Requirement for Understanding Tantric Masters

 

Requirement for Understanding Tantric Masters

"Sit on a comfortable pillow and relax your body with a straight spine. Don't recall the past and don't make plans for the future. Bring your spirit into the immediate present. Smile and enjoy the fresh, radiant calm you begin to experience when you allow it to shine. " ~ Longchenpa

Those who are unaware of the fact that Longchenpa was a tantric, will inevitably misunderstand this. There are loads of meditators around the world who try to do what Longchenpa instructs but without knowing it and not having a standard, remain in a dull state of mind believing that they are practicing correctly. Whatever tantric masters, such as Longchenpa says, are based on the student having received a transmission from one's guru that clarifies the experiential meaning of the "immediate presence that shines" and by doing so sets the standard for ones practice.

KR, 27.2.2022

How Buddhahood Is Attained in Pemako

 

How Buddhahood Is Attained

in Pemako

Q: You say your sangha members have attained buddhahood. Simply, how?

Kim: Hello Rinzin. Nice to hear of you and I'm glad you asked :)

To answer your question properly we should spend few hours in discussion and simultaneously do short sessions of our core practices to give you a feel how we practice yoga and tantra. So, answering in written form in just half an hour or so, is insufficient, but I'll try anyway.

All yogic and tantric practices of the world's various religions and traditions are based on the same universal principles but the way how the principles are applied, is what I have synthesized to form a method that we know as Pemako. It really is insufficient to adress your question like this but I'll give a short list of examples that gives you some idea how we practice.

In Pemako practice,

- Teacher and students spend lots of time practicing tantra (maha and anuyoga) and atiyoga together. Practices are taught during practice sessions and the teacher points out various observations and correct way of practice, according to the level of the student. It makes a world of different for the student to be taught from "inside out", and to share an experience with the teacher.

- We use short and simple (easy to remember and to apply) empowerment mantras that contain many both peaceful and wrathful deities at once.

-Especially in the yoga of centers and channels (anuyoga) we apply the mantras on our energybodies in a very precise manner. We infuse mantric energy to over 40 energy centers within the physical body with practices such as "tapping". We also use a practice called "combing" to infuse the mantras of many deities into the whole energybody/aura around the physical body. As self-based delusion is nowhere else except in the body of centers and channels, we simply infuse the whole energy body in a straightforward manner that covers all of it. As a result, there is no place or area that is left unmarked.

- In tantric guru yoga and deity practices, from the point of view of time spent in practice, we generate (external aspect of tantra) the guru or deity as little as possible but enough to create a strong felt energy. Then, we spend lots of time feeling it, recognising it, noticing the qualities of it, taking it into the subtle and physical bodies, marinating in it (internal aspect of tantra). In this way, I could say there is lots of emphasis on relaxation and surrender towards the mahasiddha gurus, main ones being Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal, as well as peaceful, wrathful, healing and passionate buddha-deities. This takes one very effectively to secret aspect of tantra which is the basic state revealed.

-We apply the previously mentioned "feeling it, recognising it, noticing the qualities of it, taking it into the subtle and physical bodies, marinating in it" to all practices that we do, including basic prayers such as Bodhisattva Vows, Refuge Prayers, Bodhicitta Prayers and Dedication of Merit. In general, there is lots of emphasis on feeling energetic charges and their qualities with one's body because it is easy and rewarding for all levels of practitioners. When you feel something, the deity or the guru, it starts filling one's belly, in other words, you have an experience.

-Another very important aspect of our method is the use of grounds or bhumis. We use a path map called 13 Bhumi Model. The first 10 bhumis are stages of purification (two-fold emptiness, 1-6 arhat, 7-10 phenomena), 11th is dharmakaya, 12th and 13th sambhogakaya. All of these bhumis are directly related to the previously mentioned centers and channels of inside the body, aura and the vertical pillar of energy centers that extends 6 meters above and below the body. It is sort of like a measuring stick where you know and feel exactly what stage or bhumi you're working on. Because of this practitioners can focus exactly on the energetic area that they're working on the get purified. Because of this, advancement is fast. What is also very encouraging, inspiring and empowering to students is that with the help of the 13 bhumi model they know where they are on the map, meaning what is their present position in relation to unawakened state or buddhahood. From the spoken and written accounts given by teachers and other students (we speak openly about spiritual experiences and awakenings in our sangha) other students know what to look for and can adjust their approach accordingly.

