600th Anniversary of Je Tsongkhapa's Parinirvana

Nagarjuna's "Precious Garland of the Middle Way" - Day 1

The first day of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's three day teaching on Nagarjuna's "Precious Garland of the Middle Way" at the request of a group from Taiwan at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on October 3, 2019. His Holiness speaks in Tibetan with an English translation available.

Black & Buddhist in America

Dzogchen Teachings Day 2 - 4 August 2019,1000hrs (GMT +8)

Why Did Buddha Touch the Earth? Robert A.F. Thurman On Buddhist Perspect...

The 100 Tertons

On the ocasion of 5000 page likes 🥰 we offer you:
The Hundred Tertons:

A Garland of Beryl. Brief Accounts of Profound Terma and the Siddhas Who Have Revealed It

The Hundred Tertons (གཏེར་སྟོན་བརྒྱ་རྩའི་རྣམ་ཐར།) is Jamgon Kongtrul’s history of the visionary men and women who have, again and again, renewed the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition of Padmasambhava. Kongtrul’s book includes biographies of Padmasambhava, his twenty-five disciples, Longchenpa, Jikme Lingpa, Chokgyur Lingpa, and many others. Considered a seminal work of Tibetan Buddhist history, The Hundred Tertons for the first time available in English translation was printed by KTD Publications in 2012 and now is available in electronic edition.

Foreword by KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE:

“The termas concealed in lakes and rock by Guru Lake Born Vajra, the second Buddha, and other great vidyadharas have been revealed by the hundred tertons, each of whom has taken intentional birth in order to reveal them at the appropriate time. This book, written by Jamgon Lodro Taye, gives their biographies. Thinking, “If it is translated into Western languages, it will genuinely inspire dharma practitioners,” I expressed this hope to the translator Lama Yeshe Gyamtso. He has gone to great effort in order to fulfill my hopes, for which I thank him. So that his effort not go to waste, I ask that you who practice dharma study this book, increase your faith in and devotion for these extraordinary tertöns and their profound terma, and bring your practice to its fruition.”

https://dharmaebooks.org/tertons/

Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche gave a guidance talk on non-violence peace based...

Why The Dalai Lama is Right

Why The Dalai Lama is Right

10th day of waxing moon auspiciousness (half the world knows this)

Tenth Day Benefits

Guru Rinpoche Prayers | Tibetan Masters › Dudjom Rinpoche

English | བོད་ཡིག

Guru Padmasambhava

Image courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources

Further Information:

• TBRC Author Profile (P736)

   

The Concise Benefits of the Festival of the Tenth Day

Composed by Jikdral Yeshe Dorje, Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche

Oṃ svasti!

Like a vase of excellence, a wish-granting tree, a wish-fulfilling jewel,
You grant us blessings, siddhis and everything we could yearn for.
The very thought of you wipes out all suffering, Orgyen Dorjechang.
In every one of our lives, may we find you as our refuge.

Now, the root tantra of Lama Gongdü, entitled The Pile of Lotus Stems,proclaims:

‘Naturally arising Padma’—this is what I am called,
The emanation of Buddha Amitābha’s wisdom mind,
The light of Ārya Avalokiteśvara’s enlightened speech,
The brother to all ḍākinīs, the king of warriors,
The master of the buddhas’ actions, past, present and future,
The incomparable great Kunzang Dorjechang.
In nirmāṇakāya forms I appear, endowed with powerful compassion,
Taming each according to their needs in a great wave of enlightened action,
And fulfilling the hopes of sentient beings, just as they desire.

Declarations such as these are secret vajra speech, the pledges roared by a fearless lion. For the embodiment of the wisdom of all the infinite buddhas combined, the one from whom every one of the maṇḍalas of the three roots emanates and re-absorbs, and, above all else, the vajra master whose kindness to disciples in the snowy land of Tibet is greater than that of even the Buddha himself, is known far and wide as Padmasambhava or Pema Jungné, the Lotus-born. From the viewpoint of ordinary short-sighted disciples, the main occasions when he displays the actions of his wondrous liberating life-story fall precisely on the tenth days of the waxing moon.

And so, when at sunrise on the tenth day of the sixth month, the monkey month, he is born within a lotus blossom on Lake Dhanakośa and turns the wheel of Dharma for the ḍākinīs of the island, he is known as Guru Tsokyé Dorje. [1]

On the tenth day of the twelfth month, the tiger month, when he is welcomed by Indrabhūti, the king of Oḍḍiyāna, who invests him as crown prince, and he takes Prabhāvatī as his princess and governs the kingdom according to the Dharma, he is known as Guru Pema Gyalpo.

On the tenth day of the first month, the hare month, when he abandons the kingship and the realm, practises yogic disciplines of union and liberation in the Chilly Grove charnel ground, and brings all the mātrikas and ḍākinīs within his power, he is known as Guru Śāntarakṣita.

