Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Via Lion's Roar / Buddhist Visualization Practice Is Pure, Clear, and Vibrant
Art by Lama Sherab Gyatso.
Visualization practice sometimes involves traditional symbolism that Westerners have trouble relating to, says Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. He shows us how we can make the most of this powerful method for transforming perception.
The technique of visualization is employed throughout the Vajrayana practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Its use of our imagination makes it quite different from other meditations, such as shamatha, or calm abiding. Imagination also plays a major part in our deluded experience of life. Everything we encounter and perceive in our daily life is a product of our imagination, but because we believe in the illusions we create, they become such deeply rooted mental habits that we completely forget they are little more than fantasy. The imagination is therefore one of our most powerful tools, and working with it by changing the ways we look at our world is what we call the practice of visualization.One small problem for beginners is that the English word visualization can be misleading. Most people think visualization means focusing on an image and then holding it in their mind’s eye. But physical appearance is only one element of visualization practice, and by no means the whole story.
Peoples’ attitudes and understanding change according to their situations and education. Until very recently, Buddhist masters brought up in Tibet would have looked on salad and green vegetables as animal fodder and would never have willingly eaten it themselves. Now that Tibetans have become familiar with food outside of Tibet, their attitudes have changed, and it is precisely this kind of shift in our perception that we work with in our visualization, which is also called “creation meditation.”
Another example of the way we adapt our attitudes to situations can be found on the World Wide Web. Most erotic pictures are usually quite small—certainly nowhere near life-size. Logically, it is hard to believe that such tiny images could cause living, breathing human beings to become aroused, but they do. Our habits are so entrenched that, having programmed ourselves to respond to a specific kind of image, it will consistently have the power to turn us on or make us angry, sad, or even depressed, even when we see it on a tiny YouTube screen. To a certain extent, this is how visualization works, and neither size nor so-called realism have anything to do with it.
Were you to tell a worldly friend that everything we see around us—the houses, cars, trees, and shops—does not truly exist as we believe we see it, he would most likely think you had finally lost it.
Yet, according to Vajrayana theory, your perception of this world is unique; it is not seen or experienced in the same way by anyone else because what you see does not exist externally. Vajrayana students who were born and brought up in the modern world often have difficulties with visualization practice. Part of the problem, I think, is that Tibetan teachers like myself assume all sentient beings process things the same way Tibetans do. We teach you to picture the Buddha the way he is traditionally depicted in Tibet, adorned with ornaments that are valued by Tibetans and convey specific meanings to them. But becoming a perfect Tibetan iconographer is not the point of visualization practice.
The main purpose of visualization practice is to purify our ordinary, impure perception of the phenomenal world by developing “pure perception.” Unfortunately, though, pure perception is yet another notion that tends to be misunderstood. Students often try to re-create a photographic image of a Tibetan painting in their mind, with two-dimensional deities who never blink, surrounded by clouds frozen in space, and with consorts who look like grown-up babies. Practicing this erroneous version of visualization instills in you a far worse form of perception than the one you were born with, and in the process the whole point of pure perception is destroyed.
What, then, is really meant by the terms pure perception and impure perception? “Impure” does not mean that the object of our visualization is covered with dirt or is polluted or defiled in any way; the impurity isn’t “out there.” “Impure,” in this context, means that the problem is “in here”—that is, we look at the world through emotional filters that we label “desire,” “jealousy,” “pride,” “ignorance,” and “aggression.” Everything we perceive is colored by myriad variations of these five emotions. For example, imagine you go to a party, and as you glance at someone you find attractive, your passion filter quickly clicks into place and you immediately label that person “desirable.” If someone else gets in the way, your aggression filter is activated and you label this other person “hideous.” As the evening wears on, other people provoke your insecurities, causing you to sit in judgment of them, make comparisons, defend your choices, and bolster your personal pride by denigrating others—all of which is triggered by the filter of profound ignorance. And the list goes on and on.
These different perceptions arise in our very own mind and are then filtered through our emotions. In fact, everything we experience, big and small, will always lead to disappointment because we perpetually forget that everything we perceive is a product of our own mind. Instead, we fixate on perceptions “out there” that we are convinced truly exist. This dynamic is what we work with in the Vajrayana practice of visualization.
It’s all a matter of training the mind. One of the many methods offered within the three yanas of the Mahayana teachings is that of the Shravakayana, the “path of the listener.” In the Shravakayana, the student relinquishes clinging to “self” by disciplining body and speech using particular methods—for example, shaving the head, begging for alms, wearing saffron-colored robes, and refraining from worldly activities like getting married or having sex. Training the mind in the Bodhisattvayana is also about practicing discipline in body and speech as well as meditating on compassion, arousing bodhichitta, and so on. Lastly, the Vajrayana not only trains the mind through discipline and meditation on compassion, but it also offers methods for transforming our impure perception into pure perception.
