The matrix has you

In order to find a real and lasting happiness we must disconnect from the Matrix or veil that blinds us to ultimate Reality.  But, how do we do that when we have so many worldly obligations to take care of?  One way to begin is by deciding on a game-plan that feels right and works best for you.

Every personal problem has an inherent solution that only needs to be discovered.  The root of most of these problems is a damaged nervous system.  Fortunately, each problem ALWAYS has more than one antidote to choose from.

In the movie “The Matrix” the main character had to undergo extensive therapy to repair his damaged nervous system before his true potential could unfold. As a pre-requisite, he had to undergo acupuncture (remember the long needles) before he was allowed to study (downloading information) and receive the physical martial-arts and advanced mind-training.

Likewise, the root cause of most dis-ease can be traced back to what Tibetan Buddhism refers to as Tsa, Lung or Thigle.  Tsa represents our channels, Lung is our inner wind and Thigle is our vital essence.  If our channels are damaged then the energy cannot flow properly and we open ourselves up to unwanted psychic influences and negative energy.  If we have a wind-disease we often feel extremely cold, introverted, and mentally imbalanced.  And most of us have learned from the ancient Taoist texts that our vital essence is a treasure that we must save, preserve and cultivate.

This purpose of this website is to help anyone find an antidote to life’s problems quickly regardless of their denomination.  It is a result of over thirty years of my research and findings.  As you progress on your spiritual path, it will become clearer to you which method is superior and yields swifter benefits.

Here is a general outline for a thorough process of healing:

1. Become attuned to level-one reiki to swiftly open the central channel or median nerve.  The two that are reputable and authentic are Reiki Jin Kei Do and Reiki Tummo.
2. After that, receive healing from a certified reiki therapist such as a Barbara Brennan School of Healing practitioner.  Their standard of therapy is very high which can repair a severely damaged nervous system on many levels.  Make a commitment to receive weekly sessions for about four to six months.
   
3. Choose a movement therapy such as Feldenkrais Movement Therapy or the Anat Baniel Method which is key for building new neural pathways within the nervous system.  Again, work with this trained healer once a week for many months.
4. Then, pick a chi-kung practice such as Chi-Lel QiGong (LCUPCD), Fragrant Chi Kung, or Chinese Health balls to help maintain the strength of your spine and nervous system.
5. Lastly, begin a meditation routine to calm and investigate your mind.

As you are working to improve yourself, it is a great idea to follow MH, the Master Herbalist, and research his information on the Curezone in order to help yourself and family learn the old-fashioned remedies used for healing all diseases as well as burns, scars, colds, fevers and broken bones.

Remember to have a right motivation and not stray into any sort of spiritual materialism as it has been said that:

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — Matthew 6:33

Here is a short video (0:57) I created to inspire you:

One cure, cures all

MH, the master herbalist, at the Ask Barefoot Herbalist forum, often repeats the phrase that “one cure, cures all” regarding disease and ill-health.  This means the root cause of disease can be eliminated by abiding by the Laws of Nature.

If you seek to “obey nature” you can rest assure that nature will always guide you towards the truth.  If you obey man, more often than not, you will discover their agenda doesn’t always have your best interest at heart as they profit at your expense.

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” — Genesis 1:29

The problem we have in discovering the truth to health is: western medicine will help you manage the just the symptoms and achieve only a temporary result. On the other extreme, with naturopathic care you end up moving from one fad to the next because it is popular or seems appealing.  The problem with following the hype is, you end up wasting thousands and thousands of dollars on each and every method without seeing any long-term benefit.

As you come to follow the middle path, between western medicine and naturopathic remedies, you can begin to achieve results once you KNOW the protocols for health.  When you experience real health for the first time it becomes your solid foundation for life and you can NEVER be fooled again by any scam artist.  No doubt the majority of people will be critical towards you but no one can change your mind once you have known the truth because it is self-evident.  Let them have their opinion. These simple truths are based on common sense.

Achieving results on the OJ fast are as follows:

• 14 days gives you 5X more new red blood cells
• 21 days will repair and regenerate all new organs
• 40 days allows the skin to expel their hidden acids

FOUR STEPS: to authentic health

If you are going to be on a health program you should know the proper steps involved.  The first step is doing three liver flushes before you attempt the OJ fast.  This is done in two or three week increments.  Dr. Hulda Clark’s liver flush has been workable and seen to get repeated results.  She has been known to sell her brand of dewormer but MH’s dewormer is cheaper and superior on so many levels.  The protocol is to take the Dewormer every day for seven days.  Then on the last day you are ready to perform the liver flush.  Remember to lie on your left side and not your right as it is much gentler on your body and the flow of gallstones will improve.  If you fail to deworm for the full seven days prior to the liver flush you will NOT get results of removing any gallstones. The recipe can be found here:  Liver Cleanse

One important tip while working with Dr. Clark’s Liver flush recipe is add lots and lots of extra honey to make the awful taste of epsom salts and grapefruit juice more palatable.

The second step one must do is purchase a good water-distiller.  Most are fairly cheap and run in the $100 – $150 dollar range.  This is so important for chelation purposes and shouldn’t be avoided because good water is needed on daily basis.  Having fresh water without it being tainted by chemicals or metals is of primary importance.  The negative criticism about drinking distilled water can be summed up that it leaches out minerals from the body and therefore we should avoid using it.  This is a myth and simply not true.  Only non-organic minerals are removed from your system which is what you want for good health to be restored.

The third step is to become thoroughly educated and research more and more until you actually gain some confidence to achieve health, wholeness and well-being.  The best place to start is reading MH’s 108 page book and then Dr. Hay’s book Health via Food.  Back in the 1930s, Dr. Hay was a western doctor who became sick with dropsy.  It was an incurable condition at the time and he had no way out other than to do as he often advised his patients to ‘write out his will’.  But, he was intelligent and resourceful enough to discover what the ancient monks would always resort to when ill – and that was fasting.  He tested everything out scientifically and afterwards developed the 14 day OJ fast protocol.  Later, he quit his ordinary job and set up a seminary where he was able to cure 60,000 cases over the course of his life.

The last step is, once you are fully confident, decide on doing either a 7, 14, or 21 day OJ fast.  Get ready to squeeze 8 oranges a day for the duration.  You are advised to eat 20 almonds a day so that your muscles don’t atrophy like Ghandi.  With the almonds in your system, you are given enough protein to repair your muscles.  At the very least, one is not bed-ridden and most everyone can continue with ordinary tasks and keep up their current work schedule.  Some went as far as including a weight lifting program or exercise routine.

