Ask MysticSang'ha anything

[YmirGF]

Can I first point out that these are some really awesome questions?

Well, they help to show you what I have in mind, lol.

My answer to your first question is that many of my perceptions are still a little fuzzy, but a few things have been quite clear. And, it's been due to a lot of practice. My senses have been a little more refined since beginning practice and concentrating on the more subtle realms.

I understand. It is merely a question of practice.

I have found myself able to smell and hear things that are absolutely NOT of this gross physical/material world. But the sight thing is pretty radical, I must say.

Indeed it is, it is in deed

If I must narrow it down to any recurring experience, I would have to say two distinct visions keep popping up: the Tunnel, and the Eye - with the latter vision experienced the most often. When I first saw the Eye staring back at me, I actually jumped up out of my meditation seated position (which I don't usually recommend LOL). After a while, I became quite comfortable with it. Once I attached a to it and saw it as either the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Ra (I could never remember which was which), the shape of the eye changed. It would change to a horse's eye, then a baby's eye, then a cat's eye, and on and on and on.

LOL... sorry I am laughing with you... not AT you, lol. Yep, the eye does have a way of getting one's attention, lol. I love the transitions you are describing. Wonderful. Have you reached the Eye yet, or is it still in the middle of your field of vision? I know it sounds odd, but try to move towards the Eye. An adept surely should know how, but for our “Home” audience (Hehe.) I would say that it is simply in focusing your will. Belief isn't required when one is staring straight at something is it? To make this easier, think of yourself as being a magnet that is positive and the eye is another magnet that is also positive. (We could easily say the opposite, but I hope you *grok* the idea.) The harder you try to enter or get near the eye, the further it will recede. The key to doing this is easier that it sounds but you have to figure out that aspect of the gem yourself. As usual, if you desire to be There, you will not be There. When you no longer desire to be There you will almost be There... that is when you apply your “will” (life-force or whatever you want to call it) and make the “leap”. Does that make any sense at all?

Now I simply observe it observing me.

When you feel you are ready, begin to “stalk” the eye and make it yours. You will not be disappointed.

The Tunnel is a whirling, swirling, vivid and colorful thing to travel through. I don't feel that I'm out of my body at that time, but it's like I'm watching a 3-D movie. I guess I simply watch a psychedelic experience unfolding until it's time to come back to the “real world“.

My drawings from yesteryear are full of spirals and double-helixes. I see this as the nuclear self or the self reduced to particle form. Do you ever get to the end of the tunnel or is it simply rotating? Is it rotating at all? Left to right or right to left (as there are two intersecting vortices.)

Honestly, no. But I have experienced a heightened <i>awareness</i> of all the directions despite not looking in all directions. It is as if all my senses have become 10x more refined, including spatial awareness. Does that make sense?

Yes, of course it makes sense, lol. When you get to the eye... hang tight. “Houston, we are go for main engine start!”

OK, let's see if I can explain this sensibly in any way whatsoever, since this is getting deeper into Tibetan mysticism.

Well you are a Tibetan Mystic

Buddha is considered to have three bodies, three forms, three cosmological “functions” These are called 1) Sambhogakaya - the form the enlightened mind appears to benefit highly realized bodhisattvas (also called the “enjoyment body“); 2) Nirmanakaya - the form the enlightened mind appears to benefit ordinary beings (also called “emanation body“)

*both of these forms are also referred to collectively as rupakaya - which is how we identify the holy body of a Buddha (also called “form body“)*

The dharma-kaya is the form of the enlightened mind that is free of all forms, from my understanding. Here is the FPMT official definition of the term:

That is pretty well bang on, Heather. The thing is, it is both a state of consciousness AND a “place” that is not a place, as we would normally think of the term... but it is a “place” nonetheless.

I'm not at all familiar with the term “Og-Min“, though. I'm sorry that I can't comment on that.

Excellent answers Heather. To my understanding, although limited of course due to physical constraints, Og-Min signifies a legendary “Realm of the Densely-Packed. You could call it reality as viewed from the photon's perspective.
Here is a source from the Bardo Thodol,; For more discussion of “the Central Realm of the Densely-Packed,” see Evans-Wentz (1960, P.107).
The experience of Og-Min is transforming to say the least and words do not describe it well. It is almost a sub-atomic reality where micro and macro are One. It is hard to think of much else to say other than it is very bright indeed. Take some sunblock and sunglasses. J/K. I do remember the Dharma-Kaya as being like a cloudless sky that certainly seemed infinite. It was a magnificent crystal clear blue/aquamarine that took my “breath” away. Considering that I was out of my body, that is saying a lot. <grin>
I knew what I was seeing/perceiving was the Dharma-kaya and only later after I borrowed a copy of the Evans-Wentz “Tibetan Book of the Dead” from the library did I see my exact descriptions written there in plain view. It's hard to put in meaningful terms, but even then I KNEW what I was doing and what I was perceiving, I just didn't have the appreciation for what it all meant. (That probably sounds like a contradiction but I will assure you that it is not.) It took me decades to distill the meaning. I guess I am just thicker than most. PS: The Hare Krsna's refer to the Dharma-Kaya as being the “Spiritual Sky“... and is somewhat literal and somewhat metaphorical.

