﻿Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 at 6:11 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Frankly, compared to Latinos, Anglos are incredibly lazy.

Svalaksana said:
As a Latino who's worked and studied on Anglo country, I can safely say that is far from true.

Malcolm wrote:
As an Anglo who has observed how Mexicans and Central Americans work both north and south of the border, I can definitely say its true. If Anglos had half the work ethic...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 at 5:18 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Archie2009 said:
Economic prosperity is what drives the EU above all else. This goes all the way back to the first forerunner organisation and the rebuilding of western Europe after WW2. Prosperity and lasting peace. On what basis would a NAU be founded? What kind of balance would such an organisation have with the USA being so powerful and frankly full of itself (exceptionalism)?

Malcolm wrote:
The same thing that drives the EU, economic prosperity, a single currency, access to markets, cheap labor in the south and cheaper cost of living, opportunity in the north, etc., there are all kinds of benefits we would enjoy with a single market, unified law enforcement, etc. The Spanish south is taking over the Anglo north anyway. It's time to be honest about it.

Frankly, compared to Latinos, Anglos are incredibly lazy.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 at 4:45 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:


Queequeg said:
Again, though, the border policy we need is regulation with higher quotas. Of course there will always be illicit border movement, but the point is we need to address the bulk of the issue. The status quo will only continue to inflame and break us even more.

Malcolm wrote:
Immigration is not the issue driving division in the US. Nor is it "border security." These things are not existential issues for anyone, apart from people living in Texas, New Mexico, AZ, and CA.

The issues driving division in the US are the same ones that drove division in the US in the 1850's under the new guise of guns, Jesus, and abortion, in other words, the wish of the slave states to free themselves of the constitution.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 at 3:24 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
The border issue is part of a bigger immigration issue. The problem right now is that our legal quotas for immigration are not calibrated to demand for labor and secondarily demand to enter. This is why we have a border fiasco. A secure border doesn't mean an impermeable border. Rather, its to have an orderly process where people don't have to risk hiding out in box trucks in deadly heat to get over the border.

Malcolm wrote:
They still will. They are not leaving because of jobs. They are leaving because their countries are politically unstable and climate change.

Queequeg said:
If it were easier to get legal entry, the need for desperate efforts would not be necessary. The need for maximum security border fences would not be necessary.

Malcolm wrote:
You and I have two very different ideas about what works. I think we need an NAU. I want open borders to Panama. You have a different idea, based on the status quo.

Queequeg said:
We have to deal with the country as it is, not as you want it to be.

Malcolm wrote:
That's what everyone said on 1775 and 1860. They changed their tune in 1776 and 1861.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 at 3:10 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:


Astus said:
'The other-dependent nature, however,
Is the act of graspable-grasper discrimination;
It depends for its origin on conditions.'
(Trimsatika, v 21, tr Kochumuttom)

Malcolm wrote:
My definition comes from how it is read from Tibetan.

The Tibetan verse is very simple:

གཞན་གྱི་དབང་གི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད། །རྣམ་རྟོག་ཡིན་ཏེ་རྐྱེན་ལས་བྱུང༌།

The inherent nature of the dependent is conceptuality, which arose from conditions.

Sthiramati glosses this as follows

"Conceptuality" shows the inherent nature of dependent. "Arose from conditions" shows the cause of production of the so-called "dependent...That is the imputed, the distinct nonvirtuous, virtuous, and neutral minds and mental factors of the three realms. Since causes and conditions are called "dependent," dependent is a convention for "generative." In other words, it shows arising dependent on other causes and conditions apart from itself.

So you see the dependent itself is not "dependent," it produces conceptuality, i.e. samsara, which is different than itself. If it were the same thing as conceptuality, it could not be suchness, in this case, vijnāptimatra, perception-only.

།གྲུབ་ནི་དེ་ལ་སྔ་མ་པོ། །རྟག་ཏུ་མེད་པར་གྱུར་པ་གང༌།

The perfected means the latter has never existed in the former.

Sthiramati glosses this as follows:

How is it the perfected? It is said, "The perfected is the nonexistence of the latter in the former." Since there is no change, it is the perfected. "In the former" refers to the dependent. "The latter" refers to the imputed. Conceptuality imputes the entities of apprehended objects and apprehending subjects. In this way, since there is imputation, despite the nonexistence of apprehended objects and apprehending subjects in the former, it is called "imputation." The permanent absence of an apprehended object and apprehending subject in the dependent is inherent nature of the perfected.

།དེ་ཕྱིར་དེ་ཉིད་གཞན་དབང་ལས། །གཞན་མིན་གཞན་མ་ཡིན་པའང་མིན།

Therefore, suchness is neither different nor not different from the dependent.

Sthiramati glosses this as follows:

"Therefore, suchness" refers the the permanent voidness of the imputed in the dependent, which is the perfected. Voidness is dharmatā. Dharmatā is neither the same nor different than phenomena. The perfected is the dharmtā of the dependent, therefore, one should understand that the perfected is neither the same nor different than the dependent. If the perfected were different than the dependent, the dependent would not be empty of the imputed. How is it not different? The perfected doe not become a support of purity, because [the dependent] has the nature of universal afflictions while it is the dependent. When under the power of poisonous clinging, it becomes the nature of universal affliction. However, because it is not different than the perfected, it resembles the perfected.

Sthiramati prefaces this by stating that three inherent natures in perception-only is noncontradictory. This is why we can understand there is some misunderstanding of the term "dependent." The dependent cannot itself be dependent, upon what would it depend? Nonexistent object and subjects? Instead, it is fulcrum for samsara and nirvana.

A little later he concludes, "Phenomena here are included in the dependent, the perfected is like space. Gnosis is one taste. As it is said, "nonconceptual wisdom perceives all phenomena to be like space" because the mere suchness of all phenomena is seen by the dependent."

With respect to the dependent being something substantial, a dravya, Sthiramati raises this qualm:

"If the dependent is substantial, why does the sutra show that 'All phenomena lack inherent existence, neither arising nor ceasing'?" There is no conflict." and then proceeds to discuss the three inherent natures, and the three absences of inherent nature.

Any, my point is simple, the Yogacārins clearly define consciousness as a substance, they are clearly unhappy if one denies the existence of this substance, and given the absence of another other than minds in their scheme of the universe, their presentation of mind-only in the sūtras suffers from a realist bias.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, July 20th, 2022 at 12:01 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
Also, this "better Republican" bull shit. Stop.

Malcolm wrote:
This is the present status quo of the Democratic party, that is, trying to be better Republicans. Every time I see people feeding into it, I am going to call it out. It started with Clinton, and hasn't ceased.

Queequeg said:
We either engage or we head down the road to dissolution. That could be civil, or it could be violent. Likely the latter if it gets to that point.

Malcolm wrote:
We don't engage by feeding into the xenophobic fantasies of a moribund demographic that is going to lose most of its political power by 2035.

We engage by addressing the concerns of the next generation: climate change, etc. These are the issues that matter, not the revanchist sentimentality of old white people who are out of touch with reality.

And, frankly, disunion would be fine with me. New England doesn't need Texas. Neither does California. The blue states pay more in taxes then we use, the red states are the reverse. Two senators represent 40 million people. This is insane. We've not seen such levels of political inequality since the 1850's. We need to reform the constitution. It no longer works.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 10:52 PM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:


amatadundubhiril said:
Let's face it: Some of these gurus dismiss it

Malcolm wrote:
Śākyamuni dismissed it. The whole reason he taught dependent origination, "Where this exists, that exists," etc., was in response to monks pestering him about who they were in past lives. In the Abhidharmakośabhaṣya, vol. 2, pg. 406, "Whoever, Oh Bhikṣus, knows through prajñā, pratītyasamutpāda, and the dharmas produced through dependence, will not turn himself towards the past by asking if he existed..."

The simple fact is that we took birth in this life due to affliction and karma, and we will continue to do so if we do not eliminate karma and affliction.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 10:42 PM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Astus said:
Dependent nature is not negated, so there is no independent, uncompounded consciousness to find anywhere, otherwise it wouldn't be dependent. It's also dependent nature that's like an illusion, a mirage, a dream, a reflection, an optical illusion, an echo, a water-moon, a magical creation (MS II.27).

Malcolm wrote:
That's not why the dependent nature is called "dependent.' This is a misunderstanding. It is called the "dependent nature" because samsara and nirvana both depend on how it is perceived, not because it itself is "dependent."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 10:32 PM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
You can find evidence of this in the Bodhisattvabhumi [Engles, pp. 77-86], where Asanga excoriates mādhyamikas for over-negation, where he describes the negation of a designation as valid, but strongly objects to the negation of the basis of designation, a so-called "bare substance."

Astus said:
How is that practically different from saying that things are empty mere appearances?

Malcolm wrote:
For the Yogacāra there no entities apart from a mind. For Madhyamaka, there are entities apart from the mind.

Astus said:
What Asanga refutes is not necessarily Madhyamaka but a misconception of emptiness as nothingness.

Malcolm wrote:
No, he is refuting Madhyamaka specifically in asserting that there is a real, existent, ineffable something which is ultimate, an actual basis of designation. No mādhyamika will accept this. Asanga's definition of emptiness is that the emptiness of a thing is always its emptiness of something else. In this case, specifically, he is asserting the existence of suchness, his "bare substance," which is only empty of names such as form, and so on. What is this suchness he is asserting? It is the dependent nature, of course, which he asserts exists ultimately. So, he does not escape the charge of asserting something compounded becomes uncompounded in the transformation of the basis. Why? Because the purification of the all-basis consciousness is the entire keystone of the yogacāra system. I will leave it here because we are going now in circles.

In Madhyamaka, the ultimate is simply the absence of inherent existence in conventional entities.

BTW, Mipham is not really helpful for you here. As I pointed out already, his interpretation of the Madhyantavibhanga is not possible in Sanskrit. One cannot simply revise rnam par rig pa to rnam par snang ba to try and harmonize MVB with Madhyamaka. It doesn't work.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 10:15 PM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
Oh, by the way, if the Dems are seriously going to be a worker's party, they need to address the perception that undocumented workers have a depressing effect on wages.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, they address it with facts: undocumented workers do not have a depressing effect on wages. They work all the shitty jobs no one else wants.

Queequeg said:
The present situation is perceived as proof - the pandemic has limited the number of undocumented workers in the country.

Malcolm wrote:
But it hasn't.

https://cis.org/Report/Estimating-Illegal-Immigrant-Population-Using-Current-Population-Survey

Queequeg said:
While the current number of illegal immigrants in the country has returned to pre-pandemic levels, if current trends are allowed to continue the number will soon surpass the number before Covid-19.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 10:06 PM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:


Queequeg said:
We don't have a regulated border.

Malcolm wrote:
We don't need one.

Queequeg said:
What I'm saying, and I think its obvious to everyone, the border needs to be thought out in light of present circumstances and we need a comprehensive policy that addresses the various concerns.

Malcolm wrote:
There is nothing which will prevent people from coming into the US seeking opportunities they do not have elsewhere, even if they do not have a visa.

Queequeg said:
You're all about democracy, except when you don't agree with the democratic impulse. Vast majority of people, Republican and Democrat, want a secure border.

Malcolm wrote:
I am a citizen and I am voicing my opinion. People in Massachusetts and VT could give two shits about the Southern border, other than the racists of course. NYC would not be NYC without all "Illegal aliens" who live and work there, and the same goes for every other major urban area in the US.

Queequeg said:
Sure, some of the impulse is racist. There are also impulses to want law and order - the chaos of thousands of people bum rushing the border elicits a visceral reaction and democrats are losing on this because democrats get blamed for it. Add to that concerns about national security, drug trafficking. I'm tired of politically losing for these side issues - and in the scheme of things, this is a side issue. Its shit like this that keeps us from infrastructure policy, universal healthcare, and all those other social programs to improve opportunities for citizens. In a democracy, the citizens matter before everything else. Don't lose sight of that obvious fact.

Malcolm wrote:
Sorry, but this "control the border" business just creates more problems than it solves. Look at the total waste of money on the so-called wall that has completely upset sensitive natural areas, interrupted species migrations, blasted useless corridors through living rock, falls down scant years after being erected, etc.

Sure, we need policies, but not knee-jerk "git your guns."

First of all, we don't properly identify what the actual border problems are. It sure isn't migration. That hurts no one but migrants. We've tried outsourcing our border control to Mexico, but that has proven to be a farce. Drugs are a problem, that is easily solved by legalizing all drugs and putting the cartels out of business. Cross-border trade isn't a problem.

So what's the real problem? Rounding up people and putting them in concentration camps is the real problem. Not providing migrants with proper health care is a problem, etc. Putting an army on the southern border hasn't solved anything and won't solve anything. It just creates more problems.

Queequeg said:
There's concerns about fairness - there is a widespread perception that undocumented workers take from everyone else who plays by the rules.

Malcolm wrote:
Except that it is completely false concern. Undocumented workers contribute far more than than they take.


Queequeg said:
It doesn't matter that these concerns behind wanting a secure border are not strongly grounded in facts.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, it matters. Otherwise, you are just appealing to people's worst sentiments for political power. That is a shitty attitude, worthy of the GOP. As I said, you are just aiming to be a better Republican. But, in aiming to be a better Republican, you just lose to the house. Your suggestions are like the guy who has lost 50k at the table, borrows another 100k loses it and realizes the vig is so high he will never get out from under. The only way to win is to not play their game.

Queequeg said:
If you think facts are all that matter in the democratic process, you're delusional. Emotion sometimes matters more, and we're in a time where emotion is ruling.

Malcolm wrote:
See above.

Queequeg said:
A comprehensive border policy would primarily establish a secure border.

Malcolm wrote:
This is a fantasy. The southern border cannot be secured without Iraq war levels of spending. It is not feasible. It's a complete waste of money and resources. It will make the US much weaker, not stronger. Fortress America a bad look. It is the opposite of this lady's mission statement:



Queequeg said:
It would also address domestic labor needs.

Malcolm wrote:
No, it won't.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 12:13 PM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:


Queequeg said:
I don't buy it and calling any attempt to regulate border crossings as racist per se is a losing position and one that will never get us to a rational immigration policy.

Malcolm wrote:
We have had open borders in this country for 250 years. Crops withering unpicked in the fields is only one consequence of closing the borders. We e already seen the travesty of Abbots attempts to,regulate border crossing into Texas. Total debacle.

Most border crossing from Central America is a result of endemic violence and climate change. The idea we can stem climate refugees from Central America and so on is simply absurd. Most of the US is empty. The idea we don’t have room for immigrants is as ludicrous as it is racist.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 8:29 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This opinion piece danced around it, but if Dems want support of workers, then immigration is going to need to be a little more nationalist. There's going to have to be stronger border security - not a wall, but a high tech fence, hard enforcement, fast deportation, but balanced with a liberal legal path to working in the US that falls short of permanent residence with limited time frames - expand temporary worker visas and the like. We ought to have an amnesty for people who have been working illegally but still paying taxes, etc. Maybe some sort of permanent residence category that can't daisy chain family into the US. That might be the hardest part to sell, but I think it can be sold to US voters: even Trumpists I know will admit under their breath that they respect the hard, honest work many undocumented guys perform. Shit, they often employ them.
You are just falling into the same trap as Clinton, trying to be better Republicans than the Republicans. It won't work this time.

Queequeg said:
What alternative is there? Point to one realistic alternative.

Open borders are not realistic. There is no North American Union anywhere on the horizon.

Malcolm wrote:
Fact. We will never, ever close the borders, our economy depends on open borders and “illegal” laborers.

Look at Brexit, total disaster for the British. Appealing to white xenophobia is a dead end solution.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 4:49 AM
Title: Re: Any ideas on Carlos Castaneda?
Content:
prsvrnc said:
I loved the Carlos Castaneda books!!! I didn't find them confusing. If you're interested in Chogyam Trungpa's thoughts, he gave a four-talk series on the parallels between the path portrayed in Carlos Castaneda’s books on Don Juan and the path of Buddhist Tantra.
https://www.chronicleproject.com/the-question-of-reality/

Malcolm wrote:
This was some years before it was revealed that his thesis was a completely fraudulent publication:
Imagine my surprise when I learned that the most successful author of “Indian” books of all time was a fake. His name was Carlos Castaneda. He made a national and international name for himself, and made himself very rich, by making up whole stories about a medicine man who never existed.

Hundreds of colleges used his books by the ton. And they are still using them, misguided though they are. He sold more than eight million copies of his books, starting with “The Teachings of Don Juan.” The Don was supposed to be a Yaqui medicine man who divulged his secrets to Castaneda in Mexico and in a bus station in Tucson. Unfortunately, there was no Don Juan, and Castaneda never met him. He made the whole thing up. It earned him a doctorate from the Department of Anthropology at UCLA. But once they learned about the fraud, they took the doctorate back—the only case I know of where this has happened.
https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-fake-carlos-castaneda


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 3:10 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
So the conundrum is that the part of the Democratic Party most likely to fight for real economic reform is the same part which is the least appealing to the Republicans reactionary working class base (and let’s say it, mostly white, though not all) base.

Malcolm wrote:
The problem is, as I pointed out here 7 years ago, in America, race is class. Whites are a higher social class than blacks and latinos, in America, and as a result, will not willingly give up their class privilege. It's just a fact. Explicit racism is now the worst it has ever been in my lifetime, the move by the right to limit civil rights, women's rights, etc., should all be wake up calls.

But we sleep...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 2:43 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
Call down the unions in support.

Malcolm wrote:
Union leadership already supports the Dems. It's the rank and file that have been lost to nationalist fantasies.


Queequeg said:
This opinion piece danced around it, but if Dems want support of workers, then immigration is going to need to be a little more nationalist. There's going to have to be stronger border security - not a wall, but a high tech fence, hard enforcement, fast deportation, but balanced with a liberal legal path to working in the US that falls short of permanent residence with limited time frames - expand temporary worker visas and the like. We ought to have an amnesty for people who have been working illegally but still paying taxes, etc. Maybe some sort of permanent residence category that can't daisy chain family into the US. That might be the hardest part to sell, but I think it can be sold to US voters: even Trumpists I know will admit under their breath that they respect the hard, honest work many undocumented guys perform. Shit, they often employ them.

Malcolm wrote:
You are just falling into the same trap as Clinton, trying to be better Republicans than the Republicans. It won't work this time.

BTW, Mexico is giving us 1.5 Billion for border security.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 1:11 AM
Title: Re: HYT Wangs
Content:


Ayu said:
This literally is the Gelug subforum and the OP's question was regarding Gelug approach.[/color]

Malcolm wrote:
[metatopic] Sure, and the long discussion of Hevaja and Cakrasamvara was in the Sakya subsection, but was largely populated by people from this thread...so...[/metatopic]


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 12:28 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Think you need to brush up a bit on Yogacara.

Astus said:
That's probably so. Still, I cannot recall encountering the idea somewhere in a Yogacara work that there is an ultimate, uncompounded consciousness, despite this being a standard charge against them. On the other hand, the twofold emptiness is regularly affirmed.

Malcolm wrote:
You can find evidence of this in the Bodhisattvabhumi [Engles, pp. 77-86], where Asanga excoriates mādhyamikas for over-negation, where he describes the negation of a designation as valid, but strongly objects to the negation of the basis of designation, a so-called "bare substance." He tries to play off śrāvaka realists on the one hand who hold characteristics truly exist, and mādhyamikas who negate [pg. 80] a "substance that truly exists in ultimate truth in the form of an ineffable essence." He goes on to say that the latter are true nihilists who should be avoided at all costs. He continues [pg. 80], "For someone who denies the bare [underlying] substance of such entities as form, etc., neither ultimate reality nor [verbal designations exist, they are both invalid."

For Asanga, "bare substance," vastumātram, is a synonym of  suchness.

Finally in Brunhölzl, vol.1, 192, Vimuktisena's reference to gold as an example of purity may be found. Here it is it seen that the dependent nature, the cognition that appears as the unreal or appears as real is never itself negated. And, given Asanga's references to a "bare substance' in the BBh above, one can only conclude that this ultimate is an existent cognition devoid of duality, itself ultimately established even if its contents are not, since, it cannot be nonexistent according to the Yogacāra scheme set forth by Asanga.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 8:58 PM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
"The imagination of the unreal exists..."
One cannot have an imagination of the unreal in absence of a consciousness imagining the unreal.

Astus said:
Imagination exists as unreal, it appears real to the deluded and false to the wise. And when it is seen as actually unreal, there is no observing consciousness either, as the verse after the next stanza states explicitly.

Malcolm wrote:
That’s not how it is read. What is understood to be unreal is  parikalpita, the imagination of the unreal, not the imagination itself, paratantra. Otherwise, there is no point in saying “no duality exists in it.”


Astus said:
Is there such an admittance somewhere explicitly, or is it something assumed? Furthermore, Yogacara works are quite explicit that there are eight consciousnesses, none of them ultimately existing.

Malcolm wrote:
Think you need to brush up a bit on Yogacara.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 5:45 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Emptiness is yogacāra is clearly an extrinsic emptiness. As asserted in the Madhyantavibhanga, "emptiness exists" as a consciousness devoid of duality.

Astus said:
Where does it assert such a consciousness?

Malcolm wrote:
"The imagination of the unreal exists..."

One cannot have an imagination of the unreal in absence of a consciousness imagining the unreal.

Astus said:
From Mipham's commentary: 'If it were the case that the emptiness of duality did not exist, the duality of apprehended and apprehender would become existent, as a double negation is an affirmation.' (Middle Beyond Extremes, p 37)

Malcolm wrote:
That does not address the point, and even Mipham admits in this text that consciousness exists ultimately, otherwise, there would be no reason for him to suggest that if one merely tweaks rnam par rig pa (vijñāpti) to rnam par snang ba, that is "appearing as an aspect" (impossible in Sanskrit), the text is rendered compatible with Madhyamaka.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 4:47 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:


Astus said:
Things have never been apart from emptiness in the first place.

Malcolm wrote:
Emptiness is yogacāra is clearly an extrinsic emptiness. As asserted in the Madhyantavibhanga, "emptiness exists" as a consciousness devoid of duality. This is fine, but this is a limited emptiness, not the ultimate free from extremes of Madhyamaka.

Astus said:
Apart from space and various forms of cessation the only uncompounded in Yogacara is suchness (Abhidharmasamuccaya, p 23-25; http://www.cttbusa.org/100shastra/100dharmas_1.asp.html ).
Who says consciousness isn't compounded? Sounds more like a buddha-mind type of idea.

Malcolm wrote:
Abhidharmasamuccaya is not a Yogacāra text. Even so, it is pretty clear Asanga's view has an internal contradiction when looking at Mahāyānasaṃgraha, as above. And there is the fact that Vimuktisena chides the Yogacāra school for possessing a realist view of the objective support in Abhisamayālamḳaravṛitti {Spareham, vol. 1, pg. 88].


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 4:32 AM
Title: Re: Music time
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 4:28 AM
Title: Re: Taking 8 Mahayana Vows
Content:
Toenail said:
Is there any defect or problem with taking the eight Mahayana one day vows as a tantric practitioner? Because of the distinction of pure/impure that seems inherent of following a set of vows like that.

Malcolm wrote:
No. If you have to do a ganapuja that day, there is no fault. The higher vow supersedes the lower, when there is a conflict.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 4:18 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:


FiveSkandhas said:
In considering the three natures this way...


Malcolm wrote:
Here, we can point specifically to the problem I identified:

In Compendium of Mahāyāna [Burnnhölzl, vol.1, pg. 235-6 , Asanga states, "[The dharmakāya has] the characteristics of fundamental change. For when the dependent nature in its afflicted part that consists of all obscurations has come to an end, it converts into the dependent nature in its pure part, which is liberated from all obscurations and in which the mastery of all dharmas is present."

Thus, all-basis consciousness here is asserted to transform into the dharmakāya, consequently (1) something compounded is asserted to transform into something uncompounded or (2) the all-basis consciousness is uncompounded, or (3) dharmakāya is compounded. These are three undesirable consequences of the three natures scheme.


FiveSkandhas said:
Thus ultimately there are no internal contradictions if the three natures are understood in this sense.

Malcolm wrote:
Unfortunately for your exercise this is not how the Yogacāra school parses things.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 1:50 AM
Title: Re: David Hinton’s 2020 book “China Root”
Content:
Genjo Conan said:
I confess that I haven't read it.  But Hinton is a poet and translator, not a practitioner or a historian; my understanding is that his argument is largely philological.  On that basis, I would be wary: Hinton published a translation of the Wumenguan a few years ago that...I didn't like.  Hinton's translation differs mightily from every other English translation of the text that I'm aware of.  When your translations are an outlier and you're making essentially a linguistic argument, I'm skeptical from the start.

Malcolm wrote:
Poets....ugggggh.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 1:43 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Kai lord said:
Pretty sure the Gelugpas will agree wtih you, as they define Buddha nature as a non-implicative negation and equate it to Clear light of mind.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they won't. Their nonaffirming negation can't be accepted as tathāgatagarbha.

Kai lord said:
Because it also negates inherent Buddha qualities like the five wisdoms?

Looking at all the major disagreements on this subject between various schools, I am starting to agree with the popular saying that comprehending Buddha nature is a difficult task even for Bodhisattvas on the bhumi.

So the safest bet will be to go with Mipham's middle path formula of Buddha nature = clarity +  dharmadhatu free from all reference points

Malcolm wrote:
Because it is a cessation.

Mipham's tathagātagarbha is just cribbed from Sapan by way of Gorampa.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 12:09 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Kai lord said:
Pretty sure the Gelugpas will agree wtih you, as they define Buddha nature as a non-implicative negation and equate it to Clear light of mind.

Malcolm wrote:
No, they won't. Their nonaffirming negation can't be accepted as tathāgatagarbha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 12:04 AM
Title: Re: 40c temp London next two days possible
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
So we’re bracing ourselves for extreme heat the next two days in the UK.

It’s never hit 40c here since records began. Highest temp recorded was 38.7c in Cambridge in 2019.

But 40c is possible in the South East and London.

As a country we’re not really set up for it people don’t really have air-con in their homes and so forth.

Any advice dedications welcome to help cope with it

Malcolm wrote:
Swamp cooler, aka redneck air conditioner:

https://momwithaprep.com/redneck-air-conditioner/

https://www.diycraftsy.com/diy-air-conditioner-projects/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 18th, 2022 at 12:00 AM
Title: Re: Western Dzogchenpa has NDE, Becomes Perennialist
Content:
Genjo Conan said:
Sometimes people do shit.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, if one can't shit, it becomes a real problem.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 11:36 PM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:


Kai lord said:
Regarding the predating, Sandhinirmocana Sutra was dated to 1st to 3rd AD centuries almost as early as the earliest Tathāgatagarbha sūtras much like Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra. Given the uncertainty of range in hundreds of years, Its entirely unclear who was earlier, more likely both doctrines start developing in parallel to each other before each reaching their final form in 5th to 6th century.

Malcolm wrote:
You do realize the Yogacāra school is distinct from its founding sūtras?

In any case, the Yogacāra school entirely neglects tathāgatagarbha. The latter was largely neglected in India until the Vajrayāna period.

