Importance and Benefit of Ngondro

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Konchog Thogme Jampa
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Re: Importance and Benefit of Ngondro

Post by Konchog Thogme Jampa »

Crazywisdom wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:04 am
Konchog Thogme Jampa wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:46 pm
Crazywisdom wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:39 pm

If the message is not to trust our lama bc they are just toying with us, and don't have our best interests at heart, then you need a different lama. The notion to take what lamas say with a grain of salt and trust the books, well, that's not Vajrayana. The Lama is the embodiment of the tantra. The mandala emits of their hearts. There is no information lama in a book, and no otherworldly lama to rely upon. Vajrayana is not knowledge to be figured out from letters. There will be no signs except bad ones if one does not understand this.
There’s Outer, Inner and Secret Guru
And ultimate guru, so what's your point?
Dunno, everyone emphasises the Outer Guru on here thought I’d give the other aspects a mention.

Hope you’re well and all good :cheers:
KristenM
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Location: California

Re: Importance and Benefit of Ngondro

Post by KristenM »

PeterC wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:03 am
TharpaChodron wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:30 am
Malcolm wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:15 am

It was always 100k per syllable…

Thanks, I never knew that. If there was a facepalm emoji I’d certainly use it right now.
It's just hazing, really. If a teacher tells you 100k per syllable and you come back later with a big grin saying you've finished, I'm sure they'll come up with a reason why you should do more. That's happened to me a few times ("did I say per syllable? Well, you have to multiply that by four, because we're in the kali yuga").

If you were accumulating mantras to develop siddhis then you would do it on signs anyway, by definition, not numbers or time. If you're just accumulating to hit a certain number so that you can 'qualify' to go on to another practice, it's always going to be a bit arbitrary.
Essentially that is what it feels like sometimes (hazing). I get what the point of ngondro is and the benefits etc. But I’m not finishing in the socially acceptable timeframe. Sometimes I think I may just quit because it’s really sucking up my time when I may be better off moving on to other things. I started and had three different teachers and instructions.

Nevertheless, signs or siddhis came very quickly (kidding). One time in the beginning, I was reciting the Guru mantra and getting quite into it, it was a rainy, quiet Sunday morning in Echo Park. A fire truck drove by with its lights on while I kept diligently doing mantras, ignoring the fire truck. Then, a gigantic explosion occurred, shaking my place, and so loud that I yelled out in shock. It turned out a transformer blew nearly fifty feet from my apartment. I don’t think that reciting the mantra caused it, but it was a memorable experience and kinda makes me smile when I think of “signs.”
PeterC
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Re: Importance and Benefit of Ngondro

Post by PeterC »

TharpaChodron wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:38 pm Essentially that is what it feels like sometimes (hazing). I get what the point of ngondro is and the benefits etc. But I’m not finishing in the socially acceptable timeframe. Sometimes I think I may just quit because it’s really sucking up my time when I may be better off moving on to other things. I started and had three different teachers and instructions.

Nevertheless, signs or siddhis came very quickly (kidding). One time in the beginning, I was reciting the Guru mantra and getting quite into it, it was a rainy, quiet Sunday morning in Echo Park. A fire truck drove by with its lights on while I kept diligently doing mantras, ignoring the fire truck. Then, a gigantic explosion occurred, shaking my place, and so loud that I yelled out in shock. It turned out a transformer blew nearly fifty feet from my apartment. I don’t think that reciting the mantra caused it, but it was a memorable experience and kinda makes me smile when I think of “signs.”
I think there are two types of people: those who do multiple ngondros and those who never quite finish one. If you get over the hump of doing one it feels a lot easier to take on extensive commitments subsequently. Of course the primary benefit is the two accumulations etc etc but there is some pedagogical value in that
Kris
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Re: Importance and Benefit of Ngondro

Post by Kris »

Go no paradigm.
The profound path of the master.
-- Virūpa, Vajra Lines
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