C T

Thank you, Jeff. So what is the actual motive?

I wish I had the same level of tact and patience as Apech, but I dont. Just want to express my doubt which to me sounds like nonsense. Unless of course Jeff wrote this tongue in cheek, which is unlikely gauging from nos. of thanks. It just seems very odd that your expressed interest to highlight someone else's accomplishment did not include the revelation of identity. Dont take this wrong, Jeff... but to me, this sounds like, "Hey, I have the siddhi to recognise super-level attainment in another, so please take me more seriously in future." Or, "I know with certainty another's spiritual progress. Please engage me should you want confirmation of your level of spiritual attainment." I'm going like, "Really?" Please dont take this personally, Jeff. Its just me mouthing off. What do i know. Btw, i have no interest to know who this is referencing, so no pressure, ok.

Everything that ever occurred right up to the moment we wake up and know we are present, and fully aware, is already past. It is not wise to allow shadows from the past drape over and cloud your present beingness. But karma is a very individual thing, so one gotta do what one gotta do, i guess. Fare well, Roger. Take care and guard your mind with love and peace.

Neither do i, Stosh

Rather perplexing, some of the posts here.

Im surprised this matter is still out of police hands.

'What it actually looks like' fits the heaves and hyper-fluctuations that affects a practitioner in phase 2. Most don't get completely past that period, till they die even (unfortunate but true). At most they get gradually stabler glimpses of phase 3. All the practices of Dzogchen and Mahamudra have as a core intention the wish to get practitioners to gain gradually prolonged glimpses of the ineffable, nameless perfected state, until those glimpses seep into habit. One can tell of the onset of stable vision by a palpable sensation of knots becoming loose, and expansive and non-dual knowing of things... the Isness, for want of an apt description. One will still experience all the same traumas, fears, anxieties etc but beneath all of it there is a constant emergence of okayness bubbling away, or a sense, a conviction that all experiences are fleeting, and that whatever happens can not be self but merely imprints that the self has attached to and making real so as to create meaning.

Another massive one. Hope Liminal Luke is Ok..

Lol.. If it was me, I'd probably give some conditioned response

Forms do not appear spontaneously, nor do they suddenly dissappear. They appear and subsequently part, and ultimately dissolve when conditions for their arising align. There isn't a separate set of conditions for the dissolution of forms. That which we recognise as 'form' is made up of the dissolution of many things other than 'form'. Let's call these 'things' Non-forms. Because of habitual tendencies, the mind seldom realise how inseparable and seamless Form and Non-forms co-arise, exist for a duration (what we habitually call 'time'), and then seemingly, in our eyes, dissipate or dissolve. It's as if this process is 3 distinct, separate occurrences. This is of course not wrong, but simply how we have been habituated to see things - in fragmented vision. Where fragmented vision is present, Emptiness, or that which co-arise with Form, cannot be recognised. Where vision is restored fully, awareness of Empty-ness naturally occurs. This awareness is sometimes called Wisdom, Prajna, third eye etc. In following a spiritual path, or taking up Dharma study, for example, people are actually attempting to restore their seemingly fragmented views of life. They have recognised how frustrating and limiting their fixations and habits are, and wish to heal their metaphysical sight. So if you were to ask one whose vision have been healed, "What do you see clearly now?", chances are, if the healing has been authentic, the answer will be, "Emptiness".

Sorry to hear, Steve. One who is free when living shall remain free in dying.

Speaking of saltiness, there is an anology about the 'one taste' of all the oceans. Quite appropriate in the context of the three turnings.

Btw for clarification purposes, merit in the context mentioned above is not brownie points. There's no salvation involved in Buddhism. The Buddha never claimed that beings need help or are in need of redemption. Merit therefore is akin to affinity. Some beings have a capacity to benefit greatly from light Dharma exposure, while some others may enjoy living in the delusion of being practitioners/masters of advanced 'stuff' but in truth have little or nil authentic understanding and practice. So those in the former category can be said to have found affinity with the 3rd turning, regardless if they are relatively new to Buddhist practice, while those in the latter group are yet to even enter the path of the first turning despite their illusions of advancement.

As long as there is merit, buddhas and Dharma will continue to appear in multiple forms to benefit beings. Where merit is exhausted, misunderstanding takes root.