MH would go on to tell us that there is a timeline when you can expect to see specific results as follows:

• 14 days will create NEW BLOOD
• 21 days will give you a brand NEW HEART
• 35 days will regenerate NEW SKIN
• 40 days will rebuild you a NEW LIVER

On this type of fast you can drink all the distilled water that your body may need.  You can even add other liquids such as honey, maple syrup, and molasses to gain the necessary minerals your body needs to sustain and repair your body throughout the fast.  I find if your muscles become fatigued a tablespoon of honey will give you the strength you need.  If you are craving pizza then take a tablespoon of olive oil and that will do the trick.  If you begin craving chocolate then some spirulina or wheat grass will give you the b-vitamins to satisfy you until you come back into balance.

IMPORTANT: You need to decide on the daily enema or the herbal formula known as the LBB (lower bowel balance) during any fast. Either one will assist your body to move the toxins DOWN and OUT the toilet.  The Dr. Hay Rule while fasting is having one bowel movement per day which is absolutely necessary or else toxemia will set in.

After the completion of an extended OJ fast you will be able to discern the BASIS of health that is right for you.  Now, whenever you are sick you can rely on a 3-day OJ fast and allow your body to remove the toxins the proper way – down and out your body.

Good luck!
Neo

The First Patriarch

Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Zen to China.  Interestingly enough, the tradition that traces its ancestry back to him did not flourish until nearly two hundred years after his death.  Today, millions of Zen Buddhists consider him the father of Zen Buddhism.

While others viewed Zen practice as a purification of the mind or a stage on the way to perfect enlightenment, Bodhidharma equated Zen with full buddhahood itself.  He believed that it had a place in everyday life and complete enlightenment was beyond ordinary concepts.  It is beyond the depths of even the Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas well worked-out understanding.

Instead of telling his disciples to purify their minds along the long arduous Long Path he pointed out the deeper meaning of the sutras to help them attain enlightenment faster along the Short Path.  Nonetheless, he never said to stop hard work if results weren’t coming along the short path.

The Zen Teaching:

There is a nice short 144 page book that distills the essence of the Zen Path all in one place.  The divisions of the book are four teachings traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma.

1. Outline of Practice
2. Bloodstream Sermon
3. Wake-up Sermon
4. Breakthrough Sermon

You can click here to order the book:  The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma or you can go to this sutra page to read it for free

The Platform Sutra:

You can download The Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma The Platform Sutra With the Commentary of Tripitaka Master Hua.  Or you can click here to order the book to place on your altar or have in your home to read.

When you first read the following story you may have to choke back some tears.  It is truly marvelous how an enlightened being operates in the world.  Here is the story of Bodhidharma:

When angry, Dharma Master Shen Kuang used his heavy iron beads to level opposition.  In response to Bodhidharma’s question, he reddened with anger and raged like a tidal wave smashing a mountain.  As he whipped out his beads, he snapped, “You are slandering the Dharma!” and cracked Bodhidharma across the mouth, knocking loose two teeth.  Bodhidharma neither moved nor spoke.  He hadn’t expected such a vicious reply.

There is a legend about the teeth of holy men.  You must not ask about the principle, however, because it is too inconceivable.  The legend says that if a sage’s teeth fall to the ground, it won’t rain for three years.

Patriarch Bodhidharma thought, “If it doesn’t rain for three years, people will starve!  I have come to China to save living beings, not to kill them!”  So Bodhidharma did not let his teeth fall to the ground.  Instead, he swallowed them and disappeared down the road.

Although he had been beaten and reviled, Bodhidharma could not go to the government and file suit against Dharma Master Shen Kuang.  Those who have left home have to be patient.  How much more so must a patriarch forbear.

Bodhidharma’s Bloodstream Sermon:

His short path explanation is always the same.  He repeats over and over that seeing your nature is the greatest of all meditations.  Why?  Because its fruit yields the highest merits and wisdom of all other practices.  Bodhidharma says:

According to the Sutras, evil deeds result in hardships and good deeds result in blessings.  Angry people go to hell and happy people go to heaven.  But once you know that the nature of anger and joy is empty and you let them go, you free yourself from karma.  If you don’t see your nature, quoting sutras is no help, I could go on, but this brief sermon will have to do.

Bodhidharma’s Wake-up Sermon:

The sutras say, “When you see that all appearances are not appearances, you see the tathagata.”

The myriad doors to the truth all come from the mind.  When appearances of the mind are as transparent as space, they’re gone.  Our endless sufferings are the roots of illness.  When mortals are alive, they worry about death.  When they’re full, they worry about hunger.  Theirs is the Great Uncertainty.

But sages don’t consider the past.  And they don’t worry about the future.  Nor do they cling to the present.  And from moment to moment they follow the Way.  If you haven’t awakened to this great truth, you should practice virtuous deeds as early as possible to make you become at least a human or heavenly being in your next lifetime.  Do not lose both of them [the great truth and the virtuous fruits produced from your virtuous deeds].

Bodhidharma’s Breakthrough Sermon:

Student:  But the Buddha said, “Only after undergoing innumerable hardships for three asankhya kalpas did I achieve enlightenment,”  Why do you now say that simply beholding the mind and over-coming the three poisons is liberation?

Bodhidharma:  The words of the Buddha are true.  But the three-asankhya kalpas refer to the three poisoned states of mind.  What we call asankhya in Sanskrit you call countless.  Within these three poisoned states of mind are countless evil thoughts.  And every thought lasts a kalpa.  Such an infinity is what the Buddha meant by the three asankhya kalpas.

Once the three poisons obscure your real self, how can you be called liberated until you overcome their countless evil thoughts?  People who can transform the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion into the three releases are said to pass through the three-sankhya kalpas.  But people of this final age are the densest of fools.  They don’t understand what the Tathagata really meant by the three-asankhya kalpas.  They say enlightenment is only achieved after endless kalpas and thereby mislead disciples to retreat on the path to Buddhahood.

Averting death:

From the Platform Sutra…

In his great anger, Dharma Master Shen Kuang knocked out two of Bodhidharma’s teeth.  He thought he had won a great victory because the Barbarian put forth no opposition.  But not long after, the Ghost of Impermanence, wearing a high hat, paid a call on Master Shen Kuang:

“Your life ends today,” said the ghost.  “King Yama, the King of the Dead, has sent me to escort you.”  Master Shen Kuang said, “What?  Must I die?  When I speak the Dharma, flowers fall from the heavens and the earth bubbles forth golden lotuses, yet I still have not ended birth and death?  Tell me, is there a person in this world who has ended birth and death?”

“There is,” came the reply.

“Who?” asked Shen Kuang. “Tell me, and I’ll follow him to study the Way.”

“He’s that black-faced Bhikshu whose teeth you just knocked out.  King Yama bows to him every day.”

“Please, Old Ghost, speak to King Yama on my behalf.  I want to follow that Bhikshu.  I am determined to end birth and death.  Can’t you allow me some more time?”

“All right,” said the ghost.  “Since you are sincere, King Yama will wait.”

Bodhidharma’s test:

For nine whole years Dharma Master Sheng knelt next to Bodhidharma waiting to receive transmission to go beyond birth and death.