On the tenth day of the second month, the dragon month, when he gives the appearance of taking ordination from Ānanda, studying with many learned scholars and realized teachers, mastering all the sūtras and tantras and perfecting infinite fields of knowledge, he is known as Guru Loden Choksé.

On the tenth day of the third month, the snake month, when the Zahor king tries to burn him alive, he arouses faith by magically transforming the pyre into a lake, establishing the entire kingdom in Dharma. By depending on Princess Mandāravā, he then arises in the vajra body, and is known as Guru Chimé Pemajungné.

On the tenth day of the fourth month, the horse month, when the demonic ministers of Oḍḍiyāna seek to burn him and his consort alive, he transforms the pyre onto a lake, miraculously shimmering in majesty, appearing on a lotus blossom, and inspiring faith in them all, and when he ripens and liberates the entire kingdom through the Kadü Chökyi Gyatsoteachings, he is known as Guru Padma Vajra Tsal.

On the tenth day of the fifth month, the sheep month, when the tīrthikas of southern India are causing great harm to the teaching of Buddha, through a vast display of magical power, he smashes them to dust along with their gods and guardians, and raises the victory banner of the teaching of the buddhas. Then he is known as Guru Sengé Dradok.

On the tenth day of the seventh month, the bird month, when the tīrthikas of Zangling fling him into the River Ganges, through his miraculous feat of performing a vajra dance in the sky and reversing the flow of the river, he inspires devotion and establishes the kingdom in the teaching of Buddha, and is known as Guru Khading Tsal.

On the tenth day of the eighth month, the dog month, when the tīrthikas give him poison, not only is he unharmed, turning the poison into nectar, but his radiance becomes even more majestic and dazzling than before. With such a miraculous feat, he arouses faith, and the tīrthikas along with all their entourages embrace the teaching of the buddhas. Then he is known as Guru Nyima Özer.

On the tenth day of the ninth month, the pig month, when at Yangleshö in Nepal, he manifests in the form of Vajrakumāra, binds under oath the gods and spirits of Nepal and Tibet, accomplishes the practice of the great glorious Yangdak, and attains the supreme vidyādhara stage of mahāmudrā, he is known as Guru Dorje Tötreng Tsal.

On the tenth day of the tenth month, the rat month, when he arrives in central Tibet, subjugates all the wild unruly gods and spirits of Tibet, raises the Dharmacakra of glorious Samyé, lights the lamp of the sacred Dharma of sūtras and tantras, and ripens and liberates the fortunate ones, the king and his subjects, he is known as Guru Padmasambhava.

On the tenth day of the eleventh month, the ox month, when he assumes a wrathful crazy form at Paro Taktsang in Mön and other places, he swears in all the earth lords of Tibet as guardians of the termas, over the whole of the land of snows on the borders and in the centre he conceals unimaginable terma troves of teachings, precious materials, sacred substances and so on, and he gives predictions and advice for safeguarding what will remain of the teachings by means of the termas, he is known as Guru Dorje Drolö.

On each one of these successive tenth day festivals, the specific benefits of observing the practice follow in this order:

In the sixth month, all kinds of illness, döns, and obstructors are pacified, and lifespan, merit and prosperity are increased.

In the twelfth month, happiness and sharpness of mind are accelerated and confidence increases, so that humans and non-humans are brought under your power.

In the first month, power, position and wealth will grow, and earth-lords and guardians obey you like servants.

In the second month, harm and damage caused by the lord of death and the eight classes of gods and spirits are pacified, discipline is purified, and unlimited wisdom blazes.

In the third month, you are untouched by harm from inauspicious conjunctions of planets and stars, and from enemies and thieves. At home and abroad, auspiciousness, peace and goodness increase everywhere.

In the fourth month, you will be immune to harm from earth-lords, nāgas and nyens, and dharmapālas and guardians will accomplish whatever activity you have entrusted to them.

In the fifth month, all harm from obstacles, enemies and döns is pacified, and the objects of your wishes are brought under your control.

In the seventh month, chronic ailments, weaknesses of the immune system and the like are purified, the body is healthy, the mind is happy, your entourage and wealth increase, and your aspirations are fulfilled.

In the eighth month, obstacles of the year, month, day and time, as well as evil signs and the like, are all pacified, and any decline in wangthangor lungta is restored.

In the ninth month, sickness and döns caused by the eight classes and jungpo demons, untimely death and fatal accidents all are pacified, serious curses are eliminated, you are freed from sorcery and psychic attacks, and your own body becomes vajra.

In the tenth month, wrongs and downfalls of the three vows such as disrespecting sacred objects, and breakages and impairments of samaya are all healed, and your mind stream is purified.

In the eleventh month, sudden misfortune, such as untimely death, will not occur, and as soon as we transfer from this life, we are born in the pure land of Lotus Light before Guru Rinpoche himself.

