Brief members bios - please contribute!

Introduce yourself to others at Dharma Wheel.
Sudharma
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Sudharma »

It looks like I'm unusual here in being from England.

I've trained in several traditions - Theravada, Tibetan and Ch'an. I helped run a Theravada group for a few years, but my main practice now is a mix of Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism and analytical psychology, as far as labels can be helpfully attached to any of it. I always found analytical psychology to underlie my Buddhist practice even when I was fairly deeply involved in Theravada.

There are very few Buddhist groups in the surrounding area, and none at all locally, which is why I'm looking online to see if I can re-establish some Buddhist links. I'm still in touch with people I know from years ago, but new people and new perspectives/experiences are always helpful.

I'm a musician, like several people here, it seems.

The name Sudharma was given to me by Venerable Ananda Maitreya Balangoda back in the 1990s.
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Ayu
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Ayu »

Sudharma wrote:It looks like I'm unusual here in being from England.

I've trained in several traditions - Theravada, Tibetan and Ch'an. I helped run a Theravada group for a few years, but my main practice now is a mix of Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism and analytical psychology, as far as labels can be helpfully attached to any of it. I always found analytical psychology to underlie my Buddhist practice even when I was fairly deeply involved in Theravada.

There are very few Buddhist groups in the surrounding area, and none at all locally, which is why I'm looking online to see if I can re-establish some Buddhist links. I'm still in touch with people I know from years ago, but new people and new perspectives/experiences are always helpful.

I'm a musician, like several people here, it seems.

The name Sudharma was given to me by Venerable Ananda Maitreya Balangoda back in the 1990s.
Welcome.
Which instument do you play?
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Lobsang Chojor
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Lobsang Chojor »

Sudharma wrote:It looks like I'm unusual here in being from England.

I've trained in several traditions - Theravada, Tibetan and Ch'an. I helped run a Theravada group for a few years, but my main practice now is a mix of Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism and analytical psychology, as far as labels can be helpfully attached to any of it. I always found analytical psychology to underlie my Buddhist practice even when I was fairly deeply involved in Theravada.

There are very few Buddhist groups in the surrounding area, and none at all locally, which is why I'm looking online to see if I can re-establish some Buddhist links. I'm still in touch with people I know from years ago, but new people and new perspectives/experiences are always helpful.

I'm a musician, like several people here, it seems.

The name Sudharma was given to me by Venerable Ananda Maitreya Balangoda back in the 1990s.
Yes, us English are rare on here :P
"Morality does not become pure unless darkness is dispelled by the light of wisdom"
  • Aryasura, Paramitasamasa 6.5
ༀ་ཨ་ར་པ་ཙ་ན་དྷཱི༔ Oṃ A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhīḥ
Sudharma
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Sudharma »

@ Ayu: I started with classical guitar in the 70s because they were cheap and synthesizers were expensive. I now mostly play keyboards, but I still play guitar (classical and electric), along with a bit of cello, sitar, shakuhachi and whatever else the music needs.

@ Manjushri Fan: Thanks. I'm glad I'm not the only one here.
A Ah Sha Sa Ma Ha
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by A Ah Sha Sa Ma Ha »

MindTheGap wrote: You should write a book!!
Yes...I've been seriously thinking about it lately. The past two days of my life have been mind-shattering...I'll just tell you one thing...when your subconscious (intuition) is trying to tell you something, it will be very subtle for a long time if you ignore it, then it will roar like a lion..and set you free....
Ravonith
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Ravonith »

Hello,

I am new to this site and new to Buddhism.
I wouldn't say I am a Buddhist yet as I have only just taken the first steps, but you have to start somewhere!