One day a great snow fell, and it rose in drifts as high as Shen Kuang’s waist, and yet he continued to kneel.  Finally, Patriarch Bodhidharma asked him, “Why are you kneeling here in such deep snow?”

“I want to end birth and death,” replied Shen Kuang.  “When I was lecturing Sutras I was unsuccessful.  Please, Patriarch, transmit this dharma to me.”

“What do you see falling from the sky?” asked Bodhidharma.

“Snow,” said Shen Kuang.

“What color is it?” asked Bodhidharma.

“It’s white, of course.”

“When red snow falls from the sky,” said Bodhidharma, “I will transmit the Dharma to you.  You knocked out two of my teeth, and I have been most compassionate in not taking revenge.  Do you really expect me to give you the Dharma?”

This was the test Patriarch Bodhidharma gave to Master Shen Kuang.

Completing the test:

How did Shen Kuang complete the test?  Cultivators of the Way carry a knife to protect the substance of their precepts.  A true cultivator would rather cut off his head than break a precept.  Shen Kuang drew his precept knife, and with one slice, cut off his arm and thus passed his test.  His blood flowed onto the new fallen snow.  He scooped up a bucket full of crimson snow, dumped it before Bodhidharma, and said, “Patriarch, do you see?  The snow is red!”

Bodhidharma said, “So it is, so it is.”  He had tested Shen Kuang’s sincerity, and now the Patriarch was extremely happy.

“My coming to China has not been in vain.  I have met a person who dares to use a true mind to cultivate the Way, even forsaking his arm in search of the Dharma.”

The art of sacrifice

I was never good at chess but always loved to play.  There are certainly good points and bad points to the game of chess.  But if you don’t get too involved or obsessed with it we can analyze the principles and take only what is good from it.

Value:

The relative value of pieces must first be known.  The pawn is worth one point.  The bishop and knight are worth three points.  The rook is worth five points and the queen is worth nine points.  The king, because he can be captured and the game lost has infinite value.

Once you understand this you can make an educated choice on how to move or capture your opponent’s pieces.  As you learn to make better choices, you can definitely apply this to your life – whether it is raising a family or developing yourself on the quest.  Chess teaches us to utilize our often neglected reasoning skills.

Sacrifice:

Compassion is the understanding or empathy for the suffering of others.  It is regarded as a fundamental part of human love and foundational to the highest principles in philosophy and religion.  It is much needed today in our society yet it starts with a good intention and proper goals in life.

In chess, one of the great tactics is to sacrifice material to gain a special advantage later.  This teaches us a nice lesson not to be greedy solely for the purpose of material gain.  This is the heart of the bodhisattva’s way of life.  He or she lives on good principles and not bad ones that consist of harming others.  In other cultures, this type of hero is called a good Samaritan in Christianity or a Caretaker in the Native American religion.  It is a universal principle that shines through in most religions.

Needless to say, one of the most surprising moves is considered the queen-sacrifice because her value is among the highest.  When executed properly a master will, more often than not, win the game.

“Combinations with a queen sacrifice are among the most striking and memorable.”  -  Anatoly Karpov

There are two types of sacrifices.  The good sacrifice and the bad sacrifice.  The good sacrifice helps gain an advantage later on.  The bad sacrifice is done without proper forethought and planning.  It would be more of an unconscious impulse – something akin to a martyr complex.

In the spiritual world, it is often thought that we must sacrifice our self in order to attain enlightenment.  Of course, this is very true but how you give up your self is very important.  Without the guidance of a guru and without the guidance of proper scriptural sources you may just believe that suicide is the answer.  Therefore, without any consideration you end up seeking your own death without thinking of how it will affect your parents, children or spouse.

You truly will be creating negative karma if you act selfishly and without awareness.  The results of suicide are told over and over that you end up in a hell realm or a bad migration in your next lifetime.  One must contemplate this, consider the consequences correctly and receive proper instruction before one can gain confidence to act correctly in all situations.

Vipashana:

Chess may have a hidden element in it that could be the starting point to proper insight (vipashana) meditation later on.

I always wondered what would happen if two Buddhas played chess with each other.  Who would win?

By studying the texts of the great chess masters, the answer is already known.  They tell us that the perfect game will consist of neither a win nor a loss.  If either player doesn’t make a mistake then the game will certainly end in a draw.

Two important questions:

1. What is his intent?
2. What is his weakness?

If you keep these two questions in mind; you will be ahead of the game.  Often you will just look at your side of the board and rush to make your move.  But each move consists of an intrinsic advantage and weakness.  You just have to discover it.  When you get stuck ask the question, “What weakness did he leave behind?” and you will learn to expand your awareness to his side of the board.

Life stories:

Here are two beautiful stories that hit the essential point.  In the first, we might not see any immediate benefit to the Bodhisattva hero.  On the surface, it just seems like he lost his life.  But it was a conscious act of compassion that eventually leads to his full enlightenment.  In a future life he does awaken to Buddhahood.  Naturally, this act did not go unnoticed by the Buddhas who have the eye of omniscience.  This compassionate action sped up his development as positive karma was created.

In the second story, we see the power of a realized Buddha making a sacrifice with the principle of crazy wisdom.  Since he was a Buddha there were no harmful consequence to him and his action only enhanced and benefited all who heard, saw and believed the display-like miracle.

1.  The touching story of The Hungry Tigress is from the Jataka tales.  This is one excerpt from a collection of past life stories of Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Bodhisattva, in a lifetime before he became the Buddha, came upon a hungry tigress and her cubs.  Seeing the tigress was too weak to hunt, the Bodhisattva sent his traveling companions away to look for food.  While they were away, he threw himself over a cliff, thereby offering his body for food to the hungry tigress and her cubs.

2.  The story of the Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava is part of a long discourse given by the late Khenchen Palden Sherab in 1992 on the life of Guru Rinpoche:

With Guru Rinpoche and Mandarava we see the deep sacrifice of both the master and the disciple.  Wanting to learn the dharma from the Guru rather than lead a worldly life and get married, the princess was sentenced to prison for her actions while he was to be burned at the stake.

“The men ignored her and Guru Padmasambhava was captured.  His hands were bound and they led him off surrounded by hordes of people.  They wanted to make sure that he did not try to run away.  By royal decree, his punishment was to be burned at the stake. Mandarava was sentenced to prison for 25 years, while all 500 of her attendants were sentenced to ten years.  All of this was the king’s decision.  A great quantity of wood was collected from the local households and soaked with sesame oil.”

Guru Rinpoche was tied in the center and the pyre was lit.  The king ordered that no one be allowed into the area for a week except those who were tending the fire.

“Now while Guru Rinpoche was in the midst of the flames, the fire transformed into water, which soon became a lake encircled on its outer perimeter by a ditch sporting a halo of upside-down flames.  In the center of this beautiful lake there was a wondrous lotus flower and above that, Guru Padmasambhava was sitting in the posture of royal ease, even more glorious than before.”