Not only are the benefits of observing the tenth day absolutely limitless, but for concentrating on the various practices of gathering merit and making prayers, these occasions are praised as extraordinarily special. As the Lama Sangdü explains:

On the tenth day of the monkey month in the monkey year
And on every tenth day
My emanations spread out to fill the world,
Granting siddhis ordinary and supreme.
If you spend this human life accomplishing the lama,
When your life-time reaches its end
You will melt into my, Orgyen’s, heart.

And Ratna Lingpa’s terma instruction says:

At sunrise on each tenth day of the month
If anyone remembers me,
They and I will be inseparable.
King of Tibet, ministers, disciples who are like my children,
On the tenth day of every month
To you I will come in person, and this I swear.
Padmasambhava is not one to deceive others.

And The Golden Mālā Instruction declares:

Especially on the tenth day festival, I, Orgyen,
Will come to Tibet, the land of snows, and be present everywhere,
Riding on the rays of sun and moon, and the droplets of moisture in the rainbow,
Clearing away the obstacles of my devoted children,
Granting the four empowerments just as you desire.
This is my solemn pledge; and Padma never deceives, this I swear.
If you are devoted to me, practise continually on every tenth day,
And by acting according to my instructions, the whole country will enjoy happiness and well-being.

Promises such as these he made not just once, and they are the true vajra words of his enlightened speech, which can never be false or deceptive. This is why all of his followers, from the bottom of our hearts, should trust in this completely, and we should make a vast effort to encourage and spread this celebration of happiness and bliss for ourselves and others, now and forever more.

This talk inspiring you to virtue is akin to a beautiful maiden;
As it explains with eloquence its excellent meaning, so she flaunts her elegant dress.
Towards those who yearn for liberation, let her step forward
And offer them a feast of every kind of happiness and bliss!

Padma’s messenger, who roams in every direction, Jikdral Yeshe Dorje, wrote this and may virtue and auspiciousness abound!

| Rigpa Translations, 2013

---

1. Recognizing the birth of Guru Rinpoche in the monkey month is according to the Lama Gongdü. Alternatively, the famous Phugpa system recognizes it in the fifth Tibetan month.  ↩

https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/dudjom-rinpoche/concise-benefits-of-festival-of-the-tenth-day

Day 1 - Yangti Visualisation & Meditation by the Gyalwang Drukpa (French...

A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom" by Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche in Spanish,

In this holy month of Saga Dawa, we are pleased to announce the publication of the book "A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom" by Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche in Spanish, a project emerged from the recommendation of Kyabjé Dungse Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche that finally has seen the light with the sponsorship of Nyingma Tersar Spain.

In this text Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche expounds with great eloquence and precision the fundamentals of the practice of Vajrayana Buddhism. In addition to explaining in depth the preliminary practices that lead the practitioner towards liberation, it shows that the realization of the teachings of the Great Perfection depends completely on these practices. Reason why this book constitutes an inescapable tool for those people who seek the total freedom of awakening.

We are very happy that the book has been published by Kairós publishing house that also distributes in South America. Therefore this jewel of Dharma will be not only beneficial for practitioners in Spain, but for all Spanish-speaking people.

From Nyingma Tersar we want to thank Tulku Pema Wangyal Rinpoche for his constant support and generosity. Whatever merit is derived from this work, we dedicate it to the long life of the precious Teachers, to the flourishing of the Dudjom Tersar lineage in Spain and the world, and to the swift rebirth of Kyabjé Dungse Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche



https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2430528880301093&set=a.352111288142873&type=3&theater

To Whom It May Concern,

This is to inform you that in keeping with the directions and wishes of His Holiness Dungsey Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche, we hereby would like to bring to your attention that we do not recognize Idilio Lizcano, also know as Lama Djampa Gyatso, as a lama anymore because of his breaking all the conditions expected of a Dudjom Tersar lama. We have never recognized him as a lineage holder, which he presents himself as. His Holiness Dungsey Shenphen Dawa Norbu Rinpoche had expressed many times to Idilio to not affiliate his or the Dudjom Tersar name to his own system.

After many attempts to rectify this situation and not having the expected results, I make this public announcement for the sake of the Dudjom Tersar. I personally request him to stop using the title of Lama under the Dudjom Tersar name. He is free to propagate his own system and method as long as the Dudjom Tersar is not associated with it.

Yours in the dharma,

Dungsey Namgay Dawa Rinpoche

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2371312289556086&set=a.352111288142873&type=3&theater

བཀྲ་ཤིས་བྷོཌ། Tashi Bodh

Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche gave a lecture on Essence of Buddhist Philosophy...

Always remember that how we react to every moment of our life will reinforce either our negative habits or positive habits. No matter how challenging life may be, each moment can be seen as either a problem or an opportunity. If we can understand this, we can start to bring our entire life to the path.

~ Chamtrul Rinpoche

Beyond Duality #NonDual #Singularity

Always remember that how we react to every moment of our life will reinforce either our negative habits or positive habits. No matter how challenging life may be, each moment can be seen as either a problem or an opportunity. If we can understand this, we can start to bring our entire life to the path.

