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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I've always wondered if there was a god

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note * Homer Simpson quotes on god..no comments,,,
-added by danny-
............................
I've always wondered if there was a god. And now I know there is -- and it's me...Homer Simpson.
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In this video,the woman is shakti..the creative force of the universe...love her,it's in yourself,and in the ALL of creation also.It means unity of everything,and it's all love(if you pay her a dollar..that means if you care to KNOW her..it's not a person,by the way..it's above it...and it's not God,but a part of it)

What about earth?

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note*..even though I posted about M J death a video before..I forgot this very song to add.
And I think this is all he was about.
Rest in peace ,Michael.
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he made his debut on the professional music scene in 1968 as a member of The Jackson 5. He then began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group and was referred to as the "King of Pop"[4] in subsequent years. Jackson's 1982 album Thriller remains the world's best-selling album of all time,[5]
-added by danny-
.....................
There's A Place In
Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could
Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need
To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow


There Are Ways
To Get There
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why
There's A Love That
Cannot Lie
Love Is Strong
It Only Cares For
Joyful Giving
If We Try
We Shall See
In This Bliss
We Cannot Feel
Fear Or Dread
We Stop Existing And
Start Living

Then It Feels That Always
Love's Enough For
Us Growing
So Make A Better World
Make A Better World...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me
You And For Me

Monday, June 29, 2009

The Universe is a Hamster;)

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note* some time ago,I posted about the universe....and now I KNOW it's a hamster..
-added by danny-
..........
Danny said...
The universe is a funny think..a hamster.
My insight shows it has no purpose.
Really..it has no purpose BUT Knowing itself.
Would you even ponder that?
All you jobs,making money..everything....down the drain.
You are useless..YOU are a hamster singing.


But if you are realized,it's all fun.
Like this Hamster.
Every body you meet is you.
You see the sun,and know it is you.
You see some cat,and you KNOW it is you.
The universe is you.
take responsability for the world.

WE are one ..but we don't know it(only me,and Danny know it)
we....my friends..are the hope of the world.
For we can affect the akasha
We are the light...and maybe the last light...the Hamster light,and the joy of it.
May god be with you,
eternal love,danny(and that's all there is to it)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Buddha and Divinity

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note* Yogi Chen speaks about Buddha and Divinity..quote'' Today the Tantric Hindus still worship the Lingam (penis) and Yoni (vagina). If you pilgrimage in India, you can find these public symbols arranged in each room of a Hindu temple. We know that every animal and insect has its own genital organs. If the organs are worshipped we should also worship the animal. In ancient times, uncivilized people worshipped nature out of ignorance. This may be excused, but in these modern times such practice should be given up ''
-added by danny-
...................
Long ago in 222 A.D., King Wo asked the Buddhist Han-Chai to clearly explain the difference between Buddhism and other religions. Han-Chai was able to do so in only a few words and replied as follows: "All those non-Buddhist schools give instructions based on a divinity and they dare not do anything against the wishes of the divinity; but the Buddhists open schools and give instruction based on a truth which is followed by all divinities and they dare not do anything against Buddhists." I would like to make this even clearer--the teachings of other religions are based on a divinity who teaches men, but the teachings of Buddhism are based on man in Buddhahood who teaches both men and divinities.

Those vast numbers of people who believe that Buddha is like a divinity, can only attain the spiritual merit equal to that of a non-Buddhist. But the Buddhist scholar or practitioner who learns all the doctrines in the Tripitaka and desires to recover his own Buddhahood knows the difference between Buddhism and non-Buddhism; such a person knows how to elicit the assistance of all divinities beneficial for good karma and attaining Buddhahood as they all are within the family of Buddha. Nevertheless, there are still neophytes in Tantric Buddhism who, having learned that many images are the same in both religions, believe that Tantric Buddhism may be based on Tantric Hinduism.


When Lord Gautama was a Bodhisattva named All-Truth-Achievement, he did many good karmas for living beings over many kalpas. All the gods, divinities, and angels in all the heavens watched over him and helped him on every occasion. It is said in the Sambara Tantra that before Lord Gautama went into his mother's womb he had already obtained his Sambhogakaya named Sambara and his wife, Vajravarati. Both stood on the bodies of Mahesvara or Siva and his wife. This was a sign of their conversion.


Before Lord Gautama's Enlightenment, Mahesvara and his wife had misled the world with the five poisons--lust, hate, ignorance, pride, and doubt, but since our Lord's Enlightenment, all the gods of all the heavens such as Brahma, Indra and so on, have given offerings, worshipped, followed and always kept the vow to protect the Dharma of Buddhism.


During the Lord's parinirvana or extinction, all the gods of all the heavens gave him offerings. When Mahesvara came with offerings, Lord Gautama refused saying, "I know in advance that you will make a great deal of trouble for my disciples in the future. Therefore, I do not wish to accept your good offering." With deep devotion, Mahesvara asked the Lord (three times) to accept the offering. Lord Buddha said, "If you bear a vow and offer an incantation the repeating of which will rid one of troubles, I will accept them both." Then the following incantation was offered and we may still profit by the Lord's grace after more than two thousand years: Om Mahadeva Thah Ubhadevi Hsei Haralisa Washom Guru Ho.


My friend Mr. Chang-Hsein-Chen has a one-story building in front of the Mahesvara temple here in India. The tantric Hindus of that temple were very envious when my friend began to build a second floor so they cursed him. Whenever he began to meditate a black penis always appeared in front of his eyes. When he asked me how to get rid of it, I told him the above story and incantation. He repeated the incantation only once. Ten years have passed and he has never been troubled again.


Today the Tantric Hindus still worship the Lingam (penis) and Yoni (vagina) instead of Mahesvara and his wife. If you pilgrimage in India, you can find these public symbols arranged in each room of a Hindu temple. We know that every animal and insect has its own genital organs. If the organs are worshipped we should also worship the animal. In ancient times, uncivilized people worshipped nature out of ignorance. This may be excused, but in these modern times such practice should be given up for the truth of Buddhism. I shall discuss this further later.


The most well-known divinity that appears in both religions is Kali or Bhadamramo as she is known in Tibetan Tantra. She is worshipped as giving a war-like power and fierceness. Many evil ghosts were converted by her. Her temple in Calcutta, India, is full of worshipers who gather day and night. Many of her followers have been cured of illness by her help. What a powerful divinity she is! Before Lord Buddha's Enlightenment, she was the most important protector in Tantric Brahmanism. After his Enlightenment, she vowed to protect the Dharma especially in Tantric Buddhism. All of the patriarchs have been in direct line of her deliverance (in the presence of both, the guru tells the deity to protect his disciple) generation after generation up until this present time.


The traditional line of her deliverance was first made from the Indian patriarch Naropa to the Tibetan patriarch Marpa. When Marpa had finished the study of Tantric Buddhism under his guru Naropa, he asked for leave. Naropa pointed out three important protectors and asked Marpa which one he wanted as his protector. Among the three dieties was Kali, whom Marpa chose. Then the deliverance was made personally and it followed him to Tibet as a shadow follows a person. This line of deliverance of Kali I received from my guru Kung-Ko, the great incarnation of Kuan-Yin.