Kai lord said:
Yes and Chinese Yogacara school eventually died as well after a short period of growth and Chinese Buddhist school like Huayan criticized yogacarins for not accepting the one vehicle doctrine among other nine criticisms. And I never believed Asanga wrote Uttaratantra

My original point is that  late period Tathāgatagarbha Sūtras like Lankavatara Sutra in 3rd century and the Awakening of Faith in 7th century continued to evolve and did integrate Yogacara tenets with Buddha nature. For the latter, it even subsumed. Nichiren school who uphold buddha nature and one vehicle as their supreme core doctrines, even create a ninth consciousness called amala-consciousness  which they equate to Buddha nature.

Malcolm wrote:
These developments are only of academic interest to me. In my opinion, tathāgatagarbha thought more easily integrates with Madhyamaka than Yogacāra. Longchenpa is an excellent example of this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 11:20 PM
Title: Re: Western Dzogchenpa has NDE, Becomes Perennialist
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
fixed it for you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 10:13 PM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:


Kai lord said:
Regarding the predating, Sandhinirmocana Sutra was dated to 1st to 3rd AD centuries almost as early as the earliest Tathāgatagarbha sūtras much like Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra. Given the uncertainty of range in hundreds of years, Its entirely unclear who was earlier, more likely both doctrines start developing in parallel to each other before each reaching their final form in 5th to 6th century.

Malcolm wrote:
You do realize the Yogacāra school is distinct from its founding sūtras?

In any case, the Yogacāra school entirely neglects tathāgatagarbha. The latter was largely neglected in India until the Vajrayāna period.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 9:40 PM
Title: Re: HYT Wangs
Content:
jmlee369 said:
ee syllables 108 times daily would suffice. However, until receiving this waiver, the disciples were doing as they were told originally.

When old students changed tradition and gave up their daily practice commitments given to them by their Gelug vajra masters since their new root guru taught that all practices can be united into a single practice as you mention, it certainly raised eyebrows of the Gelug teachers. For one thing, the definition of root guru is different between the traditions.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. What is considered a root guru in Sakya and Kagyu is not the same as what is considered a root guru in Nyingma and Kagyu.


jmlee369 said:
It's true that these practice commitments are not necessary for enlightenment.

Malcolm wrote:
The point is that all commitments can be maintained through guru yoga. But, this is not something one goes to a Geluk teachers and proclaims boldly. It would be disrespectful.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 9:24 PM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
FiveSkandhas said:
But I’m a bit confused by your take on the yogacara tradition. Do you believe there is something lacking in the yogacara worldview? I spent some time drilling into it and I can’t understand why it cannot be totally reconciled with Madhyamaka. Or maybe I’m just misreading you.

Malcolm wrote:
The three own natures, parikalpita, paratantra, and parinispanna contain two problems. The first problem is how the all-basis consciousness is understood. If we consider paratantra, the dependent nature, to be the all-basis consciousness, there is an internal contradiction in asserting that something compounded becomes uncompounded in the transformation of the basis into the perfected nature, parnispanna.

If on the other hand, we considered the perfected nature to be empty of the imagined nature and the dependent nature, there is a problem of the inability to reconcile this with the inseparability of samsara and nirvana.

There are other problems with Yogacāra view as well, which mainly arise from their reluctance to accept that consciousness is also a dependent designation.

So, what do we rely upon yogacāra for? Yogacāra has an extensive explanation of the Mahāyāna paths and stages. So, we rely on Madhyamaka for view and Yogacāra for practice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 8:23 PM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Shunyatagarbha said:
Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?  Or only the 3rd turning.  Also what does it mean for a sutra to be a sutra of definitive meaning?

Kai lord said:
In the current day context of Buddhist Mahayana community. Tathāgatagarbha sūtras are universally regarded as having definitive meaning.

Malcolm wrote:
Not so. Geluk does not consider them so. In Sakya it depends on whether the nine examples are interested correctly or not.

Kai lord said:
You can also view Tathāgatagarbha as the final philosophical form that evolved from Yogacarin tenets on Buddha gotra, Trikayas, five wisdoms, pure seeds (Bija) found in Eighth consciousness, Ālayavijñāna.

Malcolm wrote:
Also false. The Tathagatagarbha doctrine predates yogacara.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 11:18 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
yagmort said:
Malcolm, in the op i quoted you saying "...when you have finished the two stages connected with the practice of Chetsun", what do one do as the completion stage of 2 stages in Chetsün Nyingthig?

Malcolm wrote:
Receive it and find out.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 11:13 AM
Title: Re: Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?
Content:
Shunyatagarbha said:
Are all Mahayana sutras sutras of definitive meaning?  Or only the 3rd turning.  Also what does it mean for a sutra to be a sutra of definitive meaning?

Malcolm wrote:
Some hold that only second turning sutras are definitive.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 3:08 AM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:
Kai lord said:
Reminds me of the age old debate that clear light is not rigpa but a subtle form of sems.

Malcolm wrote:
Everyone possess this mind of clear light. Not everyone possesses rigpa (knowledge of the basis). That's the difference. The subtle mind of clear light in Geluk school is their name for what is termed in Dzogchen, "the basis," that is, one's unfabricated mind.

Kai lord said:
So clear light being the nature of mind is alaya (gzhi) ?

Malcolm wrote:
Well, in Dzogchen terms, the ālaya and the gzhi (sthana) are different. The former is the nature of ignorance and the collector of traces. The basis  is not a collector of traces.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 2:36 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
Sennin said:
If a Dzogchen practitioner isn't inclined to put in the effort towards the two stages as a secondary practice, would śamatha be the alternative?

Malcolm wrote:
Guru yoga is the alternative.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 2:25 AM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:
Kai lord said:
Reminds me of the age old debate that clear light is not rigpa but a subtle form of sems.

Malcolm wrote:
Everyone possess this mind of clear light. Not everyone possesses rigpa (knowledge of the basis). That's the difference. The subtle mind of clear light in Geluk school is their name for what is termed in Dzogchen, "the basis," that is, one's unfabricated mind.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 2:04 AM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
If someone realized the body of light, the illusory body is superfluous.


Sādhaka said:
Yes and no. It depends.

Malcolm wrote:
No it doesn't. Illusory body is definitely considered a result inferior to the body of light. Why? Illusory body is merely a body of vāyu and mind (rlung sems) appearing as the deity, it is relative and compounded. It's a stage in the completion stage. The body of light, on the other hand, is result of thogal, when all the coarse elements of the revert into their original nature as ye shes, pristine consciousness.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 1:33 AM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:
Sādhaka said:
I’ve gleaned that although Illusory Body and the Body of Light are not the same; they’re also not mutually-exclusive.

In other words, one or both can be attained; and one could even be attained before the other and vice-versa…. Although I don’t think that I’d want to say more on the topic.

Malcolm wrote:
If someone realized the body of light, the illusory body is superfluous.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 17th, 2022 at 1:08 AM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:


dpcalder said:
I have similar interests when it comes to a practice involving creating a new energy body. It is my understanding that it is possible to create a new energy body with a karmically clean slate. In general, I am interested in any texts I might be able to read from either the Hindu or Vajrayana Buddhist traditions on these topics, as I am having quite a difficult time finding reliable information.

Malcolm wrote:
This is a special position of the Geluka school. They theorize that when one attains buddhahood, one also attains a brand new illusory body composed of vāyu (energy, but actually the air element).

Kai lord said:
This is interesting, so illusory body is actually consists of very subtle air particles? I thought of them as energy that move like wind based on gelug commentaries. But they did hint on the most subtle energy wind having five colours of light.

Malcolm wrote:
Actually, there is not word "energy" that corresponds to a specific word in Tibetan or Sanskrit other than nus pa/shakti. The Greek antecedents means "interior work."

In this case, air, fire, and water all possess energy, but they are not "energy." The air element in the body is not quite the same as the outer air element, as it is refined through the lungs, and so on. However, each of the five elements also possesses five elements. Even consciousness possesses the five elements. Even pristine consciousness possesses the five elements. Everything is made of the five elements, from the most gross physical entity to the most subtle layers of consciousness. There is nothing that is not made of the five elements.


Kai lord said:
The other schools of Tibetan Buddhism assert that one's ordinary body instead transforms into its real nature as gnosis light.
As in the body of light or Jalu? Some claimed the former is used in mother tantra and latter is used for Thogal and then some think the opposite is true, making me confused between the two terminologies.


Malcolm wrote:
The term "body of light" occurs in texts such as the sgra thal gyur. The term rainbow body occurs in no canonical text in either Kanjur or Nyingma Gyudbum. It occurs once in a Tenjur text attributed to Naropa, translated by Marpa.

'ja' lus is basically a Tibetan colloquial term for 'od kyi lus, as far as I can tell. It is primarily a Nyingma concept, which occurs almost exclusively in Dzogchen tantras.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 10:47 PM
Title: Re: 30.08. Chetsang Rinpoche Nairatmya
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
I'm curious about something. I know DK wants to bring back Hevajra as it was Marpa's main gig, but who is responsible for the continuity of this practice lineage in DK? And has HHDKC done a retreat on Hevajra and accomplishes the signs of realization?

Malcolm wrote:
HH Chestsang requested this empowerment from HH Sakya Trizin, because the Sakyapas are the principle upholders of this system.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 10:44 PM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:


dpcalder said:
I have similar interests when it comes to a practice involving creating a new energy body. It is my understanding that it is possible to create a new energy body with a karmically clean slate. In general, I am interested in any texts I might be able to read from either the Hindu or Vajrayana Buddhist traditions on these topics, as I am having quite a difficult time finding reliable information.

Malcolm wrote:
This is a special position of the Geluka school. They theorize that when one attains buddhahood, one also attains a brand new illusory body composed of vāyu (energy, but actually the air element).

The other schools of Tibetan Buddhism assert that one's ordinary body instead transforms into its real nature as gnosis light.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 10:34 PM
Title: Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?
Content:
fckw said:
If you exhaust your dharmata...

Malcolm wrote:
The only way to exhaust dharmatā is to exhaust dharmin. It's not the other way around.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 10:12 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
pemachophel said:
You're assuming that sentient beings in the 22nd century are not living in a Mad Max world -- IMO, large assumption.

Kai lord said:
I was being optimistic.

Not totally baseless though since the last Karmapa is said to be the 21th and Kalachakra has a prediction on the total degenerate period on Earth being connected to the 25th king of Shambabla who will be born hundreds of years from now given that the current king is 21th.

Malcolm wrote:
This is all offtopic.

The topic is "Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?"


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 5:08 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
florin said:
Unless you practice dzogchen where samsara lives very comfortably next to nirvana

Malcolm wrote:
That depends considerably upon who you are. I know very miserable "dzogchen" practitioners who get very upset with other people for not agreeing with them. They are especially common on reddit.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 2:51 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning?……
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.028.nymo.html

Malcolm wrote:
Sound words, but this is the path of renunciation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 1:34 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:



treehuggingoctopus said:
And by the time one knows enough Tibetan to really understand these texts, there is no possibility to travel anymore. Assuming there is anything like a pocket of livable planet available, that is. I mean, come on. There is no future to look forward to. Not a day to waste.

Malcolm wrote:
That's even more pessimistic, but optimistic at the same time.

treehuggingoctopus said:
Well, the optimistic bit is hiding in the bushes, as far as I can tell. But I can concede that at this stage there is precious little to take refuge in but the Dharma, and it is bloody difficult to pretend otherwise. Climate collapse is progressing faster than even I thought it would, and institutions are either dead in the water (as a solution to the incoming energy crisis, which means thousands of people literally freezing to death, German cities have been told to prepare... heated shelters! Polish ministers are suggesting that those who struggle to make ends meet should... eat less, and less frequently. Next time I watch the news the workhouse will be back, as a simple and elegant solution to the problem of homelessness) or psychopathic. Yidam or no yidam, little else left to do.

Malcolm wrote:
The optimistic part is that you can still practice. Samsara has always been a burning house.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 12:14 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:



Kai lord said:
In my opinion, if you are serious about going down this path. You should consider start taking up Tibetan language and become well versed in it due to a large amounts of dzogchen tantras, commentaries and texts not available in other languages. You might have to wait decades for a work that you desire to read, to be available with reliable and accurate translations.

Furthermore most dzogchen masters can't speak English that well. So if you don't want any meanings in the words lost through translation. Its best if you can converse with them directly.

Malcolm wrote:
That’s a bit pessimistic.

treehuggingoctopus said:
And by the time one knows enough Tibetan to really understand these texts, there is no possibility to travel anymore. Assuming there is anything like a pocket of livable planet available, that is. I mean, come on. There is no future to look forward to. Not a day to waste.

Malcolm wrote:
That's even more pessimistic, but optimistic at the same time.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 8:00 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:
Kim O'Hara said:
I'm not sure about this one ...


generation-gap.jpg




Kim

Malcolm wrote:
Considering that the cartoonist is a major trumpster, me either.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 7:55 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
yagmort said:
its not that i have the intention to doubt your words - but how they are?
one need to have an empowerment first, a guidance of a teacher, and translation of a root text. if empowerments are hard to come by, root texts are not translated, and cycles are interspersed with deity yogas nonetheless because a teacher decide one needs them.. then?
i am not a fan of those people who think they know better than a teacher what to do and (hopefully) i am not the one..

Kai lord said:
In my opinion, if you are serious about going down this path. You should consider start taking up Tibetan language and become well versed in it due to a large amounts of dzogchen tantras, commentaries and texts not available in other languages. You might have to wait decades for a work that you desire to read, to be available with reliable and accurate translations.

Furthermore most dzogchen masters can't speak English that well. So if you don't want any meanings in the words lost through translation. Its best if you can converse with them directly.

Malcolm wrote:
That’s a bit pessimistic.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 9:27 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Sādhaka said:
The above video said something along the lines that Biden once wanted to block weapon sales to Saudis, because they posed an potential threat to Israel;

Malcolm wrote:
Correct. In tne 90’s, Saudi Arabia and Israel were enemies.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 2:37 AM
Title: Re: Does having an intention to commit a bad action but not doing it produce bad karma? Am I going to hell?
Content:



good said:
So, does me having an intention to commit an evil deed, but after a few months of time, realizing that it's bad, and not doing it generate any bad karma? If yes, am I hellbound or is there anything I can do?

Malcolm wrote:
Since you applied the antidote, it cancelled out. But in any case, you have to be a fully ordained bhikṣu in order to cause a schism in the Sangha, and there have been fully ordained bhikṣus in the Japanese Zen tradition for a very, very long time. Chan, however, is a different matter.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 2:33 AM
Title: Re: Corporate Buddhism
Content:


Queequeg said:
Its not new, though... the history of Buddhism in Japan has some shameful, violent episodes. Sohei happened. Foot soldiers marching under Nembutsu or Daimoku standards to hold back the fear of death happened. The integration of martial arts and zen practice continues to this day.

Genjo Conan said:
Oh, for sure.  But I also think we've largely come around to seeing that as a perversion of the dharma.  (And I do distinguish the practice of martial arts from militarization and violence--though maybe that's because I practiced judo and BJJ for a long time and need to excuse my own behavior.)  I think if the best we can say for the current practice is that we're repeating old mistakes, well...not great!

Malcolm wrote:
1 Onward, Buddhist soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the wheel of Buddha
going on before!
The King of the Śākyas
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!

Refrain:
Onward, Buddhist soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the wheel of Buddha
going on before!

2 At the sign of triumph
Māra's host doth flee;
On, then, Buddhist soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Sanghas, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise! [Refrain]

3 Like a mighty army
moves the Sangha true ;
Brothers, we are treading
where arhats have trod;
We are not divided;
all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
one in charity. [Refrain]

4 Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto the Śākya King;
This thro' countless ages
men and devas sing. [Refrain]


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 2:20 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
... Kadag Rangshar, and so on.

yagmort said:
nice to know, but the question remains - how feasible they are to actually practice these days? i would like you to elucidate on this "and so on" though?

Malcolm wrote:
They are very feasible.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 1:31 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It is quite one thing to say we need to support Israel, or "invent one," to guarantee US security in the Middle East (whether we agree with Biden or not, I don't, personally). It's quite another assert that Israel should have "power over Congress" and "rightfully so." TFG is still a goddamn traitor and should being doing hard time.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 15th, 2022 at 1:25 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen without deity yoga/two stages?
Content:
yagmort said:
just to answer my own question from 2 years back, the Dzogchen cycle without deity yoga

Malcolm wrote:
There are others, such as the Kadag Rangshar, and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 14th, 2022 at 10:06 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 14th, 2022 at 12:55 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
Inslee, Hickenlooper, Whitehouse - all seem solid. I'd be fine with any of them. I don't see any charisma there.

Malcolm wrote:
The problem is "charisma," it's paralyzing our democracy and turning it into a prom king tournament.

Queequeg said:
I invite you to convince our fellow Americans that elections should not be popularity contests.

To paraphrase a recent warrior philosopher, you go into the campaign with the country you have, not the country you wish you had.

Malcolm wrote:
well, I will be dead within 40 years or so, so it won't matter to me. Wishing future generations the best of luck.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 14th, 2022 at 12:10 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
Inslee, Hickenlooper, Whitehouse - all seem solid. I'd be fine with any of them. I don't see any charisma there.

Malcolm wrote:
The problem is "charisma," it's paralyzing our democracy and turning it into a prom king tournament.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, July 13th, 2022 at 11:05 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
I like Amy Klobuchar. There are some politicians in NY who aren't quite ripe - Katherine Garcia, for one.

There are a lot of very competent women in the Democratic Party.

Then there are the celebrities -

The Rock? Howard Stern?

How about Michelle Obama?

Absolutely no to Harris. She has a problem that she tries to speak in so many dialects that she ends up just voicing word salads in fake southern black accents.

KristenM said:
Currently, I’m digging Jay Inslee the governer of Washington. He’s not as slick as Newsome, perhaps more relatable to folks in other areas of the country. And he’s strong on the environment. I told you I’m listening to a lot of C-Span these days.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?521489-1/washington-governor-jay-inslee-supreme-court-rulings

Malcolm wrote:
Personally, I like Sheldon Whitehouse.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 12th, 2022 at 10:48 PM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
justsit said:
Biden missed his golden opportunity in 2016, too distraught to run after his son Beau's death. By 2020 it was really too late for him. I really can't see him as a viable candidate in '24.

So who else can the Dems run? Usually the VP is next to run, but Kamala isn't electable in the current climate, and she hasn't shown much promise IMO.

Who's on deck? Which Democrat has the best chance of winning?

Malcolm wrote:
Good question.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 12th, 2022 at 9:22 PM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
KristenM said:
Have you seen the latest Hunter Biden escapades? If he was a Trump Jr., he’d be pilloried, but instead on CNN there’s nada. It’s like a tulku system.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s not news. Anyway, the Post, Fox, and so on, have it all covered.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 12th, 2022 at 8:30 PM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
KristenM said:
. Democrats need to convey their message more effectively. Inflation, crime, homelessness etc are problems people see every day.

Malcolm wrote:
Apart from inflation, these are largely urban problems. We don’t see the level homelessness in New England there is on the west coast. But Fox News keep spinning the narrative that crime is out of control, when in reality it’s been dropping for years, outside Walmarts in SF.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 12th, 2022 at 9:56 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:


KristenM said:
It's not really simply religion, it's the whole package of "American values" i.e. getting rewarded for your hard work, not depending on the state or government. Democrats are about to have their "Come to Jesus" moment. I'm a Democrat, btw.

Malcolm wrote:
Democrats, since Clinton, have tried their best to be "better" Republicans. The only thing that has succeeded in is driving the country further right, in my opinion.

Bernie still has the best policies...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 12th, 2022 at 4:01 AM
Title: Re: What did Nichiren think of Confucianism and Shintoism?
Content:
bcol01 said:
Thank you for that insight!  Would there be anything wrong with practicing Confucian ideals or incorporating Confucian advice into daily life, as a Nichiren Buddhist?

Queequeg said:
Not at all. Jen and Li are wonderful ideals, IMHO. There is a lot of great advice in the Analects.

There's nothing wrong with incorporating any practices or ideals unless they conflict with the practice of NMRK.

Malcolm wrote:
Just a point here——it was the Neoconfucian thought of the Cheng Zhi and Wang Yang Ming schools that formed the basis of secular society in Japan, especially the latter's thought. The Tokugawa Shogunate adopted the bureaucratic model developed by Zhu Xi and instituted it as the system of examination for the civil service.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 12th, 2022 at 3:27 AM
Title: Re: Evolution
Content:
Aemilius said:
Now the question is: given that there are million times more animals, fishes, crustaceans, reptiles, birds, ants other insects, than there are humans, are these all reborn at the end of the kalpa when this world is destroyed, in the higher Brahma heavens? Do they(we) all attain a body or form of a  Deva or Brahma (or a state of formlessness in Arupyadhatu) ?

Kai lord said:
There are a few existing explanations to that, if the single world system (planetary system)  is destroyed by fire up to the first Dhyana or Mahabrahma heaven, then the sentinel beings within that world system and below the second dhyana heaven will either be reborn in the second dhyana heaven that will be immune to the destruction by fire or reborn in other planetary systems or single world systems that have not yet undergone the fiery destruction.

After the eons of destruction and dissolution are over, when the single world system is starting to form again. Those beings from second dhyana heavens will descend onto the lower realms and start to repopulate those realms. The first of them to do so will become Brahma, followed by his ministers and so on.

Aemilius said:
In Abhidharmakosha bhashyam a small world system is one thousand four continent worlds (i.e. one thousand solar systems with planets). Then there are also the middle and great world systems. The AKB Vyakhya says that the thousand four continent worlds in a world system are created and destroyed at the same time. I.e.  one thousand solar systems are created and destroyed at the same time. It is not quite clear if this applies to the middle and great world systems also, based on the short quotation from the Vyakhya.
AKB does not support your view that individual four continent worlds are created and destroyed independently (of other four continent worlds in a thousandfold or larger world system.)
(AKB p. 469)

Malcolm wrote:
It and Chim only discuss the destruction  (56 times) of a given world system in chapter three. The world is destroyed up to the level of the fourth dhyāna plane, excluding it because the pure abodes are located there. I have never seen this other description of Kai's. The other three form realms are destroyed by fire, air, and water respectively.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2022 at 11:08 PM
Title: Re: Suella Braverman
Content:



Kim O'Hara said:
It's easier than that, Sādhaka: most Western Buddhists are converts, not born to it, and most converts are more serious about their religion than most who were simply born to it.

Malcolm wrote:
I don't consider myself a convert.

We were all born into Buddhism based on our past merit accumulation. That's the meaning of a precious human birth. The pity is that most Buddhists just waste it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2022 at 10:57 PM
Title: Re: Evolution
Content:
Kai lord said:
However I speculate that their "physical forms" are invisible energy field of subtle particles enclosed in a spherical dimensional realm limited by the extent or reach of their consciousness.

Malcolm wrote:
According to Dzogchen teachings, they have subtle bodies made of five elements. "Formless" meaning virtually no matter.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2022 at 9:03 PM
Title: Re: talk: Vedantic Self and Buddhist Non-Self
Content:



Passing By said:
Madhyamakas claim that awareness and its objects are separate from each other?

(or are you saying that Madhyamakas do NOT claim that objects of awareness ARE awareness ITSELF rather than simply being a display of its cognitive properties?)

Malcolm wrote:
Most accept that objects and cognitions of objects are conventionally distinct entities, much in the same way that a face reflected in the mirror is a different entity than its reflection in the mirror.

See my signature.

Passing By said:
So.....In short, you are talking here about the "physical things out there" rather than "what we experience" ? Meaning that Madhyamaka/Vajrayana is not idealist, which we know since everyone has their own consciousness which gives them their distinct, individual-specific experiences.....But are Hindus (specifically Advaitins here) idealists then?

Also, with regards to the mirror example, how do you reconcile this notion of conventional distinctiveness with the example of the reflection in the mirror being not separate from the mirror when talking about Mind and its objects in Dzogchen/Vajrayana? That the former applies only when talking about different people but for each individual person, practically speaking, the latter applies?

Malcolm wrote:
Longchenpa rejects idealism in Dzogchen, asserting that conventionally, there are external objects.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2022 at 9:01 AM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:


conebeckham said:
First, as far as I know, the results of that DNA paternity test have not been independently verified.  Right now, as far as I can tell, all of you are taking as true what an anonymous person, a "vetted source" on a blog about various controversial issues, has posted.

Malcolm wrote:
Nope, I made that clear early on. Tenzin Paljor erred in posting his blog post, IMO.

conebeckham said:
The "host" or author of the blog points out that the Paternity test can be easily proved.  I would agree.  I'd like to see the results, as I think would we all.  If they are truly positive, I would be disappointed and disturbed by the lack of transparency, but I think it's still not proof of rape or lack of consent.



Malcolm wrote:
At the minimum, the Karmapa and KTD bear a fiduciary responsibility to the plaintiff. Even if the civil rape case is never brought, it appears the plaintiff is going after KTD on this basis.

conebeckham said:
And be careful ascribing truth to any legal pleading or allegation--believe me, I have seen some doozies related to Dharma Centers.

Malcolm wrote:
The judge ruled there was sufficient cause for a trial. These cases always favor the plaintiff in the beginning, should there be sufficient evidence. It’s a bit of a stretch, IMO, to say there is no evidence of a breach of fiduciary responsibilities, at minimum, on the part of the defendants, but hey, I am not a lawyer.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2022 at 6:23 AM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:


Mirror said:
In that case, I don't understand your previous comment, because crossing tipping points can lead to global collapse of ecosystems,

Malcolm wrote:
Yes.


Mirror said:
which will lead to our extinction.

Malcolm wrote:
The human race has gone through extinction events before (70,000 years ago), I am sure we will manage, but it won’t be pretty.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2022 at 2:41 AM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:


Sangyedorje said:
Aside from this, look into Lonchenpa and his experience at the first monastery he went to in Kham. He wrote an entire poem about how bad they were as practitioners.

Malcolm wrote:
Sangphu, where Longchenpa attended college is in Tsang, not Kham. Longchenpa was complaining about how the Khampas were disruptive and vulgar at Sangphu.

Sangyedorje said:
The real practitioners keep very lowkey and don't get all the fame or prowess. Remember that Tulku Urgyen and Chatrel Rinpoche never became famous until after their deaths.

Malcolm wrote:
They were both quite famous among Tibetans during their lifetime, the former because he was the guru of the 16th Karmapa, the latter because he was the guru of Reting Rinpoche. Also, the latter was quite famous among Chinese practitioners.

Sangyedorje said:
More importantly, they never got involved in writing big important books, international tours, or any of that.

Malcolm wrote:
Chatral Rinpoche wrote several works anonymously. I am pretty sure they have been collected in his collected works.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2022 at 12:44 AM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:
Giovanni said:
The Tulku system has been an even more effective means of a particular clan keeping control than the European Aristocracy was.
Which is not to say that it did not result in some notable teachers, but as Malcom implies it was always open to abuse and political power struggles.
.

Malcolm wrote:
Arguably, it was a means of keeping the aristocracy under control, a form of spiritual hostage taking.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 10th, 2022 at 9:28 PM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
Also, what is your argument that Buddhism is theistic, or that what the Buddha taught was theistic?

Malcolm wrote:
This person was banned for sock puppetry.

PadmaVonSamba said:
God is a sock puppet

Malcolm wrote:
He should be banned too.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 10th, 2022 at 9:25 PM
Title: Re: talk: Vedantic Self and Buddhist Non-Self
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
A.V. is all about resolving that difference, and his claim seems to be that ultimately, Buddhism is too.