~ Chamtrul Rinpoche

Be not heirs of material things. - Buddha

Samuel Long

February 10 at 5:49 PM

"I think the most virtuous and wholesome thing that we can do is to admire, to like, and to love this being called Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.”

-- Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
________________________________

Image - "Oldest Buddha Statue from Bodh Gaya, 383 CE"

"In the Dhammadayada Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya the Buddha says: “Monks, be heirs of my Dhamma, not heirs of material things.” Obviously the Buddha wanted his disciples to give more attention to his liberating teaching than to things like his bodily remains or personal possessions. Nonetheless, after his parinirvana his disciples felt deeply his absence and longed for some form of closeness to their beloved teacher. In time, this led to the cult of relics. If also led to a great interest in what the Buddha looked like. There are many references in the Tipitaka to the Buddha’s personal appearance. The Anguttara Nikaya says: “It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene the good Gotama’s presence is, how clear and radiant his complexion.” In the Sonadanda Sutta, he is described as being “fair in color, fine in presence, stately to behold”. Although these and other passages from the suttas make it clear that the Buddha was extraordinarily handsome, they are only descriptions. Devotees wanted more than that, they wanted to actually see the Buddha’s face. Consequently legend gradually developed that several very ancient and exceptionally beautiful Buddha statues were not just artists impressions of the Buddha but actual portraits of him. The most famous of these statues was at Bodh Gaya. The earliest Buddha statue found at Bodh Gaya and now in the Indian Museum in Calcutta dates from the year 383 CE. Although much damaged it is still an impressive piece of sculpture, the facial features in particular showing serenity yet determination. In about the first half of the 5th century, a statue was installed in the then newly built Mahabodhi Temple and within a very short time the belief arose that this statue was a portrait of the Buddha. It came to be known as the Image of the True Face or more commonly, as the Mahabodhi Image.

The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang who visited Bodh Gaya in the 7th century has left us this detailed description of the Mahabodhi Image. “He (the statue) was facing the east and as dignified in appearances as when alive. The throne on which he sits was 4 feet 2 inches high and 12 feet 5 inches broad. The figure was 11 feet 5 inches high, the two knees were 8 feet 8 inches apart and the two shoulders 6 feet 2 inches. The Buddha’s features are perfectly depicted and the loving expression of his face lifelike. The statue stands in a dark chamber in which lamps and torches are kept burning, but those who wish to see the sacred features cannot do so by coming into the chamber. In the morning they have to reflect the sunlight onto the statue by means of a great miror so that the details can be seen. Those who behold them find their religious emotions much increased”. The story concerning the statue’s origins as told to Xuanzang is as follows. The brahmin who built the Mahabodhi Temple wished to enshrine a statue in it but for a long time no suitable sculpture could be found. Eventually, a man appeared who said he could do the job. He asked that a pile of scented clay and a lighted lamp be placed in the temple chamber and the door be locked for six months. This was done but being impatient the brahmin opened the door four days before the required time. Inside was found a statue of surpassing beauty, perfect in every detail except for a small part of the breast which was unfinished. Some time later, a monk who spent the night in the chamber had a dream in which Maitreya appeared to him and said that it was he who had moulded the statue.

Six hundred years later the Tibetan pilgrim Dharmasvamin was told a story about the image’s origins reminiscent to this one but differing from it in details, indicating that the legends were constantly evolving. According to Dharmasvamin, three brothers fell into an argument about which religion was the better. On being told that Buddhism was inferior to others the youngest brother went crying to his mother. She called the three boys and told them to go to the Himalayas and ask Mahesvara for his opinion. Mahesvara of course confirmed the younger brother’s belief in the supremacy of Buddhism and all three brothers decided to become monks. The eldest built a monastery at Veluvana, the second built one at Isipatana and not to be outdone, the youngest brother decided to make a Buddha statue for the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. In a dream he was told to get material consisting of one part precious substances, one part fragrant substances and one part sandalwood paste, place it in the main shrine of the Temple and to keep the door closed for a particular period of time. This was done but he opened the door before the appointed time and inside found the statue complete except for the little toe on the right foot. The mother of the three boys who had known the Buddha when she was a young girl, declared that the statue was exactly like the Buddha except in four respects. Where as the Buddha’s usina was invisible, it could be seen on the statue, the Buddha moved but the statue did not, it could not teach the Dhamma and it did not radiate light.

