C T

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Everything posted by C T

  1. For those who have glimpsed 'no self'

    C T replied to idiot_stimpy's topic in General Discussion

    Q. -- who/what gives honey to the rose? Putting up a Bashar video and connecting the concept 'No Self' to it seems pretty cool. Do you actually pay heed to this chap, I. Stimpy? I have always thought 'channelling' is as new-age as one can get, but that's only a very limited opinion since i dont know much about his work. Having said this, in Tibet consulting oracles are very much the norm, so i am wondering what all the fuss is about.
  2. The history of Tibetan Buddhism can be gleaned from the www. As for the details of the different make-up of the various Yanas and how they compare to each other, may i ask why is that of such vitalness to your path? Are you planning on becoming a buddhist scholar or academic fellow on east asian religion? What is your end motivation? Liberation or knowledge, or both? If its liberation, then the nitty gritty may sometimes hinder more than help. Not that accumulating knowledge is trivial, but the approach towards it, the attitude, commitment to one path (that of the Bodhisattva), faith in one's guru, and moral support to and from the holy sangha are other attributes which lend progress, even more so than the mere gathering of knowledge. There are numerous accounts of very common people in Tibet, most of them peasants or wanderers, who attained the rainbow body -- this is due to their enduring faith and the ability to sustain devotion to Guru and also simple practices, for example, many of them don't do anything other than recite the Mani millions of times. Its hard to fathom how this works, but imagine the power generated in the mind after doing that.

  3. Escapism, Life, Buddhism

    C T replied to becomethepath's topic in General Discussion

    As long as retreats are not used as a substitute for escaping mundaneness, then its ok. Its obvious that there are a significant number who have replaced one form of escapism with another (or a few others) which has been spun so much so as to make it appear more noble when in fact its nothing more than another trap to lure entry into the cocoon of blissful unawareness.

  4. Rainbow Gathering Of The Family of Light

    C T replied to Republic Of Zen's topic in General Discussion

    Only dubliners can think of such trivial pursuits. (just kidding)

  5. Escapism, Life, Buddhism

    C T replied to becomethepath's topic in General Discussion

    Being too caught up in 'getting out of the ways of the mundane world' is also another form of escapism.

