Holy Trinity as Our Own Identity

 

Holy Trinity as Our Own Identity

Since 37 years ago I have studied Eastern methods and practices. For over 20 years I have spent my life in full time practice and the past 15 years teaching professionally. I have understood and figured out everything there is to know about buddhist and hindu practices and paths and none of it is no longer a mystery to me.

Recently I have felt the calling of God, not christianity but God and the Holy Trinity. I feel and hear this calling because just like buddhism and hinduism there is much mistaken in christianity that has spread into people's minds and lives with the outcome that they don't really get relief and spiritual benefits from the christian religion.

I know it from my own experience. I was baptized into orthodox christian church as a baby, went to church as a child, went to literally at 14 and discussed the doubts and questions I had about life and existence with priests, church workers and teachers of religion but was left with same doubts, and actually even added contradiction because of the way some priests talked about God and Jesus. Those unanswered questions and contradicted atmosphere lead me to look into Eastern ways and so I have spent my life practicing.

Through those years of studying and practicing buddhism and hinduism, and becoming more and more awake, I intuitively understood that Jesus was a yogi and that he has been greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted for the past two thousand years. I learned from some fine works from christian contemplatives, supported by my own experience of yogic meditation, that there are basic mistakes in the way christianity and its practices are presented and taught. This is the main problem that has created the gap between people and church and thus also between people and God and Jesus which is greatly regrettable. Because of this people, whole nations and cultures, have lost the light of their very own life and being so disillusioned about religion they want nothing to do with it. This is only understandable to me because the way how God, Jesus and prayer is taught feels so wrong.

About the Holy Trinity

God is the spirit in all beings. God is the spirit which is always pure and good. God is our own heart and soul. There is no God sitting somewhere on the clouds commanding people to eternal damnation and hellfire. God neither judges us. God is the pure good in everyone of us. This is no different what awakened nature or buddhanature is. God is purity, love and utter kindness in us. If you asked me to choose a pronoun for God, I'd call Him "He". From analytical perspective when you pray to God and feel Him in your body and bone marrow, He feels exactly the same as the masculine principle and archetypal deities of buddhism and hinduism, namely Samantabhadra (lit. basic goodness) and Shiva. I've spent more than 30 000 hours in meditation analyzing these things so I know, and I teach people practices how they can verify these things for themselves. That's what I've always done.

Holy Spirit is the pure energy of God. When you pray for God to bless, heal or come to you, He himself comes as pure presence but also as Holy Spirit, as pure energy that flushes through your mind and body to shift your energies from confusion and pain to clarity and ease. Holy Spirit is God's active side and if I had to choose a pronoun for Her, it's be "She". Again, the same principle applies to both buddhism and hinduism, through Samantabhadri (lit. feminine basic goodness) and Shakti (lit. feminine power). Alternative way to adress Holy Spirit is to call Her the Divine Mother.

Son of God is embodied by Jesus Christ in the christian doctrine and he is presented as the only one who is the son of God but to think that way is incorrect because all of us has been made in the image of God, meaning that each one of us has the same potential of God, Holy Spirit and Divine Child in us, it just hasn't been tapped yet. Jesus is just one example, one embodied person and a master who tapped His innate potential.

One big problem with christian doctrine that affects countless people of the world is that with its basic views it condemns us to stay deluded and in pain, though it tells us to turn to God. The thing is that the closer one gets to Holy Trinity, the clearer it becomes that the Trinity is in us and is us. Through direct experience we can and need to grow to understand that God and the Trinity are not separate things, that we are not in dualistic position with it. Actually, we can realize and experience without any weird ideas or weird features that the Spirit of God is our very own essence and that there is no separation between oneself and God.

Again, there are very weird views about God that he judges and condemns sinners but we should forget all these and start fresh,accompanied by our first hand experience. Union of oneself with God means that one is no longer bound by the delusional belief of believing oneself as a separately existing entity called "me" or "I" but understands that the original purity, kindness and love which is selfless is what and who God is. It is the selfless pure nature of God that flows through our whole being which is what God and God's nature is.

May the Pure Spirit of God descend on you to show you the light that is in you,

Baba, 2 9 23

Amrita Mandala

 

 

One year as a buddha by Ugi

One year as a buddha by Ugi

It was exactly one year ago - on the 26th of February '22 - when I woke up in the morning and all difference between meditation and everyday life, all separation between awareness and appearances, as well as all sense of "being on my way" to Enlightenment was gone for good. I fully realized my mind to be no other than the mind of Buddha, Shiva or Christ.

 

If it wasn't for the kindness and compassion of my yogic master Amrita Baba (see picture in 1st comment), I would never have tasted the fruit of liberation. Baba was the one who introduced me to the true nature of mind in 2016 and pointed out the innate goodness of boundless compassion (bodhicitta) in me.

 

And it was Baba who taught me the uttermost essential practice of how to directly tune into the mind of enlightenend masters like Guru Rinpoche, Gampopa or Jesus. This enabled me to progress quickly along the path of Liberation without getting stuck in misconceptions about Enlightenment or the common traps along the Path (like pride or doubt). It is to him that all my gratitude and devotion goes on this first anniversary. Thank you forever, my most precious teacher

Why am I writing so openly about this? Because people need to know that the Enlightenment of the Buddhas is not an esoteric fantasy, or an unachievable goal reserved for superhuman beings, or a mystical state that only happens accidentally.

I don't blame anyone for having such views. I also had them. That is because there simply aren't many people around anymore who truly understand - from their own firsthand experience - the inner science of the Dharma, the practice of Liberation. There are many who teach bits and pieces from the Dharma (or simply use the same terminology), but not many who teach it in its full scope. Unfortunately, that's the case in most traditional lineages as well.

For this reason, I find it so important to not keep secret about this. To let people know that the promise of all the enlightened masters is indeed true:

You all possess Buddha/Christ/Shiva nature which is the essence of the very mind that is reading this right now. And because of that, it is possible to become a living a Buddha, a living Christ, in this life-time. With the proper motivation, correct instructions of a master, and the support of a loving sangha, it can be done within a decade even.

If you want to know more about my path, then please watch the following interview where I go into much detail about my journey of Liberation.