When I met my guru in 1937 at Lu-Shan, I had never heard of such a tradition. One night I dreamed of Kali's brother Mahakala in a double-person meditation form with Kali. Both rode on a tall black ass. The next morning I asked my guru for the deliverance of them. It was made in secret to me alone. I gave thanks to my guru for this initiation because they have helped me greatly to attain wisdom and peace. At the time of my initiation my guru told me that the initiation was given to me alone because I had seen her (Kali) without initiation. He said, "You should keep them (Kali and Mahakala) as your protectors secretly." Now I have told you because I have made a vow to have her known in each country of the world as it was foretold by the great guru Lotus-born (Padmasambhava) that when the iron birds fly in the sky, the secret and most sacred Dharma will be propagated in the West. That is why I should not keep it secret any more.


Many years ago I was uncertain as to whether the interior holy nerves of a female Sambhogakaya are different from those of a male. It is never described as being different in either the Sutras or Sastras. Once holy mother Kali was so kind as to appear in the holy light of my meditation showing the interior nerves and lotuses (chakras) in her body. It solved my problem since I had thought that the female Sambhogakaya is different from the male. During her appearance I heard her sing this holy and sweet song: "To all others old or new, My interior lotuses never show, Putting on my golden shoe, I do like to work only for you."


My dear readers, please give thanks to her. You will get her grace too. Buddhists do not cling to self, therefore, the word "you" in that song applies to you all.


Mahakala is said to be her brother and companion even though he was an important protector of Tantric Hinduism. However, since Lord Gautama's Enlightenment, he bore a vow to protect the Dharma. He manifests in several forms. Some are with two arms while others have four or six.


Mahakala with two arms was transformed from the very first Buddha, Ardhalma, or Kundotzonbho, or Adi-Buddha, and is worshipped for his spiritual and material wisdom and Karma. Mahakala in Tantric Hinduism was not transformed and is of a demon nature. The Mahakala of four arms was transformed from the Sambhogakaya Buddha named the Great Pleasure Vajra or Sambara. He also helps to bring about the success of the third initiation. When my guru gave me his initiation the second time, he appeared and whispered to me, "You are getting for the second time my initiation". At that time my body was filled with warm pleasure and by his protection since that day so long ago I have never lost my pleasure in the Dharma.


Mahakala with six arms has two colors--one is white and the other is black. In his white form he helps one attain riches and long life. The black Mahakala was transformed from Avalokitesvara (Kuan-Yin). In whatever is asked, he will give help accordingly. My guru named Kung-Dru met him twenty-eight times, once a month, and recorded the appearances to me, from which direction he came, and the dates of his appearance in each month.


He has even made appearances to me, a poor yogi, in dreams and meditations. He was, he is, and always will be my protector. Once he appeared in my own body in a bright form. Many years ago I was in Shin-Kun. He appeared in my dream with a great earthquake and initiated me with a long incantation of Kuan-Yin. I have repeated it from that moment until now without ceasing. My great mercy or Metta has been increased by his bestowal.


Mahakala stands on the body of the white elephant king, Ganapati. Ganapati (as he is known in Hinduism) is worshipped by Hindus before they worship their guru since he is the Lord of Obstacles. You may get more information about him from the Mahanirvana Tantra. After our Lord's Enlightenment he was converted by Mahakala and appears under the latter's feet.


My friend Mr. Edward James had received the initiation of Ganapati in tantric Hinduism. Once when he meditated on him he heard a heavenly voice ask him to collect the doctrines about Ganapati from Tibet and Japan. He wrote to me concerning this matter. I replied indicating that one who worships Ganapati in Tantric Hinduism is only worshipping a king of obstacles, but he who worships Ganapati according to the doctrine of Tantric Buddhism (in either Tibet or Japan) has a real helper who helps overcome obstacles. My good readers, please choose carefully the tradition that you would follow!


Some of you will be very doubtful about whether one deity can have two very different characteristics. Let me explain this to you as though we were talking about some human personality. In the first case, there is a man who is an evil person, a robber. At the same time, he is engaged by the secret police to detect and report the activities of other robbers. When he is a robber, he robs those who are not related to the police department. When he is working for the police he is not a robber but helps to capture them.


Again, there is a man who is a very bad person in his village or neighborhood and at the same time is a servant in an office in town and is controlled by the Chairman of some governmental or citizens' organization. While working, he is obedient to the Chairman or Master; so if you were to request a favour from the Chairman, through that power the servant must faithfully help you. If a favour is asked of him while he is in his own environment, he will grant it only according to the offerings given to him but not in accordance with your good wills in Tantric Buddhism. He also creates obstacles when the offerings do not please him. This is a very dangerous business!


The Female Buddha of Voice called Saraswati by Hindus is worshipped by them as a virgin for the attainment of knowledge or intelligence. Even though Hindus might say that Saraswati is the consort of Brahma, they never worship them together. When worshipped as a virgin, only the wisdom of the higher self can be attained. In Tantric Buddhism she is married to Manjusri and in this relationship denotes the highest wisdom, that which overcomes the bondage of the higher self. It is a very secret truth that the highest wisdom is in the third initiation which is called the wisdom initiation. By the "love actions" in this initiation the highest pleasure is produced and this pleasure produces the voidness of truth--the highest wisdom. The secret purport of the yoga lies in the anthropomorphic relationship between the sexes. Even in everyday life, the layman's intelligence develops during married life. According to Chinese history, the well-known work Ton-lai-po-yee was written during the author's honeymoon.


The veena (a South Indian musical instrument, similar to a large mandolin) that Saraswati holds denotes music or good rhythm in literature according to Tantric Hinduism. However, it is very clearly the manifestation of the truth of voidness in Tantric Buddhism.


Once my guru No-Na was teaching me Mahamudra and used the veena to explain a point. He said, "Do you know what voidness means? It doesn't mean anything but it is everything in conditioned existence and has its own usage. But just because it is conditioned existence, it has no permanent existence in itself, just as the veena is composed of conditions, and without these conditions there is no sound. The sound that comes from the veena is not from the strings alone or from the form of the instrument or the fingers alone but rather from the action of all these conditions. If any of these factors or conditions is lacking there would be no more sound. Of all its conditions, there is none with a self nature, that is why we say the veena is voidness". Thus the most profound and highest truth of Buddhism is shown to be a denial of the highest truth of Tantric Hinduism, the higher self.


Before I learned something about Tantric Hinduism, I never had heard of the name Saraswati. I only knew that Manjusri's wife's name is Female Buddha of Voice. Once I pilgrimaged to the holy place of Tantric Buddhism in India. When I arrived at Rajgiri, I saw a small river which is regarded as the nectar of the Female Buddha of Voice. I drank a few mouthfuls. That night she appeared in my dreams. Five years later I began to study Tantric Hinduism and then learned of Saraswati. If the goddess belongs only to Hinduism why would she appear in a Buddhist's dream--one who has never heard of her? And why did she appear after I had drank the nectar which is described in the doctrine of Tantric Buddhism?


It is only in human nature that you belong to this religion and I to that, but it is not the deities' nature to belong to one religion and not another.


