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One doesn't have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding is sufficient. ~ Charles M. Blow ~

*viewer discretion recommended for Big Billy (adult-ish content) The hard lives of Alugalug Cat & Big Billy

sounds of the deep woods bamboo grove, full of music dancing faeries cry

lovers in Paris a pair of red stilettos complicated hearts

Milarepa was loaded with yogic siddhis at the time when he unleashed despicable revenge on a whole village. Could be wrong, but I think Dwai's point was somewhat misunderstood. Personally, I think siddhis and the enlightening journey can be cultivated exclusively. Or inclusively, if so wish. But one who's a siddhi adept is not necessarily enlightened, and an enlightened being could just be someone who's adept at very ordinary things, which often leads to a natural, gentle and authentic ability to let others close by to glimpse how the mundane and the profound are not two different things. The Flower Ornament Sutra (aka Avatamsaka Sutra) speaks to this quite succinctly ~ "Endless action arises from the mind; from action arises the multifarious world. Having understood that the world's true nature is mind, you display bodies of your own in harmony with the world. Having realized that this world is like a dream, and that all Buddhas are like mere reflections, that all principles [dharma] are like an echo, you move unimpeded in the world." Key word being 'Unimpeded", and to what end this unimpededness is directed. Motivation/intent is worthy of attention. Carrying water by one who's unimpeded v another who is... the difference can be quite palpable to those who see more, not less, but the interest to marvel at deeds does not perturb the one who's carrying water, unimpeded. So, mundane or profound does not concern the enlightening individual - its the observers that marvel at the constant unfolding of dualistic phenomena. Where siddhis are found by those who seek.

why is work stressful, if you don't mind the slightly personal question? Looking back, I remember now the first couple of years was very exciting, like a love affair with ngondro haha I think the retreat leader taught a more exuberant version of prostration, whereby the aspirant almost flings the body to the floor, but when in love, you know, we forget to question certain fundamental things about practice, and so I did that style for a while, until I met another teacher, a gentler teacher, who encouraged to try a less physically demanding approach. (akin to demo clip) With this style, there's no hard contact between knees and ground, so even a mat is not really needed. As for pace, its really up to the individual, and whats being felt in the moment. I think if one is working thru a particular challenge, a slightly more dynamic input for a few days, or a couple of weeks, may be helpful. The same teacher also stressed the importance of checking motivation for doing prostration - over style, form and quantity. One prostration with heart in the right place is infinitely more virtuous than 1000 distracted contact of forehead onto floor. Try to approach the practice with few expectations, none if possible. Just tell yourself you're in it for the long haul, and go for it, gently at first. Cultivate the sort of attitude and mental essence like the marathon monks (watch the vid I posted in the Enlightening Potential thread.) Its deepening profundity will only experienced after a few good years of persistent practice. Grateful for the good wishes, M. You stay safe too, ok.

Hi @Miroku Great to hear about your new job! May it serve you well. And please, be safe. Prostration habit... Nice way to describe it. Yes, unfortunately I'm stuck with the routine as it's integral to ngondro, my main practice. Lets see... I started in 96, so yeah, its gone some miles and a bit. Some days am able to do more. Other days less. Truly grateful for the many layers of benefit as a result. Grateful too that its not been detrimental on the knees. Has it done something adverse to yours? Hopefully not, my friend. Now that you can, maybe you can give it a go. Even a dozen a day will yield results. Nothing is ever too little when the heart is there, in harmonious union with your mandala. Take care ok.

True. Some can, some can't - such is life. The point of being on the cushion is as vital as being off, some say. I think the residual effects of sitting can accumulate over time and overflow into mundane life if there's patience and self-kindness, among other virtues that can bloom as practice matures. I've found that it's possible to remain mentally 'on the cushion' even in the midst of activity.

Enjoy 🙏

Ven Tenzin Choedon, more prominently known as Ani Tenzin, was a resident of Kollegal Tibetan settlement who had spent over 44 years in meditation retreat at the holy caves of Guru Padmasambhava. Her body was found in the state of Thukdam with floral fragrance all around.

~ Tharchin Zangpo ~ Your conscious actions (karma) may deliver you to a certain place, be that heavenly, hell-like or neither, but know that, being entirely contingent, no such place of conditioned abiding will endure beyond its natural span.

Comprehensive list of Buddhist teachers and scholars here https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/index.html

On a side note.... its a bad idea to consciously swallow mucus. They're nothing but blobs of toxin meant to be expunged. On the matter of nostril blockages, I'd be curious if any of you have regulated your breathing to the abdomen instead of from the lungs/chest? Personally, I'm a habitual abdominal breather, and I don't experience any bunged up nostrils unless I get a cold, which is pretty rare. Abdominal breathing is essential for dream yoga to stabilize, and dream yoga is another useful yardstick to know if your practice is working.

~ Trungpa Rinpoche ~ There are seasons in your life in the same way as there are seasons in nature. There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally, of course, there are times that are cold and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. These rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.

Pema Chodron has written a handful on these issues.

~ Paramito Ladakh ~ The practitioner's responsibility is to realization alone.

Oh... this subject again. The recommended yoga asana (pose) thats tailored specifically to open the hips is the Gomukhasana. In the main, its believed that where Yoga is concerned, there are 84 asanas in total. A genuine practitioner will, at the early stages of taking up a meditative path, understand that there is a sequence to developing the physique, leading to, and culminating in the liberation of the bodymind. It will also be understood that not one pose takes priority over another, and those that experience pitfalls attempting full lotus have missed some of the pertinent yoga fundamentals. At the beginning of a spiritual and/or yoga adventure, most if not all traditional yoga schools will impart to aspirants the core principle of sthira sukham āsanam, translated as, "Asana means a steady and comfortable posture." If force is needed, one might as well abandon the practice and just remain focussed on cultivating one's path minus the incorporation of such poses. If one is hung up on a particular pose, the plot is lost. The four seated poses of Siddhasana, Padmasana, Bhadrasana and Simhasana share equal import - no one is more superior than the other.

For anyone keen on most excellent translations of profound Vajrayana Buddhist texts..... https://read.84000.co/section/all-translated.html

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I think what the writer meant is to leave alone the non-dual awareness when realized, or when its arisings are profoundly & unmistakably felt (maybe 'grokked' would be a more apt term). The tendency or reflexive habit of grasping at the non-dual experience has to be abandoned because the actual work is to realise the habitual traits, in all their nuances and subtleties, that drives the grasping nature, rather than focus on the experience(s). Non-reactivity is what I think the writer alluded to when he suggested to avoid objectifying and solidifying said experience - maybe by 'false' he was referencing that which has been solidified or objectified. I fully concur with your thoughts here:

*double post* (could be a programming/software glitch going on. Clicked 'save' once, and this happened)

~ Reginald Ray