In Buddhism Buddha statues are expressions of devotion of the artists who make them and aids to contemplation to those who worship them and therefore it is not correct to say that “Buddhists worship idols”. That this is not a new idea, a modern rationalization, is amply proved by the writings of Robert Knox who, in the 17th century, described the Kandyans attitude to Buddha statues thus: “As for these images, they say they do not own them to be gods themselves but only figures representing their Gods to their memories, and as such, they give them honor and worship.” Nonetheless, the Mahabodhi Image was sometimes worshipped as if it were the Buddha himself; food was offered to it and devotees would drape robes over it. The Chinese monk, Yijing who visited Bodh Gaya in the 7th century wrote: “Afterwards we came to the Mahabodhi Temple and worshipped the Image of the True Face of the Buddha. I took bolts of thick and fine silk which had been given to me by the monks and laymen of Shantung, made a robe to it the size of the Tathagata and myself offered it to the image. Many myriads of small canopies which were entrusted to me by the Vinaya master Huien of Pu I offered on his behalf. The meditation master teacher An Tao of Ts’ao asked me to worship the Image and I did this in his name. Then I prostrated myself completely on the ground with my mind undivided, sincere and respectful. Firstly, I wished that China might experience the four benefits and that those benefits might prevail throughout the whole universe. Then I expressed the desire to be reborn under the Naga tree so that as to meet Maitriya and practice the true Dhamma and realise the knowledge not subject to rebirth.”

A Chinese inscription found to the north of the Temple written by the monk Ko Yun in 1022 says of the image: “The great hero Maitreya out of compassion for all beings left them the real likeness — The image is respected by the heterodox, cherished by the discerning and although 2000 years old its face remains new.” The inscription also tells us that Ko Yun and his companions draped the Image with a robe made of silk that they had bought with them all the way from China for the purpose. This practice of putting robes on the statue in the main shrine of the Mahabodhi Temple continues even today. As time went by the image was even believed to be able to speak perhaps such a belief should not surprise us too much. Many people in the theistic religions believe that their god talks to them in dreams or in prayer. In fact, one of the last references we have to the Mahabodhi Image mentions it speaking. In 1300, the Tibetan Tantric adept Man-luns-po travelled to Bodh Gaya and made a vow before the Mahabodhi Image to neither eat or drink until it spoke to him. After waiting eighteen days he got his wish when the statue said: “Oh son of noble family! Proceed to Mount Potala and there practice in the manner of Bodhisatvas in the presence of Avaloktesvara.” The details of Man-luns-po’s subsequent journey suggest that that he did actually go to the sacred mountain in Kerala.

Being as it were the most lifelike symbol of the Buddha, the Mahabodhi Image attracted the attention of devoted Buddhists but also those who hated and wanted to destroy Buddhism. The most notorious of these was the fanatical Saivite Bengali king Sasanka. Early in the 7th century, his minions attacked Bodh Gaya with the intention of destroying the Mahabodhi Image. Xuanzang relates what happened. “King Sasanka wished to destroy this image but having seen its loving expression his mind had no rest or determination and he returned homeward with his retinue. On this way he said to one of his officers, ‘We must remove the statue of the Buddha and replace it with one of Mahesvara.’ The officer having received this order was moved with fear and sighing said, ‘If destroy the statue of the Buddha I will reap misfortune for many kalpas. If on the other hand I disobey the king he will kill me and my family. I am doomed whether I obey or not. What then shall I do?’ On this, he called to his presence a man who was a Buddhist to help him and sent him to build across the chamber and in front of the Buddha statue a wall of brick. Out of a feeling of shame at the darkness placed a burning lamp in with the statue and then on the wall drew the figure of Mahesvara. The work being finished he reported it to the king who was suddenly seized with terror. His body became covered with sores, his flesh rotted off and after a while he died. Then the officer quickly ordered the wall to be pulled down and although several days had elapsed the lamp was found to be still burning.”

In the 13th century Bodh Gaya came under attack again, this time by Muslim invaders, and the monks used a similar strategy to save the Mahabodhi Image. Dharmasvamin tells us: “They blocked up the door in front of the Mahabodhi Image with bricks and plastered it, near it they places another image as a substitute. On its surface they drew an image of Mahesvara to protect it from the non-Buddhists.” Dharmasvamin was also told that formerly the Mahabodhi Image had two beautiful gems in its eyes that emitted a light so bright that it was possible to read by it. During a lightning raid a little before his visit a soldier had put a ladder against the image and prised the eyes out. As he was climbing down he slipped and fell, dropping the gems and smashing them, after which their light grew dim. The Tibetan historian Taranatha tells us a legend he heard about the origins of these gems. He relates that when the man who had built the Mahabodhi Temple had placed the statue in it, he happened to find a wondrous self-illuminating gem. When he expressed regret that he had nor not found the gem earlier two holes a suddenly appeared in the statue’s eyes. As he prepared to cut the gem in to two, so he could put it in the statue’s sockets, a second gem miraculously appeared.

The Mahabodhi Image had a considerable influence on art in India other parts of Asia through copies of it which were taken to various Buddhist countries. Baladitya’s huge temple at Nalanda had a life size copy of the statue in as did the main temple at Vikramasila. When the Chinese pilgrim Yijing returned home in 698 he brought with him a picture of the statue and presented it to the Fo Shou Chi Monastery. The Chinese envoy Wang Hiuen Ts’e made four separate trips to India, visiting Bodh Gaya during two of them. He returned from his last trip with a model of the Mahabodhi Image which he deposited in the Imperial Palace. He also found himself flooded with requests from people in the capital for copies of the statue. The Tibetan monks Chag Gar-com (1153-1216) is said to have made a copy of the statue and enshrined it in a temple especially built for the purpose. He first saw the original during a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya where each day he would buy flowers in the market and strew over the statue. A Buddha statue the same dimensions as the image was installed in the great stupa at Gyantse in Tibet in 1421. The measurements for this copy were obtained from Sariputra, the last abbot of Bodh Gaya, when he passed through Tibet on his way to China in 1413. This copy can still be seen in the topmost shrine on the east side of the great stupa of Gyantse.

