Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal

Angry Birds, "The Angry Buddhist" (audio)

2012-05-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

Madeleine Brand, Seth Greenland, KPCC.org (SCPR.org); Wisdom Quarterly

"Angry Birds may be the closest to Buddhism that many of us ever get" (tobeydeys.com)

What does a "Buddhist" have to be angry about? Politics? Lesbian affairs? "Hello Kitty" tattoos? Murder? The declining habit of pleasure reading and corresponding drop in book sales?

This year's election season is already proving to be full of drama and fireworks. But it doesn't measure up to the political drama in Seth Greenland's forthcoming novel, The Angry Buddhist.

The book takes place in the days leading up to a November election, where the incumbent under fire -- a slimy congressman -- is in a battle against a sexy, Sarah Palin-esque challenger. There's in-fighting, sexual affairs, and even a murder.

But, interestingly, the author is actually quite knowledgeable about Buddhism. It is not merely a gimmick to draw in readers. Set in trendy Palm Springs, near Coachella, in Southern California.

Greenland, author of The Bones and Shining City, was also a writer/producer on HBO's "Big Love."
LISTEN (9:07 mins); discussion of Buddhist practice starts at Minute 5:57.

Meet the "Third Eye" Pineal Gland (video)

2012-05-30T07:07:00.002-07:00

Dhmr. Seven and Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly; video by Truthzonetvcom, Akyastv
Minute 8:15 mentions a Buddhist connection seen by Dr. Rick Straussman, MD.

The connection is actually to the pre-Buddhist Bön religion overlaid by Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet, which practices Lamaism, Tantra, and the Diamond Way. Mystics, first Bön shamans and later ecstatic meditators, elaborated a postmortem map to escape rebirth.

The Bardol Thodol or "Tibetan Book of the Dead" was meant to be read to the dying to guide them through the initial stages of a brief intermediary period before another afterlife. The individual, not a "soul," is cycling through samsara, the Wheel of Life and Death. Part of this cycle is happening right now, on this plane, in the human world.

Edgar Cayce (David Wilcock) explains the agni chakra or "mark of the beast."

When one passes away from here, the Tibetans envisioned an elaborate route or passageways onto the next life. (Various cultures have seen it according to what they know on Earth, so while the details change, the themes are the same, suggesting an objective experience).

The goal was to avoid rebirth or at least rebirth on lower planes of existence. But the things to be done to avoid that are meant to be done in the human world during this life, not some last minute maneuver outwitting Yama, the King of the Dead.

What should be done if one wishes for freedom is to develop this wisdom -- suffering and the end of suffering, dukkha (disappointment) and nirvana, a kind of bliss unutterable. The way to do that is to cultivate virtue (compassion for all), serenity (absorbed concentration), and liberating-wisdom (insight, superknowledge, nyana).

The way to that is to contemplate (ponder) and meditate (sit still without thinking) on the Four Noble Truths. All of this is summed up in the general and very detailed Noble Eightfold Path. When one has died again, when one goes on the next world to experience the joys and consequences of past actions (karma), it is no time to then try to sit and still the heart/mind.

One has karma as one's inheritance, as one's companion, as one's associate. That karma is always adjustable. Whatever we have done, we can do better right now. We can cultivate more skill, more profit, more comfort. It will always come in handy. Through confidence (verifiable "faith") in the good we are able to step forward toward the good. What is the good?

IMAGES: All-Seeing Eyes of Buddha stupa, Nepal (Gebenn/flickr.com); allseeingeye2 (acreativeuniverse.com); eye by Phoddastica; eye as greenish mirror of consciousness seen in meditation (dhammawheel.com); Tibet landscape at the "rooftop of the world" (dipity.com).

Giving (dana, alobha) is good. Developing the Five Precepts is good. Applying the Dharma we have learned. Sharing the good we do with others by inviting them to join in. Restraining ourselves from the harmful impulses we experience. Daily reflections on the qualities of the Buddha, the liberating Dharma, the liberated or "noble" Sangha are good and easy exercises to set the heart in a useful direction.

There is an eye that sees. But it is the heart that knows. That "third eye" (in Buddhist terms, the dibba cakkhu) would seem to physically correspond to the pine-shaped pineal gland, an inner eye replete with rods and cones.

"DMT: The Spirit Molecule" (thespiritmolecule.com)

New report says gangs find forced child prostitution easier than drug dealing

Buddhist nuns of Cambodia (Nick Marghe)

O, "Amercia"! Willard Romney nominated

2012-05-30T07:00:00.008-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly (EDITORIAL)

Romney's latest conservative controversy: His campaign can't spell America.

Does America want Willard "Mittens" Romney? It is not our choice. The selection committee does not give much weight to elections, which are a sufficient distraction.

We may get the flesh embodiment of the angel Maroni ("Mitt Romney") whether any citizen wants him or not. He's a back up Obama in case Hillary refuses the job and the current orator does not continue to do such a great job of selling out the country.

The fix is in for a Mormon candidate. Why not? He's meant to run, not to win. Nixon was a Quaker, JFK a Catholic, and we have had assorted Satanists and other uber-patriotic deceivers. Is Romney any different?

The American voter, scared into tolerating Obama, wanted Ron Paul. So that option was taken off the table with the active participation of the mainstream media.

Running unopposed in half the primaries, it still took Romney this long to gather up enough votes just to run against a candidate many, like Romney's buddy and fellow vulture capitalist Donald Trump, swear is a Kenyan. (It's true but that does not disqualify B.S. Obama from being "president" of the Corporation of the United States, which is what he is. Whether or not his birth certificate was faked for him, a better indicator is his fake Social Security number).

Even Romney's 250 million dollar personal fortune, bled from his adventures in vulture capitalism, couldn't make him any more popular. Now will his latest failed campaign help his image any -- "A Better Amercia"? It's AmerICa, Mittens. Tell the Web lackeys that spell check is not optional.

It is well known that Romney will say anything to anyone at anytime -- Please like me -- but the question is, Will he keep the wars going? As a capitalist he should be easy to persuade by the movers and shakers at the military-industrial complex.

News of the Strange

Astrologers say celestial charts favor Obama over Romney
Obama will win re-election to the U.S. presidency in November, according to five astrologers who offered predictions at their convention. — Reuters

This Rock Could Spy on You for Decades
Palm-sized sensors, developed for the American military, will remain littered across the Afghan countryside

West Michigan puzzled over Sunday night booms
People are buzzing over what could have possibly caused a loud boom and violent shaking.
A rare island of serenity, thanks to the FCC
While most of us are inundated by sounds of all kinds, folks in one Appalachian region are "zoning out."
Mediterranean's Deepest Rome-Era Shipwrecks Found
Two Roman-era shipwrecks have been found in deep water off a western Greek island, challenging the conventional theory that ancient ship masters stuck to coastal route.
The Enigma 1,800 Miles Below Us

New research suggests the existing models of Earth’s core may not explain its complexities.

1952 UFO sighting left aviation minister "convinced" we are not alone
Radar confirmed craft was traveling at speeds far greater than any aircraft at the time.

Huge Ancient Civilization's Collapse Explained
The Harappan civilization [of India] once extended across the plains of the Indus River from the Arabian Sea to the Ganges.
"They" Might Truly Be Among Us! Who Are The Walk-Ins?
Has the "soul" [or nonphysical components collectively] you were born with been removed and replaced by a more advanced soul with a mission we can only dimly comprehend?
James Webb telescope's Miri instrument flies out to US
The telescope, a successor to Hubble, aims to track down the very first stars to shine in the Universe.
Memorial Day: How It's Changed, Why Some Oppose 3-Day Weekend
A look at how the meaning of Memorial Day has been obscured in recent years and how lawmakers are trying to change that.
Wild Britain
Nick Redfern discusses the coypu, a large rodent that overran England in the 1960's.

UFOnauts: Many Shapes, Sizes, and Colors
Tony Morrill details the various depictions of ETs reported in famous UFO cases over the years.

German teen solves 300-year-old mathematical riddle posed by Sir Isaac Newton
Teenager deciphers 17th century query that had, up to now, baffled mathematicians.
TV crew capture audio they believe proves existence of yowies
A US television crew has recorded what it believes is compelling audio evidence of the existence of yowies [Bigfoot].
NASA releases "beautiful" images of the sun
NASA scientists have released new images of the sun with augmented colors that highlight activity on the surface of the star.
Widen the goal in the search for alien life
We need to cast off our biological blinkers in the search for life beyond Earth and turn to physics, says cosmologist Charley Lineweaver. — New Scientist
Quake reveals say of Jesus' crucifixion
It's been debated for years, but researchers say they now have a definitive date of the crucifixion. — Discovery News
Neil Armstrong grants rare interview
"I know someone will fly back and pick up the camera I left there," Armstrong responds to conspiracy theorist claims he didn't walk on moon.
"Cloaking" idea traps a rainbow
Researchers have trapped a rainbow -- slowing light to a near-stop -- in an array of 25,000 "invisibility cloaks," each smaller than a hair's breadth.
How to make a material that shrinks when stretched
New metamaterials that shrink under tension and expand under compression might soon become a reality thanks to theoretical work done by scientists in the US. — physicsworld.com
VIDEO: Spectacular clock goes on display

Greenwald: Obama's secret "Kill List" (video)

2012-05-30T06:59:00.001-07:00

Glenn Greenwald, DemocracyNow.org

(VIDEO LINK)

The New York Times revealed this week that President Obama [thanks to his friends Dick Cheney, G.W. Bush, Don Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, John Ashcroft, and John Yoo] keeps and personally oversees a "secret kill list" containing the names and photos of individuals targeted for assassination in the secretive US drone war.

