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Buddha was a vegetarian.. Please defeat cow butcher Alito

veganesh — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 18:21:12 GMT

Buddha was a vegetarian.. Please defeat cow butcher Alito
www.dalailama.com
www.plumvillage.org

Sam Alito Supreme Court Nominee Heavily Invested in Slaughterhouses -

Sam Alito twice broke while on a regional bench his promise to recuse himself from
Vanguard lawsuits in which he is heavily invested. Vanguard is perhaps of publicly investigated mutual funds the one most heavily invested in several kinds of slaughterhouse operations.

Slaughterhouse, safari hunt and other money has in some cases gone underground with private equity funds. The British are less forthcoming
about stockholders than Americans.

www.senate.gov
202 224 3121
God defeat this nomination.

VANGUARD: INVESTED IN ANIMAL SLAUGHTERHOUSES

Vanguard manages more than US $700 billion and has
more than 5000 institutional investors. It is invested
in many slaughterhouse and war operations.
1 It is the major investor in the world's most corrupt bank,
Citibank whose chairman helped jailed Bernie Ebbers buy Canada's
biggest cattle ranch with stolen MCI customer money.
2 It is a major investor in McDonald's (and since NPR has 200 million
in McDonald's stock,
... the 'public radio' network promoted Vanguard)
28,385,755 2.24 $883,932,410 31-Mar-05
3. It is a major investor in Yums, owner of the boycotted KFC
www.kfccruelty.com and of Taco Bell which finally settled with
unions.
4. It is a major investor in Lonestar Steak House which causes
cancer, heart disease, slaughterhouse agony, and deforestation.
(THE) 409,292 1.99 $11,832,631 31-Mar-05
5. It is a major investor in Triarc (Arby's beef)
6. Wendy's Vanguard is a major investor in the world's
3rd largest cowslaughter fast food chain
7. Vanguard is invested in SBC, a pricegouging conglomerate illegal
in Teddy Roosevelt's days
8. It is invested in Dominion, a gas company which has
been pricegouging the poor with doubling of charges.
9. It is a major investor in ConAgra.. 'butterball' turkeys
and other slaughterhouse items.
10. It is invested in Goldman Sachs, neocon warmonger.

John Bogle its CEO has been touted on NPR
because both are heavily invested in McDonald's. NPR was
allegedly left 200 million in McDonald's stock by Joan Kroc.
It is indeed humorous that Bogle would write a book on
business ethics.

Some of the other funds heavily invested in animal agony: Barclay's, J P Morgan Chase,
Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Charles Schwab

------
Those who are not vegetarian or vegan might consider that
the incubation period of Mad Cow, Mad Deer, Mad Pig, Mad Chicken,
Mad Fish etc is 50 years according to Dr David Heymann of the CDC
speaking on the CBC... Heymann is one of the few truthtellers
at the pharmaceutically dominated CDC. Any investment in animal
flesh is unwise.

The British are less forthcoming
about stockholders than Americans.
Quote:

Republicans always find it hard
to get out the numbers... in some
cities they hand out tickets to Democrats
when their high paid speakers paid for
with public money come
to town.. in order to swell the audience

Yesterday, as unelected Bush nominee
Sam Alito was questioned by senators,
there were Rent A Republican mobs
outside. It was a hastily done affair..
virtually
everyone with the same sign.

Neocon CNN owned illegally by Neocon
Time Warner... gave frequent flash coverage
to this small group of people.

Poster saw this standing in line
at a grocery store.

www.senate.gov

God end now all violence to any being and listen to
St Francis and Leonardo, two animal rights activists, want
this nomination defeated.

_________________
www.worldanimalnet.org
indymedia.org
ivu.org
pcrm.org
www.alitosamerica.org
www.internationalanswer.org
www.network54.com/forum/460325
news108.forumup.org
www.greenpeace.org/usa

With the string of state murders in the US ratified by the 'Supreme' Court,
one can only describe the 5 judges who have executed with their
pens... 'serial killers'. They have ratified torture, installed an unelected
pawn of war profiteers, ravaged our earth.
The Supreme Court is the only 18th Century institution unchanged.
Since 1776, the Senate has become popularly elected (in theory..
although Diebold ESS Sequoia Pacific Triad etc. have changed that
www.whatreallyhappened.com/vote...html)
The US is one of the few socalled democracies not electing its high court.
Reformers have suggested an 18 year term, with 1 justice elected
every 1 or 2 years.

One way to find in what investments a corporation, mutual fund
etc. holds... go to finance.yahoo.com type in the symbol
for that entity, and then scroll down on left to 'major holders'.

MSN has such a service too with more listings.

-------
Sen Feinstein is a war profiteer, married to URS' Richard Blum,
who has received a several hundred million dollar contract
for a company which manages the checks for US mercenary contractors
such as CACI, Titan, Blackwater Security and other
torturers, in some cases paying mercenaries $2000 a day, stolen
from America's poor.
www.publicintegrity.org/pns
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posted in Non-secular Buddhism - 9 replies

Engaged Ethics and Democracy Vs. the Total Society and the Rule of Arbitrary Law : Examples and References ( from Tribe Ethics and Morals )

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:48:01 GMT

Title "Engaged Ethics and Democracy Vs. the Total Society and the Rule of Arbitrary Law : Examples and References" ( from Tribe Ethics and Morals )

Keywords : universal human rights and "well-ordered societies", John Stuart Mill, United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and related treaties, Total Society ( Medieval Christianity, Radical Islam, Stalinism, Fascism, etc. ), internationally oriented democracy, Nobel Peace Laureates HH the Dalai Lama and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, Rio Earth Summit, Dr. Vandana Shiva and sustainable environmental democracy, prosocial behavior, Aquarian Conspiracy.

Summary: This is an brief overview of some of the main principles in universal human rights as related to Total Societies, with some key references to significant people and books. It is based on the concept that arbitrary and oppressive social order, whether politically or religiously based, is self-contradictory, unstable and irresponsible by definition, and that history shows Total Societies to be inherently dangerous and destructive, and that they can and must be fought when overly aggressive.

A counterpoint is outlined in terms of John Stuart Mill, key United Nation treaties and the necessity of balancing shared human and social concerns based on global interdependence and "inalienable" human rights ( as advanced primarily by references and citations to be followed up by interested readers ). The basic ideas of universal rights and responsibilities and "sustainable environmental democracy" are then put forward together. These are promoted as a necessary alternative to any and all total societies and as an alternative to advancing social and cultural destruction throughout the planet.

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759; (b1706 - d1790)

"Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power."
Aung San Suu Kyi, elected leader of Burma ( presently imprisoned by military junta ), Nobel Peace Laureate

"No defeat baby, no surrender."
Bruce Springsteen

"Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always." -- Mohandas K. Gandhi

"Today's world requires that we accept the oneness of humanity. . . In the context of our new interdependence, considering the interests of others is clearly the best form of self-interest." HH the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Laureate and Mahayana Buddhist teacher

Re TMIbo on Tribe Ethics and Morals:
"Evil is as evil does. I would define evil as that which seeks chaos over order. Or destroys order to create chaos, take your pick."

K T answers
Democracy is a kind of "social chaos", compared with Fascism, Stalinism, Medieval Roman Catholicism, and "Radical" Islam ( e.g. Afghanistan under the Taliban ), and the People's Republic of China. Those latter systems are all about social control of the many by the few, and their capabilities for crushing human rights are renowned throughout the world and throughout history. They also don't work, as history has shown again and again by the collapse of totalitarian regimes.

Know this: where books are burned or banned, individuals and groups are or will be jailed or banned or tortured or even burned to death. The Christian Middle Ages were also known as the Dark Ages, and a lot of the history represented the subjugation of pre Christian beliefs and lifeways, including the Burning Times, and also official Ex Cathedra opposition to scientific thought and research.

Thus, there is an obvious and inherent set of problems in elevating social order AS SUCH over AND ABOVE basic human freedoms such as democracy and freedom of speech, and that clearly includes so called moral or idealistic systems of belief or "faith based societies". . . even though basic freedoms are also problematical in practice.

So, a social system based on psychological or cultural control of private persons, one which opposes freedom of thought or belief( intellectual anarchy etc. ), will eventually progress towards tyranny unless opposed. It has happened all over the world in different ways. This is a now a major problem in the world today, with the rise of broadly based low-intensity to medium intensity paramilitary attacks on democratic societies and institutions worldwide.

We all have to pay attention to this, or eventually humanity can lose much or most that has been gained in progressive human culture and society, because progressive society and culture can be restricted or banned outright, as happens in one party or one religion states and social orders.

The first problem is
What is the social recourse for mistakes or bias or unlawful behavior by a ruling social order?
The second problem is
Who shall decide which kind of social order shall prevail?
The third problem is
What shall be done when a ruling social order determines to make war on another, outside social order?

After all, every one can see that Fascism, Stalinism, Medieval Roman Catholicism, and Sunni Islam, and Post-Marxist Chinese "Communism" are all fundamentally incompatible! Who then is to rule? "There can be no agreement on the basis of exclusivist dogmas. Each excludes the other." ( K T )

So to this we can add a fourth problem: Isn't it true that while claiming to support and maintain order, totalitarian systems actually create massive chaos and destruction?
This is clearly demonstrated in Cambodia under Pol Pot, in Afghanistan under Mullah Omar and the Taliban, in Germany under Hitler and the Third Reich, in Russia and Eastern Europe under Stalin, and in China under Mao during the Cultural Revolution.

And that is why the United Nations, following World War II, in 1948 approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ( See http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm ) This reads in part,

"Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people. . ."

The "order over chaos" social alternatives to democratic society and human freedom, whether derived from religious or nationalist or internationalist dogma, ALL fully fit the definition of Total Society, in which the individual has few or no rights, and the state claims basically arbitrary control over the most essential aspects of human life and freedom.

This is a crucial point : absolutist or primarily one-sided social control is a form or mechanism that can be "religious", or "nationalist", or "internationalist". The *process* is what matters, *not* the dogmatic content per se. Such a process is what distorts and even destroys human society, specifically and especially while claiming to promote "coherence" and "order" and "harmony". Violent and arbitrary oppression of many diverse people both near and far is by definition the opposite of those claimed values.

That is, an authoritarian-leaning society or Total Society, to the extent that it is authoritarian or Total in practice, is
a) NOT well-ordered society
b) NOT designed to advance the good of its members and
c) NOT effectively regulated by a ( truly ) public conception of justice.

"Justice" means "rights" and the balancing of rights through corresponding responsibilities among people. This is well developed in the writings of John Stuart Mill. But a Total Society is one in which rights are arbitrarily abridged. It was not so long ago that the Civil Rights movement ( 19th and 20th C. ) brought upheaval to the American South.

Ironically, it was a broad and ever larger set of American citizens who worked for peace and freedom for blacks in the Southern states for blacks ( often illegally or under direct attack by police ), and many blacks were Christian but still oppressed by a basically Christian society / slave system that was clearly worse than Imperial Rome. In Rome, slaves could read and write, and some were Greek scholars. In the American South, black Christian slaves were not allowed to learn to read and write ( the Bible, etc. ) by their Christian masters. So that is an example of a Total Society in recent American history, and one that was conclusively overthrown.