Malcolm wrote:
We don't care about that difference, and we Madhyamakas accept it.

Passing By said:
Madhyamakas claim that awareness and its objects are separate from each other?

(or are you saying that Madhyamakas do NOT claim that objects of awareness ARE awareness ITSELF rather than simply being a display of its cognitive properties?)

Malcolm wrote:
Most accept that objects and cognitions of objects are conventionally distinct entities, much in the same way that a face reflected in the mirror is a different entity than its reflection in the mirror.

See my signature.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 10th, 2022 at 9:02 PM
Title: Re: Suella Braverman
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Cue Sadhaka’s reply in 10, 9, 8…


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, July 10th, 2022 at 8:42 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Yes, because it is not linear, it is exponential.

The global north is going to have to deal with climate refugees from the global south for the next millennia. I am sure we will get our climate shit together, but it won't be in the next ten years or even twenty. It will take a hundred, and we will be looking at a 1000 years to cool it all off.

The world will look a lot different than it does now.

Mirror said:
Stop taking 'hopium'.

Our planet has boundaries, scientists call them Tipping points. If these are crossed, then we don't really know, what might happen next. Some scientists suggest it might lead to extreme movements in jet streams, collapse of The Gulf Stream, triggering methan feedback loop in Siberia, acidification of oceans, etc. etc.

In short, we have only a small time to act before it's everything lost.

Malcolm wrote:
Ummm, it seems to me you’re the one with hopium pipe in your mouth. We are already past the tipping point and have been for a long time. Buckle up.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 8:47 PM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
This is simply not the case. I am an atheist. I also accept karma, rebirth etc. it has never been the case that rejecting supernatural explanations of the origin of things, etc., requires one to reject karma, dependent origination, and so on. Buddhism itself is based on cause and result. Buddhism does not propose any supernatural explanation of causation, unless one wants argue that the Buddhist explanation of mind is supernatural, and that is plain silly,

Shinjin said:
Tell Richard Dawkins you are an atheist who beleives in karma and reincarnation. He would probably find it strange.

Kai lord said:
Well, he is also a biologist who believes that human body is a organic machine complex enough to derive a consciousness and he plans to illustrate that point further through a future breakthrough in AI technology on a non organic machine

Malcolm wrote:
In other words, Atheists like Dawkins have non-falsifiable beliefs too.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 8:42 PM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:


treehuggingoctopus said:
How easy would it be to seduce or manipulate him into a seduction or rape attempt? Would he know the difference between the two the way "we" know it? What would be his motivation to get involved in anything of the sort? Unfortunately, these questions have a very different tone and urgency if we are thinking about a realised being rather than a mere man from another culture thrown into a globalised world.

Malcolm wrote:
Manipulated into a rape attempt? You’ve really lost the plot here. You are usually more sensible than this.

An awakened person would never find themselves lurching from scandal to scandal, IMO, especially not a rape scandal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 10:02 AM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Free legal porn:

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/FCASeFiledDocsDetail?county_code=4ALHeAj_PLUS_EMwAmO6p8KZdQQ%3D%3D&txtIndexNo=MJzHw2nOtQEeQtP%2FBktpMw%3D%3D&showMenu=no&isPreRji=N&civilCase=ay8MhLigb_PLUS_NTtwoVsmJk%2FA%3D%3D


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 9:51 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Knotty Veneer said:
I prefer the term 'non-theistic' to 'atheist'.

Malcolm wrote:
This is silly. Non and A are both negations. There is no difference between nontheism and atheism.

Knotty Veneer said:
I would beg  to differ. Atheism states that Gods do not exist. Non- theism makes no such decision on the ontological status of Gods and holds that Gods are irrelevant whether they exist or not.

Malcolm wrote:
You’ve confused agnosticism with atheism.

In Buddhadharma we absolutely deny the existence of god. Just read what the ancient Indian masters such as Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Dharmakirti, etc., have to say in the issue of creator gods, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 9:47 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Shinjin said:
To be an atheist is to not just reject the existence of a creator deity, but all deities. Including other beliefs such as karma an rebirth that can't be scientifically proven. Buddhism doesn't fit that description at all unless we are talking about secular Buddhism.

Malcolm wrote:
This is simply not the case. I am an atheist. I also accept karma, rebirth etc. it has never been the case that rejecting supernatural explanations of the origin of things, etc., requires one to reject karma, dependent origination, and so on. Buddhism itself is based on cause and result. Buddhism does not propose any supernatural explanation of causation, unless one wants argue that the Buddhist explanation of mind is supernatural, and that is plain silly,


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 6:12 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:


Knotty Veneer said:
Atheism seems to get the same unthinking dismissal as socialism in the US.

Malcolm wrote:
Godless atheists are always commies…


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 6:09 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:


Javierfv1212 said:
So I don't know, I think religion is important in my life, I think there is a spiritual force or higher power…

Malcolm wrote:
There is no “higher” power in Buddhism. The only difference between a Buddha and a sentient being is presence or absence of traces.


Javierfv1212 said:
So, I think adopting this label might make people less inclined towards the Buddhadharma. At least in America.

Malcolm wrote:
People are inclined to dharma or not based on whether they have a precious human birth or not.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 5:21 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:


Javierfv1212 said:
Do they really? I don't know if that's really the case, but then again, I haven't really looked at surveys for what the public think "atheist" means. Would be interesting to look into.

Malcolm wrote:
Pretty much the case in my experience.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 4:42 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:


Shinjin said:
Amitabha isn't omnipotent but reciting his name has the power to erase eons worth of negative karma and bringing about birth in his pure land hence why evil individuals can go there too. Similarily in Christianity: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Malcolm wrote:
Amitabha does not wash away your misdeeds for you, you still have to remove your own negative traces of affliction and karma.

Shinjin said:
Depends on who you ask. Shinran says buddhahood is automatic upon birth in the pure land for those who are firmly established in shinjin. And this shinjin isn't something that can be created ourselves but can only be received from Amitabha.

Malcolm wrote:
Then this means that Amitabha plays favorites, since not everyone is into Sukhavati.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 4:30 AM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
For those into legal porn (paywall):

https://trellis.law/case/36025/EF2022-182/Vikki-Hui-Xin-Han-v-Karma-Triyana-Dharmachakra-Monastery-Inc-Karma-Kagyu-Institute-Inc

https://unicourt.com/case/ny-sue1-vikki-hui-xin-han-v-karma-triyana-dharmachakra-monastery-inc-et-al-1658274


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 4:25 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Nalanda said:
Atheism

Malcolm wrote:
I didn't say Buddhism was atheism. I said it was atheist.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 4:04 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:



Shinjin said:
I see but the whole premise of pure land sutras is that one can be rescued by Amitabha if one has faith and recites his name.

Johnny Dangerous said:
Amitabha is not an omnipotent being. His power results from vows combined with the faith of followers.

Similarly, one is not simply relying on the agency of Amitabha for salvation, and importantly, Amitabha does not hold power over natural and karmic forces. So, he does not compare well to the idea of deities in theistic religion.

Shinjin said:
Amitabha isn't omnipotent but reciting his name has the power to erase eons worth of negative karma and bringing about birth in his pure land hence why evil individuals can go there too. Similarily in Christianity: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Malcolm wrote:
Amitabha does not wash away your misdeeds for you, you still have to remove your own negative traces of affliction and karma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 3:51 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Javierfv1212 said:
If I were to answer the question is Buddhism atheist or theist I would have to take the fourth koti and say "neither".

Malcolm wrote:
And leaving the person in a state of confusion. Most people, in the West, consider you an atheist if you explicitly do not believe in a creator god. We cannot take agnostic position, since we know that the universe was not created by an omnipotent deity or any deity at all.

Which leaves at my first point: functionally speaking, Buddhism is atheist.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 3:47 AM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:
KonchogUrgyenNyima said:
I’m assuming that since you say the mode of empowerment is different, this means that I would have to receive the empowerment from a Sakya lama in order to study literature on the Sakya presentation of the ghantapada system?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 3:30 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Knotty Veneer said:
I prefer the term 'non-theistic' to 'atheist'.

Malcolm wrote:
This is silly. Non and A are both negations. There is no difference between nontheism and atheism.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 3:26 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Ok, you can be an anīśvaravādin, which no one will understand. I will continue to insist that Buddhism is an atheist religion, and be mistaken as well. I am an atheist. YMMV.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 2:08 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Shinjin said:
I see but the whole premise of pure land sutras is that one can be rescued by Amitabha if one has faith and recites his name.

Malcolm wrote:
Still atheist.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 1:42 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Shinjin said:
I wouldn't call it atheist. For example in Pure Land Buddhism one relies on Amitabha Buddha for one's salvation. In this way it is similar to theistic religions since we are relying on a power that is outside of ourselves.

Malcolm wrote:
Amitabha is not a god. Still atheist.

Shinjin said:
Not a god but still a higher power. True atheists would not beleive in such things, imo.

Malcolm wrote:
Not a higher power. Amitabha cannot rescue you from samsara. No buddha can. This why the Buddha taught:

Water cannot wash away misdeeds, 
nor can suffering be removed with the hand, 
I cannot give you liberation,
but I can show you the path.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 1:20 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:
Shinjin said:
I wouldn't call it atheist. For example in Pure Land Buddhism one relies on Amitabha Buddha for one's salvation. In this way it is similar to theistic religions since we are relying on a power that is outside of ourselves.

Malcolm wrote:
Amitabha is not a god. Still atheist.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 1:00 AM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:
Konchog1 said:
He's seduced a nun...

Malcolm wrote:
It was not a seduction, according to her, it was a rape. Rape =/= seduction.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 12:57 AM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:


Javierfv1212 said:
This is more similar to the english "atheism" but, still, its not truly equivalent. Because atheism encompasses belief in God or any lower case 'gods' (which would include devas, olympian gods, etc). But in Buddhism, we believe in devas and so, under some definitions of atheism, Buddhism would not fit. This is why said it depends on how you define atheism and how you define "god". If devas don't qualify as gods, then Buddhism could be atheist, but if the word "god" can include devas, then Buddhism is not atheist. But, the term god is already pretty broad and ambiguous in English anyways. Therein lies the problem.

Malcolm wrote:
I don't agree. There are no gods in Buddhism, as conceived by Greeks, etc., where they viewed the gods as immortal. Devas are mortal, just sentient beings like the rest of us. Hence, we are atheist.

As for the vicissitudes and complexities of darshans in India, Mimamsas certainly held that atmans were permanent, etc., even if they rejected a creator god, just as Samkhya holds that atmans are permanent, etc.

We deny all of this in Buddhism. So while I agree that nastika is not a precise equivalent, it is functionally equivalent, meaning, "We reject your beliefs."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 12:13 AM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:
Kai lord said:
Anyway since we are on the topic, Drikung Kagyu published a short history on their Vajrayogini/vajravarahi teachings recently, so I thought I would share here.

Malcolm wrote:
However, the Yogini practiced in Drikung comes from Lakṣminkara, not Naropa. I've received it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 12:01 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:


Sādhaka said:
“Rightfully” huh?

Malcolm wrote:
TFG is a traitor.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 11:17 PM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:
Vasana said:
I find it disappointing how quickly some come to conclusions about what this means for all involved and how easily assumptions surrounding any details are shared as facts.

Malcolm wrote:
It has not been confirmed independently. The only source for this is Tenpel's blog. It's a bit irresponsible for him to post this news without secondary confirmation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 11:01 PM
Title: Re: What Does Jim Valby Mean by "Pure Perfect Presence"
Content:
Passing By said:
It is not just Dzogchen. Maha/Anuyoga and Sarma Anuttarayoga as well

Kai lord said:
Kalachakra's unique view of Bodhicitta, deserves a mention as well.

Malcolm wrote:
Completely different meaning, but since you brought up:

There is Mahāyāna bodhicitta, the altruistic intent to awaken.
There is Secret Mantra jasmine bodhcitta, the basis of experiencing bliss.
There is Dzogchen's bodhicitta, the sole, unique bindu, which encompasses all phenomena of samsara and nirvana.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 10:09 PM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:
Kai lord said:
Fortunately for the Karma Kagyupas, there is an alternate Karmapa that they can look up to so actual situation is not that abyssal.

Malcolm wrote:
Also a pipe dream. Also never gonna happen.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 10:06 PM
Title: Re: The Karmapa fathered a child - DNA test reveals
Content:
treehuggingoctopus said:
This dream is over.

Malcolm wrote:
That was always a pipe dream. Was never gonna happen.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 9:55 PM
Title: Re: Is Buddhism Atheist?
Content:


Javierfv1212 said:
I don't think there's an equivalent Indic term for something like this,

Malcolm wrote:
Sure there is, “nastika,” applied to anyone who rejected the authority of the vedas, such as Buddhists, Carvakas, etc.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theism

Functionally speaking, Buddhists are atheists. We hold that dependent origination and the karma of sentient beings generates the universe.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 11:12 AM
Title: Re: Shamatha and Vipasyana in Ngondro
Content:
Kai lord said:
The guru-yoga in Ngondro, when done correctly, is the union of calm abiding and special insight. The fiercer your devotion for your guru, the more likely you will achieve that state with the help of the blessing from your lineage. Maybe you can ask your lama for more details on how to do guru yoga perfectly and reach that union.

Sangyedorje said:
I don't want to sound like a faithless heathen, but this has never made any sense to me.

Malcolm wrote:
It just means you have the devotion and faith that your mind essence and the the guru's mind essence are the same state, and then you rest in that state.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 4:59 AM
Title: Re: Shamatha and Vipasyana in Ngondro
Content:



Kai lord said:
The guru yoga in Ngondro...

Malcolm wrote:
So is the refuge section, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 4:03 AM
Title: Re: Are trees sentient?
Content:


Leaves of Light said:
Being an orthodox Buddhist

Malcolm wrote:
Doesn't exist, apart from in the febrile imagination of some western converts.


Leaves of Light said:
little bit shocking in this kind of forum

Malcolm wrote:
If you are shocked, then good.

Leaves of Light said:
As for the conversation being boring, recall that you brought it up. The topic here is "Are Trees Sentient", so I'm not sure why you're complaining about a topic that is not related to that that you brought up.

Malcolm wrote:
I didn't start this topic.

Leaves of Light said:
There is nothing at all I can find in your statement that actually accords with a reasonable definition of what Buddhism and the entire Buddhist tradition explains and stands for, so really very little needs to be said about it.

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhadharma is śila, samadhi, and prajñā; and prajña is hearing, reflection, and cultivating. What it is not is blindly accepting a bunch of stuff in books written down by bhikṣus with limited access to knowledge if anything further than 500 miles from where they resided, if that.

Leaves of Light said:
To attack the greatest omniscient teachers in Tibetan tradition, claim that the Dharma was not taught by the Buddha, dismiss the Buddha's teaching as "ancient" - even though its the same Dharma that was taught by Dipamkara and will be taught by Maitreya in the future and is currently being taught by Buddhas in all directions of space - is heterodox and has nothing to do with a reasonable understanding of BUddhism.

Malcolm wrote:
The real teaching of the Buddha will never be found in any book. Books are something relative, faulty, subject to emendation, and so on, as the any person who has studied even a smidgeon of the textual history of Buddhist texts knows. The Mahāyāna tradition is self-conscious of its revelatory status, as opposed to the oral tradition represented by the Nikāyas and Agamas. You are making a category error in assuming that provenance determines doctrinal validity. The definitive sūtras of the Mahāyāna are true because they are rational, concern emptinesss, selflesness, absence of persons, living beings, and so on, which are the hallmarks of definitive sūtras. Sūtras concerning living beings, cosmologies, and so on, are provisional. There are four criteria we follow in Mahāyāna:

Follow the dharma, not the person.
Follow the meaning, not the words.
Follow the definitive sūtras, the provisional sūtras.
Follow gnosis, not mind.

Leaves of Light said:
The Dalai Lama said as an expedient means that he doesn't include Buddhist cosmology within his set of beliefs because otherwise he would alienate all the Western world.



Malcolm wrote:
Bullshit, and you just outed yourself as Ode to Joy, someone who has been banned once already. Bye!


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 2:56 AM
Title: Re: Shamatha and Vipasyana in Ngondro
Content:
Sangyedorje said:
So, how do I actually practise ngondro from a technical standpoint? Do I just do it?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, you just do it.

Rongzom Pandita said:

In general, secret mantra is proclaimed to be the four doors: 
the door of reciting words is the recollection of the ultimate; 
the door of secret mantra is invoking the key point of samaya;
the door of samādhi is one-pointed focus;
and the door of the mudra is designated in indicative symbols.

One-pointed focus on the recitation, doing the visualizations as they come, reciting the stanzas to repeat, etc. is śamatha. Resting in the nature of the mind after each section is vipaśyanā.

Sangyedorje said:
Wow thanks Malcom! Ok, that makes more sense to me now. It's sort of like setting the whole thing and gaining clarity of the concept before tearing the whole thing down and really getting into it. My final thing is how does this work with prayers? For example, when I recite the tashi gyepa, I don't really know what I'm doing besides calling out a bunch of names.

Malcolm wrote:
Yup, that's it. The Aṣṭamaṅgalaṃ prayer by Mipham is a condensation of a sūtra. So all you are doing is calling out a bunch of names.


Sangyedorje said:
In that case, do the meaning of the words even matter? I know they don't really matter for most deity mantras (at least for beginners like me) because they often don't even mean anything (a ra pa ca na dhih is just the beginning of the alphabet plus dhih), but how does this apply to certain other prayers?

Malcolm wrote:
Depends on the supplication. But in general,  we recite supplications while focusing the meaning. In this case, it is likely more useful for you to recite such things in English in your personal practice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 2:40 AM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
Queequeg said:
A lot of people on the left side of the spectrum scream at Biden, "DO SOMETHING!"

Malcolm wrote:
He gets a lot of flack because of the obstructionism of Sinema and Manchin.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2022 at 1:14 AM
Title: Re: Shamatha and Vipasyana in Ngondro
Content:
Sangyedorje said:
So, how do I actually practise ngondro from a technical standpoint? Do I just do it?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, you just do it.

Rongzom Pandita said:

In general, secret mantra is proclaimed to be the four doors: 
the door of reciting words is the recollection of the ultimate; 
the door of secret mantra is invoking the key point of samaya;
the door of samādhi is one-pointed focus;
and the door of the mudra is designated in indicative symbols.

One-pointed focus on the recitation, doing the visualizations as they come, reciting the stanzas to repeat, etc. is śamatha. Resting in the nature of the mind after each section is vipaśyanā.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 10:37 PM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:


Kai lord said:
Is that tradition somehow related to Vajrayogini?

Malcolm wrote:
Yogini is a part of it, and some would argue, the ultimate expression of it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 10:22 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:
The Guardian said:
"All indicators suggest the effects of the climate crisis are accelerating faster than the worst predictions of a few years ago..."

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, because it is not linear, it is exponential.

The global north is going to have to deal with climate refugees from the global south for the next millennia. I am sure we will get our climate shit together, but it won't be in the next ten years or even twenty. It will take a hundred, and we will be looking at a 1000 years to cool it all off.

The world will look a lot different than it does now.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 10:18 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
Your twitter feed is very revealing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 10:09 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Aemilius said:
I can understand why we (the modern Dharma) are developing into the direction of disregarding and rejecting the dhyana states.

Malcolm wrote:
This is not correct.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 9:48 PM
Title: Re: Did Sam Harris recognize the nature of the mind?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Avici is Akanistha.

Leaves of Light said:
Do you have a source for that statement?

Malcolm wrote:
Of course. Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen sang:

Even the deepest hell of sentient beings,
is the dharma palace of Akaniṣṭha.
Even the suffering of both hot and cold,
is the dharmakāya free from proliferation.
Even philosophical conclusions of tīrthikas
are the essential meaning of Madhyamaka.
Even the oral instructions of the sublime Gurus
are illusions deceived by illusions.
Even the experience of one’s realization
is drawing pictures on the water.
Even the arising of the five paths and ten stages
are similar to counting the number of horns on a rabbit.
Even the accomplished Buddha
is just a name without ultimate existence.
Even dharmata established by vidyā
is a banana tree without a heartwood.



Leaves of Light said:
It sounds suspiciously heterodox.

Malcolm wrote:
Ok, Torquemada Rinpoche.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 9:19 PM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:
KonchogUrgyenNyima said:
Okay since we’re comparing and contrasting, how would the kagyu presentation of the ghantapada tradition be different from the Sakya? Is it just a matter of a subtle difference in view? Are there greater differences?

Malcolm wrote:
There is a great deal of difference. The Sakya system is based in an uncommon hermeneutical tradition called the "ultimate secret" (guhyānta), which is a special tradition of Naropa's not taught to Marpa.

As far as I know, the Ghantapada tradition in Drikung comes through Shridhara, rather than Marpa. It has the same source as the five deity tradition in Sakya, but a different lineage, and hence the explanations are different, mode of empowerments is different, and so on. It's does not mean one is better than the other, they are just very different expressions of the same mandala.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 8:59 PM
Title: Re: Are trees sentient?
Content:


Leaves of Light said:
As for your description of the Buddha's teaching as "ancient biology",  then I cant agree with this description.  The Buddha's teaching is neither ancient nor contemporary, but it is the eternal true Dharma.  This is the orthodox Buddhist view of it, even if this is displeasing to certain modern Western Buddhists.  The principle I'd adhere to is as stated previously:

Malcolm wrote:
Spoken like a true fundamentalist. Apparently you didn’t get the memo on the distinction between provisional and definitive teachings. Things like cosmology, biology, etc., are provisional.

Your example is misplaced. Kongtrul was certainly quite knowledgable, but he never left Tibet, he never knew the world was round, that the earth revolved around the sun, and so on. These things are not necessary to know in order to attain liberation. This conversation is boring. People like you show up on Dharmawheel, all full of piss and vinegar, eager to defend ancient, outdated models as if their conventional validity is intact because they showed up in some sūtra somewhere, none of which were in fact spoken directly by the Buddha, all of which are later revelations, composed for this and that reason. To the extent that any of them are consistent with an identifiable model of liberation taught by the Buddha, we then accept them as Buddhadharma. But we do not have to accept flat earths, Sumerus, and so on. The present Dalai Lama, within my own hearing, rejects the ancient cosmology taught by the Buddha and which is present in Kongtrul's encyclopedia. Why? Because it is contradicted by empirical observation. Modern Tibetan attempts to defend this ancient cosmology, of which there are a few, are just exercises in romantic, wishful thinking. Next you will be insisting that the hell realms are located so many yojanas beneath the ground, that a ring of iron mountains surrounds the four continents in order to prevent the stink of the rive surrounding hell from killing us all, and so on. Please.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 7:44 PM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:


tobes said:
I think you're seriously underestimating the drive to discover truth, insight, knowledge, wisdom etc in philosophers past and present.

Nonetheless, I agree that Buddhadharma operates in a different way.

Malcolm wrote:
People like to climb all kinds of mountains, high and low. I am only interested in one of them, the highest.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 7:39 PM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:



tobes said:
I think you're universalizing what kind of philosopher your dad was, and maybe what kind of department he was in, with the incredibly diverse range of traditions we tend to call western (even this point is questionable, if you consider the relation between the Bactrian Kingdom India and some ancient Greek schools).

Malcolm wrote:
I am referring to modern academy as it exists in most Anglo-American schools. The point of mentioning Garfield was that Smith’s program is actually incredibly diverse. But I have had similar breakdowns with Jay, Hubbard, etc., because they are not interested in liberation per se, but rather arguments and ideas. That’s what they are paid for, and they are quite expert in their fields.

tobes said:
In a sense I'm saying the same thing; the problem here is the narrow focus on argumentation which is the hallmark of Analytic philosophy.

Existential, phenomenological and soteriological concerns can definitely be found in other (western) traditions.

Malcolm wrote:
Again, the conversation breaks down as soon as the goals of Buddhadharma are made clear—just look at the vain attempt to interpret Dzogchen through western phenomenology aka Guenther. He has done more than any other scholar to set Dzogchen studies back decades. Now one has to pile through reams of bullshit he has inspired in his followers, likewise with Thurman and Wittgenstein, etc. it’s all basically hermeneutical malpractice.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 7:32 PM
Title: Re: Are trees sentient?
Content:
Vajrasambhava said:
I didn't mean rebirth is caused by chance, i meant the worm has the ability to choose to create a brain or not by chance. Moreover, this process can be influenced chimically by scientists

Leaves of Light said:
I'm afraid you've lost me...I don't know what you're getting at by saying "the worm has the ability to choose to create a brain or not by chance".  Isn't it, apparently, the case that the regrowth of the body part is the natural process of the animal?

Malcolm wrote:
Flatworms reproduce both sexually and asexually: through budding, and through segmentation, They are also fully hermaphroditic.

One can’t really explain their reproduction through recourse to the old four birthplaces model, which is not fully functional as a grand theory of every type of reproduction. For example, heat and moisture birth actually describes the egg birth of insects, etc., some animals and birds are capable of parthenogenesis. We don’t need to fit modern biology into ancient biology anymore than we need to fit modern cosmology into ancient cosmology.

Also, gandharvas possess all five aggregates, and the descent of consciousness “into the womb” is intentional, not unconscious or mechanical. Please examine chapter three of the Abhidharmakoshabhasya.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 10:29 AM
Title: Re: Are trees sentient?
Content:
Leaves of Light said:
Animal experimentation for human edification or profit has always been highly problematic.

Malcolm wrote:
Especially when it contradicts our deeply held scriptural bias. Then we want to do Catholic Church tries Galileo 2.0


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 10:24 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
tobes said:
I don't like the idea being propounded on this thread that western philosophy is always aimed at mere 'speculation' or 'mere intellectualizing'.

It can of course fall into such things. But so can Buddhism. In both cases, this says something about the agent doing Buddhism or philosophy, but not necessarily very much about what Buddhism or philosophy actually are.

Philosophy generally aims at truth (most contemporary philosophers I have met have this as an innate motivation, and it is a noble one). It tries to resolve intractable problems that other disciplines can't or won't try to resolve - so it is indeed pragmatic too. It has given birth to just about every other major discipline of knowledge - most of which we rely upon to fly our planes and structure our societies - so there is plenty of proof in the pudding that philosophy has not remained mere abstract theory.

So, you know, a bit of credit where it's due.

Malcolm wrote:
The aim of Buddhadharma is liberation, it presupposes a number of things foreign to what we call modern philosophy in the West. Indeed, “philosophy” as a program does not even exist in Buddhadharma. Buddhadharma does not aim for “truth for truths sake,” as conceived by westerners, an abstract principle or ideal, since it is not attainable conceptually, from a Buddhist pov.

You are conflating so called “natural philosophy,” which eventually became “science” with what we today understand as philosophy., which has largely abandoned the search for first principles.

It does not serve our purposes here to make anachronistic claims.

But all of this is really outside the scope of Buddhadharma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 10:13 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:



tobes said:
Traleg was one of my main teachers; he encouraged me to study western philosophy alongside doing ngondro etc. He was quite a beautiful, understated scholar, and his work on Asanga has little droplets of Husserl in it. Being able to converse across cultures, in a genuine and open way - whilst not diluting one's own standpoint, is extremely powerful and enriching.