-Dynamic practices. As I'm sure you know in various lineages of Tibetan varayana, there are practices where you shout loudly. Ha! Ho! Phet! Phet! Phet! We do shouts, or "dynamic concentration" a lot. We might do 100-300 loud concentrated Hung Phets in a row. We have many youtube videos of this. The reason why we do shouts with syllables such as Hung Phet, guru mantras (Na! Mo! Gu! Ru! Rin! Po! Che!) or deity mantras, is because this dynamic, that is, stronger power of concentration makes a momentarily hole into the energybody and its samsaric habit-patterns, and consequentially there not being any gross, subtle or very subtle self-based patterns going on, the kayas of the natural state can be very easily recognised. Doing lots of shouts or Physical Dynamic Concentration where the tantric elements of mantra, visualization and breathwork are combined with tensing the muscles of the whole body physically, is extremely effective and beneficial because for a moment the whole karmic body subsides.

-I already mentioned the so called "pragmatic dharma" when I said that we speak openly about spiritual experiences in our community. We speak about all these things and it is very beneficial to all members of the sangha. It is sharing of practical knowledge. The basis of proper learning as can be seen in secular education is that information is shared without reservations. Learning about other member's hardships, we can encourage them and learning about their successes we can rejoice together and congratulate them. This creates positive energy and gives meaning.

I hope this gives you some idea how. Thank you for asking. I was actually just about to send you a message :)

KR, 27.2.2022

Importance of Physical Fitness

 

Importance of Physical Fitness

In late 2019, I found myself in a lousy physical shape. After having two kids, 3½ years of bad burnout and 6 years of bad insomnia had prevented me from working out and this resulted in weak muscles throughout the body and lots of overweight. I was 115 kg/250 pounds then.

In early 2020 I had rested a bit after my second divorce and felt like I both wanted and needed to start working out again. I had been, I would say, a pro athlete at points in my earlier life when I was practicing lots of martial arts and marathons so I felt bad being so out of shape. I started strengthening my body with basic exercises like push ups, sit ups, squats and dips, combined with stretching. I also started walking outdoors, from 45 minutes and increasing little by little up to 90-100 minutes. I kept that daily routine for about 6 months during which I lost a lot of weight and felt a lot better.

But then in late 2020, I lost my motivation. It felt strange because I knew I wanted to stay in shape but somehow I hit a wall. One affecting factor was the Winter that was much more severe than the previous one. It isn't much fun to walk in icy slush that soaks your shoes in minutes or walk on icy surface where you're slipping every second step. I loved severe conditions as a 20+ year old and ran half marathons in freezing temperatures without a shirt but at 40+ you're just too old for that shit. Several months passed by during which I kept practicing Vajra Body/Physical Dynamic Concentration exercises, which is an isometric workout but didn't do any cardio and therefore my weight began to rise again.

Then, the very day I finished my purification, March 15^th 2021, I went out for a walk again but had to turn back after a kilometer because my back and legs were so stiff that it felt like they were made of bricks. I had to use all my mental and physical power to take a step and it wasn't fun. This is the point when a struggle that would last almost a year started.

Despite of icy slush, occasional sleeping problems or problems in my personal life I kept trying to take walks a few times a week for months but it was as if my body didn't want to do that. Every time when I started out for a walk, after 200-300 meters, it felt as if my body shut down saying, ”No, I'm not doing this”. My back and legs were not only hard as bricks but also painful, especially my lower back. I was both puzzled and very frustrated about the situation, and tried everything in my toolbox to get going. It was extremely frustrating for 10 months.

During this time I often thought about few of my students who had told me they had similar problems that prevented them not only from exercising but living a normal life when, for example, one can walk a short distance to a supermarket without any difficulties. Particularly I remember a male student who lost his ability to walk for some period of time due to an illness. I didn't loose my ability to walk altogether but if you had seen me walk at home from my kitchen to the living room, you'd have thought that I walked like an old man. It's alarming to experience that at 42 years of age.