 

[Ozzie]

Are you worried that if the Chinese get their way and install a successor to the DL that conforms to their liking, that Groupthink will obliterate Tibetan Buddhism?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

LOL... sorry I am laughing with you... not AT you, lol. Yep, the eye does have a way of getting one's attention, lol. I love the transitions you are describing. Wonderful. Have you reached the Eye yet, or is it still in the middle of your field of vision? I know it sounds odd, but try to move towards the Eye. An adept surely should know how, but for our “Home” audience (Hehe.) I would say that it is simply in focusing your will. Belief isn't required when one is staring straight at something is it? To make this easier, think of yourself as being a magnet that is positive and the eye is another magnet that is also positive. (We could easily say the opposite, but I hope you *grok* the idea.) The harder you try to enter or get near the eye, the further it will recede. The key to doing this is easier that it sounds but you have to figure out that aspect of the gem yourself. As usual, if you desire to be There, you will not be There. When you no longer desire to be There you will almost be There... that is when you apply your “will” (life-force or whatever you want to call it) and make the “leap”. Does that make any sense at all?

It makes perfect sense in a Right-Brain sort of way.

My drawings from yesteryear are full of spirals and double-helixes. I see this as the nuclear self or the self reduced to particle form. Do you ever get to the end of the tunnel or is it simply rotating? Is it rotating at all? Left to right or right to left (as there are two intersecting vortices.)

It's nearly always rotating "clockwise", but I do vaguely remember feeling like I was stretching myself toward the end of the Tunnel once, looking past it, and finding another Tunnel rotating "counter-clockwise." Since at the time it felt like I was trying too hard toward some arbitrary goal, I just relaxed my focus and simply observed.

That is pretty well bang on, Heather. The thing is, it is both a state of consciousness AND a “place” that is not a place, as we would normally think of the term... but it is a “place” nonetheless.

It's a very paradoxical view that doesn't make any rational or physical sense. From the mystic's POV, though, it makes perfect sense.

Excellent answers Heather. To my understanding, although limited of course due to physical constraints, Og-Min signifies a legendary “Realm of the Densely-Packed. You could call it reality as viewed from the photon's perspective.

Here is a source from the Bardo Thodol,; For more discussion of “the Central Realm of the Densely-Packed,” see Evans-Wentz (1960, P.107).
The experience of Og-Min is transforming to say the least and words do not describe it well. It is almost a sub-atomic reality where micro and macro are One. It is hard to think of much else to say other than it is very bright indeed. Take some sunblock and sunglasses. J/K. I do remember the Dharma-Kaya as being like a cloudless sky that certainly seemed infinite. It was a magnificent crystal clear blue/aquamarine that took my “breath” away. Considering that I was out of my body, that is saying a lot. <grin>
I knew what I was seeing/perceiving was the Dharma-kaya and only later after I borrowed a copy of the Evans-Wentz “Tibetan Book of the Dead” from the library did I see my exact descriptions written there in plain view. It's hard to put in meaningful terms, but even then I KNEW what I was doing and what I was perceiving, I just didn't have the appreciation for what it all meant. (That probably sounds like a contradiction but I will assure you that it is not.) It took me decades to distill the meaning. I guess I am just thicker than most. PS: The Hare Krsna's refer to the Dharma-Kaya as being the “Spiritual Sky“... and is somewhat literal and somewhat metaphorical.

Once I believe I got a glance at this very sky you're talking about. I fell asleep once practicing Dream Yoga with the intention of finding a dream "guru", and I found myself immediately perceiving a group of monks in front of me with bright lights emanating from their throats and chanting OM endlessly. Behind them was this crystal clear sky. The experience lasted only a minute or so, but the impact was profound. Every time I hear chanting in the guttural "Hoomi" singing (although that's a Mongolian term), I get goosebumps and sent back to that dream experience several years ago.




Peace,
Mystic

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Are you worried that if the Chinese get their way and install a successor to the DL that conforms to their liking, that Groupthink will obliterate Tibetan Buddhism?