Buddha's teachings are assimilated/ understood/distilled based on individual merit. So the 4 noble truths may for some practitioners be seen as outdated and too rudimentary, while for some others it's seen as the essence of the very heart of Dzogchen itself. This is clearly exemplified in the flower sutra.

http://hardcorezen.info/more-buddhist-scandals/5464

Perhaps its quite common that there is the rampant imagination that unifying with the * that there will follow radical changes/conversions. Obviously it's not the case. Radical change occurs during the phase where mountains are not mountains. Hence the fear. Let's call this stage 2 for simple reasoning. Stage 3, actual breakthrough or unification, is where mountains are seen as mountains again. There is a return to the recognition of a 'real' ordinariness, and orderliness, of how everything is just the way they are, unfolding ceaselessly. In this one has leapt over the divide and returned to the same spot, as if never having moved at all. In Dzogchen, for example, when the master introduces the nature of mind, those who are able to recognise it at once say it's the most familiar and utterly natural revelation that they have ever experienced. It's almost like an act of removing one's pair of eyes and turning it back to see oneself not as a reflection for the first time. Don't know if this makes sense, but it's not easy to describe with words. * the nameless

Back in the mid to late 90s I was part of the Rigpa sangha in Ireland and on a few occasions had got opportunities to get closer glimpses into the private moments of SR, and not once did I see any inappropriate conduct as mentioned in the exposè. Away from the public teaching platform he spends most of his time guiding the long term retreatants. Although were not allowed in that secluded part of the complex we could still hear him conducting long sessions there daily whenever he visited the Irish centre. On his breaks he is either in discussions with his senior students, taking calls from other Rigpa centres or meeting those who have requested private consultation, and these were always done in the sitting room of his chalet. Other than that he enjoys watching documentaries and cartoons, or he takes naps. Contrary to what's claimed, at that time he does get up quite early before sunrise and does practice. For health reasons he had a rather restricted diet so his meals have always been quite simple then. I left the group early 00s, not because of anything unsavoury but because I connected with another teacher whom I had a closer heart connection with. This latest development is rather sad and I feel for some of my close sangha brothers and sisters who are still with the group. How things must have changed since that period. I thought I'd offer some thoughts here so as to be aware that there was a time where he was ok as a teacher.

I wonder why this group of people have not indicated their intention to report him to the police.

That wasn't exactly what I meant to convey. I'm saying that I ought to remember not to form overly harsh opinions or be rigid in thought in general.

Learned scholars from both sides of the divide till this day have yet to indicate that they have found common ground in which to negotiate even one point of mutual agreement on the understanding of nonduality. I will leave it to them to trash it out for another few decades. In the meantime let me not simply accept or reject anything without first reflecting such against the light of my own experience. Otherwise it's just dogma-peddling and intellectual indulgences, both of which are equally trivial and has no real benefit to anyone. Harmful in the long run, in fact.

some people think its great to get a transmission, they think oh they cleared up this and that channel, but here we are talking about the subtle body... the thing is, most of us are not able to 'see' whats happening at that subtle level, and those who take in offerings of energetic manipulation from others (who are perhaps fringe players and not connected to authentic lineages) will not be able to detect faulty manipulations/tors and thus unnecessarily exposing themselves to problems that usually only manifest at some future time. In our school these problems are usually referred to as psychic wind disorders.

Hello Steve... Belated warmest birthday wishes to you. May your progress on the path be swift and smooth! May you always be blessed with happiness, good health and wakefulness in all your endeavours!! Love, C T

being a regular prostrationer, the one thing i have noticed is that my weight has been at a constant (+- 1kg) for the past 15 or so years. It is hard to dismiss the correlating factor. though 57, i still work about 60 hardcore hours per week, on the go from 11am till 11pm 5 days a week (occasionally 6), and still have difficulty releasing all the excess energy after work so as to get in a restful sleep. hence i do prostrations and related practices/prayers till maybe 2 or 3am. Sleep usually for around 5 hours, then off to the beach for a morning routine of running/stretching and dipping toes in the eternally cold atlantic waters. Havent had any flus or colds in years. Can feel its impending 'attack' and act preventatively in an instinctual sort of way. Prostrations hone the instincts in such mysterious ways. the more prostrations done, the younger the body and mind gets. there is no doubt about this. If I could ping the bodhicitta meter a little more i'd say the benefits will be even more profound. then again, I could be dead tonight... there's always that awareness... so no slacking in giving away the merits of practice! Prostrations are also a positive factor for those who include lucid dreaming as part of their practice routine. It removes subtle barriers in the dream state. overall i'd say performing prostrations everyday is immensely beneficial on many levels, as validated by seasoned and esteemed practitioners above There's more - much more that can be said, but it will start to sound overly astounding then. No point to that.