In the above example, it is clearly unfair and therefore unreasonable that some Christians were allowed to go to school and some were not. That's arbitrary abridgement. Basic rights means no arbitrary abridgement, i.e. that the laws and basic rules of fairness apply throughout society, to all human beings.

The main point here is that laws and social systems are always distorted in total Societies, that basic rights are arbitrarily abridged so that the few apply law to the many, while basically remaining above the law. And that is the opposite of a reasonable civil society, whether it is Medieval Catholicism or Nazi Germany or black slavery in the American South or Stalinist control of Eastern Europe.

Rights fundamentally opposed by large scale religious and political organizations can include some or all of the following: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Association and Assembly, Freedom of Worship, Freedom of Political Self-Determination through Elected Representation. ( In fact, the Vatican did not formally acknowledge the legitimate rule of democracy until 1962. )

A key example of abridged rights is the "establishment" of Nazi rule in Germany. This was *not* authorized in the national German legislature, as many think. In fact, the National Socialist regime came to power in significant part by literally holding the German legislature hostage until that body resigned to Nazi rule. It was a state coup. How is that so called "order" IN ANY WAY legitimate? Since it is not, we can all agree that order and law are *not* the same thing as legitimacy, and can in fact promote the opposite.

Thus, a total society can be established by a social force that works like organized crime, and since large scale crime is inherently antisocial, this is contradicts the most basic notions of a well-ordered society.

When TMIbo ( on Tribe Ethics and Morals ) says "I would define evil as that which seeks chaos over order", this is a deep self contradiction. Clearly, the National Socialists sought "order", and their appeal to the German people was to lead the people from economic chaos and national weakness to strength and power. The Nazis represent an evil will to power, a power that claimed to protect the people from weakness and anarchy, but evil and self-defeating because universally destructive.

Historical perspective matters greatly in this discussion, and so do the perspectives of those who have worked long term and very effectively for peace and freedom, such as Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Einstein.

Dr Einstein said:
"Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perpetually rejuvenated illusions."
"The unlimited desire for ever greater power seeks to become active and aggressive wherever and whenever the physical possibility offers itself."
"Democratic institutions and standards are the result of historic developments to an extent not always appreciated in the lands that enjoy them."

TMIbo publically and clearly elevates "order" over "chaos", and we can all agree that the problem is not limited to Nazi Germany or to any one specific time or place. Feudal Totalitarian Christianity, Total Society in many Islamic Nations, National Socialism and Stalinist Dictatorship of the Proletariat emphasize "order" over "chaos" ( i.e. non-Christians or Freethinkers, the so-called "International Jewish Conspiracy", feminists and those who seek freedom from Islamic rule or jihad, etc. ).

We know this because all these institutions historically have emphasized war and bloodshed to subjugate or completely eliminate opposing positions, individuals, groups and even whole societies. Up through and including wholescale genocide. The Twentieth Century was largely dominated by Total Societies and their massive efforts to reshape the world into their own images, up through and including unlimited warfare ( along with contervailing forces such as the Allies in World War II ).

A casual, rough estimate of the 20th Century destruction of unarmed civilians under Communist rule ( in Russia, China, Cambodia ) runs from fifty million lives to eighty million lives, perhaps more. How is that "well-ordered" ? Yes, there is a strong sense of "order" in Marxist Stalinist rule, but the cost is astonishingly severe. And Communism still failed in Russia, throughout Eastern Europe, and so forth.

The same is true of Fascism in Spain and Germany. Yes, the Fascists ruled ( established and maintained complete "social order" ), but The Third Reich fell most spectacularly, even after amazing efforts to establish control over all of Europe, and so forth. Even after all the bloodshed of World War II, which claimed over thirty million lives.

Thus we can see the repeatedly demonstrated truth of Gandhi's statement that tyrants eventually fail. This means, more generally, that no Total Society ( such as Medieval Roman Catholicism, or Fascism, or Stalinism, or Radical Islam ) is inevitable, stable, or unassailable.

I argue the reverse: I will argue that all total societies, including Post Marxist Chinese Communism and Radical Islam, are inherently unstable and are doomed to failure. One basic reason for this is very simple: the more a violent social order succeeds, the more other societies will become concerned and seek to counterbalance naked aggression.

Another fundamental reason is that oppressive social orders fail to develop the potential of many or most of their members. For example, about 51% of the world's population is female, yet women are oppressed by Total Societies. ( See "The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith", by Irshad Manji, and "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. )

That total societies are inherently unstable is demonstrated by much historical evidence. This is true of Ancient Rome and Medieval Spain, which were based on continuous conquest, which cannot always proceed. It is structurally true today because of fundamental ( and basically unresolvable ) problems within Post Marxist Communism and within Islam ( e.g. the Sunni Shia divide as seen historically, as well as in present day Lebanon, Iraq, and so forth ).

It has never been shown that any culture based on war or conquest is ever really sustainable as a whole. Although Sunni Islam and Shia Islam are both quite powerful today, they are not unified, and for many centuries they have fought each other. Thus to a significant extent, they weaken themselves and each other in overall terms.

Devolution of imperial power is well demonstrated in major cases, with the development of near democracy or effective democracy as a replacement. Witness the development of self-rule in India and the many countries which became free of 16th century Spanish rule ( see http://encarta.msn.com/media_461518061/spanish_empire.html ), or free of the British Empire and so on.

It is quite clear that the overall progression of human societies from the time of the Protestant Reformation to today is characterized by several trends:
1) the breakdown of large scale total societies, such as Medieval Catholicism and royalist rule;
2) the breakdown of colonialism and international imperial rule;
3) the tremendous and widespread development of human rights efforts and organizations ( including nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs ) and progress towards universal human rights as principle, as model, and as main priority for large scale societies.

This is due to many major economic, cultural, and international factors, including the global rise of literacy and freer more powerful forms of communication and networking ( e.g. the internet ). It is also based on tested working models of democracy that balance rights and responsibilities through transparent and equitable means. These social models are in turn based on well developed definitions of "social contracts" as advanced by John Stuart Mill and others.

The point is to find and uphold a balance based on freedom and responsibility, consciously and mutually addressed. The claim is not that people and groups will in general come to "mutual understanding and consonance with other people" ( Einstein ), but rather all will have to come to terms with fair and reciprocal standards of rights and responsibilities which favor nor one group and which are as little arbitrary as possible, particularly in terms of negative rights ( non-interference ).

But Non-interference is the opposite of social control as defined by any Total Society. Therefore it is in the interest of the many to seek the opposite of any one model for a total society. When the many can and do work together effectively, or at least begin to work together, then movement towards a total society can be slowed, or reversed, and basic freedoms strengthened or reestablished.

This means negotiated rights and responsibilities through a civil order that
a) accords equal rights to all individuals by default as a matter of course;
b) is negotiated through a system of law that is always independent of any specific political party ( e.g. the US Bill of Rights and the US Supreme Court );
c) is always independent of any specific religious system ( separation of church and state ), i.e. that fundamentally rejects Judaism, Christianity, Islam etc. as foundational to society and social agreements;
d) actively promotes peace and co-operation and democracy in all parts of the world
( e.g. the United Nations and interventions by democracy-backed peacekeeping forces - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacekeeping ).

Furthermore, it also means, in our time,
e) the basic idea of "sustainable environmental democracy" as an alternative to any and all total societies based on squandering resources needed for future generations. This basic concept is called "intergenerational equity", or equity between generations. This has been developed by for example the Rio Earth Summit ( 1992 ) and environmental democracy has been advanced in particular by Dr. Vandana Shiva ( see following references ).

"Universal responsibility" and "universal human ethics" have been well communicated by for example HH the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist teacher awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He says
"Human beings by nature want happiness and do not want suffering. With that
feeling everyone tries to achieve happiness and tries to get rid of suffering, and everyone has the basic right to do this. In this way, all here are the same, whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated, Easterner or Westerner, believer or non-believer ... and so on. Basically, from the viewpoint of real human value we are all the same."-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from "Kindness, Clarity, and Insight."

( See also The Global Community & the Need for Universal Responsibility - by H.H. the Dalai Lama, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 1990. )

The point is that this kind of ethic is strongly prosocial, it actively seeks peace and freedom for all, not just this group or that. The alternative, isolationist viewpoint fails, just as failing to address the Nazi threat would have been a tragic failure for the US and others, just as failing to address the threat of Taliban style Islamic rule can become a major problem for any and all democratic societies.

HH the Dalai Lama believes in and works for peace. But peace is very different than pacifism. The Dalai Lama makes it very clear that he definitely supports the war effort that destroyed National Socialism in Germany. So did Dr. Albert Einstein.
Peace therefore is not the absence of war per se, it is the active promotion of freedom and democracy, including sometimes, acts of defensive warfare.

This is acceptable by definition at the United Nations, and it is only fair. It is universally agreed that there is a need to fight for peace and freedom. This has major implications today in dealing with long-term aggressive and expansionist social orders that develop by swiftly or incrementally burying human rights. These must be dealt with using "scalable response".

There are several principal sets of documents that frame and illuminate the issues of negotiation based civil society. These include
1) "On Liberty and Utilitarianism" by John Stuart Mill
( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill and http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill/ ) ;
2) the founding documents and historical development of democracy in the American Colonies, esp. the sources of American style democracy in the Iroquois Confederacy;
3) the founding documents and historical development of the United Nations
( see http://www.unhchr.ch/map.htm );

To these I would add several additional current sources:

1) information on Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi
see also the book "Freedom From Fear and Other Writings", by Aung San Suu Kyi
http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Fear-Other-Writings-Revised/dp/0140253173

2) information on the Nobel Peace Prize Winner HH the Dalai Lama
( e.g. "The Global Community" http://www.dalailama.com/page.75.htm )

3) The Rio Earth Summit documents and process
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Summit

4) information and books related to Dr. Vandana Shiva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva

5) Aquarian Conspiracy, by Marilyn Ferguson
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarian-Conspiracy-Marilyn-Ferguson/dp/0874774586

But politics is not something that happens "out there". Professor Todd Gitlin famously pointed out that "politics isn't where you stand on the issues, politics is how you live your life". And that necessarily involves personal principles, models and priorities, not mere acknowledgement of social "realities" and "concerns". This is why I claim that the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi are relevant. I will offer some words from Aung San Suu Kyi and Marilyn Ferguson on the inner ethic of progressive social change.

Freedom From Fear Speech, by Aung San Suu Kyi
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Burma/FreedomFromFearSpeech.html

". . .Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure.

"A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.

"The wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power is generally a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles combined with a historical sense that despite all setbacks the condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and material advancement. It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute.

"At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and environmental impediments. It is man's vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear. Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power."

. . . . this is . . . For All Our Relations, and not least for the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi. Sarva mangalam.

K T

"Our past is *not* our potential. In any given hour, with all the stubborn teachers and healers of history who have called us to our best selves, we can re-choose, to awaken. Awakening brings it's own assignments, chosen by us, unique to each of us. But whatever you have thought about yourself, and however long you may have thought it, you are not just "you". You are a seed, a silent promise. You are the conspiracy."
Marilyn Ferguson, the Aquarian Conspiracy

posted in Non-secular Buddhism - 5 replies

Mahabodhisattva Manjusri ( & Wrathful Manjusri / Yamantaka ) resources : scripture and commentaries and practice resources

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:37:58 GMT

Mahabodhisattva Manjusri ( & Wrathful Manjusri / Yamantaka ) resources : scripture and commentaries
( repost from tribe buddhism )

Om Svasti!

