CHOKMA

Three Statements That Strike The Essence

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:12:00 -0400

Verse I: Recognize your own true nature (The Base) “This fresh immediate awareness of the present moment, transcending all thoughts related to the three times (past, present, future), is itself that primordial awareness or knowledge (ye-shes) that is self- originated intrinsic awareness (rig-pa).”

Verse II: Choose the state of presence (The Path) “Whatever phenomena of Samsara or Nirvana may manifest, all of them represent the play of the creative energy or potentiality of one’s own immediate intrinsic awareness (rig pa’i rtsal). One must decide upon this unique state for oneself and know that there exists nothing other than this.”

Verse III: Continue in the state with confidence in liberation (The Fruit) “Whatever gross or subtle thoughts may arise, by merely recognizing their nature, they arise and self-liberate simultaneously in the vast expanse of Dharmakaya, where Emptiness and Awareness are inseparable (gsal stong gnyis med).”

~ H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche’s Comments on Garab Dorje’s Three Vajra Verses or The Three Statements (translated by John Reynolds)

An important Nyingma lineae holder, Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi...

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:50:40 -0400

An important Nyingma lineae holder, Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro represents the mid-way link between myself and Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa (1730-1799).

Like the bodies of practitioners, these stones are part of a...

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:08:08 -0400

Like the bodies of practitioners, these stones are part of a Nirmanakaya manifestation. Quarried from native American hills, they will be used to build the earthly form of the Lotus Mandala of Inconceivable Wisdom.

(photo taken at Padma Samye Ling, Delaware County, New York, main seat of two Tibetan brothers, both Nyingmapa masters, the Khenpo Rinpoches)

The Three Vajra States

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:40:00 -0400

On the morning of March 17, 1714, Chögyal Terdag Lingpa said, “I must take seven steps toward the East”. He then rose and after walking seven steps, sat down cross-legged and, as his Last Testament, said:

“Appearance, sound and awareness are deity, mantra and dharmakaya,
Infinitely pervasive as the display of the kayas and primordial wisdom.
May practitioners of the great, profound and secret yoga,
Remain inseparable from the innermost one taste awareness of wisdom mind.”

He then said, “Now the dakinis have arrived to usher me on” and raised his hands as if playing the damaru and bell and with a contemplative gaze, sitting in meditation posture, passed into Parinirvana amidst many wondrous omens.

Oneself is Vajrayogini and in the sky in front, the root teacher...

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:30:42 -0500

Oneself is Vajrayogini and in the sky in front, the root teacher manifests in the form of Padmasambhava.

~Dudjom Rinpoche, The Preliminary Practice of the New Treasure of Dudjom

The Dakinis

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:43:00 -0500

There are to be seen countless dakinis:
some of them have eyes that dart out sun rays;
others give rise to thunderclaps and ride water buffaloes;
others hold sabres and have eyes which inflict harm;
others wear death’s heads one above the other and ride tigers;
others wear corpses and ride lions;
others eat entrails and ride garudas;
others have flaming lances and ride jackals;
others, five-faced, are steeped in a lake of blood;
others in their numberless hands
carry many generations of living beings;
others carry in their hands their own heads which they have severed;
others carry in their hands their own hearts which they have torn out;
there are others who have made gaping wounds in their own bodies
and who empty out and devour their own intestines and entrails;
there are others who hide and yet reveal their male or female sexual organs,
riding horses, bulls, elephants.

~ Padma bKa’i Thang,

The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, The Sojourn in the Cemetery of Chilly Grove, c. 22, Dharma Publishing, 1978

Thunderbolt III

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:29:42 -0500

“If his horned headdress is similar in meaning to examples found in Mesopotamia and Iran, the figure may be divine. The arrow-shaped forms emerging from his shoulders and under his arm may represent snakes or lightning bolts.”

Central Asia (Bactria-Margiana), c. 1000 bce

source

Thunderbolt II

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:40:31 -0500

Thunderbolt Pendant, Italic Amber 5th century bce

Thunderbolt

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:25:30 -0500

Adad, Assyrian storm god 7th c. bce

One of the earliest depictions of a stylized thunderbolt which will eventually be wielded by Indra in Vedanta, and Vajrapani (among others) in Buddhism. Indra rides a grey elephant (storm clouds) akin to Adad’s bull.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA(1836-1886) “Gurus can be had by hundreds...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:58:00 -0500

SRI RAMAKRISHNA
(1836-1886)

“Gurus can be had by hundreds of thousands. Everybody is anxious to be a master. How many are there who would care to be disciples?”

my favorite Hindu realizer; today marks the 174th year after his birth in the village of Kamarpukur, Bengal

Photo

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:48:59 -0500

Thunder from the Great Conquering Battle-Drum

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:28:00 -0500

Always frolicking in pristine cognition,
The pure, unchanging, peaceful expanse,
Where there is no trace of elaboration,
May the unequalled Guru conquer the world!

The sun of all-knowing pristine cognition alone is never obscured by elaboration:  May he protect us, for he sheds a thousand rays of spiritual and temporal well-being on the illusory city of the world, which arises dependent on causes.  