Sutras:

Vimalakirti explains, in The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti that even sharing the dharma with others is a great dharma sacrifice.  It definitely is not an easy action to perform.

Vimalakirti explains that:

“Those who teach it to others, whether it be no more than a single stanza of four lines, or a single summary phrase from this teaching of the Dharma, will be performing the great Dharma-sacrifice.”

The truth is that obstacles can arise when doing any type of good deed.  Furthermore, it is much harder to spread the dharma that helps liberate sentient beings lost in confusion.  As one common axiom explains:  No good deed goes unpunished.  People often reject unsolicited advice.

Computers:

Most people that love computer programming and chess believe that calculating up to fifteen or twenty moves means more intelligence.  In reality, that is just the power of the intellectual mind and not necessarily intelligence in the sense of having Awareness and Compassion.  For basic game-play, one just needs to utilize three half-moves as the chess coach Bruce Pandolfini advises.  You move once, your opponent moves, then you move again.  This is called a combination.  Only in certain instances does one need to calculate up to ten moves and that usually is near the end of the game.

In Buddhism, there are explicit instructions on how to develop the mind.  With a little thought we can see how our body and mind is also like a computer.  Our ordinary mind, while still unenlightened has a glitch.  The main misconception – the belief in an inherently existent self, needs to be corrected.  Once we can organize our mind properly we surely gain better clarity.  One way to do this is to study and reflect on the scriptural teachings.  And if you are fortunate enough to participate in shedra courses you will be all the better for it.

Final point:

The sutras and tantras tell us that on the eighth stage of a Bodhisattva’s realization there is no longer any separation between meditation and post-meditation.  At that point, there is no compulsive reification of concepts.  What this means is that when you turn away from the chess board, the next moment you no longer have the same habitual thought-patterns going on.  If you lost the game, you can let it go.

In fact, you can let anything go – whatever good or bad things happen, you just abide in the nature of mind.  This is Mahamudra.  In the next moment, you can bring your awareness to the task at hand.  This is something we should all aspire towards.

good luck!
Neo

accumulating mantras

There are a few misconceptions in our western culture about the effects of chanting mantras.  To clear this up, first we need to know there is a difference between worldly mantras and Buddhist mantras.

Certain psychological tantras have told us that mantras will just induce a self-hypnosis.  One one level, this may be true.  It depends on the individual.  On the other hand, we are taught that there is a greater spiritual significance when we chant the mantras of Tara or Avalokiteshvara for instance.  The difference is like night and day.

When a fully enlightened being empowers his mantra it comes from his heart-essence with a good and noble intention.  This type of mantra will benefit your body, speech and mind in countless ways.  Having such a wonderful, skillful method at our disposal will lead to the vast purification of our negative karma.  It will definitely erase negative karmic patterns physically, mentally and vocally.

Unfortunately, if you are not well informed and have chosen a worldly mantra from a deity who is not fully enlightened it cannot be much help.  In fact, it could even harm you if the offended spirit, under the sway of negative afflictive emotions, takes action against you.  You could have obstacles for many years or even a lifetime if you are not aware of this.

We want to choose a mantra to purify our karma, increase our positive spiritual vibration, develop wisdom and generate the compassionate mind to benefit all sentient beings as far as endless space.

Buddhist sutra:

The Buddha explains in the Shurangama sutra what I have said more succinctly and quite powerfully here:

The Buddha told Ananda, “All Buddhas, Tathagatas, speak words which are not false.  There might be another person who had personally committed the four major offenses and the ten parajikas so that, in an instant he would have to pass through the Avichi Hells in this world and other worlds, until he had passed through all the Relentless Hells in the ten directions without exception.

And yet if he could explain this dharma-door for just the space of a thought to those in the Dharma-ending Age who have not yet studied it, his obstacles from offenses would be eradicated in response to that thought, and all the hells where he was to undergo suffering would become lands of peace and bliss.

The blessings he would obtain would surpass those of the person previously mentioned by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of times, indeed by so many times that no calculations or analogies could express it.

Ananda, if living beings are able to recite this sutra and uphold this mantra, I could not describe in endless eons how great the benefits will be.  Rely on the teaching I have spoken.  Cultivate in accord with it, and you will directly realize Bodhi without encountering demonic karma.”

The Shurangama dharani is wonderful to recite and very powerful.  However, it is quite long to memorize.  Fortunately, there are many mantras available such as those of Chenrezi and Tara that are much shorter and quite powerful too.

Benefits of the Mani mantra:

The Late Venerable Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey gave a talk about what the benefits are of the Chenrezi mantra in relation to developing the six perfections:

The mantra OM MANI PADME HUM is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching.

1. When you say the first syllable OM it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity,
2. MA helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and
3. NI helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience.
4. PAD, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance,
5. ME helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration,
6. and the final sixth syllable HUM helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.

Obstacles in life:

Many years ago, I had many obstacles in my life to such a degree that even my sadhana practice became almost nonexistent.  I got myself into quite a mess.  One day, I felt that I just had enough and made a strong determination to accumulate mantra every day.

I wanted to practice in post-meditation everywhere I went – whether I was eating, working or sitting on the couch watching television.  Since I was a rather quiet person who never wanted to draw attention to himself, I didn’t want to carry my mala around for the public to see.  So, I went online to purchase a digital tally counter that I could keep it in the palm of my hand.  I found a nice one that kept my accumulations private and hidden.

After five months of diligent practice I had an auspicious sign.  That whole year, I went through so much hardship and suffering that it was quite unimaginable to consider all that had happened to me.  The difficulties were to such a degree, that I would never wish this on my worst enemy.  At any rate, after breaking through so much of my own ingrained negative karma I was happy to see a double rainbow outside my backyard.

Digital counter:

Now five years later, technology has come even further and these neat counters are even smaller.  It is sometimes called a finger-counter because the built-in strap wraps around your finger.  One reviewer wrote:

This must be the smallest tally counter you can buy.  It is perfect to keep a tally in an unobtrusive way.  You can wear it like a ring, with the counter facing your palm and you just touch the counter with your thumb.

Some people have the misunderstanding that this product erases its count every once in a while.  Since it does have an auto shut-off function, whenever you leave it untouched for ten or fifteen minutes it will go blank.  The count is stored in its memory, so when you touch the button again it switches back on and it re-appears.  It is a good function for saving the life of the battery.

Make sure you get the right model: E-6 Electronic Tally Counter with Backlight

The other one you may find out there does not have a light function.  With that model, for some strange reason when I put it in my pocket (six times out of ten) when I pulled it out, the counter would erase.  I verified this since the other one I have does the same exact thing.  And I know I didn’t hit the reset button by mistake because it is recessed and not easy to press.  Once, I actually saw it reset in front of my own eyes when I quickly pulled it out of my pocket.  So there must be a malfunction with the electronic part inside.  I hope they realize this and fix it someday because that model is also nice and a much needed tool.

