AN EMANATION OF VAJRAVĀRĀHĪ MAKING NĀRO, MARPA AND MILA PROUD! The unparalleled and amazing Dharma Activities and Teachings of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (and Kagyupas): An annual 2023 review

"In any case, we have our own special instructions of our own particular lineage. We have a treasure that we need to cherish and preserve it. If we can do so, then only then can we dare show our faces to the lineage masters of the past and dare say that we are upholding the… Continue reading AN EMANATION OF VAJRAVĀRĀHĪ MAKING NĀRO, MARPA AND MILA PROUD! The unparalleled and amazing Dharma Activities and Teachings of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (and Kagyupas): An annual 2023 review

TWIN PEAK PRECIOUS RELICS: Buddha’s relics at the twin pagodas, and Karen Hill tribe on top of Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon (Scenes from Chiang Mai, III)

Continuing with the third in the series on Buddhist pilgrimage to SE Asia 2023, my first trip out of Chiang Mai central into the countryside was not only to visit the nunnery Wat Nirodharam, but also the highest peak in Thailand, Doi Inthanon and the two Twin Pagodas there, which both contain the Buddha's relics.… Continue reading TWIN PEAK PRECIOUS RELICS: Buddha’s relics at the twin pagodas, and Karen Hill tribe on top of Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon (Scenes from Chiang Mai, III)

Today is 25th December (Christmas Day for many), and a time of joy, giving and celebration, and tomorrow (26th) is a full moon. So it is with great pleasure to offer this timely 'gift' today (to women in particular) of a new Dakini Conversations podcast interview with renowned British-born Tibetan Buddhist nun and teacher, Jetsunma… Continue reading AN EMANATION OF NOBLE TĀRĀ: The amazing life and activities of Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (Dakini Conversations podcast, Ep.6)

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, And the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." "Make of yourself a light." --Buddha "It is better to light a candle than to curse the dark." --Chinese proverb Today is the Winter Solstice, the time when either… Continue reading ENTERING THE ‘LIGHT-GIVING’ SPIRIT OF WINTER SOLSTICE AND SEASONAL FESTIVITIES: An annual ‘end-of-year’ overview of Dharma activities and fundraising ‘festive’ gift request for Dakini Translations

"Bikkhuni Pratimoksha is highly important."--Phra Ajahn Nandayanee, Bikkhuni and founder of Wat Nirodharam 'Buddha never taught that ultimately men and women are different mentally but that the physical elements are empty of any inherent nature. In that respect, there should not be any real differentiation in the treatment and status of men and women." --Bikkhuni… Continue reading ‘BLEEDING’ WOMEN AND ‘WHAT MERIT REALLY MEANS’: On the issue of ‘Man-only’ public temples, fully ordained (Bikkhuni) Thai nuns, the thriving nunnery, Wat Nirodharam and an exclusive interview with a Thai Bikkhuni nun (Scenes from Chiang Mai Part II)

The past few weeks I have been doing pilgrimage in Chiang Mai for the first time, an important Buddhist site in North Thailand with hundreds of ornate and stunning Buddhist temples (Wats) on every street. It is my first time to this region of Thailand and I can honestly say it is one of the… Continue reading BUDDHA BEAUTIES OF THE ‘NEW CITY’ (CHIANG MAI): The ‘Lion Buddha’ (Phra Singh) and magnificent, flower-filled, golden Temples (Wats) of North Thailand (Scenes from Chiang Mai Pilgrimage I)

"Victors of the three times declared your praise-worthy name/characteristics,Primordial awareness dakinis offered the lineage crown,The victory banner of accomplishment penetrates all-areas,Today, remembering the 'grey-haired Khampa." --Commemorative Praise to 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa by 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje Today is the commemorative anniversary for the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, otherwise known as the 'grey-haired' one… Continue reading REMEMBERING THE ‘GREY-HAIRED ONE FROM KHAM’: 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa commemorative praise and opening speech for the Kagyu annual winter debate and teaching (Guncho) by the 17th Karmapa

On 11th December, it was reported in the Indian and Tibetan exile media, that His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama had begun his visit to Sikkim, after 13 years absence to give a teaching there. As of yet, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje (supreme head of the Karma Kagyu lineage) has still… Continue reading Laying the foundation at the Karmapa Park Project? The question of the 17th Karmapa’s ongoing absence at Rumtek Monastery during the 14th Dalai Lama’s visit this month

"Whatever karmic veils I may have developed that would lead to the hells, or to the animal realm, or to the land of the pretas, or to birth in border regions, or amongst barbarians, or amongst the long-lived gods, or that would lead to incomplete sense faculties, or holding wrong views, or to not rejoicing… Continue reading THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFESSING DOWNFALLS AND PURIFICATION: 17th Karmapa’s recent advice to recite the Sutra in Three Sections and Vajrasattva and 17th Karmapa’s call to practice

"He asked, “How should one recite it?” whereupon four ḍākinīs sang the tune in unison. The wisdom ḍākinī then said, “If subsequently one uses this tune for the mantra, then all who hear it will be greatly blessed, and it will be of great benefit to beings.” —excerpt from ‘The Second Karma Pakshi: Tibetan Mahāsiddha’ (Manson,… Continue reading Origin of the widespread practice and use of the six-syllable Mani mantra in Tibet: The ḍākinīs’ gift to 2nd Karmapa, Karma Pakshi and a new musical rendition of the melody