According to the Times, Obama signs off on EVERY targeted killing in [the US's lesser known wars on] Yemen and Somalia and the more complex or risky strikes in Pakistan. Individuals on the list include US citizens, as well teenage girls as young as 17 years old.

"The President of the United States believes he has the power to order people killed -- in total secrecy, without any due process, without transparency or oversight of any kind," says Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional law attorney and political and legal blogger for Salon.com.

"I really do believe it’s literally the most radical power that a government and president can seize, and yet the Obama administration has seized [it] and exercised it aggressively with little controversy."

(MM) Glenn Greenwald, author of Liberty and Justice for Some, speaks about America's two-tiered "justice" system. He reveals that Obama had "indefinite detention" inserted into NDAA, as Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks, MOXNews.com) is so steamed about, when madmen Levin and Lieberman had never meant to go that far. B.S. Obama (Barack O'Romney) represents not the people of the USA but the actual "heads of state," the MIC (military-industrial complex).

CIA Agent: "Al-Qaeda doesn't exist" (video)

2012-05-30T06:30:00.001-07:00

RT.com; FIN (freedominfonetwork.org)
(freedominfonetwork)

Ron Paul reveals truths, ruining his chances to work for the MIC

Seeing is Believing: UFOs over LA (video)

2012-05-29T06:25:00.001-07:00

ThirdPhaseofMoon; Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly

This is the footage the world has been waiting for. But better than that, come see it live! Robert Bingham is able to summon UFOs over Los Angeles in front of eyewitnesses. He will do it again this weekend for all to see and film. Footage continues to come into Third Phase of Moon regarding the May 19th 2012 event.

People do not believe because they do not want to believe. It is certainly not for lack of tangible, first hand, eyewitness, and now repeatable evidence. "I'll believe it when I see it," we say. Then most of us do not bother to look and investigate. The disclosure process is under way. Many former officials from our military and space programs have stepped forward (disclosureproject.org). Yet ideologues still stubbornly cling to the safe and comforting old-world view:

Never mind the evidence; we are all alone in the inky blackness of space, the random byproduct of chance and fortuitous circumstances. And we alone met with this chance and these circumstances. In fact, we are the project of many groups. We are protected, guided, enslaved, menaced, abused, and led/misled by extraterrestrials. Meanwhile, we argue about "little green men" and other disinformation fed to us for generations. Look up. But do it at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on June 3, 2012 at 10:30 am. Bring high quality cameras.

Is it a hoax like professional skeptics say?

An Evening with Shinzen Young

2012-05-29T06:00:00.001-07:00

Join Shinzen for a special evening discussing the topic of AWAKENING.

Shinzen Young (basicmindfulness.org) became fascinated with Asian culture as a teenager in Los Angeles. Later he enrolled in the PhD program in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin.

Eventually, he traveled to Asia and trained extensively as a monastic in each of the three major Buddhist meditative traditions: Vajrayana, Zen, and Theravada (vipassana). His specialty is linking Eastern internal science and Western technological science. More

Against the Stream
4300 Melrose Ave., LA 90029
Thursday May 31, 2012, 7:30-9:00 pm
Drop in, no registration, by donation

Aung San Suu Kyi travels outside Burma

2012-05-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly

Daw Suu at a rally in Burma also called Myanmar (Wei Deng/Wei on the way/Flickr.com)

Heroine of Peace (nobelprize.org)

The Lady, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is a human rights success story. We have been agitating for her release and installation for years when it seemed hopeless.

She is a female Nelson Mandela, jailed for years only to rise -- perhaps by force of justice or skillful karma -- to lead a police state ruled by maleficent military men.

She is a female Dalai Lama, whom the dictatorship wanted to exile except that she would not leave. Had she left, like the current spiritual leader of Tibet, she would not have been allowed to return. (The 14th Dalai Lama faces the prospect of imprisonment, torture, or execution if he attempts to return to Tibet or China now).

It is a therefore a fantastic landmark that the Lady has again won elections, taken office, and is now venturing outside of the country as an emissary of state. She is visiting the neighboring Theravada Buddhist country of Thailand. And with her go the hearts of millions worldwide.

USCAMPAIGNFORBURMA.org

Where are the dictators? Headed by the Hitler figure, Gen. Than Shwe, they moved the capital from Rangoon to Nyapidaw. Having embezzled billions and mired the country in artificial poverty that Hillary Clinton and the US are only too happy to help them out of in exchange for billions in investment. The cost?

Stripping Burma of natural resources just as we are doing to other countries through war: Capitalism trumps war for effective strip mining. Will the ruling junta sell out the people? Of course! They have been trying to broker a deal in the land that inspired Nineteen Eighty-Four for decades.

Suu Kyi in first foreign trip in 24 years
Telegraph.co.uk

The former political prisoner, who won a seat in parliament in historic April by-elections, is expected to meet the Thai prime minister, attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia, and meet Burmese communities during several days in the country. Speaking to AFP at Rangoon International Airport before her departure, Ms. Suu Kyi said she "didn't feel anything special" about the landmark foreign trip.

Self-immolations continue in Tibet (video)

2012-05-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly; Phayul.com; TibetArchive; StandUpForTibet.org; FreeTibetanHeroes.org

(Link Asia TV) A rash of self-immolations by Tibetans. Chinese troops streaming into the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. Host Yul Kwon speaks with Prof. Robert Barnett of Colombia Univ. about unrest in Tibet and China's provocation and reaction.

Image: A monk reacts as he participates in a debate as part of Tibetan New Year celebrations at a temple in Langmusixiangm (Reuters/Carlos Barria).

(Global Post, May 28, 2012) Two Tibetan Buddhist monks have set themselves on fire in Lhasa [Tibet's capital], the first reported self-immolations in the capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

US-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia said in a statement that the monks set themselves on fire on Sunday outside the Jokhang temple, a renowned center for Buddhist pilgrimage in Lhasa.

Jampa Yeshi runs engulfed in flames to protest Pres. Hu Jintao in New Delhi March 26, 2012 (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

The temple has been under heavy security since deadly riots broke out in 2008. The self-immolators were believed to be among Tibetan youths gathered to protest against Chinese rule outside the temple.

They were taken away by authorities within minutes of setting themselves on fire, according to RFA, and had reportedly died. "The security forces arrived immediately and put out the fire and all the tourists in the area were cordoned off from the site," a witness told the broadcaster.

"Within 15 minutes, the area was cleaned and not a trace of the incident was left." Radio Free Asia quoted a source as saying the situation in Lhasa was now "very tense" and the city was filled with police and paramilitary forces. More

(SephJoey) Tibet, a three-part documentary series charting the long overland

journey from Shanghai, China through Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal.

What are the Tibetans complaining about?

(TibetArchive, Dec. 2011)

What could be so bad that self-immolation starts looking like a good idea? Purportedly this is leaked footage of a crackdown by Chinese "security" forces in Tibet. It indicates that the level of repression against ethnic Tibetans is much more serious than generally acknowledged by the international community.

Video posted on the exile Tibetan Web site TibetOnline.tv showed a raid by a Chinese SWAT team comprised of about 100 People's Armed Police (PAP) officers on what is believed to be Unit 2 of Dode Village, near Sera Monastery northeast of Lhasa.

The quality footage, which is believed to have been shot in 2008, displays an unprecedented show of force by Chinese authorities using special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams, accompanied by trained dogs and an armored vehicle. They assume an attack formation and aim assault rifles at sleeping villagers. In all, four confused-looking men and one elderly woman are taken away. Each is forced to stare into the camera and provide details to the cameraman, who is presumably a PAP.

Unlike previous unrest, such as the 1989 riots in Lhasa or the March 2008 incident, during which nervous and sometimes vengeful PAP officers were confronted with an emergency, the troops in this video are not responding to any immediate threat.

This video was taken offline and has since emerged on YouTube. The material follows the release on the citizens' journalism Boxun Web site of eight photographs showing Tibetan prisoners being paraded by a large contingent of armed police in China's Sichuan Province, from 2008 or later.

The two releases have led analysts to conclude that someone in China, perhaps within the security apparatus, is leaking information to show the true scale of the repression in Tibet and neighboring areas in China.

Reacting to the video, Dawa Tsering, chairman of the Tibet Religious Foundation of the Dalai Lama -- the de facto representative of the exiled government in Taiwan -- said that the way Chinese treat Tibetans shows them to be a conquered and colonized people.

"Any Tibetan with a heart will never forget this humiliation. We will not forget how arrogant the Chinese are and the humiliation we went through," he said. "We will remember this for generations to come, and this memory will constantly remind us of what we should do."

Former Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan President Tashi Tsering said he was not surprised by what Chinese police officers did to Tibetans. "That's how the Chinese Communist Party has always treated Tibetans," Tashi said via telephone.

"The Chinese always claim they respect human rights, but what they do is different from what they say. Taiwanese should know this and be very careful when dealing with China." He called on the international community to launch a probe into human rights violations by China in Tibet.

(Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin, TaipeiTimes.com)

Mindful Nation: Buddhist practice for US (video)

2012-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly; InsightLA; Terrence McNally (aworldthatjustmightwork.org); Hay House
Inspiring and pragmatic, A Mindful Nation shows how the benefits of mindfulness apply to current American challenges.