And if you want to know more about the teachings of Amrita Baba and the practices that have brought me here, then find more information here:

English website:

www.amritamandala.com

German website (where I'm involved as an instructor):

www.amritamandala.de

May this find you well & May All Beings Be Free!

Much love,

Ugi

https://youtu.be/rmV12A25oEg

Enlightenment is supposed to end suffering, but does it really?

 

Enlightenment is supposed to end suffering, but does it really?

Q: Have anyone experienced a change (for better or worse) in the experience of psychological trauma following attaining a path (SE through to arahant)?
We all know enlightenment is supposed to end suffering, but does it really?
I know Daniel Ingram and Tina Rasmussen mentioned still having ego material, even after enlightenment, which I find disheartening. Maybe I am just overthinking it, but I would love to hear anyones direct experience with this, if you would be willing to share it.

Baba: Hi. It's a really good question that can't be answered in just one or two sentences. I'll explain this in nutshell and link a video that goes into this in more detail.

There are two types of subtle bodies: one made of one kind of channels (commonly known as nadis and chakras) and other made of different type of channels (commonly known as meridians). The meridian system is very closely associated with the physical body to the extent that traditional chinese medicine uses physical acupuncture needless on nonphysical meridian points to heal physical organs. The nadi system on the other hand is farther away from the physical body, though still connected with the body through the meridian system. If we look at these three bodies, the continuum is set like this: physical body, meridian system and nadi system. From grossest to subtlest.

Enlightenment through wisdom insight, as taught in buddhism, takes place in the nadi system and while all the bodies are connected and one event might have effect on all bodies, as a rule, it can be said that even if wisdom insight makes great changes in the nadi system of mind, the meridian system of mind and whatever is stored there can still remain mostly untouched. It's the meridian system that stores traumas (mostly).

If we leave the whole vehicle (skt. yana) discussion out of this and think of buddhists at large through the same lens, this explains (at least in some way) why some teachers who were considered to have been highly realized, acted badly or abusively because of their trauma. If you're solely focused on wisdom insight, most of trauma goes unnoticed and unadressed.

My present understanding of shamatha/calm abiding and jhana/meditative absorption is that they're buddhisms answers to adress the meridian system, though to this day I have not seen a presentation that would discuss them as ways to heal trauma, instead of being presented as concentration practices. I've recently been listening to talks by jhana-teachers and was just about to watch Tina Rasmussen's interview if they present this aspect in her tradition. View and instructions are everything in this art and largely define the results. I know lots of people who practiced shamatha solely from concentration/samadhi perspective that left their traumas pretty much entirely unadressed.

More in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iuNj_zU8A8

Hopefully you find this helpful.

Full healing of trauma

 

Full healing of trauma

(unedited excerpt from my upcoming article Immortality and Internal Arts of China and Japan)

The second category of psychic injury or trauma requires specific tools, specific instructions and endless of patience. If one has been traumatized in childhood and lived with the trauma for decades for it to become embedded with one's moment to moment psyche, it is logical that one can't just pull it out and be done with it just like that. However, I am certain it is possible to heal all and any traumas when the above needs are met.


As a side remark, I have always found it puzzling from the professionals of psychology and psychotherapy that one could learn to live with one's traumas but not heal them or get rid of them entirely. This is understandable from the point of view of their methods but makes no sense in the context of tantric yoga according to which anyone with perfect inner nature can reach and tap that potential in full in a single lifetime. In my ears it sounds exactly like dharma teachers stating that there wouldn't be practices to directly generate awakenings. It might be true from the perspective of the systems and traditions known to them personally but it is mistaken and misleading from the perspective of dharma universally. There are practices to generate awakenings, one after the next and there are practices to heal traumas completely and perfectly. I know this from firsthand experience. In the light of the traumatic history of the mankind it is logical to assume that people of the ancient times, many of who attained lightbody, were traumatized prior to their yogic training and attainments. Returning to the basic state actually heals both the mind and the body. It is real. 

 

Baba, 13 Jan 23 

Asana as Mudra

 

Asana as Mudra

When master yogis, mahasiddhas, go about their daily lives, they naturally manifest the yogic seal (skt. mudra) of the two awakened bodies. These two bodies are; mental body of empty phenomena (skt. dharmakaya) and mental body of playfulness (skt. sambhogakaya). Be it day or night, in peaceful or wrathful circumstances, the minds of mahasiddhas are in perfect harmony and balance. This is the great yogic seal, mahamudra, which entirely concerns nonphysical bodies of man. There is no question about the fact that the foundation of yogic accomplishment is the mind.

In human form, however, seals or mudras can take a further expression of physical postures or asanas. Before delving further into the meaning of asana, the reader should remember that the foundation of all and any type of yogic practice is the nature of mind, in other words, basic wakefulness-kindness-peacefulness. If asana yoga is exercised by practitioners who haven't yet established natural state as their default mode of being and remain in the samsaric state, this needs to be simultaneously adressed during asana yoga by appropriate techniques that enable the practitioner to resume recognition of the two awakened bodies whenever it is lost. Without this, the real meaning of asana as mudra will never be understood as mahasiddhas of the past understood them.

The real meaning of asana is mudra, and the real meaning of mudra is asana. Asanas, regardless of their simplicity or complexity, are physical expressions of the awakened nature of all sentient beings. Also, as is commonly said, asanas are a way to stay healthy and strong. From this perspective we could say that asana yoga is maintenance of our body instrument that we use to live in this world. What is interesting is that contrary to advancement in the yoga of mind*, which is irreversible, one can never achieve a state in physical yoga that would be irreversible. If one doesn't practice asana, be it on yoga mat or in any other form, the condition of the physical body begins to deteriorate.

*purification of mind, advancement in bhumis

Asana as Mudra

A common way that asanas are practiced, is to just do the movements and put one's body into some postures. One tenses, relaxes and stretches the muscles of the body and opens its joints through various applications. From the point of view of keeping the body healthy and strong, this is perfectly sufficient. From the point of view of practicing asana as mudra, however, this is incomplete.

