adept

What a ridiculous question and a waste of forum space and time.

Greetings everyone. Recently I had a really vivid dream and wondered what it meant in regards to my study and practice. I have read only a little Huayen related literature, but what little I have read has left me absolutely gobsmacked by the sheer brilliance of this Way. I have a longing to read the Avatamsaka sutra but the large price tag of the book has stopped me from buying it. However, I have made a vow that sometime soon I would find a way to purchase this book. Now to my dream.... I found myself in an abandoned cave/temple complex in China. It was in ruins, and was damp, with moss covered rocks strewn all about. There was a large statue of the Buddha, but his head had somehow fallen from the body and it (the head) was lying sideways in the centre of the room. At the other end of the room was a stone plinth with some large leatherbound books on top of it. There were about a dozen books, all beautifully encased in black leather with the word "Avatamsaka'' embossed in gold on the front of each volume. I opened the book on top of the pile to find the most beautifully written sutra in red ink on thick moleskin paper. There was also a page by page commentary of the sutra. All of this was written in English. It's hard to describe, but I felt as I was reading, I immediately understood everything instantly. Then I woke up..... It was an extremely vivid dream. I actually thought I was there. I have been trying to understand the significance of it all. I really just don't know. Can dreams point us in the right direction and keep us from straying from the path ?

Well I've just managed to acquire a copy of this huge book at last. Yipee ! Casually flicking through the pages I can see I'm going to have my work cut out though.

Here is something that may interest you lifeforce. My link

I had another short, but very vivid dream in which Sudhana and Manjushri appeared and introduced themselves to me. This is becoming very bizarre. I feel as if I'm being coaxed onto a particular path. Not forced or converted, but gently shown a way. A way with no answers, ever. Only more questions.

I attended a workshop with a very respected UK IMA guy about 6 years ago in which we were working with the 'spiral force' in Bagua and Taiji. In one of the demonstrations I was hit very lightly by this guy's palm on my chest. I literally flew across the room. At the same time all the air left my lungs. I'd never experienced anything like it (or have since) in over 2 decades of external martial arts.

In this post there is a link to the PDF of the Mindfulness Of Breathing method as outlined by the Buddha in the Pali suttas.

There are many claims as to which meditation method the Buddha taught. Here is a method backed up by the suttas of the Pali Canon : Mindfulness Of Breathing. I've only recently started this method and it feels natural, unforced and tranquil.

Vimalaramsi's 'Bare bones instructions to mindfulness of breathing' here

The instructions highlighted in my post here cannot be disregarded when it comes to the nitty gritty of 'Buddhist' meditation. Buddhist meditation is not all about vipassana, and certainly not the modern interpretation of it.

Excellent videos. In Pure Land Buddhism also, there are numerous accounts of the prediction of one's physical passing, normally in a meditative pose : 'Ven. Master Chin Kung has often told the following story to encourage us in our practice. The story was told to him by an older practitioner, Mrs. Gan, in 1984. “Mrs. Gan had a relative, an elderly lady who had lived in San Francisco. This relative helped her son and daughter-in-law with the housework and took care of their children. After several years, when the grandchildren had grown older and were attending elementary school, she had more time to herself. With this extra time, she was able to practice nianfo every day without interruption. Nobody knew about this. On the day she passed away, people discovered how much she had achieved in her cultivation. She passed away at night. In the morning, when her son and daughter-in-law went to her room to see why she was not yet up, they found her dead, sitting cross-legged on the bed. They also found a will on the bed telling them how to arrange her funeral. There were even mourning clothes, which she had personally made for everyone, on the bed. She was a true practitioner, but nobody knew this when she was alive. This elderly lady had no karmic obstacles. She knew when she would pass away. She performed her daily routine as usual and passed away without suffering from any illness. She passed away with ease and freedom. The elderly lady had achieved in her practice, so she had no obstacles.” Videos of another passing

Instructions in easy to understand language

I have recently been sidetracked into practices and study that have taken me away from the path to wisdom. Metaphysical, unproven, speculative and theoretical, instead of practical and proven. It has all been a waste of time and energy. For me, the Pali suttas contain the methods necessary for meditation, and for living a wholesome life. I recently came across , which is the best explanation I've seen.Simple, straightforward, and proven. Enjoy.

After witnessing the catastrophe unfolding in Japan, I'd like to send my heart felt wishes to anyone affected by this awful tragedy. May all beings be free from suffering. Namu Amida Butsu

Devastation

Inspired by this post I thought I'd dig a little deeper. I've always had an interest in the influence of Taoism on Buddhism. I actually thought it started and ended with Ch'an and that was the only form of Taoist influenced Buddhism. But much earlier than Ch'an there were other forms of Chinese Buddhism, most notably, Huayen. It's absolutely mind-boggling and worth further investigation. I found an article that sheds some light on this. Enjoy.

I have only read about the scripture and the opinions of the scholars and Buddhists who have studied it. Until I can afford to get my hands on it, and then of course the mammoth task of reading and trying to understand it, I will reserve judgement. Have you read the sutra ? Has anyone here ? I'd like to hear peoples thoughts on it. Is it the summation of Buddhist thought, as described ? Or are there other sutras worthy of that title ?

This is interesting. Does anyone know if there's a Hindu/Tantric/Vedic equivalent of the Avatamsaka ?

This is something that I've thought since I had the dream. Maybe a connection to previous incarnations. The weird thing is that the clarity of the dream did not fade as the day wore on, as usually does with dreams. As the hours passed I seemed to remember more.