Translator of ancient Buddhist scriptures, author, bridge-builder to modern life, Buddhist teacher & meditation instructor. Board of director at 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Founder of Rangjung Yeshe Publications, LEVEKUNST art of life and Bodhi Training. Other LEVEKUNST articles by the same author. Erik's website & retreats.
Every single moment this stream of being is bombarded with uncountable impressions through the senses, through memories and the echoes of present thoughts. Is it personal? Yes, it is. Is it created by the present you? No it isn’t. Is it created by someone else? Absolutely not.
If these perceptions and samsara do not exist, then there seem to be no need for practice. If the mind does not exist, then there seems to be no doer. If there is no master, then one does not know how to practice. Please clarify these and also give me the pointing-out instruction to the nature of mind. In response, Jetsün Milarepa sang this song.
When people with a Western critical-minded education hear that the Lotus-Born master of Uddiyana not only appeared from within a lotus flower in Lake Dhanakosha, without… Read More »BUDDHAFIELD OF AWAKENED MIND
Milarepa explains how to deal with thoughts during the meditation state, rather than obsessing with a state without thoughts to his student, Paldarbum, and sings this song of how to go beyond and progress.
Listen here, you fortunate yogis. At present we have achieved the perfect human body of freedoms and riches. We have met the precious teachings of the greater vehicle. We now have the independence to genuinely apply the sacred dharma, so do not squander your life on pointless things.
What is the difference between an enlightenment experience and enlightenment? When after intensive meditation, or unexpectedly, you experience a totally naked state of mind, how do you proceed? What is real progress and what is its main catalyst? You will find the answers to all these questions in the following teachings by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.
How is death experienced on a personal level? What can we do? Is there a set of methods we can familiarize with to such an extent that we are unafraid, confident or at least, without regrets? How do we handle losing everything we know? How can we deal with the intense and vast unfolding of the primal energies of consciousness?
To soar effortlessly, the mighty eagle needs two wings. One is just not enough. My teacher Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche often said this to illustrate, that a sublime balance of mind is needed when facing challenges, both from outside and from inside oneself. In good times and bad times, a much coveted secret is how to maintain an even keel, no matter what happens.
The meditator can take the inner journey of experience through Vajrayana’s twenty-five levels of understanding reality. All twenty-five share the same essence of oneness, the awakened mind of all buddhas.
Her precious words have been echoing through millions of eons since that time thanks to the twelve Dzogchen buddhas of which the last four where human beings, and in our time thanks to the Indian master Padmasambhava.
The voice belongs to a yogi. He has for some reason felt compelled to give me a small stack of single sheets of script in Tibetan writing or print. He disappears right away into the mist. I sit in a little cave above the Lotus Lake in Himachal Pradesh and happily open up the cloth-wrapped stack of pages.
Rather than being caught up in the turmoil of life and overpowered by emotions, losing our own seat and sane judgement, we can always stop and settle our heart and attention in a even state of mind.
The Tibetan translators a millennium ago chose nangpa as the word for Buddhist and it simply means insider, to accept that mind is responsible for everything. To be a true insider means to change the causes, rather than blaming the effects.
Tara made the promise that whoever sings her praise with her name mantra, will be touched by the light ray of love and compassion and ultimately be at one with her level of realization, true freedom and enlightenment.
“Inside each atom in this world there are as many universes as there are atoms in the world.”
— Buddha Shakyamuni.
With a satisfied nod, he turns to me and says, “Dzogchen practice is mostly done without a roof. After the lecture, tell everyone to walk off alone on the mountainside, sit down and work with the questions I’m going to give them. Just hearing is no use. Buddha must be discovered from within.”
Inventing a personal version of how our spiritual nature is, reality, oneness, non-duality, like making a wedding cake, being so proud of my enlightened ideas. It’s a trip, it’s absurd, and it’s ultimately wasted efforts.
There is a way to seal inspiration in our minds, to multiply its effect, to deepen the insight we feel and to make sure that its benefit will be manifested in our thoughts, words and actions. The Indian master Padmasambhava sang it so that we, the people in future generations, will be able to put words to our innermost.
Unless and until our experience of nondual awakened mind is for real, there is every reason in the world to pursue teachings on, to understand and train in the most eminent kind of dualistic mind.
You may wonder, is mind nothing? It still shimmers and flashes forth, like haze in the heat of the sun. You may wonder, is it something? It has no color or shape to identify it but is utterly empty and completely awake. That is the nature of your mind.
– Padmasambhava.
Poetry about the tantric view of the five elements that make up our natural landscape—earth, water, air, fire, and space—as divine in their pure nature. These elements combine on multiple levels to form the endless displays we call life.