expressive aphasia which would be better characterized as "fluent, anomic-like with hesitations and word finding difficulties at the conversational level with grossly intact auditory comprehension for high level, low-context information" [10, 11].
He eventually grew to interpret this event as an act of grace, learning to speak again and continuing to teach and write books. After becoming seriously ill during a trip to India in 2004, he gave up traveling and moved to Maui, Hawaii, where he hosted annual retreats with other spiritual teachers until his death in 2019. More
Long, long ago, there was this cool Swedish band that used to do covers, as most new bands are wont to do. Like nearly everyone else, they covered Black Sabbath standards. They are so catchy, easy, and powerful, that it's a good way to get a rock 'n roll career going. But the band was The Cardigans with an ice princess for a singer, one with a saccharine voice and looks. Some member, possibly the drummer, said, "I know! Let's cover the most iconic and evil Black Sabbath song, a song so evil they named themselves after it!"
"But how can we make it MORE evil?" someone asked. "I know, someone else must've said, 'Well turn it into a love song, maybe throw in some domestic abuse.'" "Yeah!" or "Whatever," the others must've said. (What's worse, the Devil or being trapped in an abusive romantic relationship with a jerk partner?)
And so "Heartbreaker" was born. Now, no Cardigans fan knows it's "Black Sabbath," and no Sabbath fans know who the F The Cardigans are, but evil is evil, and a rock 'n roll classic is a classic for a reason (or it may have something to do with the Devil's note, the tritone).
Now, in Christianity, "Satan" is the source of all evil, all harm, all bad things. He's like the counterpart to a jerk allegedly all-powerful God who is all "good." But satan really means the "adversary," any adversary, as in divorce court.
"Heartbreaker"
LYRICS: "Heartbreaker"
Lovefool Nina Persson, The Cardigans front
[Verse 1] No, not again/ Oh, what a man/ Just who I thought that I wanted to have/ Oh, don't do that/ Don't use that bat/ That's all it takes to make me falling flat/ [Pre-Chorus 1] No, not again/ A loser I am// [CHORUS] I love you tonight/ You are my knight/ Cure and assure and make me feel alright/ Tomorrow you'll find/ I'm not around/ But don't be uptight 'cause I loved you last night// [Verse 2] Vacant and free/ Yeah, that is me/ Just tell me how and I'll please you for free/ Tell me I'm good/ I know I'm bad/ Lies make me feel fine although it is sad/ [Pre-Chorus 2] No, not again/ Not one more man// [CHORUS] I love you tonight/ You are my knight/ Cure and assure and make me feel alright/ Tomorrow you'll find/ I'm not around/ But don't be uptight 'cause I loved you last night/ Right?
LYRICS: "Black Sabbath"
Madman Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath front
[Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1] What is this that stands before me?/ Figure in black which points at me/ Turn 'round quick and start to run/ Find out I'm the chosen one/ Oh, no/ [Verse 2] Big black shape with eyes of fire/ Tellin' people their desire/ Satan's sittin' there, he's smilin'/ Watches those flames get higher and higher/ Oh, no, no, please, God, help me/ [Bridge] Is it the end, my friend?/ Satan's comin' 'round the bend/ People runnin' 'cause they're scared/ The people better go and beware/ No, no, please, no/ [Guitar Solo] [Instrumental Outro]
(The Epic History Vibe) Zarathustra's forgotten religion that secretly invented heaven, hell, and the Devil borrowed by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
If one names a daughter "Kiana," will that benefit her more in terms of money or beauty, the main driving forces of a worldly life?
It would be best if she were virtuous, accruing profitable (kusala, wholesome) karma the Buddha called merit to gain the five most desirable things in this world, at least when looked at in the long term.
The Buddha: "O [rich householder], there are five wished for, pleasant, and agreeable things that are rare in the world. What are they? They are long life, beauty, happiness, fame, and [rebirth in] a heaven.
"But of these five things, O householder, I do no teach that they are to be obtained by prayer or by vows [making deals with God or the universe, promising to do something in exchange for a boon]. If one could obtain them by prayer or vows, who would not do it?