In the 19th century, a Buddha statue in the earth witnessing gesture was found near the Sri Mahabodhi in Anuradhapura, the only such statue from ancient Sri Lanka. Although I have no proof I suspect that this also was a copy of the Mahabodhi Image. Nor was sculpture the only art form influenced by this famous statue. The origin of one ancient India style of painting pictures of the Buddha was traced back to an impression made by smearing the Mahabodhi Image with yellow sandalwood paste and pressing a cotton cloth on it. When the Tibetan monk Dharmasvamin was in Bodh Gaya in 1234 he said the Mahabodhi Image was still attracting devotees. He wrote of it: “One is never satiated to behold such an image and has no desire to go and behold another. Even people of little faith when standing in front of the image feel it impossible not to shed tears.” The last reference to the Mahabodhi Image is an inscription from about the 15th century carved on a stone railing around the Mahabodhi Temple. It was written by a Buddhist pilgrim from “the mountainous country of Parvata” named Jinadasa and specifically mentions that he had come all the way from his home to gaze at the Mahabodhi Image.

After that the statue was lost to the world, perhaps it was destroyed by Islamic iconoclasts although there is no record of this. For nearly 500 years the asana inside the Mahabodhi Temple stood empty. In 1877, the embassy sent by the king of Burma to repair the Mahabodhi Temple installed a statue inside it but this was a rather unattractive image made out of old bricks and plaster. Then in 1880, Joseph Beglar was commissioned by the Indian government to repair the Temple. His unofficial adviser in this task was the great archaeologist Alexander Cunningham. After work on the Temple was finished the two men felt that there was still something missing, a fitting statue in its main shrine. Numerous Buddha statues were lying all around Bodh Gaya but on examination they were all found to be unsuitable, either too small, damaged or of Bodhisattvas rather than of the Buddha himself. Finally a statue was located in a small shrine in the Mahant’s residence, the Hindu monk who laid claim to own Bodh Gaya village and its temple. The statue was undamaged, with fine feature and just the right size, neither too small so as to look insignificant in the shrine or too large so as to make it appear cluttered. The fragmentary inscription on the base of this statue says that it was commissioned by the Chhindha Purnabhadra in about the 12th century. When Cunnimgham asked the Mahant if he could have the statue he refused. But he was a resourceful man and he finally was able to pry it from the Mahants grip. What promises, flattery or threats he used we do not know. Today this statue sits in the Mahabodhi Temple, its serene and being gaze looking down on those who come from all over the world to worship it."

-- "Bhante Shravasti Dhammika was born in Australia in 1951 and converted to Buddhism at the age of eighteen. In 1973 he went to Thailand with the intention of becoming a monk then to Laos, Burma and finally to India.

For the next three years, he traveled around India learning yoga and meditation, and finally ordaining as a monk under Venerable Matiwella Sangharatna, the last disciple of Anagarika Dharmapala.

In 1976 he went to Sri Lanka where he studied Pali at Sri Lanka Vidyalaya, and later became a co-founder and teacher of Nilambe Meditation Centre in Kandy. Since then, he has spent most of his time in Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Bhante Dhammika had written over 25 books and scores of articles on Buddhism and related subjects and his most popular book Good Question Good Answer has been translated into 36 languages.

He is also well-known for his public talks and represented Theravada Buddhism at the European Buddhist Millennium Conference in Berlin in 2000.

Apart from Buddhist philosophy and meditation, he has a deep interest in the historical topography of Buddhism and the tradition of pilgrimage and has travelled widely in India and other Buddhist lands.

His others interests include Indian history, art and botany. Currently, Bhante Dhammika is the spiritual advisor to The Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society in Singapore."

https://www.bhantedhammika.net

Homeless Jesus sculpture at Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral

Homeless Jesus sculpture at Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral

"The bronze sculpture depicts a park bench with a faceless cloaked figure lying on it. Passers by realize that the sculpture depicts Jesus only when they notice the holes in the feet. The sculpture is located in front of the cathedral in full view of the public.

Speaking during the short service in the cathedral before the unveiling, J...ackson said that the people of Dublin were both honored and chastened to receive the Homeless Jesus sculpture. Honored, he said, because of the beauty of the craftsmanship and the trust expressed in the location of Christ Church Cathedral, and chastened because of the “scandalous fact that the relentlessness of homelessness and the statistics of individual homeless people in Dublin in 2015 still merit such a sculpture as a reminder and as a memorial.”