Inspiration:

I write this with the intention to hopefully inspire someone.  I love practicing with a mala and that has many benefits as well.  But when we get right down to it, we need to take advantage of our post-meditation practice.  If you can practice anywhere you go, it is easy to accumulate 100,000 mantras in a month and over time you could have over a million recitations done in a year.

blessings,
Neo

The peacock’s grove

One great master that has given us such compelling instructions on Lojong (Mind Training) material certainly is Dharmarakshita.  He was one of Atisha’s masters in the tenth century and the author of Training the Mind: The Wheel Blade of Mind Transformation.

The “wheel of sharp weapons” can be visualized as something we throw out, which then later comes back to cut us… like a boomerang.  In the same way, Dharmarakshita explains, the non-virtuous causes we create through our self-interested behavior come back to ‘cut us’ in this life or in future lives.  They return as the ripening of the negative karma such actions create.

This really is the source of all our pain and suffering.  He thoroughly admonishes us when he explains that all of this is the result of our own selfishness and self-cherishing.

In The Wheel of Sharp Weapons he explains how a Bodhisattva (spiritual hero) takes on suffering just as the peacock eats poisonous plants:

1) In jungles of poisonous plants strut the peacocks,
Though medicine gardens of beauty lie near.
The masses of peacocks do not find gardens pleasant,
But thrive on the essence of poisonous plants.

 

2) In similar fashion the brave Bodhisattvas
Remain in the jungle of worldly concern.
No matter how joyful this world’s pleasure gardens,
These Brave Ones are never attracted to pleasures,
But thrive in the jungle of suffering and pain.

Another text:

Dharmarakshita also wrote The Peacock’s Neutralizing of Poisons that helps us see how our ego interferes with discovering true happiness.  These few stanzas should be spread far and wide in all new Buddhist tantric texts so that we can gain a clear understanding how Buddhism differentiates from harmful worldly tantric practices.

Here are a few excerpts that hit the essential point:

Even though, like Upali, you’ve reached the perfection of industry;
And, even though, like Ashvajita, your conscientiousness is highly commendable;
If you do not lead your parents on the path to enlightenment,
This is the way of a mere shepherd for you fulfil only your liberation and wellbeing.

Even though you wear robes you do not observe the precepts,
Your perceptions remain permeated by the various tasks of attachment;
And you criticize and denigrate the noble beings.
This is deserving of being exterminated by the Dakinis.

Important quote:

This wonderful book by Thupten Jinpa Ph.D. had further quotes of Dharmarakshita that I have not been able to find online or anywhere else.  It is called Mind Training: The Great Collection (Library of Tibetan Classics).

THE DELUDED WHO ARE CHASED BY AFFLICTIONS AND KARMA

ARE CARELESS OF THE DOCTRINE AND SENTIENT BEINGS AS A WHOLE,

YET THEY ANGRILY DRIVE ENEMIES WHO HARM THEM

TO THEIR AFTERLIFE WITH INCANTATIONS.

WHETHER LAPSED IN MORALITY OR NOT,

THEY ARE MOST INTRIGUING!

Discernment:

And these additional quotes are most valuable since it is so hard to differentiate the authentic teacher from a charlatan:

For sake of material gains you adopt the guise of a noble one;
Yet, like the dogs and pigs, you indulge in sexual acts [with no restraint];
Those who deceive others by professing to be practicing tantra,
Deserve to be thrown into a [burning] hearth by the realized Vajra holders.

Those harmful ‘mystics’ who possess little learning,
When they see common feats they become supremely inflated with conceit;
Such people who lead others with no guidance through the stages of the path,
They deserved to be belittled and brought to shame by the learned ones.

You can read this full text here: Progretto Free Dharma Teachings

Or you can download this same text (with added images of beautiful peacocks) as a .pdf file here:  The Peacock’s Neutralizing of Poisons

best wishes,
Neo

An auspicious day

Today is an auspicious day that not many people may know about.  It is the parinirvana date of the great scholar, master and vidhyadhara Longchen Rabjam (1308–1364).  Longchenpa was a major teacher within the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

He is well known for compiling the essence of Buddhism within his works known as the Seven Treasures.  Most know that our late Holiness Penor Rinpoche was a manifestation of Vimalamitra.  He was also considered to be an emanation of Longchenpa too.

Longchen Rabjampa was born in Central Tibet.  Longchenpa’s parinirvana occurred on the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month of the Water-Female-Hare year.  This year it happens to fall on January 30th.  In the eastern culture it is common to go by the lunar calender, so every year it will be different.

The Kalachakra Tantra of Holding the Qualities of the Lama teaches:

The merit accumulated by making offerings on the anniversary of one’s lama will dispel negative karma and obscurations accrued for countless eons, like the rays of the sun dispelling darkness.

Making offerings or preparing a tsok feast is one of the most meritorous actions one can do on this special occasion.

New Year:

At the end of each year the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism hold a Drupchen to accumulate merit and purify the karmas of the passing year.  Ayang Rinpoche is a Drikung Kagyu lama who holds both Nyingma and Drikung lineage.  I received an email stating that their monastery will be performing a special Drupchen as follows:

Bylakuppe Monastery
Annual Guru Drakpo (Wrathful Guru Rinpoche) Drupchen
February 2-8, 2013

At the monastery, the wrathful practice of Guru Dragpo is performed on the final days of the year.  All the negative activities, bad fortune, and undesirable circumstances of the old year are burned and cleansed, and illness and obstacles are pacified.

Through this practice, all positive circumstances increase and Dharma activities can be accomplished in the new year.

You can sponsor 1 day/full 7 days for the benefit of ourselves and the world:

Meals for 280 monks – $30/$210
Offering materials – $10/$70
108 Butterlamps – $5/$35
Tsok – $15/$105
Offerings to monks, khenpos, Loppon, Chant master – $35/$245
Full Drupchen – $95/$665

Click here to access the Amitabha Foundation to donate.

Many Blessings,
Neo

Sun-Diet Health Foundation

The Sun-Diet Foundation was located in East Aurora, NY.  It was first founded in 1922 by Dr. John Hanavan and was first known as the Suncure Sanatorium.  It was a place where people went to cure their physical, mental and emotional problems with the 14 day OJ Fast.  Along with that they learned and thoroughly understood the PRINCIPLES of right food combining.

The Foundation’s 18 acres of land included a golf course, small lake, woods, and tennis courts.  Sixty employees took care of the 1,000 guests that stayed each year at the 80 room clinic.  In 1927, Oliver F. Cabana, Jr., a Buffalo businessman (banker and political leader) also helped found this institution.

Dr. William Howard Hay (1866-1940) was appointed director of the Sun-Diet Health Foundation in 1927.  Dr. RL Alsaker was the Health Director.  Dr. Hay and his staff helped cure 63,000 people throughout the eighteen years it was in place.  There were no repeat customers as long as they followed the proper PROTOCOLS to health and diet.  What a great way to introduce new jobs into the nation.  Unfortunately, the foundation suddenly closed in 1941 and its buildings made into apartments.