Malcolm wrote:
My father was a professor of philosophy. He worked in the same department as Jay Garfield. We discussed these issues frequently. At base, we can discover that modes of argument might be the similar. However, there is a disconnect between what western philosophers do, and the aims of Madhyamaka or Abhidharma, and this is where conversations between me and my dad consistently broke down.

tobes said:
I think you're universalizing what kind of philosopher your dad was, and maybe what kind of department he was in, with the incredibly diverse range of traditions we tend to call western (even this point is questionable, if you consider the relation between the Bactrian Kingdom India and some ancient Greek schools).

Malcolm wrote:
I am referring to modern academy as it exists in most Anglo-American schools. The point of mentioning Garfield was that Smith’s program is actually incredibly diverse. But I have had similar breakdowns with Jay, Hubbard, etc., because they are not interested in liberation per se, but rather arguments and ideas. That’s what they are paid for, and they are quite expert in their fields.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 7:37 AM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:
Konchog1 said:
Might be the wrong thread but what's the difference between Luipa and Ghantapa anyway? They seem almost identical. Is it just the separate body mandala empowerment?

Malcolm wrote:
Luipa system emphasizes creation stage. Ghantapada system emphasizes completion stage. Creation in the former is gradual, instant in the latter.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 6:29 AM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:
KonchogUrgyenNyima said:
Hello all,

Is my understanding correct that Ghantapa’s Chakrasamvara made it into the Sakya tradition?

If this is indeed the case, I’m looking for general information on how exactly this tradition was transmitted into the Sakya lineages.

Kai lord said:
Tilopa ===> Naropa ====> Two Pamtingpa brothers ====> Sherab Tseg ====> Mal Lotsawa====> Five lords of Sakyapa

Malcolm wrote:
And a few before Tilopa, starting with Ghantapada.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 6:26 AM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:
KonchogUrgyenNyima said:
Hello all,

Is my understanding correct that Ghantapa’s Chakrasamvara made it into the Sakya tradition?

If this is indeed the case, I’m looking for general information on how exactly this tradition was transmitted into the Sakya lineages.

Bonus points for anyone who can mention any Rime Sakya connections.

Was empowered for the tradition by kagyu, but my first teachers were Rime Sakyapas and I’m just looking for any non-Samaya breaking info that will help me deepen my understanding.

Dm me personally with anything that might be samaya sensitive.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, from Mal Lotsawa to Sachen Kunga Nyingpo. My teacher, Khenpo Migmar, is a specialist in this system.

KonchogUrgyenNyima said:
Thanks Malcolm. Is this the five deity system?

Malcolm wrote:
Both five deity and body mandala sadhanas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 5:08 AM
Title: Re: Sakya Ghantapada Tradition?
Content:
KonchogUrgyenNyima said:
Hello all,

Is my understanding correct that Ghantapa’s Chakrasamvara made it into the Sakya tradition?

If this is indeed the case, I’m looking for general information on how exactly this tradition was transmitted into the Sakya lineages.

Bonus points for anyone who can mention any Rime Sakya connections.

Was empowered for the tradition by kagyu, but my first teachers were Rime Sakyapas and I’m just looking for any non-Samaya breaking info that will help me deepen my understanding.

Dm me personally with anything that might be samaya sensitive.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, from Mal Lotsawa to Sachen Kunga Nyingpo. My teacher, Khenpo Migmar, is a specialist in this system.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 4:09 AM
Title: Re: What Does Jim Valby Mean by "Pure Perfect Presence"
Content:



stoneinfocus said:
The dang rolpa tsal schema is a unique feature of Namkhai Norbu's system, so youre not going to find it in the tantra or commentaries. The more typical schema is tsal, rolpa, bodhicitta as explained by Longchenpa is his Treasuries.

Malcolm wrote:
It is important to understand that Longchenpa's  byang chub sems, rtsal, and rol pa scheme is explained in order clarify that Dzogchen does not reject outer objects (rol pa). Some people in Tibet took the "sems" part to be something resembling Yogacāra idealism.

ChNN's scheme is related to the three kāyas, so completely different in meaning.

To this we can add the explanation of byang chub sems found in Kunzang Dorje's 12th century text, the Vajra Bridge (klong sde). Byang refers to purity, that's obvious. But he states very clearly:

Comprehension means (chub pa) means [6/b] 1) the comprehensions imbued with the five poisons when there is ignorance or delusion about the reality of the mind essence and 2) it means the comprehension imbued with the five pristine consciousnesses when there is knowledge and realization of that reality.

One point that the gloss "perfect" does not reach as a translation is the the definition of chub pa as understanding or realization (rtogs pa).

sems is explained as follows:

Next, because so-called “mind” (sems) is not the mind, it is the mind essence (sems nyid). The temporary concepts of mental processing arise from conditions and perish because of conditions. Being conditioned and relative, since [the mind] cannot endure and are transformed by conditions, [mind] is not ultimate. 

The mind essence (sems nyid) has always been unconditioned. The meaning of not being destroyed by conditions and never changing in the three times is the reality that is luminous and nonconceptual.


Dorje Gyaltsen's 13th century commentary on the Cuckoo of Vidyā gives the following definitions:

The meaning: “Purity [byang]” means all phenomena that are the primal nature (rang bzhin, prakṛti) of delusion have never been established in the core of the true state, bodhicitta [byang chub sems]. Also there is no purifying antidote, its intrinsic essence beyond thought and expression is pure. 

However all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana or the universe and beings appear, they are one in bodhicitta through the principle of being free from departing and gathering, and are inseparable. Since those are free from partiality, they are comprehended (chub) to be pure. 

That “Mind of” [kyi sems] is the unmixed totally complete essence, the primal nature of the eight consciousnesses endowed with a luminous (‘od gsal) identity which inherently never wavers into any extreme at all, free from all extremes, naturally pure and unwavering in the three times. 

Now then, if it is asked “Is it not impossible for such a pure primal nature to appear to the mind of a person?” It is possible, it is called “vidyā” (rig pa). The vidyā of migrating beings itself appears as the mental consciousness in terms of apprehending subjects and apprehended objects. When vidyā manifests its own primal nature, the mental consciousness manifests as self-originated wisdom, and then the pure basis of the mental consciousness (free from the root of apprehending subject and apprehended objects) bring samsara to an end. The pristine consciousness (ye shes, jñāna) of one’s vidyā (without root or leaf) — naturally perfected as it totally encompasses and subsumes everything — is the true state [de kho na nyid, tattva].

Thus, another way to translate byang chub sems is "The mind essence of the comprehension of purity."

This also why we distinguish byang chub sems and rig pa. The former is the object of the latter.

This should clear up some questions and cause more.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 3:40 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
Similarly, it’s good to know the worldview and ideas of someone like Daniel Dennett. While I think he is wrong, his view lays out a lot of assumptions underneath materialism that a good portion of modern societies share. So, knowing the basic tenets of modern day nihilists and/or eternalists has a functional value, at least to me, especially as regards their views on consciousness, theories of mind, etc.

Malcolm wrote:
That was covered in eliminating concepts. We don't need to read Dennet, however, since the materialists have been with us for a long time, known in Ancient India as carvakas/lokayatis.

But of course, if one like to read Dennet, why not?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 3:02 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Aemilius said:
The discussion so far largely refuses to address the main question, i.e. is Dzogchen or Tantra aiming at individual liberation (from the wheel of becoming), or are they prepared and willing  take rebirth in samsara 1 000 000 000 times or more, if it is necessary for the liberation other beings?

Malcolm wrote:
The idea is to become a Buddha as fast as possible in order to reside in nonabiding nirvana in order to assist all sentient beings achieve buddhahood until samsara has been emptied from the bottom.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 2:56 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:



tobes said:
Traleg was one of my main teachers; he encouraged me to study western philosophy alongside doing ngondro etc. He was quite a beautiful, understated scholar, and his work on Asanga has little droplets of Husserl in it. Being able to converse across cultures, in a genuine and open way - whilst not diluting one's own standpoint, is extremely powerful and enriching.

Malcolm wrote:
My father was a professor of philosophy. He worked in the same department as Jay Garfield. We discussed these issues frequently. At base, we can discover that modes of argument might be the similar. However, there is a disconnect between what western philosophers do, and the aims of Madhyamaka or Abhidharma, and this is where conversations between me and my dad consistently broke down.

Johnny Dangerous said:
I think the point here is that some people might benefit  from the clarification that conversations like these provide. One doesn’t need to be in full agreement with other people to gain something in trying to understand them.

Malcolm wrote:
In Buddhadharma, we study tenets to reduce concepts, not to enjoy their beauty of expression.

Modern Western Philosophy, now largely divorced from soteriological concerns, is a beautiful edifice to the conceptual mind, but its meaning is coarse and shallow.

As I mentioned above, the one place Western Phil might be able to add something to Buddhadharma is a more finely articulated theory of social justice, given that no such theory was ever enunciated in the days when all rulers were absolute rulers. Buddhists are discovering there are deficits in Buddhist discourse around social justice and so on, because the migration of Buddhism to democracies is still less than a hundred years old.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2022 at 1:14 AM
Title: Re: Current state of the Democratic party
Content:
Queequeg said:
its going to have to include working class whites, too.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure, but they have to stop with being racists as f*ck, which your post illustrates is the main problem with working class whites these days——they are racist as f*ck, and always have been, since the beginning of the labor movement in this country.

Queequeg said:
For this and other reasons, Negroes, who have been shut out, or believed they had been shut out, of employment by the unions, have been in the past very willing strike-breakers. It is another illustration of the way in which prejudice works, also, that the strikers seemed to consider it a much greater crime for a Negro, who had been denied an opportunity to work at his trade, to take the place of a striking employee than it was for a white man to do the same thing. Not only have Negro strike-breakers been savagely beaten and even murdered by strikers or their sympathizers, but in some instances every Negro, no matter what his occupation, who lived in the vicinity of the strike has found himself in danger.

Another reason why Negroes are prejudiced against the unions is that, during the past few years, several attempts have been made by the members of labor unions which do not admit Negroes to membership, to secure the discharge of Negroes employed in their trades. For example, in March, 1911, the white firemen on the Queen and Crescent Railway struck as the result of a controversy over the Negro firemen employed by the road. The white firemen, according to the press reports, wanted the Negro firemen assigned to the poorest runs. Another report stated that an effort was made to compel the railway company to get rid of the Negro firemen altogether.

Malcolm wrote:
Booker T. Washington, 1913

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1913/06/the-negro-and-the-labor-unions/529524/

Let's not get started on the Chinese and the Japanese and the Mexicans and last, but not least, the Native Americans, who largely built NYC skyscrapers since they had no fear of heights.

The fact is that that white "working class" are mostly a bunch of petite bourgeois MFrs these days and have always been racists.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 5th, 2022 at 10:49 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Lungs this July 2022 (Precious Reading Transmissions From Khen Namdrol Rinpoche)
Content:
Passing By said:
Thanks for the clarification. Do you know who teaches Yangzab as their main teaching?

Malcolm wrote:
The Yangzab is a branch of the Khandro Nyingthig.

Most of the Yangzab is maha and anuyoga practices. Some people assert that Taking the Five Poisons as the Path is trekcho, but it is not, it is a completion stage practice of anuyoga. There is another text in Yangzab, which in a brief way covers the main path of trekcho and thogal.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 5th, 2022 at 10:42 PM
Title: Re:  No Translation of Any Chapters of the Treasure of the Supreme Vehicle by Longchenpa
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The translations of the seventeen tantras absent their available commentaries are of limited valuu.

For example, nearly every line of the first chapter of the six dimensions tantra refers to specific practice, which is not apparent from the root text. Without the commentary one simply cannot understand the real meaning of the text. The same applies to the rest of the seventeen tantras

Leaves of Light said:
Couldn't that be an argument in favor of a text like the Thekchok Dzöd being made available, since it presumably offers some practical and scholastic guidance to that class of literature?  Especially since for better or for worse, the 17 Tantras are available in English.

Malcolm wrote:
There is merit to a systematic project of translating the basic commentaries before the theg mchog mdzod. The TCD is invaluable for Longchenpa’s insights into the 17 tantras, but without Vimalamitra’s commentaries, much of what is alluded to in Longchenpa’s corpus remains obscure, and this is obvious in all the 7 treasures that have thus far been translated. For example, in order to elucidate points in the Tshig don mdzod, Khenpo Namdrol frequently refers to these commentaries. So as a matter of principle, i think my approach is more sound.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 5th, 2022 at 9:42 AM
Title: Re:  No Translation of Any Chapters of the Treasure of the Supreme Vehicle by Longchenpa
Content:


Leaves of Light said:
Which commentaries are they, by whom?

Malcolm wrote:
There are six such commentaries that survive, plus some ancillary texts, two of which I have translated and published through wisdom.

Leaves of Light said:
Would you be willing to share the names of the translated texts?  Is it "Buddhahood in This Life"?

And wouldn't it still be feasible to get some value out of the next notwithstanding that?  For example, even the names of the first three chapters/sections quoted by Rigpawiki surely suggest that therein are contained precious and invaluable Dharma teachings helpful for general understanding of the Dharma and Dzogchen pith instruction transmission tradition in particular:

1.How the teacher (does this refer to Garab Dorje or Shakyamuni Buddha?) came into this world system.
2. An explanation of world environments and the beings therein.
3. The spread of the Dharma.

Even the first chapter alone must contain a wealth of invaluable doctrinal treasures, even if there are unattritbuted secondary sources included by the author Longchenpa which might make it harder to understand.

Malcolm wrote:
All of this information comes from the Vima Nyinthig. And can be found in many places in English already, such as Dudjom big red book. Of course  the Thegchok Dzod is important, but it requires knowledge and expertise that is quite rare for the reason I mentioned above.

Leaves of Light said:
It would be still be good to read the account of it in Longchenpa's own words.  Also, isn't the rare knowledge and expertise required to study the Thegchok Dzod, very much the same as that required to make use of the 17 Tantras themselves?  Since the 17 Tantras have all been translated into English, some of them by multiple hands, and the Thegchok Dzod is apparently the premier compiled commentary on them, then it seems logical that it would also be available to the same students as those of the 17 Tantras.  Especially since all the other six treasuries of Longchenpa have by and large, with the exception of the Wish-Fulfilling Treasury or Yishyin Dzod, been translated and published.

Malcolm wrote:
In my opinion, translating these Longchenpa texts, as well as the other translations of the seventeen tantras, including my own translations of the rang shar and rang grol  have been done backwards. But now, with the translations of the commentaries of the Tantra Without Syllables and the Blazing  Lamp we are headed in the right direction.

The translations of the seventeen tantras absent their available commentaries are of limited valuu.

For example, nearly every line of the first chapter of the six dimensions tantra refers to specific practice, which is not apparent from the root text. Without the commentary one simply cannot understand the real meaning of the text. The same applies to the rest of the seventeen tantras


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, July 5th, 2022 at 1:45 AM
Title: Re: Are trees sentient?
Content:


DNS said:
Also, logistically, how would that work? With an animal (or human), it's easy to see the being and where the continuum 'went' to. But with a plant, what part 'receives' this continuum? If you cut off a branch of a shrub or some other plant, the rest of the plant is still alive, in fact you can make another plant from the part you cut off.

Malcolm wrote:
The same is true of humans (cloning), etc. The term “continuum” is a convention for a series of moments that observe morphological regularity, that’s all. But they too have no absolute identity.

It is one thing to say a rock, which has no observable respiratory or metabolic functions, is insentient. It’s a little more difficult to say thus of plants and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 4th, 2022 at 9:54 PM
Title: Re: Are trees sentient?
Content:
Vajrasambhava said:
I understood your points. Thank you.
I think the problem Is not to establish if this or that animal or cell is sentient or not. The problem is, if plants are sentient, It means that a continuum can be reborn as a plant,

Malcolm wrote:
Unless plant intelligence operates according to principles which are alien to what we observe in animal intelligence. In other words, plants may be intelligent, but in a fashion distinct from the way we are intelligent, with different senses, different modes of communication, reproduction, memory, and so on. And, should this be the case, karma and so on would be irrelevant to plant intelligence, because of its utter difference.

Read Paul Stamets.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 4th, 2022 at 9:31 PM
Title: Re: Are trees sentient?
Content:
Leaves of Light said:
This is of course only one viewpoint.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. And the fact remains that plant life, like all life, refines the five elements, demonstrates community, communication, interaction, altruistic behavior across species, as well as hostility, etc. One can claim it is all mechanistic, and insentient, but one can make the same argument about two and four-legged beings, I.e. that everything we do and are is merely a function of chemical interactions.

The rebirth argument is not particularly convincing. So, in the end, Buddhists who insist on plantlife insentience are really just resting their arguments on passages from texts. That’s fine, but then, how does one pick and choose? Meru is false, but plant insentience is true?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 4th, 2022 at 8:54 PM
Title: Re: What Does Jim Valby Mean by "Pure Perfect Presence"
Content:


Leaves of Light said:
Compounding the matter further, isn't it the case that Adriano Clemente used the term "pure presence" to translate "rigpa"?

Malcolm wrote:
He uses the term “instant presence” when the term rigpa is referring to a moment of unfabricated consciousness, and rigpa when term is referring to one’s knowledge of the basis.

Leaves of Light said:
Then could it be that Jim Valby has seized on this use of the word "presence" in a general Dzogchen context and shoehorned it onto "byang chub sems"?  Which Adriano Clemente I think translated as "pure and total consciousness".  It makes it seem like for a certain interpretation of things, "sems" and "rigpa" are assumed to more or less refer to the same thing, which can't be true, even in terms of ultimate "byang chub sems".  Or is the implication from this translation convention where both have ended up by being translated as "presence", that "sems" and "rigpa" are in Dzogchen to be thought of as the same thing?

Malcolm wrote:
Not exactly, but you need to have been a student of ChNN to really understand the difference: the first term refers to the basis. The second, one’s knowledge of the former.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 4th, 2022 at 8:51 PM
Title: Re:  No Translation of Any Chapters of the Treasure of the Supreme Vehicle by Longchenpa
Content:


Leaves of Light said:
Which commentaries are they, by whom?

Malcolm wrote:
There are six such commentaries that survive, plus some ancillary texts, two of which I have translated and published through wisdom.



Leaves of Light said:
And wouldn't it still be feasible to get some value out of the next notwithstanding that?  For example, even the names of the first three chapters/sections quoted by Rigpawiki surely suggest that therein are contained precious and invaluable Dharma teachings helpful for general understanding of the Dharma and Dzogchen pith instruction transmission tradition in particular:

1.How the teacher (does this refer to Garab Dorje or Shakyamuni Buddha?) came into this world system.
2. An explanation of world environments and the beings therein.
3. The spread of the Dharma.

Even the first chapter alone must contain a wealth of invaluable doctrinal treasures, even if there are unattritbuted secondary sources included by the author Longchenpa which might make it harder to understand.


Malcolm wrote:
All of this information comes from the Vima Nyinthig. And can be found in many places in English already, such as Dudjom big red book. Of course  the Thegchok Dzod is important, but it requires knowledge and expertise that is quite rare for the reason I mentioned above.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 4th, 2022 at 11:07 AM
Title: Re:  No Translation of Any Chapters of the Treasure of the Supreme Vehicle by Longchenpa
Content:
Leaves of Light said:
With Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries, some or all of all of them have been translated into Enlgish with the glaring and sole exception of arguably the key text of the set, namely the   Treasure of the Supreme Vehicle (Tib. ཐེག་མཆོག་མཛོད་, Tekchok Dzö, Wyl. theg mchog mdzod).  Given that all of the "17 Tantras" have been translated into English at least once, and Longchenpa's exegesis on them in his  Treasure/Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle is indispensable for comprehending them, it's a great shame that the latter hasn't been translated, not even the first chapter or chapters.  Does anyone know how this situation transpired and if there is any prospect of it being remedied?

Malcolm wrote:
There is little point in translating it, until all the available commentariat sources he relied upon have been translated first, since he cribs large sections of these materials without attribution.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 4th, 2022 at 11:03 AM
Title: Re: What Does Jim Valby Mean by "Pure Perfect Presence"
Content:


Leaves of Light said:
Compounding the matter further, isn't it the case that Adriano Clemente used the term "pure presence" to translate "rigpa"?

Malcolm wrote:
He uses the term “instant presence” when the term rigpa is referring to a moment of unfabricated consciousness, and rigpa when term is referring to one’s knowledge of the basis.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, July 4th, 2022 at 6:16 AM
Title: Re: Sudden Awakening
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Sudden awakening means that you suddenly realize you were never not a Buddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at 9:57 PM
Title: Re: Nyingma Herukas and their depiction
Content:
videodhara said:
Have a question about it actually: Does this proliferation have more to do with the diversity of tantras in India that a Padmasambhava brought to Tibet, or with the prevalence of mind-to-mind, visionary transmissions in the Nyingma terms tradition?

Kai lord said:
Looking at Nyingma Gyubum which said to contain only texts from kama lineages and very little from the termas (don't know how true that is). They are said to be around like "The Hundred Thousand Tantras" Some divide Nyingma Gyubum into the following categories:

10 volumes of Ati Yoga
3 volumes of Anu Yoga
6 volumes of the tantra Section of Mahayoga
13 volumes of the sadhana Section of Mahayoga
1 volume of protector tantras
3 volumes of catalogues and historical background


Don't know about you but it looks to me that Kama's volumes is already a vast ocean of Dharma.

Malcolm wrote:
'bum here just means "volumes."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at 9:06 AM
Title: Re: Evolution
Content:
Sādhaka said:
I don’t doubt evolution; I just doubt how it is usually presented to us

Malcolm wrote:
It’s mathematical.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at 8:23 AM
Title: Re: Did Sam Harris recognize the nature of the mind?
Content:
Sādhaka said:
What about avici though?

Malcolm wrote:
Avici is Akanistha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at 6:21 AM
Title: Re: Did Sam Harris recognize the nature of the mind?
Content:



Johnny Dangerous said:
I was briefly on some forum years ago where there were a bunch of Sam Harris follower lamenting that they couldn’t find a “secular” Dzogchen or Mahamudra teacher.

Virgo said:
This is why I don't think he has realized the nature of mind.  If he had, he wouldn't be ambiguous about whether consciousness is simply an emergent principle of the brain or not.

Vajrasambhava said:
Exactly, that's right the point i don't understand.
I really don't know how can the view of a materialist Dzogchen practicioner be like.

Malcolm wrote:
They can relax a little bit in this life, even if they will not attain liberation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at 6:17 AM
Title: Evolution
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
[Mod note:] Because the quoted person didn't respond to this initial question by Malcolm, but others couldn't resist discussing the topic of evolution, therefore a brand-new thread is being granted here just for this matter. The topic was split from here: https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=633749#p633749



Lavender-Thief said:
Buddhism is said quite often to be non-dogmatic.
But when reading about the 'ten fetters', I discovered the second one, which is 'vicikitsa': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicikitsa
Translated as 'doubt' or 'indecision' about the 4 noble truths & dependent origination.

But shouldn't buddhist teachings be able to put in doubt, in order to be considered non-dogmatic?

Malcolm wrote:
Do you doubt evolution?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 1st, 2022 at 11:08 PM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
We are so f*cked:

https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/moore-v-harper-2/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 1st, 2022 at 11:04 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Lungs this July 2022 (Precious Reading Transmissions From Khen Namdrol Rinpoche)
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The question everyone must ask themselves, is this: "I am interested mainly in the book or the person?" If the answer is the former, then even if one has the requisite transmissions, one should not attend. If the answer is the former, than one should attend by all means possible. So if you are not sure, contact the organizers and ask them.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 1st, 2022 at 10:59 PM
Title: Re: Hope
Content:
KristenM said:
I'm curious about the concept of "hope" in Buddhism. I recall hearing a negative-sounding person ask Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso about some pessimistic view on life and KTG replied, "We must always have hope."

Is there a word for "Hope" in Buddhism or Tibetan or Buddhadharma?

Malcolm wrote:
Re ba in Tibetan, āśā in Sanskrit.

The point of the dharma is to go beyond hope and fear.

Aspirations, smon lam, pranidhana, on the other hand, are not about hope. They are an altruistic wish for the betterment of everyone. There is also of course the sentiment that everyone's hopes are fulfilled, because that is simply kindhearted.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 1st, 2022 at 2:53 AM
Title: Re: When we say "enlightenment in one lifetime"...
Content:
Nalanda said:
Is that doctrinally referring to the same complete enlightenment of a samyaksambuddha?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes.

Nalanda said:
And if it is, what makes it so powerful/fast that the perfection/paramitas in the Greater Vehicle seem to take a long time?

Malcolm wrote:
Special methods.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, July 1st, 2022 at 2:38 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Lungs this July 2022 (Precious Reading Transmissions From Khen Namdrol Rinpoche)
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
However, not all teachers will accept this as sufficient, this is why you must ask the organizers if it is sufficient. Some teachers consider a direct introduction to only apply to trekchod, not thogal. I am quite certain (since he is my teacher) that Khenpo Namdrol only wants people who have received empowerments like any of the four Nyinthig empowerments, the empowerments of the Gongpa Zangthal, Thigle Gyacan, Chetsun Nyinthig, the Rig pa'i rtsal dbang from Ye she Bla ma, and so on. Basically, empowerments that are based on the man ngag sde tantras.

czd said:
Thank you for clarifying what will be required for this lung. We appreciate your expertise, as a newcomer this is can be confusing.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but I think this would help a number of us here. In a recent retreat others have mentioned in this thread, poti wang + ngo trod was given (confirmed by the organization).  I clearly remember the translator using the words "extremely unelaborate empowerment" during the wang. Is it that a variation of the poti wang?

Malcolm wrote:
I wasn't there, so cannot comment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 30th, 2022 at 11:32 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Lungs this July 2022 (Precious Reading Transmissions From Khen Namdrol Rinpoche)
Content:
ninespokes said:
For Lama Pema Chophel and any one else who might know, when you say you will know when you've received a Dzogchen empowerment, do you mean know experientially on the spot, or know because you will be informed that that is what you will receive?

Malcolm wrote:
Direct introduction is a rig pa'i rtsal dbang, but there are many kinds, not only one.

However, not all teachers will accept this as sufficient, this is why you must ask the organizers if it is sufficient. Some teachers consider a direct introduction to only apply to trekchod, not thogal. I am quite certain (since he is my teacher) that Khenpo Namdrol only wants people who have received empowerments like any of the four Nyinthig empowerments, the empowerments of the Gongpa Zangthal, Thigle Gyacan, Chetsun Nyinthig, the Rig pa'i rtsal dbang from Ye she Bla ma, and so on. Basically, empowerments that are based on the man ngag sde tantras.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 30th, 2022 at 10:30 PM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
Nemo said:
Perhaps liberal democracy itself is the problem. It has never produced the outcomes it promises in over 200 years.

Malcolm wrote:
Neither have any of the other systems we humans have tried in the past 200 years: absolute monarchy, fascism, and communism.

But liberal democracy has a better track record on delivering net gains than the other three systems.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 30th, 2022 at 12:02 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Lungs this July 2022 (Precious Reading Transmissions From Khen Namdrol Rinpoche)
Content:
pemachophel said:
Ngo-tro, pointing out, is not wang-kur, empowerment.

Passing By said:
Thank you, then what about the Pudri Rekphung empowerment? Does that count as a Nyingthik empowerment?

Malcolm wrote:
You need to ask Lerab Ling.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 29th, 2022 at 4:06 AM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
justsit said:
So if the shit hits the fan, where's the smart money going?

As a trans person I'm sitting in the crosshairs and need to make a plan. Take the cash and run?

