"I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness/cloud the mind. (Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami)" --fifth main Buddhist precept "Warnings about tobacco and narcotics have been revealed as Térmas since early on in Tibet, by the great Tértöns...Warnings about tobacco and narcotics actually cross the spectrum of Vajrayana… Continue reading KEEPING OUT THE “FOG” OF INTOXICANTS: The fifth main Buddhist precept of “no intoxicants” and reasons behind it
Month: December 2024
LOCATING SHAMBHALA AND TĪLOPA AS KĀLACAKRA KING: Ascertaining the ‘physical’ location of Shambhala and origin of Kālacakra as Bay of Bengal/Arakan coastline, Tīlopa as a former Candra King who received the Kālacakra teaching there, and the ‘bitter sectarian Gelugpa ‘attack’ on Tāranātha’s guide to Shambhala by the 3rd Panchen Lama
"Sucandra is the King of Shambhala region, in the north of river Sīta, where 96 crores villages are distributed."--Nāropa in Sekoddeśa Tikā (commentary on fifth paṭala of root Kālacakra tantra) "While the Tantras aim to spread clarity of mind, these contemporary lamas have spread smoke [in relation to the location and origin of Kālacakra Tantra]."--Niraj… Continue reading LOCATING SHAMBHALA AND TĪLOPA AS KĀLACAKRA KING: Ascertaining the ‘physical’ location of Shambhala and origin of Kālacakra as Bay of Bengal/Arakan coastline, Tīlopa as a former Candra King who received the Kālacakra teaching there, and the ‘bitter sectarian Gelugpa ‘attack’ on Tāranātha’s guide to Shambhala by the 3rd Panchen Lama
PETITION UPDATE AND ACTION: Tibetan exile political leader, Penpa Tsering unable to effect any real change for 17th Karmapa or on actions of Thaye Dorje group
Despite the central Tibetan Administration (CTA) leader Sikyong, Penpa Tsering and speaker visiting Sikkim recently, and announcing some change in the court case in Himachal Pradesh, there has been no further announcement, movement or change on the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa being able to visit Sikkim and his main seat of Rumtek Monastery there. One can… Continue reading PETITION UPDATE AND ACTION: Tibetan exile political leader, Penpa Tsering unable to effect any real change for 17th Karmapa or on actions of Thaye Dorje group
Guru Padmasambhava Seven-Line Supplication: An explanation and transmission by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa
"HŪṂ In the northwest of Uddiyana Upon the stem of a lotus You achieved the wondrous supreme siddhi And are renowned as the Lotus Born Encircled by many ḍākinis We practice following your example We ask you come and grant your blessings GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ" ---seven-line supplication to Guru Padmasambhava As another offering for… Continue reading Guru Padmasambhava Seven-Line Supplication: An explanation and transmission by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa
NOT SACRIFICING CONDUCT FOR THE VIEW: Guru Padmasambhava on ethical conduct as an essential Buddhist foundation of Vajrayana, unconventional yogic conduct (tul-zhug), the questionable mis-use of mass empowerments and months of speed-read oral transmissions
"Maintain the view as spacious as the sky. Yet, in conduct, regard cause and effect as fine as grains of flour." --Guru Padmasambhava Guru Padmasambhava famously stated one should not sacrifice conduct for the view, and vice versa. In this article and short video reel, I explain what this statement means and why it is… Continue reading NOT SACRIFICING CONDUCT FOR THE VIEW: Guru Padmasambhava on ethical conduct as an essential Buddhist foundation of Vajrayana, unconventional yogic conduct (tul-zhug), the questionable mis-use of mass empowerments and months of speed-read oral transmissions
PREPARING FOR THE TIME OF DEATH AND THE BELLOWING LAUGHTER OF THE DAKINIS: Remembering Tibetan Buddhist Phowa master, HE Ayang Rinpoche (1942-2024)
"If you study Phowa, then when death approaches, you will feel no fear or despair, but rather be filled with a quiet confidence." --Marpa Translator "Death is inevitable, but how you die - terrified and confused, or with confidence and spiritual mastery - is within your control." ~Choeje Ayang Rinpoche Yesterday, I read the news… Continue reading PREPARING FOR THE TIME OF DEATH AND THE BELLOWING LAUGHTER OF THE DAKINIS: Remembering Tibetan Buddhist Phowa master, HE Ayang Rinpoche (1942-2024)
A WOMAN’S LONGING FOR MEANING: Yeshe Tsogyel Song (1/4) བུད་མེད་གི་དོན་གཉེར་གྱི་འདུན་པ། ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་མགུར། (༡/༤)
After a couple of requests by readers to render my recent translations of the Yeshe Tsogyel songs into musical format, and inspired by the personal visit and blessing of Guru Padmasambhava in the late hours while finishing them, today I spent a few hours putting a melody and background music track to the original Tibetan… Continue reading A WOMAN’S LONGING FOR MEANING: Yeshe Tsogyel Song (1/4) བུད་མེད་གི་དོན་གཉེར་གྱི་འདུན་པ། ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་མགུར། (༡/༤)
UPDATE: In the interests of equality, three “young and handsome” male MCs for Karma Kagyu Marme Monlam 2025?
"Sexist patriarchy dressed up as feminism, is like a butch man in a woman's dress. Obviously fake and generally ugly." --Adele Tomlin "You don't have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don’t owe it to… Continue reading UPDATE: In the interests of equality, three “young and handsome” male MCs for Karma Kagyu Marme Monlam 2025?
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING “CLEAN, LOVING, TRUSTWORTHY AND TRUE” IN BUDDHIST ETHICS: The third and fourth main Buddhist precepts: No lying/false speech (musāvādā) and no sexual misconduct (kāmesumicchācāra)
"I undertake the training-precept to abstain from false speech." (Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.) "I undertake the training-precept to abstain from sexual misconduct." (Kāmesumicchācāra veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.) My latest reels on the five main Buddhist precepts, discuss the third and fourth main precepts. Monastics are generally expected to keep at least the five precepts, including no… Continue reading THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING “CLEAN, LOVING, TRUSTWORTHY AND TRUE” IN BUDDHIST ETHICS: The third and fourth main Buddhist precepts: No lying/false speech (musāvādā) and no sexual misconduct (kāmesumicchācāra)
MOUNTAIN WALLS, RIVER ROADS AND CAVE PALACES: VISITING BAI DINH PAGODA AND TRANG AN: 500 Arhats corridor, Thousand-armed and eyed Mother of Compassion, Largest Shakyamuni Buddha statue, and the stunning craggy mountains, caves and riverways of Trang An and Mua Mountain (Vietnam pilgrimage V)
The final instalment in my Vietnamese Buddhist pilgrimage this year, was to Bái Đính Pagoda (Chùa Bái Đính, 沛嵿寺) a complex of Buddhist temples on Bái Đính Mountain in Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam. The compound consists of the original old temple and a newly created larger temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist… Continue reading MOUNTAIN WALLS, RIVER ROADS AND CAVE PALACES: VISITING BAI DINH PAGODA AND TRANG AN: 500 Arhats corridor, Thousand-armed and eyed Mother of Compassion, Largest Shakyamuni Buddha statue, and the stunning craggy mountains, caves and riverways of Trang An and Mua Mountain (Vietnam pilgrimage V)