In both Hinduism and Buddhism, powerful and merciful Indra is worshipped for protection. Of the four Vedas, the most important one is the Rig-Veda which contains 1028 verses. Most of the verses are in praise of Indra, for example: Indra's birth, Indra's arrival, the invitation of Indra to the sacrifice, Indra's relation to his worshippers, Indra invited to drink the Soma draught, Indra's drinking song, Indra drinks the libation, Indra attended by the Maruts sets out to encounter Vritha, Indra's conflict with Vritha, Indra's greatness, etc. Lord Gautama converted the tantric Brahmins through Indra who helped him instead of Brahma.


Once Gautama Buddha went to the hermitage of a community of Brahmanical fire-worshippers and wanted to spend the night in their fire temple. While Buddha preached to them, Indra joined the meeting and emitted a heavenly light which made them believe in Buddha and become converted. Indra was so humble and devoted to Buddha that he not only wanted to be a disciple but also a servant. When Buddha wanted to dry his clothes in the sun, Indra got a large hexagonal stone for him.


Before Lord Gautama's Enlightenment, Indra offered the best grass for his seat. After Buddha's extinction, Indra took the holy relics or sariras and made a stupa in heaven for them. Even when Gautama was only a Bodhisattva, Indra did a great many things to protect him. Because Indra is the God of Gods in the thirty-three great heavens, every God in every heaven is the protector of Buddha. The following quotations are from various sutras and show how Indra and all other deities worshipped our Lord:


The Mahapadana Sutra states: "It is the rule, brethren, that when the Bodhisattva ceases to belong to the hosts of the Heaven of Delight and enters a mother's womb, there is made manifest throughout the universe--including the world above of the gods, the maras and the world below with its recluses and Brahmins, its princes and people--an infinite and splendid radiance, passing the glory of gods. Even in those spaces which are between the worlds, baseless, murky and dark where even the moon and sun so wondrous and mighty cannot prevail to give light, even there is made manifest this infinite splendid radiance passing the glory of the gods. Those beings who happen to be existing there, perceiving each other by that radiance say, "Verily there be other beings living here", and then ten thousand worlds of the universe tremble, shudder and quake."


"It is the rule, brethren, that when the Bodhisattva is descending into a mother's womb, four sons of the gods go toward the four quarters to protect him saying, "Let no one, be he human or non-human, or whatsoever he be, work harm to the Bodhisattva or to the mother of the Bodhisattva."


"In that group of gods, brethren, several thousands of them came up to me saluting me."


The Mahaparinirvana Sutra states: "There are spirits, brethren, in the sky, but of worldly mind, who dishevel their hair, weep and stretch forth their arms and weepingly fall prostrate on the ground, rolling to and fro in anguish at the thought. "Too soon has the exalted one died. Too soon has the light gone out of the world."


Once Buddha Gautama transformed his body into that of Indra and flew to a temple of Brahma where he was welcomed by those worshipers. After they had prostrated on the ground, Buddha went back to his own body and converted all the followers of Brahma at that temple. This story can be found in the "One Hundred Holy Stories of Buddha."


I have written a long Chinese poem of sixty stanzas to praise all the gods who have done so many good deeds for Lord Gautama. I hope that they will be translated into English someday.*


(These stanzas have been translated and appear herein as Chenian Booklet No. 59.)

Below I have translated one stanza:


Four kings of Heavens,
Raise up the feet of the horse,
Sending Buddha to the deep forest,
Hence our Lord is without a house.

Brahma is the highest God in Tantric Hinduism. He is higher than Indra. What the Tantric Hindus call their supreme self is Brahma, and their final goal is unity with him. He is also called the supreme universal soul. Brahma is represented as a man of red color with four heads and four arms who rides on a swan or goose. In one Vedic hymn it states that Brahma sprung from the mouth of Purusha. Brahma is the head of all created beings in Hinduism, but in Buddhism he is only the deity over all the other gods, a disciple of Gautama and a protector of the Dharma. In the Janavasabha Sutra it states that Brahma himself confessed that he had practiced the four ways of Buddhism. I quote: "I too, sirs, through practices and improvements in just these four ways to Siddhi have acquired such power and potency therein." In the Tripitaka there are many sutras from which Brahma received instruction from Lord Gautama personally, such as the "Mind Holding Brahma Request Sutra" (contains eighteen chapters), and "Brahma requests the Dharma with Six Events Sutra", etc.


It is written in the "Good and Evil Sutra" that when the masters of the six schools of Indian philosophy asked Lord Gautama to take part in a contest to compare powers with them, Indra stood on the left side of Buddha and Brahma was on the right side to protect him. But in Tantric Hinduism there is no person or yogi who has even seen Brahma the supreme self. I shall write more on this point in the next chapter. Before I began to write this article, I begged grace from both Buddha Gautama and Brahma, the highest god. In the light of my concentration, I saw Brahma standing on the right side of Buddha lopsidedly. In his right hand he held a white whisk. Before I prayed to Brahma, I did not know how he would appear but after I saw him I found a Sutra which described his appearance exactly as I had seen him. Many thanks to Brahma for the grace of his appearance.


Since Brahma learned all the instructions from Lord Gautama, he has become an assistant teacher for Buddha and teaches other gods. The Janavasabha Sutra states: "Then Lord Brahma Sanamkumara betook himself to one end of the hall and then sitting down on the divan of Sakka the Lord of gods addressed the thirty-three gods: "Which are the four ways? In the first place a brother practices that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with desire. In the second place a brother practices that which is compounded of concentration and effort with energy. In the third place a brother practices that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with idea. In the fourth place a brother practices that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with investigation. These, sirs, are the four ways to Siddhi revealed by the exalted one who knows, who sees the arhat, Buddha supreme for the development thereof, for proficiency therein, for the elucidation thereof." He also said, "Those recluses and Brahmins in the past, present and future have enjoyed, enjoy, and will enjoy Siddhi in one or more of its forms by these four ways." Thus preaching, he was witness of the Dharma too and again proved that the gods and men who had taken refuge from Buddha have gotten such and such advantages."


It is also written in the Janavasabha Sutra: "In as much as the happiness of the people, out of pity for the world, for the advantage, for the welfare, for the happiness of gods and men, they whoever they be, sirs, who have taken the Buddha for their refuge, the truth for their refuge, the order for their refuge, they on the dissolution of the body after death have been reborn, some of them into the communion of the Paranirmita-Vasavartin gods, some of them into the communion of the Tusita gods, or of the gods in the retinue of Yama, or of the thirty-three gods, or of the four great kings. Those who fill the number of the lowest group go to fill the number of the Gandharva host." Briefly, he who believes in Tantric Hinduism and is against Tantric Buddhism is against Brahma himself. He can neither go to Brahma's heaven nor to Nirvana.


In all of the above paragraphs, I have dealt with the divinities in Tantric Hinduism. They are the disciples and protectors of Buddha. Besides these, there are many, many divinities and protectors which never appear in Tantric Hinduism; for instance, the female protector named A-San-Ma. She has only one hair which stands in the center-top of her skull, only one eye which is between the eyebrows, one tooth which is in the center place of the incisors and only one breast which is in the middle of the chest. Such a wonderful form has never been seen in Tantric Hinduism; but she has appeared to me many times and is one of the protectors of my work.