  6. Rainbow Gathering Of The Family of Light

    C T replied to Republic Of Zen's topic in General Discussion

    I liked your clip on 'what is Buddhism'. Amazing you can refrain from blinking for quite some time. Good sign! Have fun at the gathering! Mind the bits barreling all over the shop! fancy meeting someone from the big smoke on ttb...
  7. Since you have expressed such interest, you are now gifted with many hours of Dalai Lama's teachings (with moving pictures too, just so it doesn't get boring) which covers all the principle aspects of the various stages along the Mahayana path, from the lesser scope to the greater. (bearing in mind lesser and greater are only functionary in terms of usage). http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stages+of+the+path&oq=stages+of+the+path&gs_l=youtube.3...65227.87906.0.88365.40.31.5.3.4.7.203.3595.14j15j2.31.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.Zea7prR6qq0 Please take your time to absorb all the information, which will then hopefully put your mind to ease, and you will not have to be tormented again by what you think is lacking in tibetan buddhism and basically your own interpretation of it.
  8. P.S. Namdrol isn't even sure who 'he' himself is anymore. Ciao!
  9. Enough of this sort of talk. Im off to play some on-line poker. Will chat again if/when you come down from the clouds. Good day sir.
  10. Haha. Laughable.. Cowboy talk.
  11. duh.. You keep harping on about Gorampa. He is nothing more than another so-called lineage transmitter. There are hundreds of 'gorampas' everywhere, in every lineage, as far as the eye can see.
  12. Exactly. In the same sort of vein that you think he is not.
  13. I never alluded to that. Its just your imagination.
  14. Allow me to quote a few lines from The Adornment of the Middle Way (Jamgon Mipham): Je Tsongkhapa also says that beginners who do not possess the certainty deriving from rational investigation and who merely talks about the absence of conceptual extremes cannot dislodge their clinging to inherent existence. They therefore deviate from the authentic path. This being so, he said that, for the time being, it is very important to continue apprehending or focussing on the absence of inherent existence as this is revealed by reasoned inquiry. Nevertheless, his final teaching was as follows: Phenomena that, in dependence, inescapably arise, And the understanding of voidness, free from all assertion - As long as these appear as different, The teachings of the Buddha is not understood. But when phenomena, arising in dependence, Are seen at once together with their emptiness, And when there is no further apprehension that the two are separate, Then your View has been perfected. Then we can compare the equalness of Tsongkhapa's realization with that of Masters of the other traditions, like Marpa for example, who declared: This particular and final View, The union that dwells in no extreme, Is wisdom of the Buddhas of the triple time. Those who sunder means from wisdom, Fall to extreme views. So this should be avoided. And then, Milarepa said: Existence, the appearing of phenomena, Their emptiness or non-existence, By nature are not separate; they're of a single taste. There is no self-cognizing and no other-cognizing. Can you really reduce all these 3 quotes to distill which of them is derived from the Dzogchen, Mahamudra or Madhyamika view? Not likely.
  15. Thank you. A good and detailed analysis is always appreciated! Btw, i am not a Gelug student. I just happen to take an interest where i feel there could be misinformation floating around, and thus causes me to dig deeper in order to verify if indeed Tsongkhapa is the scoundrel that he is made out to be.
  16. The need is to ask if you know whether he considers himself prasangika? You have made it clear Gorampa does not rate Tsongkhapa as any worthwhile saint or scholar, but that is not important. What is crucial is how each considers themselves - do each of them see themselves aligning with prasangika or svatantrika? According to research, they both see themselves aligned to the former. Is this correct or not? I dont care what Gorampa thinks of Tsongkhapa so much. Important point to consider, since i am reminded that 'prasangika is a fictitious Tibetan category'.
  17. I too almost fell out of my chair when i scrutinized this article by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Gorampa. Did you know that he actually considers himself prasangika as well (as Tsongkhapa)? A detailed comparison between the distinct assertions each made can be gleaned further down in said article. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/gorampa/ This link (below) gives an extensive list of all eminent scholars and commentators who have undertaken to write, comment and critique Tsongkhapa's works. Surely they would not have gone to such length if Tsongkhapa was indeed demon-possessed, and whatever else was wrong with him, as claimed by Gorampa/Alwayson. http://www.easterntradition.org/etri%20bib-tsongkhapa.pdf In the official website of Sakya Trizin, under the topic 'Holy Biography of Sakya Pandita' it opens with homage paid by Tsongkhapa to Sakya Pandita. -- http://www.hhthesakyatrizin.org/tradition_founder4.html Odd thing, taking into account all that Alwayson have vaguely alluded to (regarding how the Sakyas and other more formidable, reputable lineages diss Tsongkhapa's writings and all).
  18. I dont know what exactly was his state of mind when he uttered that nonsense since 'being seized' and 'demons', according to mahayana view, are based on ignorant assumptions, or, to put it another way, on dualistic notions of self and external phenomenon. If Gorampa was indeed a man of realization, then these utterances of his are totally off the mark. Moreover, one man's accusatory words does not render the otherwise well-received teachings of another baseless and inaccurate. Dont know about you, but it would appear childish to actually accept Gorampa's obviously biased and distasteful remarks as anything more than jealousy or envy of another's achievement. It may not be this, but it sure sends out that kind of a message, as far as i can see.
  19. Your attempts are at sensationalizing this whole 'What Gorampa said..." thing says quite a bit. Based on the writings of Jamgon Mipham in 'The Adornment of The Middle Way' it shows very clearly that your views regarding Tsongkhapa/Prasangika/Svatantrika are all wrong.

  20. Are Sangha's Healthy?

    C T replied to Vmarco's topic in Buddhist Discussion

    This clip may help establish more clarity....
  21. Actually i think he is well-regarded by all Prasangika adherents. Im curious to know of your personal leanings, whether its to Prasangika or Svatantrika.
  22. Are you saying they are confused as to whether shugden is a protector or an emanation of Tsongkhapa himself? Im interested briefly to know your source for this assertion. Anyway, this really has nothing to do with the topic, so dont expect any further input from me in relation to this.
  23. Yes, which explains his zealous emphasis on renunciation, do you agree?

  24. Haiku Chain

    C T replied to Stigweard's topic in General Discussion

    My horse stands waiting not all who wander are lost good quote by the way...
  25. This is so unnecessary. Not all Tsongkhapa followers are D Shugden worshippers. They have access to other protector deities besides DS, like Setrap for example.