Congressman Tim Ryan took a break after an election cycle. He went in search of peace: He signed up for a five-day silent Buddhist mindfulness meditation retreat with Jon Kabat-Zinn.

He found in the profound silence of mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati sampajanna) more peace than he could have imagined, peace akin to the "centering" prayer modality of his youth.

It occurred to him that mindfulness -- with modern scientific studies to back it and an ancient mystical tradition built around it -- could help turn around the entire nation.

A Mindful Nation paints a picture of emerging solutions that benefit both the reader and American society as a whole, showing us that there is something we can do right here and right now.

With a hard-nosed understanding of politics, government budgets, and what it takes to get something done, Congressman Ryan combines a practical approach with a hopeful vision for how mindfulness can help reinvigorate the American Dream.

(Hayhouse.com)

In A Mindful Nation, Ryan connects the dots between what's happening in the classrooms, hospitals, boardrooms, research labs, and military bases across the country. He explores the scientific findings that support the beneficial effects of mindfulness and shares powerful stories from the field. He shows how this simple practice is:

helping schoolchildren improve their ability to learn
veterans heal from trauma
and CEOs become more effective leaders

Ryan also provides practical tips for how to incorporate mindfulness into our lives today and includes instructions from a qualified teacher for simple mindfulness and kindness practices we can all do.

(HayHousePresents)

Memorial Day: What WAR is like (video)

2012-05-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Chris Hedges; UCtelevision

(UC TV) Begins in earnest at Minute 10. April 2012, Humanities, Show ID: 22837

(UCTV.tv) War correspondent, journalist, author Christopher Hedges speaks of the despair, destruction, love, and truth he found during his long career of covering wars and social justice movements throughout the world. Hedges is interviewed by Dean Nelson as part of the 17th annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University.

How is war -- and covering war -- like an addiction, a powerful narcotic?

Soldiers and Marines call it a "combat high." And it's real. You know? First of all, combat itself is a kind of Zen-like experience. I mean even colors are brighter. You're aware or present in ways that you never were before. A battlefield can replicate a variety of synthetic drug trips, hallucinogenic landscapes after heavy shelling. You never sleep, you know that kind of zombie, hashish-like state? And it is a world that perverts and deforms and destroys you. And if you spend long enough in its grip, it's very hard to fit in anywhere else...

Yeah, but when I read Hemingway, he made it sound pretty cool! And I read your stuff, and you say it messed you up.

Hemingway... yeah... romance... that mythic version of war, which isn't real.

WARNING: Coarse language, animal slaughter, and extreme violence. American military-industrial complex brings war to Buddhist Vietnam.

Sutra: States of Consciousness (DN 9)

2012-05-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly based on Maurice Walshe translation (Long Discourses of the Buddha 9)

Buddha eyes of wisdom, Swayambhunath Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal (whirledapart.com)

1. Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthi, in Jeta's Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. At that time the wanderer Potthapāda was in the debating-hall near the Tinduka tree, in the single-halled park of Queen Mallikā, with a large crowd of about 300 wanderers.

2. Then the Buddha, rising early, took his robe and bowl and went to Sāvatthi for alms. But it occurred to him: 'It is too early to go to Sāvatthi for alms. Suppose I were to go to the debating-hall to see the wanderer Pothapāda?' And he did so.

3. There Potthapāda was sitting with his wanderer-disciples, all shouting and making a great commotion, indulging in various kinds of unedifying conversation [animal talk], such as about: kings, robbers, ministers, armies, dangers, wars, food, drink, clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes, relatives, carriages, villages, towns and cities, countries, women, heroes, street- and well-gossip, talk of the departed, desultory chat, speculations about [the origins of] land and sea, talk of being and non-being.

4. But Potthapāda saw him coming from a distance. So he called his followers to order, saying: "Be quiet, gentlemen! Don't make a noise, gentlemen! That ascetic Gotama is coming, and he likes quiet and speaks in praise of quiet. If he sees that this company is quiet, he will most likely want to come and visit us." At this the wanderers fell silent.

(Pranavbhasin.com)

5. The Buddha came to Potthapāda, who said: "Come, reverend sir, welcome, reverend sir! At last the reverend has gone out of his way to come here. Be seated, reverend. A seat is prepared."

The Buddha sat down on the prepared seat, and Potthapāda took a low stool and sat down to one side. The Buddha said:

"Potthapāda, what were you all talking about? What conversation have I interrupted?"

6. Potthapāda replied: "Reverend, never mind the conversation we were having just now. It will not be difficult for the Venerable One to hear about that later. In the past few days, reverend sir, the discussion among the ascetics and brahmins of various schools, sitting together and meeting in the debating-hall, has concerned the higher extinction of consciousness and how this takes place.

"Some said: 'One's perceptions arise and cease without cause or condition. When they arise, one is conscious. When they cease, one is unconscious.' That is how they explained it."

"But somebody else said: 'No, that is not how it is. Perceptions are a person's self, which comes and goes. When it comes, one is conscious. When it goes, one is unconscious.'

"Another said: 'That is not how it is. There are ascetics and brahmin priests of great power, of great influence. They draw down consciousness into a person and withdraw it. When they draw it down in, one is conscious. When they withdraw it, one is unconscious.'

"And another said: 'No, that is not how it is. There are deities [devas] of great powers, of great influence. They draw down consciousness into a person and withdraw it. When they draw it down, one is conscious. When they withdraw it, one is unconscious.'

"It was in this connection that I thought of the Blessed One: 'Ah, surely, the Blessed One, the Well-Farer is supremely knowledgeable about these matters! The Blessed One well understands the higher extinction of consciousness.' What then, venerable sir, is this higher extinction of consciousness?"

7. "In this matter, Potthapāda, those ascetics and brahmins who say one's perceptions arise and cease without cause or condition are totally wrong.

"Why is that? One's perceptions arise and cease owing to a cause and conditions. Some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.

"What is this training? Potthapāda, a Tathāgata [Wayfarer] arises in this world -- an arhat, fully-enlightened buddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, Well-Farer, Knower of the worlds, incomparable Trainer of humans to be tamed, Teacher of devas and humans, enlightened and blessed.

"One, having realized it by one's own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with its devas [shining ones], māras [destroyers], brahmās [creators], its princes, and people. One teaches the Dharma which is lovely in its beginning, middle, ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully- perfected and purified supreme life. A disciple goes forth and practices the virtues...

8. "And then, Potthapāda, that meditator who is perfected in virtue sees no danger from any side..."

The 8 Meditative Absorptions

Meditate, alone or together, to know and see.

9-10. One guards the sense-doors... Having reached the first meditative absorption (jhāna), one remains in it. And whatever sensations of lust that one previously had disappear. At that time there is present a true but subtle perception of delight and happiness, born of detachment, and one is conscious of this delight and happiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. And this is that training," said the Buddha.

11. "Again, a meditator, with the subsiding of applied and sustained attention, by gaining inner tranquility and unity of mind, reaches and remains in the second absorption, which is free from applied and sustained attention, born of concentration, filled with delight and happiness. One's former true but subtle perception of delight and happiness born of detachment vanishes. At that time there arises a true but subtle perception of delight and happiness born of concentration, and one becomes conscious of this delight and happiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.

12. "Again, after the fading away of delight one dwells in equanimity, mindful and clearly aware, one experiences in one's body that pleasant feeling of which the Noble Ones say:

'Happy dwells the person of equanimity and mindfulness.'

"And one reaches and remains in the third absorption. One's former true but subtle sense of delight and happiness born of concentration vanishes. There arises at that time a true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness. And one becomes conscious of this true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.

13. "Again, with the abandonment of pleasure and pain, and with the disappearance of previous joy and grief, one reaches and remains in the fourth absorption, a state beyond pleasure and pain, purified by equanimity and mindfulness. One's former true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness vanishes. There arises a true but subtle sense of neither happiness nor unhappiness, and one is conscious of this true but subtle sense of neither happiness nor unhappiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.

The 4 Immaterial Absorptions

14. "Again, by passing entirely beyond bodily sensations, by the disappearance of all sense of resistance and by non-attraction to the perception of diversity [called mental proliferation (papañca), the opposite of which (nippapañca) is a synonym for nirvana], seeing that space is unbounded, one reaches and remains in [the fifth absorption called] the Sphere of Unbounded Space. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.

15. "Again, by passing entirely beyond the Sphere of Unbounded Space, seeing that consciousness is unbounded, one reaches and remains in [the sixth absorption called] the Sphere of Unbounded Consciousness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.

16. "Again, by passing entirely beyond the Sphere of Unbounded Consciousness, seeing that there is no thing, one reaches and remains in [the seventh absorption called] the Sphere of No-Thingness. And one becomes conscious of this true but subtle perception of the Sphere of No-Thingness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. And this is that training," said the Buddha.

17. "Potthapāda, from the moment when a meditator has gained this controlled perception, that person proceeds from stage to stage until reaching the limit of perception [the eighth absorption, which is called the Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception]. When one has reached the limit of perception it occurs to the successful meditator: 'Mental activity is worse for me; lack of mental activity is better. If I were to think and imagine, these perceptions [that I have attained] would cease, and coarser perceptions would arise in me. Suppose I were not to think or imagine?'

"So one neither thinks nor imagines. And then, in this person, just these [fine] perceptions arise. But other, coarser perceptions do not arise. One attains cessation. And that, Potthapāda, is the way in which the cessation of perception is brought about by successive steps.

18. "What do you think, Potthapāda? Have you heard of this before?"