Ani Choying Drolma - Great Compassion Mantra.mp4
Publicado em 8 de mar de 2012
Ani Choying Drolma (born June 4, 1971, in Kathmandu, Nepal), also known as Choying Drolma and Ani Choying (Ani, "nun", is an honorific), is a Buddhist nun and musician from the Nagi Gompa nunnery in Nepal. She is known in Nepal and throughout the world for bringing many Tibetan Buddhist chants and feast songs to mainstream audiences.
She has a powerful and excellent vocal voice.
Namo Ratna Trayāya
Namah Ārya Jñāna
Sāgara Vairocana
Vyūhai Răjāya Thathāgatāya
Arahate Samyak Sambuddhaya
Namo Sarva Tathagatebyeh Arahatebyeh Samyasambuddhe Byeh Namo Arya Avalokite
Svarāya Boddisattvāya
Mahasattvāya Mahākārunikāya, Tadyathā Om Dhara Dhara Dhiri Dhiri Dhuru Dhuru
Ite Vatte chale chale
Phra chale Phra Chale
Kusume kusume Vare Ili Mili Citijvola māpanāye Svohā
Following are the Translations in English:
She has a powerful and excellent vocal voice.
Namo Ratna Trayāya
Namah Ārya Jñāna
Sāgara Vairocana
Vyūhai Răjāya Thathāgatāya
Arahate Samyak Sambuddhaya
Namo Sarva Tathagatebyeh Arahatebyeh Samyasambuddhe Byeh Namo Arya Avalokite
Svarāya Boddisattvāya
Mahasattvāya Mahākārunikāya, Tadyathā Om Dhara Dhara Dhiri Dhiri Dhuru Dhuru
Ite Vatte chale chale
Phra chale Phra Chale
Kusume kusume Vare Ili Mili Citijvola māpanāye Svohā
Following are the Translations in English:
Benefits in Reciting and Holding The Great Compassion Mantra
Excerpts from The Dharani Sutra
English translation by the Buddhist Text Translation Society, Dharma Realm Buddhist University, USA
If humans and gods recite and hold the phrases of the Great Compassion Mantra, then when they approach the end of life, all the Buddhas of the ten directions will come to take them by the hand to rebirth in whatever Buddha land they wish, according to their desire.
People and gods who recite and hold the Great Compassion Mantra will obtain fifteen kinds of good birth and will not suffer fifteen kinds of bad death. Those who recite and hold the spiritual Mantra of Great Compassion will not suffer any of these fifteen kinds of bad death and will obtain the following fifteen kinds of good birth:
1. Their place of birth will always have a good king
2. They will always be born in a good country
3. They will always be born at a good time
4. They will always meet good friends
5. The organs of their body will always be complete
6. Their heart will be pure and full in the way
7. They will not violate the prohibitive precepts
8. Their family will be kind and harmonious
9. They will always have the necessary wealth and goods in abundance
10. They will always obtain the respect and help of others
11. Their richness will not be plundered
12. They will obtain everything they seek
13. Dragons, gods, and good spirits will always protect them
14. In the place where they are born they will see the Buddha and hear the Dharma
15. They will awaken to the profound meaning of that Proper Dharma which they hear.
List of avoidance of bad death :-
1. They will neither die of starvation or privation
2. They will not die from having been yoked, imprisoned, caned or otherwise beaten
3. They will not die at the hands of hostile enemies
4. They will not be killed in military battle
5. They will not be killed by tigers, wolves, or other evil beasts
6. They will not die from the venom of poisonous snakes, black serpents, or scorpions
7. They will not drown or be burned to death
8. They will not be poisoned to death
9. They will not die as a result of sorcery
10. They will not die of madness or insanity
11. They will not be killed by landslides or falling trees
12. They will not die of nightmares sent by evil people
13. They will not be killed by deviant spirits or evil ghosts
14. They will not die of evil illnesses which bind the body
15. They will not commit suicide
If you would like to know more about BUDDHISM, this website would be very useful:
http://www.cttbusa.org
1. Their place of birth will always have a good king
2. They will always be born in a good country
3. They will always be born at a good time
4. They will always meet good friends
5. The organs of their body will always be complete
6. Their heart will be pure and full in the way
7. They will not violate the prohibitive precepts
8. Their family will be kind and harmonious
9. They will always have the necessary wealth and goods in abundance
10. They will always obtain the respect and help of others
11. Their richness will not be plundered
12. They will obtain everything they seek
13. Dragons, gods, and good spirits will always protect them
14. In the place where they are born they will see the Buddha and hear the Dharma
15. They will awaken to the profound meaning of that Proper Dharma which they hear.
List of avoidance of bad death :-
1. They will neither die of starvation or privation
2. They will not die from having been yoked, imprisoned, caned or otherwise beaten
3. They will not die at the hands of hostile enemies
4. They will not be killed in military battle
5. They will not be killed by tigers, wolves, or other evil beasts
6. They will not die from the venom of poisonous snakes, black serpents, or scorpions
7. They will not drown or be burned to death
8. They will not be poisoned to death
9. They will not die as a result of sorcery
10. They will not die of madness or insanity
11. They will not be killed by landslides or falling trees
12. They will not die of nightmares sent by evil people
13. They will not be killed by deviant spirits or evil ghosts
14. They will not die of evil illnesses which bind the body
15. They will not commit suicide
If you would like to know more about BUDDHISM, this website would be very useful:
http://www.cttbusa.org
Via Daily Dharma / “Motivation Is Never Pure”
People come to practice for all kinds of reasons. In the end it doesn’t matter what their motivation is, as long as they stick with it. Eventually, they’ll get there.
—Lewis Richmond, “Aging as a Spiritual Practice”
—Lewis Richmond, “Aging as a Spiritual Practice”
Monday, May 8, 2017
Via Daily Dharma / Rethinking Anger
Anger
itself can be a positive force: getting angry that you have just lost
your job may give you the energy and sheer drive to pursue more fitting
work. Likewise, getting angry about the abuse you are suffering in a
relationship will help fuel you to form healthy boundaries, providing
much of the motivation and strength needed to either improve the
relationship or leave it.
—Robert Augustus Masters, “From Spiritual Bypassing”
—Robert Augustus Masters, “From Spiritual Bypassing”
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Via Ram Dass
From
a Hindu perspective, you are born with what you need to deal with, and
if you just try and push it away, whatever it is, it’s got you.
Via Daily Dharma / Practicing Skillful Activism
We
are more skillful and more sustainable in our activism when we’re not
unconsciously playing out emotional dramas on a public stage, or
unconsciously looking for emotional fulfillment rather than acting
skillfully for the benefit of others.
—Jay Michaelson, “Why You Should Invite President Trump Into Your Meditation Practice”
—Jay Michaelson, “Why You Should Invite President Trump Into Your Meditation Practice”
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Via Daily Dharma / Love Grows with Gratitude
Love
is rooted in gratitude, it’s rooted in appreciation, and it’s rooted in
not forgetting all of the things that are done for you by others every
single day.
"O amor está enraizado na gratidão, está enraizado em apreço, e está enraizado em não esquecer todas as coisas que são feitas por você pelos outros, todos os dias."
"O amor está enraizado na gratidão, está enraizado em apreço, e está enraizado em não esquecer todas as coisas que são feitas por você pelos outros, todos os dias."
—Dawa Tarchin Phillips, “What to Do When You Don’t Know What’s Next”
Friday, May 5, 2017
Via Daily Dharma / Meeting “Me” on the Meditation Cushion
Even
when awareness appears to be lost because, once again, the “me” has
assumed center stage, there is awareness of that. Then awareness
remembers itself and knows itself as the presence of everything that
arises.
—Joel Agee, “Not Found, Not Lost”
—Joel Agee, “Not Found, Not Lost”
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Via Daily Dharma / Finding Religion
[The]
drive for future accomplishment just builds up the habit of always
striving for something other than what we have right here and now. The
result is that even when we reach our goal, we’re still being driven by
those habits to look for the next thing.
—Friedrich Schleiermacher quoted in Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s “Romancing the Buddha”
—Friedrich Schleiermacher quoted in Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s “Romancing the Buddha”
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Via Ram Dass
If
I go into the place in myself that is love, and you go into the place
in yourself that is love, we are together in love. Then you and I are
truly in love, the state of being love. That’s the entrance to Oneness.
That’s the space I entered when I met my guru.
Via Daily Dharma / How to Deal with Change
Practice
changes our relationship to what would otherwise be upsetting. Facing
change, we see how futile and painful it is to try to hold on to what is
passing—which is everything.
—Noelle Oxenhandler, "Go Bang Your Head Against the Wall"
—Noelle Oxenhandler, "Go Bang Your Head Against the Wall"
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Via Lions Roar: One Simple Practice That Changes Everything
The
bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara embodies universal compassion and the
intention to save all sentient beings from suffering. Photo courtesy of
the Norton Simon Art Foundation, from the estate of Jennifer Jones
Simon.
I’ll never forget my astonishment when I heard the Tibetan teacher Nyshul Khen Rinpoche say, “Everything hangs on intention.” I thought, “Of course! Nothing happens without intention. It’s so crucial!”
