Generosity of Benefactors in Buddhism

Generosity of Benefactors

in Buddhism

Throughout the history of buddhism, dharma-teachings have spread to new countries. Many times locals, often rulers and kings, invited dharma-teachers and masters to their lands to ask them to teach the dharma to people to establish better existential understanding among people and bring peace to the world. In return, kings, emperors and locals offered funds and resources for the dharma masters who in turn offered them to the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. In other words, these masters, assisted and supported by the community, built and established temples and training sites where monastics and laypeople could practice the teachings. The history of buddhism gives a strong account of this at every location it has spread.

One particular benefactor and possibly the most important figure in bringing buddhism to Tibet was King Trisong Detsen. He invited many masters to Tibet, from India, China and Korea, incl. Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava who brought tantric teachings to Tibet from India. Without Trisong Detsen's vision, fortitude and immeasurable generosity, Guru Rinpoche and other masters could not have built the foundations of what was to become a dharma kingdom where buddhism and especially vajrayana buddhist teachings survived and flourished for over thousand years. Consequentially, innumerable amount of practitioners, both female and male, attained the state of buddhahood and bodhisattvahood. The amount of merit and benefit to all sentient beings, due to King Trisong Detsen's understanding of priorities, is beyond measure. Trisong Detsen himself attained buddhahood as a direct disciple of Guru Padmasambhava. He was one of the original 25 disciples.

Today I wish to bow deeply and express my gratitude to all benefactors of dharma throughout the history of buddhism. Your kindness has helped countless beings in the past, in present and will continue to benefit countless beings in the future. I bow to you deeply and venerate your vision as an embodiment of activity of perfect enlightenment.

Namo Guru Rinpoche

Kim 

20.11.2019 

King Trisong Detsen

Longchenpa: Accumulation of Merit

Longchenpa: Accumulation of Merit

This message which really opens up one's primordial condition,

Is beyond all foundations or bases; it is the core reality of pure and total presence.

It should be transmitted by those who have fathomed it,

To those who are very trusting, vigorous and committed;

Who are sympathetically compassionate and do not change their minds;

And who would offer their body, offspring, spouse and wealth

Trustingly and joyfully, yet without desire.

Such students are characterized by their trust and commitment.

Thus, being mentally unattached, all wealth should be offered to the teacher. The teacher, to complete the accumulation of merit, accepts without desire what was offered and offers it to the Three Jewels.

-Longchenpa, You Are the Eyes of the World

Longchen Rabjam

Losing Faith In Buddhist Tradition

Losing Faith In Buddhist Tradition

I have always thought of buddhist tradition as a solid and reliable source of information leading to experiential wisdom. I've had this deep conviction about it since I came across it. I realize that I've kept this belief subconsciously up until today. At the same time seeing all the problems and faults in traditions, I realize that I don't have that trust at all anymore. It is the exact opposite. It is a peculiar feeling, finding that one's beliefs aren't even nearly the same they used to be. My trust towards the Three Jewels and my Guru is as unshakable as always.

I have spent years examining buddhism and its practices, and found few key problems that prevents the tradition from being a tradition of experiential wisdom. In this blog and in my talks I have talked about this in great extent. To clarify my point, I specifically refer to lack of wisdom and insight among living buddhists. I think that buddhism, in all of its vehicles (skt. yana), have mostly become established religion, exactly like different branches of christianity, drained from any real meaning. Millions of followers are lead by leaders with little or no insight at all. It didn't work in the past, it doesn't work now and it never will in the future.

The potential is immense in terms of written sutras and tantras but the outcome is very little in terms of actual emptiness realization. Even Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, a pioneer and heavyweight of Tibetan buddhism, admitted that Shakyamuni Buddha failed to establish a system that would quarantee awakening for it's followers. I've discussed poor pedagogy, irrelevant practices, poorly understood practices, lack of theoretical understanding and other points extensively. In my view, there is absolutely no point doing practices that do not generate insight but because of religious beliefs, many stick with it for years and decades. If we compared growth of buddhist meditators to human babies, it is like the buddhist community never even become toddlers. They remain helpless like newborn babies without insight; thinking, seeing and acting in divided ways. Without emptiness insight and the vision of equality arising from therein, there cannot be compassionate action that would lead us to peace and harmony as a whole.