The archbishop said that Scripture spoke of Jesus saying: “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” The sculpture gives everyone who passes an opportunity to reflect on this facet of the narrative of Christianity, the birth, crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he said.

“Throughout the world of today human beings are subjected to indignity, homelessness, trafficking and death simply for being alive and getting under the ideological skin of their oppressors,” Jackson said. “Every day for them is a Good Friday. They wait for the day of resurrection in hope and in fear, in trust and in betrayal, in darkness and in light. Homeless people draw us into their world – and rightly; we dare not abandon them here or abroad. The 21st century is not yet an improvement on the 20th century. The Homeless Jesus is a reminder of their plight and terror, whatever their nationality or creed – and an icon of solidarity with them. Evil and exclusion make few distinctions of subtlety as they sweep forward in giddy destructiveness.”

Martin said that for Christians, the homeless were not just statistics. Their plight is our plight, he said, adding that the image of the Homeless Jesus reminds us of the demands of belief in Jesus Christ. He said that the sculpture was not just a normal statue; it was not created to be looked at and admired, it was an image which should draw the viewer’s glance to the many park benches, doorways and sheltered corners where Jesus lay homeless every day and every night.

Casts of the much-talked-about Homeless Jesus sculpture have been installed in cities in North America, Canada and Europe. The Homeless Jesus first received international attention in early 2014 when a sculpture was installed outside St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in downtown Davidson, North Carolina.

Following a competition among prospective Dublin sites, Christ Church Cathedral was chosen to be the location by sculptor Schmalz."

Manifesto to save human thinking

Saraha the wandering Yogi via https://bit.ly/2RU9Gei

Saraha the wandering Yogi via https://bit.ly/2RU9Gei

Saraha is known for being a wandering yogi who lived around 8th century and later became one of the 84 Great Siddhas of India.

Saraha’s teacher and consort is often called the Radish Curry Girl or the Radish Curry Dakini. Saraha met her when she was just 15 years old and it is likely she had been working as a servant. The story that provides this accomplished dakini with the epithet Radish Curry Girl also has several versions. One of the more well known ones states that one day Saraha asked this young woman to make him a radish curry. While she was doing this, Saraha fell into meditation. His meditative absorption was so complete that he remained in samadhi for twelve years.

When he emerged from mediation, twelve long years later, he asked the young woman if he could have some of the radish curry. Her direct replies to him are the teachings. She said: “You sit in samadhi for twelve years and the first thing you ask for is radish curry?”

Saraha noted her wisdom and realized his own faults in meditative practice. He decided that the only way for him to make any progress on the spiritual path would be to move into an isolated mountain location, away from all distractions.

Again, the Radish Curry Dakini offered pith instructions to Saraha: “If you awaken from samadhi with an undiminished desire for radish curry, what do you think the isolation of the mountains will do for you? The purest solitude,” she counseled, “is one that allows you to escape from the preconceptions and prejudices, from the labels and concepts of a narrow, inflexible mind.”

Saraha was wise enough to listen carefully to the wisdom of this dakini in front of him, realizing that she was indeed not just his consort but also his teacher. From that moment forward, his meditative practices changed and he eventually attained the supreme realization of mahamudra. At the time of his death, both Saraha and his consort ascended to Dakini Pure Lands.

Source: Keith Dowman, Masters of Enchantment: The Lives and Legends of the Mahasiddhas.

Image of Saraha by Ben Christian.

Local Weather Briefing (Private Pilot Lesson 1f)

Thukdham

This morning (6th Feb. 2019) a Bonpo master Tise Gyalwa Rinpoche passed into Nirvana. Tise Rinpoche entered the state of eternal peace in "Thukdham" meditative state. Rinpoche was the head Lama of Pongen Bonpo monastery in Derge, Kham, Tibet.
----- Choekhortshang Rinpoche
ཁམས་ཕྱོགས་སྡེ་དགེ་དཔོན་རྒན་དགོན་པའི་བླ་མ་ཏི་སེ་རྒྱལ་བ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་དེ་རིང་(༦།༢།༢༠༡༩)ཞོགས་པར་རང་དགོན་གྱི་བླ་བྲང་ཉི་ཟེར་འབར་བའི་ཕོ་བྲང་དུ་ཐུགས་དམ་གཡོ་བ་མེད་པའི་ངང་ནས་དགོངས་པ་བོན་དབྱིངས་སུ་བསྡུས་པའི་ཡིད་སྐྱོ་བའི་གནས་ཚུལ་དུ་མཆིས།

Post from Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/GreatBeingsoftheWorld/photos/a.536131166549871/1176300665866248/?type=3&theater

White Dzambala Empowerment by H.E. Garchen Rinpoche (Singapore 2015)

2019 Losar Greeting from Rinpoche

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche on poisoning of the Dharma via Cultural Appropriation

https://www.facebook.com/158696727489150/posts/2982233201802141/?app=fbl

Concluding Remarks:

In these postings, all I’ve wanted to do is to ask people to be aware of the way such cultural domination can entirely change meanings on very important issues, including the way the Buddhadharma itself is taught and transmitted.
Very often, proselytization and even cultural genocide don’t happen with guns and swords. And so, from a purely Buddhist perspective, I invite readers to observe and examine modern-day threats to the Buddhadharma that can literally destroy these precious teachings from the inside.