"No, venerable sir. As I understand it, the Venerable One has said: 'Potthapāda, from the moment when a meditator has gained this controlled perception, one proceeds from stage to stage until reaching the limit of perception... One attains cessation. And that is the way in which the cessation of perception is brought about by successive steps.'"

"That is right, Potthapāda."

19. "Venerable sir, do you teach that the summit of perception is just one or that it is many?"

"I teach it as both one and many."

"Venerable sir, how is it one, and how is it many?"

"According as one attains successively to the cessation of each perception, so I teach the summit of that perception: Thus I teach both one summit of perception, and I also teach many."

20. "Venerable sir, does perception arise before knowledge, or does knowledge arise before perception, or do both arise simultaneously?"

"Perception arises first, Potthapāda, then knowledge, and from the arising of perception comes the arising of knowledge. And one knows: 'Thus conditioned, knowledge arises.' In this way one can see how perception arises first, and then knowledge, and that from the arising of perception comes the arising of knowledge."

The sublime, peaceful Dharma is often represented by an eight-spoke wheel of the path (BPS)

The "Self"
21. "Venerable sir, is perception a person's self, or is perception one thing and self another?"

"Well, Potthapāda, do you postulate a self?"

"Venerable sir, I postulate a gross self, material, composed of the four [great] elements [solidity, cohesion, support, temperature] and feeding on solid food."

"But with such a gross self, Potthapāda, perception would be one thing, and the self another. One can see that in this way. Given such a gross self, certain perceptions would arise in a person, and others pass away. In this way one can see that perception must be one thing, the self another."

22. "Venerable sir, I postulate a mind-made self complete with all its parts, not defective in [or not lacking] any sense-organ."

"But with such a mind-made self, perception would be one thing, and the self another…

23. "Venerable sir, I assume a formless self, made up of perception."

"But with such a formless self, perception would be one thing, and self another...'

24. "But venerable sir, is it possible for me to know whether perception is a person's self, or whether perception is one thing and self another?"

"Potthapāda, it is difficult for one of different views, a different doctrine, under different influences, with different pursuits and a different training to know whether these are two different things or not."

Fruitless Philosophical Speculations

Tibetan monks from different sects (wn.com)

25. "Well, venerable sir, if this question of self and perceptions is difficult for one like me -- tell me: Is the world eternal? Is only this [view] true and the opposite false?"

"Potthapāda, I have not declared that the world is eternal and that the opposite view is false."

"Well, venerable sir, is the world not eternal?"

"I have not declared that the world is not eternal..."

"Well, venerable sir, is the world infinite...not infinite?..."

"I have not declared that the world is not infinite and that the opposite view is false.'

26. "Well, venerable sir, is the soul the same as the body... is the soul one thing and the body another?"

"I have not declared that the soul is one thing and the body another."

27. "Well, venerable sir, does the Tathāgata [a fully perfected and liberated person] exist after death? Is only this true and all else false?"

"I have not declared that the Tathāgata exists after death."

"Well, venerable sir, does the Tathāgata not exist after death... both exist and not exist after death? ...neither exist nor not exist after death?" [These are the four exhaustive logical categories in which teachers were placed.]

"I have not declared that the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death, and that all else is false."

Monks ritually dispute and argue (wn.com)

28. "But, venerable sir, why has the Venerable One not declared these things?"

Potthapāda, that is not conducive to the purpose [liberation], not conducive to Dharma [liberating truth], not the way to embark on the supreme life; it does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to nirvana. That is why I have not declared it."

29. "But, venerable sir, what has the Venerable One declared?"

"Potthapāda, I have declared: 'This is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, and this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering.'" [These are the Four Ennobling Truths that summarize Buddhism in a nutshell since the Buddha teaches only suffering or disappointment and the complete end of suffering.]

30. "But, venerable sir, why has the Venerable One declared this?"

"Because, Potthapāda, this is conducive to the purpose [liberation], conducive to Dharma, the way to embark on the supreme life; it leads to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to nirvana. That is why I have declared it."

"So it is, venerable sir. So it is, Well-Farer. And now is the time for the Blessed One to do as he sees fit." [Potthapada's reply was actually a more neutral expression that might be translated as: "That may be, venerable sir, that may be..."]

Then the Buddha rose from his seat and went away.

31. Then the wanderers, as soon as the Buddha had left, reproached, sneered, and jeered at Potthapāda from all sides, saying: 'Whatever the ascetic Gotama says, Potthapāda agrees with him: "So it is, venerable sir. So it is, Well-Farer!' We don't understand a word of the ascetic Gotama's whole discourse: 'Is the world eternal or not? -- Is it finite or infinite? -- Is the soul the same as the body or different? -- Does the Tathāgata exist after death or not, or both, or neither?'"

Potthapāda replied: "I don't understand either about whether the world is eternal or not... or whether the Tathāgata exists after death or not, or both, or neither. But the ascetic Gotama teaches a true and real way of practice which is consonant with Dharma and grounded in Dharma. And why should not a person like me express approval of such a true and real practice, so well taught by the ascetic Gotama?"

32. Two or three days later, Citta, the son of the elephant-trainer, went with Potthapāda to see the Buddha. Citta prostrated himself before the Buddha and sat down to one side. Potthapāda exchanged courtesies with the Buddha, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened.

33. "Potthapāda, all those wanderers are blind and sightless. You alone among them are sighted. Some things I have taught and pointed out, Potthapāda, as being certain and others as being uncertain. Which are the things I have pointed out as uncertain? 'The world is eternal'... 'The Tathāgata exists after death...' I have declared to be uncertain. Why? Because they are not conducive [to the purpose, to Dharma, no way to embark on the supreme life; they do not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment,] to nirvana. That is why I have declared them as uncertain.

"But what things have I pointed out as certain? 'This is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering.' Why? Because they are conducive to the purpose, conducive to Dharma, the way to embark on the supreme life; they lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to nirvana. That is why I have declared them as certain.

34. "Potthapāda, there are some [wandering] ascetics and brahmin [priests] who declare and believe that after death the self is entirely happy and free from ill. I approached them and asked if this was indeed what they declared and believed.

"And they replied: 'Yes.' Then I said: 'Do you, friends, living in the world, know and see it as an entirely happy place?' and they replied: 'No.' I said: 'Have you ever experienced a single night or day, or half a night or day, that was entirely happy?' and they replied: 'No.'

"I said: 'Do you know a path or a practice whereby an entirely happy world might be brought about?' and they replied: 'No.' I said: 'Have you heard the voices of devas who have been reborn in an entirely happy world, saying: "The attainment of an entirely happy world has been well and rightly gained, and we, gentlemen, have been reborn in such a realm?"' and they replied: 'No.'

"What do you think, Potthapāda? Such being the case, does not the talk of those ascetics and brahmins turn out to be foolish?

The Most Beautiful Girl

35. "It is just as if a man were to say: 'I am going to seek out and love the most beautiful girl in the country.' They might say to him: 'Well, as to this most beautiful girl in the country, do you know whether she belongs to the warrior caste, the brahmin, the merchant, or the artisan caste?' and he would say: 'No.' Then they might say: 'Well, do you know her name, her clan, whether she is tall or short or of medium height, whether she is dark or light-complexioned or sallow-skinned, or what village or town or city she comes from?' and he would say: 'No.' And they might say: 'Well then, you don't know or see the one you seek for and desire?' and he would say: 'No.' Does not the talk of that man turn out to be foolish?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."

36. "And so it is with those ascetics and brahmins who declare and believe that after death the self is entirely happy and free from ill... Does not their talk turn out to be foolish?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."

37. "It is just as if a man were to build a staircase for a palace at a crossroads. People might say to him: 'Well now, this staircase for a palace that you are building -- do you know whether the palace will face east, or west, or north, or south, or whether it will be high, low, or of medium height?' and he would say: 'No.' And they might say: 'Well then, you don't know or see what kind of a palace you are building the staircase for?' and he would say: 'No.' Don't you think that man's talk would turn out to be foolish?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."

38. (as Verse 34)

39. "Potthapāda, there are three kinds of 'acquired self':

the gross acquired self
the mind-made acquired self
the formless acquired self.

"What is the gross acquired self? It has form, is composed of the four great elements, nourished by material food. What is the mind-made self? It has form, complete with all its parts, not [lacking] any sense-organ. What is the formless acquired self? It is without form, and made up of perception.

40. "But I teach a doctrine for getting rid of the gross acquired self, whereby defiling mental states disappear and states tending to purification grow strong. And one gains and remains in the purity and perfection of wisdom here and now, having realized and attained it by one's own super-knowledge.

The Cause of Unhappiness

(Stephen the Photofan/Flickr.com)

"Now, Potthapāda, you might think: 'Perhaps these defiling mental states might disappear... and one might still be unhappy.'

"That is NOT how it should be regarded. If defiling states disappear... nothing but happiness and delight develops, tranquility, mindfulness and clear awareness -- and that is a happy state.

41. "I also teach a doctrine [a dharma] for getting rid of the mind-made acquired self... (as Verse 40).

42. "I also teach a doctrine for getting rid of the formless acquired self... (as Verse 40).

43. "Potthapāda, if others ask us: 'What, friend, is this gross acquired self whose abandonment you preach...?' being so asked, we should reply: 'This is that gross acquired self for the getting rid of which we teach a doctrine..."

44. "If others ask us: 'What is this mind-made acquired self...?" (as Verse 43).