Once in the light of my meditation, a protector appeared before me. He had two heads--one on top of the other--of different colors and four arms. The upper arms held a bow and arrow. He shot the arrow into the sky. The lower arms held the same objects and shot down to the earth. Not only is he not seen in Tantric Hinduism but has not been seen in Buddhism in modern times. However, his authenticity was proven by our highest guru, King of the Dharma, Gyalwa Kamapa, that he was a protector of the Dharma in ancient times.


This chapter contains three kinds of higher and highest beings all of which are in great number: the Tantric Hindu deities which have all been converted into Tantric Buddhism; the divinities in Tantric Buddhism; and Buddhas. Even if I used the ink equal in quantity to 1000 Pacific Oceans, I would not be able to write the names of all the Buddhas and deities so I will only write some briefly.


Up to the highest heaven, down to the oceans and hells of all beings who have sensation; whether gods of higher animals, or of lower animals, insects or just cells, they are all members of Buddhism and followers of Buddhism in spite of the religion to which they belong. As the heavenly beings and men are the higher sentient beings, they have good knowledge by which they can understand what a Buddha is and what Buddhism is; therefore, many of them have joined the assembly of the Dharma. In every Sutra, whether Hinayana or Mahayana, all the eight kinds of "supernatural beings" such as Gods, Nagas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garudas, Kinnaras, Maharagas, and the group of Demons who are followers of the four Maharagas such as Pisacas, Kumbhandas, Pretas, Nagas, Putanas, Yakshas and Rakshasas. The Mahaparinirvana Sutra states: "Now of the eight kinds, Ananda, of these assemblies, which are the eight? Assemblies of nobles, Brahmins, householders and wanderers and of the angel hosts of the guardian kings of the thirty-three maras and Brahma". There is this special description in the Avatamsaka Sutra which states that when the Dharma Assembly opened, many gods appeared. "Those divinities mentioned in the Rig-Veda, Atharva-Veda and Brahma Sutra--the three groups of eleven Gods distributed on the earth, in the air and heaven (the three divisions of the universe)--appeared without exception. Vasus, Rudras, and Adityas were not exceptions. Indrani, Agnani and Varunani of the Brahmana were not exceptions either. All the gods of Hinduism such as Shatr, the great supporter, Vidhatr, the disposer, Tratr, the protector, Neti, the Idear, Prajapati, the Lord of creatures, Visvakarman, the creating, Brhaspati, the lord of the spell, were not exceptions. The many gods of the sun and stars appeared. The five sun gods of Hinduism, Mitra, Surya, Savitri, Pusan and Usas were present. Many divinities of light appeared: Trita in Tantric Hinduism was not an exception. Matairsvan, Vaya and Vata in Tantric Hinduism were not exceptions. Many divinities of water ppeared: Saraswati, Napat, Sindhu, Vipas and Sutudri in Tantric Hinduism were no exception. Many divinities of rain appeared, Parjany in Tantric Hinduism was not an exception. Many divinities of fire appeared; Agni in Tantric Hinduism was not an exception. Many divinities of the earth appeared, Prithivi in Tantric Hinduism was not an exception. The many gods of plants and the Lord of Forests appeared: the twenty-four Sam as in Hinduism were not exceptions. Many female divinities of the Lord of forests appeared: Aranyani in Tantric Hinduism was not an exception. Many divinities of night appeared: Ratri in Tantric Hinduism was not an exception. Many demons appeared: the Asuras, Susna, Samabara, Pitru, Dhuni, Cumuri, Yatu and Yatudhana in Tantric Hinduism were not exceptions.


Not only those gods and divinities in Tantric Hinduism appeared at every Buddhist assembly, but also those gods of other religions such as Jehovah of Judaism, Jesus of Christianity, Ra of the Egyptian religion, Allah of Islam, Isanmi-no-Mikoto of Shinto, Ahura Mazda of Zoroastrianism, Tien of Confucianism, Sen-Chin, Sen-Wong, Sen-Dee of Taoism, and all the other gods and divinities of all other religions appeared. None were left out of the assembly of the Dharma.


My good readers, it is human nature that people of various nationalities call the gods by different names according to their language. The gods themselves, however, have a higher heavenly nature and do not make petty differences based on language, land area, etc. as we humans do. He who has faith in Buddhism, makes a fellowship with all the gods and divinities of all religions. The one that clings to a higher self, under his god as Brahma against the other religions, makes one friend but more enemies. It is a foolish misconception. Other religions are religions of a part while Buddhism is a religion of the whole.


I don't want to make this chapter too long concerning the gods and divinities of Buddhism so I will not write further about this. However, I will write a few lines about Buddhas. Some Westerners and even Easterners call the Buddha a God. This is quite wrong! A god is the highest being of all those in transmigration. A Buddha is the highest being of the four kinds of Buddhist enlightened sages who are out of transmigration and the six kinds of beings in transmigration. This is the main difference in brief. Even as there is only one sun in the sky, so there is only one Buddha in each generation. Time is infinite and many ages have passed and many will come. Before Lord Gautama there were many Buddhas and after him there will be many others. It is said that every being will recover his Buddha-nature sooner or later.


There is a Buddhist sutra that contains 300 Buddha's names. There are 88 Buddhas who are commonly known. Their names are repeated most often. There are 35 Buddhas who witness our confessions.


In the Sung dynasty (960 A.D.) Mrs. Sen Lo-An read the entire Tripitaka after her husband died and wanted to write all the Buddhas names that she had seen in the Sutras and Sastras into one book. More than one myriad names of Buddhas had been gathered. Mrs. Sen Lo-An asked her two sons to write the names. This sutra turned out to be in 10 volumes and is titled the "Myriad Buddhas Sutra."


For a detailed description of Buddhas there is the "Seven Buddhas Sutra". Below I have only presented a list giving some information about them. (See end of chapter)

Even in Buddhahood every Buddha has his own special vows, characteristics, pure lands, and family of sages. The most important thing is the wisdom of the Buddha which I shall write about in another chapter.


Truly to compare the subjects of worshipping between Tantric Buddhism and Hinduism on any point, quality or quantity, we cannot help but choose Tantric Buddhism.


In order to rectify the mistake of regarding Buddhism as atheism made by not only western scholars but also by modern eastern workers, an accessory supplement should be made here.


Atheism is a Greek term which not only means no creator but means no god at all. There are three kinds of Atheism among which none should be attributed to Buddhism: 1. Dogmatic Atheism is positive in its assertion. Buddha never denies any god's conditional existence. He denies the absolute God and Creator only. 2. Skeptical Atheism maintains that the finite mind of man is incapable of determining the question of whether God exists or not. Buddha is a fully enlightened man, not like those Agnostics. If he could not determine, who can? 3. Critical Atheism holds that the evidence for theism is inadequate. Buddha teaches his disciples the evidence for God in a certain reasonable limitation and often denies blind faith even in himself. Buddha does not hold that any deity has absolute ego but admits there is a God of every religion in a shadow-like appearance.