I lived in Scotland until I was about 7 and then moved to north wales, I am now attending university and am on a placement year :thumbsup:
I have never really 'fit in' anywhere as I was bullied throughout my childhood and was in a very unhealthy relationship for about a year and a half when I was 18.
My first 'real' experience of happiness was when I reached university (2.5 years ago), but even then I was plagued with my own anxieties, then about 1.5 years ago my mum had her first serious suicide attempts (this happened on multiple occasions throughout the university year and my exams, I live 5 hours away from my family at the moment so each time I received a call saying she could possibly die I knew that I couldn't be there for her).
I had tried meditation before, but I stopped when my anxiety and mild depression reached its peak, looking back that was a reason to continue with meditation but I can't change that now!

Anyway! :focus: long story short is during my exams last year I was so stressed (I had been accepted into a placement and needed a 2:1 in those exams to actually be able to do the placement!), this caused me to have a constant panic attack until I had no choice but to go to the doctor and be put on beta blockers (just to stop the physical symptoms).
After that I spent a lot of time wallowing in self pity and convincing myself that I was not good enough to be at uni or to have gotten this competitive placement. I eventually got over that, but was then so full of hatred for my supervisor that I could do nothing but wish I was home or wish I wasn't there.

I have always been interested in Buddhism (hence the previous meditation attempt!) and have recently found a website that had links to multiple talks on different topics by a Buddhist monk. He worded everything so clearly that I realized that have not been 'living', but i a constant state of resentment (for myself and others), hatred and anger. Reading his words hit me like a tonne of bricks and has completely changed my outlook on life.
I don't feel anything like I did a week ago, I feel so light. I have been in situations that would usually cause me to fill up with resentment and anger, but the anger wasn't there. It felt almost like something was missing, but I think I am now genuinely happy for the first time in as long as I can remember. Although my past isn't the prettiest I now know I wouldn't change one second of it, because without the suffering I wouldn't be who I am today. And I can honestly say I am happy with who I am. :D

Sorry for the huge text post but I just thought I'd share how I came to be on this website and if anyone has any tips for me to further my journey into Buddhism or some meditation techniques you would suggest (I have been practicing daily mindfulness and breathing meditations for almost half a year now) I would love to hear from you! :smile:

I wish you all happiness! :namaste:
JazzIsTvRicky
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by JazzIsTvRicky »

Hello all my Name is Richard H Brown aka JazzIs/JazzisTvRicky. I currently live in LA County CA and have been practicing Buddhism for 35 years. I started my practice as a disciple of Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda in NSA and continued with SGI. I am now practicing independently, but I will visit a Nichiren Shoshu Temple soon to see for myself what the feel is and to try my best to understand what Nichiren meant when he instructed Lay Believers in this way'

"Even an ignorant person can obtain blessings by serving someone who expounds the Lotus Sutra. No matter if he is a demon or an animal, if he proclaims even a single verse or phrase of the Lotus Sutra, you must respect him as you would the Buddha. This is what the sutra means when it says, "Most certainly one should rise and greet him from afar, and respect him in the same way as one does the Buddha." You should respect one another as Shakyamuni Buddha and Taho Buddha did at the ceremony in the Hoto chapter."

"Priest Sammi-bo may be lowly, but since he can explain even a little about the Lotus Sutra, you should respect him as you would the Buddha and ask him about Buddhism. "Rely on the Law and not upon persons" should be your guideline."

"As a layman, the most important thing for you is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo single-mindedly and to provide support for the priests. And if we go by the words of the Lotus Sutra, you should also teach Buddhism to the best of your ability."
The Fourteen Slanders
Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 3

I am a Media Artist, Musical Composer, Mixer, Cinematographer, Photographer, Writer and love of life and the peoples of the world. My current project is writing a movie 'ZipAvenue' which I plan to begin production on May 3 2017 my fathers 101 birthday.

I look forward to full participation here with this wonderful community of Seekers.

Sincerely, JazzIs
A فوتاري أوف ذي غوهونزون أوف نام ميوهو رينج كيو
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Queequeg
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Queequeg »

Welcome, Ricky.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Jeff H
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Jeff H »

Ravonith wrote:Hello,

I am new to this site and new to Buddhism.
I wouldn't say I am a Buddhist yet as I have only just taken the first steps, but you have to start somewhere!