I think what we know as the Geluk school will be gone since the Dalai Lama not only is considered a spiritual leader, but the temporal leader of the Tibetan people. With the crap that has gone on with the Panchen Lama fiasco (which is so depressing), I can only imagine the repercussions the Chinese government will cause by choosing it's own DL after Tenzin Gyatso passes. :help:

I do think that Tibet is seeing the twilight of it's existence, so I'm not that worried since we've seen the tradition expand around the world. I think that Tibetan Buddhism will remain for a long while even if Tibetan Buddhism is snuffed out by the Chinese. Does that make sense?




Peace,
Mystic

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Why do some buddhists eat meat? Even when BUddha said not to, or am i mistaken. I heard the dalai lama does too..

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Why do some buddhists eat meat? Even when BUddha said not to, or am i mistaken. I heard the dalai lama does too..

Well, ideally, animal flesh ought not to be a nutritional provision for humans. Because of this compassion for sentient beings (animals), a number of Buddhists take it upon themselves to refrain from eating meat.

However, ideally, insects, worms, critters, or anything else ought not to be harmed or killed in order to till the soil to plant the vegetables that would replace meat food for humans, too.

Also, consider the environment that most Tibetans live in. The climate is soooo not conducive to producing acres of crops, so they mostly rely on the yaks they raise for their sustenance.

I often times play devil's advocate, too, with vegans who are A-OK with human abortion rights............these are people who think that eating eggs are eating a "potential life" of a chicken and consider it a crime, but also will not have the same protective attitude toward a "potential human life."

It's not that one's right and another is wrong. It's just a challenge for all of us to brutal and honest self-examination on how we define our boundaries and our morals. For a lot of people, right vs. wrong results in a whole lot of "arbitrary." And our perpsectives on animals are no different.

So sure, we shouldn't eat animals. We also shouldn't lie, gossip, speak harshly, take what isn't ours, or kill insects, either. But these negative karmic actions are not meant to be evident for us to feel a sense of punishment or not...........we are here to examine our karmic actions and habits that keep us in the cycle of samsara.

It's a very worthy question, penguino. I hope you don't mind that I used your question to address a broader picture. :flower:

When it comes to the Dalai Lama, he is by his own definition, a simple monk. Buddhist monks are to eat what is offered to them, so if the laity gives a bhikku or a bhikkuni some meat in their offering bowl, they must eat it.

The DL has also been advised by his doctor to eat meat because of his Hepatitis infection he got some years ago.

I currently eat meat, but my family and I have been discussing recently how to transition to a more compassionate and healthy diet.




Peace,
Mystic

 

[Ozzie]

I think what we know as the Geluk school will be gone since the Dalai Lama not only is considered a spiritual leader, but the temporal leader of the Tibetan people. With the crap that has gone on with the Panchen Lama fiasco (which is so depressing), I can only imagine the repercussions the Chinese government will cause by choosing it's own DL after Tenzin Gyatso passes. :help:

I do think that Tibet is seeing the twilight of it's existence, so I'm not that worried since we've seen the tradition expand around the world. I think that Tibetan Buddhism will remain for a long while even if Tibetan Buddhism is snuffed out by the Chinese. Does that make sense?

Actually I think that is a very helpful, hopeful and accurate observation to make given the Chinese boot in the mouth strategy to control Tibetan Buddhism. And I think the DL would say that himself.:yes:

 

[lilithu]

Why do some buddhists eat meat? Even when BUddha said not to, or am i mistaken. I heard the dalai lama does too..

It's also the case that some humans have a mutation that makes them unable to synthesize an essential amino acid. Thus, in order to stay healthy, they must acquire it by eating meat. I don't know if the Dalai Lama has this mutation but the highest incidences of it are in Tibet.

 

[lilithu]

Namaste Mystic. :namaste

Here's a straight-forward question:

Also, keep in mind that there are 4 distinct schools in Vajrayana Buddhism: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Geluk. It is without question that I will be approaching answers from the Geluk perspective and method. Consider that each of these four schools are siblings in a family. We're very close, but there are certain things that set us apart.

What are the differences between the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism?

 

[vandervalley]

When it comes to the Dalai Lama, he is by his own definition, a simple monk. Buddhist monks are to eat what is offered to them, so if the laity gives a bhikku or a bhikkuni some meat in their offering bowl, they must eat it.

Correct me if I am wrong; DL is in India now right? From my knowledge India has plenty of fertile soils + pleasant temperature to grow vegies and besides DL got his meals from the kitchen which is situated in the building where he lives; not from people's leftovers on the street.

So why isn't he a vegetarian yet?

and also why aren't the monks who followed him to India vegetarians now?