I always looked at practice as a way to change the hurtful and shortsighted habits of the human kind but this will not change if we keep thinking in terms of ”us and them”, or even in terms of the ”planet and us”. If our eye of wisdom is shut, we are screwed like the rest of numberless sentient beings who transmigrate the six realms, just causing harm and hurt for themselves and others.

It is so easy to forget that we are not here to stay. By living our lives and going about our careers, relationships and achievements, we forget that we are not here to stay. Then one day we get ill, get old or die, and that's it. What will be the worth of our efforts when the moment of death arrives? When we leave our human bodies all we can take with us is our memories and emotional impressions. Will we go with a clear mind or will we still keep feeling our hurts? Those who have the fortunate connection to dharma, can choose, so we are priviledged.

It all boils down to knowing ourselves as unborn and undying, timeless being that is full of love and kindness. As buddhas we are free, always in balance and this love pours out as acts of kindness like monsoon pours water. This is who we are and this is what emptiness meditation leads to. So, if you practice, do it properly.

-Kim Katami, 9^th of August 2019

Open Heart Sangha,

www.en.openheart.fi

The First Person Who Opened All Bhumis with Dynamic Concentration

The First Person Who Opened All Bhumis with Dynamic Concentration

Kim's Comment: I received an email from ”CN”, who told me of her success with Open Heart practices. She briefly tells about her practice history in theravada buddhism and further progress with core Open Heart practices that she learned from the website and YouTube-videos. She is the first one who has opened all 13 bhumis without receiving tantric empowerments, by the power of Dynamic Concentration and other central exercises. I have asked CN for a more detailed account which will be published soon in this blog.

CN: First of all, I would like to thank you for making your teachings available on YouTube, the website and your books. I have benefitted greatly from them. I first heard Open Heart from the Dharma Overground website and was intrigued, I have been practising Theravadan Vipassana meditation for about 10 years and had reached 2nd path but wasn't seeing further progress. Once I started practicing with your guided meditations on YouTube, my practice became much more enjoyable and felt easier and also started to notice Bhumi openings. And I (humbly) believe that I may have open the 13th bhumi. My experience on the 11th bhumi opening lines up with several of the testimonials I have read. I have noticed other practices hinted at in the YouTube videos, so I would like to sign up for your course to learn these. I live in western Canada, , which is 10 time zones behind Finland.

Since I moved away from the Theravadan practice, I was doing a combination of Guru Yoga, Dynamic Concentration and Ati Yoga. I mostly followed the video: Introduction to Tibetan Heart Yoga: Guided Practice and the Dynamic Concentration: Buddha, Dharma & Sangha as well as others that you have available, I particularly enjoyed your recent series on Bodhicitta. Yes, opening the 11th was amazing, the natural state feels so available now.

Kim: Ah, so there it is... The effect of dynamic concentration. I am so happy to hear that you opened those bhumis with the help of these non-tantric exercises. All of my students have received Open Heart Yoga empowerment before beginning dynamic concentration practice, so you are the first one who actually opened all bhumis without empowerment. I am thrilled to hear that!

Learn more about Dynamic Concentration from 
What's Next? On Post-Awakening Practice-ebook.

The Five Pillars of Open Heart by Lama Karl Eikrem

The Five Pillars of Open Heart

by Lama Karl Eikrem

Whenever the teachings of the Lotus-Born are manifested in this world, and a new lineage born, a basic structure takes form. This structure consists of five pillars, each of which has three layers of meaning: outer, inner and absolute. 

The five pillars are the Guru, His Pure Land, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and their levels of meaning are as follows:

The outer meaning of Guru refers to the revealer of the teachings, the head of the lineage. The inner meaning of Guru refers to the energetic presence and blessings of Guru Rinpoche, the master. The absolute meaning of Guru refers to Self-Arising Awareness itself. 

The outer meaning of His Pure Land refers to the center of teaching, or temple. The inner meaning of His Pure Land refers to the vibratory field of the Copper-Coloured Mountain. The absolute meaning of His Pure Land refers to Self-Arising Awareness itself. 

The outer meaning of Buddha refers to the Shakyamuni Buddha, who laid the foundation. The inner meaning of Buddha refers to Bodhicitta, the key to enlightenment. The absolute meaning of Buddha refers to Self-Arising Awareness itself. 

The outer meaning of Dharma refers to the teachings of sutra. The inner meaning of Dharma refers to the teachings of tantra. The absolute meaning of Dharma refers to Self-Arising Awareness itself. 

