Jetsun

I heard that the only thing which makes any sort of sense is to be a benevolent force in the world.

The natural state is universal , it isn't a skill to be learned or mastered, those who work really hard at attaining it or are highly intelligent may arrive there later than the stupid guy who just let's go and relaxes into it. In my view those who attain the rainbow body are those who are at the end of their karmic journey, Dzogchen may speed the journey up but obviously it isn't an instant journey ender for most, there are still issues and things which need to be resolved in the realm of separation before we are prepared to put it down and let it go.

Reading their website her partner said he looked out the window and saw rainbows in the sky when she died, I don't know if that means anything significant though

Why?

It sounds like your doing just fine, qigong didn't work for me either. For a sacred word it is true that if you get given a word or a phrase by a genuine master or lineage it will be more powerful, but until then just pick a word which vibes with you, it could be love or metta or peace or anything just make sure that you decide and stick to your word while you practice or you will spend your time changing it and worrying if its right.

The collective consciousness is pretty much insane, all you have to do is look at the news and read a history book to see that. So congratulations on being sane

Stealing this link from Ken's Neigong Forum https://www.facebook.com/notes/dzog...-karma-attains-rainbow-body/10151794778007773 (link has pics) Dear Students, As you know from my recent message, my precious teacher Dzogchen Lama Karma Rinpoche passed away on the 11th of November, 2013. Yesterday I received extraordinary news from my Dharma friends in the holy Dzogchen area of Tibet that the sacred body of my kind teacher Lama Karma has obviously and dramatically shrunk in size. Lama Karma’s body was about 175cm (approx. 5’9”) tall, but two weeks after he passed away, his seated body has now shrunk to about 20cm (approx. 8”), which means his body, including his skeleton, shrank nearly 80%. According to Dzogchen tantra, this kind of miraculous display shows he has attained the Small Rainbow Body, which is a sign that he has attained the supreme accomplishment of Buddha in this very life. Please deeply rejoice in his devoted practice and realization of Dzogchen. In doing so, you accumulate immeasurable merit. If his body continues to shrink and totally disappears, then this miracle will be categorized as Light Body or Atomless Body. I will describe these various miraculous results of Dzogchen practice later in this message. Lama Karma Rinpoche received many Dzogchen teachings, mainly from Dzogchen Khenpo Apey Tsewang Rinpoche and Dzogchen Lama Achung Tokden Rinpoche. For many years after, Lama Karma mainly practiced Dzogchen Guru Yoga with trekchö in the caves of the holy Dzogchen area. While some people assume that Dharma practice is a superstitious or meaningless activity, it is in fact the most meaningful and profound activity that you can do. The reason for this is because through Dharma practice you become Buddha, which means you transform yourself into Awakened Omniscience. Once you become Buddha then you are free from all suffering and the causes of suffering forever while you spontaneously help each and every being equally, without exception, in many different ways until they all attain Buddha. Therefore, there is nothing better for you and all beings than to become Buddha. In order to complete the paths and stages of enlightenment, you must accomplish Dzogchen practice. Without realizing Dzogchen awareness, no one has ever become Buddha or will become Buddha. Accomplishing Dzogchen practice means you become Buddha. As it is said in the Dzogchen Atiyoga tantra, without realizing Dzogchen awareness one will not attain Buddha. The swiftest method to become Buddha is correctly practicing Guru Yoga with Dzogchen. There are two main Dzogchen practices: trekchö (cutting through) and thögal (ridge-traversing). When you accomplish Dzogchen treckchö you will achieve one of two results as described in the Dzogchen tantras. One is ödlu, the Light Body, which means your body transforms into light and disappears. This can happen either gradually or instantaneously. Masters who have attained this include Master Vairochana in Western Tibet and Pong Gonpo and five generations of his main disciples in Eastern Tibet. The other is dudral, the Atomless Body, which means your body dissolves into emptiness and totally disappears. This can happen with or without an eyewitness. Masters who attained this include Guru Junpey in Central Tibet and in 1998, Khenpo Achung in Nyarong, Eastern Tibet. If you accomplish the Dharma practice of Dzogchen trekchö and thögal, then you achieve one of three types of Rainbow Body as described in the Dzogchen tantras. The first is the Great Rainbow Body, which means directly transforming the present body into a luminous Rainbow Body, just like Buddha Shakyamuni in India, Padmasambhava in Nepal, Shri Singha in India, Vimalamitra in China, Yeshe Tsogyal and Chetsun Senge Wangshuk in Tibet, and so on. Those who attain the Great Rainbow Body eternally retain their present life’s body appearance until all beings become Buddha. The second is the Medium Rainbow Body, most commonly known as Rainbow Body, which means the Dzogchen master’s body dissolves as rainbow light of many different shapes, colors, and all different sizes of rainbow spheres, rainbow rays, and rainbow ribbons until the physical body has totally dissolved into rainbow light, leaving nothing behind except some hair and nails. All these rainbow lights can pass through the master’s clothing and through solid walls. Even ordinary people can directly perceive this miraculous display of Rainbow Body accomplishment. Masters who have attained this accomplishment include Melong Dorje and Rigdzin Kumaradza in Central Tibet and in 1952, Sonam Namgyal in Mani Gedgo in Eastern Tibet. The third is the Small Rainbow Body, which means a Dzogchen master’s body shrinks to the size of a cubit or less (in a seated position). This is also known as the Shrunken Rainbow Body. Masters who attained this include Master Nyaklha Rangrik Dorje in Eastern Tibet. (His body is still preserved and is the size of a hand. His hair is ten times bigger than his body.) Atha Lhamo in 1982 in Eastern Tibet. Her body also shrank to around 10cm (approx. 4"). All these results of Dzogchen practice, the Light Body, Atomless Body, and all types of Rainbow Body, are signs of the same supreme accomplishment. The differences refer only to what happens with the miraculous display of the master’s physical body, but their attainments are all exactly equal. This means that these practitioners have attained Buddha in this very life. After such sacred miraculous displays occur, most people no longer physically see these masters so we pronounce that they passed away. However, during this time, when the students pray to these masters who achieved Light Body or Rainbow Body, sometimes they can perceive their teacher physically appear to them and they receive tremendously powerful transmissions and pith instructions of the Dzogchen lineage. Anyone who sees or even hears about the miracle display of the Light Body or Rainbow Body at the time it occurs is extremely fortunate. According to the Dzogchen tantras, when a master attains Light Body or Rainbow Body, the master’s wisdom pervasively emanates to all beings without exception and especially profoundly penetrates the minds of 3,000 disciples who have knowing-devotion to the master, such that these disciples directly receive the Dzogchen Lineage transmission. Therefore, I encourage all my disciples to faithfully pray, supplicate, and joyfully offer to the Dzogchen Lineage masters, especially to my kind teacher, Dzogchen Lama Karma Rinpoche. From now until December 27th is an auspicious opportunity to practice The Buddha Path every day, to take or renew virtuous vows, and to fulfill your special commitments to do any virtuous activities or practices. In this way, you will receive the blessings, empowerments, and attainments of the Dzogchen Lineage, which will help you to become a Dzogchen Lineage Holder and swiftly attain Rainbow Body, Buddha, in this very life. May you realize that all Result Buddhas always reside in your heart and the hearts of all beings. May you swiftly attain the accomplishment of Rainbow Body in this very life. I invite my international students to translate this and my previous message regarding Lama Karma Rinpoche into your native languages and share with others. With love and blessings, Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche

Yeah Gurdjieff used the term Kundabuffer because he considered the word ego was too loaded with already existing concepts and ideas which could get in the way of real understanding. Although one relatively unique thing he said about it was that it creates a blockage towards the lower part of the spine which prevent the energy from rising properly beyond a certain point.

You more or less confirm what I was saying, that the students answer is not meant to include prior experience or knowledge, if that isn't speaking directly from the moment then what is it. What is Zen if not to always be fresh and spontaneous, in beginners mind? to be able to express from that place is how you qualify or pass through to become a teacher and get the "correct" answer to pass the test, it has nothing to do with learning knowledge or sutras by rote or getting the answer to the Koan through the intellect, otherwise anyone with a half working brain could do that and become a teacher. Many Zen masters quote and give lectures on the recorded teachings of Zen masters but the genuine ones do it in the context of spontaneity and beginners mind, it isn't formulaic and rigid. While many masters and Zen lineages are full of pretenders and those who are just mechanically mimicking previous masters, but then you get a genuine one who comes through once in a while who is a destroyer of all the false ones.

From one perspective who is a Zen teacher is a Koan, with the same answer as most of the others.. .. From the human perspective a Zen teacher is someone who can demonstrate their realisation creatively, skilfully and spontaneously, which is one of the strengths of the Zen tradition and lineages. They say to individuals in those lineages that yes you may have some sort of realisation but show it to us, don't repeat some other masters words or use tired old phrases and dogmatic teachings. The whole direction of the awakening is to arrive at the present moment so unless you can communicate from there freshly you wont be considered a skilful teacher in Zen, which can be difficult to do and can take a kind of training or practice combined with natural talent unless you are one of those rare individuals who it just flows out of.