World News:

This is the saddest thing most of us could ever imagine is the Sandy Hook tragedy.  If you really place yourself in each person’s shoes (the victims as well as the victimizer), it would bring yourself to uncontrollable tears.  The problem the NATION faces is quite enormous.  Since we had an incident in China happening almost simultaneously, this has become a WORLD wide disease.

We need to spread the word about proper physical health, cleanses and fasting.  When we have good physical health then it naturally follows that there is going to be less mental disease, a reduction in birth-rate and violence.  Everything that every good citizen would want is inherent in the solution.

The world has before itself two choices: to either allow GREED to continue to rule the day or set down some proper laws that get to the ROOT CAUSE of this issue and eliminate some or all of the conditions that contribute to this problem.

When a psychotic-killer does something like this they are telling us that they seriously hate themselves and are looking for the reason why they feel so bad.  Of course, with the limited amount of information and lack of true understanding they can’t find it.  As a society we are all partly to blame.  Kids like Adama Lanza are lashing out and telling us something is deeply wrong physically, emotionally and subconsciously.

Children are supposed to be born into a world where they can trust their parents, teachers and the government to have some INTELLIGENCE, COMPASSION AND WISDOM to give us a good and proper start in life.  If we have done nothing to provide them these basic necessities then we are partly to blame as each of us makes up this society in some form or another.

Rehabilitating criminals:

Book 1 author goes into quite a lot of detail explaining the correlation between physical disease, physical deficiency (in bone and teeth) and the criminal mind.  In his book Health via Food Dr. Hay states:

“IT WOULD BE A LAUDABLE UNDERTAKING TO INSTITUTE A SERIES OF TESTS ON THE FEEDING OF THE HABITUAL CRIMINAL, IF SOME ENTERPRISING STATE WOULD TURN OVER AN INSTITUTION FOR THIS PURPOSE, AND IT IS THE FIRM BELIEF OF THE WRITER THAT A VERY LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE INMATES COULD SAFELY BE TURNED OUT AGAIN INTO SOCIETY IF THIS EXPERIMENT WERE CONTINUED SUFFICIENTLY LONG TO INCULCATE A NEW HABIT OF FOOD SELECTION AND COMBINATION.”

Again we have the problem of FEAR…fear of losing jobs..and I’ve actually heard a story about one jail official fearing losing his job if we were to seriously rehabilitate criminals.  At least, now, we can point to the harmful CONSEQUENCES of such ignorant beliefs these types of people hold.

“Perhaps the ideal place for such a demonstration would be a farm for incorrigible boys, a house of correction, for this would give opportunity for making good the usual deficiencies before growth is completed, and at a time when habit is more easily and permanently corrected.” — Dr. Hay

I only wish that modern scientists can be more like him.  At least come back into alignment with understanding cause and effect and what various conditions we need to separate ourselves from in order to eliminate disease.  Dr. Hay continues:

“Surely food has much to do with one’s feelings, and one’s feelings decide his actions, the criminal being under less restraint than one fundamentally honest.

Careful examination and complete Bordellos of many thousands of life prisoners’ furnished sufficient evidence of this statement to prove it well, for these men were not in normal health, nearly all of them exhibiting major deficiencies, and all of them exhibiting minor ones. The teeth were in poor condition nearly always, the bony development was deficient, the shape of the head and the lower jaw showed deficient development, the palatal arch was too high and the teeth crowded.”

If we feel we need to CONTROL people more and more with psychotropic drugs and continue to mask the problem then we are following our heads and NOT our hearts.  And that’s what I am afraid the path our current society will continue to take.  For once, let’s take a chance and LOOK deeply into the root causes of disease instead of taking the easy way out.  If you fix it properly there will be ways to create health-conscious organizations and even new jobs can come out of this.

“This is to be expected in the criminal, for he is such because he feels that he has always gotten the worst of it from the world, and seeks to get even.  Resentment for what one believes is less than his due is a motivating impulse toward recrimination and revenge, and is a state that is directly bred by substandard physique.” — Dr. Hay

However, that would mean the FDA (and those working for them) are able to regulate the food and the pharmaceutical industries without fear of retaliation.  But, that doesn’t seem possible in this day and age as employees were fired for being truthful and honest in the past.

“When one is as perfect physically as he should be, he is consciously a master of his fate, and defies the world to give him the worst of it, for he feels himself equal to any circumstances that may be in his way in achieving his ends, without resort to weapons or stealth or subterfuge.” — Dr. Hay

If there was a more important need today, more than ever, it would be to reintroduce the Sun-Diet Health Foundation into society.  When we watch television commercials and hear that the side effects of these pharmaceutical drugs are COMA and DEATH etc. who is crazier: society or the one taking them?

blessings,
Neo

Helpful Bardo Prayers

I wanted to compose something beneficial for those people that have a loved one that has died or is in the process of dying.  Since it is never easy to find what you need at the last minute, I figured it would be proper to put all the texts and information in one place.

This yantra (image at right) is depicted in the classic text called the Tibetan Book of the Dead.  It was also passed down from Yogi C. M. Chen to his disciples.  It belongs to a class of blessing objects called “Liberation through Touch”, meaning that one will gain liberation merely by wearing it.

The central deity is Adi Buddha or Samantabhadra Buddha the supreme dharmakaya buddha.  He is surrounded by all the 100 peaceful and wrathful deities.  The surrounding mantras are associated with the deities in the mandala and the buddhas of the six realms at the outermost circle.

Click here to receive instructions on how to fold it and place it properly on the dying family member’s body: Adi Buddha Mandala Mantra Sheet

The Bardo Teachings:

The following info was prepared by Buz & Joanie Overbeck:

Many westerners, having received teachings on the Bardo states, wonder how these might be applied at the time of their death or the death of others.  Basically, the teachings say that, rather than fearing death, one should approach the Bardo states as opportunities for enlightenment and, in order to be open to these opportunities, one should have prepared through practice during one’s lifetime.

“However, even with no experience whatsoever, if one can die a ‘conscious death’ — calmly and openly with no fear, anger, or attachment—one can still create the conditions for enlightenment or a fortunate rebirth.”

These notes were compiled to help all practitioners attain that goal.

Click here: Bardo Information

Bardo Prayers:

These are the actual root verses that a Tibetan Lama would recite next to the bedside of a dying person.  This is a very important text.  It is called Bardo Thodal or “Liberation upon Hearing” in the Bardo.

This text has four sections:

1. Prayer requesting assistance from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
2. Root verses of the Bardo Thodal
3. Prayer for the deliverance from the Bardo’s narrow passage
4. The prayer that protects from fears in the bardos

Click here to download: Bardo Prayers

Five Powerful Mantras:

These mantras are chanted at the time of death.  This text was arranged by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.  These mantras can be chanted for the dying person so that they receive blessings.  It doesn’t matter how close or far away you are.  You can still direct energy and transfer merits to them in this skillful way.

