Anyone met this guy?.....

[Stewart]

Another fantasist....

http://tambolia.blogspot.com/p/yashas-bio.html

ps. actually, when I posted this I had only read half of his 'Biography'...wait until you get to the part about him being a Terton....I almost feel sorry for him.

[conebeckham]

wow.

[Josef]

Bummer.

[Tilopa]

The humility is breathtaking.

Why is it that so many western teachers, yogis, tulkus, lamas, dzogchenpas, mahasiddhas and so forth are primarily adepts of self promotion and trumpet blowing?

Whatever happened to the profound realization of selflessness - has it been completely lost in translation?

Contrary to what I said in another thread sometimes I do despair!

[Nighthawk]

Quite the resume there

[gregkavarnos]

Stunning! He doesn't even know that the term terton is Tibetan!

triple face palm.jpg (27.43 KiB) Viewed 846 times

[kirtu]

Whatever happened to the profound realization of selflessness - has it been completely lost in translation?

The profound realization of selflessness is hard - as you yourself know - you had to smack and whack Naropa a few times with your shoe ....

but organizing and facilitating tonglen, ngondro, Chenrezi, Medicine Buddha, Tara retreats is not that hard ..... we could go that nicely and with humility and get some nice retreat action going ...


Kirt

[padma norbu]

hey that's me.

[Dronma]

I have heard there is a guru in Athens who has gathered around him many disciples by only claiming that his teachings are direct revelations from Padmasambhava in person.....!!!!!
He has no lineage, no teachers, no credentials....

[Tilopa]

No credibility either.

[padma norbu]

I haven't seen a lot of buddhist resumes, but if all of that is accurate (I mean where he worked, etc.) and he seems to have been (and still is) in Thailand for some time, what is not credible? I admittedly don't have much experience examining frauds, either, but I don't see anything really terrible... I only read the timeline, though. That was long enough, so maybe the stuff you guys are talking about is in the paragraphs below that.

[Josef]

I haven't seen a lot of buddhist resumes, but if all of that is accurate (I mean where he worked, etc.) and he seems to have been (and still is) in Thailand for some time, what is not credible? I admittedly don't have much experience examining frauds, either, but I don't see anything really terrible... I only read the timeline, though. That was long enough, so maybe the stuff you guys are talking about is in the paragraphs below that.

The stuff in the paragraphs is pretty far out and so is the stuff in the timeline about his recognition as a terton.

[CapNCrunch]

haven't seen a lot of buddhist resumes, but if all of that is accurate (I mean where he worked, etc.) and he seems to have been (and still is) in Thailand for some time, what is not credible?

I couldn't (and wouldn't) speculate on the timeline he gives, the way he met his teachers, the practice he's done etc. etc. - But in Christianity we had that old saying 'By their fruits ye shall know them..." which applies here IMO.

About the Map's discovery he offers:

The Tambolian Map Story
The information uncovered and the extraordinary range of the Tambolian Map is developed in the four books of the Bodhicariyan Paradox, or will be as soon as I can finish the manuscripts. How the Tambolian Map was actually discovered and became a reality is quite another story. I suspect it all started with me pilfering the Longchen Nyingtik Refuge Tree Visualization which is one of the stories I included in the Buddhist Humor book.

It's really hard to tell whether or not the "The Voyage of the Dream Maker", book one of the "The Bodhicaryian Paradox" is supposed to be taken as Terma, or just really bad sci-fi/fantasy, but my suspicion is that he is testing the waters and offering this as the former. At the end of the first offering (I read it pretty much all the way through out of morbid curiosity) he tells the reader to contact him if they want more... Or, maybe he just ran out of steam while writing that much, and needs some love and encouragement if he is to go back to the well and produce more of the same.

Perhaps this is a way to fish for disciples (at worst) or, (at best), test marketing for some bad sci-fi/fantasy.

I also have a really hard time with westerners, or anyone who go off the deep end as appears to be in this case. It seems as though nobody is immune - whether it's a lonely, frustrated, older (but very buff and handsome) writer, or someone with a Geshe's degree who professes their realization and decides to teach and lead others in spite of being told by their elders and lineage holders not to, or someone who has real potentiality and capacity who is taken under the wing of a genuine teacher, only to go out and start their own "thing" and "play rinpoche" ignoring their teacher and teaching w/o permission etc.

Based on the words of Longchenpa, this has been going on for at *least* 600 years... so I don't imagine that it's any more or less prevalent among westerners rather than, say, Tibetans or anyone else - I think it's human nature, and it is also a reflection of the real deal - why would someone fantasize about these kinds of things, if the cause wasn't already there, and if they didn't at least "feel after" the legitimate expression of the source of all things.

When I come across a "Three Face Palmer" (as someone so aptly put it) like this, I'm also reminded that in the ultimate sense, my own fantasies and forays into this or that, all of my grand schemes too, are like the games of children - never finished and in the end, silly distractions for the most part. They seem legit to me, and worthy in my eyes - but I suspect that in the end, my own plans and grand ideas aren't any less silly, or any less of a waste of time than someone who's plight is so obvious that I can't look away, like a train wreck.

So - May all of Yogi Yahi's good intentions and aspirations be fullfilled and may he and all beings be speedily brought to perfect realization in this very lifetime. And, in the words of the irrepressible Mike McDermott from Rounders "Like they teach you in One-L - Caveat Emptor, Pal"

[muni]

It is a teaching on itself.

Also in the west people are asked for their curriculum vitae which can need lots of colored feathers in order to be respected, accepted.
Still that curriculi-thing easely can turn in destroying oneself like the story of the fox "king" who painted his paws blue in order to be more special than others.

Simple peaceful nature need no any ornaments to add, it is already complete.

[David N. Snyder]

I haven't seen a lot of buddhist resumes, but if all of that is accurate (I mean where he worked, etc.) and he seems to have been (and still is) in Thailand for some time, what is not credible? I admittedly don't have much experience examining frauds, either, but I don't see anything really terrible... I only read the timeline, though. That was long enough, so maybe the stuff you guys are talking about is in the paragraphs below that.

I agree. It's one of those catch-22 damned if you do, damned if you don't things. As teachers or authors of non-fiction, you are expected to show some credentials and qualifications for being able/authorized to teach or write. Publishers insist on it and sometimes abbots and monasteries do too. Websites listing the resident monks and nuns mention their backgrounds and qualifications. It is not un-common to list accomplishments and training. Why? Because if you / they don't, then the nay sayers come out and say, "who are you? . . . . who authorized you to teach, why should I listen to you, etc., etc."

Also, conceit is one of the last fetters (hindrances) to be removed before one attains enlightenment. One gets rid of ill-will, hatred, anger, even all attachment to sense pleasures, before one removes conceit.

But in any event, his blog appears to be dormant, with no activity since year 2010.

[Indrajala]

Listing your credentials is fine. I list my academic experience on my site for a few reasons.

However, specifying his spiritual career in detail as he does makes me feel uneasy. Looks too good like those martial art teachers with black belts in a dozen traditions.