About my masters and Sivakami

Kim wrote:

Hello D,

Traditions, yeah. I have a bit mixed feelings about long traditions these days. When thinking about the number of only buddhist lineages, not to mention others, existing today, which are numerous, I am not that convinced of their ability in keeping teachings alive. There is so much useless baggage.

I've studied with about 3 dozen teachers and masters, both in and out the physical body, but my main teacher who really got me started, after a number of years when I hit my head into patriarchal zen, was an American housewife, a liberated arhat and a mystic of very high caliber. Her name was Sara or Sivakami and she was very private person. She left her body  in 2010. She got her initial transmission from Yogananda's student back in 1976, when she was 36 or 37 years old. The second time she sat down to practice those techniques she had learned, she spent 10 hours in immersion and during the next 4 months that same kept happening everyday. It was tough on her body as her mind was completely transformed, all her personal karmas burned. So, she got her initiation from a physical teacher in a lineage (which by the way was started 3 generations earlier by a non-physical master called Babaji) but after that initial samadhi streak, she started having non-physical teachers and masters visit her both when awake and when asleep. Lama Thubten Yeshe, after he left his body the previous time, was one of them. He offered Sivakami to take his teachings but she kindly refused because she was never that keen about the buddhist vibe. She was pretty much a heavily meditating bhakta all her life. She also had the fortune to witness on two  non-physical masters appear in physical form to her. One of them was Babaji known from Yogananda's book, and the other one was a shaivite master called Thirumular, the author of the famous Thirumandiram, a shaiva classic. So, anyway through her initial contant through Yogananda's disciple, something clicked and she started meeting all these masters from many traditions in astral form. It sounds pretty wild... but to me what she later passed to me were of true quality... compared to teachings that I've received from many lamas or gurus alive today. Her mind and teaching was juicy and fresh, delicious. That freshness didn't come from a tradition that had been kept alive for centuries in a physical form but came from these non-physical mahasiddhas, mostly Babaji and Mular.

So it turned out later that I also had a karmic link to these masters who asked Sivakami to teach. It was her who re-initiated me into this congregation of masters which in turn enabled me to initiate my work, part of which is about helping people get awakened. Like I've said before I didn't learn the two part method that I use when guiding people from any living teacher. It came to me intuitively, a memory from past lives. Later I read they use the same formula in some lineage of dzogchen... So fast forward to this day... I've studied, worked and received transmission from many non-physical masters, yogis and buddhas. I felt for years that I wanted to find a rinpoche or some lama to study with but I don't feel like that anymore because buddhas in the physical are so extremely rare. So what all these traditions out there can offer is quite limited and rarely of superb quality, I feel.
I didn't mean to babble and sorry for keeping so long but I just wanted to say this as "traditions that keep the teachings alive" don't always mean "just physical".

Kim Katami
18.1.2016. 

Open Heart, www.openheart.fi

Full list of my teachers and masters

Full list of my teachers and masters

This is a list of various spiritual, meditative, healing, fine art and martial art teachers from whom I've learned and studied with along the years. Here, by learning, I mean learning of some solid teachings which have then helped me to deepen my own understanding. Of course there are many other people; teachers, practitioners and friends from many different traditions who I still keep in touch with and have dialogues.

See also "All initiations and deity empowerments". 

Teachers with a physical body (not in a specific order)

• Sara Simons (Sivakami Om Anandi, American), liberated teacher, laywoman and a lineage holder of Mahasiddha Thirumular, Babaji and the mahasiddhas. My heart teacher.
• Terayama Tanchu Sensei (1938-2007, Japanese). Master of Zen, Budo/Ken and Sho. Founder of the Hitsuzenkai -zen calligraphy community of Japan. Dharma heir of Omori Sogen Roshi and successor of Yokoyama Tenkei Sensei from Jubokudo school of calligraphy.
• Harada Shodo Roshi (1940- , Japanese). Zen master of the Rinzai school. Founder of the worldwide One Drop Zen-organization. Dharma heir of Yamada Mumon Roshi.
• Harada Tangen Roshi, the Old Buddha (Japanese). Zen master of the Sanbo Kyodan school. Dharma heir of Harada Daiun Sogaku Roshi.
• Sante Poromaa & Kanja Odland. Zen teachers of the Zenbuddhistiska Samfundet, based in Sweden.
• Mingyur Rinpoche, Mahamudra and Dzogchen-master, son of Tulku Urgyen.
• John Lewis (British), Founder of the Finnish School of Shiatsu.
• Zhang Changwang (Chinese), Yiquan master in the lineage of Yao Zongxun and Wang Xiangzhai.
• Takemi Sasamori (Japanese), head master (soke) of Ono-ha Itto Ryu kenjutsu.
• Hiruta Sensei (Japanese), head of the Ichikukai Dojo in Tokyo (zen and shintoist misogi-practices).
• Dogen Christophe Pontal (French), martial arts teacher and a long time student of Harada Shodo Roshi (zen), soke Shiokawa Terushige (martial arts) and Kanshu Sunadomari Sensei (Founder of Manseikan Aikido, successor of the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba).
• Ashok Immaneni, A liberated mystic and a teacher of mantric and Indian vocals.
• Rami Salo (Finnish), Yang-style Tai Chi Chuan teacher.
• Pasi Pölönen (Finnish), Yiquan teacher in the tradition of Zhang Changwang.
• Juhani Kuittinen (Finnish), Aikido teacher, Shumpukai.
• Jyrki Rytilä (Finnish), Daitoryu Aikijujutsu Takumakai (5. dan), one-on-one
• Petteri Silenius (Finnish), Aikido teacher (Aikikai 6. dan), one-on-one
• Peter Rocca, Soto Zen-teacher in the lineage of Gudo Nishijima Roshi.
  