 

[lilithu]

Correct me if I am wrong; DL is in India now right? From my knowledge India has plenty of fertile soils + pleasant temperature to grow vegies and besides DL got his meals from the kitchen which is situated in the building where he lives; not from people's leftovers on the street.

So why isn't he a vegetarian yet?

She already answered this:

The DL has also been advised by his doctor to eat meat because of his Hepatitis infection he got some years ago.

And as I said, some Tibetans have a mutation that does not allow them to be vegetarian.

Let us please not get into a debate about vegetarianism in the Buddhism discussion forum, and especially not in Mystic's thread.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Namaste Mystic. :namaste

Here's a straight-forward question:What are the differences between the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism?

Tashe delek, and Namaste lilithu. :namaste

The Nyingma school is by definition the oldest school among Tibetan Buddhists, and it's lineage can be traced back to it's earliest teachings from the Samye institutional monarchies around 900 c.e. Once Tibet became rather decentralized, and the monastics found themselves in varying lineages, the other three schools branched out from this school, also called the "Ancient School."

All lineages trace their beginnings back to Padmasambhava, the dude that penned the Bardos Thodol. But the Nyingma school honors him and recognizes him the most out of all, and calls him Guru Rinpoche. Nyingma also is considered the "Old Translation" school, since it has focused primarily on maintaining the integrity of the Dharma transmissions of the third turning of the wheel of Dharma.

Nyingma also consideres the path to enlightenment broken down into nine yanas instead of the three that we are familiar with today.

We have the two Yanas of "cause": Theravada (Hinayana), and Mahayana

Then we have the Yana of "result": Vajrayana, which is broken down into two Tantras, the Outer Tantras and the Inner Tantras:

Outer Tantras (focus on relationship with a Deity): Kriyayoga-yana, Upayoga-yana, Yoga-yana

Inner Tantras (all phenomena are equal, consorts are visualized in Tantric positions with their partners): Mahayoga-yana, Anuyoga-yana, Atiyoga-yana

These teachings have been held together most authentically by the Nyingma school since it's earliest spreadings. Much like how I personally value the Theravadin perspective, I personally value the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism as kind of the Mother Ship, in a way.

I'll go into more detail of the three schools that are considered the "New Translation" schools, whose hierarchies have been known to travel from more distant lands, and therefore, differing perspectives on the Vajrayana Dharma transmissions.

The three New schools have also been more entwined in political struggles with each other and within their own circles far more than the Nyingma school has.

*rubs eyes*

As you've probably guessed, this is just the tip of the iceberg on the Tibetan history and it's foundations of it's lineages...........and lineages are super-duper important here. But this is about as far as I can personally get without wondering if my head will explode.

As promised, I will address the other three schools in a later post.

I'm so glad you asked this, lilithu. :flower:




Peace,
Mystic

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Correct me if I am wrong; DL is in India now right? From my knowledge India has plenty of fertile soils + pleasant temperature to grow vegies and besides DL got his meals from the kitchen which is situated in the building where he lives; not from people's leftovers on the street.

So why isn't he a vegetarian yet?

and also why aren't the monks who followed him to India vegetarians now?

Yes, we can say that the DL has moved from his palace in Lhasa to northern India, where he is living in exile, in Dharamsala.

The monastic vows do not specifically state to abstain from meat. They DO have stringent codes of conduct when it comes to sex (they are to be celibate), speech, and action..............but when it comes to animals, all will agree that they are not to kill them.

Refer to my earlier post on the bigger picture. We can't don the legalistic caps here. Another example:

We have a local monastery that had a termite problem a few years ago. It was so bad that if they did not take immediate action and exterminate the darn bugs, their monastery would have to be torn down. This is a centralized place for many Buddhists in our local area to go for retreat. The scenery is beautiful. The monks and nuns there, all Theravadins, are open and welcome of all traditions. We celebrated Vesak day there this past May, and it was absolutely wonderful. It's a great place to teach and uphold the Dharma.

They had to weigh their decision on what would make a bigger karmic impact. Should they maintain their place for Dharma teachings and as a place for meditative refuge for the laity? Or should they kill the bugs?

The fact that I can drive out there today and find the monastery still there shows us what they chose to do.

As lilithu stated, if you would like to debate this issue of meat-eating among Buddhists, you are more than welcome to start a thread in the Debate forums.




Peace,
Mystic

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Well, ideally, animal flesh ought not to be a nutritional provision for humans. Because of this compassion for sentient beings (animals), a number of Buddhists take it upon themselves to refrain from eating meat.

However, ideally, insects, worms, critters, or anything else ought not to be harmed or killed in order to till the soil to plant the vegetables that would replace meat food for humans, too.

