Wednesdays during school term only
19:30 - 21:00 AEST
Tilopa to Naropa: The Ganges Mahamudra.
17 July - 21 August 2024
Mahamudra Upadesha, also known as the Ganges Mahamudra, explains its precious instructions for realizing Mahamudra, the pinnacle of the Buddhist path to enlightenment. This path focuses on the direct experience of the nature of one's mind, which is the primary means in this tradition to realize ultimate reality and attain Buddhahood.
Mahamudra is a practice that can be undertaken by anyone. It is an approach that engulfs any practitioner with tremendous blessings, making it both effective and easy to implement.
KHENCHEN TRANGU RINPOCHE: "This is particularly true in our present time and especially applicable for Westerners, as there are very few obstacles in the practice of Mahamudra in the West"
PRESENT TIME.
Mahamudra is the means to rejuvenate the youthful mind and catapult it to Buddhahood. As Tilopa once said, "One torch can dissipate the accumulated darkness of a thousand aeons." This teaching might be as old as a thousand years, but its resonant heartbeat remains as long as samsara and its inhabitants exist. There are no sages of the early ages or sages of degeneration; sages of the mind can be found anywhere and in any way. The pebbles of then and now are indifferent. The Buddha who was enlightened under the Bodhi tree is no different from the one breathing within us. Let's turn the pages of this powerful Upadesha (teaching) and explore how it might have crossed Naropa's mind. Let us discover that it in our mind that is thirsty of Buddhahood.
I am certain that with the infallible truth of nature and the blessings imbued within it, the gates of liberation will reopen without truce.
Next:
THE DZOGCHEN TEACHING: “THE FLIGHT OF THE GARUDA” BY HOLY SHAKBAR TSOGDRUK RANGDROL
Commences 21 August 2024
See also:
The Life of Shakbar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin
The Life of Shabkar has long been recognized by Tibetans as one of the master works of their religious heritage. Following his inspired youth and early training in his native province of Amdo under the guidance of several extraordinary Buddhist masters, Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol devoted himself to many years of meditation in solitary retreat. With determination and courage, he mastered the highest and most esoteric practices of the Tibetan tradition of the Great Perfection. He then wandered far and wide over the Himalayan region expressing his realization. His autobiography vividly reflects the values and visionary imagery of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the social and cultural life of early nineteenth century Tibet.
Coming up:
Six Dharmas of Niguma
The entire teachings of the Buddha can be condensed into these four lines:
BUDDHA
སྡིག་པ་ཅི་ཡང་མི་བྱ་ཞིང་
Doing no evil whatsoever,
དགེ་བ་ཕུན་སུམ་ཚོགས་པར་སྤྱད
Practicing virtue perfectly,
རང་གི་སེམས་ནི་ཡོངས་སུ་འདུལ
Taming your mind completely,
འདི་ནི་སངས་རྒྱས་བསྟན་པ་ཡིན
This is the teaching of the Buddha.
From the Shravakas to the highest yoga Tantra, this practice is recognized and confirmed. It encompasses taming, conquering, and applying the teachings according to three general types of beings and is detailed through the five paths in Yogini's "Lady of Illusion" (Gyuma Lamgyi Rimpa), which was shared in 2022 by HEZR over the span of 36 weeks.
Over 1001 great masters, mahasiddhas, and second Buddhas mastered and left behind 1001 instructions, treatises, poems, songs, and methods. Each one demonstrates the impermanence of life, cultivates compassion, and ultimately points towards the nature of the mind.
These four lines apply to beginners in a literal sense, to the mediocre with a focus on the third line, and to advanced practitioners in a meditative and integrative manner.
The condescending shifts, the all but none-ness, the constitutional rights left hanging dry, the now or never moments, the rainbow-like perceptions, the sunsets of life, the willingness to cross the ocean despite the odds—these are all vividly captured by the fearless Niguma in her next book on the Six Dharmas.
Let us pray and practice so that this book reveals our cognitive assertions to the fullest, resulting in a bountiful and admirable victory. When we pass from this world, may our next life not be the same again. Let us wish to be reborn in the sublime realm of Khechari, where the Yogini preaches directly. Finally, I hope to become a happier person, having touched upon a beautiful smile on the face of the Yogini.