The knowledge of religion is one of Metaphysics, unlike those animals or plants which may be easily classified into Phyla, subphyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species. All those terms for religion such as Atheism, Theism, Monotheis, Pantheism and Polytheism are of non-sense. Whichever religion there is, we find Theism and not Atheism. Whichever religion there is formed, there is Pantheism or Polytheism but not Monotheism. Mahavira and Parasvanath are said to be Omniscient but Jainism is said to be Atheism. Is Omniscience not a name and an actual characteristic of God? Besides these two, there were 22 proceeding Tirthankaras in Jainism. Is Jainism not Pantheism? In the Jainist Scripture, verse No. 41 it is written, "One must worship God". Why should one say Jainism is Atheism? Christianity is said to be Theism and Monotheism but in Genesis Chapter 1, verse 26, Cod said: "Let us make man in our own image." Chapter 11, verse 7, "Let us go down". Should "us" be used for Monotheism? Jesus is God too, the Trinity is not single. There is no room in the religious sphere for Monotheism at all. Buddhist writers should not follow the foolish western philosophers. To particularize the philosophic emphasis and the unique practice of each religion is better than to generalize the similarities of common conditions of all religions. Sunyata and wisdom energy of Buddhism, pure soul and Ahimsa of Jainism, High-self and yogic asanas of Hinduism, and so on should be learned by the readers. This is my advice.


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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Going beyond

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note* nice talk from Robert quote"When you stop thinking of yourself, and you start thinking on yourself, but yourself becomes
omnipresence, that means you're thinking of everybody else as yourself. So if any human being
suffers, you suffer too. But, in a way we differ from Buddhism. Not much, but a little. Because
the bodhisattva says he will not be realized until everybody else is realized. But then they have a
higher bodhisattva called the Arhat. It's like the Avadhut in Hinduism, who becomes selfrealized,
by himself, because he understands that his self is the self of all. And that's what we accept.
In other words, if you want to help your fellow man, if you want to make this world a better
world in which to live, find yourself first, and everything else will take care of itself."

