Search found 3157 matches

by PeterC
Thu Mar 28, 2024 1:43 pm
Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
Topic: Wrathful "Mahakala" with Phurba and Kapala?
Replies: 20
Views: 5964

Re: Wrathful "Mahakala" with Phurba and Kapala?

Is anyone familiar with a form of Mahakala, or other wrathful deity (Guru Rinpoche emanation, perhaps?) with two arms, one face, two legs, and holding a kapala in left hand, and brandishing a Phurba aloft in the right? Need to identify a Thangka for an auction, and haven't come across such iconogra...
by PeterC
Wed Mar 27, 2024 1:45 pm
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: Personal account of Shine
Replies: 60
Views: 2658

Re: Personal account of Shine

The rhetorical trick of saying “so you disagree with Big Name Teacher” is one we should only use very carefully. wasn't a trick, was just a straight up question. i didn't know you disagree with Big Name Teacher, but you did answer that in your own way, thanks. In this case, you didn’t know him, you...
by PeterC
Wed Mar 27, 2024 12:37 pm
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: Personal account of Shine
Replies: 60
Views: 2658

Re: Personal account of Shine

Problem is: nobody can agree on what that even means... ...whenever people start talking about the need to "achieve shamatha", the whole discussion becomes impossibly confused. .. what Togden Shakya Shri said is not good enough for you? The rhetorical trick of saying “so you disagree with...
by PeterC
Wed Mar 27, 2024 5:14 am
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: Personal account of Shine
Replies: 60
Views: 2658

Re: Personal account of Shine

fully achieve shamatha Problem is: nobody can agree on what that even means. The Theravedans disagree bitterly amongst themselves about it. One definition with pretty good textual backup is that it's the ability to enter any of the jhanas and remain in them for an arbitrary period of time. So you c...
by PeterC
Tue Mar 26, 2024 5:23 am
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Dzogchen Historiography
Replies: 31
Views: 1888

Re: Dzogchen Historiography

There are other references but I’ll need to do some digging to locate. If I remember correctly the reference to Sri Simha in that text was a criticism of him and people like him that characterized his teaching as completion stage without creation stage. I agree that that is a wholly inadequate desc...
by PeterC
Tue Mar 26, 2024 1:58 am
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Dzogchen Historiography
Replies: 31
Views: 1888

Re: Dzogchen Historiography

There is evidence of Indian origins. Early figures in the Chos Dzogchen lineage are criticized in Indic texts. There are other reasons to infer Indic origins that are not appropriate for a public forum. Can you share this sources? I don’t have time to search for the references unfortunately, sugges...
by PeterC
Mon Mar 25, 2024 3:14 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Dzogchen Historiography
Replies: 31
Views: 1888

Re: Dzogchen Historiography

Now, if Nyingmapa assert the origins of their teachings lie within certain Indian kingdoms, they must offer concrete evidence. Uh, no, they don’t have to do anything. They explain their teachings and their traditions. You decide whether you want to practice them or not. It’s as simple as that. It’s...
by PeterC
Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:54 pm
Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
Topic: Was karmamudra part of ganachakra in the ancient India?
Replies: 147
Views: 5073

Re: Was karmamudra part of ganachakra in the ancient India?

The written syllable ॐ is not part of any script system that we know of in India. It predates all writing systems that were ever used there. Per Wikipedia (recognizing reliability etc) The commonly seen representation of the syllable Om, ॐ, is a cursive ligature in Devanagari, combining अ (a) with ...
by PeterC
Wed Mar 20, 2024 2:30 am
Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
Topic: My last will and testament
Replies: 20
Views: 1002

Re: My last will and testament

...when I exit stage left pursued by a bear. I suddenly had a vision of you being pursued by a large hairy man in leather pants and matching leather cap. Good thing that you're a therapist, Greg...the reference was Shakespeare and not Folsom Street. Always thought that line had more potential appli...
by PeterC
Tue Mar 19, 2024 2:11 am
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Rigpa vs. Alaya (continued)
Replies: 18
Views: 1262

Re: Rigpa vs. Alaya (continued)

I’m not sure what the original question was, or where we’ve drifted to in this conversation. I guess my point was - this distinction is a basic Dzogchen praxis point. Everyone should know the attributes of rigpa and how it’s different from the all-basis from a theoretical perspective. From a practic...
by PeterC
Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:42 am
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Rigpa vs. Alaya (continued)
Replies: 18
Views: 1262