For one to understand what asana as mudra means, one has to meet the following requirements,

1. have recognition of wakeful nature of one's mind

2. feel the spontaneous unification of the wakeful mind and the physical body

3. learn to move the body while recognising the wakeful mind

4. study the alternation of tensing, stretching and relaxing of muscles while recognising the wakeful mind

5. realise that there is no difference between tensing, stretching and relaxing of muscles while recognising the wakeful mind

6. realise that all postures and movements, both in and out the yoga mat, are asana as mudra

I have taught extensively on point 1. how to recognise the wakeful mind so I will simply refer to Pemako-website and youtube, and won't repeat anything here but to introduce this idea, asana as mudra, I will write a bit more on point number two because it is a decisive stage.

Unification of the Wakeful Mind and the Physical Body

All types of yogic physical practices begin from a simple standing posture, known as tadasana or samasthiti. Same is true in Chinese yogic traditions.

The real meaning of tadasana is to have wakeful mind and physical body unified, to study the connection and relation of the two, and to learn to adjust the muscles and joints in a subtle manner that enables staying in this posture for long durations (up to 30 minutes), if so wanted, without any discomfort.

To those who want to practice asanas purely for physical benefits, standing in stationery posture might sound pointless. However, in this stage one makes a wonderful discovery after the other about how the body becomes unified, in the midst of basic wakefulness. One's whole being becomes full of delightful light and subtlest of blisses (skt. sahajananda) often discussed in the writings of mahamudra masters. This stage of learning is demanding because it takes some time and effort to strengthen the internal muscles of the body and consequentially feel unification that can be described as sense of unified relaxed strength, that feels as if the body was weightless.

All right, I think this is enough for now. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. I'm happy to share my understanding of asanas.

KR, 19.1.2022

Universal Dharma with Jesus, Padmasambhava and Krishna

Universal Dharma with Jesus,

Padmasambhava and Krishna

The last couple of days have been interesting to say the least.

I've been meditating some and found out that my memory is perfect. I can remember the smallest details of life events and places anywhere from my past, including past lives. For example, yesterday, as I was seeing my past life as a monk on Mt Koya in Japan, I could vividly remember the atmosphere and the scent of the four seasons. I can remember everything from my body and outlook, to the light of lanterns in the evening, to the footpaths, to the splendour of life itself, how it was back then, and how it is now... I looked at my hands and feet and the reflection of my face. They look different and yet I know it's me, the same man, the same person. A different lifetime, different place, but the same purpose. Also, my ability to visualise has become perfect. It is effortless and entirely without flaws or distractions. What a delight... What a stunning perfume arising from the wild strawberries!

From a bit different perspective, recent days have made me come a full circle, in a sense. I remember countless times as a little boy, sitting on the edge of my bed alone, praying for my family, the villagers and for all living beings. I remember when doing this by myself the room became filled with the radiance of pure light and the air became thick with blessings. Countless times Jesus and other masters* came to soothe and support me. I remember being a small boy, in my small body in the middle of people and circumstances where there was immense heartbreak and pain. My eyes become filled with tears knowing how my masters from past lives kept me afloat, above the surface that I wouldn't become heavy and sink into the depths of pain.

*those of the mahasiddha family

A number of Pemako Sangha members have told me about their meaningful experiences with Jesus recently. Few received healings from him, one devoted buddhist friend made a connection so strong with Jesus that it made him a bit startled, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. To me personally, after hundreds of sessions of guru yoga transmission from him directly, Jesus Christ, is as much a master of dharma as Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra or any other of the mahasiddhas. Historically, Jesus lived in the time when the continent of India, from north to south, to east and west was abound with tantric temples - shakti peethas –, practitioners and masters. And then, after years in India, he brought the gifts of yoga to his home land. The rest is history, unfortunately.

Anyhow, my point was to say that I have made a full circle from my early childhood to this day, understanding the role and importance of Jesus in my personal life as well as in the life of my students, and our dharma work together. As you know I have contemplated Jesus-centered method for several years but it dawned on me now that the solution is not to shift from one master to another. What will be done though is to give JC his own place in the limelight, so to speak, together with Padmasambhava, as well as Krishna, to form a trio who've not only had great impact on me and our sangha but who are also known by the world and who are therefore masters who many can relate and feel close to. Also, as a dharma universalist, I love the fact that having these three masters together – Jesus, Guru Rinpoche and Krishna – who most people regard as ”a christian, buddhist and a hindu”, completely shatters religious dogmatism. And that is what the world needs now.

The history of human spirituality is that no matter how hard they tried to keep the teachings ”original and pure”, they always ended up creating narrow minded dogmatic religions. When our basic nature is that of freedom and free expression, the samsaric mind of men always end up making it a tight cage filled with rules and regulations. It is like the classical saying that the way to hell is paved with good intentions. This is what needs to change because, we, the humanity, can't keep fucking up every given opportunity to bringing true peace and harmony on Earth. We need to learn to distinquish between pragma and dogma, between yoga and religion, between practice and belief, and with the heartmind of clarity and true love, keep shedding unnecessary limitations. The mind of men needs to change from thinking in terms of ”us and them” to ”all of us together”. This is true bodhicitta. This is yoga and only yoga can be a true religion that gives freedom, rather than takes it away! So, I think that our little group, should become an example of this and actively practice guru yoga with Jesus, Padmasambhava and Krishna, all three.

Remember, you are the real deal. You are not less or more than all the buddhas and mahasiddhas of the past, present and future. Potentially, you have the mind, heart and vitality of all the enlightened ones! So, please, for the sake of all beings, crack your coconut, split it in half and let the perfume of natural love spread to your loved ones.

-Kim, 26.10.2021

How Liberation Works?

 

How Liberation Works?

I remember when I first saw Tenzin Palmo's video where she says that even buddha couldn't help people get awakened. It felt like fresh air... that someone would say exactly how it is and not sugarcoat it or talk nonsense.

It is extremely sad that dharma - practices of yoga - is made into a dogmatic religion. I can never accept that but I understand why this happens. Systematically the humanity keeps missing the point which ironically is also a testimony to the ineffectiveness of the practices people are given. So you have all these religious people upholding what they think is the teaching of liberation that actually binds and blinds them, and makes them mean! The next thing to do culturally, now that some sort of ethical foundation has been set by the old religions, is to remove the possibility of dogmatic fixation, so that pragma stops being made into dogma. Then yoga - the science of enlightenment - can truly thrive.