Finally, this January I had enough of it. I booked an apointment to my trusted masseur who I knew could help with the all around stiffness in my body and started to do daily sessions with a Ryobi R18B-0 polishing machine to release those deeply ingrained tensions that would enable me to start moving more normally again. The polishing machine is made for polishing cars but it is basically the same as massage guns you can get nowadays. Massage and Ryobi helped!

Having defeated the stiffness, and already having strong muscles since 2 years back, I've gotten back into proper workouts, this time with much clearer motivation to take care of my body fo the rest of my life. I am grateful that this struggle is now behind me and despite of last year being one son of a bitch, I see meaning in this series of challenging experiences.

I work as a dharma teacher and I think that to be a really good dharma teacher one needs to have a wide array of both positive and negative experiences in life so that one can understand and relate to students and their situations. For example, if I hadn't experienced depression, panic attacks, being poor, heavy drinking, getting married, getting divorced, having kids, having 29 different jobs, burnout, insomnia, obesity and other things, I wouldn't know the nature of those experiences and therefore I could not relate to these typical human experiences.

Sorting out this recent physical problem, it has made it diamond clear how important it is to take care of one's physical body, if we only are able to, until the day we die. Of course, our Western culture tells us to exercise but you really don't know that until you loose the ability to do normal things. That's what hit it home for me.

In Asian buddhism at large, apart from Japan where martial arts are an extension of buddhism, and the Chinese Shaolin tradition, there is no emphasis on physical fitness, even though health is considered important. In Indian, Tibetan or Far East Asian cultures at large there is no concept of exercising for fitness and this, I think is due to the fact that historically there was very little time for leisure in people's daily lives. However, the same applies for yogic cultures and apart from few exceptions, we can say that yogic traditions at large were not involved or interested in physical fitness.

For years I have seen youtube videos, often from China, sometimes from the West, where aged people from 70 to 90 years of age display amazing physical fitness, and most importantly don't look or feel at all as if they were old! On the contrary, they feel and look very young, with straight backs, strong body, robust vitality and bright eyes.

For these reasons, to be able to live a truly happy and healthy lives for as long as possible, as well as from the perspective of dharma, I want to emphasize physical fitness in my work.

Much blessings,

KR, 26.2.2022

The Four Extremes and Emptiness

 

The Four Extremes and Emptiness

Pay attention. You are missing important bits. Let's clarify the view.

Emptiness means being at zero in all states and circumstances. When samsaric beings are tricked by mental and emotional states marked by the sense of self, me/I, buddhas remain in natural wakefulness that remains empty despite of internal or external circumstances. So, emptiness means remaining at zero despite of changes. This is why I use the term zero-dimensional.

Samsaric mind based and built on a sense of me-ness by definition is a state that is located in time and space. Our very problem of confusion is that we believe to exist in time and space. In other words, all of samsaric functioning is based on a delusion that binds us to these dimensions, space (3D) and time (4D). We become "things", "selves" or me's and you's stuck in the dimensions of space and time, reacting to internal and external stimuli.

Like you say, being a thing or being nothing are just opposing states, both stuck in the duality created by the other opposite. So, to become nothing, instead of being something, is not the solution. This means that we have to break that duality.

And excellent way to shatter any opposites is to use the tetralemma (skt. caturanta, p. catuskoti), or what I like to call "Rubik's cube of the four extremes". This is discussed by mahasiddha Nagarjuna in his writings as well as in countless other sources, including hindu mahasiddhas, Abhinavagupta to name one.

1st position: I am
2nd position: I am not
3rd position: Both, I am and I am not, are the same
4th position: Neither, I am nor I am not, are the same

To use a bit different verbal expression.

I exist
I don't exist
Both, I exist and I don't exist, are the same
Neither, I exist nor I don't exist, are the same

Tetralemma, the four extremes, has the power to establish the basic state through careful analysis where all corners are covered.

In tantra, we speak of gross, subtle and very subtle selfing that we remove layer by layer, or bhumi by bhumi, by meditating on gurus and deities. The same layers can be accessed by this analytical tool and the end result is insight into zeroness or emptiness of all self-phenomena.

You don't need to be a philosopher or an intellectual to use it. I definitely am not but I since I learned about it many years ago I kept it in the back of my mind and returned to it every now and then to test my understanding. It took me a loo-ong time to understand the last pair.