Fortunately, there is one bonus within this text.  There is a special Tibetan script which you can print and then cut out.  Once you have it, then you can place it on the body of the one who is dying.  It will benefit them tremendously so they will have a peaceful death and a higher rebirth in the next life.

Click here to download – Five Powerful Mantras

The Medicine Buddha:

The Medicine Buddha mantra is an excellent way to help your loved one who is in the process of dying or after they have passed.  Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains the following to help us understand the value of the Medicine Buddha practice:

“The Medicine Buddha encompasses all the buddhas.  This means that when we practice the seven-limb prayer and make offerings with the seven limbs, we receive the same merit as we would if we had made offerings to all the buddhas.  Similarly, when we recite the mantra of Medicine Buddha, we collect unbelievable merit just as when we offer the seven-limb practice to Medicine Buddha.”

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha said in the sutra entitled Medicine Guru Beams of Lapis Lazuli:

“Kungawo, do you believe my explanation of the qualities of that tathagata [Medicine Buddha]?”

Kungawo replied to the Bhagavan: “I do not have a two-pointed mind with regard to the teachings of you, the celibate Bhagavan. Why? Because the actions of the tathagata’s holy body, holy speech, and holy mind are always pure, without a single mistake.”

Then Guru Shakyamuni Buddha gave this advice:

“Kungawo, whoever hears the holy name of that tathagata will not fall into the evil realms of the suffering transmigratory beings.”

Therefore, at the time of death, it is excellent to recite both Tathagata Medicine Buddha’s holy name and his mantra in the ear of the dying person.

It is extremely beneficial to recite the mantra and blow it upon meat that you are eating, or even on old bones or the dead bodies of animals or humans.  This action purifies the karmic obscurations of those sentient beings.  It can cause someone who has been reborn in the suffering lower realms to immediately pass away and be reborn in a pure realm or amongst happy transmigrators.  At the very least, it will shorten the duration of their suffering in the lower realms.

Medicine Buddha Sadhana:

For forty-nine days after someone’s death, it is a Buddhist tradition that prayers are done for your loved one.  For each seven day period, within the Bardo (intermediate state), there is a significant transition that occurs for the deceased.  To help them wake up and become more lucid at this time, prayers and mantras can be done to assist them.  These prayers are done before the weekly anniversary of their death.  For example, if someone dies on a Wednesday, it is especially important to do sadhana practice on each Tuesday.

In a general way, the following texts can be recited by anyone.  Just print it out and make it into a precious text for yourself.   The booklet form, however, is a little harder to put together.  I would suggest this short four-page text would be easiest to perform:

1. Medicine Prayers (booklet form)
2. Medicine Prayers2 (normal version)

Remember that reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra definitely brings inconceivable merits for you and your loved ones.

many blessings!
Neo

value of a liver flush

The liver is designed to draw out the toxic chemicals from the foods we eat and the drink.  It makes sense to cleanse the liver from time to time so that it can perform its job properly.  There are three solutions to cleansing your liver and gallbladder.  You can either have surgery, perform the liver flush, or take the P/W Elimination Formula.

The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped hollow organ on the right side of the abdomen.  It lies just under the liver and its main job is to store bile.  The dark green or yellowish-brown fluid is produced in the liver cells.

For proper digestion, bile is essential since it helps eliminate our body’s waste products.  The bile aids in the digestion of fats when the food moves into the small intestines.  If there is a large amount of cholesterol in the bile, crystals can form.  Over time these crystal stick together to form stones in the gallbladder.

From the Gallbladder Attack website:

Over 1/2 million people in America have their gallbladders removed every year.  This is called cholecystectomy.  Is it necessary?  Will your digestion be perfect afterwards?

“That’s what everybody’s hoping for, to be pain free, gas free, bloat-free and to be able to eat whatever they like.  You have a 60% chance of that happening.”

They go on to explain the risks that 4 people will still have symptoms out of every 10 cholecystectomies.  MH, the Master Herbalist, would say to take preventative measures.  I have studied under him and his protocols do get results.

Preventative care:

If you can make it work, plan on doing three liver flushes as part of your health protocol.  That would be great idea as part of a detox program.  For best results, space each liver flush two weeks apart.  Your body needs some time in-between to recuperate.  A reasonable amount of time to have completed three flushes would take you about six weeks.

This is done in two or three week increments.  Dr. Hulda Clark’s liver flush has been workable and seen to get repeated results.  She has been known to sell her brand of dewormer but MH’s dewormer is cheaper and superior on so many levels.  The protocol is to take the Dewormer every day for seven days.  Then on the last day you are ready to perform the liver flush.

Dr. Hulda Clark’s liver flush recipe is freely posted here:  Liver Cleanse

One important tip while working with Dr. Clark’s Liver flush recipe is add lots and lots of extra honey to make the awful taste of epsom salts and grapefruit juice more palatable.

The first three times I did my liver flushes they were done wrong.  Dr. Clark told everyone that they should lay on their right side.  This wasn’t comfortable.  Laying on my right side would cause pain.  The stones could not roll out easily due to the pressure and contraction of the body’s weight against the liver.  Later, MH confirmed that everyone should lay on their left side.

The last three liver flushes were done correctly because I followed MH’s protocol and dewormed PRIOR to the liver flush for seven days straight.  I released quite a lot of gallstones following MH’s advice:

• Deworm for seven days prior to the liver-flush to get stones out.
• Rest after drinking the liver flush formula on your the left side.

This time I felt absolutely terrific.  The stones came rolling out effortlessly.  Amazingly, it felt as if there was a huge open channel between my liver and stomach.  These two organs were now working in a synchronous union that never occurred before.  With more space to digest, the flow of energy was really wonderful.

MH offers a Liver Flush Kit that was designed for those wishing to do this Liver Flush without having to take the trouble to make it on your own.

An alternative product:

Last month I had some pain in my liver area.  I must have eaten some food that didn’t agree with me.  What I did was decide to take the new product called the P/W Elimination Formula (part A).  For two days I got to see a nice green color within my stool.  Nothing on the third day and subsequent days.  The bonus part was that there was no need to drink any awful tasting Epsom salts.

This formula is an herb that has many different formulas in capsule form.  It boasts nine formulas in one.  What makes this unique is that it has the dewormer mixed within the lower-bowel balance together.

I took the formula again after three weeks and this time I noticed there was no release of bile.  I would have to logically infer that that my liver is clean and clear.  The next time I might take it would be in three to six months time unless there was an emergency.  Just contact MH, the Master Herbalist for more information.

NOTE:  MH teaches us to take one to three tablespoons of olive oil or lecithin (depending on the severity of the problem) before bed time to relax the nerves, nourish the brain, and act as a maintenance program in order to avoid having to do constant liver flushes in the future.