Malcolm wrote:
Just go to Canada.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 29th, 2022 at 1:02 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
Nilasarasvati said:
For one example;

I am trying to communicate a broad and general qualm with chavinism and exclusionary/fundamentalist attitudes in our traditions.

Malcolm wrote:
The ripening of karma excludes people from our traditions. One either has the gathered the roots of virtue to even hear the name "Buddha" or one has not. It is not question of fundamentalist attitudes. All sentient beings have the potential to awaken. Very few sentient beings meet the proper set of conditions, the eight freedoms and ten endowments, so that becomes a real possibility for them in this lifetime. This is the difference between natural gotra, which all sentient beings possess, and developed gotra, which exists only in those who have undertaken to follow the bodhisattva path in some lifetime or another. Since below the 7th bhumi, bodhisattvas lose their awakening entirely in every birth, it is very possible there are many beings in many dimensions who pursue this or that religious career, notable primarily for their compassion. But, in absence of the Buddhadharma, they certainly cannot directly lead people to liberation, the best they can do is encourage people to behave virtuously. The Jataka tales exemplify this.

Nilasarasvati said:
I am trying to articulate that there is worth and merit of all kinds across cultures.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes. Of course.

Nilasarasvati said:
And instead of any acknowledgment that or engaging with my meaning, people have seized on very minute particular about my statement that Pramana, for example, could be improved upon. Worthwhile points! Very valid! Missing the forest, though.

Malcolm wrote:
Why bother, unless it is of interest to you. You have not really examined why epistemology was taken up in Buddhism, where it was rejected by Nāgārjuna. The answer is pretty simple: epistemology was taken up with a view to convince tīrthikas that the Buddha was omniscient with respect to liberation without recourse to any of our own scriptures. I am not sure that is a worthwhile goal to pursue with Post-Quine logic.

There really isn't anything Western philosophy can add to Buddhadharma, other than perhaps a more clearly articulated theory of social justice, ala Rawls, etc. But these are mundane considerations, as I mentioned above, more in line with what we call Nitiśastras, treatises on governance. Why would Buddhadharma need such a theory articulated? Because for most of its history, Buddhism has flourished in the context of absolute monarchies. Therefore, deeply considered ethical treatises which considered things from the point of view of multiple stakeholders other than kings and aristocrats became more important. And also, there were in India manuals on statecraft like Kautilya's Arthaśastra. Buddhism has never confronted democracy, so Buddhists are still working out how democracy and Buddhism will interact, etc. Therefore, if there is philosophical work to be done, it is in this area, but definitely not when it comes to the path or liberation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 at 8:40 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
Nilasarasvati said:
This is exactly what bothers me. This general notion that nothing worthwhile or relevant to dharma has happened since Nalanda in the entire rest of the planet's intellectual life, and that in general we are declining and not improving our ability to successfully describe and predict the reality we live in. That we can broad strokes label everything besides Madhyamika as Nihilistic or Eternalist. And this general idea that Pramana as it was conceived in classical India is the height of human reasoning. It's absurd. All I wish was that there was more conversation between, and actual debate and discourse, and that our buddhist traditions weren't essentially  frozen in the 9th century or something.

Malcolm wrote:
It really depends on where your interests lie. Pramana is not liberative. It concerns discerning veridical cognitions from false cognitions, conventionally speaking. One can analyze conventional phenomena endlessly, and still never ever come close to the taste of liberation. There is no doubt that modern logic is much more sophisticated than Dharmakirti’s seven treatises. So what? We don’t need pramana to attain liberation (hence Nagarjuna’s dismissal of pramana). It’s all a question of domain: transcendent or mundane. Buddhadharma concerns the former, and to the extent it is worthwhile and beneficial, can employ the latter, for example, pramana, medicine, grammar, and so on. But we should not confuse these two domains.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 at 8:30 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:


Nilasarasvati said:
There's an anecdote where H.H. Dalai Lama (which I've never seen in print but heard and sounds credible) went to the main shrine to the Virgin De Guadalupe early in the morning before leaving Mexico city one year. He prayed there, mentioned something obliquely about her being a form of Tara.

Malcolm wrote:
Here is another HHDL anecdote for you, 2005 Tucson, AZ, “When my Christian friends ask me about emptiness,I tell them it is none of their business.”

In general, the Trad Buddhist view is that anything good in other religions is a result of bodhisattva activity, and of course, given rebirth, there is no doubt that bodhisattvas exist everywhere, even if they are, in that incarnation, not aware of their status as bodhisattvas.

Nevertheless, we are talking about liberation from the kleshas that cause the actions which result in birth in samsara.  Don’t know about you, but I don’t spend much time reading things which don’t bear directly on this issue, much less speculate about them. YMMV.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 at 2:16 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
Nilasarasvati said:
also, in general, I think it's against the tantric view to believe that:

Bodhisattvas only appeared in Dharmic countries. That the enlightened activities of the conquerors did not manifest in the poetry of heathen Persians or the films of Fellini or the rituals of the Mayans. That no flicker of liberation ever occurred outside of the scope of certain orthodox locations and times. That there is a monopoly on enlightenment.

Malcolm wrote:
Take it up with the Buddha:

"In whatsoever Dhamma and Discipline, Subhadda, there is not found the Noble Eightfold Path, neither is there found a true ascetic of the first, second, third, or fourth degree of saintliness. But in whatsoever Dhamma and Discipline there is found the Noble Eightfold Path, there is found a true ascetic of the first, second, third, and fourth degrees of saintliness.[54] Now in this Dhamma and Discipline, Subhadda, is found the Noble Eightfold Path; and in it alone are also found true ascetics of the first, second, third, and fourth degrees of saintliness. Devoid of true ascetics are the systems of other teachers. But if, Subhadda, the bhikkhus live righteously, the world will not be destitute of arahats."
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html

The eightfold path begins, necessarily, with right view.

And, no, there is no other means to overcome and destroy afflictions outside of Buddhadharma. It seems you could work a bit more on contemplating the eight freedoms and ten endowments that make up a precious human birth.

There is no "tantric" view of this. Some people interpret the samaya admonition not to criticize the Hinayāna as a blanket prohibition against critiquing any religion at all. Slagging off someone's religion out of spite is wrong, but offering criticisms of idiots like Hegel and so on, no problem.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 at 1:10 AM
Title: Re: H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
Content:


heart said:
I am not sure, in the story I heard it was only Tulku Urgyens german translator Andreas who was there.

Malcolm wrote:
Ah, yes, I knew one of the translators was there. That combined with the fact that Andreas worked with Kheno Choga...

Anyway, ChNN stumped them on the question of which buddha came before Śākyamuni who taught Dzogchen, and chided them for not knowing their own history. They had come to confront ChNN over their misconception that ChNN claimed Dzogchen originally came from Bon.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 at 12:42 AM
Title: Re: H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
Content:


heart said:
Yes, ChNNR often mentioned it in his teachings as well.


Sādhaka said:
Although he never mentioned him by name, as far as I’m aware anyway; and I have heard the story a few times.

He just referred to him and his entourage as elegant Nyingma Khenpos or something like that.

Malcolm wrote:
It's well known who the participants were. Erik PK was there.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 at 12:21 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
Nilasarasvati said:
3. Are there any lineage holders of the Rime schools who are well-educated in Western philosophy as well as the monastic curriculum? The dearth of such overlap is really sad--especially after having studied Deleuze/Guattari, Hegel, Spinoza, and even classical thinkers like Zeno, the more convinced I am that basically our Tibetan teachers have NO idea that there really are some ideas OUTSIDE of Medieval India that converse incredibly well with the Dharma.

Malcolm wrote:
This is not important. That said, Hume's Inquiry and Adorno's Negative Dialectics stand out as anti-foundationalist trends in Western Phil. F*ck Hegel. Spinoza is an eternalist. Nomadology is fun, but irrelevant to Dharma, as is 1000 Plateaus, etc., in general.

Nāgārjuna had no idea about Zeno, Plato, or Aristotle, and had no need to. Madhyamaka rulez ok.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 11:16 PM
Title: Re: H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
Content:



gelukman said:
So as he is Khenpo, he should have geshe degree?
How come he is rinpoche? Is he genuine lineage holder?
Or just some one who have received the transmission for specific lineage?
(just like me who have received transmission, but I am not a lineage holder
who has realisation)

Malcolm wrote:
He is a rinpoche because his students call him that. He is not a tulku, so far as I know. Khenpo is equivalent to basic Geshe degree. He did graduate from Shri Simha college at Dzogchen monastery. Generally, people with title "khenpo" are considered qualified teachers. YMMV. Not all lineage holders are awakened bodhisattvas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 11:04 PM
Title: Re: H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
Content:
heart said:
He debated the origin of Dzogchen with ChNNR

Malcolm wrote:
Khenpo Choga lost.

ChNN used to joke about this debate fairly often. At the time, he was in Katmandhu privately receiving the Desum teachings from Tulku Urgyen.

Once, in 2002, I was hanging out with ChNN in his cabin at Tsegyalgar, and he pulled out this flag on the right, which Khenpo Choga had sent him:



ChNN remarked (and I paraphrase), "This "Dzogchen" flag is a modern style, politics, like the so-called Buddhist flag (on the left, created by Olcott). The real Buddhist flag is the Gyaltsen":



Disclaimer, I have no idea about Khenpo Choga's teachings.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 9:24 PM
Title: Re: Treasury of Precious Instructions, vol. 5 Sakya
Content:
thanhdq said:
Congratulation Acarya Malcom, This is wonderful!!! can't wait to get a copy of it. BTW, How many parts for this volume 5 ? When will they all available?

Malcolm wrote:
The text is divided in the three parts: core texts, empowerments and sadhanas, and instructional manuals.

Vol 6, the second volume of Sakya materials consisting of the eight ancillary path cycles , will be out next year sometime.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 6:44 PM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Lungs this July 2022 (Precious Reading Transmissions From Khen Namdrol Rinpoche)
Content:
ninespokes said:
For the tsik don dzod, it just asks for a general nyingthig class empowerment, not necessarily those listed (which are just popular and common nyingthig empowerments).

They are all empowerments from the yang gsang bla na med pa'i skor, the innermost secret unsurpassed cycle of Dzogchen menngagde.

Does the Chime Pakme Nyingtik empowerment given by HH Sakya Trizin recently count?

Malcolm wrote:
No.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 3:52 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:


nyonchung said:
WE can appropriate the thing that indigenous people owe, for the good reason that they cannot be the real owners, since is somehow of interest to US

Malcolm wrote:
The Dharma is not "indigenous" to Tibet, not even after 1400 years. Tibetans are an indigenous people with an intrinsically valuable culture, language, art, and music. By the same token, being at the crossroads of Central Asia, they have absorbed cultural influences from Persia, Byzantium, India, China, and so on. Tibetans have done such a good job of forgetting their own indigenous, pre-Buddhist history, their indigenous civilization can only be caught in glimpses.

The Buddha himself enjoined that the Dharma be taught in the vernacular language of people interested in the Dharma: this is why we have Dharma texts in Tocharian, Sassanian, Chinese, Tibetan, Pali, Drusha, Ghandaran, etc.

The international character of Dharma is evident from it earliest days.


nyonchung said:
There is long and consistent historical trend of thinking in the West, based on the same sense of inborn moral superiority, taht inform colonialism, that this is a beautiful thing that should not be left in the hands of" natives", who, anyway, never even understood it properly.

Malcolm wrote:
I don't think anyone is making such an argument in this thread.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 3:30 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Lungs this July 2022 (Precious Reading Transmissions From Khen Namdrol Rinpoche)
Content:
Nalanda said:
Can I attend with my 17 tantra and Longchen Nyingtik lungs?

Malcolm wrote:
No. You need to have received a necessary empowerment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 12:58 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
nyonchung said:
"The Vajrayāna belongs to the Dharmapālas, not any human being."

Well, it's under their care anf of dakinis, but where does stand the root-lama, supposed to be Vajradhara?

Malcolm wrote:
That person is only Vajradhara for you, not for everyone.

nyonchung said:
"Tibetans, and so on, may continue to be the principle custodians of Vajrayāna for a while, but they don't own it."
Stricto sensu, of course,  but they're  still a great majority of lineage holders, and, as such , certainly have their say about how to handle it and transmit it - this is what I mean

Malcolm wrote:
"Lineage holders" are anyone who has received the transmission, does the retreats, etc. The main reason why these things remain in the hands of Tibetans is due to the lack of translation of empowerment manuals and so on into English. I don't imagine Tibetans will be out of the picture for a long while, but they do not own Vajrayāna Dharma. There was no Kagyu, Sakya, Nyingma, etc. in India or Central Asia.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 11:00 PM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
nyonchung said:
Vajrayana still belongs largely to Tibetan/Bhutanese/Nepalese masters

Malcolm wrote:
Strongly disagree.

The Vajrayāna belongs to the Dharmapālas, not any human being.

Tibetans, and so on, may continue to be the principle custodians of Vajrayāna for a while, but they don't own it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 7:23 PM
Title: Re: Missing 1st day of Wangchen
Content:



jmlee369 said:
With all due respect for your years of experience, this is how my Gelug vajra masters have taught explicitly and they themselves have given wangchen in a single session without doing the tagon rituals…

Malcolm wrote:
This would never fly in Sakya.

zerwe said:
Have not had this experience (wangchen in a single day) personally, but during my very first HYT initiation did see a batch of folks show up the next day after the tagon and it has been a question/curiosity for me ever since.

Shaun

Malcolm wrote:
There are some empowerments in Sakya, like Kings tradition Avalokiteshvara, where it can all be done in a single day. But it usually takes two.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 7:03 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:


tobes said:
Nonetheless, I have heard this instruction from Ajahm Brahm in different forms, numerous times - it's hard to not to take it as the real pith. It is perhaps, as you suggested before, a less structured approach to entering the jhanas. I think there is a definite resonance with Dozgchen/Mahamudra approaches, but this does not imply they are the same.

All the best with your practice as well.

Malcolm wrote:
Dzogchen teachings regard cultivating the dhyanas to be deviations.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Title: Re: Someone go tell DJKR
Content:
Nilasarasvati said:
In my mind, that's a very big deal for a dharma teacher to be a between-the-lines Fascist.

Malcolm wrote:
I don’t think this is correct. If anything, he is a monarchist, while at the same time he imagines himself to be an anti-imperialist. So, for example, he tried to blame the situation in Burma on the British. And, factually speaking, he grew tired people correcting his historical blunders and shitposting, and now mostly posts “puppies and kittens” on his Facebook feed. But he is not a crypto-fascist, he is someone who derives his opinions from mainstream Indian media. This makes sense, because he lives in India, is grateful to India, and sees in India the past glories of the Buddhist hegemony, which ended in 495 CE.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 7:39 AM
Title: Re: Missing 1st day of Wangchen
Content:
nyonchung said:
such a great wisdom is rare to find nowadays! and so practical, I have second doubts, and why not barging in the middle of the second day, being late due to (tick) - the bus blew a tyre
- had an urgent call from my ex-wife regarding pension dues
- met yesterday evening old acquaintances
- thought it was starting 8PM not AM
and claim that, anyway, your received another HYT initiation, ot leave before the end (urgent call from your banker),no problem since you received the 3rd and 4th initiation of another deity by another teacher? this is where such thinking leads

my take is no, you're simply not part of the batch, by your own reasoning, having received Kye rdor in the Ngog tradition, I can come only on the second day of of a Kye dor rgyu dbang of the Sakyapas and say hello you guys?
If not possible to be there for the tagön: karmic obstacles, unsufficient connection, or the guru's will ...
Should this happen to (it actually happened once - railway and bus problem) that's what I would think, accept my fate, and certainly not do anything reckless

jmlee369 said:
With all due respect for your years of experience, this is how my Gelug vajra masters have taught explicitly and they themselves have given wangchen in a single session without doing the tagon rituals…

Malcolm wrote:
This would never fly in Sakya.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 5:05 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Kai lord said:
That is the biggest issue I faced when previously tried to identify Virupa.

Malcolm wrote:
There are two main ones: Lamdre Virupa, and Brahmze Virupa. They are frequently confused. The latter was the disciple of Lakṣminkara, the sister of Indrabhuti III.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 4:58 AM
Title: Re: Crisis of a Faith, returning to dharma, and new directions.
Content:
Nilasarasvati said:
Or genuinely believe the royal family "had no idea" and "weren't consulted."

Malcolm wrote:
It is unlikely the present King of Bhutan had any idea or any say in the ethnic cleansing of the Lhotsampas. He was five when the Bhutan Citizenship Act was passed.

His father passed a policy which amounted to "Get Buddhist or get out" in 1988.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 3:44 AM
Title: Re: Drubthab Kuntue teachings from Dzongsar Khyentse?
Content:
Nilasarasvati said:
So --

what is an HYT empowerment?

Also I heard that in the Sakya tradition you are expected to recite the sadhanas of any deity you have recieved the Wang for (on a daily basis)--how is that possible for a set of committments this large??

Malcolm wrote:
You heard wrong.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 26th, 2022 at 2:19 AM
Title: Re: HH Sakya Trinzin will be giving the Online Empowerment of Chime Phakme Nyingtik on 24th of June
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
Where might one obtain the sadhana?

Malcolm wrote:
You can find my translation on Amazon under Lama Migmar’s name

Johnny Dangerous said:
Awesome, thanks!

Malcolm wrote:
You can also find it at Lotsawa house.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 8:35 PM
Title: Re: HH Sakya Trinzin will be giving the Online Empowerment of Chime Phakme Nyingtik on 24th of June
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
Where might one obtain the sadhana?

Malcolm wrote:
You can find my translation on Amazon under Lama Migmar’s name


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 7:28 PM
Title: Re: HH Sakya Trinzin will be giving the Online Empowerment of Chime Phakme Nyingtik on 24th of June
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
Where might one obtain the sadhana?

tony_montana said:
A variety of sadhanas and other translations related to this cycle is available in Lotsawa House : https://www.lotsawahouse.org/topics/chime-pakme-nyingtik/

I'm wondering if an oral transmission is needed for the sadhanas.

Malcolm wrote:
Comes with the Jenang.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 9:46 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
The Thai Forest Tradition is the path of personal liberation to get somewhere with it it’s recommended to do full time practice. To remove all the kleshas from the mind is the goal. This requires intensive effort as you’re on your own.

I’m sure Ajahn Brahm teaching to relax is to help uptight westerners and he is well known to have skill with Jhanas which would help a lot.

tobes said:
No, it is the quintessence of the technique. The effort one makes is non-effort. Sound familiar?

Yes, he teaches that to westerners and easterners. But you're making the implicit and unjustified inference here is that this is somehow contrary to the tradition itself. Sorry, but it ain't.

Malcolm wrote:
You do realize you are responding to someone who ordained in that tradition and has personal experience of it?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 5:33 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:


Astus said:
Dzogchen still has view, meditation, conduct, and result, doesn't it?

Malcolm wrote:
From the perspective of the vehicles of the cause and result, yes. From its perspective, only nominally.


Astus said:
Its gnosis is not something other than prajnaparamita, is it?

Malcolm wrote:
It’s not the perfection of wisdom as imagined by the vehicles of cause and result.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 2:38 AM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
PeterC said:
In case anyone missed them, in other cases this week the court decided that the second amendment has special priority over all other enumerated rights - specifically, that any restriction on gun ownership that the founders didn’t historically support are presumptively unconstitutional - and that police face no liability for failing to mirandize suspects.

Genjo Conan said:
They also https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-1088_dbfi.pdf the Establishment Clause subordinate to the Free Exercise Clause.

Malcolm wrote:
Missed that also, that is super-f*cked. They just eviscerated the first amendment.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 2:28 AM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
PeterC said:
and that police face no liability for failing to mirandize suspects.

Malcolm wrote:
I missed that. F*ck. Worst Court Ever.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 2:06 AM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
justsit said:
So it's back to 1950? Women barefoot and pregnant, blacks back to the ghetto, gays back in the closet, white men have all the guns they want and rule everything.

Not gonna happen - we worked too hard, it's back to the barricades. I really hope the young people are ready for a long, hard slog.

Malcolm wrote:
I think this breaks the country. Republic of New England, here we come.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 12:30 AM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
Pretty much. I mean we really can’t talk about this without recognizing that we have a nascent fascist movement tied in with these folks.

Malcolm wrote:
It's not that f*cking nascent. Next time around, they will be more effective. Think Italy in 1925; Germany in 1936.

They have set up the courts to lend their putsch a veneer of legitimacy; they have an active paramilitary; they largely control the police; etc., etc.

Oh, and once they get into power, they will ban gun ownership for blacks, non-Christians, etc., they will enlarge libel laws to control the press, etc., etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 12:26 AM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
Queequeg said:
Anti abortion crowd...will force something catastrophic.

Malcolm wrote:
There, fixed it for you.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 12:14 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The difference between the nine yānas and the great perfection is that the former take mind as the basis; where as the great perfection takes gnosis as the basis. This has consequences for the path: the nine yānas are paths based on causes and results; path of Dzogchen is not based on causes and results. This also has consequences for the result. In the the nine yānas the three kāyas are a result that arise from the two accumulations; in Dzogchen, the three kāyas are path experiences and do not exist in the result.

Queequeg said:
Can you explain this difference a little more?

I can understand in preliminary stages where we train the mind that the mind is the basis, but what I don't grok is the distinction between mind and gnosis at subtler levels. As far as the theory goes, I think there are non Dzogchen paths that are based on something "beyond" subject/object constructs. I'll refer to some zen teachings here for the sake of convenience and general familiarity. Sudden, as I understand, is something wholly unrelated to subject/object ideation and is passed down through vital lineage.

Malcolm wrote:
When there is mind, gnosis cannot be observed. When there is gnosis, mind is not evident. Mind is adventitious; gnosis is not adventitious, etc.

If people want to really understand this, they need to seek out a proper teacher. No matter how many words I write online, it will just be an intellectual description of sugar.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 11:31 PM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
DNS said:
Regarding the number of states that will ban abortions; we'll see. The media has a tendency to exaggerate for hyperbole and ratings. We'll see how many actually ban it completely.

Malcolm wrote:
You really haven't been paying attention.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 11:25 PM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:


Queequeg said:
For those of you who had some asinine "principled" excuse for not voting for Hillary, F*ck you, f*ck you, f*ck you.

Malcolm wrote:
Seconded.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 11:20 PM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
DNS said:
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/supreme-court-roe-v-wade-abortion-rights/

It's a huge historical day in U.S. history, overturning an almost 50 year precedent in Roe v. Wade, which allowed abortion. However, it's not going to really change that much in practical terms, as all it does is give the states the power to enact their own restrictions, if they so choose. Most states will not place any restrictions. There are maybe about 10 states that might place severe restrictions or outright bans, but then all a woman has to do, it to travel to a state that allows it.

Malcolm wrote:
Totally, utterly, wrong.
PastedGraphic-1.png (277.78 KiB) Viewed 202 times


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 10:49 PM
Title: Re: U.S. big news: Roe v. Wade overturned
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Say goodbye to the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Seventh Amendment, Ninth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and Nineteenth Amendment. Hello Gilead.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 10:23 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The basis is different, the path is different, the result is different.

Astus said:
Is dzogchen outside the framework of the four noble truths? If so, then how is it not just perpetuating samsara?
There is no similarity between Dzogchen and Theravada at all.
Maybe you know this one: https://www.abhayagiri.org/books/423-small-boat-great-mountain.

Giovanni said:
Ajahn Amaros interest is not merely academic. He receives instruction from Tsoknyi Rinpoche according to that Rinpoche’s students.
He remains the Abbott of Amaravati Monastery.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, and this is a good thing. Nevertheless, there are some errors in this person's understanding, at least at the time of publication.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 10:19 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The basis is different, the path is different, the result is different.

Astus said:
Is dzogchen outside the framework of the four noble truths?

Malcolm wrote:
The four truths are diagnostic, not ontological. There is a problem. There is a cause of that problem. When the cause of a problem is known, it can be remedied. There is a method to remedy the cause of the problem. Thus, the four truths apply to everything from car repair to samsara.


Astus said:
There is no similarity between Dzogchen and Theravada at all.
Maybe you know this one: https://www.abhayagiri.org/books/423-small-boat-great-mountain.

Malcolm wrote:
I appreciate his book. But there are some pretty large errors of misunderstanding of Dzogchen terminology, at minimum. Compare this:
Rigpa, nondual awareness, is the direct knowing of this. It’s the quality of mind that knows, while abiding nowhere.
With Jigme Lingpa:
There are three kinds of vidyā in the sutras of Mahāyāna: the knowledge (rig pa, vidyā) of the divine eye, knowledge of past lives, and immaculate knowledge, that is, knowledge is a so-called cognition. Apart from this explanation in three categories, the dharmatā of vidyā—transcending the eight consciousnesses that include thoughts, reflections, causes, and results of a final goal—exists as the gnosis (ye shes) of the natural great perfection...The essence of that view is the truth of āryas, the personally-intuited gnosis (so so rang rig pa'i ye shes, pratyatmyavedanajñāna) that is free from subject and object.
So here, Amaro, draws an understandable, but erroneous conclusion, assuming that rigpa/vidyā referred to in Dzogchen is the mental factor of cognizance. Elsewhere, he refers to rig pa as intrinsic awareness (rang rig), understandably ignorant of the fact that rig pa, rang rig, and so on, in Dzogchen are contractions of so so rang rig pa'i ye shes, which is a very common term in Buddhist literature. If one claims that svasamvedana is what "rang rig" refers to, one's view does not transcend Yogacāra. This is an extremely common error, with consequences for one's practice.

The difference between the nine yānas and the great perfection is that the former take mind as the basis; where as the great perfection takes gnosis as the basis. This has consequences for the path: the nine yānas are paths based on causes and results; path of Dzogchen is not based on causes and results. This also has consequences for the result. In the the nine yānas the three kāyas are a result that arise from the two accumulations; in Dzogchen, the three kāyas are path experiences and do not exist in the result.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 6:06 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:


tobes said:
I celebrate this, and I agree that there are some big similarities even in method.

Malcolm wrote:
There are no similarities at all, not in view, meditation, conduct, not to mention result.

tobes said:
"No similarities at all" is more than a bit extreme. Giovanni is saying they are commensurable and you are saying 0%. A bit of middle way is warranted.

Malcolm wrote:
The basis is different, the path is different, the result is different.

There is no similarity between Dzogchen and Theravada at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 8:40 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:


tobes said:
I celebrate this, and I agree that there are some big similarities even in method.

Malcolm wrote:
There are no similarities at all, not in view, meditation, conduct, not to mention result.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 7:28 AM
Title: Re: Semde and longde are base of Mennagde?
Content:



florin said:
“ In substance, these three phases correspond to three
aspects of the Dzogchen teaching: "understanding"
(rtogs pa), "stabilizing" (brtan pa), and "integrating"
(bsre ba). One should not think, however, that the
practice of Dzogchen must necessarily start with Semde
and end with Mennagde; total realization can also be
achieved by practicing only one of the three series,
inasmuch as each of them is a path complete in itself. It is
simply a matter of understanding which aspect receives
greater emphasis in one series rather than another and
knowing how to embark on the path that will be most
beneficial in terms of one's capacity.”
Supreme Source “DZOGCHEN SEMDE AND THE
KUNJED GYALPO TANTRA”

There is a similar quote in Mejung Tantra.