"For a noble disciple, O householder, who wishes to have long life, it is unbefitting to pray for longevity or to take delight in doing so. Instead, one should follow a path of [practice in] life that is conducive to longevity. By following such a path, one will obtain long life, be it human or divine.
"For a noble disciple, O householder, who wishes for beauty... happiness... fame... [rebirth in] a heaven, it is unbefitting to pray for them or to take delight in doing so. Instead, one should follow a path of life that is conducive to beauty... happiness... fame... [rebirth in] a heaven.
"By following such a path, one will obtain beauty, happiness, fame, and [rebirth in] a heaven." (AN 5.43)
There’s a huge misconception between good debt and bad debt. šø Both sit in the "liability" column on a balance sheet, but there’s a huge difference between the two, which is the critical differentiator between poor people and rich people:
Poor people have bad debt. š
Wealthy people take advantage of good debt. š¤ In fact, right now, debt is my favorite type of income!
Our Million Dollar Family Accelerators have accomplished so much using leverage.š°
But be very careful not to confuse the two types of debt in day-to-day life. šØ
š Bad debt is a liability on something that doesn’t make money — like luxury bags, cars that depreciate in value, cable TV, and all the other things poor people go into debt for to look like what they think a rich people look like.
š In contrast, good debt, also known as funding or leverage (gearing), is defined by the money one may owe to acquire an asset, an investment. It’s something that reproduces after itself to make more wealth — like a skillset gained that will keep on giving for years to come.
Here are some debt strategies wealthy people use to generate wealth:
š Leverage in Real Estate: Taking out a mortgage to invest in property can amplify returns.
š¼ Investment Loans: Borrowing to invest in appreciating assets like stocks or funds.
š Business Expansion: Securing loans to expand or start a business.
š° Tax Advantages: Borrowing against investments to fund purchases without triggering capital gains taxes can optimize wealth growth.
š Education and Skill Development: Loans for education or skill enhancement that leads to higher income potential.
Remember, leveraging debt for wealth requires caution and an understanding of the risks involved.
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SUTRA: Reasons for getting rich
Are we all agreed that these five are good?
The Buddha: "Householder, there are five reasons for getting rich. What are they?
"... A noble disciple with riches through work and zeal, gathered by strength of arm, earned by sweat of brow, justly obtained in a lawful way, makes oneself happy, glad, and keeps that happiness; one makes one's parents happy, glad, and keeps them so -- likewise wife and children and assistants.
"...When riches are gotten in this way, one makes friends and companions happy, glad, and keeps them so.
"...When riches are gotten in this way, bad luck... is warded off, and one keeps one's goods in safety.
"...When riches are gotten in this way, one makes the five oblations [pÅ«jÄ] to one's kin, guests, spirits, kings, and deities.
"...When riches are gotten this way, the noble disciple institutes offerings of lofty aim, celestial, ripening in happiness, leading heavenward [to the deva planes, akasha loka,sagga], for all those recluses and good people who abstain from pride and indolence, who bear all things in patience and humility, each mastering self, each calming self, each perfecting self.
"Now if the wealth of that noble disciple, heeding these five reasons, comes to destruction, let that disciple consider: 'At least I have heeded those reasons for getting rich, but my wealth has gone!' Therefore, one is not upset.
"And if one's wealth increases, let one think: 'Truly, I have heeded those reasons and my wealth has grown!' Therefore, one will not be upset in either case." (AN 5.41)
Author Kiana Danial
ABOUT: Kiana Danial is a three-time bestselling author, former engineer, helping people take control of their financial futures and accelerate their freedom with Triple Compounding. She is the founder and CEO of Invest Diva.