45. "If others ask us: 'What is this formless acquired self...?' (as Verse 43). What do you think, Potthapāda? Does not that statement turn out to be well-founded?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."

46. "It is just as if a man were to build a staircase for a palace, which was below that palace. They might say to him: 'Well now, this staircase for a palace that you are building, do you know whether the palace will face east or west, or north or south, or whether it will be high, low or of medium height?' and he would say: 'This staircase is right under the palace.' Don't you think that man's statement would be well-founded?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."

47. "In just the same way, Potthapāda, if others ask us:

'What is this gross acquired self...?'
'What is this mind-made acquired self...?'
'What is this formless acquired self...?'

"[In such cases] we reply: 'This is this [gross, mind-made, formless] acquired self for the getting rid of which we teach a doctrine, whereby defiling mental states disappear and states tending to purification grow strong. And one gains and remains in the purity and perfection of wisdom here and now, having realized and attained it by one's own super-knowledge.' Don't you think that statement is well-founded?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."

48. At this, Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, said to the Buddha: "Venerable sir, whenever the gross acquired self is present, would it be wrong to assume the existence of the mind-made acquired self or of the formless acquired self? Does only the gross acquired self truly exist then? And similarly with the mind-made acquired self and the formless acquired self?"

49. "Citta, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not at that time speak of a mind-made acquired self, we do not speak of a formless acquired self. We speak only of a gross acquired self. Whenever the mind-made acquired self is present, we speak only of a mind-made acquired self. And whenever the formless acquired self is present, we speak only of a formless acquired self.

"Citta, suppose they were to ask you: 'Did you exist in the past or didn't you? Will you exist in the future or won't you? Do you exist now or don't you?' how would you answer?"

"Venerable sir, if I were asked such a question, I would say: 'I did exist in the past; I did not not exist. I shall exist in the future; I shall not not exist. I do exist now; I do not not exist.' That, venerable sir, would be my answer."

50. "But, Citta, if they asked: 'The past acquired self that you had, is that your only true acquired self, and are the future and present ones false? Or is the one you will have in the future the only true one, and are the past and present ones false? Or is your present acquired self the only true one, and are the past and future ones false?' how would you reply?"

"Venerable sir, if they asked me these things, I would reply: 'My past acquired self was at the time my only true one, whereas the future and present ones were false. My future acquired self will then be the only true one, whereas the past and present ones will be false. My present acquired self is now the only true one, whereas the past and future ones are false.' That is how I would reply."

51. "In just the same way, Citta, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not at that time speak of a mind-made acquired self... [or] of a formless acquired self.

52. "In just the same way, Citta, from the cow we get milk, from the milk curds, from the curds butter, from the butter ghee [clarified butter], and from the ghee cream of ghee [creme de la creme]. And when there is milk we don't speak of curds, of butter, of ghee, or of cream of ghee. We speak of milk. When there are curds we don't speak of butter... When there is cream of ghee... we speak of cream of ghee.

53. "So too, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not speak of the mind-made or formless acquired self; whenever the mind-made acquired self is present, we do not speak of the gross or formless acquired self; whenever the formless acquired self is present, we do not speak of the gross acquired self or the mind-made acquired self. We speak of the formless acquired self.

But, Citta, these are merely names [conventional speech], expressions, turns of speech, designations in common use in the world, which the Tathāgata uses without misapprehending them."

And at these words Potthapāda the wanderer said to the Buddha: "Excellent, venerable sir, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had gotten lost, or to bring a lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there.

"Just so has the Blessed One expounded the Dharma in various ways. Venerable sir, I go for refuge to the Venerable One, the Dharma, and the [Noble] Sangha. May the Venerable One accept me as a lay-follower who has gone for guidance to him from this day forth as long as life shall last!"

55. But Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, said to the Buddha: "Excellent, venerable sir, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had gotten lost, or to bring a lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so has the Blessed One expounded the Dharma in various ways. Venerable sir, I go for guidance to the Venerable One, the Dharma, and the [Noble] Sangha. May I, venerable sir, receive the going-forth at the Venerable One's hands. May I receive [monastic] ordination!"

Enlightenment is the arising of insight-wisdom.

56. And Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, received the going-forth at the Buddha's hands and was ordained. And the newly-ordained Venerable Citta, withdrawn, secluded, unwearying, zealous [with balanced effort], and resolute, in a short time attained to that for the sake of which young people of good birth go forth from the household life into homelessness, that unexcelled culmination of the supreme life, having realized it here and now by his own super-knowledge and dwelled therein, knowing: "Birth is destroyed, the supreme life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further here."

And Venerable Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, became another of the arhats [enlightened ones].

PHOTOS

Clinically proven herbs?

2012-05-27T06:00:00.001-07:00

Kalyana Mitta, Wisdom Quarterly

What is Protandim?

Protandim, to the best of our knowledge, is the only supplement in the world clinically proven (in a peer-reviewed, human clinical study) to reduce aging factors by an average of 40 percent.

Protandim has been granted four patents and is at present the subject of more than 20 independent clinical studies.

This patented antioxidant therapy is many times more powerful than red wine, oranges, blueberries, juices, or other popular supplements.

Protandim works by increasing the body’s natural antioxidant protection at the cellular level, triggering cells to produce naturally occurring protective antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and the enzymes involved in glutathione synthesis and metabolism.

"Food should be our medicine; medicine should be our food."
- Hippocrates

Eat more whole, green, unprocessed foods.

Drink filtered water.

Breathe deeply.

Smile.

Is Protandim a Nrf2 Activator?

Protandim’s actions result from its ability to activate the transcription factor known as Nrf2.

Protandim contains five ingredients that are known to scientists as Nrf2 activators:

turmeric (curcumin)
ashwagandha (Indian winter cherry)
bacopa (brahmi)
milk thistle (everything interacts)
green tea (leaf)

QUESTION: How hard would it be to make a smoothie? Combine powder form of each (from bulk and supplement sections of any good health food store) in equal parts. Thank the plants for working their synergistic magic. Take a teaspoon or two as food with purified water, juice, or almond milk.

Nrf2 is a protein messenger contained in every cell of the body that sends information to the cell’s DNA. That DNA consists of about 25,000 genes and the products of those genes make us who and what we are [physically]. They are unique for each person. DNA is what makes us human beings, what gives us [the physical manifestations of] our personality, what gives us our physical traits. More

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha

2012-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Samyutta Nikaya translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Wisdompubs.org)

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, now available in a single volume, is a complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. It contains all of the important sutras on such major topics as:

Four Noble Truths
Dependent Origination
Seven Factors of Enlightenment
Noble Eightfold Path...

It ranks as one of the most inspiring compilations in the Buddhist canon. Bhikkhu Bodhi's distinguished and precise English translation, his insightful introductory materials, and his extensive notes guide the reader through this vast collection of the Buddha's original teachings.

READ IT NOW

This is the third title in Wisdom Publications' award-winning Teachings of the Buddha Series, following The Long Discourses of the Buddha (Digha Nikaya) and The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikaya).

Like its two predecessors The Connected Discourses is sure to merit a place of honor in the library of every English student of Buddhism.

Wisdom Publications has Bhikkhu Bodhi's new translation of The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya). So view all of the available Teachings of the Buddha Series volumes.

Praise and Reviews

“To hold a copy of The Connected Discourses of the Buddha is like holding treasure in your hands. Bhikkkhu Bodhi has, once again, given English readers all over the world another reason to rejoice by making the ancient words of the Buddha come alive in our contemporary lives. Timely and significant, highly readable, and invaluable.” —Eastern Horizon

The Buddha with devas (Htetg/Flickr.com)

"This new translation of The Connected Discourses of the Buddha has been well worth the wait. With painstaking care, the eminent [American] Buddhist scholar-monk, Bhikkhu Bodhi, has translated the 2,889 discourses of the Buddha. No one is better qualified. Collected into their different themes, The Connected Discourses point the way to enlightenment. This book serves as one of the finest resources available for insight into the human condition. The Buddha addresses issues such as body/mind, daily life realities, suffering and joy, awareness and meditation. This book is rich in spiritual teachings, suitable for daily reflection, study, a manual for psychologists, a teaching guide at universities, and offering a wealth of benefits to anyone interested in the true heart of the Buddha's teachings. I regard it as an indispensable guide to an awakened life. With 2,080 pages it is an extraordinary publishing initiative. This book is worth every penny. Buy it. It is money well spent." —Christopher Titmuss, author of Light on Enlightenment and An Awakened Life

"[Bhikkhu Bodhi's] brilliant, scholarly, and eminently readable version of The Middle Length Discourses set a benchmark for translations of the Buddha's words into English. This new work will make accessible even more of the original teachings, offering guidance, instruction, and inspiration on the path of awakening. It is a priceless gift." —Joseph Goldstein, author of Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom

"It is extremely good news to have Bhikkhu Bodhi -- a brilliant translator -- bring out a new edition of the Samyutta Nikaya, one of the richest and most important of all Buddhist texts." —Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk from New York City. As a student of Balangoda Ananda Maitreya, Ven. Nyanaponika, Ven. Nyanatiloka, and other eminent scholars, he is -- in the estimation of Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal -- the greatest living scholar-monk alongside the Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, whose growing extremely learned and practical body of translations are, sadly, much less accessible to English readers. After completing his university studies in California he traveled to Sri Lanka, where he received became a Buddhist monk in 1973. He returned to the USA in 2002 and currently resides at Chuang Yen Monastery (BAUS.org) in upstate New York and Bodhi Monastery in New Jersey. He is in demand worldwide as a speaker, scholar, and Buddhist teacher. Renowned for his systematic and elegant translations of Buddhist scriptures, Ven. Bodhi has many important publications to his credit, including A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, and an excellent and very accessible anthology In the Buddha’s Words.