What!? To remove *possibility* of dogmatic fixation!? You got to be joking!!

No, I am not joking!

The problem of bad yoga, or practices that keep the mind in the delusional loop, is that they don't break out from the field of self-delusion. Having glimpses and few insights into selfless nature of mind is good for starters but this is really just an appetizer. In Pemako we have practices and a method that takes us way farther than just few awakenings and in fact all the way to full enlightenment (skt. anuttara samyak sambodhi). We have 5 people in the sangha at present who are "fully enlightened". Five people out of 80, and the number keeps rising higher.

What we have in our sangha is nothing short of a revolution on individual and communal levels. On individual level, this is revolution from the tyranny of the self-based mind leading to perfect liberation. It is freedom from all kinds of fixations, including freedom of religious fixation and dogmatism. At present, because there are 5 people in our community who are completely and permanently out of the loop of self-delusion, the rest of the sangha is positively affected by this, and the number of fully enlightened individuals - mahasiddhas - keeps increasing. Soon there will be 10, then 15 and so on.

The reason why this is the case in Pemako sangha is because we practice the dharma in a pragmatic, not dogmatic, way. We practice the dharma in an open minded and innovative manner just like secular sciences and arts are practiced. And it works! Due to the fact that our practitioners keep breaking out from the shackles of the samsaric mind on *daily* basis, because of our unique and unorthodox set of practices, is the reason why dogmatic fixation, narrow minded thinking, cult behaviour and whatnot that is raging in all religions, dies altogether in this community. Our unsual practices such as dynamic concentration, actually tames our inner demons so they don't germinate and grow into external actions in the world that would break and raise hell in our community. It is indeed exceptional to have a harmonious and peaceful community in this world, and it all boils down to the method that we practice and the fruits that it bears.

When I was a small boy I observed people and couldn't but think how screwed up they were. They were distorting everything and making themselves and others miserable that can all be summed up in two concepts: self-belief and self-delusion. These early observations about the state of people's minds and its effects on communal and societal levels were motivators when I started "the path of enlightenment". To me, practice was always about making the world a better place, the kind of place it would already be if people stopped screwing things up in between their ears!

When I look at how poor is the state of affairs in the world, I cannot but say that the avalanche already seems to be going downhill, rushing towards the bottom of the valley, causing immense destruction on its way. It has come to the point when we are loosing the planet itself and yet most people keep doing the same things as they always did, as if they were hypnotized. Seeing this happen I simply can't sit and do nothing about it.

Those who know me well know how anxious I've been about getting proper functional dharma practices out there, and I'm sure my anxiousness has contributed to theirs but this is the reason why. In Pemako we have perfect medicine, without any harmful side-effects whatsoever, and I am happy to see that it is getting out there but at the same time I fear if the medicine comes too late. The only way to stop that devastating avalanche is to replace the culture built on self-interest with self-liberation that automatically thinks about the benefit of *all of us together*, the wellfare of the planet and life on it included.

These are utopistic words but this is the only way for the world community to attain harmony and peace. Once again, I am not talking about creating a new religion that everyone should join. I am not talking about beliefs to accept and forms to follow. I am talking about internal peace and happiness.

I am talking about realising the fact that everyone in this world is perfect and pure, and free. You, me and everyone you ever met has the same potential for love and freedom as Jesus Christ and all the masters of yoga have. Within us all, there is perfect happiness that when recognised and embodied makes our minds sober which in turn puts an end to self-based confusion and selfish actions and their outcomes. No matter what nonsense religions have fed us, innately we have perfect potential to be really authentic human beings whose hearts are limitless and kindness is real!

But we need practices, we need exercise to realise that. We need a way to uncover, to reveal what at present is kept hidden by our belief in self-based existence. We need tools to break out and these tools I have given for anyone to use.

-Kim, 25.10.2021

Meeting Amma, the Hugging Saint

 

Meeting Amma, the Hugging Saint

Fb memories reminds me that 12 years ago I lived in a private house in Helsinki where Amma, the Hugging Saint, had stayed several times during her visits to Finland. I remember going to this house the first time and it felt like being imported to a different realm, that of incredible joy, clarity and bliss. I lived in that place for few months before going to India to her ashram.

Ah, I another thing I remember from that trip to Amma's ashram is that she gave a blessing to a method of yogic healing that I had learned from my gurus. I gave those yoga healings to clients as my volunteer work there in the ashram. Folks got rid of chronic pains in a single session and so on. Proper stuff.

I used to teach yoga healing too. I've had forms of healing and massage in my life since I was a little boy so all that is very natural to me but as I have focused solely on teaching and practicing tantric yoga for the past 10 years, I just haven't had time to do that. But I definitely want to transmit this art and set of skills to my students. It is a wonderful way to help others, practice active compassion and earn a living all at once.

So, Ammachi... I've spent hundreds if not thousands of hours in her physical presence, since 2003. I've received direct introductions into the nature of mind - darshans - from her from her through hugging countless times both at events and informal situations such as airports and I've sat next to her, literally 1 meter from her, many times until I could not sit no longer. I've had her bless objects to me that changed in energy in few seconds of her attention. I've received a mantra empowerment from her in 2006 and she has given me a spiritual name in 2009. I've had visions of her and I know perfectly well that she is a living and fully enlightened mahasiddha. Unique to her is her motherliness and embodiments of Devi, the Divine Mother. There is no doubt in my mind that she is one of few authentic masters alive in the world today.

I remember one time at her ashram when I went to get a hug from her. I had a shirt on that had a open collar so that part of my tattoos were visible. She started ripping my shirt off to see them better! For a moment I thought I had gotten into a wrestling match with the divine mother! LOL.

Thank you Amma for your compassion and for being there for me and for countless others. Your presence has been an indispensable source of yogic study for me during all these years.

-Kim Ashwin, 12.10.2021 

 

Living Buddhas in Amrita Mandala Sangha (updated 1/2024)

 

Living Buddhas in Amrita Mandala Sangha (updated 1/2024)

Dear Amrita Mandala Sangha and Friends,

Today I have the pleasure to tell you that twenty-one (number updated 4th of January 2024) people has finished their purification process (bhumis 1-10). In other words, these people have reached what in buddhism is known as ”exhaustion of all phenomena”. In other words, they have attained buddhahood*.

