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    Is Truth Important?

    December 25th, 2009

    Truth

    Tell It Like It Is

    Q: Is truth important?
    A: Yes

    Q: Why is truth important?
    A: Cos “Truth is reality”.

    Q: Is it okay to tell white lies?
    A: No

    Q: Why not?
    A: Cos your distorting reality. Creating your own version!

    Q: What’s wrong with that?
    A: That’s not reality as it exists. It’s not reality as it happens. It’s how you would like reality to be.
    ( Isn’t that what the insane do, in an extreme form? )

    ….

    Q: What about fantasy, fairy tales, myths and all that stuff?

    A: These are true also. But they yield from a different place. The dream world. The world of Myth.

    A dream is a dream and you tell it like it is.


    Karma Cleansing?

    December 18th, 2009

    Karma Cleansing

    Its All The Rage

    I came across a few sites, mostly so called psychics that offer Karma Cleansing. How is that possible? How can you clean your Karma? Its not possible to consciously access the Karmic seeds stored in the Alya-Vijnana – the Unconscious, so how do these so called Psychics perform the cleaning?

    Karma Cleansing 1
    Karma Cleansing 2
    Karma Cleansing 3
    Karma Cleansing 4
    Karma Cleansing 5

    Karma itself is in four parts:

    1. Hetu – Causal Acts
    2. Vipaka – Ripening
    3. Pratyaya – Conditions
    4. Phala – Fruits

    Karma is Sanskrit for action. When you perform an act a thought or a word, whether those are good or bad, their seeds are stored in the Unconscious. These are called Hetu – Causal Acts.

    The seeds lay dormant until they ripen and are ready to come to consciousness. These are called Vipaka – Ripening.

    The Karmic seeds cannot come to be until they meet the right conditions, at which point they bear fruit. These are called Pratyaya – Conditions.

    The ripening seeds Vipaka, on meeting the right conditions, Pratyaya, bear fruit and come into consciousness. This is called Phala – Fruits.

    This is the stage at which people normally comment on having good or bad karma. They see the fruits of past actions and pass judgement on them as either good or bad.

    The Cleansing

    So, I would like to know at which point in the process do the psychics cut in and to the cleaning? Do they remove all the bad seeds? How do they differentiate between good seeds and bad seeds?

    Maybe they do very little apart from some smart chat and take your money, then leave you on your merry way, believing your somehow better off than you were before you phoned them on their premium rate numbers charged at £1.50 per minute or £60 per hour?

    Yeah, I guess thats how it works.

    There’s one born every minute. So I’ve been told.


    Karma

    December 11th, 2009

    Karma

    Cause And Effect

    Brief notes on Karma. Karma is Sanskrit meaning action.

    Karma is a key concept and a fundamental part of Buddhist philosophy and practice.

    Karma producing actions take three forms:

    1. Thought – Mind
    2. Word – Speech
    3. Deed – Acts

    Karma itself is in four parts:

    1. Hetu – Causal Acts
    2. Vipaka – Ripening
    3. Pratyaya – Conditions
    4. Phala – Fruits

    Vipakahetu – Ripening Actions
    Vipakaphala – Ripening Fruit

    There are places on the Internet that purport to help you Clear Your Karmic Debt, if thats possible. Of course there is as much Pyrite as Aurum. Don’t be fooled.


    The Ugly Face Of Islam

    December 10th, 2009

    Flogging

    Violent Barbarism

    A 16 Year old was given 50 lashes for wearing a knee length skirt in public in the city of Khartoum. To make matters worse, she was not a Muslim; she was a Christian.

    It would appear that Islam lacks compassion, or this kind of practice would not occur. Maybe its this brand of Islam? I don’t know.

    Its hard to believe such things happen in the 21st century We live in an enlightened age. Unfortunately some people still live in the stone age.

    How sad.


    Vasana

    December 8th, 2009

    Smoking

    Inherent Tendencies

    Vasana Sanskrit. Translates as “subtle desires”, “tendencies” or “habit patterns”.

    Ramana Maharshi the great Indian sage who lived in the last century, was asked by one of his followers about a deed the follower had planned and whether he would be successful in his deed or not.

    Ramana Maharshi replied:

    “You will not be able to, as your Vasana will not let you.”

    What Ramana Maharshi was saying was…

    You will not succeed in your endeavour because you are not strong enough to overcome your inherent or latent tendencies.

    This is a situation we have all encountered. You decide you want to get fit, put those running shoes on and get out the door. After a few hundred yards, the voice in your head chirps up:

    “This is silly, lets stop now before you get hurt or injure yourself.”

    That’s your Vasana. You must overcome your Vasana to move on and attain freedom from your old habits.

    Another example would be you want to give up smoking. Throw the cigarettes out and decide I have quit. A few hours later or maybe the next day, the desires kick in. The craving starts and you don’t know how to handle it. You think “oh this is stupid. I’ll quit tomorrow”, then light up a cigarette.

    A smoker at that point has encountered his Vasana. His subtle desires, his tendencies or his habit patterns. These he must break and reform. That’s the hardest part.

    Online Hindu dictionary has this:

    Vasana: Sanskrit. “Subconscious inclination.” From vas, “living, remaining.”

    The subliminal inclinations and habit patterns which, as driving forces, color and motivate one’s attitudes and future actions. Vasanas are the conglomerate results of subconscious impressions (samskaras) created through experience. Samskaras, experiential impressions, combine in the subconscious to form vasanas, which thereafter contribute to mental fluctuations, called vritti.

    The most complex and emotionally charged vasanas are found in the dimension of mind called the subconscious, or vasana chitta.


    Twelve Divisions Of The Mahayana Canon

    December 6th, 2009

    Sanskrit

    1. Sutra – The Buddha’s Sermons
    2. Geya – Metrical Pieces
    3. Gatha – Poems or Chants
    4. Nidana – Sutra in answer to a query
    5. Itirtaka – Narratives
    6. Jataka – Former lives of the Buddha
    7. Adbuta-Dharma – Miracles
    8. Avadana – Parables, metaphors, stories, fables
    9. Upadesa – Discourses by question and answer
    10. Udana – Impromptu or unsolicited address
    11. Vaipulya – Expanded Sutra
    12. Vyakarana – Prophecies