Spirit Rock retreat with Buddhist nuns

2012-05-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ayya Anandabodhi, Ayya Santacitta, Aloka Vihara; Spirit Rock (Code 366R12)

The Buddha always planned to ordain nuns.

This retreat is an opportunity to deepen one's practice using the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as a basis for contemplation. Buddhist insight meditation is a direct tool: It is the moment to moment investigation of the mind-body process through calm and focused awareness. By seeing and letting go of our habitual attachments and reactions, we find a place of peace with life as it is. Joy, inner contentment, and confidence are the fruits of such release. Dana for teachers, retreat staff, and Spirit Rock can be offered at the end. An optional daily period of yoga will be offered by Cator Shachoy. Participants must attend entire retreat. Click here for waitlist form.

Into the Depths Retreat, Spirit Rock, No. California
Tuesday June 5, 3:00 pm - Sunday, June 10, 12:00 pm
Upper Retreat Hall, $125 registration deposit

PHOTOS: Vienna Peace Pagoda

The REAL "Men in Black" (video)

2012-05-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly; Nick Redfern interview with George Noory on CoasttoCoastAM.com

NOTE: This post is a facsimile. It has been reconstructed after the original was mysteriously erased as it was being updated to include Redfern's appearance on C2C today (May 26, 2012). If any reader has a copy of the original, please send it in via the comments section.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones continue the popular series with MIB 3. This movie is obvious comedic fiction, but it is based on fact. If Hollywood makes movies and claims that they are nonfiction, simply shouting "Conspiracy theory!" is enough for people to dismiss them out of hand. But if they are made as fiction, whether comedic or dramatic, we allow ourselves to "suspend disbelief" and thereby see the big picture with the details changed. Film writers have to derive their inspiration from somewhere. Why not from defectors, whistle blowers, and truth tellers involved in the military-industrial complex (MIB)? Unfortunately, doing so opens us up to the very real possibility of being fed disinformation and PsyOps. But this only means we must keep our minds open rather than our eyes and ears closed.

(SF5) Nick Redfern June 2011 on C2C

The MIC is not the main source of MIB

The mistake promoted by the series is the view that MIB are simply government agents working for a secret agency. The MIC impersonates MIB to intimidate witnesses. Those attempting to expose UFO phenomena, the paranormal, free energy physics, forbidden archeology, ancient technology, cryptid bipedal apes (Sasquatch, Yeti, Bigfoot), or medical discoveries that threaten pharmaceutical industry profits. For instance, anyone who discloses being in possession of physical evidence is likely to be visited. Under duress they are made to recant or participate in being discredited. Material evidence is often confiscated ("borrowed for analysis") never to be returned. Where did they go? "I gave them to government agents who promised they'd give them back." In this way claimants are undermined. They are without evidence to confirm their claims. But that is a fraction of what is going on. The REAL MIB are thought to be extraterrestrials, time travelers, and/or "adjusters" (as depicted in the "The Adjustment Bureau" and the recent A Princess of Mars remake "John Carter") with very creepy, otherworldly, or unmistakably superhuman powers.

Books

Original: The REAL Men in Black (trailer)

2012-05-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly; Nick Redfern interview with George Noory on CoasttoCoastAM.com
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL RECAPTURED VERSION OF THE MYSTERIOUSLY ERASED POST.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones continue the series with MIB III. A great deal of truth is blended with comedic fiction. Film writers have to take their inspiration from somewhere: Why not the military-industrial complex (MIC) and its defectors, whistle blowers, and first hand witnesses? If the story is told as nonfiction, we scream "Conspiracy theory!" and dismiss the claims out of hand. But when presented as fiction, whether comedic or dramatic, we suspend disbelief long enough to begin to understand the larger picture. Unfortunately, this allows for the introduction of disinformation and PsyOps. But that is why the mind needs to remain open rather than the eyes and ears closed.

(SF2) Nick Redfern on MIB phenomena June 22, 2011 (C2C)

MIB: more than the Military-Industrial Complex

Investigator and author Nick Redfern (blog) explains the complexity, pointing out that the movie only plays up one angle: MIB are secretive government agents. There are no doubt such agents who conceal the truth about UFOs, the occult, paranormal and supernatural events, forbidden archeology, Bigfoot, ghosts, technology, time travel, psychic anomalies, and advanced weaponry (particularly in space, in the Earth, and war crime activities on the surface. But that in no way begins to account for the entire mystery that encompasses extraterrestrial and time traveling elements.

Journey behind Mt. Everest (video)

2012-05-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Amber Dorrian, Seven, CC, Anand, Darius, Lindsey, Wisdom Quarterly

(GeoBeats) The road to Buddhist India on the "rooftop of the world" is mystical and cold.

The Goddess Tara (Jamyang190)

The Western Buddhist world needs an adventure. Come on a fantastic voyage. Travel writing takes us there -- until we gather the gumption and go.

Clean up of bodies, rubbish on Mt. Everest

From the plains of the Ganges, in the remnants of the Indus River Civilization, rise the great Himalayas. What is behind them?

There, a disputed Indian state called J+K is replete with summer wonders. The K is for Kashmir, a lush valley sung into legend by Led Zeppelin.

Dal Lake and ornate wooden houseboat hotels, surrounded by war and spiritual pilgrims, neo-hippie backpackers and Muslims menaced by India's military, all overwhelm the senses. Jesus (St. Issa) is buried nearby. Giant weeds grow nine feet all, and it's weed (Cannabis sativa). No one cares. Addicts sell their passports and drift along in miserable underworlds for worse substances.

But overland and faraway awaits the real wonder -- Leh, Ladakh, and the marvel that is the Shanti Stupa. It is very hard to find authentic "Tibet." It may no longer exist in Tibet. China has undermined it and set up a Han Disneyland in its place, with noodle stands all around Lhasa.

(HM) Ladakh is India's northernmost state between the Kunlun and main

Himalayan range. It is a sparsely populated area in Kashmir and one of
the few remaining Buddhist regions. Video by Ananda S. Nadadur.

(Maybe Mustang, Mt. Kailash, or Shangri la and Shangri-La have traces, but the Potala Palace was ransacked and never reconstituted). "Tibet" substitutes can be found in Ladakh, Dharamsala, Bhutan, and Nepal in micro-cultures so influenced by the once great Himalayan imperial seat that it's like being there again.

The road to Leh, Ladakh, Buddhist India (PiotrHalka/Flickr.com)

Leh is the capital of Ladakh, a region of Jammu+Kashmir state in Himalayan India. Ladakh is the home of Hemis Gompa, where Notovitch found written records of Jesus Christ's sojourn as a Jewish-Buddhist bodhisattva-style teacher. Kashmir, according to historians Elmar Gruber and Holger Kersten, was a Jewish trading post along the Silk Route linked to Egypt and Jerusalem in those days.

Leh, Ladakh, India (Piotr Halka)

But the road to Leh is almost as amazing. It is the highest passable highway in the world. Ladakh is the rooftop of the world. It is a desert since very little moisture can hurdle Mt. Everest and the Himalayan range. There is snow melt in green rivulets where hamlets spring up. And below in the gully there is a grand emerald "Colorado River" feeding the great rivers of India.

The fume soaked bus lurches at a yak's pace. It's impossible to sleep bouncing on old springs. Honking is constant as vehicles meet on the precipice of a one-lane sky way constantly subject to landslides and being washed out. It is maintained by hand poured tar and gravel. "Speed up," "slow down," what to shout?

Look to the right, out the window, and see the vehicles that didn't make it. The only rules of the road in this lawless land are honk and get out of the way. Did anyone survive; are the bodies still inside?

ADVICE: Take a cab, hitch on a truck, book a plane, or meditate and astral travel; anything is better than the bus, which grinds on for two days.

The strangest difference traveling from Indo-Muslim Kashmir to Indo-Buddhist Leh is how much quieter, gentler, and kinder it gets. It is awe inspiring. There are no "FREE TIBET" stickers seen; they have been replaced by "SAVE LADAKH FROM KASHMIR." Many brash, culturally Middle Eastern businessmen come to Leh to set up shop, drive hard bargains, and ruin the local culture. TO BE CONTINUED

"World Goth Day" (video)

2012-05-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Wisdom Quarterly; Patt Morrison (SCPR.org)

WARNING: Mildly offensive language and sidesplitting humor.

May 22nd is WORLD GOTH DAY -- a time to wear true black, torn lace, toxic face powder, and smeared lipstick.

It turns out the metaphorical human heart is liable to profound melancholy and infinite sadness, particularly if forced to listen to Willy Organ's Smashed Squashes.

Trench coats on, sexuality out, cue the fog machine, and get pessimistic about everything. Nothing is too petty, such as the price of nail polish at Sephora. Nothing is too scandalous, such as having been molested. Only Dr. Gabor Mate both understands and sympathizes.

Are these Princes and Princesses of Darkness witches, Wiccans, Pagans, or pretas imperiled by their practices? Death comes soon enough and often lasts a long time. Why act dead now?