The outer meaning of Sangha refers to the community of practitioners. The inner sangha refers to the community of all sentient beings. The absolute meaning of Sangha refers to Self-Arising Awareness itself.

May all beings be free!
All beings are free!

Meeting Sakya Trizin

Meeting Sakya Trizin

In August of 2016 I had the opportunity to join Sakya Trizin's teachings at Helsinki, Finland. Sakya Trizin is the head of the Sakya school of Tibetan buddhism which is one of the four main schools of tantric buddhism of Tibet. You can find information about him by googling.

As such a high profile representer of vajrayana buddhism was in town I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to go and see if my analysis of him with the Open Heart Bhumi Model was correct or mistaken. In this episode of Bhumi Study Series, I've mapped him as 9^th bhumi (9/13) which makes him a mature bodhisattva. Mapping for the mentioned series has been done solely on the basis of his photography.

Sakya Trizin taught at Helsinki on four separate days. The teachings covered the very basics of mahayana buddhism such as preciousness and transitoriness of human life, need for dharma practice and so on. The lectures were preceded by prayers and sutras read in Tibetan and other languages. The venue was a classy one which they had decorated with the regalia of a traditional Tibetan buddhist temple. ”Tibetans sure can put up a show”, Alan Wallace said.

I seldom join events that are highly religious and glad in particular cultural attire. And it always surprises me. This time as well. The same thing happens to me everytime I go to these grandiose churches in central Europe. ”Wow... What a setting... How did they come up this!? It must have taken them a full day to build the whole thing up. Now, let's see what they teach!”

I joined Sakya Trizin's sessions on two separate days, for 3 hours at a time. On the second occasion I also had the chance to stand just 2-3 meters of him for about 2 minutes when he was on his way to the throne.

The moment he came in, I clearly felt that he still is 9^th bhumi, as myself. However, he is a mature 9^th bhumi while myself am a newly hatched. This being the case, his presence had no effect of clarification or elevation to my mind which always happens in the company of a person who is spiritual more advanced than you are. That didn't happen, the conclusion being that the OHBM worked once again. I have also tested my bhumi analysis in the physical company of Amma, the Hugging Saint whom I have rated as 13^th bhumi, fully enlightened buddha. So far, after publishing the model I have not met other teachers whom I have rated.

I'd like to mention one particular thing about this and other buddhist events, in regards to mahasiddha bhumis.

What happened at this event was that when buddhist sutras and prayers, along with prayers to Buddha Shakyamuni and the Three Jewels (buddha, dharma and sangha) were read, instantly there was a high spiritual charge in the room of the mahasiddha bhumis. It lasted for the time when these prayers were read, both before and after the lengthy lectures given by Sakya Trizin.

I once witnessed the same thing happen at a zen buddhist retreat where a zen-teacher conducted a ceremony of giving the so called lay percepts to a couple of practitioners. The charge was so beautiful, so fresh and full for the duration of the ceremony. Shakyamuni's presence was palpable. After the ceremony I asked the zen-teacher if he was aware of this subtle charge. He honestly answered he was not.

To me personally, from one perspective it was interesting to go and be in the presence of this archbishop of Tibetan buddhism who is largely regarded as a living buddha. We don't get such opportunities often here up north. On the other hand, with all love and respect, it was boring as hell. 2½ hour long lectures on the absolute basics of buddhism where you keep hearing the same exalted things over and over, well, made me sleepy and bored.

I've witnessed exactly the same type of dharma events in Finland several times, taught by several rinpoches, during the last two decades. I can't help thinking how it is possible people do not demand to be taught something more visceral, something more real and less religious. Perhaps it's just me but I have hard time understanding why people are not taught pragmatically. I've never been a fan of ancient religions especially if they are said to get one fully enlightened. Perhaps people who join these events have no need to know. Perhaps they are not confused in existential sense, they way I used to be. If this is the case then the teachings offered might be exactly what they need. And I'm just an angry fool let down by my own frustrations.

Anyway, there is a long way from prayers recited in completely foreign language (Tibetan) to experiential understanding the principles behind it. Therefore I doubt people ”get it”, get awakened or enlightened this way. For sure, there is some benefit and transformation from doing such practices in the way they were taught, which is wonderful, but I often wonder the purpose and effect of the whole thing. I feel these traditional schools of Tibetan buddhism are like ancient dinosaurs brought to modern environment.

Nonetheless, I wish all the best to anyone involved.

• Kim Katami, 22.8.2016

Open Heart, www.openheart.fi