Twenty-four participants made it out, all but three of them females, mostly older, wealthy ladies living high in Altadena. Not everyone lost a home or car but were forced to evacuate, see their neighborhood destroyed, and are having to deal with the rebuilding of community and detoxing the area, depending on the EPA to remediate the land in the next 12 months. Everyone was traumatized in one way or another. Entering the stage area at Throop UU Church from the rear, avoiding the pews or main area used for Sunday services, we found yoga mats, sleeping bags, blankets and pillows for all. We set down our things, picked up a bound journal, and formed a circle of chairs for introductions. Sadly, the center of the event, Dr. Aimon Kopera, could not make it due to a family illness. Her facilitators also bailed on Thursday, leaving Dr. O'Connor with a tough choice: reschedule, cancel, or push forward.
The only way through it is go in and emerge.
She could not bring herself to make changes, so she pulled in her sound bath team, a Pilates instructor from the Langham Spa Resort, and volunteers to pull it off. We then learned "circle breathing," taking in long or short breaths of the same length without pause. Then we were asked to lie down with eyes covered under warm blankets, focusing only on the breath. After emerging, we journaled and did art with the supplies provided. Then, taking a break, it was time for lunch, followed by a Pilates session and a lengthy sound bath with Vivian the acupuncturist coming around and applying essential oils on us. She then made another round with a dab on the third eye and a drink of flower essence. Finally, she came around with tuning forks and attuned us on various chakra points. Windchimes, a massive gong, Tibetan singing bowls and crystal bowls, and bells all fluttered, bringing us to the final sharing circle, where we formed a pro-Altadena allegiance or association so everyone could stay in touch, share information, and invite each other on nature walks now and in the future. Stay tuned for the next event at Dharma Buddhist Meditation (Foothills Meetup)and Dharma Buddhist Meditation (Urban Meetup)or Dharma Buddhist Meditation (Valley Meetup).
The time for it has doubled so that it now runs from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm by changing the location to Throop Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, a UU church created by the same man who built Caltech, which was originally called Throop University, Pasadena.
In the wake of the recent Eaton Fire (one of many of the LA fires), the MINDAI Healing Community under the guidance of Dr. Kopera and her team of facilitators is offering a special one-day retreat at no cost to those affected by the disaster in the Eaton Fire community. Space is limited. Register at mindai.institute
(Big Fox News) Feb. 21, 2024: Today is National Breakup Day. (Is it because it's "2/21" -- "two, two, one" as in "couple, couple, single" as in "going, going, gone"? No, this is no May 4th, Star Wars Day, when we say, "May the 4th be with you." It's because it's a week after Valentine's Day and Boo was only sticking around to not be alone on the momentous triumph for Kama/Cupid (Mara/Eros) or to get a gift, dinner, and to avoid the humiliation of sitting alone at a restaurant on the biggest day of the year for daters, lovers, and soon to be heartbroken and pathetic hungry ghost humans).
It gives singles -- and even those who are attached in a committed relationship, marriage, or handfasting -- a day to reflect on past relationships and realize our own personal growth gained from those experiences.
Feb. 21, 2025: The five fastest ways to get broken up with are: (5) hogging the remote (taking too much ownership of the TV, the complaint of 15% of partners), (4) fake listening (failing to communicate because of distraction, ADHD, and not listening), (3) bad money management (splurging, gambling, no control of finances), (2) forgetting [Is it forgetting?], and (1) smoking (the worst thing a partner can do for 64% of people about to breakup with us). Note that neither stinking, snoring, nor cheating made the list. Lesbian Ally Johnson looked it up and presented it to horny hetero co-host Klein on KROQ this morning.
Nothing hurts worse than realizing the person you were in love with is an evil jerk
I'll never write a spiteful song about this guy. He's perfect. And we'll always be happy!
.
Let's stand by this star as the world burns.
*American author Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote an allegory, the climactic part of which reads: "by the blaze of the hell-kindled torches, the wretched man beheld his Faith, and the wife her husband, trembling before that unhallowed altar.
“Lo! there ye stand, my children,” said the figure, in a deep and solemn tone, almost sad, with its despairing awfulness, as if his once angelic [now demonic] nature could yet mourn for our miserable [human] race.
“Depending upon one another’s hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream! Now are ye undeceived! — Evil is the nature of [hu]mankind. Evil must be your only happiness. Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race!”