The ones at the Mall seem to be none of the above. But it is a worldwide phenomenon far beyond American shores. William Hughes, a Gothic Studies professor at England's Bath Spa University, explains it all to radio host Patt Morrison:

"Gothic in the middle ages, the architectural Gothic, was based upon the play of light and shade -- the alternation of darkness and light. And of course to some extent, Goth music today plays with that too."

VIDEO: Four Funerals and a Funeral (Lisa Brenner)

SpaceX: Dragon docks with Space Station

2012-05-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

Patt Morrison, KPCC 89.3 FM, Southern California Public Radio (SCPR.org)

A NASA rendering of SpaceX's Dragon capsule as it prepares to berth with the ISS (SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which was scheduled to launch last weekend and berth with the ISS (International Space Station), had a minor malfunction. But the spacecraft is okay now according to the company: “Today’s launch was aborted when the flight computer detected slightly high pressure in the engine 5 combustion chamber,” the company said in a brief statement on Saturday. “We have discovered root cause and repairs are underway.” More

OC87: Obsessive Compulsive Asperger's (film)

2012-05-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Fisherklingenstein.com; Wisdom Quarterly; "OC87" is in theaters starting May 25th, 2012

"OC87" The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger’s Movie

Can you make a movie while experiencing mental illness? [Is there any other way?] Bud Clayman is doing it. Will making a documentary about one's mental illness change one's life?

Mental illness interrupted Bud’s dream of a filmmaking career. Thirty years later, he’s making the movie of his life. Bud Clayman is one of films’ most unlikely heroes. This is a personal story with universal relevance -- a wildly original documentary of pain and vulnerability, empowerment, and Bud’s quest for belonging.

Throughout his youth, Bud’s future was filmmaking. After college in Philadelphia, he headed to Hollywood in search of a break.

Instead, he had a breakdown. As mental illness struck, it stuck. When distress and isolation set in, the diagnoses followed. For eight years, Bud lived in a therapeutic community. Without waiting for his illness to vanish, Bud has reclaimed his quest as a filmmaker.

As his camera chronicles the ups and downs of recovery, we also see the experience of what he calls “the fight inside my head.” Behind the lens, a parallel journey unfolds as Bud the Director grapples with the challenges of making an incisive, highly personal documentary -- a movie he believes will transform his life. More

A Buddhist "Second Coming" (video)

2012-05-24T07:00:00.004-07:00

Dharmachari Seven, Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

The Bodhisat is threatened by Mara as alluring deva lingers and nagas and yakkhas scheme.

William Yeats in his poem "The Second Coming," which some people call "The Falconer," laments:

"Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world..." More

It feels like that now for us between bouts of bliss.

"Summertime and the living is easy" sang Gershwin, Pete Seeger, then Sublime.

"Fish are jumping and the cotton is high. Your daddy's rich and your momma's good looking, so hush little baby. Don't you cry. One of these mornings you're going to rise up singing. Then you'll spread your wings and take to the sky."

Siddhartha was born at a time of endless low-level conflict in Afghanistan (Gandhara). The Shakya clan's land (janapada) with its capital in Kapilavastu was always jockeying to expand or at least maintain territory. He was rich. He was beautiful. He was happy. What was there to be unhappy about, what disappointment, what deprivation, what suffering?

Isn't it exactly like that for us in America? We're endlessly squabbling for territory in Afghanistan, India's northwest frontier at the foot of the Himalayas. Our fathers are rich, our mothers good looking, and we're happy.

Sumeru is no mount but an axis.

Well, we're not really any happier than Siddhartha was. But what do have to be unhappy about? This is as good as it gets materially. The world wants to come here thinking they'll be free, rich, and fulfilled.

We know what Siddhartha found out: What fulfillment is there, what satisfaction, what is there to gain living like this? So is the Bodhisattva -- either Maitreya (Metteyya aka present-day Nātha in the deva-world or the future Ajita in the human plane, discussion) or any of those who have taken vows since Shakyamuni will do -- coming?

A Second Coming?

Hurtling and hurtling in widening desire

The deva cannot hear the deva-ruler;

When Things Fall Apart, the Center cannot hold;

A police state is loosed upon the first world,

The Tasers are loosed, and everywhere

In a ceremony of obedience the innocent are drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some unveiling is at hand;

Surely a Second Coming is at hand.

Again-becoming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image of Axis Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in plains of the Ganges,

A shape with griffin body, the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its naga thighs, while all about it

Reel light beings and indignant river birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know

That 26 centuries of samsaric sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what new Mara, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Benares to be born?

Can Suffering be my Teacher? (video)

2012-05-24T06:47:00.000-07:00

CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Amber Dorrian, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly

One of the Wisdom Quarterly's editors whom we shall call "Powerpuff" -- although her real name is Ashley Wells of 32A Milton Avenue, Hounslow, Middlesex -- is nonplussed after a break up. And "nonplussed" is putting it mildly.

Powerpuff, it doesn't help matters to only date "rebels," with or without a cause, even if they make your heart go dum dum ditty.

Eckhart Tolle notes that suffering is "most people's only spiritual teacher."

Powerpuff can't be reasoned with. She can't smile. She can't keep her chin up. Yet she knows it's all counterproductive. It neither gets her back the lost relationship nor does it get her any closer to nirvana, the "end of all suffering."

So in the hopes that someone will reach out to us when we can't hear it, knowing that later we will be able to, here are words for the dying and heartbroken. And we don't want Powerpuff to turn into Lady Rizo.

We've all been there. And when she and we come to our senses, it would be good to consider what the Buddha had to say about it. Buddhism only teaches TWO things -- dukkha and nirvana, suffering and the complete cessation of suffering.

So what is thing called "suffering" or disappointment?

"This is the Noble Truth of Suffering: Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; being connected with the unloved is suffering; being separated from the loved is suffering; not getting what we want is suffering. In short, the Five Aggregates of Clinging are suffering" (SN 56.11).

It turns out that in his final discourse, using his last breath, he summed up what he had been teaching for decades:

Last Days of the Buddha

DN 16 (excerpt), Wisdom Quarterly, based on Sr. Vajira and Francis Story translation

Ananda and others cried (abcnews.go.com)

61. Then the Buddha entered the hall, sat down, and exhorted the disciples: "O practitioners, I say to you that these teachings of which I have direct knowledge and which I have made known to you -- these you should thoroughly learn, cultivate, develop, and frequently practice, that the supreme life may be established and may long endure, for the welfare and happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, well being, and happiness of devas and humans.

62. "And what are these teachings? They are the:

Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Four Right Efforts
Four Bases of Psychic Power
Five Faculties
Five Powers
Seven Factors of Enlightenment
Noble Eightfold Path.

[Together these are collectively referred to as the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment or bodhipakkhiya-dhamma. See also What is the ennobling practice in Buddhism? and Easy Buddhist Lists (chart).]

63. Then the Buddha said: "Practitioners, I say to you: All conditioned things are hurtling towards destruction. Strive with diligence. The time of the Tathagata's final nirvana is near. Three months hence the Tathagata will utterly pass away."

64. Having spoken these words, the Happy One, the Teacher added:

My years are now full ripe.

The life span left is short.

Departing, I go from you, relying on no other.

Be diligent, then, O practitioners!

Be mindful and of virtue pure!

With steady resolve, guard the mind/heart!

Who untiringly pursues the Dharma and the Discipline

Will go beyond the round of births and make an end of all suffering.

Is it enough of the Buddha says so? Does it help if a Scandinavian pop star echoes the sentiment? Nina Persson (famous for singing the lyric "Love me, love me, say that you love me. Fool me, fool me...) says:

NEVER RECOVER

The Cardigans

How I always memorize
every single misery
and I seem to glorify
everything inside of me

and The Hero never dies
if The Lover hides
between the sheets
there's no escape
cause you can't sleep
and then you'll see
you're just like me

That's what you call a waste of time!
I'll be waiting down the line
that's what you call a waste of time
waiting for your Valentine
that's what you call a waste of time
I know where you hero hides
that's why you don't sleep tonight
that's what I call
That's what you call
That's what I call life

with a hero in the past
you hang on to history
such a loss will always last
and there's no recovery

And The Hero never dies
if The Lover hides between the sheets
There's no escape cause you can't sleep
And then you'll see you're just like me...

That's what you call a waste of time
I'll be waiting down the line
That's what you call a waste of time
waiting for your Valentine
That's what you call a waste of time...

Last Days of the Buddha (excerpt)

2012-05-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

Sister Vajira, Francis Story, Last Days of the Buddha (DN 16 excerpt); Wisdom Quarterly edit

1. Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha [Note 1] was dwelling at Rajagaha, on the hill called Vultures' Peak...

The Buddha's Deadly Illness

27. At that time the Buddha spoke to the recluses: "Go now, recluses, and seek dwellings anywhere in the neighborhood of Vesali where you are welcome, among acquaintances and friends. Spend the rainy season there. As for me, I shall spend the rainy season in this very place, the village of Beluva."

"So be it, O venerable sir," they replied.

28. But when the Buddha had entered upon the rainy season, there arose in him a severe illness, and sharp and deadly pains came upon him. He endured them mindfully, clearly comprehending, and unperturbed.

29. Then it occurred to him: "It would not be fitting if I came to my final passing away without addressing those who attended on me, without taking leave of the community of monastics. Then let me suppress this illness by will, resolve to maintain the life process, and live on."