Wise intention is one of the steps of the Buddha’s eightfold path, and it might be the most important one.
Wise intention is what keeps our lives heading in the right direction. If I want to drive north to Seattle from my home in the Bay Area, I need to keep checking that the sun is setting on my left to be sure I’m heading in the right direction. The practice of wise intention is like checking the sun: it’s a way to make sure our actions and our lives are going in the direction we want.
Wise intention is the cornerstone of wise effort, of actions that are wholesome and positive. The instructions for wise effort call for us to continually evaluate our actions and choose those that lead to less suffering and eschew those that lead to more suffering. This is easily determined by checking if the action is being fueled by wholesome or unwholesome intentions. So clarity about our intentions needs to be present to inform wise effort.
Here’s an example of the importance of wise intention.
The date was September 12, 2001, the day after the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City. It was a Wednesday, the day of my regularly scheduled class at Spirit Rock Insight Meditation Center.
Many more people than usual filled the room. People told stories of connections they had to people who had been in the buildings, or to family and friends who lived in New York. Others spoke about where they were when they heard the news and how they’d felt at that moment. The atmosphere was calm and sober, and I remember thinking that having permission to talk about upset in a community of shared values is a grace.
At the end of the class, I suggested that we recite these Buddhist precepts, which express our intentions as practitioners:
I undertake the precept to abstain from harming living beings.
I undertake the precept to abstain from taking that which is not freely given.
I undertake the precept to speak without being abusive or exploitive.
I undertake the precept to abstain from sexuality that is exploitive or abusive.
I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating my mind into heedless behavior.
I undertake the precept to abstain from taking that which is not freely given.
I undertake the precept to speak without being abusive or exploitive.
I undertake the precept to abstain from sexuality that is exploitive or abusive.
I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating my mind into heedless behavior.
The experience of affirming together our dedication to wise and kind behavior was like a soothing balm to our frightened minds. I felt consoled, and I believe that others did as well. It seemed to restore some faith and confidence in the future to be surrounded by people who trust the Buddha’s teaching that “Hatred is never ended by hatred. By non-hatred is hatred ended. This is the eternal law.”
I think of this experience as supporting the profound centrality of wise intention. Here is one more example.
My friends Dwayne and Sara expressed their wedding vows this way, in their own version of the Buddhist precepts. They said to each other:
Because I love you, I promise never to harm you.
Because I love you, I promise to never take anything you don’t want to give me.
Because I love you, I’ll speak only truthfully and kindly to you.
Because I love you, I’ll treat your body with love.
Because I love you, I will keep my mind free from confusion so that I act only out of wisdom.
Because I love you, I promise to never take anything you don’t want to give me.
Because I love you, I’ll speak only truthfully and kindly to you.
Because I love you, I’ll treat your body with love.
Because I love you, I will keep my mind free from confusion so that I act only out of wisdom.
Dwayne and Sara are now into the second decade of their marriage, and they continue to say these vows to each other every morning.
Reaffirming their intentions for how they will be together sets up a signal in their minds so they can catch a thoughtless word or action in advance of it manifesting.
They are very happy.
Although I have argued for the primacy of wise intention, every aspect of the eightfold path is equally crucial. That’s because each part of the path is integral to all the others.
Traditional lists of the eightfold path are numbered from one through eight, and therefore seem to have a beginning and an end.
Wise understanding and wise intention often top the list and are described as the impetus for beginning a dedicated practice. These lists then continue with the three aspects of ethical training—wise action, speech, and livelihood—and end with the mental discipline cultivated through wise effort, mindfulness, and concentration. Other lists begin with ethics, continue with mind training, and end with the wisdom components that manifest as kindness and compassion.
Although the traditional lists describe these trainings as steps on a path, they seem to me to be more like points on a circle, since every one of the eight aspects is intimately reflected in and supported by every other aspect.
In a sermon the Buddha preached for his son, Rahula, he called for considering before, during, and after every action whether it was potentially abusive or exploitive or genuinely rooted in kind intent.
This requires sufficient clarity of mind, through wise mindfulness and concentration, to discern negative intent, and sufficient wise effort to exercise self-restraint. Wise understanding deeply intuits the legacy of losses that we share with other livings beings, and wise intention expresses our ever-growing resolve to respond to all life with compassion.
In this way, all eight aspects of the path work together to help us lead a wholesome and awakened life, with wise intention the guide that points us in the right direction and brings us back on course when we lose our way.
Via Daily Dharma / Forget Yourself
When you focus attention on someone or something that inspires awe in you, you forget yourself. You also forget yourself, and you may even forget your Self.
—Ken McLeod, "Where the Thinking Stops"
—Ken McLeod, "Where the Thinking Stops"
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