AH

Since this has been brought up ( by Ron in tribe buddhism ), and there is interest, I will say a little about Manjusri. This is a great bodhisattva, whose name means "Smooth and Glorious". He is the archetype of Bodhisattva wisdom ( prajna ) and his consort is the Hindu / Buddhist Sarasvati.

The basic mantra is
OM A RA PA CA NA DHI
and the seed syllable is
DHI

Here is the meaning of this mantra:
"The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom sets out the following meanings for the first syllables:
A is a door to the insight that all dharmas are unproduced from the very beginning (adya-anutpannatvad);
RA is a door to the insight that all dharmas are without dirt (rajas);
PA is a door to the insight that all dharmas have been expounded in the ultimate sense (paramartha);
CA is a door to the insight that the decrease (cyavana) or rebirth of any dharma cannot be apprehended, because all dharmas do not decrease, nor are they reborn;
NA is a door to the insight that the Names [i.e. nama]" of all dharmas have vanished; the essential nature behind names cannot be gained or lost."

The mantra in Sanskrit letters is given at
www.visiblemantra.org/manju.html

This mantra is pervasive in the Mahayana world. It is used equally by "Chinese" Buddhists and "Japanese" Buddhists. I have a practice commentary and the hand mudras from Chinese lineage.

The primary source text for Manjusri is the Manjusri Namasamgiti. It is possible to recite this text in Sanskrit. I have Dr. Alex Wayman's commentary and translation back in 1986 or so, under the title
"Chanting the Names of Manjusri"
and should be available in inexpensive paperback form. The text in Sanskrit is a long mantra. It also includes a number of Manjusri mantras that are very valuable but little known or used.

Translations and commentaries are available for free ( without the Sanskrit ). They can be found at
kalachakranet.org/resources_english.html

At that page scroll down to the following line items, which are associated with clickable downloads. See
a) "Manjushri Namasamghiti, translated by Ronald M. Davidson."
b) "Study Guide to the Namasamgiti, With Reference to the Vimalaprabha, edited and tabulated by Phillip Lecso"

There is a specific empowerment for the Namasamgiti, which I have in the Sakya tradition. However, there are many ways to obtain a Manjusri initiation, and also many ways to obtain a wrathful Manjusri / Yamantaka initiation. I also have received the grand two day Yamantaka initiation ( Ra Lotsawa lineage ) in the Sakya school. This is a central transmission in Sakya lineage, and absolutely primary in the Gelugpa school.

Many wrathful Padmasambhava initiations include a full Yamantaka. Also, all Vajrakilaya initiations include a full Yamantaka. From these alone I have received about thirty full Yamantaka initiations. The Fivefold Cakrasamvara initiation of the Shangpa Kagyu school includes a full New School ( Sarma ) Yamantaka.

However, I have never seen a Kagyu practice text for Yamantaka. Only last year was I able to get a good Nyingma text for Manjusri + Yamantaka.

There is a comprehensive web site for Yamantaka practice texts and commentaries. See
www.vajrabhairava.com

These many practice texts and commentaries are absolutely wonderful and can serve as primary materials.

The site is restricted to those who can say they have received a full Yamantaka empowerment, by which is meant full Yamantaka in the New School, not the Old School ( Nyingma ). Technically, I do not see that the Old School Yamantaka would work differently from New School Yamantaka, but I do not have detailed Old School commentaries or teachings. It may be similar or the same in practice, but I cannot aver this based on lack of evidence.

What follows is a copyrighted text for Manjusri Namasamgiti which includes some Sanskrit accomplishment mantras for Manjusri. It is provided for personal use only.

Sarva mangalam. Siddhi rastu.

In partial fulfillment of my vajrayana teaching responsibilities,

K T

( In Sanskrit, from Manjusri Namasamgiti )

"A a: sarvatathagata hrdayam
hara hara om hum hri:
bhagavan jnanamurti
vagishvara mahapacha
sarvadharma gaganamala
suparishuddha dharmadhatu
jnanagarbha a:"

( The same, translated. )

"A a: – the heart of all the Thusly Gone,
Take out, take out – om hum hri:
Vanquishing master surpassing all, embodied deep awareness,
Powerful lord of speech, the great one who ripens,
The complete total purity of all the existents, stainless like space,
Womb of deep awareness of the sphere of reality – a:"

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A Concert of Names of Manjushri
('Jam-dpal mtshan-brjod, Skt. Manjushri-namasamgiti)

translated from the Tibetan, as clarified by the Sanskrit
Alexander Berzin, 2004

Homage to Manjushri in youthful form.
Sixteen Verses on Requesting Instruction

(1) Then the glorious Holder of the Vajra,
The most superb tamer of those difficult to tame,
The hero, triumphant over the world’s three planes,
The powerful lord of the thunderbolt, ruler of the hidden,

(2) With awakened white-lotus eye,
Fully bloomed pink-lotus face,
Brandishing over and again
The supreme vajra with his hand –

(3) Together with countless Vajrapanis,
With features such as brows furrowed in fury,
Heroes, tamers of those difficult to tame,
Fearsome and heroic in form,

(4) Brandishing blazing-tipped vajras in their hands,
Superb in fulfilling the aims of wandering beings,
Through great compassion, discriminating awareness,
And skillful means,

(5) Having happy, joyful, and delighted dispositions,
Yet endowed with ferocious bodily forms,
Guardians to further the Buddhas’ enlightening influence,
Their bodies bowed – together with them

(6) Prostrated to the Guardian, the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
The Thusly Gone One, the Fully Enlightened,
And standing in front, his palms pressed together,
Addressed these words:

(7) “O Master of the All-Pervasive,
For my benefit, my purpose, from affection toward me,
So that I may obtain
Manifest enlightenment from illusion’s net

(8) For the welfare and attainment
Of the peerless fruit for all limited beings
Sunk in the swamp of unawareness,
Their minds upset by disturbing emotions,

(9) O Fully Enlightened, Vanquishing Master, Guru of Wanderers,
Indicator, Knower of the Great Close Bond and Reality,
Foremost Knower of Powers and Intents,
Elucidate, please,

(10) Regarding the enlightening body of deep awareness
of the Vanquishing Master,
The Great Crown Protrusion, the Master of Words,
The embodied deep awareness that is self-produced,
The deep awareness being, Manjushri,

(11) The superlative Concert of His Names,
With profound meaning, with extensive meaning,
with great meaning,
Unequaled, and supremely pacifying,
Constructive in the beginning, middle, and end,

(12) Which was proclaimed by previous Buddhas,
Will be proclaimed by future ones,
And which the Fully Enlightened of the present
Proclaim over and again,

(13) And which, in The Illusion’s Net
Great Tantra,
Was magnificently chanted
By countless delighted great holders of the vajras,
Holders of the hidden mantras.

(14) O Guardian, so that I (too) may be a holder
Of the hidden (teachings) of all the Fully Enlightened,
I shall preserve it with steadfast intention
Till my definite deliverance,

(15) And shall elucidate it to limited beings,
In accord with their individual intents,
For dispelling disturbing emotions, barring none,
And destroying unawareness, barring none."

(16) Having requested the Thusly Gone One with these words,
The lord of the hidden, Vajrapani,
Pressed his palms together
And, bowing his body, stood in front.
Six Verses in Reply

(17) Then the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
Shakyamuni, the Able Sage,
The Fully Enlightened, the Ultimate Biped,
Extending from his mouth
His beautiful tongue, long and wide,

(18) Illuminating the world’s three planes
And taming the four (mara) demonic foes,
And displaying a smile, cleansing
The three worse rebirths for limited beings,

(19) And filling the world’s three planes
With his sweet Brahma-voice,
Replied to Vajrapani, the magnificently strong,
The lord of the hidden:

(20) “Excellent, O glorious Holder of the Vajra,
(I say) excellent to you, Vajrapani,
You who possess great compassion
For the sake of the welfare of wandering beings.

(21) Rise to the occasion to hear from me, now,
A Concert of Names of the enlightening body of deep awareness,
Manjushri, the great aim,
Purifying and eliminating negative force.

(22) Because of that, Overlord of the Hidden,
It’s excellent that I’m revealing it to you;
(So) listen with single-pointed mind.”

“O Vanquishing Master, that’s excellent,” he replied.
Two Verses of Beholding the Six Buddha-Families

(23) Then the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
Shakyamuni, the Able Sage,
Beholding in detail the entire family of great hidden mantra:
The family of holders of hidden mantras
and of mantras of pure awareness,
The family of the three,

(24) The family of the world and beyond the world,
The family, the great one, illuminating the world,
(That) family supreme, of (mahamudra) the great seal,
And the great family of the grand crown protrusion,
Three Verses on the Steps of Manifest Enlightenment by Means of Illusion?s Net

(25) Proclaimed the verse of the Master of Words,
Endowed with the sixfold mantra king,
(Concerning) the nondual source
With a nature of non-arising:

(26) “ A a, i i, u u, e ai, o au, am a:.
Situated in the heart, I’m deep awareness embodied,
The Buddha of the Buddhas
Occurring in the three times.

(27) Om – Vajra Sharp,
Cutter of Suffering,
Embodied Discriminating Deep Awareness,
Enlightening Body of Deep Awareness,
Powerful Lord of Speech,
And Ripener of Wandering Beings (Ara-pachana) – homage to you.”
Fourteen Verses on the Great Mandala of the Vajra Sphere

(28) Like this is the Buddha (Manjushri),
the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
the Fully Enlightened:
He’s born from the syllable a,
The foremost of all phonemes, the syllable a,
Of great meaning, the syllable that’s deepest,

(29) The great breath of life, non-arising,
Rid of being uttered in a word,
Foremost cause of everything spoken,
Maker of every word perfectly clear.

(30) In his great offering festival, great longing desire’s
The provider of joy to limited beings;
In his great offering festival, great anger’s
The great foe of all disturbing emotion.

(31) In his great offering festival, great naivety’s
The dispeller of the naivety of the naïve mind;
In his great offering festival, great fury’s
The great foe of great fury.

(32) In his great offering festival, great greed’s
The dispeller of all greed;
He’s the one with great desire, great happiness,
Great joy, and great delight.

(33) He’s the one with great form, great enlightening body,
Great color, great physique,
Great name, great grandeur,
And a great and extensive mandala circle.

(34) He’s the great bearer of the sword of discriminating awareness,
The foremost great elephant-hook for disturbing emotions;
He’s the one with great renown, great fame,
Great luster, and great illumination.

(35) He’s the learned one, the bearer of great illusion,
The fulfiller of aims with great illusion,
The delighter with delight through great illusion,
The conjurer of an Indra’s net of great illusion.

(36) He’s the most preeminent master of great generous giving,
The foremost holder of great ethical discipline,
The steadfast holder of great patience,
The courageous one with great perseverance,

(37) The one abiding in the absorbed concentration
of great mental stability,
The holder of a body of great discriminating awareness,
The one with great strength, great skill in means,
Aspirational prayer, and a sea of deep awareness.

