Search found 1261 matches

by Matt J
Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:24 am
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: Awareness: singular, or composite?
Replies: 47
Views: 3155

Re: Awareness: singular, or composite?

It is not existent, for even the buddhas have not seen it. It is not nonexistent, for it’s the basis of all saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. This is not a contradiction; it’s the middle way of unity. May I realize mind’s nature, free from limiting extremes. --- Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra https://www.lotsaw...
by Matt J
Tue Jan 31, 2023 10:51 pm
Forum: Dharma in Everyday Life
Topic: Don't know how to come to terms with chronic illness that is a result of one decision I made that I regret every day
Replies: 17
Views: 1257

Re: Don't know how to come to terms with chronic illness that is a result of one decision I made that I regret every day

I have yet to meet anyone who was able to change the past by thinking and ruminating on it. If you want to improve your today and tomorrow, practice now.
by Matt J
Wed Jan 25, 2023 5:04 pm
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: In Madhyamaka is everything empty, without exception? Or is there something that exists?
Replies: 27
Views: 2425

Re: In Madhyamaka is everything empty, without exception? Or is there something that exists?

Do you think you have a better perspective not only than modern Shentong teachers, such an Thrangu, Tsultrim Gyamtso, Dzoghcen Ponlop, and Tai Situ Rinpoches, but also the past masters such as many of the Karmapas and Jamgon Kongtrul? If so, what enabled you to realize what they all supposedly misse...
by Matt J
Sun Jan 22, 2023 6:30 pm
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: In Madhyamaka is everything empty, without exception? Or is there something that exists?
Replies: 27
Views: 2425

Re: In Madhyamaka is everything empty, without exception? Or is there something that exists?

So, which is it? Is it that there is no such thing as any thing, whatsoever, because all is empty, no exceptions? Or is the Madhyamaka teaching that all things are empty, which points to some transcendent reality? The shentong point of view in my mind is more of a description than a philosophical v...
by Matt J
Fri Jan 20, 2023 5:39 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Few more questions please !
Replies: 20
Views: 1229

Re: Few more questions please !

My advice is to work on the foundations. Until you develop a certain level of discrimination, it will be difficult to tell whether a teacher has attained a certain level of realization of not. You need to build up this discrimination muscle and that is done primarily by taking teachings, contemplati...
by Matt J
Tue Jan 17, 2023 9:02 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Deep-rooted Hindu wants to practice Buddha Dharma esp. Dzogchen
Replies: 37
Views: 4340

Re: Deep-rooted Hindu wants to practice Buddha Dharma esp. Dzogchen

Some thoughts from Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche: For example, those who already have a certain familiarity with Tibetan culture might think that to practice Dzogchen you have to convert to either Buddhism or Bon, because Dzogchen has been spread through these two religious traditions. This shows how limit...
by Matt J
Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:21 pm
Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
Topic: Asa HershoffS Vajrayana "Inside Scoop"
Replies: 76
Views: 7418

Re: Asa HershoffS Vajrayana "Inside Scoop"

I think this is a key point. I've met some people who can do amazing things that I cannot explain, and have demonstrated such on me (which really, is the only way to know if something is authentic or not). However, I did not seriously pursue any of those teachings for this very reason: they often ap...
by Matt J
Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:25 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Rtog pa - subtle cognition?
Replies: 220
Views: 12275

Re: Rtog pa - subtle cognition?

Lama Lena is quirky, but generally in line with YMR in my experience. I currently have an authentic Dzogchen teacher who has been a practitioner for more than 50 years and who has been a holder of the Nyingma lineage for many years. This teacher studied in India with a Tibetan master for 40 years. T...
by Matt J
Wed Dec 14, 2022 6:37 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Rtog pa - subtle cognition?
Replies: 220
Views: 12275

Re: Rtog pa - subtle cognition?

I disagree with this, and not based on anything I've read, but from long instruction from my teachers, primarily Mingyur Rinpoche (who I have no issue with naming). His take: To cultivate the recognition of natural mind, one can hold the gap between first and second thought. But if you wait for the ...
by Matt J
Fri Dec 09, 2022 6:10 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Rtog pa - subtle cognition?
Replies: 220
Views: 12275

Re: Rtog pa - subtle cognition?