Also, consider the environment that most Tibetans live in. The climate is soooo not conducive to producing acres of crops, so they mostly rely on the yaks they raise for their sustenance.

I often times play devil's advocate, too, with vegans who are A-OK with human abortion rights............these are people who think that eating eggs are eating a "potential life" of a chicken and consider it a crime, but also will not have the same protective attitude toward a "potential human life."

It's not that one's right and another is wrong. It's just a challenge for all of us to brutal and honest self-examination on how we define our boundaries and our morals. For a lot of people, right vs. wrong results in a whole lot of "arbitrary." And our perpsectives on animals are no different.

So sure, we shouldn't eat animals. We also shouldn't lie, gossip, speak harshly, take what isn't ours, or kill insects, either. But these negative karmic actions are not meant to be evident for us to feel a sense of punishment or not...........we are here to examine our karmic actions and habits that keep us in the cycle of samsara.

It's a very worthy question, penguino. I hope you don't mind that I used your question to address a broader picture. :flower:

When it comes to the Dalai Lama, he is by his own definition, a simple monk. Buddhist monks are to eat what is offered to them, so if the laity gives a bhikku or a bhikkuni some meat in their offering bowl, they must eat it.

The DL has also been advised by his doctor to eat meat because of his Hepatitis infection he got some years ago.

I currently eat meat, but my family and I have been discussing recently how to transition to a more compassionate and healthy diet.




Peace,
Mystic

Thanks Mystic, something which i didnt know i learnt today, The Buddha ate meat...

 

[Willamena]

I have some questions for you, Heather.

You mentioned earlier perceptions that were "absolutely NOT of this gross physical/material world." As I understand the concept of "unity," there is only one world ("form does not differ from emptiness"). Do you consider yourself to be a dualist?

You mentioned earlier 'three cosmological "functions"' of body called Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya, and Dharmakaya. Without demanding too much detail from you, as explanation might get very long, am I correct in concluding that these are three perspectives on humanity? Are they for all conscious beings (life-forms)? Do all things have these three functions of body?

What is samsara? I suspect I know, but really should ask.

What is Sang'ha?

 

[Engyo]

Willamena -

I will take two of the easy ones, so Heather can get the tough ones.

Sangha has several meanings. The broadest is "community of believers". In narrower form (in certain Buddhist traditions) it may mean those who have taken vows, i.e. monks and nuns.

Samsara is "this world of suffering" or "this world of endurance". It refers to this world where our daily lives play out, especially in relation to heaven or hell realms.

 

[Willamena]

Samsara is "this world of suffering" or "this world of endurance". It refers to this world where our daily lives play out, especially in relation to heaven or hell realms.

Awesome. That is how I read it.

 

[lilithu]

Namaste Engyo :namaste

Samsara is "this world of suffering" or "this world of endurance". It refers to this world where our daily lives play out, especially in relation to heaven or hell realms.

I thought that samsara was the cycle of death and rebirth in which we are "stuck." Wouldn't a rebirth in either "heaven" or "hell" still be samsara?

 

[Engyo]

Namaste Engyo :namasteI thought that samsara was the cycle of death and rebirth in which we are "stuck." Wouldn't a rebirth in either "heaven" or "hell" still be samsara?

Yeah, that works too. I guess it makes a difference what context you run into the word "samsara" in.........

 

[lilithu]

We have a local monastery that had a termite problem a few years ago. It was so bad that if they did not take immediate action and exterminate the darn bugs, their monastery would have to be torn down. This is a centralized place for many Buddhists in our local area to go for retreat. The scenery is beautiful. The monks and nuns there, all Theravadins, are open and welcome of all traditions. We celebrated Vesak day there this past May, and it was absolutely wonderful. It's a great place to teach and uphold the Dharma.

They had to weigh their decision on what would make a bigger karmic impact. Should they maintain their place for Dharma teachings and as a place for meditative refuge for the laity? Or should they kill the bugs?

The fact that I can drive out there today and find the monastery still there shows us what they chose to do.

Hmm... at the Vihara at which I study the suttas, they had a rat infestation. We'd be sitting around the table in the basement reciting and discussing and you could hear the gnawing behind the wall, and on one evening, I could even see the little (or er, not so little) rat nose poking out of a hole in the wall. And I thought to myself, wow, the monks here must reeeally take their precepts seriously to put up with this.

Well, I don't know what happened but the rats are gone, and I highly doubt that they just moved of their own accord. Tho I suppose it's highly possible that they were trapped and released elsewhere.


Edit: also,
one of my favorite haiku:

All the time I pray to Buddha
I keep on
killing mosquitoes.
- Issa