I lived in Scotland until I was about 7 and then moved to north wales, I am now attending university and am on a placement year :thumbsup:
I have never really 'fit in' anywhere as I was bullied throughout my childhood and was in a very unhealthy relationship for about a year and a half when I was 18.
My first 'real' experience of happiness was when I reached university (2.5 years ago), but even then I was plagued with my own anxieties, then about 1.5 years ago my mum had her first serious suicide attempts (this happened on multiple occasions throughout the university year and my exams, I live 5 hours away from my family at the moment so each time I received a call saying she could possibly die I knew that I couldn't be there for her).
I had tried meditation before, but I stopped when my anxiety and mild depression reached its peak, looking back that was a reason to continue with meditation but I can't change that now!

Anyway! :focus: long story short is during my exams last year I was so stressed (I had been accepted into a placement and needed a 2:1 in those exams to actually be able to do the placement!), this caused me to have a constant panic attack until I had no choice but to go to the doctor and be put on beta blockers (just to stop the physical symptoms).
After that I spent a lot of time wallowing in self pity and convincing myself that I was not good enough to be at uni or to have gotten this competitive placement. I eventually got over that, but was then so full of hatred for my supervisor that I could do nothing but wish I was home or wish I wasn't there.

I have always been interested in Buddhism (hence the previous meditation attempt!) and have recently found a website that had links to multiple talks on different topics by a Buddhist monk. He worded everything so clearly that I realized that have not been 'living', but i a constant state of resentment (for myself and others), hatred and anger. Reading his words hit me like a tonne of bricks and has completely changed my outlook on life.
I don't feel anything like I did a week ago, I feel so light. I have been in situations that would usually cause me to fill up with resentment and anger, but the anger wasn't there. It felt almost like something was missing, but I think I am now genuinely happy for the first time in as long as I can remember. Although my past isn't the prettiest I now know I wouldn't change one second of it, because without the suffering I wouldn't be who I am today. And I can honestly say I am happy with who I am. :D

Sorry for the huge text post but I just thought I'd share how I came to be on this website and if anyone has any tips for me to further my journey into Buddhism or some meditation techniques you would suggest (I have been practicing daily mindfulness and breathing meditations for almost half a year now) I would love to hear from you! :smile:

I wish you all happiness! :namaste:
Hi Ravonith. Sorry no one responded to your post. It’s good to hear you found an online teacher who speaks to you and you have established a meditation practice. IMO, you’re well on your way. I can’t cite it, but I once heard that Buddha said, “All that is necessary is to start on the path and complete it”. Practice and persistence a step at a time.

I’m not experienced enough in Buddhism to give advice, but my personal experience has been that regular meditation and structured study programs work well for me. I don’t know who the teacher you found is or what you can afford but spiritual guidance is very important.

The best way is to try and find a center near you and, if possible, a teacher. That has only partially worked out for me due to where I live, but I found my way to FPMT which offers centers world-wide. On their website you can learn about their modular course called Discovering Buddhism, which could be followed up with their excellent 2-year online course called Foundations of Buddhist Thought, by Geshe Tashi Tsering from Jamyang in London. All of Geshe Tashi’s books for that course are available. Meanwhile, I found A View on Buddhism to be a very accessible and manageable resource for quickly looking up information about Buddhism. Rudy, who created and maintains A View on Buddhism, not too long ago added a section on specific centers and teachers it might be better to avoid (see “Controversy” in the left navigation).

:namaste:
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
FilipinoTianXian
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by FilipinoTianXian »

Hello to all. My name is Master Tian Xian. I did my cultivation alone, and I did it in search of the truth. Since then, I have seen the truth of the world and have gained knowledge of the mysteries of the universe. In regards to Buddhism, I teach Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana combined. I am also a master and teacher of Torah and Kabbalah, therefore I regard myself as "Teacher of Jews and Gentiles." I am a Bodhisattva in first Bhumi. Thank you all. :smile:
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Könchok Thrinley
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

Hello,

I've been reading this forum for several years and registered few months ago, so I could not only read and judge your comments, but also post my own comments and be judged by you. :D

I am 21 years old male and I've been practising under ChNN for four years now. My life is pretty boring. All I like to do is to drink tea, read, meditate and relax. Thankfully I am an university student in Czechia which means I can happily do all of those things without worrying about loans. :twothumbsup:

All I want from life is to live as long as possible since I am a practicioner of the lowest capacity and without much stress.