The notion that one must develop and maintain a thought free state is an error in this context. Thoughts tend to subside in the higher jhanas, but that is not the practice. I say this because I was caught in this snare for a period of time. For example, other Patrul Rinpoche quotes: Some ‘great medi...
by Matt J
Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:56 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Yoga of the Crown Dzogchen
Replies: 2
Views: 803

Yoga of the Crown Dzogchen

There are a few pith instructions I often come back to. Two of them are termas discovered by Nyangral Nyima Özer. 1. The Pointing Out of the Staff https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/nyang-ral-nyima-ozer/pointing-the-staff 2. The Pointing Out of the Old Lady https://gardrolma.org/wp-content...
by Matt J
Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:15 am
Forum: Mahāyāna Buddhism
Topic: how many years does it take you to understand the practice?
Replies: 28
Views: 2001

Re: how many years does it take you to understand the practice?

The basic practice is fairly easy to understand: pay attention, don't cling. The problem is mastery. Things that help speed up: the so-called common preliminaries and meditation retreats. how many years does it take you to understand the practice? wondered. and if you don't mind what are the tips th...
by Matt J
Mon Nov 14, 2022 1:21 am
Forum: Dharma in Everyday Life
Topic: What time of day do you meditate?
Replies: 20
Views: 1499

Re: What time of day do you meditate?

I would still sit when you wake up in the morning. If you're groggy, sit groggy. There is no perfect time to meditate. There are always 100,000 reasons not to meditate. If you can't do a longer time, do a shorter time. Try to sit the same time every day, and eventually it will become a habit.
by Matt J
Fri Nov 11, 2022 11:00 pm
Forum: Meditation
Topic: Meditation for Anxiety
Replies: 7
Views: 1341

Re: Meditation for Anxiety

I highly recommend this course: https://fullybeing.org/

It includes both mental and physical practices, aligning very well with CBT.

Also, this person. Very Buddhist congruent: https://theanxioustruth.com/, especially the Learn To Tolerate Fear & Discomfort.
by Matt J
Fri Nov 11, 2022 7:09 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Aphantasia & Dzogchen / tantric practices
Replies: 508
Views: 25228

Re: Aphantasia & Dzogchen / tantric practices

That is not so difficult--- based on what ChNNR is stating, it is just a matter of an individual reaching an expanded state of consciousness. Since this can include other mindstreams, in theory a Buddha that achieves some sort of universal omniscience would be a sentient being who achieved a very ex...
by Matt J
Fri Nov 11, 2022 1:55 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Rigpa is conditioned?
Replies: 20
Views: 2123

Re: Rigpa is conditioned?

Have you checked out his teacher? https://medium.com/know-thyself-heal-thyself/what-i-learned-from-being-kicked-out-of-a-twim-meditation-retreat-9c9133542e5f During your few minutes with the monk, you get questioned. Did you have any meditative joy come up? Great, you are in the second jhana. Did yo...
by Matt J
Thu Nov 10, 2022 10:43 pm
Forum: Dzogchen
Topic: Aphantasia & Dzogchen / tantric practices
Replies: 508
Views: 25228

Re: Aphantasia & Dzogchen / tantric practices

So what fences off, bounds, or separates buddhanature then? And what about all these cosmic Buddhas we hear about?
Malcolm wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 10:11 pm So yes, personal, since buddhanature isn't transpersonal nor is it an atman.
by Matt J
Thu Nov 10, 2022 5:32 pm
Forum: Dharma in Everyday Life
Topic: "Career Opportunities" Related to Dhamma
Replies: 13
Views: 872

Re: "Career Opportunities" Related to Dhamma

That never ends. The desire for more, better, happier--- this is samsara. Essentially, for much of the world, what you describe is on par with a heavenly realm already. Sometimes the desire for novelty is so strong that we fail to see what we have an see if we are even maximizing our practice in our...

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