Cool, soothing camphor and nectar do not compare  with this gift that cures delusion’s unbearable fever,  the panacea that destroys the plague of the world:  May that jewel of true doctrine, transmitted and realized, be our victorious crown!

I praise, above all, the supreme community, the banner of the teaching,
Supported by a golden shaft of superior aspiration,
Flying the exquisite cloth of the three correct trainings,
And beautified by the jeweled peak of exegesis and attainment.  

Primordially pure, just what naturally is, the supreme body of reality, the all-embracing nucleus- this is the essence, awareness and emptiness, Samantabhadra;
Ceaseless transformation, pristine cognition’s expressive play , arisen as a billowing, magical net - this is his natural expression, bliss and emptiness, Vajrasattva;
Loving compassion, teaching each in accord with his needs at appropriate times, with an unqualified intention - this is his spirituality, appearance and emptiness, Vajradhara;
In devotion I bow to the gurus of the six lineages -intentional, symbolic, aural, and the rest - the teachers of the supreme vehicle, who are inseparable from these three buddha-bodies.

You embody everything, always delighting, in an authentic and secret great mandala endowed with supreme bliss.
To your many disciples you respond appropriately, appearing in a blazing form before wild ones, and before the peaceful and passionate as is fit;
And from the limitless union of your forms and abodes, arrayed like great thunder-clouds, you bring a satisfying and fertile shower of the two accomplishments.
O mighty warrior, glorious Heruka, favour me with acceptance! And grant that I accomplish the indestructible reality of your body, speech and mind.

There is nothing at all, animate or inanimate, that is not bound in the seal of this beauty, emptiness; there is no buddha who has not relied on you.
In the guise of a passionate lover you entice those who lust after form, for it is said that the pristine cognition of unchanging, supreme bliss may be known by this means.
You are a messenger to those who desire supreme accomplishment, and the sole mistress of my circle, for I have good fortune, O Vajra Queen!
Before you I bow, in the realization of co-emergence, the common savour of all.  Embrace me tightly in the alluring play of great bliss, and let us make love!

I give obeisant worship to the host of India’s great scholars,  The agents of the Conqueror, who revealed the Conqueror’s teaching,  and equalled the Conqueror himself, like Nagarjuna, Asanga, and others,  who commented on the the Buddha’s intention, and arrived at philosophy’s limits.  

To the numberless host of accomplished masters I bow:  To Saraha, Luipa, Krsnacarin, Ghantapada and the rest,  who arrived at the indestructible level, by the indestructible path, so that they equalled Vajradhara’s intention.

O Lord of the World, renowned as Songtsen Gampo, You were the lord who ushered in the very first dawn of the Conqueror’s teaching in the dark Land of Snows beyond the pale. Who is it that would leave your feet, even on becoming enlightened?

Body complete with major and minor marks, released from a lotus bud in Sindhu Lake, containing the seed-syllable HRIH, the pristine cognition that is the knowledge and love of the Lord of Sukhavati Field:
You are neither born, nor do you die, while samsara exists, but by the dance, the indestructible discipline of great bliss, You cut off, or take into your following, all conscious beings within the three spheres.
This being the unobstructed expression of your power, you can be compared with yourself alone in this world.
Although all the conquerors equally love living beings, only you, Skull-garlanded Master, have been so kind as to protect the afflicted Tibetans; so I revere you with all my heart.

You were the sole spiritual son of the Sakya King, O heroic Lord of Secrets, who strictly maintained his vows, and was renowned as the great Bodhisattva.
Endowed with unlimited brilliance, retention, and mastery of the ten powers, you wilfully lived for nine hundred years to illuminate the Land of Snows.
You planted well the banner of the Tripitaka’s teaching as the ornament of Central Tibet, and gave birth to a line of the Conqueror’s family that had no precedent.
Thinking of you, Santaraksita, who had the meritorious fortune to become the first venerated priest in Tibet, I bow down in faith, time and time again.

In the Cold Land that was obscured by darkest ignorance, you, whose sceptre is discernment’s sword, assumed a kingly guise, and lit anew the illuminating lamp of the Conqueror’s precious teaching, so that this frontier land achieved even greater fortune than India.
If the mass of such wondrous grace were given form, the vast universe would be too small a vessel!
Knowing that here and now whatever enjoyment is found in this storehouse of profoundly significant, wish-granting gems is thus due to your power alone, lord Trhisong, I have faith.

A hundred times I praise the Tibetan translators and Indian scholars, who flawlessly translated, revised and established the immaculate scriptures of the Conqueror, and the commentaries on their intention, and so opened for the Land of Snows a hundred doors of spiritual and temporal well-being.

I give my heart’s faith to the host of supreme, accomplished masters, awareness-holders, who maintain the indestructible lineage of supreme transformation, delighting in whatever appears in the mandala of supreme bliss, intoxicated by the nectar of esoteric instructions, distilled from the intention of the three lineages.

Moreover, in devotion I here praise  all who appear as agents of our Guide, the Conqueror,  who glorify the teachings and living beings without bias, by their liberating careers of learning, dignity and accomplishment.