“Welcome!” repeated the fiend-worshippers, in one cry of despair and triumph. And there they stood, the only pair, as it seemed, who were yet hesitating on the verge of wickedness, in this dark world.
A basin was hollowed, naturally, in the rock. Did it contain water, reddened by the lurid light? or was it blood? or, perchance, a liquid flame? Herein did the Shape of Evil dip his hand, and prepare to lay the mark of baptism upon their foreheads, that they might be partakers of the mystery of sin, more conscious of the secret guilt of others, both in deed and thought, than they could now be of their own.
The husband cast one look at his pale wife, and Faith at him. What polluted wretches would the next glance show them to each other, shuddering alike at what they disclosed and what they saw!
“Faith! Faith!” cried the husband. “Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One!”
Whether Faith obeyed, he knew not. Hardly had he spoken, when he found himself amid calm night and solitude, listening to a roar of the wind, which died heavily away through the forest. He staggered against the rock, and felt it chill and damp, while a hanging twig, that had been all on fire, besprinkled his cheek with the coldest dew ("Young Goodman Brown" classic American literature, 1835 short story about 17th century Puritan New England).
If only the Buddha had had anything to say about suffering
On many occasions, being asked questions, the Buddha reminded people that he only really taught two things. Any guesses? Did he teach magic and koans? Yin and yang? Mojo and moxie? The Kama Sutra and The Art of Not Giving a F***?
No. Of course, it was suffering (dukkha) and the end of suffering (nirvana). Why would anyone "teach suffering"? The Buddha had to make clear what "suffering" means. He defined it very handily and broadly, a functional definition for the cure he is about to present. What is the use of being told there's a cure if we haven't realized what disease we have been suffering from? "Pain" is much broader than we've imagined, as it includes disappointment, frustration, loss, separation, and even the excruciating agony of heartbreak.
But that's so pessimistic!
No, it isn't. It's a setup for the presentation of the antidote, solution, cure -- the path of practice to bring ALL suffering to a final end. We never even imagined we could bring it to an end, hoping death would do that for us. Death does not do that at all! Why? There is rebirth, and the reason there is rebirth is because there is craving and karma as yet to bring about its many results of all our skillful and unskillful deeds.
ALL disappointment, unsatisfactoriness, and woe CAN be brought to an end, a final end for it to never arise again. That is the great optimism of Buddhism, the "good news" of the Buddha's message to a benighted world of humans and devas (light beings, shining ones).
Suffering (dukkha): Disappointment is one of the Three Universal Marks of Existence. Various sutras sum up how cognitive processes result in our aversion (resistance, hate, fear, revulsion) to unpleasant things and experiences as we are moved to crave, grasp at, and cling to pleasure (sukha), keeping us in saį¹sÄra, the Cycle of Death and Rebirth. It is at the root of the Five Aggregates clung to as "self": (re)birth is suffering, aging, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, mental pain, grief, and despair are s; suffering, asociation with the unloved, separation from the loved, NOT GETTING what one wants, getting what one does not want, all of this is "suffering." In brief, the Five Aggregates clung to as self (khandha, skandhas) are suffering.
The Four Noble Truths are Buddhism in a nutshell because they present the whole of the path of practice in four ennobling (enlightening) statements, like the assessment of a master physician:
Diagnosis: There is a disease (suffering)
Etiology: There is a cause of that disease (craving rooted in ignorance and associated with aversion)
Prognosis: There is a solution
Cure: There is way to the solution (magga, the path).
Early emphasis is on the importance of developing liberating insight (vipassana) to penetrate these fundamental truths about existence is key, and that insight is arrived at by the path of purification, the path to freedom, which is calm leading to samma samadhi, the meditative absorptions (jhanas), to reach a foundation of balanced stillness and intensification of mind able to penetrate them. It is not by thinking or study, belief or powerful faith. One needs to experience these truths until they are self-evident, not statements, not assessments, not doctrines.
The fourth truth is the general Ennobling Eightfold Path, but there is a more detailed summary enumerated in the 37 Requisites of Awakening/Enlightenment (bodhipakkhiya-dhamma).
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