................................
August 19, 1990
Robert: I want to let you in on a little secret. There are no problems. There are no problems.
There never were any problems, there are no problems today, and there will never be any problems.
Problems just mean that the world isn't turning the way you want it to. But in truth, there
are no problems. Everything is unfolding as it should. Everything is right. You have to forget
about yourself and expand your consciousness until you become the whole universe. The reality
in back of the universe is pure awareness. It has no problems. And you are that.
If you identify with your body, then there's a problem, because your body always gets into
trouble of some kind. But if you learn to forget about your body and your mind, where is there a
problem? In other words, leave your body alone. Take just enough care of it. Exercise it a little,
feed it right foods, but don't think about it too much. Keep your mind on reality. Merge your
mind with reality, and you will experience reality. You will live in a world without problems.
The world may appear to have problems to others, but not to you. You will see things differently,
from a higher point of view.
I had an interesting phone call this week. Someone asked me, "Do self-realized people dream,
or have visions?" Now, in order to have a dream or a vision, there has to be somebody left to
have it, and yet, if you're self-realized, there's nobody home. There's nobody left. So it's a contradiction,
as truth is. All truth is a contradiction. It's a paradox. The answer is, sages do dream
sometimes, and have visions. But they're aware of the dreamer. In other words they realize that
they are not the person dreaming or having the vision. But as long as there's a body there someplace,
there will be dreams and visions. Even though there's no one home, there will still, once in
a while, be a dream or a vision.
As an example, Ramana Maharshi often dreamt and had visions. Nisargadatta dreamt and had
visions. And they were both self-realized. But again, the question is, who dreams, who has the
vision? There's no ego left. As long as the dreamer is separate from the I. I can only speak from
my own experience. There's no difference, to me, in the waking state, the dreaming state, the
sleeping state, or the vision state. They're all the same. I'm aware of all of them, but I am not
them. I observe them. I see them happening. As a matter of fact, sometimes I can not tell the difference.
Sometimes I don't know whether I'm dreaming, or awake, or having a vision, or I'm
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asleep. It's all the same, because I take a step backward, and I watch myself going through all
these things.
So, for some reason, lately, I've been dreaming about the queen of England. She was coming
to satsang. I don't know why... for about three nights in a row. But I did have an interesting vision
this morning, about four o'clock, and we'll spend the rest of the time discussing it, because I
found it very interesting.
As many of you know, I have had a constant vision, periodically, of myself going to Arunachala,
the sacred mountain where Ramana Maharshi lived. And the mountain is hollow, in the
vision. And I go through the mountain, to the center, where there's a bright light, a thousand
times brighter than the sun, but yet it's pleasing and calm, and there's no heat. And then I meet
Ramana, Jesus, Rama Krishna, Nisargadatta, Lao Tse, and others. And we smile at each other,
we walk toward each other, and melt into one light, and become one. Then there's a blinding
light and an explosion. And then I open my eyes. I've shared that with you before.
But this morning, for the first time, I had a very interesting vision, which I'll share with you
again. I dreamt I was somewhere in an open field, a beautiful field. There was a lake nearby,
trees, a forest. And I was sitting under a tree, in this open field. And I had on the orange garb of a
renunciate. I must have been a Buddhist. All of a sudden hundreds of bodhisattvas and mahasattvas
come from the forest and start walking toward me. And they all sit down in a semi-circle
around me, in meditation. And I wondered what I was doing. Then I realized that I had become
the Buddha. And we all sat in silence for about three hours.
Then one of the bodhisattvas got up and asked a question. He said, "Master, what is your
teaching"? It was not in English. I don't know what language he spoke. But I understood it quite
clearly. And without hesitation I said, "I teach Self Realization of Noble Wisdom.” And he sat
down.
We sat for about another three hours in silence, and then another bodhisattva got up and asked
a question. "Master, how can you tell when one is close to self-realization? How can you tell one
is about to become self-realized? How does one tell?"
And this is what I'd like to discuss today. How can we tell if we're on the path correctly? I
gave four principles, which I really never do in the waking state. I never have a teaching. But I
was giving a teaching, so I'll share it with you. I explained four principles, where you know that
you're close to self-realization. Of course, we're all self-realized already.
Principle number 1: You have a feeling, complete understanding that everything you see, everything
in the universe, in the world, emanates from your mind. In other words, you feel this.
You do not have to think about it, or try to bring it on. It comes by itself. It becomes a part of
you. The realization that everything that you see, the universe, people, worms, insects, the minDraft
Only
eral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, your body, your mind, everything that appears, is a manifestation
of your mind. You have to have that feeling, that deep understanding, without trying to.
So you ask yourself, "What do I think about all day long?" Of course, if you fear something, if
you worry, if you believe something is wrong somewhere, if you think you're suffering from
lack, or limitation, or sickness, anything, then you're out of it completely, because you're not understanding
that all these things are simply a manifestation of your own mind. And if you worry
about these things you become attached to false imagination. That's called false imagination.
You've been attached to habit energy for many years, and all these attachments and beliefs come
from habit energy.
It's like watching a TV show and becoming one of the characters, when you know that you're
not even in the TV. But you believe you're one of the characters in the TV show. So it is with the
world. Do not get involved. I don't mean you become passive. I mean your body does what it's
supposed to do. Remember, your body came to this earth to do something. It will do something
without your knowledge. It'll take care of itself. Don't worry. But do not identify your body with
yourself. They're different. Your body is not yourself. And I'll prove this.
When you refer to your body what do you say? Don't you say "my body?" Who is this "my"
you're referring to? You say "my finger,” "my eye.” Who are you referring to? You couldn't be
talking about your body, because you’re saying it's my body, like you own it. Who owns it? This
proves to yourself that you're not your body. So do not identify yourself with the body and the
world.
Therefore the first principle, to see how close you are to self-realization is: You are not feeling
that you are identified with the world. You're separate. And you're feeling happiness, because
your natural state is pure happiness. Once you identify with worldly things, you spoil it. The
happiness disappears, it dissipates. But when you're separate from worldly things happiness is
automatic. Beautiful, pure happiness. It comes by itself. So that's the first principle.
Principle number 2 I explained to the bodhisattvas was this: You have to have a strong feeling,
a deep realization, that you are unborn. You are not born, you do not experience a life, and
you do not disappear, you do not die. You are not born, you have no life, and you do not die.
You have to feel this, that you are of the unborn. Do you realize what this means? There is no
cause for your existence. There is no cause for your suffering. There is no cause for your problems.
Some of you still believe in cause and effect. This is true in the relative world, but in the
world of reality there is no cause. Nothing has ever been made. Nothing has ever been created.
There is no creation. I know it's hard to comprehend. How do I exist if I was not born, I have no
life and I do not disappear in old age? You exist as I am. You have always existed and you will
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always exist. You exist as pure intelligence, as absolute reality. That is your true nature. You exist
as sat-chit-ananda. You exist as bliss consciousness, but you do exist. You exist as emptiness,
as nirvana, but you do exist. So don't worry about being nonexistent.
But you do not exist as the
body. You do not exist as person, place or thing. Do you feel that? If you have a strong feeling
about that, then you're close to self-realization.
Principle number 3: You are aware and you have a deep understanding of the egolessness of
all things; that everything has no ego. I'm not only speaking of sentient beings. I'm speaking of
the mineral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human kingdom. Nothing
has an ego. There is no ego. And do you realize what this means? It means that everything is sacred.
Everything is God. Only when the ego comes, does God disappear, what we call "God.”
Everything becomes God. You have reverence for everything. When there is no ego, you have
reverence for everybody and everything.
So you have to be aware of the egolessness of all things. Animals have no ego, minerals have
no ego, vegetables have no ego, and humans have no ego. There is no cause, so there cannot be
an effect. There is only divine consciousness, and everything becomes divine consciousness. So
if you look at your fellow man and animals and everything else as being egolessness, you will
see them as yourself. Can't you see that?
It's the ego that causes separation. When I am full of ego, I become strong within myself. I
become totally separate. So the more you like yourself as a person, the bigger your ego is. You
say, "Well, I'm not supposed to like myself?” You're supposed to love yourself, but what self are
we talking about? We're not talking about your body self, because that comes and goes. We're
talking about your permanent self that has always been here. And your permanent self is me, is
you, is the world, is the universe, is everything. That's your permanent self.
Egolessness. That's the only time that you can love your fellow human beings, when you have
no ego. That's how you can tell where you're at, if you're close to self-realization. That's principle
number three.
Principle number 4: You understand the Self Realization of Noble Wisdom. You have a
deep conviction, a deep understanding, a deep feeling of what self-realization of noble wisdom
really is. What is Self Realization of Noble Wisdom to you? You can never know by trying to
find out what it is, because it's absolute reality. You can only know by finding out what it is not.
So you say, “It is not my body, it is not my mind, it is not my organs, it is not my thoughts, it
is not my world, it is not my universe, it is not the animals, or the trees, or the moon, or the sun,
or the stars, it is not any of those things.” When you've gone through everything and there's nothing
left, that's what it is. Nothing. Emptiness. Nirvana. Ultimate oneness.
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Anyway, I explained these four principles to all the bodhisattvas and all the mahasattvas.
Then we sat three hours in meditation and they got up and walked back into the forest. Then
there was a flash of light, and I opened my eyes. What do you think of that? Any questions?
S: Was it a dream or a vision, and how do you distinguish between the two?
R: Well, I don't really know, to tell you the truth. I'm usually aware of what's going on, so all
the time I was aware of the vision/dream's taking place.
S: Including this time.
R: Yes, I realized I was doing all these things. It was like I was watching everything taking
place. But there was never a time when I actually became the dream or the vision.
S: Or felt totally caught up in it? You were always observing.
R: Right. I was always observing. But it was like an omnipresent
observer. So that's the
teaching. That's how you tell when you're getting close to self-realization. So, do you remember
the four principles? Why don't you repeat them for those who came late?
S: I don't think I remember the four.
R: I think they're very important to remember. Which ones do you remember?
(The students struggle with trying to remember the principles).
See how easy we forget?
(More struggle, and something close to the first one).
That's right. The whole universe is a manifestation of the mind. Everything. You've got to feel
that and know it's true.
S: As long as we're identified with the body or the mind, then we're not very far off.
R: Exactly. You're part of the world.
S: Then how do you say the first one?
R: The first one is that everything, and I mean everything, the mineral kingdom, the vegetable
kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human kingdom, everything your senses show you, is an
emanation of the mind. You're projecting a picture, just like you project a moving picture, and
everything you see right now, in this room, comes from your mind. You may say, "How can we
collectively see the same thing?” That's because of the habit energy that we're brought up in. So
collectively we seem to be seeing the same thing, the same picture. That's number one. What's
number two? Who can tell me?
(Students try to remember).
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R: That's right. We're not born. We have no existence. In between the time we're born and
when we die we really have no existence. And we do not die. There's no disappearance.
S: So how would you summarize it? That we are non-existent, or that we have no beginning
and no end?
R: Both are right. We have no cause.
S: So you're saying that existence implies a relative cause, and existence only takes place in a
relative world, and we're not really a part of that.
R: Yes, exactly.
S: And non-existence?
R: Non-existence also does not exist.
S: But then couldn't you say the mind doesn't exist. I mean you say that everything that exists...
R: Nothing that you can explain exists.
S: But earlier you said that everything emanates from the mind.
R: Yes. You're projecting the picture.
S: But then you have a mind.
R: You don't have a mind.
S: I think he means everything in the earth plane world.
R: In the relative world. In reality there's no mind. That's how the picture appears. The mind
projects the whole universe. So if you get rid of the mind, there's no universe. We have to kill the
mind. And the whole universe is annihilated, because it's the mind that projects the universe, and
tells us all these stories. Think, for a moment, of all the problems that you believe you have.
Think of what's bothering you. You can tell me your story for four hours. This is wrong and
that's wrong. It's all a projection of the mind. So by getting rid of the mind, everything stops, and
beauty, and joy and bliss ensue. But you're covering the beauty, and joy and bliss when you
worry, when you fear, when you think something is wrong someplace. So that's precept number
2. What's number 3?
S: Egoless.
R: Right. Everything is egoless. Not only human beings, but everything. Mountains, trees, the
sun, nothing has an ego. That means it has no existence. So where did it come from? When you
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have a dream, where does the dream come from? Same place. From nowhere. From false imagination.
S: I don't understand the expression "false imagination,” because the word imagination implies
a certain falsity.
R: You're imagining a false world and a false ego.
S: That's sort of a paradoxical saying.
R: Sure. It's all paradoxical. Because it doesn't exist. But that's how we imagine it. This is the
reason I always go back to the sky is blue. Somebody takes me outside and says, "Look at the
beautiful blue sky.” And I agree with them, but I know deep inside that that's not true. There's no
sky and there's no blue. It doesn't exist. Or the oasis in the desert. The water. It doesn't exist. It's
a mirage. The world's the same thing. The universe only exists in the dream state. It's like a
dream. Now what's the fourth precept? What's number four?
S: It has something to do with we are nothing.
R: (laughs) Everything has to do with that. But it's actually to have an understanding, and a
deep realization, of what Self Realization of Noble Wisdom is.
S: And how is noble wisdom defined from regular wisdom?
R: It's the same thing, just more wordy. It's a Buddhist expression.
S: They have all these real long expressions. And then they always say what it is.
R: The eight-fold path. And then they take years explaining it. But when you get into the
highest teaching there's nothing. So the fourth one is, the only way to know what self-realization
is, is by knowing what it is not. And whatever is left, that's what it is. So you say it's not the
body, it's not the mind, it's not my organs, it's not my thoughts, it's not the world, it's not the sun,
it's not the universe, it's not God, it's not creation, and you go on, and on and on. When you get
out of breath and out of words, that's it.
S: Is that what the expression, "neti, neti" means?
R: Yes.
S: Is it boring? If all that goes away and there is nothing...
R: (laughs) No! See, that's what people think. That's why I explained before, the mind will
make you say that because it doesn't want to be annihilated. It wants to rule you and control you
completely, because that's its nature. That's the nature of the mind that doesn't exist.
S: When you're meditating, are you totally separate from this physical world?
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R: When who's meditating? When I'm meditating personally? Well, I don't usually meditate. I
sit sometimes with my eyes closed but I just rest my eyelids.
S: Because there's no one there, right? There's no one to meditate.
R: There has to be someone to meditate. That doesn't mean you should stop meditating. It
means you should look at these four principles and compare them to where you are yourself, and
work on yourself so that you can apply these principles to yourself everyday, until the day comes
when you don't have to talk about it any longer. You just become a total manifestation of those
principles.