Malcolm wrote:
All I can say is he said different things at different times.

florin said:
But Somewhat in support of your original statement rinpoche, referencing longde said that it is not a practice you would do for the rest of your life. The implication is that one after confidence has been established would move one to upadesha and so on.

Malcolm wrote:
I personally regard the three series as sets of views about Dzogchen, rather than hard textual divisions, because as we know, our teacher taught the unity of the three series in meaning.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 4:05 AM
Title: Re: Semde and longde are base of Mennagde?
Content:





florin said:
Well that much is clear. But then why the statements that each class is a complete path in itself. Complete means complete aka one can benefit from the ultimate fruit.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, we would need to see a citation.

florin said:
“ In substance, these three phases correspond to three
aspects of the Dzogchen teaching: "understanding"
(rtogs pa), "stabilizing" (brtan pa), and "integrating"
(bsre ba). One should not think, however, that the
practice of Dzogchen must necessarily start with Semde
and end with Mennagde; total realization can also be
achieved by practicing only one of the three series,
inasmuch as each of them is a path complete in itself. It is
simply a matter of understanding which aspect receives
greater emphasis in one series rather than another and
knowing how to embark on the path that will be most
beneficial in terms of one's capacity.”
Supreme Source “DZOGCHEN SEMDE AND THE
KUNJED GYALPO TANTRA”

There is a similar quote in Mejung Tantra.

Malcolm wrote:
All I can say is he said different things at different times.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 3:49 AM
Title: Re: Semde and longde are base of Mennagde?
Content:



florin said:
Actually in some of the books translated under his direction by some of his most trusted translators there  is plenty of evidence for quite the  opposite.


Malcolm wrote:
I am basing myself off of direct statements he made in English in various retreats, for example, his pointing out that one could not attain rainbow body through sems sde, and his direct assertion it was not. So, regardless of whatever other people may have said, I know what ChNN himself said in SMS teachings, etc. YMMV



florin said:
Well that much is clear. But then why the statements that each class is a complete path in itself. Complete means complete aka one can benefit from the ultimate fruit.

Malcolm wrote:
Well, we would need to see a citation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 3:31 AM
Title: Re: Semde and longde are base of Mennagde?
Content:


Tata1 said:
Yes semde is very useful. But each series is a complete path in itself as chnn said manytimes

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is not correct. He state that klong sde and man ngag sde are complete paths, but not sems sde.

florin said:
Actually in some of the books translated under his direction by some of his most trusted translators there  is plenty of evidence for quite the  opposite.


Malcolm wrote:
I am basing myself off of direct statements he made in English in various retreats, for example, his pointing out that one could not attain rainbow body through sems sde, and his direct assertion it was not. So, regardless of whatever other people may have said, I know what ChNN himself said in SMS teachings, etc. YMMV


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 2:19 AM
Title: Re: Everybody speaks about samaya, but nobody knows what it
Content:



Malcolm wrote:
Khyungpo Naljor, aka Lama Shang, shows up as a student of Khonchog Gyalpo in one lineage list.

conebeckham said:
The usual person referred to as "Lama Shang" (or Zhang) is actually the founder of the now-extinct Tselpa Kagyu.  Some controversy about his Mahamudra tradition,if I recall.....  I've not heard Khyungpo Naljor equated with the title "Lama Shang" before.

Which Khonchog Gyalpo are you referring to?


Malcolm wrote:
Khon Konchog Gyalpo, far too early to be Lama Shang of white panacea fame.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 12:17 AM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:


nyonchung said:
This is the source, sounds anyway possible,

Malcolm wrote:
Both the sems sde and klong sde chronicles locate him in Vajrāsana where he meets Vairocana.

Kai lord said:
So he was an Indian or Nepalis?  Seem more likely since His name does not even sound remotely Chinese.

Malcolm wrote:
We don't know. We know for sure he was a contemporary of Trisrong Detsen. We know for sure that some of his associates are associated also with Padmasambhava. One can guess that those two ran in the same circles. We can be fairly confident that Vimalamitra was also his student, who arrived in Tibet around 800.

For example, there are three completely different accounts of the origin of Garab Dorje, with the sems sde and klong sde accounts being the closest, but also distinct.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022 at 12:02 AM
Title: Re: Semde and longde are base of Mennagde?
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Aren’t there complete practice manuals for Semde level though?


Malcolm wrote:
sems sde is the completion stage of maha and anu. ChNN clearly explained this.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 10:57 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:


nyonchung said:
This is the source, sounds anyway possible,

Malcolm wrote:
Its highly unlikely. Shri Singha's existence can be confirmed through a text by Manjuśrīkīrit, where one dPal gyi seng ge is mentioned as part of group of partisans who argue the creation stage is unnecessary, along with one dge slong ma dga' mo, etc.

Both the sems sde and klong sde chronicles locate him in Vajrāsana where he meets Vairocana.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 10:33 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
nyonchung said:
As for the great Dzogchen master Shri-singha, he was born to the South of China, possibly in Champa

Malcolm wrote:
Unlikely. The only source for this idea is the 12th century snying thig account, the lo rgyus chen mo.  This finds no confirmation in the sems sde or klong sde histories.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 10:25 PM
Title: Re: Semde and longde are base of Mennagde?
Content:


Tata1 said:
Yes semde is very useful. But each series is a complete path in itself as chnn said manytimes

Malcolm wrote:
No, this is not correct. He state that klong sde and man ngag sde are complete paths, but not sems sde.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 9:47 PM
Title: Re: Mahayana vs Theravada
Content:
Giovanni said:
Some senior Dzogchen teachers known to me have been studying with a Theravadin Abbot who is teaching Dzogchen.
The Bodhisattva and Arhat models are seen as upaya rather than ontological realities. This may be a way that Buddhadharma developes in the West.

Malcolm wrote:
Of course they are methods, and the methods of arhats and bodhisattvas could not be more different since their motivation is utterly different.

Without Mahāyāna motivation, there is no Dzogchen.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 9:41 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/18/burning-planet-why-are-the-worlds-heatwaves-getting-more-intense

Malcolm wrote:
Meanwhile, it is 57 F (13.8 C) in Western New England today and for the past week, somewhat colder than average, while the rest of the country swelters.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 9:26 PM
Title: Re: Best deities-practices for eliminating or transforming heavy negative karma. Root Guru
Content:


Loto-Trueno said:
First; what deity or practice each of you consider would be better to clean, revert, transform very dirty, thick and dense karma

Malcolm wrote:
Guru Yoga, followed by samadhi.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 9:20 PM
Title: Re: Everybody speaks about samaya, but nobody knows what it is.
Content:


nyonchung said:
Later rnam thar of Machig are of no practical (historiographical) use.

Malcolm wrote:
Agreed.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 9:06 AM
Title: Re: Everybody speaks about samaya, but nobody knows what it
Content:



nyonchung said:
This is what Tenné did, Dzeng spent a short time with Dampa, but well before Dampa's final stay in Dingri (both Dzeng's and Dampa's biographies lack of a precise chronology - and if you find a precise chronology in a 12th or 13th century, well , somebody probably added it later)

Malcolm wrote:
I was referring to Kunzang Dorje’s 12th century account of klong sde where this episode is recounted. The point is that there was considerable contemporary doubt about the extent of Dampa’s work.

nyonchung said:
Probably the source for Gö Lotsawa =
" sLob dpon kun bzang gis mdzad pa'i rnam bshad che ba" according to Deb ther sngon po (vol. 1), p. 237
I have doubts on Dzeng's dates and Dampa's dates; following Gö Lotsawa, Dzeng is possibly (1052-1168?), but maybe b. 1064 -
Mel Kawachen (1126-1211) - dates safer - is the master of Künzang Dorjé in the zhi byed bar ma so lugs ( don brgyud and the disciple of Shami Mönlam Bar (1085-1171), a key master of Tenné (so Künzang Dorjé and Tenné received the same lineage)
Künzang Dorjé is possibly just a little younger than Mel and Tenné (b. 1127) but not much more

So Tenné did this remarquable clarification work, highlighting the original cycles of instructions ; otherwise, he was quite an exceptionnal character, his rang rnam is pretty atypic and comparable to some of the best French medieval literature. Freshness. Nothing of the conventions of later rnam thar.
Could you please locate Künzang Dorjé's account?, it can be interesting to compare with Gö Lotsawa's version.
- Martin D. (1997), p. 33 mentions this account

Regards

Malcolm wrote:
That makes it even more remarkable that Kunzang Dorje related Dzeng’s skepticism.

Kunzang Dorje’s account can be found in tne ‘bka ma, under the title rdo rje zam pa, Vajra bridge.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 8:11 AM
Title: Re: Everybody speaks about samaya, but nobody knows what it
Content:
nyonchung said:
The most remarkable early example of careful reconstruction I know of is that of Gyelwa Tenné (1127-1217), who compiled biographies of masters of the zhijé tradition since Pha Dampa Sanggyé, the teachings they transmitted, the part of commentaries and additions that belong to succesive masters down to the few root instructions given by the Indian master. 5 volumes .
Tenné's own autobiography is a marvel.

Malcolm wrote:
Dzeng Dharmabodhi, a contemporary and student of Phadampa, expressed doubt at the huge number of volumes of Shije teachings present in the mid12th century, since Phadampa didn’t actually speak much and communicated mainly in symbols.

nyonchung said:
This is what Tenné did, Dzeng spent a short time with Dampa, but well before Dampa's final stay in Dingri (both Dzeng's and Dampa's biographies lack of a precise chronology - and if you find a precise chronology in a 12th or 13th century, well , somebody probably added it later)

Malcolm wrote:
I was referring to Kunzang Dorje’s 12th century account of klong sde where this episode is recounted. The point is that there was considerable contemporary doubt about the extent of Dampa’s work.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 5:49 AM
Title: Re: Everybody speaks about samaya, but nobody knows what it
Content:
nyonchung said:
The most remarkable early example of careful reconstruction I know of is that of Gyelwa Tenné (1127-1217), who compiled biographies of masters of the zhijé tradition since Pha Dampa Sanggyé, the teachings they transmitted, the part of commentaries and additions that belong to succesive masters down to the few root instructions given by the Indian master. 5 volumes .
Tenné's own autobiography is a marvel.

Malcolm wrote:
Dzeng Dharmabodhi, a contemporary and student of Phadampa, expressed doubt at the huge number of volumes of Shije teachings present in the mid12th century, since Phadampa didn’t actually speak much and communicated mainly in symbols.

Khyungpo Naljor, aka Lama Shang, shows up as a student of Khonchog Gyalpo in one lineage list.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 1:19 AM
Title: Re: Tradition-specific Altar Accoutrement
Content:
nyonchung said:
What about Godzilla?

Malcolm wrote:
I don't know, little dated. Transformers (sentient robot/vehicles) are a more in keeping with the times.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 at 12:10 AM
Title: Re: Tradition-specific Altar Accoutrement
Content:


nyonchung said:
Not really, in a formal shrine...

Malcolm wrote:
These are just Tibetan lineage customs. There is no real rule book for these things. Indian bali was chapatis, not elaborate torma sculptures with butter ornaments, etc. Eight offerings are just articles used by Indians to welcome guests, etc. It is unlikely they were arranged the way Tibetans now do. Just look at how they arrange these things in a Shingon alter. No stupa, no text.

For example, ChNN specified the only thing one really needs for a shrine is a picture of A in thigle of five colors, a candle for offering, and incense for dharmapālas, and this is enough for a formal shrine. If one like to do more, of course, one can.

There is no one right way. So, it is sufficient for one's home shrine to simply have a picture of one's guru.

So we agree.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022 at 10:38 PM
Title: Re: Tradition-specific Altar Accoutrement
Content:


nyonchung said:
but OMG "three jewels, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Sangha is often represented by a picture of one’s teacher." Certainly not.

Malcolm wrote:
Certainly. Otherwise, what is the point of saying the guru is the embodiment of the Three Jewels? So below, you contradict yourself

nyonchung said:
One's own teacher is... the union of all refuges / jewels

Malcolm wrote:
Hence a sufficient representation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 at 11:59 PM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
stong gzugs said:
One might wonder how the development of Tibetan Buddhism would have been different had this debate taken place.

Kai lord said:
Sakya was under the patronage of the Yuan empire of Mongols and was at their height of power during that time, Many Sakya masters even served as the state preceptor of the Mongol Khans. So due to political reasons, the result of that debate wouldn't be fair even if it had taken place and might even be bad for Dölpopa (recall how Chan was driven out in the 8th century),

Malcolm wrote:
At this time in history, gzhan stong was quite popular, and hand not yet been subject to the critiques it would receive from Rendawa, Tsongkhapa, Rongton, Gorampa, and others.

However, my point was really that the argument for Jonang institutional independence is backwards looking and somewhat anachronistic.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 at 10:31 PM
Title: Re: Hevajra or Chakrsamvara Empowerements in 2022
Content:


Konchog1 said:
How does this work for people who switch traditions? I know a few zen teachers who talk about how they were formerly Vajrayana practitioners and I would guess they have some practice commitments? Maybe they haven't abandoned them and do it in private, but I feel it could be hard balancing the two practices.

Malcolm wrote:
Practice commitments are voluntary. And if you find you don't really gel with a practice, there is no reason to continue with it. Of course, when teachers give important cycles, they want people to take them seriously. But there is actually no _samaya_ to do this or that practice. These commitments are given to discourage the idly curious.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 at 8:10 PM
Title: Re: Prophecies of Dolpopa
Content:



Tenma said:
Over in the sectarian spirit cult, I've seen their deceased teacher

Malcolm wrote:
Not deceased. Alive and living in Spain.

Tenma said:
The one that used to live in Malaysia is still alive? That's the dude I'm talking about.

Malcolm wrote:
Oh, that guy. Quite deceased.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 at 3:43 AM
Title: Re: Treasury of Precious Instructions, vol. 5 Sakya
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Preorder link:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 at 3:36 AM
Title: Treasury of Precious Instructions, vol. 5 Sakya
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Hi All,

Just received my advance copies of my first translation with Tsadra:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 20th, 2022 at 8:34 PM
Title: Re: Ekajati yidam practice
Content:
lelopa said:
In Drikung Yangzab is an empowerment needed for Ekadzati self-transformation.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, of course.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 20th, 2022 at 7:41 AM
Title: Re: Gelug responses to these critiques of Tsongkhapa?
Content:


wei wu wei said:
All Classical Madhyamakas agree that emptiness is the emptiness of something, and that without something, there cannot be nothing. What is that something? Dependent Origination. No classical Madhyamaka accepts a self-established ineffable emptiness. The ultimate is the ultimate of something, no classical Madhyamaka rejects this, including Mipham. Otherwise one cannot have the Union of the two truths and so on which became codified with the translation of the MAV of Candrakirti.

Malcolm, would you mind if I share this in a FB conversation?

Malcolm wrote:
Not at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 20th, 2022 at 5:00 AM
Title: Re: Ekajati yidam practice
Content:
Riku19 said:
Thanks Malcom! You never fail to deliver

Malcolm wrote:
It is not so easy to receive this instruction.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 19th, 2022 at 10:39 PM
Title: Re: Ekajati yidam practice
Content:
Riku19 said:
Not exactly what I am looking for but thank you for the info nontheless!

Malcolm wrote:
Drikung Yangzab.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 19th, 2022 at 9:46 AM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:


Queequeg said:
Whether the Buddha actually attained parinirvana is something Buddhists cannot agree on.


Malcolm wrote:
Conventionally speaking, upon which you base your case, everyone accepts he did. The fact is not in dispute. The interpretation of that fact is a different matter.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 19th, 2022 at 9:31 AM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:


Queequeg said:
I do disagree with this whole putting Buddhhism in quotation marks to insinuate that there is some difference between Dharma and the ways it is practiced. That said, the terms Buddhist/Buddhism are clumsy and conventions that I probably ought to avoid using.

Malcolm wrote:
There is an old Karmapa saw that runs to the tune of some student does this and that “Dharma” practice, goes to his teacher, who responds, that’s great, but it is better to practice Dharma, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 19th, 2022 at 9:25 AM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:


Queequeg said:
By excommunication I mean only what the Buddha instructed as above - cease intercourse with the person.

Malcolm wrote:
This is not excommunication, and it only applied to how bhikshus relate to deviant bhikshus who gave committed one of the fourteen breaches requiring expiation. It has nothing to do with lay people. We have no authority to punish bhikshus. Not only that, but protesting at Starbucks doesn’t rate.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 11:54 PM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Nah. We should never be worried about what other people do unless it is directly harmful to sentient beings.

Queequeg said:
Karma is harmful to sentient beings.

Malcolm wrote:
You cannot protect people from their own karma.

The Three Jewels are not a church or an institution to defend. Those who wish to “preserve the integrity of the Three Jewels” only need to worry about their own physical, verbal, and mental actions. We can’t really condition others to behave as we would wish, no?
Well actually, the sangha is certainly an institution that the Buddha established.The rules came later, but there certainly was a going for refuge that brought people into a certain community. One of his last instructions was on what to do when people act in a manner not in harmony with the community - excommunication. [/quote]

???

No. Where did the Buddha recommend excommunication? How could a buddha, an embodiment of compassion, excommunicate anyone?
There would need to be something to be excommunicated from - and that is the fellowship of refuge.
Losing one's status as bhikṣu does not constitute loss of refuge. The Sangha is made up of four types of persons (eight when multiplied by gender). And frankly since you are not a bhikṣu, the only think you can do is complain to his Sangha. And likely, he is not even a bhikṣu. Even if he were, since there is no rule in Vinaya, as far as I know, stating that bhikṣus (if the guy is even a bhikṣu) are forbidden from attending PETA protests or glueing their hands to counters. I agree with you it is dumb, but, so what? Buddhists do all kinds of dumb shit I don't agree with. So your complaint would amount to nothing.

Beyond that, this person probably thinks they are doing a bodhisattva action. They likely have generated bodhicitta.
Of course we can choose to efface everything with "its empty, man", but I don't think it needs to be explained to you the fault in that. We sentient beings inescapably live in a matrix of conventions. We can deny them on the basis of emptiness, but for most of us that's nothing more than an intellectual position. An authentic insight into emptiness is something wholly different. We're not talking about that, so its not relevant here.
My point has to do with contrasting "Buddhists" who don't agree on much, with Buddhadharma, which does not depend on such conventions. There are people, Buddhists, who think that protesting at Starbucks over soy milk is entirely in line with Buddhism. You disagree. You want to excommunicate them, since this is accords with your idea of "Buddhism." But in the end, it is just a bunch of accepting and rejecting.
We go for refuge in certain conventions as an antidote to the suffering due to our entanglement in conventions. In the end, we are still left with the triratna and our responsibility to keep it alive for the future.
We cannot keep the Buddha alive, he went into parinirvana 2500 years ago. The relative renunciate Sangha is in a rapid state of decline, merely a reflection of what it once was—people try to preserve it, but the Buddha predicted it would perish. The Dharma is there to be realized even when there is no Buddha present in the world, such as now. So, the only way to keep the Three Jewels alive is in our own practice, and not by looking at the faults we perceive in other's "Buddhism."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 10:18 PM
Title: Re: eye organ versus eyeball
Content:
Hazel said:
I can dig up the quote, if that is helpful.

jimmi said:
I would appreciate that. I’m very interested in Buddhist teachings that might elaborate on the functions of the body’s eye and the mind’s eye.

Malcolm wrote:
You can find this information in the first chapter of Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośbhaṣya.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 9:58 PM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:


Queequeg said:
At this point preserving the integrity of the triratna may well be futile. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to keep it alive. imo.

Malcolm wrote:
The Three Jewels are not a church or an institution to defend. Those who wish to “preserve the integrity of the Three Jewels” only need to worry about their own physical, verbal, and mental actions. We can’t really condition others to behave as we would wish, no?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 9:52 PM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:
Queequeg said:
Buddhist

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhists are one thing, followers of Buddhadharma another. You can’t discern the latter from the former based on costumes. And it really doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of Buddhists.

Queequeg said:
The old True Scotsmen thing...

It does.

Malcolm wrote:
Nah. We should never be worried about what other people do unless it is directly harmful to sentient beings. The only issue here is the superglue. The rest of it is just theater for the bored.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 8:18 PM
Title: Re: HYT Wangs
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
All this chat of commitments and recitations makes me glad to be a Dzogchen practitioner. It’s exhausting even to think about.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 10:19 AM
Title: Re: Obesity epidemic
Content:



KristenM said:
I would like to follow an Ayurvedic diet but somewhere I read that tomatoes should be avoided. That’s a deal breaker for me, personally.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no one Ayurvedic diet, and tomatoes are an integral part of Indian cooking.

KristenM said:
That’s what I thought was always so weird about the tomato thing, they are so prevalent in Indian food.

Malcolm wrote:
Tomatoes are a bit acidic, hence pitta aggravating.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 9:48 AM
Title: Re: Obesity epidemic
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
eating a diet high in animal fats is directly linked to all sorts of problems in humans.

Malcolm wrote:
Eating a diet high in anything is likely to cause problems.

Not only this, but there is no single diet which is good for every person.

People should eat seasonally, according to their constitutional type as described in both Ayurveda and Tibetan Medicine.

KristenM said:
I would like to follow an Ayurvedic diet but somewhere I read that tomatoes should be avoided. That’s a deal breaker for me, personally.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no one Ayurvedic diet, and tomatoes are an integral part of Indian cooking.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 9:16 AM
Title: Re: eye organ versus eyeball
Content:
Hazel said:
I had assumed that by eye organ texts meant the eyeball,
but recently read that it's a actually something more subtle than that.

What am I missing here?

I can dig up the quote, if that is helpful.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s a patch of atoms on the back of the eyeball.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 9:08 AM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:
Queequeg said:
Buddhist

Malcolm wrote:
Buddhists are one thing, followers of Buddhadharma another. You can’t discern the latter from the former based on costumes. And it really doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of Buddhists.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2022 at 12:26 AM
Title: Re: Obesity epidemic
Content:
Johnny Dangerous said:
eating a diet high in animal fats is directly linked to all sorts of problems in humans.

Malcolm wrote:
Eating a diet high in anything is likely to cause problems.

Not only this, but there is no single diet which is good for every person.

People should eat seasonally, according to their constitutional type as described in both Ayurveda and Tibetan Medicine.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 17th, 2022 at 10:25 PM
Title: Re: What exactly is a deva??
Content:
ToddGibbsop said:
I know devas were once humans and I’ve heard that the word deva means god. The thing is that I thought the definition of a god was supposed to be infinite and all powerful , but devas aren’t all powerful and they don’t live for ever. Is one not supposed to take the name translation literally and devas are actually just very powerful spirits. Please tell me your knowledge of this?

Malcolm wrote:
A sentient being who inhabits the highest part of the three realms, the upper part of the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm.

They are not "spirits" per se.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 17th, 2022 at 10:16 AM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Well security let just them in, instead of even trying to stop them.

Malcolm wrote:
Ummmm, no.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 16th, 2022 at 10:33 PM
Title: Re: Bad look for the Sangha
Content:



Könchok Thrinley said:
What about monks protesting killing? Be it slaughterhouses or massacres? After all Buddha did try to protect the Shakyas by blocking the way for the army if I remember correctly. Is that not a form of a protest?

Malcolm wrote:
He didn't block them. He met them on the road and convinced them it was a bad idea and they went away. But the second time, he watched the army murder and carry off his relative into slavery.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 16th, 2022 at 12:35 AM
Title: Re: Non-Buddhist attending a tsok
Content:


jamesrigzin said:
He listened to the Tibetan chanting and maybe perused the English in the text… Afterwards, he commented, “man, they waste so much food!” - referring to the tsok remainder - and suggested that, according to his logic, it is hypocritical to behave in such a way I.e. environmental concerns, moral concerns.

Malcolm wrote:
Apparently, during the imperial period, the Bonpos also used to make similar complaints about the Buddhists, in addition to the fact that the Buddhist were dependent on texts!

M


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 15th, 2022 at 8:09 PM
Title: Re: Non-Buddhist attending a tsok
Content:
Hazel said:
Hello all!

Is there anything unwise about a non-Buddhist attending an (online) tsok? I was going to ask a friend to join me as I've been having trouble motivating myself to do anything on my own.

Malcolm wrote:
Not permitted.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 14th, 2022 at 8:27 PM
Title: Re: HYT Wangs
Content:


jmlee369 said:
That particular line is part of the recitation for transmitting the tantric vows and one of the reasons six sessions is required. Hence the interpreters' assumptions that six session guru yoga is mandatory.

Malcolm wrote:
This idea isn't universal. Only the Geluk school maintains this idea.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 12th, 2022 at 10:19 PM
Title: Re: The Bendowa and Teachers in Zen
Content:


FiveSkandhas said:
So tell me, Zen scholars, how should we understand the Bendowa? Can it serve as a substitute for a master, as suggested by the first quote? Or is practice useless without a realized master, as later suggested in the same work?

Malcolm wrote:
Not a Zen scholar, but the first quote suggests to me that Dogen was recording how Chan was practiced as an institutional practice in China. I do not perceive a contradiction here with his later assertion in the same text generally speaking one needs a teacher.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 12th, 2022 at 9:03 PM
Title: Re: “Lost” and “Broken” lineages and traditions
Content:
FiveSkandhas said:
As most if not all of us are well aware, it is forbidden to learn and practice Vajrayana from texts alone (as far as I am aware) without the personal instructions of a Guru / Teacher.

Well and good.

That said, two questions I probably should know the answer to, but plead exoteric Mahayana ignorance

1) I seem to recall once reading about certain “lost lineages” or “broken lineages” in Tibetan history. Are there indeed lineages or even entire sects that have vanished?

Malcolm wrote:
Many institutional lineages have vanished, as well as many transmission lineages.

FiveSkandhas said:
2) I am aware that Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrül, among others, are responsible for preserving the texts of numerous lineages that were on the brink of extinction through the Rime approach. Are there schools and traditions that have disappeared in practice and exist only in the form of texts salvaged by Rime preservation?

Malcolm wrote:
Only Transmission lineages, not institutional lineages.


FiveSkandhas said:
3) What is the general Tibetan policy, if any, to “reviving” traditions that may exist only in textual form? Is this considered acceptable?

Malcolm wrote:
There are ways to revive broken transmissions. There is not much point in reviving extinct institutions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 12th, 2022 at 6:51 PM
Title: Re: Hevajra or Chakrsamvara Empowerements in 2022
Content:
Soma999 said:
If commitments are too « rigid » in their forms, instead of helping you they can be felt as a burden.

Malcolm wrote:
Practice commitments are one thing, samaya another.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 12th, 2022 at 6:46 AM
Title: Re: HYT Wangs
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
This already happened and it was not streamed.

Lobsang Chojor said:
The Chakrasamvara wang is in July not June, it's still on the schedule as upcoming July 8-10

Malcolm wrote:
Ok my bad


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 12th, 2022 at 1:16 AM
Title: Re: HYT Wangs
Content:
Terma said:
Here is an update from the site of OHHDL:

"Please note that people attending the initiation are required to do the daily practice of the Luipa Chakrasamvara Sadhana (luipe dechok dakye) or al least the Triple Purification Practice (dakpa sum kyi nyeljor) of Chakrasamvara."

https://www.dalailama.com/schedule

No indication of this will be streamed yet, but I think it will.