• Sri Mata Amritananda Mayi Devi (Indian), World known ”Hugging Saint”.
• Paramahamsa Prajnanananda (Indian), Kriya Yoga master, a successor of Paramahamsa Hariharananda.
• 14^th Dalai Lama (Tibetan), Both political and spiritual leader of Tibet, head of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.
• Lama Thubten Gonpo Tsering
  

Masters without a physical body

Received teachings named after each master. You can find information of these mahasiddhas by web search.

• Mahasiddha Thirumular. My root guru. One of the legendary Shaivite saints. Author of Thirumandiram which is considered one of the most important root texts of Shaivite tantrism.
  Teachings received: Basic and advanced yoga tantra, Diamond Body-practices.
• Mahasiddha Babaji. An immortal yogi-master known to world through Yogananda's Autobiography of A Yogi. Babaji is the silently guiding hand behind spiritually oriented martial arts, among other things.
  Teachings received: Basic and advanced yoga tantra, and Zen Budo (taught by myself).
• Mahasiddha Bogarnatha. Great immortal master of yoga tantra, alchemy, medicine and science. Teachings received: Advanced yoga tantra.
• Mahasiddha Agastya. Great immortal master known of many classic texts of various topics.
  Teachings received: Advanced yoga tantra. 
• Mahasiddha Padmashambhava, Great Dzogchen-master.
  Teachings received: Thogal - Immortal Diamond Body-practice and Yangti. 
• Mahasiddha Vimalamitra. Great Dzogchen-master. 
  Teachings received: Vimalamitra Yoga (physical series), Wisdom Meditations (shamatha and vipashyana), Dzogchen Thogal (Rainbow Body-practices, Dzogchen) and Yangti, and two distinct types of rigpa as taught in Dzogchen.
• Mahasiddha Garab Dorje. Great Dzogchen-master. The same person as Swami Sri Yukteswar, a great master of Kriya Yoga, guru of Paramahamsa Yogananda. Teachings received: Two distinct types of rigpa as taught in Dzogchen.
• Mahasiddha Machig Lapdron (Tibetan). Great Tibetan lady mystic and a yogini. Teachings received: Complete Chöd-teachings and Tibetan Hatha Yoga (taught by  Open Heart).
• Mahasiddha Ayu Khandro (Tibetan, 1839–1953). Great 20^th century yogini from Tibet who attained Rainbow Body through Dzogchen and Tantric practices. Spent over 80 years of her life in solitary retreat.
  Teachings received: Tibetan Heart Yoga-teachings offered by Samadhi Path.
• Mahasiddha Lieh Tsu or Liezi (Chinese). Immortal master, one of the founding fathers of Taoism.
  Teachings received: Tai Chi Chuan and the essence of internal martial arts.
• Mahasiddha Zhang Sanfeng (Chinese). Immortal master, one of the founding fathers of Taoism, considered the founder of Tai Chi Chuan, the Chinese martial and health art.
  Teachings received: Tai Chi Chuan and the essence of internal martial arts. 
• Mahasiddha Dampa Sangye. Teachings received: Mahamudra Chöd and yoga tantra.
  

• Gogen Yamaguchi (1909-1989), Master of Okinawan Karate.
  Teachings received: Essence of budo.  
• O-sensei Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), Founder of Aikido.
  Teachings received: Chinkon Kishin and kototama, art of kiai and the essence of budo. Initiations to Shinto deities.
  

I still continue to receive instructions from different mahasiddhas, as well as communicate with physical teachers as well.

I am humbly greatful for the friendship, help and guidance I've received from all of these teachers and master. My heartfelt gratitude and bows to all of them!

- Kim, 9.1.2015.

Updated: 31.1.2016.