(38) He’s the immeasurable one, composed of great love,
He’s the foremost mind of great compassion,
Great discrimination, great intelligence,
Great skill in means, and great implementation.

(39) Endowed with the strength of great extraphysical powers,
He’s the one with great might, great speed,
Great extraphysical power, great (lordly) renown,
Great courage of strength.

(40) He’s the crusher of the great mountain of compulsive existence,
The firm holder of the great vajra;
The one with great fierceness and great ferociousness,
He’s the great terrifier of the terrifying.

(41) He’s the superlative guardian with great pure awareness,
The superlative guru with great hidden mantra;
Stepped up to the Great Vehicle’s mode of travel,
He’s superlative in the Great Vehicle’s mode of travel.
Twenty-five Verses, Less a Quarter, on the Deep Awareness of the Totally Pure Sphere of Reality

(42) He’s the Buddha (Vairochana), the great illuminator,
The great able sage, having great sagely (stillness);
He’s the one produced through great mantra’s mode of travel,
And, by identity-nature, he (himself) is great mantra’s mode of travel.

(43) He has attainment of the ten far-reaching attitudes,
Support on the ten far-reaching attitudes,
The purity of the ten far-reaching attitudes,
The mode of travel of the ten far-reaching attitudes.

(44) He’s the guardian, the powerful lord
of the ten (bhumi) levels of mind,
The one established through the ten (bhumi) levels of mind;
By identity-nature, he’s the purified ten sets of knowledge,
And the holder of the purified ten sets of knowledge.

(45) He’s the one with ten aspects, the ten points as his aim,
Chief of the able sages, the one with ten forces,
the master of the all-pervasive;
He’s the fulfiller of the various aims, barring none,
The powerful one with ten aspects, the great one.

(46) He’s beginningless and, by identity-nature,
parted from mental fabrication,
By identity-nature, the accordant state; by identity-nature,
the pure one;
He’s the speaker of what’s actual, with speech of no other,
The one who, just as he speaks, just so does he act.

(47) Non-dual, the speaker of nonduality,
Settled at the endpoint of what’s perfectly so;
With a lion’s roar of the lack of a true identity-nature,
He’s the frightener of the deer of the deficient extremists.

(48) Coursing everywhere, with his coursing meaningful,
(never in vain),
He has the speed of the mind of a Thusly Gone One;
He’s the conqueror, the full conqueror, with enemies conquered,
A (chakravartin) emperor of the universe, one that has great strength.

(49) He’s the teacher of hosts, the head of hosts,
The (Ganesha) lord of hosts, the master of hosts, the powerful one;
He’s the one with great strength, the one that’s keen (to carry the load),
The one that has the great mode of travel,
with no need for travel by another mode.

(50) He’s the lord of speech, the master of speech,
eloquent in speech,
The one with mastery over speech, the one with limitless words,
Having true speech, the speaker of truth,
The one that indicates the four truths.

(51) He’s irreversible, non-returning,
The guide for the mode of travel
of the self-evolving rhino pratyekas;
Definitely delivered through various (means)
of definite deliverance,
He’s the singular cause of the great elemental states.

(52) He’s a (bhiksu) full monk, (an arhat) with enemies destroyed,
Defilements depleted, with desire departed, senses tamed;
Having attained ease of mind, having attained a state of no fear,
He’s the one with (elements) cooled down, no longer muddied.

(53) Endowed to the full with pure awareness and movement,
He’s the Blissfully Gone, superb in his knowledge of the world;
He’s the one not grasping for “mine,” not grasping for a “me,”
Abiding in the mode of travel of the two truths.

(54) He’s the one that’s standing at the far shore,
beyond recurring samsara,
With what needs to be done having been done, settled on dry land,
His cleaving sword of discriminating awareness
Having drawn out the deep awareness of what’s unique.

(55) He’s the hallowed Dharma, the ruler of the Dharma,
the shining one,
The superb illuminator of the world;
He’s the powerful lord of Dharma, the king of the Dharma,
The one who shows the most excellent pathway of mind.

(56) With his aim accomplished, his thought accomplished,
And rid of all conceptual thought,
He’s the nonconceptual, inexhaustible sphere,
The superb, imperishable sphere of reality.

(57) He’s the one possessing positive force, a network of positive force,
And deep awareness, the great source of deep awareness,
Possessing deep awareness, having deep awareness
of what exists and what doesn’t exist,
The one with the built-up pair of networks networked together.

(58) Eternal, the ruler of all, he’s the (yogi) yoked to the authentic;
He’s stability of mind, the one to be made mentally stable,
the master of intelligence,
The one to be individually reflexively known, the immovable one,
The primordial one who’s the highest,
the one possessing three enlightening bodies.

(59) With an identity-nature of five enlightening bodies, he’s a Buddha;
With an identity-nature of five types of deep awareness,
a master of the all-pervasive,
Having a crown in the identity-nature of the five Buddhas,
Bearing, unhindered, the five enlightening eyes.

(60) He’s the progenitor of all Buddhas,
The superlative, supreme Buddhas’ spiritual son,
The womb giving rise to the existence of discriminating awareness,
The womb of the Dharma, bringing an end to compulsive existence.

(61) With a singular innermost essence of firmness,
by identity-nature, he’s a diamond-strong vajra;
As soon as he’s born, he’s master of the wandering world.
Arisen from the sky, he’s the self-arisen:
The great fire of discriminating deep awareness;

(62) The great-light (Vairochana,) Illuminator of All,
luminary of deep awareness, illuminating all;
The lamp for the world of the wanderers;
The torch of deep awareness;
The great brilliance, the clear light;

(63) Lord of the foremost mantras, king of the pure awareness;
King of the hidden mantras, the one that fulfills the great aim;
He’s the great crown protrusion, the wondrous crown protrusion,
The master of space, the one indicating in various ways.

(64) He’s the foremost one, an enlightening body
with the identity-nature of all the Buddhas,
The one with an eye for the joy of the entire wandering world,
The creator of diverse bodily forms,
The great (rishi) muse, worthy of offerings, worthy of honor.

(65) He’s the bearer of the three family traits,
the possessor of the hidden mantra,
He’s the upholder of the great close bond
and of the hidden mantra;
He’s the most preeminent holder of the three precious gems,
Indicator of the ultimate of the three vehicles of mind.

(66) He’s the totally triumphant, with an unfailing grappling-rope,
The great apprehender with a vajra grappling-rope,
With a vajra elephant-hook and a great grappling-rope.
Ten Verses, Plus a Quarter, Praising Mirror-like Deep Awareness

He's Vajrabhairava, the terrifying vajra terrifier:

(67) Ruler of the furious, six-faced and terrifying,
Six-eyed, six-armed, and full of force,
The skeleton having bared fangs,
Halahala, with a hundred heads.

(68) He’s the destroyer of death (Yamantaka),
king of the obstructors,
(Vajravega,) vajra might, the terrifying one;
He’s vajra devastation, vajra heart,
Vajra illusion, the great bellied one.

(69) Born from the vajra (womb), he’s the vajra lord,
Vajra essence, equal to the sky;
Immovable (Achala), (with matted hair) twisted
into a single topknot,
Wearer of garments of moist elephant hide.

(70) Great horrific one, shouting “ha ha,”
Creator of terror, shouting “hi hi,”
With enormous laughter, (booming) long laughter,
Vajra laughter, great roar.

(71) He’s the vajra-minded (Vajrasattva),
the great-minded (mahasattva),
Vajra king, great bliss;
Vajra fierce, great delight,
Vajra Humkara, the one shouting “hum.”

(72) He’s the holder of a vajra arrow as his weapon,
The slasher of everything with his vajra sword;
He’s the holder of a crossed vajra, possessor of a vajra,
Possessor of a unique vajra, the terminator of battles.

(73) His dreadful eyes with vajra flames,
Hair on his head, vajra flames too,
Vajra cascade, great cascade,
Having a hundred eyes, vajra eyes.

(74) His body with bristles of vajra hair,
A unique body with vajra hair,
With a growth of nails tipped with vajras,
And tough, (firm) skin, vajras in essence.

(75) Holder of a garland of vajras, having glory,
He’s adorned with jewelry of vajras,
And has long (booming) laughter “ha ha,” with loud sound,
The vajra sound of the six syllables.

(76) He’s (Manjughosha,) with a lovely voice,
enormous volume,
A tremendous sound unique in the world’s three planes,
A voice resounding to the ends of space,
The best of those possessing a voice.
Forty-two Verses on Individualizing Deep Awareness

(77) He’s what’s perfectly so, the lack of identity-nature,
the actual state,
The endpoint of that which is perfectly so, that which isn’t a syllable;
He’s the proclaimer of voidness, the best of bulls
Bellowing a roar, profound and extensive.

(78) He’s the conch of Dharma, with a mighty sound,
The gong of Dharma, with a mighty crash,
The one in a state of non-abiding nirvana,
Kettledrum of Dharma in the ten directions.

(79) He’s the formless one, with an excellent form, the foremost one,
Having varied forms, made from the mind;
He’s a glory of appearances in every form,
The bearer of reflections, leaving out none.

(80) He’s the impervious one, with great (lordly) renown,
The great powerful lord of the world’s three planes;
Abiding with a lofty arya pathway of mind,
He’s the one raised on high, the crown banner of Dharma.

(81) He’s the body of youth unique in the world’s three planes,
The stable elder, the ancient one, the master of all that lives;
He’s the bearer of the thirty-two bodily signs, the beloved,
Beautiful throughout the world’s three planes.

(82) He’s the teacher of knowledge and good qualities to the world,
The teacher of the world without any fears,
The guardian, the rescuer, trusted throughout the world’s three planes,
The refuge, the protector, unsurpassed.

(83) The experiencer (of experiences) to the ends of space,
He’s the ocean of the deep awareness of the omniscient mind,
The splitter of the eggshell of unawareness,
The tearer of the web of compulsive existence.

(84) He’s the one with disturbing emotions stilled, without an exception,
The one crossed over the sea of recurring samsara;
He’s the wearer of the crown of the deep awareness empowerment,
Bearer of the Fully Enlightened as adornment.

(85) He’s the one stilled of the suffering of the three kinds of suffering,
The one with an endless ending of the three,
having gone to the liberation of the three;
He’s the one definitely freed from all obscurations,
The one who abides in space-like equality.

(86) He’s the one past the stains of all disturbing emotions,
The one understanding the three times as non-time;
He’s the great (naga) chief for all limited beings,
The crown of those wearing the crown of good qualities.

(87) Definitely freed from all (residue) bodies,
He’s the one well established in the track of the sky;
Bearer of a great wish-fulfilling gem,
He’s master of the all-pervasive, ultimate of all jewels.

(88) He’s the great and bounteous wish-granting tree,
The superlative great vase of excellence;
The agent fulfilling the aims of all limited beings,
the wisher of benefit,
He’s the one with parental affection toward limited beings.

(89) He’s the knower of what’s wholesome and what’s unwholesome,
the knower of timing,
The knower of the close bond, the keeper of the close bond,
the master of the all-pervasive;
He’s the knower of the faculties of limited beings,
the knower of the occasion,
The one skilled in the three (kinds of) liberation.