R: There are three methods we use to help us on the path, so we can realize what we were
talking about before. Number one is self-surrender, where we surrender completely to God, or to
yourself. But that's hard to do for most people. It sounds easy, but it's not. It means that you have
no life of your own. You surrender completely and totally everything to God. Totally. Every part
of your life goes to God. "Not my will, but thine.” That's devotion, bhakti. Again, it sounds easy
to some people, but it's not when you get into it, because it means every decision that you have to
make is left up to God. You give your mind to God, totally, completely, absolutely. And that
leads you to self-realization.
Number two is mindfulness, which we were talking about. Becoming the witness. Watching
yourself continuously. Watching your thoughts. Watching your actions. Sitting in meditation and
watching what goes on in your mind. Not trying to change anything or correct anything. Just observing.
Becoming the witness to your thoughts in meditation, and to your actions in the waking
state.
And number three is the one that I advocate, self-inquiry. Asking yourself, "To whom do
these troubles come? To whom does this karma come? To whom does this suffering come? It
comes to me? Well, what is me? I am me. Who am I? From where did the I come from?" And
following the I to its source. You can use any of those three methods, the one that suits you best.
But by all means do something. Don't waste your life with frivolities. Work on yourself, if you
want to become free.
It doesn't mean you have to give up going to the movies, or going to work, or anything. You
give nothing up. You just become aware of what you're doing. You become a conscious being.
You become conscious of your actions. You become loving, compassionate, gentle to all people.
You stop watching out for number one. Most of us say, "Number one. I'm number one.” Forget
it. That's how you suffer. That's ego. It's hard to understand, when you give up your ego, how
you can have a better life, but you do. Try it and you'll see.
When you stop thinking of yourself, and you start thinking on yourself, but yourself becomes
omnipresence, that means you're thinking of everybody else as yourself. So if any human being
suffers, you suffer too. But, in a way we differ from Buddhism. Not much, but a little. Because
the bodhisattva says he will not be realized until everybody else is realized. But then they have a
higher bodhisattva called the Arhat. It's like the Avadhut in Hinduism, who becomes selfrealized,
by himself, because he understands that his self is the self of all. And that's what we accept.
In other words, if you want to help your fellow man, if you want to make this world a better
world in which to live, find yourself first, and everything else will take care of itself.
-added by danny-

Friday, June 26, 2009

Black,white or yellow

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note* M J died...a most beautiful song from him...
''I said if
You're thinkin' of
Being my brother
It don't matter if you're
Black or white''...
This was recorded in Bucharest,Romania in 1992.
-added by danny-
............................

Monday, June 22, 2009

A whole new world

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note* beautiful songs..

Tranquil as a forest
But on fire within
Once you find your center
you are sure to win
You're a spineless, pale
pathetic lot...
And you haven't got a clue
Somehow I'll make a man
out of you ..
(Be a man)
We must be swift as
the Coursing river
(Be a man)
With all the force
of a great typhoon
(Be a man)
With all the strength
of a raging fire
Mysterious as the
dark side of the moon...
-added by danny-(in these verses ,,be a man,, means activating the mind principle whom can control the mysterious dark side of the moon,which contains the power)
..................................


Saturday, June 20, 2009

Life After Death?

Lead me from dreaming to waking.
Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple.
Lead me from the obscure to the obvious.
Lead me from intention to attention.
Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am.
Lead me from confrontation to wide openness.
Lead me to the place I never left,
Where there is peace, and peace
- The Upanishads

*note* Ruldolf Steiner talks about life after death...quite interesting guy he was.Lots of assumptions,but every here and there some sparks of true knowledge(not wisdom)...great guy...lots of books he wrote,you can read them all online.
-added by danny-
........................

Life After Death

Strasbourg, May 13, 1913

We encounter the full significance and the tasks of spiritual science when we consider the period of life between death and a new birth. There are many people, particularly in our materialistic age, who ask why they should concern themselves with life between death and rebirth or, if the idea of repeated earth lives is rejected, with an existence after death, since they surely can wait and see what happens after death when the time comes! This is said by people today who have not quite lost the feeling for the spiritual world but who are not yet equipped with sufficient soul-powers to acquire concepts and feelings about the supersensible. They add that if they perform their duty here on earth, they shall experience in the appropriate way what awaits them after death.


Now a genuine connection with life between death and rebirth brings out clearly the fallacy of such a view and how important it is during earthly existence to have formed an idea of the conditions of life after death.


It is exceedingly difficult to speak about life after death in words borrowed from everyday language since the language we know is adapted to life between birth and death and refers to the objects of this world. Therefore, we can usually only indicate what happens between death and a new birth, which is so radically different in nature from anything that can be experienced here. We must imagine that everything we perceive here in the physical world to which we belong cannot be our world after death because we lack the physical-sensory organs. The intellect, which is bound to the brain, also ceases to function after death. We can only tentatively endeavor to give a picture of the life that is so completely different from our existence here on earth. In a certain sense, everyday words can only be used as analogies. Spiritual science, however, also teaches us to relate words to spiritual reality and conveys by means of words an understanding of the supersensible world.