So, shatter space and time, 3D and 4D, to reach the groundless ground. All of this can be accomplished by practicing tantra and especially by using the bhumi knowhow we havebut it is very useful to look into other presentations and tools than the ones one is used to.

Mahamudra texts also discuss timelessness or breaking the subtle bond of existing as a being in time. That's the work of sameness of samsara and nirvana, or "one taste", related to bhumis 7-10.

That's where your worksite is at present. Good luck!

KR, 19.2.2022

Without Unfinished Business

 

Without Unfinished Business

I still like sitting down for meditation. On maybe half of the mornings I intend to sit for sometime but I might forget or get distracted by something so on most days I don't sit or practice at all. Sitting or not sitting, my state remains without change or interruption. People tell me I radiate soft blessings, sometimes fierce power. From existential perspective, it's all the same but from the perspective of having a purpose the situation isn't ideal.

If I ask myself what would I do if I had no responsibilities, one thing that comes into my mind would be to go into retreat. I'd love to live in seclusion again in the sunny mountains somewhere. I'd do what yogis and siddhas have done for ages, basically just be a bum in a gorgeous view.

I remember those days from my past lives like it happened yesterday. I don't really miss that lifestyle but at present being without purpose most of the time it'd definitely be more enjoyable. With responsibilities I refer to my children and my position as the head teacher of Pemako. I love my children and I will stay close to them until they grow a bit bigger but being a part-time dad, not being with them most of the time, I start thinking of other options.

In one sense I have already fulfilled my purpose towards my students. They now have clear instructions and a proven path to follow. They seem to have very little use for me anymore. That is fine but it makes me wonder why I am here and if my time would be better used somewhere else. Maybe in retreat just sitting in samadhi for years and years, maybe as a wandering monk or maybe doing something else.

I used to have a clear plan how things would go at work or how I'd like them to go but these dreams just never seem to begin actualizing. Maybe they still will but at the same time, due to the yogic habit formations from many past lives, I automatically start thinking of long retreats, as there isn't much happening in the external world where I'd be really needed.

Maybe in a year or two I'll pack my bag, head towards the mountains and you'll never see me again. Knowing that I have fulfilled my duty as a dharma teacher, I'd go without unfinished business.

KR, 18.2.2022

Empowerments from recordings?

 

Empowerments from recordings?

Every now and then someone tells me that they felt a charge from a recording of an empowerment. They ask, "Did I get the empowerment?", and my answer is always no. Here's the thing.

When empowerments are given and received, distance doesn't matter. Be it physical distance from the other side of the same room, or from one continent to another, or even from a guru in nonphysical realms to you in physical body, distance is of no concern. But, getting the empowerment properly has to happen at the same time it is given. The logic is that if you're not there when it is given, you're simply not there to get it properly.

Feeling energy or receiving blessings are not empowerments, although also beneficial.

KR, 16.2.2022

Awakening and the Two-Part Formula

 

Awakening and the Two-Part Formula

Hi people,

I spent over 30 years as a seeker and many years practicing traditional methods of buddhism and hinduism, yet not finding what I was seeking. I practiced my butt off, followed all instructions to the letter day and night but they just didn't do the job. I remained as a seeker despite of great efforts.

Over many years as a full time teacher I've heard the exact same story again and again from people who've followed all kinds of methods, often growing as frustrated and disillusioned about traditional methods, as I did. But then they stumbled upon Pemako teachings and things started changing fast, in some cases literally in hours or days.

There is a stubborn belief out there that there are no techniques that can generate awakening experiences, that is, practices that make the wakeful nature of all beings appear "on-demand". It is true, a simple fact, that most traditions do not have such practices and this is unfortunate but it is not universally true that such practices wouldn't exist at all. They do. These techniques exist in Pemako as well as in forms of Tibetan buddhism.

Long story short, here are the instructions of the so-called Two-Part Formula. It is a technique that, when properly applied, generates the first awakening. According to statistics kept by myself and our other teachers, more than 200 people have awakened by using this technique. It has done the job for all kinds of people from young to old, from working people to professors, men and women.

It doesn't matter, whether you believe it or not. What matters is that it works. It is a practice that you can yourself try. Give it a go, try and see. No strings attached.