(90) He’s the possessor of good qualities, the knower of good qualities,
the knower of the Dharma,
The auspicious one, the source of what’s auspicious,
He’s the auspiciousness of everything auspicious,
The one with the auspicious sign of renown,
the famous, constructive one.

(91) He’s the great breath, the great festival,
The great joy, the great pleasure,
The show of respect, the one showing respect, the prosperous one,
The supremely joyous, the master of fame, the glorious one.

(92) Possessor of the best, he’s the provider of the best,
the most preeminent,
Suitable for refuge, he’s the superlative refuge,
The very best foe of the great frightful things,
The eliminator of what’s frightful, without an exception.

(93) Wearing his hair in a bun, he’s the one with a bun of hair,
Wearing his hair in mats, he’s the one having matted locks,
He’s the one draped with a munja-grass sacred cord,
the one wearing a crown,
The one with five faces, five buns of hair,
And five knotted locks, (each) crowned with a bloom.

(94) He’s the one maintaining great taming behavior,
the one with shaved head,
The one with celibate Brahma(-like) conduct,
the one with superlative taming behavior,
The one with great trials, the one who’s completed the trials,
The one who’s taken ablution, the foremost, Gautama.

(95) He’s a brahmin, a Brahma, the knower of Brahma,
The possessor of a Brahma-nirvana attainment;
The liberated one, he’s liberation,
the one with the body of full liberation,
The fully liberated one, the peaceful one, the state of peace.

(96) He’s nirvana release, the one with peace,
the one released in nirvana,
He’s the one most definitely delivered and nearly (brought to an end),
The one who’s completed bringing to an end pleasure and pain,
The one with detachment, the one with (residue) body consumed.

(97) He’s the invincible one, the incomparable one,
The unmanifest one, the one not appearing,
the one with no sign that would make him seen,
The unchanging, the all-going, the all-pervasive,
The subtle, the untainted, the seedless.

(98) He’s the one without a speck of dust, dustless, stainless,
With faults disgorged, the one without sickness;
He’s the wide-awake one, by identity-nature, the Fully Enlightened,
The Omniscient One, the superb knower of all.

(99) Beyond the nature of partitioning primary consciousness,
He’s deep awareness, bearer of the form of nonduality;
He’s the one without conceptual thought,
spontaneously accomplishing (without any effort),
The one enacting the enlightening deeds of the Buddhas
throughout the three times.

(100) He’s the Buddha, the one without a beginning or end,
The (beginning) primordial Adibuddha, the one without precedent;
The singular eye of deep awareness, the one with no stains,
Deep awareness embodied, he’s the One Thusly Gone.

(101) He’s the powerful lord of speech, the magnificent speaker,
The supreme being among speakers, the ruler of speakers,
The best of those speaking, the very best one,
The lion of speakers, inconquerable by others.

(102) Seeing all around, he’s supreme joy itself,
With a garland of brilliance, beautiful to behold;
He’s the magnificent light, the blazing one (Vishnu, beloved of Shri,)
the curl at the heart,
The illuminator with hands (that are rays) of blazing light.

(103) The best of the great physicians, he’s the most preeminent one,
The unsurpassed remover of (thorny) pains;
He’s the celestial tree of all medications, with none left out,
The great nemesis of the sicknesses of disturbing emotions.

(104) He’s the beauty mark of the world’s three planes, the lovely one,
The glorious one, with a mandala of lunar and zodiac constellation stars;
He’s the one extending to the ends of space in the ten directions,
The great ascending of the banner of Dharma.

(105) He’s the unique extension of an umbrella
over the wandering world,
With his mandala circle of love and compassion;
He’s the glorious one, the Powerful Lord of the Lotus Dance,
Great master of the all-pervasive, the one with an umbrella of precious gems.

(106) He’s the great king of all the Buddhas,
Holder of the embodiments of all the Buddhas,
Great yoga of all the Buddhas,
Unique teaching of all the Buddhas.

(107) He’s the glory of the empowerment of the vajra jewel,
Powerful lord of the sovereigns of all jewels;
Master of all (Lokeshvaras,) the powerful lords of the world,
He’s the sovereign of all (Vajradharas,) the holders of the vajra.

(108) He’s the great mind of all Buddhas,
The one that is present in the mind of all Buddhas;
He’s the great enlightening body of all Buddhas,
He’s the beautiful speech (Sarasvati) of all Buddhas.

(109) He’s the vajra sun, the great illuminator,
The vajra moon, the stainless light;
He’s great desire, the one that begins with non-desire,
Blazing light of various colors.

(110) He’s the vajra posture of the Fully Enlightened,
The bearer of the Dharma, the concert of the Buddhas;
He’s the glorious one, the one that’s born from the lotus of the Buddhas,
The keeper of the treasure of omniscient deep awareness.

(111) He's the bearer of diverse illusions, he's the king;
He's the bearer of Buddhas' pure awareness mantras,
he's the great one;
He's the vajra sharp, the great sword,
The supreme syllable, totally pure.

(112) He’s the Great Vehicle (Mahayana), the cutter of suffering,
He’s the great weapon, Vajra Dharma;
He’s (Jinajik,) the triumph of the triumphant, vajra profound,
He’s vajra intelligence, the knower of things and how they exist.

(113) He’s the perfected state of every far-reaching attitude,
The wearer of all (bhumi) levels of mind as adornment;
He’s the lack of a true identity-nature of totally pure existent things,
He’s correct deep awareness, the core light of the moon.

(114) He’s great diligence (applied), Illusion’s Net,
Sovereign of all tantras, the one that’s superb;
He’s the possessor of vajra (postures and) seats, without an exception,
He’s the bearer of enlightening bodies of deep awareness,
without an exception.

(115) He’s the all-around excellent (Samanta-bhadra),
he’s excellent intelligence,
He’s the womb of the earth (Kshiti-garbha),
the support of the wandering world;
He’s the great womb of all of the Buddhas,
The bearer of a circle of assorted emanations.

(116) He’s the supreme self-nature of all functional phenomena,
The bearer of the self-nature of all functional phenomena;
He’s the non-arising existent, with purposes diverse,
The bearer of the nature of all existent things.

(117) Great discriminating awareness in a single moment,
He’s the bearer of comprehension of all existent things;
The clear realization of all existent things,
He’s the able sage, with foremost intelligence,
the endpoint of that which is perfectly so.

(118) He’s the immovable one, extremely pure, by identity-nature,
The bearer of the purified state of the Perfect, Fully Enlightened Ones;
He’s the one having bare cognition of all Buddhas,
The flame of deep awareness, the excellent clear light.
Twenty-four Verses on Equalizing Deep Awareness

(119) He’s the fulfiller of wished-for aims, he’s superb,
The one totally purifying all of the worse rebirth states;
He’s the ultimate of all limited beings, the guardian,
The complete liberator of all limited beings.

(120) He’s the hero in the battle with disturbing emotions,
the unique one,
The slayer of the insolent arrogance of the enemy “unawareness”;
He’s intelligence, bearer of an enamored tone, the one with glory,
Bearer of forms with heroic and disdainful tones.

(121) He’s the one pounding with a hundred clubs in his hands,
He’s the dancer with a pounding-down of his feet;
He’s the one with glory, the user of a hundred (user) hands,
The dancer across (the sectors used in) the expanse of the sky.

(122) He’s the one standing on the surface of the mandala of the earth,
Pressing down on the surface with a single foot;
He’s the one standing on the nail of his large toe,
Pressing down on the tip of Brahma’s (egg-like) world.

(123) He’s the singular item,
the item regarding phenomena that’s nondual,
He’s the deepest (truth) item, (the imperishable powerful lord,)
the one that lacks what’s fearful;
He’s the item with a variety of revealing forms,
The one that has a continuity
of mind and of partitioning consciousness.

(124) He’s joyful awareness of existent things, without an exception,
He’s joyful awareness of voidness, the highest intelligence;
The one gone beyond the longing desires, and the likes,
of compulsive existence,
He’s great joyful awareness regarding the three (planes of)
compulsive existence.

(125) He’s the pure white one – a brilliant white cloud,
With beautiful light – beams of the autumn moon,
With an exquisite (face) – the mandala orb of a (youthful) sun,
With light from his nails – a great (passionate) red.

(126) With sapphire-blue hair knotted on top,
And wearing a great sapphire on top of his locks,
He’s the glorious one with the radiant luster of a magnificent gem,
Having as jewelry emanations of Buddha.

(127) He’s the shaker of spheres of hundreds of worlds,
The one with great force with his extraphysical powerful legs;
He’s the holder of the great (state of) mindfulness
as well as the facts of reality,
He’s the ruler of the absorbed concentrations
of the four types of mindfulness states.

(128) He’s the fragrance of the love-blossoms on the branches
(leading) to a purified state,
(The cream atop) the ocean of good qualities of the Thusly Gone Ones;
He’s the one knowing the mode of travel
with the eightfold pathway minds,
The one knowing the pathway mind of the Perfect, Fully Enlightened.

(129) He’s the one having great adherence to all limited beings,
But without having adherence, like the sky;
He’s the one entering the minds of all limited beings,
Having speed in accord with the minds of all limited beings.

(130) He’s the one with awareness of the powers
and objects of all limited beings,
The one who captures the hearts of all limited beings;
He’s the one with awareness of the items and reality
of the five aggregate factors,
The one who holds the full purity of the five aggregate factors.

(131) He’s the one standing at the end of every definite deliverance,
The one who’s skilled in that which brings every definite deliverance;
He’s the one standing on the path for every definite deliverance,
The one who’s indicating every definite deliverance.

(132) He’s the one who’s uprooted compulsive existence
with its twelvefold links,
The holder of their purification having twelvefold aspects;
Having the aspect of the mode of travel of the fourfold truths,
He’s the holder of the realization of the eightfold awareness.

(133) He’s the points of truth in twelvefold aspects,
The knower of reality in sixteen aspects,
The Fully Enlightened through twenty aspects,
The Enlightened Buddha, the superb knower of all.

(134) He’s the one making knowable millions
Of enlightening emanation bodies of innumerable Buddhas;
He’s the clear realization of everything in a moment,
The knower of the objects of all moments of mind.

(135) He’s the skillful means of the modes of travel
of the various vehicles of mind,
The one who makes knowable the aims of the wandering world;
He’s the one who’s definitely delivered threefold,
through the vehicles of mind,
The one who’s established as the fruit of (Ekayana,)
the single vehicle of mind.

(136) He’s the identity-nature totally pure of the spheres
of disturbing emotions,
He’s the depleter of the spheres of karma;
He’s the one who has fully crossed over the ocean of currents,
The one who’s emerged from the wilderness by means of the yogas.

(137) He’s the one fully rid of the disturbing emotions,
the auxiliary disturbing emotions,
And the general disturbing emotions, together with (all) their habits;
He’s discriminating awareness and great compassion as skillful means,
The one fulfilling the aims of the wandering world,
meaningfully (without fail).

(138) He’s the one with objects of all conceptual discernment
gotten rid of,
The one with objects of partitioning consciousness brought to a halt;
He’s the cognitive object (in reference to) the minds of all limited beings,
The one that abides in the minds of all limited beings.