Re: Rigpa vs. Alaya (continued)

You can and should discuss this with your teachers. But terms like rigpa, gzhi, kunzhi, etc are basic terminology whose meanings don’t change. Anyone serious about practising Dzogchen should understand those meanings. Believe it or not, but ChNN would discourage some people I know from inquiring ab...
by PeterC
Mon Mar 18, 2024 7:52 am
Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
Topic: My last will and testament
Replies: 20
Views: 1002

Re: My last will and testament

Lingpupa - I went through this recently too. Happy to discuss if it would be helpful. It was a surprisingly emotional experience, particularly writing the letters and handing the sealed envelopes over to the lawyers. I named a (younger) vajra brother to handle all the dharma items and books - it’s s...
by PeterC
Mon Mar 18, 2024 5:30 am
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Poll (ANONYMOUS): Are you Male / Female / Other?
Replies: 19
Views: 936

Re: Poll (ANONYMOUS): Are you Male / Female / Other?

I have heard, that a higher female interest than male, is one of the sings of the Degenerate Age of Dharma. Does anyone have more information about this? I believe, it was written somewhere in the Palicanon that the Buddha said so. One of those weird quotes, I think, which make no sense without con...
by PeterC
Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:17 am
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Do you get rid of suffering for good with Dzogchen ?
Replies: 6
Views: 407

Re: Do you get rid of suffering for good with Dzogchen ?

The point of the Buddhadharma generally is the ending of suffering. However every branch of it has a slightly different presentation of how suffering arises and how it is ended. The Dzogchen presentation is in most cases summarized in the first few of the eleven topics, in which you have a complete ...
by PeterC
Sun Mar 17, 2024 3:18 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Rigpa vs. Alaya (continued)
Replies: 18
Views: 1262

Re: Rigpa vs. Alaya (continued)

You can and should discuss this with your teachers. But terms like rigpa, gzhi, kunzhi, etc are basic terminology whose meanings don’t change. Anyone serious about practising Dzogchen should understand those meanings.
by PeterC
Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:47 am
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: Personal account of Shine
Replies: 60
Views: 2658

Re: Personal account of Shine

Where people disagree is how much you need to do and what “accomplish” means in this regard. Alan Wallace probably has the most extensive definition I’ve heard in that regard. It is worth noting that the Theravedans do not agree on the definition of “accomplishing” the jhanas in their system. There...
by PeterC
Wed Mar 13, 2024 11:25 am
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: Personal account of Shine
Replies: 60
Views: 2658

Re: Personal account of Shine

Where people disagree is how much you need to do and what “accomplish” means in this regard. Alan Wallace probably has the most extensive definition I’ve heard in that regard. It is worth noting that the Theravedans do not agree on the definition of “accomplishing” the jhanas in their system. There ...
by PeterC
Sun Mar 10, 2024 1:13 pm
Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
Topic: Stagnant sanghas, teachers not teaching
Replies: 126
Views: 5972

Re: Stagnant sanghas, teachers not teaching

I was once forced in a class (seriously) to watch The Secret, which is sort of the “root text” of a lot of that garbage. Genuinely curious as to what type of class would show that. You don't strike me as the sort of person who studies in Liberty U or similar places... I don’t think Liberty U would ...
by PeterC
Sun Mar 10, 2024 10:13 am
Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
Topic: Stagnant sanghas, teachers not teaching
Replies: 126
Views: 5972

Re: Stagnant sanghas, teachers not teaching

Johnny Dangerous wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2024 6:17 am I was once forced in a class (seriously) to watch The Secret, which is sort of the “root text” of a lot of that garbage.
Genuinely curious as to what type of class would show that. You don't strike me as the sort of person who studies in Liberty U or similar places...
by PeterC
Fri Mar 08, 2024 4:46 am
Forum: Mahamudra
Topic: Machig Labdron Wisdom from an Old Lady
Replies: 10
Views: 6689

Re: Machig Labdron Wisdom from an Old Lady

This is wonderful! It seems to be a condensed version of Machig's Last Instructions. As it happens, I was just reading that text earlier today in the Jérôme Edou book Machig Labdrön and the Foundations of Chöd . Yes, that is correct although I have no idea where I got a condensed version from. For ...

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