Good Luck!
Neo

Earth treasure vases

As I was looking around at Dudjom Rinpoche’s website I came across this wonderful project.  Alliance for the Earth is the sponsor for the Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project.  From the Earth Treasure Vase homepage:

Meditation and Ceremony

The Earth Treasure Vase meditation and ceremony is deeply rooted in an ancient Tibetan practice, which was transmitted to Cynthia Jurs by Charok Rinpoche in 1990.  The ceremony is done at the Open Way Sangha every full moon when, according to Buddhist tradition, our prayers and intentions are multiplied a thousand-fold.

The story

Cynthia Jurs began a trek into the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal on a pilgrimage to meet a 106-year-old Tibetan Lama, H.E. Kushok Mangden Charok Rinpoche, a hermit who lived in a cave high in the Himalayas.  He transmitted to her the teachings on the treasure vase and how important it was for the earth and its people.  By filling consecrated clay vessels with prayers and offerings, and ceremonially burying them in the Earth in collaboration with local indigenous elders the healing and protection of the Earth would begin.

Each of the 30 Earth Treasure Vases that were made by Lama Ngawang Tsultrim at the request of H.E. Charok Rinpoche to be placed in certain places in the earth and oceans.  They are filled with offerings until they are completely full.  Lama Tsultrim created these sacred vases in Nepal.  He collected sacred substances from many lamas of all four lineages and embedded them into the clay itself.

Cynthia Jurs, the founder of this projected (and in the video below) stayed in Nepal for two weeks:

“I remember walking up the path…trekking step by step by step…going on this incredible journey to meet this old, wise yogi who lived in a cave.  And thinking what an incredible opportunity is this and what can I ask him?  How can I make the most of this opportunity not just for myself but for others?  And I remember thinking, the earth was hurting. “

Purpose:

The purpose of the Earth Treasure Vase is to bring protection and healing to the Earth and all beings in the area where it is buried.  It is filled with prayers and offerings and placed in the Earth for all time.

The tradition comes from Tibet, where many centuries ago, the Guru Padmasambhava prophesied this remedy for healing the Earth and removing the suffering of all beings in times of degeneration.

An Earth Treasure Vase is said to restore the vitality to the essence of the elements, which have been depleted by pollutants and poisons in the environment caused by materialistic human activity.  Each vase holds the power to pacify anger and warfare, improve health, magnetize abundance, remove obstacles to long life, and increase wisdom for all beings within its sphere of influence.

The Earth Treasure Vase Global Healing Project is creating a mandala of healing and protection around the world in this time of great urgency.  As this group says:

“As we make ready to complete the mandala and carry the final earth treasure vases to key ‘pressure points’ on the planet, we are feeling how very alive this mandala is with possibilities for global dialogue and emerging vision and leadership.”

It looks like 29 vases have been buried to date.  The money for the 30th and final Treasure Vase will be the seed from which 108 new vases shall be made under the direction of Native American potters.  To donate click here:  Donation Page

online cyber-shedra

Namdroling Tibetan Buddhist Center Announces
Cyber-Shedra 2012 with Khenpo Tenzin Norgay
You May Register Any Time Between Now and November 15, 2012

Khenpo Tenzin Norgay

— CYBER-SHEDRA DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM —

Dear Dharma Friends,

Khenpo Tenzin Norgay Rinpoche and Namdroling, Montana are happy to again offer all sessions of the Cyber-Shedra Distance Learning Program. You may begin your studies any time between now and November 15, 2012. Cyber-Shedra is an opportunity to study Buddhist teachings under the guidance of a qualified spiritual master from home when it is convenient for you. This is an exceptionally rare spiritual study opportunity for students whose lives are mixed with the world and worldly responsibilities.

Although the class will begin October 15, 2012, you may enroll anytime until November 15, 2012. Khenpo would like to give everyone time to enroll. Late enrollees will be given all of the information as they register. You may register anytime between now and November 15, 2012.

In all sessions, Khenpo Norgay’s lessons prepare students for and further explain concepts from the texts. He will also send assignments that will help students to explore the texts more deeply. Students are asked to email their assignments back to Khenpo in a timely manner and to email questions as they arise. Specific practices will be given at times to help to deepen the teachings.

Sessions 1 and 2

A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life

In Sessions 1 and 2 Khenpo Norgay guides students through Santideva’s classic treatise, the Bodhicaryavatara, A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life.

The Bodhicaryavatara is structured around the Six Perfections of generosity, ethical discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. Khenpo presents lessons that help the student to better understand Santideva’s teachings on these core aspirations of Buddhist thought. In Session 1, students study in depth the first eight chapters on generosity, ethical discipline, patience, zeal, and meditation.

Session 2 covers Chapter 9 of the Bodhicaryavatara, The Perfection of Wisdom. This session may seem more technical and philosophical, but the arguments presented must be seen as an inner spiritual battle. To understand Emptiness, which is the Ultimate Truth, we must cut through all the boundaries of conceptualization. The antidote to all afflictions and craving is the realization of Emptiness. When our minds rest in emptiness, which is the mind’s true nature, all conceptualization will cease, and the inner qualities can be manifested.

Through this session, Khenpo helps students to better understand the Wisdom chapter and to let go of their own conceptualization.

Sessions 3, 4, and 5

Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows

Session 3 begins the study of Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows by Ngari Panchen Pema Wangyi Gyalpo, commentary by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche. This ancient exposition explains the three levels of moral codes in Tibetan Buddhism: the vows of individual liberation, the vows of a bodhisattva, and the vows of tantra; outlining in detail the meanings of these vows and giving practical advice on maintaining them as tools for spiritual practice and daily life.

Sessions 4 and 5 continue the study that students have begun with Khenpo Norgay of Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows.

Students who have studied with Cyber Shedra since it began, please sign up again for Session 5. Khenpo will finish teaching Perfect Conduct: Ascertaining the Three Vows and then assign new reading.

Interested?

Students are required to have access to a computer in order to participate. All correspondence is completed in English. For those who register before October 1, classes will begin in the beginning of October. You may register and begin the class any time between now and November 15, 2012, though. We request that all students be fully enrolled by November 15, 2012. You may pay by check through the mail or by PayPal.

Please register as soon as possible. To find a biography of Khenpo Tenzin Norgay, details about the course, registration, and PayPal button, please go to http://www.namdrolingmt.org and click on “Cyber-Shedra”.

You will be taken to our new Cyber-Shedra website, where you can click on the Register for Cyber-Shedra button. Please note, that we are switching over to hosting this course online, so students that are registered and paid, will be able to login to the site to view the month’s teachings.

We request that you take the sessions in sequence – a student should take Session 1 before taking Session 2, and take Sessions 1 and 2 before taking 3, etc.

We hope that you will join us in studies this year.

Wishing you all the best,
The Cyber-Shedra Team

For questions, please contact cyshedra@namdrolingmt.org
or phone 406-587-2907

Thank You!