(139) He’s the innermost stand of the minds of all limited beings,
The one who’s passing as the equality of their minds;
He’s the one bringing satisfaction to the minds of all limited beings,
He’s the joy of the mind of all limited beings.

(140) He’s the culminating point of actualization,
the one with confusion departed,
He’s the one with every mistake dispelled;
He’s intelligence not indecisively wavering, the one that is threefold,
The one (fulfilling) everyone’s aims,
with an identity-nature of three constituents.

(141) He’s the object (in reference to) the five aggregate factors,
the one throughout the three times,
The one that makes things individually knowable in every instant;
He’s the one with manifest total enlightenment in an instant,
The bearer of all the Buddhas’ self-nature.

(142) He’s the one with an enlightening body that’s incorporeal,
the foremost of enlightening bodies,
The one that makes knowable millions of enlightening bodies;
He’s the one exhibiting everywhere a variety of forms,
He’s the great gem, (Ratnaketu,) the crowning jewel.
Fifteen Verses on the Accomplishing Deep Awareness

(143) He’s the one to be realized by all the Fully Enlightened,
He’s the purified state of a Buddha, the peerless;
He’s the one that isn’t a syllable, the one comes forth
from hidden mantra’s womb,
The triad of families of great hidden mantra.

(144) He’s the creator of every significance of hidden mantra,
He’s the great creative energy-drop, that which isn’t a syllable;
He’s the great void, having five syllables,
And the creative-drop void, having six syllables.

(145) He’s the possessor of all aspects, that which hasn’t an aspect,
He’s the bearer of the sixteen creative drops, and half of their half;
He’s the one without phases, beyond count,
Holder of the peak of the fourth level of mental stability.

(146) He’s the advanced awareness of the phases of all levels
of mental stability,
The knower of the families and castes of absorbed concentration;
He’s the one with the enlightening body of absorbed concentration,
the foremost of the enlightening bodies,
The ruler of all (Sambhogakaya,) Enlightening Bodies of Full Use.

(147) He’s the one with a (Nirmanakaya,)
Enlightening Body of Emanations,
the foremost of the enlightening bodies,
Holder of the lineage of Buddha’s emanations;
He’s the one issuing forth various emanations in the ten directions,
The one fulfilling the aims of the wandering world,
whatever they may be.

(148) He’s the chief of the deities, the deity over the deities,
The chief of the gods, the overlord of the (devilish) non-gods,
The chief of the immortals, the guru of the gods,
The destroyer, and the powerful lord of the destroyers.

(149) He’s the one with the wilderness of compulsive existence
crossed over,
The unique indicator, the guru for the wandering world;
He’s renowned throughout the world’s ten directions,
The master of generous giving of the Dharma, the great one.

(150) Armored with the armor of love,
Coated with a coat-of-mail of compassion,
Wielder of a sword of discriminating awareness and a bow and arrow,
He’s the one who finishes the battle against disturbing emotions
and unawareness.

(151) He’s the heroic one, enemy of the (mara) demonic forces,
subduer of the maras,
The one who brings fear of the four maras to an end;
Defeater of the military forces of all maras,
He’s the Fully Enlightened, the leader of the world.

(152) He’s the one worthy of offerings, worthy of praise,
the one for prostration,
Worthy of (being honored) forever in paintings,
Worthy of shows of respect, most worthy of veneration,
Worthy for homage, the highest guru.

(153) He’s the one traversing the world’s three planes in a single stride,
The one striding forth endlessly, just like space;
He’s the one with triple knowledge, (proficiency in the sacred,)
clean and pure,
Possessor of the six types of heightened awareness
and the six types of close mindfulness.

(154) He’s a bodhisattva, a great-minded (mahasattva),
The one with great extraphysical powers,
the one gone beyond the world;
(Situated) at the endpoint of far-reaching discriminating awareness
(prajnaparamita),
He’s the one who’s come to reality through discriminating awareness.

(155) He’s the one with all knowledge of self
and knowledge of others,
Helpful to all, the foremost person (of all);
He’s the one who’s gone beyond all comparison,
The superb sovereign of knowing and what’s to be known.

(156) He’s the master of generous giving of Dharma,
the most preeminent,
The one who shows the meaning of the fourfold (mudra) seals;
He’s the one most fitting to be helped and shown respect by the worldly
And by those traversing the three (pathways of) definite deliverance.

(157) He’s the purity and glory of the deepest truth,
The portion of excellence of the world’s three planes, the great one;
The one bringing all enrichments, the one having glory,
He’s Manjushri, (the lovely and glorious,)
supreme among those possessing glory.
Five Verses on the Deep Awareness of the Five Thusly Gone Ones

(158) Homage to you, granter of the best (boon), the foremost vajra;
Homage to you, the endpoint of what’s perfectly so;
Homage to you, the womb of voidness;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ purified state.

(159) Homage to you, the Buddhas’ attachment;
Homage to you, the Buddha’s desire;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ enjoyment;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ play.

(160) Homage to you, the Buddhas’ smile;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ (shining) laugh;
Homage to you, the Buddha’s speech;
Homage to you, the Buddha’s (state of) mind.

(161) Homage to you, rising from non-true existence;
Homage to you, arising from the Buddhas;
Homage to you, rising from space;
Homage to you, arising from deep awareness.

(162) Homage to you, illusion’s net;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ dancer;
Homage to you, everything for everyone;
Homage to you, enlightening body of deep awareness.
The Mantras

Om sarva dharma ‘bhava svabhava,
vishuddha vajra chakshu, a a am a:

Om – the total purity of all existents,
By self-nature, non-truly existent,
Through the vajra eye – a a am a:

Prakrti parishuddha:
sarvadharma yad uta
sarvatathagata jnanakaya
manjushri parishuddhitam
upadayeti

That which is the completely pure nature
Of all existents takes the form, indeed,
Of the completely purified Manjushri,
The enlightening body of deep awareness
of all Thusly Gone

A a: sarvatathagata hrdayam
hara hara om hum hri:
bhagavan jnanamurti
vagishvara mahapacha
sarvadharma gaganamala
suparishuddha dharmadhatu
jnanagarbha a:

A a: – the heart of all the Thusly Gone,
Take out, take out – om hum hri:
Vanquishing master surpassing all, embodied deep awareness,
Powerful lord of speech, the great one who ripens,
The complete total purity of all the existents, stainless like space,
Womb of deep awareness of the sphere of reality – a:

Five Verses as an Epilogue

(163) Then the glorious Holder of the Vajra,
Joyful and delighted, with palms pressed together,
Bowing to the Guardian, the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
The Thusly Gone One, the Fully Enlightened,

(164) Together with the other guardians of many (varied) sorts,
Lords of the hidden, Vajrapanis,
Kings of the furious,
Loudly proclaimed these words of praise,

(165) “We rejoice, O Guardian,
Excellent, excellent, well said.
For us, the great (guardian) aim has (now) been fulfilled,
The attainment of a perfect, full enlightenment state;

(166) And for the wandering world also, lacking a guardian,
Wishing for the fruit of complete liberation,
This excellent and pure pathway mind has been shown,
The mode of travel of Illusion’s Net.

(167) This cognitive object indeed of the Buddhas,
Having a profound and extensive broad scope,
The great aim, fulfilling the aims of the wandering world,
Has been expounded by the Perfect, Fully Enlightened One.”

A Concert of the Deepest Truth Names of the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All, the Deep Awareness Being Manjushri, expounded by the Vanquishing Master, the Thusly Gone One, Shakyamuni, is hereby completed.

[ end ]

posted in Non-secular Buddhism - 0 replies

Sam Harris and Stephen Batchelor

cornel — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:47:03 GMT

Since this tribe is called "non-secular buddhism" I was wondering if there had been any discussion about the writings of Sam Harris and Stephen Batchelor - both of whom advocate, in my opinion, an extreme form of "secular buddhism".

I am not particular interested in "trashing" Batchelor or Harris - although if one actually reads what they say, they engage in extensive "trashing" themselves. But what I am interested in is how their writings can be effectively rebutted - preferably in as positive a way as possible. I do believe that there is nothing wrong with voicing disagreement and even engaging in vigorous debate.

My own take on Harris and Batchelor is that they both make wild leaps of logic when they lump ALL religions and ALL religious ideas and ALL religious people together in the same category as the 9/11 hijackers. A case in point is a recent speech by Sam Harris at the Aspen institute in which he uses Mel Gibson as epitomizing Christianty, and Bin Laden as epitomizing Islam. Harris also talks about Buddhism and Hinduism - but when he does he focuses on Sathya Said Baba and the claims of his followers to have witnessed "miracles". I don't know that much about Sai Baba - but I really object to Harris use of Sai Baba's supposed "miracles" as the ONLY example of Asian religions that he uses! Actually I am only about a third of the way through watching the speech online (see links below) - so maybe Harris will redeem himself later on - but from other things I have read by him I doubt it.

Harris' speech:
from the Aspen Institute website: http://www.aifestival.org/index2.php?menu=3&sub=1&title=172&action=full_info
from youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1LWv6JqRMA&mode=related&search=

posted in Non-secular Buddhism - 31 replies

Re: Paganism and Suicide : the classical Buddhist teaching

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:10:44 GMT

From tribe pagan
Re: Paganism and Suicide : the classical Buddhist teaching

Re Mama Gaea's question:
"According to your personal beliefs, what do you think happens if one were to commit suicide? "

It's not about my "personal" beliefs. As an individually trained Buddhist guru, I will tell you what the Buddhist teaching makes emphatically clear.

To kill oneself is a form of human murder, and it has unspeakably grave consequences.

Basically, if you commit suicide, you go straight to hell. It is almost impossible to retrieve a consciousness that has committed self-murder.

Try yoga and mantra instead. That would be a needed step and the beginning of a growth cycle.

Free your awareness. Live for that which is highest in yourself and others.

We in the West do not live under the domination or major threat of Communism, Fascism, or Islam, nor under the medieval Catholic Church You have outer and inner freedom here and now, if you will but use it.

K T, dagger priest and medical tantrika

posted in Non-secular Buddhism - 10 replies

Bay Area Buddhism resource

Max — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:15:34 GMT

If you're in the bay area and looking for a Buddhist center or sangha, check out this site:

http://bayareabuddhism.blogspot.com

posted in Non-secular Buddhism - 1 reply

Re Shakti and tantra :- the "goddess power" and "spiritual weaving/ continuity" : A Buddhist perspective

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 23:35:18 GMT

Re Shakti and tantra :- the "goddess power" and "spiritual weaving/ continuity" : A Buddhist perspective

Re Austin ( tribe: dark goddesses ):
". . .Now, I'm someone who doesn't even believe in any real difference between Vedic and Tantric religion, so is it just a "tribal" religion completely unrelated to Vedic or Tantric traditions to you? Or a foreign influence of some kind? I don't get it."

In Buddhist Sanskrit, Tantra has several essential meanings. One is "weaving" or "continuity", as in the integrity or interconnectedness of a yoga method. Related to this is the integrity or interconnectedness of the subtle components ( psychophysical aggregates ) of the human energy system. A deeper meaning is "primordial being" in the specifically Buddhist sense of Dharmakaya, as explicitly taught and practiced in the transmissions of the Great Perfection ( Atiyoga ) and Great Seal ( Mahamudra ).