Much is made of the so-called Chinese communist destruction of Buddhism. Yet today, China still has more than half the world’s population of Buddhists, and some of the largest thriving Mahayana and Tibetan monasteries as well as learning and meditation centres are flourishing there.

World War II and the consequent penetration of western values may have contributed to the decline and dire state of Buddhism in Eastern countries. The once-great 57-acre Daitoko-ji monastic complex in Kyoto, Japan, founded in the 14th century, today has fewer than a hundred monks remaining. And many will be shocked to hear that, seen from a different angle than that commonly presented, Americans may today be damaging the dharma more seriously than the Chinese did during the entire Cultural Revolution.

From a purely Buddhist point of view, it really doesn’t matter whether cultural genocide and the destruction of Buddhism happen aggressively with guns and knives or passively through imposition of outside values. If it diminishes the Buddhadharma, it’s just as destructive either way.

Cultural domination can happen in the subtlest of ways, even through invisible philological shifts that change the meaning of key words. For instance, one critic earlier praised western efforts to discard the “superstitions” rife in eastern Buddhism. If he was using the word “superstition” as defined in English dictionaries, then he meant it as an “excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings.”

But the Tibetan word for superstition is namtok, which refers to all discursive and conceptual thought. For a true Buddhist philosopher, this means that everything – from meditation, karma, and reincarnation to mantras, prayers, and even the idea of nirvana – is namtok or superstition. How the word is used, and through which cultural lens, therefore directly affects how the dharma is transmitted.

Similarly, I noted earlier that when western notions of good and bad, with their moralistic and theistic connotations, are used to talk of “good karma” and “bad karma”, then the teaching itself becomes seriously distorted.

It may not be “popular” to talk of such western threats to the dharma, and I know that many see my postings on this as too negative. But being positive about everything, living in La La Land, and comfortably going along with and accommodating all popular and prevailing cultural assumptions, isn’t necessarily helpful.

Buddhism should never limit itself to a “feel good” path. In fact, a key sign of genuine dharma is deconstructing samsaric entanglement and values. And in that regard, neither eastern nor western values are sacrosanct, so it is not sacrilegious to be critical of all such unexamined prejudices and cultural preconceptions.

At the same time, being critical doesn’t mean disrespecting other beliefs such as the Abrahamic faiths I mentioned. My only concern is for Buddhism to keep its own authenticity. I’m just saying that cricket is cricket and golf is golf: Even though they both use a stick to whack a ball, they’re fundamentally different games.

The same is true for science. I fully appreciate scientific efforts to explore and dig into reality and am delighted if someone gets inspired by Buddhism due to its affinity for logic and analysis. Again, I’m only saying that Buddhism has its own ground and doesn’t have to seek acceptance from or be approved, justified and authenticated by science.

All that said, I do personally feel badly for those who have been emotionally upset and hurt by my words and how I presented them. But, in order to bring attention to these hidden issues, I felt I had no choice but to be blunt and forthright, even at the risk of causing offence.

If what I did doesn’t help the dharma, then I truly regret wasting the precious time of those who read this and wasting my own time too. But I hope this discussion may at least plant the seeds of some questions and thoughts that people might bring into their discussions to sharpen their approach, thinking and interpretation.

In some ways I feel that is already happening. For instance, I was so encouraged to browse through the back and forth between Gravel Muncher, John Marshall and Kim Lodrö Dawa after my Question 2 posting.

In the end, my only wish is for the authentic Buddhadharma to grow globally. So from that perspective I don’t think in terms of east and west at all. In fact, as I indicated earlier, I couldn’t care less if a Japanese person forsakes his centuries-old noh theatre tradition and dedicates his life wholeheartedly to studying and singing centuries-old Italian operas. In any case, easterners have already adopted western customs, so it’s too late to care about that anyway. But my own greatest concern is the Buddhist teachings, which should not be hijacked either by archaic eastern traditions and culture or by the most “modern” western values and fads.

Finally, I also want to thank those who asked me to keep quiet and just do retreat and dharma practice. I appreciate your reminder and will definitely take it to heart.

95 Comments

141 Shares

Anyone, who wholeheartedly desires to eliminate as completely as possible all suffering of all beings, as he or she wishes to eliminate the suffering in his own spiritual continuum, is the one with the highest motivation. ⭐️-Atisha Sutra A lamp for the path to enlightenment

Anyone, who wholeheartedly desires to eliminate as completely as possible all suffering of all beings, as he or she wishes to eliminate the suffering in his own spiritual continuum, is the one with the highest motivation.

⭐️-Atisha Sutra
A lamp for the path to enlightenment