*buddhahood and mahasiddhahood are used synonymously in this text. This refers of realising the emptiness of all phenomena, i.e. attaining perfect wakefulness for the sake of all beings.

 

Read more from Buddhas Among Us - Accounts From Westerners Who Attained Full Enlightenment, downloadable for free from our website.

Face to Face with Buddhanature-video in youtube

Thank you for reading.

Blessings of clarity and love to all,

-Baba

 

See also: 

• Claims of Enlightenment Made by Ancient Dzogchen Masters
  
• And Then... Buddhahood Was Attained
• Harvest is At Hand
• Long Cessations: How Buddhahood is Actually Attained
• Claims of Attainment by Jesus, Yuthok and Naropa
• Shakyamuni Buddha Claims to Have Attained Buddhahood
  

 

 

Goals and Goal-orientedness in Pemako buddhist practice

 

Goals and Goal-orientedness in 

Pemako buddhist practice

Every now and then someone sends me a message saying that Pemako practice seems so ”goal-oriented” as if we were aiming for some special experiences. I'll put this into a proper context so that you can understand what goals and goal-orientedness in Pemako means.

In Pemako practice, we have the so called ”bhumi openings” and ”bhumi perfections”. Bhumis (lit. ground) are areas or fields in our mind, i.e. the subtle body made of energy channels and centers, where any kind of awakening/insight/enlightenment experiences happen. The reason we speak of the 13 bhumis in total and purification of the 10 bhumis is because this is a specific way to understand and to apply practices. Because of this knowledge about the subtle body; that there is a chronological continuum from beginning of insight practice (opening of the 1^st bhumi), then consecutive openings (openings of 2^nd to 13^th bhumis), then completion of purification (perfection) of each of these bhumi fields in chronological order from 1 to 10; all this is actually a clear map how it all works. And actually this applies to every type of training system, not only Pemako. So, what we have in the 13 bhumi map is a clear and solid path map from unawakened state to full enlightenment.

As a teacher and founder of Pemako, I put a lot of emphasis on teaching my students about the distinction between self-based mind of confusion and our basic state, or buddhanature. I point this out on all retreats and the reason for that is that practitioners need to know what their buddhanature feels and tastes like. They need to have it pointed out so that they gain confidence quickly. But in our system pointing out instructions given by the teachers is really just a safety valve because our practices enable recognition of the basic state very easily and quickly.

What does all this have to do with bhumis and goals?

If you ask me, there is no other practice in buddhist yoga except to recognise ourselves as fully enlightened, awake and aware beings. In zen, some masters say the same thing that there is no other practice but kensho (lit. seeing one's true nature). The way I teach is that I explain to my students how each technique, be it prayer, mudra, visualisation or anything else makes this recognition happen, so that they know how to do their practice correctly. Not knowing this is, in fact, faulty practice and largely a waste of time.

When with the help of yogic exercises, purposefully and not accidentally, we make our buddhanature appear and its recognition takes place, this is all there is to it in all of buddhist yogas. This moment of the recognition of the basic state is unlike any other kind of experience in all of existence, and that is why the recognition of oneself as a fully awakened buddha has the power to eradicate our self-based existential confusion.

So, what bhumi openings and bhumi perfections are, are moments when our buddhanature shows up and is recognised fully. These bhumi events are so called cessations, widely discussed by all buddhist traditions. Cessation of the mind means that the self-construct that causes confusion and existential pain, ceases to be for some period of time. Even if it lasts for only just few seconds, it leaves a permanent mark in the mind, in other words, a notable bit of the ego-construct becomes untangled and deconstructed. Again, this is what buddhist yoga is all about. This is how we come to know ourselves.

So if we do practice correctly, as a sign of succesful practice, we inevitably have recognitions of the basic state, recognitions of ourselves as buddhas, that is, bhumi events. On the other hand, if our practice and view is incorrect this sign is absent and our basic state remains foreign to us.

So when you hear our sangha members speak about this, they are talking about the signs of correct practice. That's all. This is actually universal not only to all buddhism but to all types of methods. This is because the basic state is the same in all beings, regardless of spiritual or religious denomination or interpretations. You either know yourself or you don't. You are either accumulating first hand experience of your basic state or you aren't.

So on the surface you might think that ”oh those Pemako folks just focus on achieving some momentary goal” but actually we put focus on the correct understanding of practice and then the signs of succesful practice, bhumi events, come automatically.

In us there is perfect purity and freshness, clarity and sobriety. Discover it.

Kim, 9.8.2021

About Readiness and Basic Principles

 

About Readiness and Basic Principles

We start with no confidence at all in who we truly are because we don't know who we are. However, my style of dharma is entirely tied and related to practice, that is, actual recognition of our true being, and in this way we start coming up with confidence little by little. In a year or two your life will change altogether because that recognition becomes stable.

However, to some people, for various reasons it can take longer to stabilise the basic state. Some are not ready when they come to pemako and for this reason they can't really understand how buddhist meditation works and how tantric meditation works. This is a sign of having not enough "merit" which means not being ready, not having realised that the pain is inside or heads and hearts, that it's not anywhere outside. Anyway these students still make some progress, though usually slowly.

If your progress is slow, openings and perfections come slowly, the problem can definitely be found from 1) not understanding the four noble truths and/or 2) not having developed genuine bodhicitta. Of course poor health can make progress slow (or very fast) but that's another topic.

So those who feel like practice is heavy or hard should contemplate the 4 nt's and bodhicitta. If they still don't hit one's heart, then I think it is better to stop practicing because practice will only just make you feel worse by making subconscious negativities and self-based habits come to the surface but if you don't know and cannot practice correctly, you'll just project your negativity to those around you.

People who have this problem don't often realise how much chaotic energy they might be bringing to their teacher, the sangha, their families or even work environments, so this is something we all definitely need to contemplate because not only we might be making ourselves feel like shit with our wrongly directed and motivated practice, but we might be making others feel like shit too, and that obviously misses the mark entirely.

