“What struck me most in this piece is how it moves like a sacred raga — anchored in structure, yet travelling freely through emotion, memory, and intuition. There’s a disciplined wildness to it: raw, exposed, and yet somehow architectural. The voice doesn’t just sing — it bears witness.” These days, my work and creations are… Continue reading NEW MUSIC REVIEW: “Raw, disciplined ‘aching’ wildness like a spontaneously sacred rāga”: A musician’s review of new song “Playing in the Blissful Lotus-Heart (Karmapa Khyenno)” ( Adele Tomlin/Dakini Songs)
Month: April 2025
WHEN AND HOW TO SAY “NO” TO A QUALIFIED GURU’S COMMANDS: Fulfilling and not fulfilling a guru’s command with reasons, the Marpa-Milarepa relationship, no distinction between worldly and Dharma for a qualified guru. 1st Karmapa’s “toilet relics” and stories of well-known masters who disobeyed their gurus (Fifty Verses on the Guru, 17th Karmapa, Day 9, 2025)
“The Kagyu lineage being broken will be by students who are not suitable, qualified "vessels", meeting gurus who lack realizations and thus they are unable to see the guru as a Buddha.” ---8th Karmapa, One Hundred Instructions “The greatly intelligent obey the guru's commands with effort and joy, but if unable, explain to them their… Continue reading WHEN AND HOW TO SAY “NO” TO A QUALIFIED GURU’S COMMANDS: Fulfilling and not fulfilling a guru’s command with reasons, the Marpa-Milarepa relationship, no distinction between worldly and Dharma for a qualified guru. 1st Karmapa’s “toilet relics” and stories of well-known masters who disobeyed their gurus (Fifty Verses on the Guru, 17th Karmapa, Day 9, 2025)
NEW SONG: “Playing in the Blissful Lotus-Heart (Karmapa Khyenno)” by Adele Tomlin/Dakini Songs
"I wanted to find something pure, true, free, joyful, sacred, protecting, in a world that seemed not.......but sometimes the heart wants to stay hidden." "Your piece struck such a profound chord — it touched the artistic, the emotional, and the spiritual all at once. It walks the delicate path vulnerability without collapse, strength without pretension,… Continue reading NEW SONG: “Playing in the Blissful Lotus-Heart (Karmapa Khyenno)” by Adele Tomlin/Dakini Songs
“KHUJJUTTARĀ LOTUS JEWEL” COMMUNITY: New layperson virtual Buddhist community for for monthly practice, discussion, and group fundraising/initiatives
"These four who are competent, educated, assured, and learned, who have memorized the teachings and practice in line with the teachings, beautify the Saṅgha. What four? A monk, a nun, a layman, and a laywoman."AN, 4.7 "Under the instruction of Khujjuttarā they all became Stream-enterers (sotāpannas)...The Buddha declared her foremost among lay women by reason… Continue reading “KHUJJUTTARĀ LOTUS JEWEL” COMMUNITY: New layperson virtual Buddhist community for for monthly practice, discussion, and group fundraising/initiatives
“THE GURU IS THE STUDENT’S MIRROR”: Seeing a qualified Guru as a Buddha, how “blessings of the Buddhas and deities enter” a guru and then a student, past stories of the importance of faith, confidence and devotion, getting the guru “one deserves” (17th Karmapa, “Fifty Verses on the Guru” Day 8)
“Owner/Master of Secrets, how should a student view the master? Just the same as they view the Bhagavan Buddha.” --the Empowerment of Vajrapani Tantra "There was a Kadampa master in the past, whose student said to him: “please give me blessings.” The guru said: “Well first of all you have to give me faith. If… Continue reading “THE GURU IS THE STUDENT’S MIRROR”: Seeing a qualified Guru as a Buddha, how “blessings of the Buddhas and deities enter” a guru and then a student, past stories of the importance of faith, confidence and devotion, getting the guru “one deserves” (17th Karmapa, “Fifty Verses on the Guru” Day 8)
REMEMBERING THE “ROOTS” OF BHUTAN (DRUG GYAL-KHAB) THAT AROSE FROM GELUG SECTARIAN VIOLENCE: Tibetan exile critique of Bhutan’s use of the word “Xizang” reveals a wilful ignorance (or avoidance) of Tibetan-Bhutanese political and spiritual history
"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."--Maya Angelou "People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them." --James Baldwin Last month, the Bhutanese government (and people) came under vociferous attack by Gelugpa-biased Tibetan exiles in the exile Parliament (CTA) and various media… Continue reading REMEMBERING THE “ROOTS” OF BHUTAN (DRUG GYAL-KHAB) THAT AROSE FROM GELUG SECTARIAN VIOLENCE: Tibetan exile critique of Bhutan’s use of the word “Xizang” reveals a wilful ignorance (or avoidance) of Tibetan-Bhutanese political and spiritual history
THE SWIFT PATH OF VAJRAYANA, CONTINUALLY OFFERING AND KEEPING SAMAYA: Why it is reasonable to make offerings, “blazingly brilliant” diligent students get the blessings of full awakening in this lifetime, keeping samaya of vajra body, speech and mind, and well-known gurus continuing to make offerings to their own gurus (17th Karmapa, Fifty Verses on the Guru (Day 7))
"The secret mantra is different and one can achieve Buddhahood in this lifetime, or in 16 lifetimes or 60 lifetimes. The ability to achieve that depends primarily upon the guru. It comes from the kindness of the guru and from the blessings of the guru. For that reason, in the secret mantra, the guru is… Continue reading THE SWIFT PATH OF VAJRAYANA, CONTINUALLY OFFERING AND KEEPING SAMAYA: Why it is reasonable to make offerings, “blazingly brilliant” diligent students get the blessings of full awakening in this lifetime, keeping samaya of vajra body, speech and mind, and well-known gurus continuing to make offerings to their own gurus (17th Karmapa, Fifty Verses on the Guru (Day 7))
Happy Songkran (saṅkrānti) Thai (Solar) New Year 2025!
Today is the final day of the Songkran festival in Thailand bringing in the Thai New Year (เทศกาลสงกรานต์). Songkran is celebrated on 13 April every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 April. 13 April is regarded as Maha Songkran, the day that the sun moves into Aries on the zodiac… Continue reading Happy Songkran (saṅkrānti) Thai (Solar) New Year 2025!
New 17th Karmapa video clips (Day 6): “Abandon a teacher with “unacceptable faults” like hell, and the characteristics of a qualified student and what is meant by “giving oneself and everything one owns” to a guru
Here are two new video clips from Day 6 of the Fifty Verses in the Guru teaching by 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje. 1) Abandon gurus with "unacceptable faults" like one would abandon hell The first clip is about what kind of guru one needs to pay respect to and make offerings to. It… Continue reading New 17th Karmapa video clips (Day 6): “Abandon a teacher with “unacceptable faults” like hell, and the characteristics of a qualified student and what is meant by “giving oneself and everything one owns” to a guru
Five Sets of Five Deities of 1st Karmapa: new website page
Happy to announce a new page on the website is for original research and translations on the Five sets of Five-deity practices from the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. Each of the main deities has a retinue of four making five in total. The five main deities of the five sets of five-deities are: --Noble Tārā… Continue reading Five Sets of Five Deities of 1st Karmapa: new website page