30. He did so, and it came about that the Blessed One's illness was allayed.

31. The Blessed One recovered from that illness. And soon after his recovery he came out and sat down in the shade of the building on a seat prepared for him. Then Ananda approached the Buddha, respectfully greeted him, and sitting down at one side, said: "Fortunate it is for me, O venerable sir, to see the Blessed One at ease again! Fortunate it is for me, O venerable sir, to see the Blessed One recovered! For truly, sir, when I saw the Blessed One's sickness it was as though my own body became weak as a creeper, everything around became dim to me, and my senses failed me. Yet, sir, I still had some little comfort in the thought that the Blessed One would not come to his final passing away until he had given some last instructions respecting the community of monastics."

32. Thus spoke Ananda, but the Buddha answered him, saying: "What more does the community of monastics expect from me, Ananda? I have set forth the Dharma without making any distinction of esoteric and exoteric doctrine [holding nothing back, no secret doctrine]. There is nothing, Ananda, with regard to the teachings that the Tathagata holds to the last with the closed fist of a teacher who keeps some things back.

Whosoever may think to lead the community of monastics, or that the community depends on so and so, it is such a person who would have to give last instructions respecting them. But, Ananda, the Tathagata has no such idea as that it is he who should lead the community of monastics, or that the community depends on him. So what instructions should he have to give respecting the community of monastics?

"Now I am frail, Ananda, old, aged, far gone in years. This is my eightieth year, and my life is spent. Even as an old cart, Ananda, is held together with much difficulty, so the body of the Tathagata is kept going only with supports. It is, Ananda, only when the Tathagata, disregarding external objects, with the cessation of certain feelings, attains to and abides in the signless concentration of mind [taking no object, no nimitta, no counterpart sign] [19], that his body is more comfortable.

33. "Therefore, Ananda, be lamps unto yourselves, guides unto yourselves, seeking no external guides, with the Dharma as your lamp, the Dharma as your guide, seeking no other guide.

"And how, Ananda, is one a lamp unto oneself, a guide unto oneself, seeking no external guide, with the Dharma as one's guide, the Dharma as one's guide, seeking no other guide?

34. "When one dwells contemplating the body in the body, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome yearning and dismay with regard to the world, when one dwells contemplating sensations in sensations, the mind in the mind, and mental objects in mental objects, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome yearning and dismay with regard to the world, then, truly, one is a lamp unto oneself, a guide unto oneself, seeking no external guide, having the Dharma as one's lamp, the Dharma as one's guide, seeking no other guide.

35. "Those monastic disciples of mine, Ananda, who now or after I am gone, abide as lamps unto themselves, as guides unto themselves, seeking no other guide, having the Dharma as their lamp and guide, seeking no other guide, it is they who will become the highest [20] if they have the desire to learn."

Part Three: Relinquishing the Will to Live

The Blessed One's Prompting

1. Then the Buddha, getting ready in the forenoon, took bowl and robe and went into Vesali for alms. After the alms round and meal, on his return, he spoke to Ananda, saying: "Take up a mat, Ananda, and let us spend the day at the Capala shrine."

"So be it, venerable sir." And Ananda took up a mat and followed step by step.

2. The Buddha went to the Capala shrine and sat down on the seat prepared for him. And when Ananda had seated himself to one side after he had respectfully saluted, the Buddha said to him: "Pleasant, Ananda, is Vesali; pleasant are the shrines of Udena, Gotamaka, Sattambaka, Bahuputta, Sarandada, and Capala."

3. "Whosoever, Ananda, has developed, practiced, employed, strengthened, maintained, scrutinized, and brought to perfection the four bases [constituents] of psychic power could, if he so desired, remain throughout a normal lifespan [kappa] or until the end of it. [21] The Tathagata, Ananda, has done so. Therefore the Tathagata could, if he so desired, remain a lifespan [which at that time was 120 years] or until the end of it."

4. But Ananda was unable to grasp the plain suggestion, the significant prompting, given by the Blessed One. As though his mind was influenced by Mara [22], he did not beseech the Buddha: "May the Blessed One remain, O venerable sir! May the Happy One remain, O venerable sir, for a lifespan, for the welfare and happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, well being, and happiness of devas and humans!"

5. When for a second and third time the Buddha repeated his words, Ananda remained silent.

6. Then the Buddha said: "Go now, Ananda, and do as seems fit to you."

"Even so, venerable sir." And Ananda, rising from his seat, respectfully saluted, and keeping his right side towards him, took his seat under a tree some distance away.

Mara's Appeal

7. And when Ananda had gone away, Mara, the Evil One [Namuci], approached the Buddha. And standing to one side he said: "Now, O venerable sir, let the Blessed One come to his final passing away; let the Happy One utterly pass away! The time has come for the final nirvana of the venerable one.

"For the Blessed One, O venerable sir, spoke these words to me: 'I shall not come to my final passing away, Evil One, until my monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, have come to be true disciples -- wise, well disciplined, apt and learned, preservers of the Dharma, living according to the Dharma, abiding by the appropriate conduct, and having learned the Master's word, are able to expound it, preach it, proclaim it, establish it, reveal it, explain it in detail, and make it clear, until, when adverse opinions arise, they shall be able to refute them thoroughly and well, and to preach this convincing and liberating Dharma.' [23]

8. "Now, O venerable sir, monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, have become the Blessed One's disciples in just this way. So, O venerable sir, let the Blessed One come to his final passing away! The time has come for the final nirvana of the Venerable One.

"For the Blessed One, O venerable sir, spoke these words to me: 'I shall not come to my final passing away, Evil One, until this supreme life taught by me has become successful, prosperous, far-renowned, popular, and widespread, until it is well proclaimed among devas and humans.' And this too has come to pass in just this way. So, O venerable sir, let the Blessed One come to his final passing away, let the Happy One utterly pass away! The time has come for the final nirvana of the Venerable One."

The Blessed One Relinquishes Will to Live

9. When this was said, the Buddha said to Mara, the Evil One: "Do not trouble yourself, Evil One. Before long the final nirvana of the Tathagata will come about. Three months hence the Tathagata will utterly pass away." More

A monk in love? In love with a monk?

2012-05-23T07:00:00.001-07:00

Mara Schaeffer, Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Romance - there's nothing higher to live for!

The Jungian therapist Robert Johnson has written a lot about the individual’s path through anima or animus projection onto the “beloved.”

He describes how it leads to wild infatuation for awhile before reality sets in and we are able to recognize that those qualities imputed on others are in ourselves.

The anti-sex rules monastics live by (patimokkha)
A Buddhist View of Romantic Love

Then we can own up to them and actualize them in our lives. Johnson discusses the myth of romantic love in his book We. It, in fact, is the dominant myth in the Western world:

BOY + GIRL = "HAPPILY EVER AFTER"

When we fall in "love," particularly with monastics, it may be due to unconscious wish to actualize the inner monk or nun within us, which we are likely projecting onto our idealized love.

One of the nicest things about therapy is that one gets a little perspective on the process. So something good can come out of being emotionally beat up and put through the wringer like a rag.

Guru/tycoon Deepak Chopra says that whereas “love liberates, attachment imprisons.”

Our meditation practice is important in its ability to help us realize our attachment and clinging, particularly to illusions, so we can eventually move instead toward liberation.

The Buddha-to-be in Love (Lust)
In a Rebirth Tale (Jataka) the Buddha-to-be was a yogi, a cave-dwelling hermit in the Himalayas. He came down and became smitten with a beautiful queen he saw partially undressed. Lovesick, he could do nothing.

When the king returns he asks what ails the recluse, who explains that he has fallen in love with the queen. The king gives her to him. As he is handing her over, he whispers to her, "Help this poor fellow." She winks. The Buddha-to-be and the queen leave together to consummate their new relationship. Then the queen asks where they are going, where they're going to live. He says he doesn't know because he's always been a recluse

She sends him back to the king to ask for a house. The king gives him a building that used to be a latrine. When they get there, the queen says, "You don't expect me to go in there -- clean it." He does. Then she says she needs this, that, and everything else before they can move forward....

READ: "The LUST Jataka" (Rebirth Tale)

In a modern retelling, deep in the jungles of Isaan, in northeast Thailand, an American monk was living for a year. He was discontented due to residual lust. While traveling in a car with Ajahn Chah, another monk asked him what was the matter. The young American confessed that he was missing his ex-girlfriend. She had written him. Ajahn Chah suggested he ask her for a token to remember her by. The monk became excited at the suggestion -- a lock of fragrant hair or some such? Ajahn Chah is reputed to have suggested a small vial of her feces instead. That way whenever he missed her, the vial could be opened. They laughed and the monk was reformed.

For what is the girlfriend he was lustfully missing, his imagination or her body's hidden nature? (See DharmaWeb.org, Reflections 176).

There was a great Bollywood movie about an Indian man who cons a woman in New York to marry him so he can come to America and earn a green card. He then falls in love with an Indian woman there and eventually leaves the American girl.

Tsoknyi Rimpoche (Rigpa News)

Tsoknyi Rinpoche (link), who accompanied Sharon Salzberg on her recent Los Angeles workshops, also went through a similar experience, but more genuine. This is how Amazon.com describes him:

"With great humor, intelligence, and candor, Tsoknyi Rinpoche also details his own struggles to reconnect with essence love.

"Identified at an early age as the incarnation of a renowned Tibetan master and subjected to a rigorous monastic training, he ultimately renounced his vows, married, and is now the father of two daughters.

"As he recounts his own efforts to strike a balance between the promptings of his heart and an obligation to preserve and protect the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, Rinpoche provides a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern life, and encourages each of us to rediscover the openness, fearlessness, and love that is the essence of our own life."