Those practitioners who are ready, have merit, have grasped the meaning of the four noble truths even before hearing about them. I mean that ready students know that the suffering is inside us, in our minds, in our self-delusion, and that spoils life for us. A good practitioner remembers this always and uses all opportunities, day and night, for being and becoming aware of the endless negative and small-minded forms and ways the small self takes. The difference between unripe and ripe practitioner is in this alone: a ripe practitioner uses the self-based stuff for practice while an unripe practitioner thinks that the problem is somewhere outside and so begins the endless complaining and conflict-making. This is the reason why teachers and masters of old didn't take students unless they tested their ripeness. They were very smart to do that because 1 or 2 unripe students in a sangha can create hell of a lot of problems for others.

In a sense, a good practitioner is on guard at all times and especially when the subconscious negativity hits the fan. Together with bodhicitta and understanding of the practice and the path, alertness and vigilance, is the formula that takes us all the way to perfect freedom, unshakable stability and firsthand realisation of the buddhanature. There is no doubt about that.

The secrets are in the basics. Although there are great differences between methods and vehicles, all of dharma is based on the same principles that are shared even by other religions than buddhism. So, all secrects are in the basics.

The reason why the word secret is often used is because for someone who is ignorant of the basic state, the reality of oneself and all things remains a hidden secret. It remains a secret because we are deluded but to undelude ourselves all we need to do is grasp the basics. Knowing the most basic theory and practices from inside out will make you a master, a living buddha, who is a living embodiment of bodhicitta. It is all so simple. 

 

-Kim, 4.8.2021 

Buddhanature in Inner Martial Arts

 

Buddhanature in Inner Martial Arts

Oskar: What are these qi gong exercises for? Any spesific yogic purpose I mean? (Comment to this video).

Kim: Hi Oskar⁠. I come from a tradition that combines dharma practice with martial and fine arts. But I realise it is very difficult for me to answer what would be the purpose of it. Well, there are common reasons, like learning to unify the body and to move with a unified body. This alone is a tremendously rewarding learning process and we can all understand what is the benefit of learning how to use and carry our bodies well aligned. You don't learn this from only doing sitting practices, nor you learn it from Western sports. From the purely physical perspective, Alexander technique is somewhat close to what is done in (specifically) Chinese "inner martial arts" but what is done inwardly in Chinese arts, that knowledge is entirely absent in modern sports and forms of exercise whatever they may be. The result of this can be seen how (fit) people carry their bodies, how people jog and so on. There is no inner structure, no inner composition or understanding how the body could be used in optimal fashion.
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⁠Regarding the internal aspects of what I am doing on the video, I wriote this few days ago: http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.com/2021/07/doing-nothing-just-stand.html
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⁠What you are seeing on the video is atiyoga from one perspective of mind, while simultaneously using dynamic concentration (active mental pushing while doing the pushing movement). Here from the point of view of mind, the basic state and the action of dynamic concentration (in the form of physical and mental pushing) are of same taste, and not two separate things.
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⁠Typically active mental pushing, called yi in Chinese, pronounced ee in English (the yi in yiquan, lit. intent), in inner martial arts is practiced just like mindfulness is cultivated by mindfulness practitioners. Mindfulness is always momentary and then you get distracted. Thosewith excellent concentration abilities can remain mindful for as long as they want but this doesn't mean that the basic state would be there as a sort of bedrock. So, to me, merely cultivating active mental pushing (yi) in yiquan momentarily, just like the practice of mindfulness, is incomplete. This is the reason why I spent years in dharma practice stabilising the basic state. Now when it is stabilised, I feel ready and very motivated to give my inner state an external expression, here through this movement. And as you can see there are no “gaps”.
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⁠To me, all forms of practice have always been about reality and it's expression and this is also of course how Terayama Sensei taught. But even long before that,when I started judo at 7, I wasn't interested about belt colours or competing. It's been a life long haul and now finally, with unshakable confidence, I can focus on inner martial arts and bodywork.
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⁠I don't know what I can accomplish through this but because I took a vow of trying to bring zen arts to Westerners and people of the world, that is what I will do. 

 

- Kim, 4.7.2021 

Basic Goodness – The Root of All Religions

 

Basic Goodness –

The Root of All Religions

What is common to all major religions is the element of worship of some higher, more profound or spiritual ideal. Christians, hindus and buddhists all have their objects of prayer, worship and meditation. In this way, practitioners of religion put themselves near to their spiritual idols and gain benefits from doing that. Typically these benefits include the sense of becoming peaceful, sober-minded, patient, tolerant and loving. It is fascinating that regardless of religious orientation, contemplatives of all religions are known by these same marks. From this perspective all paths seem to lead to same or very similar transformation and maturation of the human mind and heart.

What is also fascinating is the similarity of descriptions of inner experience among advanced contemplatives of different religions. They all describe unification with their chosen ideals, and therefore, transcendence of it. Christian mystics describe being unified with God or Christ and buddhist adepts describe realising the buddha within. Hindus and taoists describe the same thing. Isn't it extremely enchanting that based on their accounts, advanced contemplatives seem to go beyond the differences in doctrine but also seem to discover a common bedrock of pure radiance and its many positive expressions, that is beyond all and any of their former spiritual idols? This is transcendence of paths, stages, religious doctrine and idols of worship. The number of contemplatives who talk in this manner is low but nevertheless exists.

I never believed that there would be only one path or one way to existential freedom, that comes through transcendence of particulars. I never believed it because it didn't make sense to me.

All beings have pure and divine nature that cannot be given or taken away but goes undiscovered. That is the very reason why we live our lives in emotional pain and existential confusion, not knowing who we really are. Below the chaos and confusion of thoughts and emotions, there is incredible peace and clarity that is common to all beings. You are basically good! Utterly good! Discover this good in yourself and become an embodiment of it.

In this way, by becoming aware of who we really are, we tap into the common bedrock of all religions that is already in us.

Kim, 18.6.2021

Sacred In Us

Sacred In Us

Hi friends,

I'd like to take a moment to remind you that there is a perfectly awake, calm, clear and sober being in you, at this very moment. This pure and sober being comes out every now and then, and you might remember incidents of having had a really clear mind that you don't normally have. Maybe you experienced this clarity on the day when you graduated from school, had your first child, got married or sang a song at friend's birthday party, for example. This clear mind is called buddha in buddhism, christ in christianity, or bhagavan in hinduism. All beings have this pure nature and you are not an exception to this rule. Actually, we don't only "have" this nature, we are this nature.

