C T
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Everything posted by C T
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What are your tradition's safeguards against self-delusion or being deluded by others?
C T replied to Wilhelm's topic in General Discussion
Well, a crooked teacher who feigns enlightenment will eventually be found out. History has proven that without fail. You can only masquerade it for so long. Look at Sogyal Rinpoche, for instance. The list goes on. But there are many *hidden* yogis who have no desire to have followers or students. They spend their lives in retreat, in caves or tiny huts up in the Himalayas. They find contentment like that. -
What are your tradition's safeguards against self-delusion or being deluded by others?
C T replied to Wilhelm's topic in General Discussion
Sure, when one lives long enough, one will eventually see all kinds of kooky things, I guess. But I wasn't conjecturing. Neither was there any implication that these guides or teachers were all beyond reproach. Thats the reason it was mentioned that some of their *real* activities, positive or otherwise, occur out of sight of curious onlookers. Authentic teachers (or lamas, tulkus, whatever) spend sufficient hours of their private time doing practices for others who seek their help with a variety of troubles, mostly for the oppressed, sick & dying. And they usually do this regardless of their hectic public schedules. Usually late at night. They don't seem to require much sleep. When they awake, they often resume the practices for a couple of hours before dawn, and then start the day proper. The main point is that my observation showed me genuine Buddhist masters, regardless of their level of realisation, will not openly claim enlightenment. They seem to regard it as unimportant, even improper, and would prefer to talk about football, or James Bond movies. -
The 7 points of mind training, or Lojong, written and expounded by Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje in the 12th century, and is just as relevant today. This teaching is the tour de force that establishes the strongest foundation for any aspiring Buddhist practitioner on the path to liberation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lojong https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/geshe-chekhawa-yeshe-dorje/seven-points-mind-training Commentary: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/gyalse-thogme-zangpo/commentary-on-seven-points-mind-training
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Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential
C T replied to C T's topic in Buddhist Textual Studies
~ Paramito Ladakh ~ To stay with reality, resisting the urge to fall back into our usual fantasy realm of ideation, requires unbroken attention, lion-like courage and boundless compassion. -
Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential
C T replied to C T's topic in Buddhist Textual Studies
No matter how diligent one's practice, its not possible to cause the Uncreated to manifest. Practice is simply the act of attuning to that which has been, is, and always will remain Uncreated. Thats why (real) sages do not like to talk about attainments, rather, they will simply say they've attained nothing. -
What are your tradition's safeguards against self-delusion or being deluded by others?
C T replied to Wilhelm's topic in General Discussion
For the years I've been a practicing Buddhist, I've never ever heard a master/teacher (of Buddhism) say he or she is enlightened, even those whom others acknowledge as so. Self effacement is quite the norm among the really authentic guides, I noticed, repeatedly. Its always others that see it.... thru demeanour, speech, conduct. Their daily habits, from how they wake up in the morning, to how they prepare for sleep (generally at night, but not necessarily so) are good indicators. A lot of whats being done for others is done away from the open - and this applies to both right and wrong actions. Good guides get endless requests for prayers from their flock of sangha members, and such are usually performed privately. So unless you get really close enough to observe this very basic ritual (of waking and pre-sleep) don't get too excited over every other (claim). -
Pandemic Panic - Transcending the Fear
C T replied to Michael Sternbach's topic in General Discussion
I find it rather curious (& humorous, to an extent) that all of a sudden more & more countries are hopping on the vaccine bandwagon, with all claiming efficacy when just a couple of months ago the jittery global public were being told a safe working vaccine was still not certain for another number of months. Considering the complex logistics of storage & distribution, something I'd imagine cannot be ironed out in a short space of a couple of months, and considering the quantity of vaccines thats going to be flowing out everywhere, I've been asking myself the question if working vaccines were not already developed much earlier, and held back from being announced due to storage facilities and other logistical issues being un-readied at the time. I mean, every country that wants vaccines are also countries that need to build sophisticated systems to keep the vaccines stable, and one would imagine this is no simple task. How would they know what to build, assuming there was no data available then regarding the nature of vaccines thats going to be rolled out?- 317 replies
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- alternative medicine
- corona virus
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No frame of reference? Perhaps this is the IN thing Words that go AWOL
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Courage is what remains after the weeds die. What some call growth, I call *courage*.
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"Yes, I dreamt it too." First time my haiku brain froze Circuitry problem
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What happens should such offerings be withheld, for whatever reason?
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All tree, no forest Is that like all hair, no skin? A hairdresser's dream!
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All tree, no forest Is that like all hair, no skin? A hairdresser's dream!
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All tree, no forest Is that like all hair, no skin? A hairdresser's dream!
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Very often, its a symbiotic relationship - the shamans perform rites and make ritual offerings to 'feed' these spirits in return for 'favours'.
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The Buddhist (or Buddha's) scientific philosophy deals mainly with the science of working the mind, in the main, towards fulfilling the (human) potential for liberation from rebirth. The most notable among all of the great Buddhist sages who detailed the complete philosophical framework _of said mind science_ of Buddha's teachings is Nagarjuna. This article neatly sums up the brilliance of Nagarjuna's astute & systematic presentation of the Madhayamaka (see The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way) -- https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nagarjuna/ Whether Buddhist practices can be used as a "means to understand the intricacies and holistic value of a shamanistic existence or way of life" largely depends on the individual. The ngakpas of Tibet are generally Buddhist or Bon yogis who ascribe to such a path.
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At the gates of hell I worry when it all rhymes For whom the bell tolls?
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Open handed peace David Blaine's favourite trick A Master Baffler!
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I MUST REPLY NOW! Or forever hold your piece This way or that way....
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Yes, Thailand offers a more raw version of this, even more than Malaysia's. Singapore has somewhat muted theirs in recent years. I've witnessed these *celebrations* live many times in the past here in SE Asia. There are quite a few interesting youtube clips available. Keen parties, search "Nine emperor gods festival Malaysia" or "Phuket vegetarian festival" (add 'trance ritual' for more bite) (Beware graphic contents)
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Eating pickled eggs Ponders twenty twenty one Que sera sera....
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Is it really a fear of something, or simply fear as a fetter in terms of potentiality? Its easier to work the latter. When duality can be resolved, fear is no more. It is dualistic views that breed fear's potential.
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Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential
C T replied to C T's topic in Buddhist Textual Studies
Guru Padmasambhava's BARCHÉ LAMSEL—THE PRAYER THAT REMOVES ALL OBSTACLES FROM THE PATH (English & Tibetan) https://vajrasound.com/barche-lamsel-the-prayer-that-removes-all-obstacles-from-the-path/ -
Rushes by the shore Twisted his leg at some point Better to slow-walk....
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Seeing, Recognising & Maintaining One's Enlightening Potential
C T replied to C T's topic in Buddhist Textual Studies
~ Guru Padmasambhava ~ When you have trained in the thought-free Nature of Dharmata, thoughts - the causes of samsara - grow weaker and more quiet, while thought-free Wakefulness becomes spontaneously present. This Wakefulness is serene, its domain of experience is utterly pure; the three Kayas and other enlightened qualities appear naturally, like rays that shine from the sun.