In the physical world, by the physical in man we mean that which is enclosed within his skin, the rest is known as his surroundings, what we experience depends on the functions of our sense organs but also on the heart, lungs and so forth. All this vanishes in the course of our journey between death and a new birth. During the earthly existence our soul-spiritual being is embedded in our physical body, and it lives on the activity of our organs. After death the part that leaves the physical and etheric bodies grows ever larger, and a time comes when what is otherwise contained within the boundary of the skin expands so far as to fill the whole circumference of the orbit of the Moon. The soul-spirit gradually grows right up to the Mercury and Venus spheres, and farther to the Mars, Jupiter and Saturn spheres, and even beyond into the universe. Later it contracts again and unites itself as a tiny spirit-germ with the stream of heredity that prepares its physical body through father and mother. This description agrees with what has been written in Theosophy. The Spirit Land begins in the Mars sphere.


From the above it can be deduced that having gone through the gate of death we all find ourselves within the same cosmic space. After death we do in a sense interpenetrate one another, yet all the dead are not together because togetherness after death depends upon something quite other than what it depends upon on earth. In the spiritual world we may be spatially united but we can only really be together with another individual if we have a spiritual connection with him.


Let us take the extreme case of a person who, while on earth, has utterly denied the spirit both in his thoughts and in his feelings. There are many theoretical materialists who deny the spirit and who nevertheless are in some way through their feelings connected with the spiritual world. In reality there are hardly any people who totally deny the spiritual world so that the fearful circumstances I am about to describe never quite come into effect. Let us assume that two such persons die who knew one another well on earth. After death they will dwell within the same space but will be completely unaware of one another because after death a feeling for the spirit corresponds, let us say, to what here are our eyes. Without eyes, no light; without a feeling for the spiritual, no perception of the supersensible world.


But an even more terrible fate than not being able to perceive the spiritual world is in store for such people. Because souls who go through the gate of death are of a spiritual nature, materialistic souls cannot even perceive them. A yawning chasm opens up around such souls. In fact, one may ask, “What does such a soul perceive after death?” Not even himself as he is after death because he lacks a clear consciousness of self. The following will show us what remains for him.


Here on the earth we are situated at a point on the earth's surface. Our organs are within us, whereas the starry heavens are outside. The opposite is the case after death. Then man grows to a cosmic dimension. When he has expanded up to the Moon sphere, the spiritual that belongs to the Moon becomes an organ within him. It becomes after death what the brain is for us on earth as physical human beings. Each planetary body becomes an organ for us after death inasmuch as we have expanded to its orbit. The Sun becomes a heart for us. As here we bear the physical heart within our body, so there we carry the spiritual part of the Sun within us. There is only one difference. We are perfect physical human beings when, after the embryonic evolution, all the organs have formed; They are simultaneously present. After death we acquire these organs little by little, one after another. We are then in this respect, considered externally, quite similar to a plant-like being that also forms its organs successively. We may, for example, compare the organ we receive on Mars with the lungs and the larynx.


After death we grow into that of which the physical part has been discarded, and the spiritual part of the cosmic organ is now inside us. What is then our external world? What at present is our inner world, what we have experienced by means of our organs that make us into physical, earthly beings, and what we have done by means of these organs.


Let us again take the extreme case of the person who has made no connection whatsoever to the spiritual world. After death his outer world consists of what he has been able to experience by means of his physical organs. For such a radical atheist the world after death is totally devoid of human souls and he is forced to look back on his earthly life, on what was his world, on what he encompassed with his deeds and experiences. That is his external world. It consists of nothing apart from the memories that remain of his life between birth and death, and that is not sufficient for what man requires for his life between death and rebirth. In fact, when man dwells outside his skin, his earthly existence looks quite different.


For example, on earth we are connected with a person towards whom we feel antipathy, with whom we have quarreled and whom we have insulted and caused pain. We are emotionally involved with him and we would not behave in this way unless in a certain sense we found such behavior gratifying. One is perhaps filled with remorse, and then again one forgets about it.


After death we again meet this person but now we feel the opposite of the satisfaction previously experienced. One senses that if one had not acted in this way, one would have been a more perfect human being; one's soul is wanting in this respect. This shortcoming now remains in the soul until the deed can be adjusted. We do not behold the deed as much as the failing in our soul, which must be removed. We experience this as an inner force that leads us to find an opportunity to wipe away the deed.


In the case of an anti-spiritual soul something else must be added, because he feels he is severed from the soul he has dealt with unjustly, and he must wait until he meets him again in order to remove the stain. A feeling for the necessity of karma is the result of looking back at the previous earth life. The tableau in the Akasha Chronicle of the other soul stands before us in admonition. Then we dwell merely among such pictures in the Akasha Chronicle.


Such extreme cases do not actually exist. The initiate who enters into contact with the soul of a dead person can have the following experience. He finds a soul with whom he is acquainted and who has gone out of a male body through the portal of death leaving behind him wife and children. This soul tells him, “I have left behind my wife and children with whom I lived. Now I have only the images of what we experienced together. My family is on the earth, but I cannot see them. I feel separated from them. Perhaps one of them has already died, but I also cannot find that one.” That is the voice of despair of one who lived in surroundings in which the spirit has not been cultivated. Therefore, such souls remain in the dark in relation to the spiritual world and they cannot even be seen from the spiritual world.


On the other hand, when an initiate finds souls who have left others behind in the physical world, and who cultivated a spiritual life such as spiritual science, then he finds the dead can perceive the souls after death and communicate with them.


The so-called dead need the living, for otherwise they would only be able to behold themselves on earth, that is, their own life that has run its course. This explains the deed of love that we can perform for the dead by reading spiritually to them, not aloud, but in thoughts, by imagining the dead here with us in thought. In this way we can read to a number of dead at one and the same time, with or without a book, and thereby perform a considerable deed of love for them. The thoughts must be related to a spiritual content, otherwise they have no meaning for the dead. These thoughts create an external world for the dead that he can perceive. To think chemical laws and so forth has no sense because these laws are meaningless in the spiritual world.


It is also impossible, as one might easily imagine, to learn any more spiritual science after death because spiritual science after all contains spiritual ideas. We can do a great service to souls who have already heard something of spiritual science by reading cycles of lectures to them. Although such souls are able to perceive a spiritual world, they are nevertheless not able to form concepts and ideas that one can only acquire here on earth.


Let us take an example. There are beings known as bodhisattvas, lofty human beings who are far advanced and who incarnate repeatedly on the earth until they have ascended to the rank of buddhahood. As long as a bodhisattva dwells within a physical body, he lives as a man among men, as a spiritual benefactor of mankind. Even here on earth he has a special task, which is to teach not only the living but the dead and even the beings of the higher hierarchies. This is due to the fact that the content of earthly theosophy can only be acquired on earth within a physical body. It can then be made use of in the spiritual world but it must be attained within a physical body.


After their deaths, bodhisattvas can only in exceptional cases assist the progress of other beings, beings in the spiritual world who have already received the spark of the spirit here on earth. Theosophy cannot arise through the spiritual worlds as such. It only arises on earth and can then be taken upward by man into the spiritual world.


This can be understood if we consider that animals, for example, see everything on the earth as men do, but cannot understand what they are. Supersensible beings can only behold the supersensible world but cannot understand it. Concepts and ideas of the spiritual world can only arise on earth, and they ray forth like a light into the spiritual world. This enables one to understand rightly the meaning of the earth. The earth is neither a mere transitional stage, nor a vale of despair, but it exists so that on it a spiritual knowledge can be developed which can then be carried upwards into the spiritual worlds.