Our basic nature is abound with kindness and goodness. At this very moment, there is this bright and sober being in us, that is perfect as it is. So, find it in you, in your being right at this moment. Discover it and see how your energy shifts. We all know how it feels to be stressed, tense, anxious, angry and depressed. All these negative emotions make us feel small and contracted. We all know this all too well. On the other hand recognising our basic nature, releases our small-minded doubts and judgements, and we feel free and unhindered. It is very empowering to discover who we truly are!

Even if we have hard times in life, we have a mind that is always clear and sober, without irritation and anger, always fresh, realistic and positive. This is the sacred in us all. In you too, right this moment.

Kim, 17.6.2021

Emptiness and Compassion as Means to Attain Full Enlightenment

 

Emptiness and Compassion as Means

to Attain Full Enlightenment

Singh:>I completely agree with your view, before I discovered and more importantly grasped emptiness which is profoundly easy and difficult at the same time navigation seemed like fantasy. I don't have a clue why people don't get it. The Buddhist who are trained and get it, some of the them tend to get dogmatic about it.

Kim: -Another thing that people don't get or miss is the gift of compassion and emptiness combined, as in great vehicle. Buddhists of the small vehicle talk incessantly about anatman and arhathood but few of them realise that arhathood is half way. It is not full and complete. However, I give credit to theravadans because in some styles of it, they actually do become arhats and even if it is not full enlightenment, arhathood is farther than what many mahayanis and vajrayanis attain. I find it curious and strange that this is the case.

-But the thing with cultivating compassion and including all beings in one's motivation, it is revolutional in terms of spiritual practice. You practice for everyone, not just that "I want out and each to their own". Compassion is the katalysator and engine of enlightenment, regardless of religion or doctrine. I've seen some christian contemplatives who have absolutely incredible "bodhicitta". Compassion is the fabric of mature psychology and mature spirituality. That's why it's emphasized in systems that aim for full enlightenment, call it buddhahood or becoming like christ. If one doesn't have such maturity, many selfish habits go unnoticed. This means that for theravada arhats there is a whole world system that is unseen for them but like I said, in buddhist teaching there are also basic problems how compassion is taught and cultivated. The reason why I say all this is because without compassion, emptiness meditation cannot be finished. Without compassion, one will not attain full liberation.

Singh:>I try to transcend dogma, there is no doubt the crystal clear teaching on emptiness are in vajrayana especially dzogchen and mahamudra. 

Kim: -Mahamudra teachings are excellent, especially Gampopa. However, be careful because there are many dzogchen teachers out there who do not understand emptiness, though they can tap into the clarity of basic awareness. Full enlightenment, also known as great perfection includes everything that appears in the mind.

Kim, 11.6.2021

Yogas With or Without Knowledge

 

Yogas With or Without Knowledge

I don't think that emptiness teaching is or was meant to start a new religion that we now know as buddhism. I think it was meant to fix the central problem in hinduism but then things went otherwise and a new religion was developed. It is a whole another discussion how is it possibe that there is so many basic misconceptions and misunderstandings in hinduism, considering that jnana yoga is one of the most basic forms of hindu yogas. There cannot be any other knowledge or jnana than knowledge of one's true nature. All other jnanas come far second and yet, it is these secondary knowledges that most hindu practitioners spend their lives with, left ignorant of one's true nature. That is a tragedy.

The way I see it is that both self-delusion and its removal through the teaching of shunyata are both universal. We have to reset the karmic counter back to zero (shunya) to be able to have the primary knowledge of our existence. However, considering that this teaching isn't available to that many people and it comes together with the religious packaging of buddhism, so people associate the teaching of emptiness with buddhism, Asia and so on, are signs that many things went wrong along the way for various reasons. If we look at great founders like Jesus and Buddha, I think what they meant to do was to offer and bring medicine for the humanity, not start their own groups for the sake of having a group. Although I feel that I'm a buddhist, often when looking at what goes on in buddhism, I feel like a complete stranger to it. It is just what Babaji told me years ago, that there is no this or that yoga, you could say no this or that religion. There is only that which works and that which doesn't in terms of existential confusion. People get so confused when faith and belief come into the picture and loose sight of what is truly important. To me there cannot be other type of dharma than dharma that releases dualistic (plus or minus) confusion into zero. And this was always the real meaning of yoga.

Kim, 11.6.2021

The Natural State Vs. Concentration Practices - Making Sense of It All

 

The Natural State Vs. Concentration Practices

-Making Sense of It All

Ben: One thing I've always had trouble wrapping my mind around in terms of Pemako's practice teachings is the reduced emphasis on concentration meditation. Techniques of gently focusing and resting the attention on the breath or a mantra or the space between eyebrows. These techniques were essential in the first five years of my practice. Awakening experiences, stabilizations, karmic purifications, all of these benefits arose from my concentration meditation practice.

For me, my meditation practice afforded me a stability, peacefulness, and a focus that made my subsequent tantric practice possible.

Then recently I had been listening to a Lion Faced Guru Podcast episode and something Kim Rinpoche said struck me. I have been contemplating it with a kind of marvel since then. To paraphrase him, he said: The tantric teachings of the Pemako lineage substitute the stability from shamatha with the stability of awakening and the natural state.

From a yoga advaita perspective, any stability mistakenly attributed to the ego self is really the misperceived stability of the Self. From the Pemako teaching standpoint, any stability found through concentration practices is not separate from the stability inherent to the natural state. Awakening to and stabilization of the natural state can therefore replace many years of meditation practice.

It was nice to have that discrepancy resolved in such an emphatic way.

Kim: Hi Dr. Ben. How have you been? 　

We do do mantra repetition in gentle manner (don't we?) and it is very important. Though this has changed lately, I churned mantras day and night for years and years, and had "stabilizations, karmic purifications, all of these benefits". Especially guru mantras have a strong pacifying effect but this pacification does not lead to momentarily silenced mind but to gradual recognition of the natural state.