Malcolm wrote:
This already happened and it was not streamed.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 11th, 2022 at 8:56 PM
Title: Re: HYT Wangs
Content:
Soma999 said:
Commitments should be presented beforehand so you can choose them in conscience if you can and want to take them. Otherwise it is like signing a contract without even knowing what’s written in it.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, that is how Vajrayāna is. The samayas are themselves part of samaya, so, classically speaking, students are selected on the basis of their ability to keep secrets and the secrets are not disclosed, as well as the commitments, before hand.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 11th, 2022 at 9:28 AM
Title: Re: Coronavirus
Content:
PeterC said:
They should also be excluded from treatment for COVID with public or private medical insurance, unless an independent doctor verifies that they have a medical condition contraindicating vaccination.

They don't want the vaccine - that's fine, but then they pay for any costs they incur.

Archie2009 said:
What's your take on the herd of morbidly obese Americans who aren't obese because of a condition but simply became elephantine by putting too much food in their mouths?

Malcolm wrote:
This is mostly a function of food deserts in low income areas. It’s not because they put too much food in their mouths, it’s a function of being unable to access real food.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 11th, 2022 at 1:21 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The longest, most detailed commentary on Kalacakra was written by Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen who received the Jonang tradition. He wrote more on Kalacakra that any other single subject, but no one could consider him a Jonangpa.

stong gzugs said:
The longest, most detailed commentary on Kālacakra including the Vimalaprabhā? I haven't seen this text, is it translated into English? In terms of translated verse-by-verse commentaries, the Vimalaprabhā is unfortunately quite scant in its coverage of the final, and perhaps most arcane, chapter. Mipham's Illumination of the Vajra Sun delves more deeply into it. But it would certainly be valuable to study additional commentaries.

Malcolm wrote:
It has not been translated, is in seven volumes, one volume per chapter with related material in other two volumes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 10th, 2022 at 11:47 PM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
stong gzugs said:
I tend to agree more with your prior views in the other thread than your vie
Yes, a beautiful Sakya instruction.

Malcolm wrote:
It shows patrimony. Also, if you read his bio, Kunga Drolchok was a Sakyapa.

https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Jetsun-Kunga-Drolchok/TBRC_p2387

When two children have the same father, we consider them to be in the same family. No?

Even Thukje Tsondru received most of his education at Sakya affiliated monasteries at the height the Sakya Hegemony.

It's fine for the Jonangpas to consider themselves an independent lineage, but the fact is that they remained closely connected with the Sakya school for much of their existence. For example, Dakchen Dorjechang realized mahamudra by practicing the six limb yoga, but no one would call him a Jonangpa. The longest, most detailed commentary on Kalacakra was written by Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen who received the Jonang tradition. He wrote more on Kalacakra that any other single subject, but no one could consider him a Jonangpa.

In those days, there were a number of smaller institutions that flourished, like Zhalu, Jonang, and so on. We can say that they are this or that instution, but when we examine things more clearly, their institutional identity as independent lineages is a function of the rising power of the Gelugpas more than anything else. They were either absorbed, like Nalendra, made a deal, like Sakya, Drikung, and so on, or were suppressed like Karma Kagyu and Jonang.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 10th, 2022 at 9:14 AM
Title: Re: The Meaning of the Word "Kulaya" in the Indian Title of the Kunbyed Gyalpo Tantra
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
And I'm still no clearer on where the word "kulaya" ever came into it,
You never will be clearer about it. There is no early commentary on the Kun byed rgyal po that goes into a phonemic explanation of the individual syllables and diacritics of the its title. That is something we only find for the 17 tantras. The earliest complete commentary of the Kun byed rgyal po was composed in the 19th century. Longchenpa's commentary is quite short and only covers the key concepts in the text.

Shabda said:
Okay.  Then all I'm wondering about now, is regarding this

"Non-Tibetan Titles
sar+b d+har+m mahA san d+hi bo d+hi tsat+t ku la ya rA dza/ (Tb)

sar+b d+har+mA mahA san ti bod+hi tsit+t ku la ya rAdza/ (Tk)

sarba d+harma ma hA san+ti bo d+hi tsit+ta ku la ya rA dza/ (Dg)"

https://www.thlib.org/encyclopedias/lit... at=ng/0010

By whom and when were these Non-Tibetan titles created?  Is it that they were added to manuscripts by very modern compilers maybe in the last 200 years or do they go back to the first compilations of the canon? Are they found in original manuscripts or are they clearly recent modern additions only cited in catalog information?  If the latter, for what purpose?  Can we know or is it impossible to say.

Malcolm wrote:
Hard to say, but the earliest version of the kun byed rgyal po we have, the 14th century Bai ro rgyud “bum recension, lacks a Sanskrit title. Many other texts in thus collection, however, have “Indic” titles.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 10th, 2022 at 12:49 AM
Title: Re: The Meaning of the Word "Kulaya" in the Indian Title of the Kunbyed Gyalpo Tantra
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
What is Dzogchen linguistic theory? I've never heard of it.

Malcolm wrote:
It's rather complicated and has not really been studied by anyone other than perhaps JLA.

The concepts of how language is formed and so on, is major part of the first chapter of the commentary on the Sound Tantra, which was not in general circulation for hundreds of years.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 9th, 2022 at 9:19 PM
Title: Re: The Meaning of the Word "Kulaya" in the Indian Title of the Kunbyed Gyalpo Tantra
Content:


Shabda said:
How old are the Indian titles given in the Nyingma Gyubum?

Malcolm wrote:
We are talking about Dzogchen tantras titles here specifically.

Shabda said:
Were they not part of the canonical information when it was first collected and organised by Ratna Lingpa (if that's right) or added later in the age of Jigme Lingpa?  Or could they go back to the time of Vimalamitra?

Malcolm wrote:
The Brahmin cycle as well as the Man ngag sde tantras are all treasure texts. So,  we have no evidence for them that is earlier than the late 10th century.

As I said, the the Kujn byed rgyal po is likely a Tibetan compilation which grew around the five early Dzogchen lungs translated by Vairocana.


Shabda said:
And I'm still no clearer on where the word "kulaya" ever came into it,

Malcolm wrote:
You never will be clearer about it. There is no early commentary on the Kun byed rgyal po that goes into a phonemic explanation of the individual syllables and diacritics of the its title. That is something we only find for the 17 tantras. The earliest complete commentary of the Kun byed rgyal po was composed in the 19th century. Longchenpa's commentary is quite short and only covers the key concepts in the text.

Shabda said:
འ་ཨ་ཤ་ས་མ་ཧ།

Malcolm wrote:
The source of this is the Mind Mirror of Vajrasattva (rDo rje sems dpa' snying gi me long). It cannot be ha, since ha is already present. Longchenpa, as I mentioned above, states in the Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle that the syllable འ་ is from Oḍḍiyāna language, and so not Sanskrit. This is the same text where we find the translation of the Song of the Vajra. It is unlikely this is actually Longchenpa's own translation, considering the large swaths of material he cribs from the extant commentaries on the 17 tantras. It is likely from the now lost commentaries on the Union of the Sun and Moon Tantra.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 9th, 2022 at 9:24 AM
Title: Re: The Meaning of the Word "Kulaya" in the Indian Title of the Kunbyed Gyalpo Tantra
Content:
Shabda said:
Namkhai Norbu offered meanings of the terms in the Song of the Vajra, so no doubt he could, but he is no longer with us, but I wonder if there's anyone else like him today.

Malcolm wrote:
Actually that was Longchenpa who presented a translation, which ChNN promulgated. But it’s not a 1:1 translation. And ChNN is the one who insists that Oddiyanese has grammar distinct from Sanskrit.

And there is inconvenient presence of syllable འ, which has no correlate in Sanskrit, as I mentioned above. If anything, Oddiyana language would have been a Central Asian language at the border of Iranian and Indian language spheres. Several Dzogchen tantras and texts claim they are translated from multiple languages. How much credibility we can lend such assertions is a debate for text critical scholars. Other than texts like song of the vajra, we have almost no evidence of Oddiyana language, other than mentions of it as a language distinct from Sanskrit.

And no, there is no one alive who can offer much more than Longchenpa did. Having translated major portions of Dzogchen linguistic theory, it has no relationship to Pannini’s grammar. It’s quite unique.

Finally, it’s entirely certain that “Indic” title of the Kun byed rgyal po is fairly modern, since the KG bears considerable evidence of being a Tibetan compilation of earlier sources, and there is no mention of it before the 11th century, though it’s five core chapters are cited by Nubcheb, but it never is.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 9th, 2022 at 8:19 AM
Title: Re: Names of Kunjey Gyalpo in Chapter 84 of the All-Creating King Tantra
Content:
Shabda said:
Perhaps it means both simultaneously; great perfection and great peace at the same time.

Malcolm wrote:
I don’t think. There is no commentariat evidence to support such a reading.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 9th, 2022 at 4:44 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
stong gzugs said:
the diversity of practices in the 108 Quintessential Instructions of the Jonang

Malcolm wrote:
The very first of these instructions, is, not surprisingly, Parting From the Four Attachments.

The status of Jonang as divorced from Sakya is a post-Taranatha situation. Prior to Gorampa, gzhan stong was quite popular in Sakya. Gelug largely got its start because of rejection of gzhan stong in Sakya with Rendawa, but this really rather late. Even well into the 16th century there was a great deal of interaction between Sakya, Zhalu, and Jonang.

Things became stratified under the Ganden Phodrang.

Institutions and lineages are actually distinct.

stong gzugs said:
As far as I know, only 2 of the 17 lineages are clearly Sakya: the lineage from Ga Lotsāwa to Sachen Kunga Nyingpo and the lineage from Śākyaśrībhadra to Sakya Paṇḍita. Do you know otherwise?

Malcolm wrote:
Kilaya, Hevajra, the three lineages of Cakrasamvara, etc., in Jonang are all from Sakya. Most of the tantric lineages in Jonang are from Sakya, other than the Shangpa Kagyu stuff.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, June 9th, 2022 at 1:06 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
stong gzugs said:
The Jonang were actually recognized as an independent fifth school of Tibetan Buddhism https://www.phayul.com/2011/09/28/30077/, presided over by HHDL. This recognition on paper has not necessarily come with equal representation in practice and led to some https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mUpwtA9Pi7YJ:tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com/en/index.php%3Ftitle%3DJonang_Buddhist_tradition+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.

The notion that the Jonang are an offshoot of the Sakya is a notion held by some Sakyapas, but no Jonangpas. It is worth noting that the Jonang were founded by Kunpang Tukje Tsondru who brought together 17 distinct lineages of Kālacakra ṣaḍaṅgayoga, creating a new practice tradition, and that subsequent developments by Dölpopa Shérab Gyeltsen created a completely new dharma language (chos skad) and doxography. In this way, it is hard to describe either the practice or the theory of the Jonang as anything except independent and original.

Freddie B. said:
Thanks for weighing in here. Whereas it is true that Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen came from Sakya (wasn't he Abbott?), And when he went to the Jomanang valley, the Jonang Lineage had already existed I believe. So the lineage was not created by Dolpopa.

In fact, some of the main figures of the Sakya lineage at that time were at odds with Dolpopa including Butön Rinchen Drup. So at the very least the thought of being a Sakya sub-school probably ended at that point.

Malcolm wrote:
The fact of the matter is that many Sakya Lamas were abbots of Jonang, like Dagchen Dorje Chang's uncle and so on. The relationship with the Khon and Jonang was actually extremely close and continued with Ngorpas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 10:00 PM
Title: Re: Names of Kunjey Gyalpo in Chapter 84 of the All-Creating King Tantra
Content:



Shabda said:
1. kulayarāja

Malcolm wrote:
Your first clue that this is not Sanskrit is mahāsanti. There is no word "santi" in Sanskrit. And in the Bairo rgyud 'bum, we find santimahā. Some hold this is evidence of Oḍḍiyanese syntax, where, like Tibetan, the adjective is placed after the noun it modifies. Raja (cognate of rex) is likely a loan word from Sanskrit.

Kulaya is translating kun byed, but there is no way to derive any Sanskrit word that resembles this. Hence, not Sanskrit. The Sanskrit would be something like sarvakārana.

Shabda said:
2. bodhicitta
3. svayambhūjñāna

Malcolm wrote:
These are ok, since they are attested in Mahāvyutpatti


Shabda said:
4. śrutiśāstradharmādarśa

Malcolm wrote:
Unlikely, this is bka' yi 'grel.  Bka' is vacana and 'grel is vivarana/vṛtti.

Shabda said:
5. prakṛtārthayāna

Malcolm wrote:
Unlikely, snying po is most like sāra, hence arthasāra for snying po don.

Shabda said:
6. darśanādarśa

Malcolm wrote:
Maybe, though dṛṣṭi is more likely, lta ba'i me long.

Shabda said:
7. jinamātṛ

Malcolm wrote:
Ok, attested.


Shabda said:
8. tantrarāja

Malcolm wrote:
Attested.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 8:13 PM
Title: Re: Names of Kunjey Gyalpo in Chapter 84 of the All-Creating King Tantra
Content:
Shabda said:
Sir (above), thank you for your helpful thoughts.

You know, that's probably why I'm not very happy with 4, 5 and 6.  I know the Tibetan text can be read online and in print but lacking the skill in reading Tibetan especially in Tibetan font it would likely take days to dechiper.

So if anyone happens to know what the Tibetan text reads, then I'd be so grateful.

By the way, is it really in the style of Don Quixote to want to know the Tibetan of these names?  Which is, after all, what I'm interested in.  If someone then wants to make Sanskrit-windmills out of them, why, what harm could really come?  At worst, one gets more familiar with the Tibetan language.

Malcolm wrote:
I can provide those for you. I assume you are using the horrendously bad Dargye translation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 8:01 PM
Title: Re: The Meaning of the Word "Kulaya" in the Indian Title of the Kunbyed Gyalpo Tantra
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
Simple answer, the title is not Sanskrit.

Shabda said:
Although reductionist explanations can be useful at times, I fear in truth, with due respect, it's not that simple, nor is that an accurate statement.  In fact, the title as reported by Tarthang Tulku in his edition of the Derge Catalog (Dharma, 1980) reads:

Sarvadharmamahāśāntibodhicittakularāja

Which is, contrary to some claims, a Sanskrit title,  the exact same language as every other Indian title of all texts of the Derge (and similar) Tibetan canon(s), including those of the Ancient Tantra section.  If that title is not Sanskrit, then you'll agree there is no such thing as a Sanskrit title anywhere!  So it's intersting that Tarthang Tulku chose to  report the title with that exact spelling, which reads "The King of the Family of Bodhicitta that is the Great Peace or Pacification of All Phenomena".

So the question remains, is the word "kulaya" extrapolated from "kula" in the same way as "kilaya" was from "kila"?  Did Tarthang Tulku restore it to its original form?  And, why did the Tibetan translation (kunbyed) differ so much from the Indian for that term (kulaya),the two having nothing in common at all?

Malcolm wrote:
The title is a backtranslation. If you compare the titles in various versions of rnying ma rgyud “bum, you find wide discrepancies. The Derge version has replaced many of the earlier “Indic” titles found in the Tshams brag  reskin with back translations. The problem is that the often unintelligible Indic language version found in the latter collection is the one commented upon syllable by syllable. So, you really cannot trust the “Sanskrit” of these titles when examining them from the Derge version of the Nyingma canon.

In any case, Dzogchen tantras are held to been given in Oddiyana language, not Sanskrit. As Longchenpa points out, the འ syllable does not exist in Sanskrit, but according to him, does exist in the language of Oddiyana.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 10:19 AM
Title: Re: Hevajra or Chakrsamvara Empowerements in 2022
Content:
Konchog1 said:
I don't believe HHDL's empowerment is going to be online.



https://www.dalailama.com/schedule

Lobsang Chojor said:
They don't update the livestream until the next event has passed. Given in the past Tandrin Yangsang was given online and Gyalwa Gyatso will be, it's likely Chakrasamvara will be too.

zerwe said:
Yes, if my memory serves me correctly he gave Vajrabhairava in Jan. 2018? It was streamed. So, I don't see why Chakrasamvara would not be.

Shaun

Malcolm wrote:
Doesn’t seem to be.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 9:49 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
stong gzugs said:
The Jonang were actually recognized as an independent fifth school of Tibetan Buddhism https://www.phayul.com/2011/09/28/30077/, presided over by HHDL. This recognition on paper has not necessarily come with equal representation in practice and led to some https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mUpwtA9Pi7YJ:tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com/en/index.php%3Ftitle%3DJonang_Buddhist_tradition+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.

The notion that the Jonang are an offshoot of the Sakya is a notion held by some Sakyapas, but no Jonangpas. It is worth noting that the Jonang were founded by Kunpang Tukje Tsondru who brought together 17 distinct lineages of Kālacakra ṣaḍaṅgayoga, creating a new practice tradition, and that subsequent developments by Dölpopa Shérab Gyeltsen created a completely new dharma language (chos skad) and doxography. In this way, it is hard to describe either the practice or the theory of the Jonang as anything except independent and original.

Malcolm wrote:
The bulk of the lineages in Jonang are from Sakya. The relationship between Kunpang and Sakya was is well known. Dolpopa largely received his training at Sakya. There is no doubt that like Geluk, Jonang owes a great debt to Sakya. To state that in its earliest days Jonang was a Sakya subschool is accurate.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 8:31 AM
Title: Re: Names of Kunjey Gyalpo in Chapter 84 of the All-Creating King Tantra
Content:
Shabda said:
Dear Sirs

Does anyone happen to know the Tibetan names of the 8 epithets of Samantabhadra/Kunbyed rGyalpo listed near the end of Chapter 84, the final chapter of the Sutra of the All-Creating King ?  The reason is I'm curious to reconstruct these names into Sanskrit.  So far based on the two English translations, the names would be something like

1. kulayarāja
2. bodhicitta
3. svayambhūjñāna
4. śrutiśāstradharmādarśa
5. prakṛtārthayāna
6. darśanādarśa
7. jinamātṛ
8. tantrarāja

But I'm not very happy with 4, 5 and 6.  I know the Tibetan text can be read online and in print but lacking the skill in reading Tibetan especially in Tibetan font it would likely take days to dechiper.

So if anyone happens to know then I'd be so grateful.

Malcolm wrote:
Since the text wasn’t composed in Sanskrit, your attempt is quixotic.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 8:08 AM
Title: Re: The Meaning of the Word "Kulaya" in the Indian Title of the Kunbyed Gyalpo Tantra
Content:
Shabda said:
Dear Sirs

The word "kulaya" in the Indian title of the Kunbyed rGyalpo Sutra/Tantra is very mysterious it seems to me.  It isn't a real Sanskrit word nor it appears is it a word from any other language.  There is the Sanskrit word "kulāya" which mainly means "nest", but that doesn't seem to fit the context.  Besides, they are different words with different spellings.  The Tibetan translation offers no clues since "kulaya" is translated "kunbyed" or "all-creating" which is nothing related to "kulaya" but would instead in Sanskrit be "sarvakrti" or "sarvakara" or something like that.  Could it be that the underlying word is actually "kula", "[Buddha]-family", and that it has been extrapolated in "kulaya" in the same way that "kīla" becomes "kīlaya" for no obvious reason?  Kula/kulaya....kīla/kīlaya.  This way, the Indian/Sanskrit name of the deity would be:

bodhicittakularāja

rather than:

bodhicittakulayarāja

This way, the name could be understoof to mean "the King of the Family of Bodhicitta" which would be another way of saying the king of the 5 Buddha families or kulas; since the Bodhicittavajra family is sometimes called the 6th Buddha family that rules the main 5 ones.

Malcolm wrote:
Simple answer, the title is not Sanskrit.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 4:22 AM
Title: Re: What qualifies as a [complete] path?
Content:



cyril said:
Wouldn't the three abidings in fire, sound and end of the sound be the equivalent of the dzogrim? I mean not in terms of praxis but in terms of end result?

Malcolm wrote:
No.

cyril said:
"Buddhaguhya's commentary says: [...] Therefore, it is said that if one has meditated on the end of sound - the nature of which is the element of superior qualities (dharmadhatu) - liberation is bestowed".
- Deity Yoga in Action and performance tantra by HH the Dalai Lama, chapter 8

What kind of liberation was Buddhaguhya referring to?

Malcolm wrote:
If you examine that book carefully, you will discover that in the opinion of Tsongkhapa, kriya can extend one's life for a very long time, enabling one to attain buddhahood, but not directly through the practice itself.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 3:27 AM
Title: Re: What qualifies as a [complete] path?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It is because there is not even a hint of completion stage in kriya.

cyril said:
Wouldn't the three abidings in fire, sound and end of the sound be the equivalent of the dzogrim? I mean not in terms of praxis but in terms of end result?

Malcolm wrote:
No.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 1:15 AM
Title: Re: Music time
Content:
reiun said:
Too bad if Baker and Bruce get guilted by association.

Malcolm wrote:
Hypocrite.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 1:10 AM
Title: Re: The own basic sense about masturbation as misconduct
Content:
Sādhaka said:
And, if anyone wants to say that the two are the same, well then they don’t have direct experience of the difference between the energetic exchange that happens with sex vs masturbation

Malcolm wrote:
The only thing specified in the texts is ejaculation, not the manner of ejaculation.

Energetic exchange is a bunch of new age woo woo invented by Western fantasists who've confused Taoist concepts with Buddhist yoga.

I have translated literally dozens of texts on karmamudra, not one of them mentions anything like "energy exchange."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 1:07 AM
Title: Re: What qualifies as a [complete] path?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Generally, kriya tantra is not a completely path because in general it is practiced for siddhis and it is really just a ritual aspect of common Mahāyāna. It is held by some that it allows on to live an incredibly long life….


Sādhaka said:
Is this partly attributed to its incorporation of regular fasting, and also the Sattvic diet and Brahmacharya aspects?

Malcolm wrote:
Not really. It is because there is not even a hint of completion stage in kriya.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 9:29 PM
Title: Re: Only pure knowing is true, isn't it?
Content:
PeterC said:
Define “pure”, “knowing” and “true” and perhaps we can offer an opinion.

xjh2021 said:
pure  ~  without object

knowning~  awarebess

true  not false

Malcolm wrote:
No, even this is not "true" since it it not established in any form at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 9:24 PM
Title: Re: talk: Vedantic Self and Buddhist Non-Self
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
A.V. is all about resolving that difference, and his claim seems to be that ultimately, Buddhism is too.

Malcolm wrote:
We don't care about that difference, and we Madhyamakas accept it.

PadmaVonSamba said:
While it may be that A.V. regards this awareness, experienced by each individual being, as inseparable from one all-encompassing consciousness (as individual drops of water are inseparable from the ocean once combined) I don’t think that was his point in this video.

Malcolm wrote:
Of course it was, he spend a lot of time explaining why the seven-fold deconstruction of a chariot was inapplicable to Advaita, because everything is made of one monadic substance that he labels "consciousness," thereby proving he missed the point utterly.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 8:48 PM
Title: Re: Music time
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Thought you were woke, I can't believe you are posting this racist bastard's music (Clapton).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 7:25 PM
Title: Re: What qualifies as a [complete] path?
Content:



Chenda said:
Thank you! A follow up:

Does this mean that all carya level practices and up qualify as such or should distinctions still be made even at that level?

Malcolm wrote:
Distinctions must be made even in HYT. Some deities are just activity deities.

Chenda said:
What of Mārīcī, specifically the one usually given out by Sakya lamas? I remember hearing that the one the 41ST gave was of the carya class, so I'm assuming the one given by the 43ST (from the Ocean of Sadhanas; three faces: gold, red, and a boar) is of the same classification.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s an activity deity.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 6:53 PM
Title: Re: Is ordering a bonpo puja breakage of refuge?
Content:
Toenail said:
That means bön deities count as buddhas?

Malcolm wrote:
Not even all Buddhist deities count as Buddhist for all Buddhists.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 10:44 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
Freddie B. said:
I think among most Buddhists and most Vajrayana practitioners, it is accepted that these tantras were expounded by emanations of the Buddha (ie. Vajradhara),

Malcolm wrote:
You have it exactly backward. Shakyamuni Buddha is the emanation, not Vajradhara.

Cakrasamvara, for example, was never taught by Shakyamuni. Nor were the Dzogchen tantras. Nor was Guhyasamaja.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 10:04 AM
Title: Re: What qualifies as a [complete] path?
Content:
Chenda said:
I have been reading old threads in the forum and I noticed that there were instances of certain deities being said to be "not a path", which I'm assuming means not a complete path to liberation. One such mentioned is Mahāmāyūrī because her practice is for temporary benefits.

The HYT practices are a given, such as Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, etc., and I'm more interested in deities that one might consider "of the lower tantras" instead.

In line with that, how do we determine if the practice of a deity is a [complete] path? What of Mārīcī or Vasudhārā, for example, both of whom, at least on the surface, practiced for temporary benefits as well?

Thank you in advance.

Malcolm wrote:
Mañjuśrī, Avalokitśvara, Vajrapaṇī all have complete paths. Generally, kriya tantra is not a completely path because in general it is practiced for siddhis and it is really just a ritual aspect of common Mahāyāna. It is held by some that it allows on to live an incredibly long life enabling one to complete path of the perfections in a single lifetime. Complete paths in Vajrayāna really begin with Carya Tantra.

Chenda said:
Thank you! A follow up:

Does this mean that all carya level practices and up qualify as such or should distinctions still be made even at that level?

Malcolm wrote:
Distinctions must be made even in HYT. Some deities are just activity deities.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 9:02 AM
Title: Re: Hevajra or Chakrsamvara Empowerements in 2022
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
HH Dalai Lana will be giving it beginning tomorrow night, 10:30 EDT.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 6:49 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:


Freddie B. said:
But again, Buddhism is the teachings of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, so I think if the teachings and texts in a lineage are not coming down firm this lineage, can we still say it is Buddhist?

Malcolm wrote:
This is just Indophilia.

Amitabha is not from India. Is Amitabha devotion Buddhist?

Most Bon practices have absolute corollaries in Buddhism, to the point that it is absurd to claim Bonpos are not Buddhist.

You have not studied Bon Prajñāpāramita, Logic, Abhidharma, etc. I have. Bon is just as Buddhist as Gelug.

Freddie B. said:
I see. I certainly do not question your scholarly knowledge, and yes I have not studied all these topics in depth, especially from the Bon standpoint.

Is lineage not an important thing anymore? I thought that the four (or five) schools of Tibetan Buddhism trace their lineage back to the historical Buddha, but the Bonpo's do not, but maybe I am mistaken.

Anyways, way off topic.

Malcolm wrote:
If it walks like a duck…


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 5:33 AM
Title: Re: Is ordering a bonpo puja breakage of refuge?
Content:



Toenail said:
Can you say in like two sentences why Bonpos of for example Menri are buddhists? And why is it ok to order Hindu pujas?


Malcolm wrote:
They accept Śākyamuni Buddha as a valid refuge.

Freddie B. said:
I really didn't know this. I thought they attributed their teachings to shenrab Miwoche? Then I may stand corrected.

Malcolm wrote:
They do attribute the origin of their teachings to Shenrab. They also accept Śākyamuni Buddha as a valid refuge. The word for Buddha in Bon is sangs rgyas. The word for Buddha in Gelug is sangs rgyas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 5:29 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:


Freddie B. said:
But again, Buddhism is the teachings of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, so I think if the teachings and texts in a lineage are not coming down firm this lineage, can we still say it is Buddhist?