So that's my contribution. :hi:
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
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Ayu
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Ayu »

Miroku wrote:Hello,

I've been reading this forum for several years and registered few months ago, so I could not only read and judge your comments, but also post my own comments and be judged by you. :D

I am 21 years old male and I've been practising under ChNN for four years now. My life is pretty boring. All I like to do is to drink tea, read, meditate and relax. Thankfully I am an university student in Czechia which means I can happily do all of those things without worrying about loans. :twothumbsup:

All I want from life is to live as long as possible since I am a practicioner of the lowest capacity and without much stress.

So that's my contribution. :hi:
I think, I would like to be a student in Czechia. Sounds convincing: drinking tea, reading books... :twothumbsup:
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Thomas Amundsen
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Thomas Amundsen »

FilipinoTianXian wrote: I am a Bodhisattva in first Bhumi.
In his Guide to the Paths and Stages of the Bodhisattvas, Patrul Rinpoche says this of first stage bodhisattvas:
They are able to:

—enter into and arise from one hundred samādhi meditations in a single instant,

—see one hundred buddhas face to face, and receive their blessings,

—travel to one hundred buddha realms,

—cause one hundred world systems to shake,

—illuminate one hundred world systems,

—bring one hundred beings to complete maturity,

—manifest in one hundred aeons in a single instant,

—know one hundred aeons in the past and

—one hundred aeons in the future,

—open one hundred doors to the Dharma,

—manifest one hundred emanations, and

—for each of these bodies, manifest one hundred attendants.

At this stage, a bodhisattva can take birth as a ruler over Jambudvīpa.
Is this the case for you, Tian Xian?
AlexMcLeod
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by AlexMcLeod »

tomamundsen wrote:Is this the case for you, Tian Xian?
I am not aware of any currently bodhisattva currently living on this human plane that is in the first bhumi as defined above.
Relax! Smile From The Heart!
There is a difference between the Mundane and the Transcendental. If you purposefully confuse them, I will ignore you, you nihilist.
There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force.
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Thomas Amundsen
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Thomas Amundsen »

AlexMcLeod wrote:
tomamundsen wrote:Is this the case for you, Tian Xian?
I am not aware of any currently bodhisattva currently living on this human plane that is in the first bhumi as defined above.
Patrul Rinpoche's quote can be supported by the Avatamsaka Sutra:
Having gone forth, enlightening beings instantly attain a hundred concentrations and see a hundred buddhas and acknowledge their power; they stir a hundred worlds, go to a hundred lands, illumine a hundred worlds, mature a hundred beings, live for a hundred eons, penetrate a hundred eons past and future, contemplate a hundred teachings, and manifest a hundred bodies, each body manifesting a company of a hundred enlightening beings.
The Flower Ornament Scripture, p. 710-711 (Thanks Astus for the citation.)

Doesn't specifically say "first bhumi", but "enlightening beings" would imply that, IMO.
AlexMcLeod
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by AlexMcLeod »

I didn't say that the definition was bad. Just that there are none currently human, alive, and at that exact stage.
Relax! Smile From The Heart!
There is a difference between the Mundane and the Transcendental. If you purposefully confuse them, I will ignore you, you nihilist.
There is no Emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Death, there is the Force.
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Queequeg
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Queequeg »

AlexMcLeod wrote:I didn't say that the definition was bad. Just that there are none currently human, alive, and at that exact stage.
there might be. we're seeking clarification... how wonderful if there is!
:popcorn:
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
FilipinoTianXian
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by FilipinoTianXian »

Patrul Rinpoche's quote can be supported by the Avatamsaka Sutra:

Having gone forth, enlightening beings instantly attain a hundred concentrations and see a hundred buddhas and acknowledge their power; they stir a hundred worlds, go to a hundred lands, illumine a hundred worlds, mature a hundred beings, live for a hundred eons, penetrate a hundred eons past and future, contemplate a hundred teachings, and manifest a hundred bodies, each body manifesting a company of a hundred enlightening beings.
The Avatamsaka Sutra doesn't support it in my opinion. The sutras are already very clear on how to define the 10 bhumis. The above is just a general description of what enlightened beings of different bhumis can do. Also it doesn't necessarily talk about bhumis but about samadhis. I will not explain more as my post may not be approved.
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Caoimhghín
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Caoimhghín »

I actually joined this site without realizing there was an introductory page.

I am Caoimhghín Aindréas, I live in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, and I am a historical musicologist with a specialty in medieval European polyphonic art-song, currently branching out into ethnomusicology. I am studying at York University in Toronto.

As a child, in 2009, I read The Tao of Pooh and decided that I would be a Daoist. My Daoism was highly tenuous at best, and basically purely informed by that book and my own budding orientalism at the time. China and Japan were, for my infant self, an idyllic escape from what I saw as the drudgery of rural Canadian existence in a small Irish Presbyterian town.

As you can imagine, this lead to all sorts of infantile assumptions and misconceptions, both about the world-at-large, and about the traditions of Daoism and Buddhism. Until I was about 14, with a lack of access to the internet or contemporary television, for instance, I believed that China and Japan were still medieval countries, similar to how they were depicted in my three favourite childhood shows of the time, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Samurai X, and Inuyasha.

Boy was I in for a rude but necessary cultural awakening when I realized that the "orient" was full of modernized post-industrial nation-states, and that not every Asian person that existed was a fully Awakened being from an infinitely more enlightened country than Canada, by sole virtue of them being Asian (ah the bizarre beliefs we hold in childhood, reinforced by cultural vacuum).

That is but one particularly amusing episode of my life as a child, but one that is necessary to show my first introduction to Buddhism through Daoism.

After that, during my cynical teenage years I drifted into a very comfortable New Atheism in the tradition of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, then quickly away from it as I learned about the rest of the (sane) atheist community.

It was later on, at age 18, that I started to get interested in Buddhist discourse once more. As embarrassing to admit, it was actually a pop-song setting of the Heart Sutra, written by Inde Ooi that initially sparked my resurgence into Asian religion, this time with a more realistic and less neocolonial grasp of the material.

phpBB [video]


I am a little bit embarrassed that I liked, and still like, the music so much, since this objectively cheesy song is so heavily 80s New Age synth-pop inspired (a musical movement I generally have little affection for), but the most striking thing to me was how emptiness was presented musically, that is, emptiness is presented in the piece, in the same aesthetic vein as love or compassion.

"How can this be?" I wondered at the time, "Emptiness is the void which brings all to despair, that keeps us up at night, afraid of the dark, afraid of ourselves, afraid that this whole world and life is the bitter joke of an angry resentful god. How is it that this woman sings of emptiness in a way that I would sing of love?"

And so began my research into Buddhism.

There are many things in Buddhism that are stumbling blocks to me. I don't necessarily understand why we are reborn, although I understand some mechanistic models of the process. I don't really understand karma, although I know something of how it is "supposed" to work in some limited instances, if it exists. But the journey into Buddhism has been a highly positive experience for me, even if I am still a novice in some of its most "basic" foundational tenants. Learning more about Buddhism has been synonymous with learning more about humanity in general to me, and even if I never end up truly "believing" in Buddhist teaching, I hope to continue this wonderful journey of learning as far as I am able.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
Jeff H
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Re: Brief members bios - please contribute!

Post by Jeff H »

Thanks for posting, Coëmgenu. I always find it interesting to read others' stories. Do you mind if I ask how you pronounce your names?

BTW, I have no musical sophistication, but I very much enjoyed listening to your Heart Sutra song.
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
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