I've talked about the problems of shamatha meditation so much that I think people here are sick of hearing it, ha, but I can't relate to when you say, "stability, peacefulness, and focus". Sure, I developed a lazer like focus but at the same time, even when the mind was quiet, I felt like I was on a ego trip. I didn't feel good or natural at all. I had done lots of drinking in my previous years and shamatha felt similar to that in the sense of bypassing issues and not having real sobriety! That didn't begin to change until I was able to cut through all layers of the mind with tantric practices. During my purification practice I went back to trying shamatha every now and then but it felt as weird as it did in the beginning. The ultimate meaning of shamatha/shi-ne is the natural state. Because it is possible to skip gentle concentration practices that not only are unable to reveal the natural state (because it doesn't cut through the formless mind, the substrate) and are also so time consuming, why not go directly to the bedrock, the ground (bhumi) beyond instability.

>To paraphrase him, he said: The tantric teachings of the Pemako lineage substitute the stability from shamatha with the stability of awakening and the natural state.

- My question is: Why would you spend so much time on gentle concentration practices when it doesn't lead to the recognition of the basic state? Because Shakyamuni is said to have practiced meditative absorptions that he learned from his hindu teacher after he is said to have attained full enlightenment, is probably the reason why there is still lots of confusion about this whole one-pointed concentration/samadhi/jhana/dhyana thing. This in turn makes buddhists unable to see the mistake that golden chains are still chains, whether they are made of negative destructive emotions or subtle states of meditation. I find it extremely weird how most in this religion that is considered a wisdom tradition, make such a drastic mistake. I recall Tenzin Palmo contemplating this aloud in an interview, saying that even Shakyamuni Buddha couldn't help people get awakened. One thing is the ancient influence of hindu meditations and another is the lack of practices that directly generate awakening. There are not many of those but there are some, like the 2PF. Then on the other hand when people think of buddhist practitioners they think of smiling peaceful monks with shaved heads who sit in silent meditation. There has been systematic propaganda of monasticism going on for thousands of years, and now everyone is paying a high price for it because it has such a strong impact on the whole world, wherever buddhism is taught. Buddhism has had 2.5 thousand years to make a difference ad it hasn't even reached step one that you could say that the people of the world can trust the buddhist teaching, that it will help them to remove their self-based suffering, here's how it all works, here's how it is done. Incredibly painful.

Tenzin Palmo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKoIK6pQMzY

Back to concentration practices.

I learned everything from the dynamicity of concentration from a Chinese martial art called yiquan, or yi chuan, lit. intention boxing. See this video. I had done gentle concentration for years in meditation and then, through the three types of intention taught in yiquan, realised that intention can be kept at low volume, which is what is done in shamatha meditation for extended periods of time, but it can also be taken to higher volumes. In yiquan, there is shi li, which means to momentarily increase the intensity of focus, and there is fa li, which is sudden explosive intention or maximum intention in the form of explosion. Now, all of these are different expressions of concentration or intention but the outcome is very different. If we look at this from the perspective of yogic practice, the former leads to mental quiet and ability to focus on one thing, while the latter has the power to shatter the whole construction of the mind, and through doing so reveals that part of the mind that isn't affected or spoiled by self-based beliefs or notions. Yasutani Roshi, Japanese zen master, in his talk about just sitting or shikan taza said that one needs to sit in such an intense way that if someone touches you, sparks will fly. I think he was describing shi li sitting which if done for longer periods is exhausting because you use your vital energy to keep up that heightened intensity. This also misses the point of recognition of the basic state. Explosive type of concentration or shamatha has the power to cut through the whole self-construction to make the original nature appear. This original nature is nothing else than oneself as a buddha, or mahasiddha grounds, bhumis.

Buddhist tradition started with the first awakening experience that Shakyamuni had, that he didn't get from subtle states of meditation. These meditative states neither removed his existential dissatisfaction.

So what we do in Pemako is to put the horse in front of the cart, rather than behind it, and drive like a horse cart should be driven. What we have here is the absence of false or misleading ideas that take practitioners to subtle but strange places that they believe is the true teaching.

As far as I am concerned, the only practice in yoga is to recognise one's basic nature that is fresh, clear, sober, settled and devoid of self-based marks or habits. To me there is no other buddhist dharma practice except to recognise it and to unify our psyche with it, meaning to see the emptiness of all mind phenomena. What is a sign of proper emptiness practice? Awakenings! Bhumi openings! Bhumi perfections!

There is no other solution to suffering and confusion of the unnatural state, than the natural state, and that has nothing to do with being focused or distracted, being in meditation or not.

Westernizing the Arts of Zen

 

Westernizing the Arts of Zen

Hello all!

I think there are many new members here who don't know the history of this page. I started it 10 years ago and have been somewhat active through the whole time posting interesting links and sources on the wall (scroll down to access).

I studied zen calligraphy and zen art with Terayama Tanchu Sensei, buddhist heir and student of Omori Sogen Roshi and Yokoyama Tenkei Sensei, until Sensei passed away in 2007. He was probably the most respected and widely known authority of zen art and zen calligraphy in Japan.

Myself being a Westerner, I have spent many years processing the meaning of zen art in the West because basically all the Western people/practitioners I've ever met cannot relate to the outer form of Japanese and Asian zen art because they are not used to black ink, white paper and other such purely Asian features. For this reason I've spent any years contemplating the meaning and expression of zen art in the West in a form that Westerners could relate to. I have shared my thoughts about this throughout the years, as well as developed my own style of painting in the process. 

 

No East, No West - Mu To Zai, by Terayama Tanchu Sensei

I think there is a treasure chest within everyone of us, modern citizens and artists of the world, that is waiting to be discovered (zen, awakening, enlightenment) that can then be expressed through different artforms. We have art tradition of our own in the West or wherever you might live, but what is missing is the pure and bright mind, soft heart and unified body that was cultivated together with the art form in ancient Asia. Here, there is lot to learn for Westerners.

Because of my training this topic is very dear to my heart so I hope to contribute to bringing Western or non-Asian art forms and teachings of recognised reality together.

OK, I just wanted to say few words of introduction and welcome our new members. Feel free to ask and discuss about these topics here.

Here is a video of my teacher Terayama Sensei doing a form of physical-awareness exercises. I haven't seen anyone move like that, not before or since :) https://youtu.be/lZ6FHg9IIJo

-Kim, 30.5.2021

Zen Art and Zen Calligraphy at FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257852984267435/