Dakinis and protectors of the transmitted doctrine, bearers of secrets!  Not wishing to divulge this profound history, please understand that the teaching now nears final rest, and with joyful smile grant your consent.

In this most degenerate age the sun of the Conqueror’s teaching is almost concealed by gathering black storm-clouds of disorder; and the extraordinary tradition of the supremely secret vehicle, to which even accomplished persons take recourse, has virtually disappeared.

At the present time there are few who have mastered the lives of those who attained realization, and those few rarely repeat the account. For that reason I will endeavour to set this forth, so that some small part of the ancient tales, might be kept from disappearing.  

-Dudjom Rinpoche

Verses of Invocation to A Clearly Elucidated History of the Precious Teachings of the Vehicle of Indestructible Reality according to the Earliest of All Teachings of the Conqueror in the Land of Snows, the Ancient Translation School, entitled Thunder from the Great Conquering Battle-Drum of Devendra The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, Book Two, Wisdom Publications, 1991 p 403-6 

Five Niyamas

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:51:00 -0500

“It’s all karma.”

When looking at world events, as well as experiences closer to home, does that line ever sound a bit trite or too simplistic an explanation to be meaningful? You might want to hear what the Buddha said about it.

According to Buddhism, there are five relatively independent orders or processes (niyama) which operate in the physical and mental realms, among which karma-niyama is only one. The others correspond to the domains of physics, biology, psycholgy & dharma.

They are:

Utu Niyama - physical inorganic order, e.g. seasonal phenomena of winds and rains. The unerring order of seasons, characteristic seasonal changes and events, causes of winds and rains, nature of heat, etc., all belong to this group.

Bija Niyama - order of germs and seeds (physical organic order), e.g. rice produced from rice-seed, sugary taste from sugar-cane or honey, peculiar characteristics of certain fruits, etc. The scientific theory of cells and genes and the physical similarity of twins may be ascribed to this order.

Karma Niyama - order of act and result, e.g., desirable and undesirable acts produce corresponding good and bad results. As surely as water seeks its own level so does Karma, given opportunity, produce its inevitable result, not in the form of a reward or punishment but as an innate sequence. This sequence of deed and effect is as natural and necessary as the way of the sun and the moon.

Dhamma Niyama - order of the norm, e.g., the natural phenomena occurring at the advent of a Bodhisattva in his last birth. Gravitation and other similar laws of nature. The natural reason for being good and so forth, my be included in this group.

Citta Niyama - order or mind or psychic law, e.g., processes of consciousness, arising and perishing of consciousness, constituents of consciousness, power of mind, etc., including telepathy, telaesthesia, retro-cognition, premonition, clairvoyance, clairaudience, thought-reading and such other psychic phenomena which are inexplicable to modern science.

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: VI Now when the bardo of...

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:30:20 -0500

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: VI

Now when the bardo of becoming dawns upon me, I will concentrate my mind one-pointedly, and strive to prolong the results of good karma, close the womb-entrance and think of resistance; this is the time when perseverance and pure thought are needed, abandon jealousy, and meditate on the guru with his consort.

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: V Now when the bardo of...

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:50:15 -0500

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: V

Now when the bardo of dharmata dawns upon me, I will abandon all thoughts of fear and terror, I will recognize whatever appears as my projection and know it to be a vision of the bardo; now that I have reached this crucial point, I will not fear the peaceful and wrathful ones, my own projections.

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: lV Now when the bardo of the...

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:31:00 -0500

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: lV

Now when the bardo of the moment before death dawns upon me, I will abandon all grasping, yearning and attachment, enter undistracted into clear awareness of the teaching, and eject my consciousness into the space of unborn mind; as I leave this compound body of flesh and blood I will know it to be a transitory illusion.

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: lII Now when the bardo of...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:37:11 -0500

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: lII

Now when the bardo of samadhi-meditation dawns upon me, I will abandon the crowd of distractions and confusions, and rest in the boundless state without grasping or disturbance; firm in the two practices: visualization and completion, at this time of meditation, one-pointed, free from activity, I will not fall into the power of confused emotions.

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: lI Now when the bardo of...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:31:45 -0500

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: lI

Now when the bardo of dreams is dawning upon me, I will abandon the corpse-like sleep of careless ignorance, and let my thoughts enter their natural state without distraction; controlling and transforming dreams in luminosity, I will not sleep like any animal but unify completely sleep and practice.

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: l Now when the bardo of...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:23:20 -0500

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos: l

Now when the bardo of birth is dawning upon me, I will abandon laziness for which life has no time, enter the undistracted path of study, reflection and meditation, making projections and mind the path, and realize the three kayas; now that I have once attained a human body, there is no time on the path for the mind to wander.

The Main Verses of the Six Bardos

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:22:00 -0500

With mind far off, not thinking of death’s coming, performing these meaningless activities, returning empty-handed now would be complete confusion; the need is for recognition, holy dharma, so why not practice dharma at this very moment?

From the mouths of siddhas come these words: If you do not keep your guru’s teaching in your heart will you not become your own deceiver?

(from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo by Guru Rinpoche according to Karma Lingpa, translated by Francesca Freemantle and Chogyam Trunpa, Shambhala, 1975 pp. 98-99