In practical terms, the basic idea of Buddhist scripture and yoga is this: all beings are inherently pure of limitations and obscurations because all beings are natively one with dharmakaya / primordial purity. This is the foundational meaning or basis of Buddhatantra, Atiyoga and Mahamudra. It has nothing to do with a creator god or externalist kind of shakti religion.

There are quite a few translations of classical scriptures on "dharmakaya/ primordial being" and the Buddhist usages of the term "tantra". Of these, one of the most important is the Uttaratantra, the "Sublime Continuity of the Great Way" Explanatory Scripture. See
"Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra with Commentary by Arya Maitreya (Author)",
Publisher: Snow Lion Publications ( 2000 )
# ISBN-10: 1559391286

"Enhanced with exceptional and informative commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, and with additional explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Buddha Nature is one of the finest, most accessible presentations on the basis and process of enlightenment within Buddhism. A seminal, benchmark publication, no dedicated student of Buddhist enlightenment can omit a careful and reflective reading of Buddha Nature."

This is for Great Way Buddhists a quintessential key to understanding the theory and practice of tantra, Buddha nature and the meaning of realization on the stages of the path ( bodhisattva-bhumi ). It is classical tantra which is not tribal and which is not Hindu, Bonpo, and so forth. So that definitively answers your question.

Having said this, I will turn now to the broader multicultural area which includes both Buddhist and non-Buddhist tantra. In summary, there are diverse streams of tantra, Austin, and these are sometimes interwoven. Examples follow.

1) Sanatana Dharma ( "Hinduism" ) has Shakti cult and devi yoga ( goddess practices ) and tantra woven in.

2) Buddhatantra has shakti cult and devi yoga and tantra woven in.

3) Bon ( pre-Buddhist ) central Asian mysticism has shakti cult and devi yoga and tantra woven in.

4) The 3H0 Sikhs begin their kundalini yoga practice sessions with the evocation "Adi shakti, Adi Shakti namo namo." And some of their sadhanas are claimed to go way way back, to very ancient times. This could be true of their "MAAAA" recitation / asana. The basic point in this respect is that the kundalini yoga parampara, which is a primary and classical shakti cycle of teachings, is very ancient and multiply sourced. This is definitely stated in several of the Kundalini Research Institute publications.

5) Jain dharma has some tantra woven in, but I know little or nothing about it other than historical attestation through their temple imagery.

Therefore it is clear that shakti type practice must be agreed to be trans-religious according to source Indian traditions. It is also clear that there is definite sharing of some of the yogas ( such as Devi mantras and Shiva yogas ) between Hindus and Buddhists, between Hindus and Bonpo, between Buddhists and Bonpos, and more generalized quasi-traditions.

Also we should keep in mind that the Buddhist traditions of internal energy yoga, pranayama and bandha, and devi yoga are INDEPENDENT of the Hindu sources and traditions. The Buddhist teachings and yogas are self-standing and do not depend directly or primarily or even in major usages upon the Hindu theory, practice or culture.

A key example of this is the Buddhist set of teachings known as the Great Perfection, or Atiyoga. This is a vast and powerful set of teachings and yogas which does not in any way derive ( in the Buddhist lineage ) from any Hindu teacher or lineage, nor any Bonpo teacher or lineage.

The Great Perfection / Atiyoga incorporates many fairly standard usages as found in Hindu and Buddhist ritual and tantra, including devi yoga. However, the Great Perfection is not based on shakti per se. The Great Perfection is based on the Breakthrough Precepts of Primordial Purity and Spontaneous Presence, in which appearance and liberating wisdom are co-arising. In Buddhist Sanskrit, the key technical term would be translated as "Primordial And Pervasive", not the same thing as shakti or kundalini yoga or devi worship as in the non-Buddhist schools.

The central deity of this transmission-lineage is Vajrasattva / Vajragarvi: this is the primary deity yoga which is transmitted in the Breakthrough ( dzogchen trekcho ) cycle. This is also the root deity from which manifested Joyous Vajra, the original human teacher of ( Buddhist ) Great Perfection ( in this historical time cycle ). Vajrasattva is not a Hindu deity, and the Bonpo do not use the Hundred Syllable Vajrasattva mantra.

It is a common mistake of Buddhists, Hindus, Bonpos and western "scholars" to think ( i.e. expect ) that Buddhist tantra, Buddhist gods and goddesses, Buddhist practices of internal energy yoga, Buddhist mantras and so forth derive mainly or substantially from non-Buddhist sources.

A key example is that of the Goddess Tara. Yes, Tara is both a Hindu and Buddhist goddess. But the Buddhist scriptures and mantras and deity yogas for Tara do not derive from specifically Hindu sources ( although they definitely overlap in secondary respects ). The Hindu tantras and mantras for Tara have distinctively different archetypes and scriptures.

These are not related to the Buddhist scripture, the "Arya Tare Mantra Mula Stottra Nama Skeri Kawing Shatika Nama" and so forth. This is a fairly common misunderstanding. In fact, there may well be more Buddhist Tara practice in Hinduism than there is Hindu Tara practice in Buddhism.

There are significant areas of overlap between Buddhist tantra and non Buddhist tantra. However, the fundamental principles models and practices of Buddhist soteriology, Buddhist scripture, Buddhist yoga and so forth would work the same whether the non-Buddhist traditions such as the Shiva yogas and Bon cho had ever existed or not. This is true from the basic cycles of teaching on pratimokshayana, the bodhisattvayana, the Buddhatantra, up through and including the quintessential doctrines of Great Perfection / Atiyoga and Great Seal / Mahamudra.

Having given a basic overall view of this topic, I will now recommend two important discussion texts, on Hindu goddess yoga and on Buddhist Great Perfection. Both are by major, recognized gurus.

"Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses (Paperback)"
by David Frawley
ISBN-10: 1878423177

"The Crystal and the Way of Light (Paperback)"
by Namkhai Norbu (Author), John Shane (Editor)
ISBN-10: 0140190848

Together these three texts convey a great deal about tantra, both Hindu and Buddhist, and about the inner mystical approach to yoga. To actually practice tantra requires, classically speaking, a living lineage connection, a set of tantric vows, and a set of yoga practices. These must be integrated into one's sadhana and one's life to become real and effective.

Thus tantra is not based on philosophy and dogma in the religious or intellectual senses of these terms, tantra is based on the transmission and practice of an esoteric yoga in which the person is already divine by nature, and seeks to integrate all aspects of life with a formal internal discipline of awareness and subtle energy which manifests divinity.

K T

posted in Non-secular Buddhism - 0 replies

VAJRASATTVA, a non-secular ( deity yoga ) Buddha . . . with teaching and references ( repost )

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:28:13 GMT

VAJRASATTVA KARMA MANTRA, with teaching and references ( repost )
repost from tribe: teaching yoga

Namaste. Om svasti.

I have uploaded a Sanskrit language text image for Vajrasattva mantra recitation at my tribe home ( "k t" ).

If you do not know about Sanskrit or Buddhist Sanskrit practices, an excellent book is
"Sacred Calligraphy of the East" by John Stevens.

There are online resources for Buddhist mantra in Sanskrit, including
<http://visiblemantra.org/>

Anyway, here is a short, casual teaching on Vajrasattva. I know, I know, it is woefully incomplete. But to actually study this teaching one needs a complete empowerment, a lot of practice, and real instruction from an authentic tantric Buddhist guru, such as commonly come from Tibet and teach in different parts of the West.

This is quite doable. I have received sixty full Vajrasattva empowerments in all different schools. I have not been to India.

Scroll down quite a bit further for several pages of classical tantric teaching. Somebody has to know how this stuff works. Back in India, this is known as "yoga", specifically "guhyamantra yoga".

As one of my many many teachers from Asia once said,
"In the final analysis, all talk is worthless. It is only the exact practice that gives a result."
He also said,
"Dharma eliminates the karma." ( You know, Dharrrrmahhh Heeeleeemeenaaates teee karrrrmmaahhh. )

All my relations! May this benefit all!

K T

Translation of the VAJRASATTVA KARMA MANTRA
( Diamond Being Action Recitation Which Is All-Accomplishing )

". . . Identical to Vajrasattva, the supreme siddhis ( powers ) are perfected in him; he attains the blissful pure land, supreme wisdom becomes his display, and he is an exemplar to gods and men; he is empowered in body speech and mind and whatever he imagines is actualized."
- - from the Thirty First Chapter of the Guhyagarbha tantra, The Chapter on Direct Perception of Vajrasattva

This mantra is quintessential to the foundational practices of Buddhist tantra ( i.e. mystical yoga ), and also is broadly and extensively used at the highest levels of Tantra, up to and including Mahamudra / Great Seal and Atiyoga/ Great Perfection.

The following text and teaching is most sacred.

Vajrasattva is the quintessence of ( all ) the Hundred Families of Buddhist tantra. It is a universal key to all the esoteric Buddhist tantric traditions of India, Tibet, China, and Japan. Vajrasattva practice distinguishes Inner Mahayana / Great Vehicle Buddhism from Outer Mahayana / Great Vehicle Buddhism, for in the latter it is either not found or very hidden.

Vajra has the sense of "indestructible, infinite, immovable, all-encompassing, timeless", ultimate awareness ( jnana ) and skillful means ( prajna ). As one of the Buddha Families it refers either to the Buddha Family of the East, or to the All Encompassing Six Families, i.e. Vajrasattva, the Five Buddha Families plus Vajrasattva.

As a ritual scepter vajra also has the sense of ultimate nobility and royal power, and the union of the Five Buddha Families and the great sacred circles ( mandala ). There are many different kinds of vajra scepters, with one, three, five, or nine prongs, and the vajra is usually part of other tantric implements such as the knife handle and bell handle. It is not realistic to practice Buddhist tantra without both a good vajra scepter and vajra bell: these are required and to be used as part of the tantric commitments.

From a practical perspective, Vajrasattva is one of the most important methods in Buddhist tantra for healing and purification on all levels of Body speech and Mind. ( Of course, no promises can be made for any specific medical condition. ) This includes purification of the practitioner to effectively practice tantra, and also to purify continuing minor infractions and even severely dangerous transgressions of the tantric commitments, which would otherwise be worse than fatal. It also includes psychic heat yoga ( Tibetan: tummo ) and in the Great Perfection full transmission, includes the quintessential precepts of Breakthrough ( dzogchen trekcho mannakde ) for direct liberation of awareness into primordial freedom and purity.

Vajrasattva is also an "All Accomplishing" ( Sanskrit: sarva siddhi ) mantra, as you can see in the translation that follows. Thus, Vajrasattva accomplishes the outer sacred circle magical activities of Purification ( Vajra Family ) , Enrichment ( Ratna Family ), Magnetization ( Padma Family ), and Eliminating Negativity and Obstacles ( Karma Family ). It also accomplishes the primary Great Work of Buddhahood ( Buddha Family or alternatively the Six Great Families, the Five plus Vajrasattva.

The most basic forms of Vajrasattva recitation are these
1) OM VAJRASATTVA AH
2) OM VAJRASATTVA HUM

There is also a basic wrathful form of Vajrasattva known as Vajrapani ( Scepter in Hand ). If one has any major Vajrasattva empowerment, this includes Vajrapani, for which the basic mantra is
HUM VAJRA PHAT
There are also variations of Vajrapani mantra, as Vajrapani is one of the principal angelic guardians ( dharmapalas ) of all the schools of Buddhist tantra across Asia, and also the Shaolin School of Ch'an Buddhist Kung-fu.