Learn the practice, download a book about it, watch guided sessions and lectures about it - all free of charge.

https://www.pemakobuddhism.com/113

If you need to, you can do this

 

If you need to, you can do this

Those who are ready to practice, know how deep their trouble is. It is so deep that it hurts. And when you do your tantric practice it keeps revealing where you hurt the most and sometimes you drop on your knees because it hurts so bad. But it also keeps revealing the mind of freedom in you. Gradually you become you and the hurt gets less. And finally you are liberated, free in full. At this point you graduate all yogas and tantras of the mind, you become complete, your whole psyche lit up and pure. You become a buddha and have finished the path for good. If you need to, you can do this. Padmamsabhava did, Jesus did, I did, 6 others in Pemako sangha did, countless others have done too... You can too, so get on with it. And don't give up.

KR, 6.2.2022

A Thought About Western Buddha Archetypes

 

A Thought About 

Western Buddha Archetypes

I saw this techno-futurist Avalokitesvara bodhisattva by the South Korean artist Wang Zi Won (왕지원), posted on Facebook. I think it is extremely cool!

 

I often think about buddha archetypes and the relevance of Asian-looking buddhist deity figures to us who are not Asians. It is interesting that Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mongolian and Tibetan buddha figures look slightly different from each other. In each country buddhas have been made to look like the natives. This has been a development or integration stage in history after buddhist teachings have been brought to each new area. So how about buddhas and buddhist deities without Asian figures? Would it be possible to have deities with Caucasian, Latin or African features? Yes, of course. I'd like to give some examples of this.

During the last couple of years I've become a big fan of bull rodeo (PBR). Bull rodeo is the sport where professional cowboys from US or Brazil ride wild bulls, usually on big arenas. I find the idea of riding a big 800 kg bull fascinating and it has crossed my mind that like Dorje Drollo rides a tigress or Dorje Gotrab rides a boar, how about having gurus and deities ride bulls... wolves... bears... motorcycles or a formula one race car? How about meditating on our buddhanature visualising ourself as the guru in the form of a cowboy... in the form of a doctor (embodiment of Bhaisajyaguru Medicine Buddha)... in the form of a strongman or strongwoman... or perhaps in the form of a virtuoso pianist (embodiment of Saraswati)? Why not? Having Western expression would make it more relatable to Westerners. These are just few examples but really there is no and cannot be an end to enlightened expression. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, according to Heart Sutra.

One crucial thing however. While artists, such as Wang Zi Won, have the freedom to imagine and create anything to express their artistic creativity, it is not like that when it comes to tantric yoga. For any tantric practice to be an authentic tool of enlightenment, it needs to come from a vision or a decision of a mahasiddha. This is a requirement and a necessary standard of all tantric practices. Inventions and imaginations of a samsaric mind are just what they are and therefore unreliable, i.e. something to avoid.

KR, 6.2.2022

Astrological Advice That Might Save Your Life

 

Astrological Advice

That Might Save Your Life

I understand only very little of astrology but nevertheless I would like to offer a simple astrological advice regarding your social relationships that might save you from a lot of trouble, possibly from a heart attack.

So, there are 12 astrological signs, one per year. This means, for example, that in 12 years from now there'll be another year of the Tiger.

The point I want to make in this post, is to find out your own sign according to your year of birth (you can do so easily from the internet) and then look which sign is on the opposite side of the circle. The sign opposite to Tiger is Monkey. The sign opposite to my Goat (born 1979) is Ox (born 1985, 1997, 1973, 1961, 1949 and so on).

The reason I'm speaking about the opposites is because any person who is directly on the opposite side to you, means problems due to the opposite point of view. The person whose gaze is looking at the opposite direction sees things very differently and for such person it will be close to impossible to see and accept your views. If you remain in close quarters with the opposite person, you are constantly inviting conflicts due to difference in view and opinion.

From few social relationships I know from first hand experience how incredibly difficult and usually quarrelsome it can be with people on the opposite side of the zodiac. If you think about the most difficult people in your life and do some math, you can probably make the discovery of opposite signs.

So, my advice for you is not to start a serious relationship with anyone who is 6, 18, 30 or 42 years apart from your age, in whatever form it may be. Romantic relationship, boss-employee, friends... No matter what, don't get married to someone who is in the opposite sign.

KR, 3.2.2022