Most of this eternallist stuff misses the point, the nature of reality can't be spoken about because words are symbolic, but seeing as words are what we use when trying to talk about such things you will inevitably come out on the side of affirming something exists or denying, yet both are just different sides of the same coin in the world of dualistic language. Which is why many "eternalist" masters like Ramana Maharshi would prefer to say nothing and said his teaching was silence, yet sometimes words are used to reach out to people in whatever way is most effective, which might include saying the world is Brahman, the flip side of which is saying the world is emptiness.

What do you get out of it?

You have repeated this many times and repeated the same post at Gatito many times, any more and it will be considered spam and it will be reported for moderation action.

I expect if I went to see him 10 years ago I would have been unimpressed too, or maybe even 1-2 years ago. He approaches it in a way many people dislike but that doesn't mean it isn't an expression of the truth.

If you saw Parsons in person you might think differently, as he says in his video what is important goes on beyond the words he uses. It is a resonance within consciousness which will point out what he is getting at, which is hard to recognise from a video, its primordial. Some time after Parsons awoke his wife also work up, but she was just an ordinary woman not interested in spirituality at all, yet just being around Tony her consciousness was entrained with his which led to the seeing of the falseness of her separate self identity.

I will look a bit more into these guys when I have time, but for me the words aren't that important any more, when you meet a master or just a regular guy who is awakened in person there is a sort of entrainment of consciousness, so just being in their presence can be a type of pointing out instruction, which in my experience is far more direct and illuminating than any words written or spoken.

For what its worth I have been to see both Tony Parsons and one of the highest Dzogchen Lama's in the UK for group meetings and felt a lot more energetically and felt a lot more clarity about what was being pointed out when seeing Tony Parsons.

It doesn't necessarily take a long time to get to the deep brain states, as Ken Wilber shows here using an EEG machine he can access the full range in less than 10 minutes, although he is an experienced meditator. Yet all of those states are just states, the whole belief that you need time and effort to achieve something in meditation takes you away from being aware of the completely free ground which all states arise within, which is always aware and present no matter whether you are a complete novice or a meditation master.

“Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind. A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure. Dusk rain on the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds; Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night.” - Ikkyu

Not two, non-duality Not that "you" can be the one, you already are

Yeah its really good, pretty dark but good, McConaughey and Harrelson are both excellent I thought.

One of the main ideas from the Gurdjieff work which has stuck with me over time is that he says that the ego distorts reality so it is perceived back to front or upside down, a bit like how the eye inverts images on the retina. What this means on a practical level is that when it comes to the truth what the majority of people think of as the truth in reality usually the exact opposite is usually the real truth; while internally what we consider to ourselves as our main obstacles and problems in our personal lives can end up being the most useful and valuable things for our growth or awakening, yet we spend much time and effort cursing and trying to avoid these things. The ego has inverted everything so we perceive it the wrong way around. I heard a recording recently from someone who had had an awakening experience and she was talking about how she had a son who had behavioural difficulties and she would constantly get frustrated and angry with her situation in life, but through the process of awakening she was able to see that her son being difficult that way was exactly what she needed at that time to facilitate her awakening, no master or Buddha could have done a better job than what life was giving her. The ego inverts the perception so we curse what are god sent gifts for us, which is why when reality is seen more clearly there are no real problems because even the most severe problems serve as a helper towards unification.

I was just reading the Magus of Java and Chang says that ultimately he doesn't know what happens after death, although there is an intermediary stage where you enter a 'white or black wave' where you either get what you desire or suffer depending on what karma you have to complete and how you have conducted your life. So despite what the Mo Pai guys have said over the years on this site clearly ethical conduct and creating positive karma is useful if you don't want to enter the black wave, especially as it unlikely that many here will achieve level 4. Also all the scare stories about becoming an empty husk after death doesn't communicate the entire picture, as Chang says all souls end up going to God in the end and then he has no idea what happens. All this stuff isn't so different than most other paths and religions.

Its not much use stopping bullets and blades if your hand can be cut easily with a simple chopstick

Wow, it turns out the Grand Ayatollah of Iran is far more open and enlightened than most of the other ruling politicians and religious leaders.