There are many images and forms of Vajrasattva, both peaceful and wrathful, and both with and without consort. The consort is for example Vajragarvi ( peaceful ) or Diptacakra ( wrathful consort of Vajrakilaya-Vajrasattva ).

Typically, the Peaceful Vajrasattva is brilliant shimmering transparent clear-white, holding a vajra ( diamond scepter ) in the right hand at the heart, and holding a ghanta ( diamond bell ) in the left hand at the left waist ( bowl up ). This peaceful Vajrasattva may then appear in union with the peaceful consort, or in the heart center of the Ultimate Wrathful Vajrasattva known as Vajrakilaya ( Diamond Dagger ).

As a ritual practice, the seed syllable ( bij mantra ) may be either HUM or AH, and there are other variants as well. The deity is visualized as oneself / an ideal being, atop one's head, and in different forms. So for example, a woman may well see herself as a female Vajrasattva, or as "Reversed Vajrasattva", i.e. as Vajragarvi in tantric union with the masculine aspect Vajrasattva.

Vajrasattva is the source deity of the Great Kalacakra mandala ( sacred circle ), and also the source deity of the Great Perfection ( Atiyoga or "dzogchen" teachings of primordial purity, the most profound, essential, and powerful awareness-yogas of the Early Translation ( Nyingma ) school.

For example, the first human teacher of Atiyoga was Joyous Vajra ( Tibetan : Garab Dorje ), a direct emanation of Vajrasattva. According to the Great Perfection / Atiyoga tradition sourced through Garb Dorje, there are six million four hundred thousand verses of teaching of Vajrasattva and the Great Perfection, of which a worthwhile fraction have been transmitted down to the present day. See for example the following
1) "The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation" ( i.e. the Gyurme Dorje translation and commentary ISBN-10: 0143104942 )
2) "Wellsprings of the Great Perfection", Erik Kunsang
3) many online texts, such as those available from Keith Dowman at
<http://www.keithdowman.net/dzogchen/>
These include
3a) Direct Perception of Vajrasattva ( The text that gave King Dza his enlightenment vision )
3b) The Exalted Spaciousness of Vajrasattva ( Garab Dorje's Source of all Dzogchen Precepts ).

Also, every key empowerment of Great Perfection Break Through ( dzogchen trekcho ), such as the renowned Patrul Rinbochay Tsik Sum Ne Dek ( Striking the Essence in Three Words ) includes the Vajrasattva Hundred Syllable mantra as a key practice. Finally, a greatly wrathful Vajrasattva practice is one of the Three Roots ( primary deity yoga practices of the Nyingma school ), either as Vajrakilaya or as Mahasri Heruka ( the wrathful Samantabhadra-Vajrasattva ).

In addition to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a crucial and comprehensive teaching with many Great Perfection mantras including Vajrasattva as a primary practice , there is also a rare transmission of Guru Padmasambhava as Vajrasattva. This is the Red ( Padma ) Vajrasattva, which would look superficially similar to other Vajrasattva practices but which has a very different structure and orientation. It is a quintessential restricted practice and requires a specific Red Vajrasattva empowerment. Apart from this, all major Nyingma Great Perfection transmissions, such as Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyel, Tara, Vajrakilaya, Troma, Bardo, etc. include a full Vajrasattva.

In the New Schools of Indo-Tibetan Vajrayana ( i.e. the Sarma, including Gelugpa, Sakya, and Kagyu ), the ultimate Buddha realization is embodied in the Dharmakaya ( Primordial Dimension ) Vajradhara ( Diamond Bearer ). This Buddha Vajradhara is the fully realized Vajrasattva, just as Vajrasattva is the ( sambhogakaya / angelic ) Buddha of the Tantric Path. They are two aspects of the same ultimate teaching, which is known as Mahamudra, the Great Seal.

So for example the great renunciate yogi Milarepa, who was Vajra Family in the Five Buddha, accomplished Buddhahood as Vajradhara. Accomplishing the deity Kalacakra-Vajrasattva also brings one to the level of Vajradhara. ( Accomplishing the deity Yamantaka or Hevajra brings one to this same level. There are many tantric paths to universal awareness. This is known as polytheism. )

There are also many variants of the Hundred syllable mantra, as for Tara Karma Mantra, Mahakala Karma Mantra, Yamantaka Karma Mantra the different Heruka Karma Mantra and so forth. I know directly from having received all these transmissions and the corresponding texts. Thus the Hundred Syllable mantra, like the Hindu Gayatri mantra, serves as a core for many or most other practices.

There are also different extensions to this mantra, including that for "Purifying the Six Realms", and other versions. Most of these are sealed by the oath of tantric secrecy, which must be upheld by all initiates. The many variants of the basic mantra can be summarized in these categories:

a) with and without the optional ending seed syllables HUM and PHAT;

b) with different ordering of phrases, such as SUTOSNYO, SUPOSNYO, and ANURAKTO BE BHAVA;

c) via substitutions of different deities ( angels ) in place of Vajrasattva ( N.B.: not a simple substitution );

d) using basic substitutions for different Buddha families ( i.e. replacing each instance of VAJRA with PADMA to focus more on Lotus Family deities such as Avalokita, Hayagriva, etc. );

e) using the Tibetanization of the original Sanskrit recitation, by substituting for example BENZA for VAJRA. This is also effective as mantra. There is a close Chinese variant of the Tibetan form which is in use by four or five million practitioners.

These different permutations and combinations are all classical and valid, not mistakes in the various publications or traditions you may encounter. Nevertheless, the basic form accomplishes all aspects of spiritual purification and realization.

It is typical for committed practitioners of Buddhatantra to complete a commitment of 100,000 recitations of this long Vajrasattva mantra as a basic daily purification ( 21 x daily or 100x daily ) and as a preliminary to major empowerments and to complete many deity practice sessions ( usually 3x per session to mend mistakes ). Some people do basic Vajrasattva purification practice each full moon, others do extensive retreat entirely focused on this deity, such as for Red Vajrasattva.

Once the basic 100,000 long recitations have been completed, it is possible to go further and perform basic mandala activities ( enrichment, etc. ) or perhaps psychic heat practice or Great Perfection practice ( at some point ). Typically the advanced practices will not even begin to work without completing the long recitations first. I have completed 250,000 long Vajrasattva recitations and intend to do more. It is said that in Tibet good tantric practitioners of different schools quite commonly completed 200,000 long recitations, so this is a major practice for basically every serious tantric yogi.

An excellent text on Vajrasattva in New School Indo-Tibetan Vajrayana is
"The Tantric Path of Purification: The Yoga Method of Heruka Vajrasattva"
by Lama Thubten Yeshe, ISBN-10: 0861710207
This specific mantra authorization ( as well as the one given here ) is included in essentially all major New School Tantric empowerments, such as Kalacakra, Cakrasamvara, Hevajra, Vajrayogini, Yamantaka, Milarepa, Mahakala and so forth. However, the Heruka forms also vary between deity yoga lineages, and the Nyingma versions of Vajra Heruka vary as well.

This translation is partially based on that of the great Nyingma scholar / Dzogchen master Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay, and also that of the great Dzogchen master Terton Sogyal Tulku Rinbochay. Khetsun Sangpo has provided an excellent commentary which brilliantly summarizes Vajrasattva practice and all the esoteric preliminary practices from the standpoint of the Old School ( Nyingma ) tradition: see
"Tantric Practice in Nying-ma"
by Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche, ISBN-10: 0937938149

Because Vajrasattva is so important in all schools and all levels of Buddhist tantra, it is quite helpful to have both these books.

The Sanskrit phonetic text following is broken out on a phrase by phrase basis without punctuation. The English interpretation follows between each phrase.

I have provided some clarification and elucidation, mostly within the parenthesized parts.

Translation follows:

> > > Begin Translation > > >

Om vajrasattva samayam anupalaya
Om Vajrasattva ( Diamond Being )! Protect the sacred commitment.

Vajrasattva tvenopatistha
Vajrasattva abide in me.

dridho me bhava
Make me firm.

sutosnyo me bhava
Grant me complete satisfaction.

suposnyo me bhava
Fulfill me ( increase the positive within me ).

anurakto me bhava
Make me compassionate ( or: be loving towards me ).

sarva siddhim me prayaccha
Grant me all siddhi ( powers and attainments, both relative and transcendent ).

sarva-karma su ca me chittam sriyam kuru
Manifest for me all ( noble ) actions. Make my mind wholly virtuous.

"hum"
"hum" ( the bijmantra, the essential vibratory wave-particle of Vajrasattva )

"ha ha ha ha"
"ha ha ha ha" ( the Four Joys, Four Immeasurables, Four Levels of Tantric Empowerment, the Four Dimensions of Sacred Being - Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya, Svabhavivakaya )

"ho"
"ho" ( exclamation of joy at accomplishing these sets of four )

bhagavan sarva-tathagata-vajra
Transcendent Lord who embodies ( or: who is together with ) all the Indestructible Realized Buddhas !

ma me munca
Do not abandon me.

vajri bhava maha-samaya-sattva
Make me indivisible, Great and All Encompassing Pledge Being ( great angel of angels ).

"ah"
"ah" ( release into vast primordial pure wisdom-dimension beyond all limitations and obscurations )

(optional : hum phat! )
(hum phat!) Hum here means manifest great diamond power! Phat! has the sense of strike / cut through all confusion, grasping and negativity! I.e. by prajnopaya, the Union of Wisdom and Skillful Means.

< < < End Translation < < <

Sarva mangalam! Siddhi rastu.

In partial fulfillment of my received responsibilities as vajrayana guru, this was set down one as casual chatter by the inner medical tantrika and dagger priest K T, who is of the Vajrasattva ( Sixth of the Fivefold ) family.

AHHH AHHH

Tistha vajra! Samaya ho!

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Support the Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Burma .. Two Actions You Can Take

kiddhartha — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:11:10 GMT

Buddhist Peace Fellowship Action Alert/News
Two Actions You Can Take to Support the Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Burma

For the last week, thousands of Burmese monks have marched against the repressive Burmese military regime in cities across that nation. They have recently been joined by Buddhist nuns and Burmese citizens. This is the largest public demonstration against the junta in nearly 20 years. Over the past couple of days, the situation is getting more tense as the Myanmar military junta has warned that it is prepared to crack down on the monks at the heart of the protest.

The situation in Burma requires our urgent attention. Your support for the monks and nuns will make a big difference to the people of Burma (Myanmar).

Here are two actions you can take now:

1) Our friends at the Buddhist Channel have initiated a global petition to garner support for the Holy Sangha. Please go to the petition online here http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,4945,0,0,1,0 and follow the instructions given. This page also includes address information for the Myanmar (Burmese) Embassy in a number of countries.

2) Light a candle and place it in your window every night this week, along with a sign in support of the nonviolent protest. Click here to visit our website where you can download a sign that reads "The World is Watching -- Free Burma!"
http://www.bpf.org/html/whats_now/2007/burma_peace.html

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