Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Leave thinking to the one
who gave intelligence. In silence

there is eloquence. Stop weaving
and watch how the pattern improves.

Rumi










‎"All good deeds that are prompted by hope of happiness in the next world cease to be moral."


Mahatma Gandhi

Tuesday, June 7, 2011


'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.


Om mani padme hum is the most important mantra in Buddhism. It is the six syllable mantra of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteshvara.
Om Mani Padme Hum in Tibetan script
Om Mani Padme Hum in Tibetan script.


Om Mani Padme Hum on a stone
Om Mani Padme Hum inscribed on a stone.
The Dalai Lama is said to be an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, so the mantra is especially revered by his devotees. Click here to hear the mantra chanted by a Tibetan refugee.
The basic English translation of Om mani padme hum is "Om Jewel in the Lotus Hum" or "Praise to the Jewel in the Lotus." However, the meaning and significance of the six Tibetan syllables have been interpreted in a variety of ways. One common interpretation is that each syllable corresponds to one of the six realms of existence and purifies the vice associated with that realm:
  • Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods)
  • Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods)
  • Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm)
  • Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm)
  • Me purifies poverty and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts)
  • Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm)
It has also been said that recitation of each of the syllables prevents rebirth in the corresponding realm.
The first known description of the mantra appears in the Karandavyuha Sutra, which is part of certain Mahayana canons such as the Tibetan canon. In this sutra, the Buddha says:
"This is the most beneficial mantra. Even I made this aspiration to all the million Buddhas and subsequently received this teaching from Buddha Amitabha."
In his book Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones, Gen Rinproche says of the mantra:
"The mantra Om Mani Pädme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. Päd, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.

So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by all the Buddhas of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"

Sources

  1. Meher McArthur, Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs and Symbols (Thames & Hudson, 2004), 156.
  2. "Om Mani Padme Hum." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Keep the Faith



Birth after Birth, the guru will speak to you.
Pray and don't hold back your faith and devotion.
Keep this in your heart, my worthy noble son.
Strong is your samaya, princely ruler;
You will greatly serve the Buddha teachings.





http://www.yongey.org/main/aboutrinpoche.htm  California


http://www.yongey.org/main/index.htm  Main

Keep Moving



“I know the path: it is straight and narrow
It is like the edge of a sword.
I rejoice to walk on it.
I weep when I slip.
God’s word is:
‘He who strives never perishes.’
I have implicit faith in that promise.
Though, therefore, from my weakness I fail athousand times.
I shall not lose faith.”




Thursday, June 2, 2011

Aaron Huey: America's native prisoners of war | Video on TED.com

Aaron Huey: America's native prisoners of war | Video on TED.com

Aaron Huey is a masthead photographer for National Geographic Adventure and National Geographic Traveler magazines. His stories from Afghanistan, Haiti, Mali, Siberia, Yemen and French Polynesia (to name just a few) on subjects as diverse as the Afghan drug war and the underwater photography of sharks, can be found in The New Yorker, National Geographic and The New York Times.

Huey serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit Blue Earth Alliance. In 2002, he walked 3,349 miles across America with his dog Cosmo (the journey lasted 154 days), and was recently awarded a National Geographic Expedition Council Grant to hitchhike across Siberia.

"My success is not measured in money. I have no financial security, I have no savings account. I measure my success
by asking myself if I’m telling a story that the world needs to hear, if I am educating people."
Aaron Huey