Malcolm wrote:
This is just Indophilia.

Amitabha is not from India. Is Amitabha devotion Buddhist?

Most Bon practices have absolute corollaries in Buddhism, to the point that it is absurd to claim Bonpos are not Buddhist.

You have not studied Bon Prajñāpāramita, Logic, Abhidharma, etc. I have. Bon is just as Buddhist as Gelug.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 4:39 AM
Title: Re: Is ordering a bonpo puja breakage of refuge?
Content:
Konchog1 said:
It depends on who you ask.



-Great Treatise of the Stages of the Path eng. v1 pg. 202 tib. pg. 153

Malcolm wrote:
Tsongkhapa, despite his many positive qualities, like many Tibetans, was quite ignorant of Bon.

Toenail said:
Can you say in like two sentences why Bonpos of for example Menri are buddhists? And why is it ok to order Hindu pujas?


Malcolm wrote:
They accept Śākyamuni Buddha as a valid refuge.

According to Ngorchen, who is even more conservative than Tsongkhapa, it is acceptable to practice Hindu Tantras for worldly benefits.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 4:21 AM
Title: Re: Is ordering a bonpo puja breakage of refuge?
Content:
Konchog1 said:
It depends on who you ask.
Whatever activity you engage in, and whatever your purpose, rely on and do that which accords with the three jewels, such as making offerings to them. But never do that which does not accord with the three jewels, such as relying on the Bon religion. Always entrust yourself to the three jewels.
-Great Treatise of the Stages of the Path eng. v1 pg. 202 tib. pg. 153

Malcolm wrote:
Tsongkhapa, despite his many positive qualities, like many Tibetans, was quite ignorant of Bon.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 3:53 AM
Title: Re: What qualifies as a [complete] path?
Content:
Chenda said:
I have been reading old threads in the forum and I noticed that there were instances of certain deities being said to be "not a path", which I'm assuming means not a complete path to liberation. One such mentioned is Mahāmāyūrī because her practice is for temporary benefits.

The HYT practices are a given, such as Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, etc., and I'm more interested in deities that one might consider "of the lower tantras" instead.

In line with that, how do we determine if the practice of a deity is a [complete] path? What of Mārīcī or Vasudhārā, for example, both of whom, at least on the surface, practiced for temporary benefits as well?

Thank you in advance.

Malcolm wrote:
Mañjuśrī, Avalokitśvara, Vajrapaṇī all have complete paths. Generally, kriya tantra is not a completely path because in general it is practiced for siddhis and it is really just a ritual aspect of common Mahāyāna. It is held by some that it allows on to live an incredibly long life enabling one to complete path of the perfections in a single lifetime. Complete paths in Vajrayāna really begin with Carya Tantra.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 3:50 AM
Title: Re: Is ordering a bonpo puja breakage of refuge?
Content:
Toenail said:
Is ordering a bonpo puja in one of the Bon monasteries breakage of buddhist refuge?

Malcolm wrote:
Nope, neither is ordering a HIndu Puja. But Bonpos are Buddhists (sang rgyas pa rnams), so there is even less of an issue.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, June 7th, 2022 at 12:33 AM
Title: Re: Drubthab Kuntue teachings from Dzongsar Khyentse?
Content:
gelukman said:
Thanks. Are these lengthy sadhanas?  Two months is pretty long time for this?
Rinchen Terdzo that have like 700 sadhanas can be given 2-3 months time.

Malcolm wrote:
Not so much. The time factor is the lung. Not the wangs.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 11:05 PM
Title: Re: What are you watching? Any good?
Content:


PeterC said:
And, they succeeded.

Malcolm wrote:
Admirably so, and inventive too. Who thinks this stuff up?

PeterC said:
That series really does know how to walk the line between funny and sick.  The whale episode was my favorite, but almost every major character they kill dies in an interesting and usually disgusting way.

Malcolm wrote:
And Hugh always gets covered in something foul.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 10:33 PM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
Freddie B. said:
Well, the Gelugpa's are a different case, with Tsongkhapa having important teachers from all lineages (even Jonangpa I believe- most likely teachings on Kalachakra and the Six Vajra Yogas), plus a great deal of influence directly from the Kadampas.

On the second point, I think it is still a mystery whether or not to consider Bon a "Buddhist" school per say. So I would say there are five schools of Tibetan Buddhism plus the Bon tradition.

PeterC said:
The question of whether Bon is “Buddhist” reflects I think a general lack of understanding of the Bon canon.  If you spend a little time looking at it, it’s obvious that it’s the same Dharma.

Freddie B. said:
Might have to agree to disagree on this one. Might be "the same Dharma" as you put it, but by definition I think to be considered Buddhist, one's teaching should come from the Buddha, which was Shakyamuni from India, no?

Malcolm wrote:
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
--Shakespeare


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 10:20 PM
Title: Re: What are you watching? Any good?
Content:


PeterC said:
And, they succeeded.

Malcolm wrote:
Admirably so, and inventive too. Who thinks this stuff up?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 10:17 PM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
We therefore can't condone or cover up any sexual misbehaviour which falls too far outside community expectations, even if it falls within the norms of our religious tradition.
We could, in fact, see the string of abuse scandals as a long-running series of skirmishes or negotiations between the two sets of standards.
And it seems to me that discussions like this one could help us work out where the borders of acceptable behaviours, and acceptable responses to unacceptable behaviours, might lie.

Malcolm wrote:
I already pointed out a number of red flags for whether a teacher was behaving inappropriately. Unfortunately, the assumption is that this is all one way, and it isn't. Patrons, who by all measure are students, for example, exert enormous influence in Tibetan Buddhist centers, and elsewhere. The possibility for misconduct among them is enormous, including making advances on men and women in centers, financial leverage, and so on.

These discussions are endless because they are not evidence-based. They are values-based, and therefore political issues, rather than ethical issues, 90% of the time.

For example, for years the faculty at Smith College was not to have any kind of relationship with anyone in the student body. The student body objected, feeling infantilized, and the policy was revised so that one was only forbidden to have a relationship with a student currently studying in one's course.

Pedophilia is so far outside of this discussion as to be absurd. The Buddha himself prohibited it, though at the time, the definition of "child" was considerably more limited. But even 150 years ago in our own culture, 13 year old minors were basically adults, now children by all definitions. Our concept of minors as "children" dates from the early 20th century, with adoption of child labor laws.

In the United States, there is no consistent law about ordained ministers pursuing romantic partners among their constituents. In some states there is no law about it, in some states it is illegal. But the key word here is "ordained." To be ordained means to be recognized by a professional body. But separation of church and state in this country, the USA, precludes forcing any religion to only have "professional" ministers. One cannot force a Dharma center's teacher or an itinerant teacher to be "qualified." All the state can do is refuse to give such people license to officiate at weddings and funerals, which are recognized civil procedures.

Therefore, Dharma centers are on their own in this regard, and can only agree to codes of ethics that, frankly, are barely enforceable. We see examples of people violating these codes, moving on, and then doing it again elsewhere. This indicates to me that the problem is not power differentials, but womanizing. And if one is to argue that womanizing is only possible because of some imputed power differential in a dharma center, I have news for you. Unless that dharma organization is set up as an educational institution, and therefore subject to civil codes, it has nothing that can be withheld from a student. No degree, no honors, etc. A power differential is predicated on a carrot and a stick. The carrot is a reward such as raise, promotion, grade and and so on. The stick is the sexual favor.

Now, I can certainly imagine some young, naive person imagining that their liberation (the carrot) might depend on granting some sexual favor (the stick) to the lama, which is why I identify relationships with new students as a possible issue. But really, people need to grow up. Liberation, in Buddhism, never comes from someone else. It cannot be given to you even by the Buddha. The worse someone can do is say,  "If you won't screw me, I won't teach you." I imagine that this could be devastating to someone, but most of the women I know who were propositioned by lamas when they were new in the Dharma were grossed out.

Actually, the worst offenders in the Dharma scene are not teachers, but rather Senior Students, who trade on their affiliation with Lama so and so, etc., and their position in a given Dharma center (chant leader, etc.) etc., proposition new women who show up. But no one ever discusses this at all, crickets.

Anyway, more fuel on the fire.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 9:40 PM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
Freddie B. said:
Greetings,

The Jonang lineage is alive and well in Tibet and with a monastery in India as well. This lineage survived the cultural revolution.

I am curious as to why they normally speak of only 4 schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Is it because the Jonangpa's were a little more remote, is it due to the view the Jonangpa's hold on Zhentong Madyamika, or is it political? Perhaps maybe a combination of the three?

Sometimes it is odd to think about it, when you hear "the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism."

Any thoughts?


Malcolm wrote:
Jonang is considered a sub school of Sakya, though the Jonangoas don’t see it that way. But they are an offshoot, historically speaking.

PeterC said:
And...the Gelugpas?



On a more serious note - the odd thing about saying there are four schools is the omission of the Bonpos.

Malcolm wrote:
Also the Gelugpas are an offshoot of Sakya, most definitely.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 7:30 AM
Title: Re: 5th School of Tibetan Buddhism
Content:
Freddie B. said:
Greetings,

The Jonang lineage is alive and well in Tibet and with a monastery in India as well. This lineage survived the cultural revolution.

I am curious as to why they normally speak of only 4 schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Is it because the Jonangpa's were a little more remote, is it due to the view the Jonangpa's hold on Zhentong Madyamika, or is it political? Perhaps maybe a combination of the three?

Sometimes it is odd to think about it, when you hear "the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism."

Any thoughts?


Malcolm wrote:
Jonang is considered a sub school of Sakya, though the Jonangoas don’t see it that way. But they are an offshoot, historically speaking.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 5:03 AM
Title: Re: Mewa and mantra
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
Hi,

I have been just very lightly looking at tibetan astrology and I am interested in what the connection between the birth mewa and its associated mantra is. How should one use the information? If has birth mewa 1 does it mean mani mantra would help overcome obstacles or is best for achieving realization? What is the logic behind it?

Thank you in advance Malcolm if you answer.

Malcolm wrote:
Not sure where you are pulling this info from. Source?

Könchok Thrinley said:
Sites like this https://www.tibastro.eu/Mewa/BirthMewa/0
Then also Phub Dorji Wang who is usually quite reliable: https://phubdorjiwang.blogspot.com/2021/09/individual-characteristics-based-on.html
And then in general it makes rounds in some groups I follow every now and then.

Malcolm wrote:
OK. These indications do not included mantras in the Tibetan texts, it is just an elaboration on changeable mewas which are calculated for the deceased to ascertain the kind of statue one should have sponsored for them.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2022 at 2:18 AM
Title: Re: Mewa and mantra
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
Hi,

I have been just very lightly looking at tibetan astrology and I am interested in what the connection between the birth mewa and its associated mantra is. How should one use the information? If has birth mewa 1 does it mean mani mantra would help overcome obstacles or is best for achieving realization? What is the logic behind it?

Thank you in advance Malcolm if you answer.

Malcolm wrote:
Not sure where you are pulling this info from. Source?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 9:21 PM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


Kim O'Hara said:
It seems to me that some Buddhist groups do fit the 'community education' model very well...

Malcolm wrote:
Some, but not all. Many are informal gatherings, not nonprofits, not registered churches, etc.

Codes of ethics are often false blankets, but in the woke world, they are clung to like clumps of grass on a river bank. The Buddha's own recommendations for sexual misconduct with respect to partners is sufficient in most cases: don't sleep with minors, don't sleep with other people's spouses, etc.

For example, I met a Bhutanese man once, who could not understand why he could not have two female partners at the same time in the USA. Why? His father had two wives and he had two moms.

In the end, people just need to be adults, and take responsibility for their own choices. That is the best solution. If someone sleeps with Lama so and so and finds out that it is not working out, then move on. Your spiritual life does not depend on someone else, it depends on you.

Tibetan Buddhist teachers are not therapists, counsellors, social workers, doctors, etc. They principally act as instructors in liturgy and Buddhist praxis in various lineages.

Most people will never have an opportunity to spend any facetime with their guru, from whom they receive empowerments and so on. They will mostly interact with center heads and senior students. How such places work things out with respect to this issue is up to them.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 8:57 PM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:
dharmafootsteps said:
I'm not sure we can apply Western cultural values for professional settings to a sangha.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Tibetan tradition say that Vajrayana practitioners should only have relationships with those they share samaya with?

Malcolm wrote:
Generally, yes. It's rather discouraged to date "outside of the fold." Even where this is the case (partner outside the Vajrayāna Dharma), that partner must be supportive of one's practice, or minimum, indifferent to it.

dharmafootsteps said:
So if their tradition says they should limit their relationships to those who share samaya, and culturally we say they can't date people who share samaya unless the person is of an equivalent level of respect/authority/power, well... it seems lay teachers may as well all just become monks and nuns at that point.

Malcolm wrote:
Culturally, we say lots of things. This whole thread started in the Tibetan Buddhist forum. Culturally, we are different than IMS, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 11:52 AM
Title: Re: What are you watching? Any good?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The Boys season three. Gross, but hilarious.

Arnoud said:
Good to know it’s out. First season was great. Second one less so. Hopefully the third one won’t disappoint too much.

Malcolm wrote:
It won’t.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 11:36 AM
Title: Re: What are you watching? Any good?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The Boys season three. Gross, but hilarious.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 6:04 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


reiun said:
Buddhist teacher patriarchy has been an obvious contemporary problem.

Malcolm wrote:
One cannot draw an inference from a generality to a particular. One cannot state that every romantic relationship between a Buddhist teacher and his or her student is predicated on patriarchy and exploitation.


reiun said:
The sex part is not appropriate in the opinion of many Buddhist groups, in part because it violates that trust.

Malcolm wrote:
Sex is messy, and many people are not mature about it, both teachers and students.

As for your claim is violates "trust," this is again not a quantifiable absolute. In Tibetan Buddhism, sexual pleasure is not something to be avoided. Many people, women as well as men, are attracted to Tibetan Buddhism precisely because this is so. Tangentially are many women attending so-called "tantric retreats" because they have romantic ideas about sacred sexuality and so on. Many of them wind up sleeping with the so-called instructors, and quite intentionally.

However, in Tibetan Buddhism, while sexual pleasure is not something to avoid, so-called sexual yogas are not fun, they are laborious, systematic, time-consuming, and frankly, not very erotic. In any case, they are only for young people between 16-26. So, its a bunch of baloney that this violates "trust." It might very well do so in Vipassana and Zen, etc. Tibetan Buddhism is a different animal. If you had not noticed, this is where this OP is found.

The real issue in Buddhism is that many people think somehow their teacher is enlightened, when this is obviously not the case 99 percent of the time in every school. The real problem is Buddhist puffery about "enlightened masters" and naive romantics who believe in such things.

If a Buddhist teacher wants to have a romantic relationship with a student, this axiomatic proof that person is very unlikely to be a liberated person, no matter how eloquent they may sound or how still or long they may be able to sit.

The real problem is the naivety that people carry when they begin to study and practice. All the problematic situations I have seen is where the teacher allows students to think they are enlightened. If there is a problem, it is Buddhist marketing that preys on the naive. The problem is not sex. The problem is expectations. If someone pretends to be enlightened and then goes out and seduces a student based on that premise, this is abusive. But if two people happen to fall in love, one a teacher and the other a student, or even if they just want to use each other for sex (mutually), I have zero problem with this and I think everyone should mind their own business. Of course, if they are a monastic, they should know better, period.

Frankly, I think the way some buddhists react to this phenomena of teachers having romantic relations with students as if it is always bad is as immature as it is infantilizing. People really need to grow up and take responsibility for their own actions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 5:09 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


reiun said:
That would be true only if there was no inherent power differential.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no objective evidence for an inherent anything.

reiun said:
That would be the patriarchal opinion.

Malcolm wrote:
No, that would be Buddhist opinion, which rejects inherency. There is no doubt Buddhism like every other religion in the world emerged from a patriarchal matrix. But that is completely besides the point. If you go down that road, you will then wind up with the conclusion that all sexual relationships involve a power differential, and in that case, all women are victims when they decide they are unhappy with this or that man. This might square with Andrea Dworkin-style feminism (all sex is rape), but it is facially absurd.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 3:21 AM
Title: Re: Drubthab Kuntue teachings from Dzongsar Khyentse?
Content:
zerwe said:
The link for a list of the works contained doesn't work.
Does anyone else know or have further details?

Shaun


Malcolm wrote:
It is 14 volumes of Jenangs and blessings (so it requires an HYT initiation to start with, usually Hevajra) from Sakya, Kagyu, Kadampa and Nyingma, collected by Khyentse Wangpo.

mKhyen brtseʼi dbang po, and Ngor pa dpon slob blo gter dbang po, editors. sGrub thabs kun btus (glog klad par ma). Sachen International, Guru Lama, 2002. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW1KG17189. [BDRC bdr:MW1KG17189]

You can scan the outline.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 3:16 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


reiun said:
A sexual relationship is never appropriate between teachers and current students.

Malcolm wrote:
That is IMS's trip. It is not universally applicable. If that is how they want to run their community, I have no issue with it, as long as they aren't running around making up rules for Tibetan Buddhists.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, June 5th, 2022 at 12:51 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


Ayu said:
Wherever on this globe, there is always much space for marginalizing the issue and shaming the person who has been hurt in first place.

Malcolm wrote:
It is always assumed that the (male) teacher is never hurt in these circumstances. This is quite a narrow-minded view. Human relationships are complicated.

Ayu said:
But what's your advice for the OP - how should a center / a community deal with it in general?

Malcolm wrote:
Ascertain whether the relationship meets the threshold to be considered abusive.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 11:35 PM
Title: Re: Is this year obstacle for sheep?
Content:
Toenail said:
Is tiger year bad for sheep? Is it the seventh year from the birth sign? I don't know how to count correctly.

Malcolm wrote:
Monkey. This is the offside seven.

Toenail said:
Thank you. I still don't understand the system. I thought offside seven meant the seventh year from the birth sign. Which would be tiger, no? Monkey comes right after sheep year?

Malcolm wrote:
Correct. (1) tiger (2) rabbit (3) dragon (4) snake (5) horse (6) sheep (7) monkey. Monkey is the enemy of tiger, since the life element of tiger is male wood, and the life element of money is male metal.

For sheep is it ox: (1) sheep (2) monkey (3) bird (4) dog (5) pig (6) mouse (7) ox.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 11:31 PM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:
Ayu said:
I read this as : if the consort does not feel to be benefited by this sexual consensus…

Malcolm wrote:
Consensual sex is consensual sex. It doesn’t always work out as planned.

Unless a clear and evident pattern of abuse can be shown, it’s no one’s business. “It was a mistake” is not a valid reason to pillory someone.

Ayu said:
I think, I didn't suggest to pillory anybody. Please note, that this whole thread is not about pillorying anybody. That is important for staying on topic.

Mingyur Rinpoches advice (my post above) is really helpful and wise. To me it shows that a teacher-student-relationship (in a hopefully aware environment) cannot be equaled to any usual relationship between common ignorant people.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure it can. Most teachers are common ignorant people (95+%) with varying levels of Buddhist education.

Ayu said:
It cannot be reduced to "consent in first place and therefore everything is fine". This kind of argument ignores the psychic damage that can possibly follow after such a confusing incident. The psychic condition of the woman after this incident has to be respected.

Malcolm wrote:
Only if the woman in question is suffering from the delusion that her teacher in an enlightened being, or if the teacher encourages such an idea.

Ayu said:
There's nothing wrong with showing some empathy even after the consensual act turned out to be a misunderstanding. Yes, this can happen, and it happens all the time.
This is no crime.
But I think, as well it's no crime to talk about it openly, if one feels hurt.

Malcolm wrote:
Of course there is no harm talking these things through.

What would signs of abuse of a sangha look like? The teacher has serial or multiple relationships with students. The teacher claims spiritual benefit for the student in such a relationship. The student is required to keep the relationship secret under threat of "samaya." There is a significant age disparity between the two parties (25/60, for example). The student is very new, young, and inexperienced. In these circumstances, of course, the teacher needs to be confronted, the sangha broken up, and so on. I also want to add that such abuse generally involves financial impropriety as well.

Americans in general are very hysterical about such things. I find Europeans to be a bit more level-headed with regard to such issues.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 9:41 PM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:
Ayu said:
I read this as : if the consort does not feel to be benefited by this sexual consensus…

Malcolm wrote:
Consensual sex is consensual sex. It doesn’t always work out as planned.

Unless a clear and evident pattern of abuse can be shown, it’s no one’s business. “It was a mistake” is not a valid reason to pillory someone.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 9:37 PM
Title: Re: Is this year obstacle for sheep?
Content:
Toenail said:
Is tiger year bad for sheep? Is it the seventh year from the birth sign? I don't know how to count correctly.

Malcolm wrote:
Monkey. This is the offside seven.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 11:09 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:
zerwe said:
IDK, an attempt to address what I think the OP had in mind, FPMT's handling of Dagri Rinpoche and subsequent establishment of policy/education?

Shaun

Malcolm wrote:
Dagri is a monastic. We don’t know that this is case here.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 10:15 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


reiun said:
It does, because it puts a student at an inherent disadvantage.

Malcolm wrote:
This is an opinion. It is not an evidence-based fact. Students are just as capable of manipulating teachers as teachers are capable of manipulating students.

reiun said:
That would be true only if there was no inherent power differential.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no objective evidence for an inherent anything.



reiun said:
Scandals involving predatory Buddhist teachers are well- documented and recent. But, as a Buddhist teacher yourself, I understand your discomfort with the topic.

Malcolm wrote:
I have no discomfort with the topic at all, and have seen examples of abusive teachers up close and personal, where the dynamics you describe are present. However, I have also seen other examples where relationships between teachers and students have hit the rocks, where there was nothing other than the “maybe this wasn’t such a fantastic idea” and everyone brushed themselves off, and got on with their life and practice.I have seen teacher groupies who hop from the bed of one teacher after another, etc., as well as sane, long-term commitments between teachers and their students, which are examples of mutual respect and love. That’s why I think automatically assigning students to an inferior position necessarily infantilizes women in particular. As for myself, I am in a long term committed relationship with my partner, who I met in the Dharma. So, no discomfort. People on the other hand experience some discomfort with the fact that I am not axiomatically opposed to romantic relationships between teachers and students. It is quite common in Tibetan Buddhism. Most Tibetan lamas, for example, with western wives have married one of their students. Most Tibetan wives of Tibetan lamas are absolutely their students. It’s just not as cut and dried as some western Buddhists would like it to be.

“Predatory” male Buddhist teachers are no different than any other womanizer. We don’t say that all women who get involved with womanizers are suffering from a power differential. Women make bad choices sometimes, and sometimes those bad choices happen to be Buddhist men. The opposite is also true. I’ve known some “predatory” female Buddhist teachers.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 9:01 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The power differential is consideration, however, we should not pretend that it robs students of responsibility for their own choices.

reiun said:
It does, because it puts a student at an inherent disadvantage.

Malcolm wrote:
This is an opinion. It is not an evidence-based fact. Students are just as capable of manipulating teachers as teachers are capable of manipulating students.
People regret relationships for all kinds of reasons. In this case, we do not have enough information to form any kind of reasoned judgement about the situation.
It would be good to hear from the victim.
Not every relationship that sours has a “victim,” even when it involves a Buddhist teacher and one of their students.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 8:10 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:
reiun said:
The power differential/trust betrayal is an issue here.

What do you think is the object of regret, if not the harm felt?


Malcolm wrote:
The power differential is consideration, however, we should not pretend that it robs students of responsibility for their own choices.

I see no evidence of a betrayal of trust. That’s your projection, not present in the OP.

People regret relationships for all kinds of reasons. In this case, we do not have enough information to form any kind of reasoned judgement about the situation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 7:06 AM
Title: Re: talk: Vedantic Self and Buddhist Non-Self
Content:
anjali said:
Here is an engaging and informative philosophical talk by Swami Sarvapriyananda, a scholar monk in the Ramakrisha lineage on an exposition of Buddhist emptiness, with an Advaita response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAZPWu084m4&t

Normally, I wouldn't post something like this on DW, but I think the Swami does a good job of presenting almost 2,000 years of Buddhist thought on emptiness from the Buddha, through Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, and on into Tibetan Buddhism with mentions of Prasangika Madhyamika and Shentong. The majority of the talk discusses https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sevenfold_reasoning_of_the_chariot. Near the end of the talk, he covers the fivefold emptiness as discussed in Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche's https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Meditation-Emptiness-Tsultrim-Rinpoche/dp/153740900X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1654290897&sr=8-8. Although he doesn't mention Khenpo by name, he mentions the book and covers each of the five emptinesses.

Most of the talk is a fair exegesis of Buddhist thought. The Advaita response actually only covers about 20 minutes of the talk at the end. Swami Sarvapriyananda took a class on Tibetan Buddhism under Jay Garfield at Harvard Divinity School a couple of years ago. This talk seems to be based primarily on a paper he wrote for that class.

The occasion of the talk was Vesak.

Personally, I'm not interested in discussing/debating this topic. I'm merely offering this talk to those who are interested in such things.

Malcolm wrote:
His reasoning is quite poor actually. Trying to prove there is one substance, consciousness, out of which everything is made is ridiculous and easily refuted.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 6:51 AM
Title: Re: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:


reiun said:
A secret sexual relationship involving a power differential such as that between a student and teacher obviously violates trust, doesn't it? Is "consort" what the victim calls herself? A teacher resignation (or expulsion) would be "leaving everyone else without their teacher"? Aw, poor you.


Malcolm wrote:
Lot of assumptions here. Who said it was secret? Are teachers obligated to check with all their students before they have sex with one of them? Is it anyone's business who one sleeps with? No. She had regrets. So what? Is there a claim of harm or merely regret?

And, in Vajrayāna, assuming the person received empowerment from this teacher, it is a little hard to expel one with whom one has samaya. Sleeping with students may not be a good idea, but there are a whole host of issues here which are not going to be resolved through simplistic, judgmental comments.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 5:15 AM
Title: Appropriateness of sexual relationship Dharmateacher/Student
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
[Mod note: This topic was split from here:
https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?p=631010#p631010

tummo18 said:
Hi everyone,

My community just had a complaint raised to the community of a student who became a consort of the teacher but then afterwards regretted the relationship and feel it shouldn't have happened.

Malcolm wrote:
If it was consensual, we all have had relationships we have regretted.


tummo18 said:
I don't personally feel it was inappropriate from what I've heard so far, but we are looking at how we can handle this in a way that seeks truth and takes care of the community as best as possible without ignoring and blaming the person making the complaint or just having the teacher resign when they might not have done anything inappropriate and leaving everyone else without their teacher.


Malcolm wrote:
1) How long was the complainant in the community?
2) What is the age difference between the two parties?
3) Who initiated the relationship?
4) If the teacher, did he apply pressure on the women to have a relationship?\
5) What sort of damage, if any, is the complainant specifying?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 12:41 AM
Title: Re: Confusion about Avalokiteshvara
Content:
khemindas said:
According to Heart Sutra Bodhisattva avalokiteshvara realized that all five skhandas are empty end attained liberation from dukkha, so why he is still called bodhisattva and not Buddha?

Malcolm wrote:
He is a buddha, he is just not a samyaksambuddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, June 4th, 2022 at 12:33 AM
Title: Re: Vajradhara, Pantheism, Advaita Vedanta Brahman
Content:


heart said:
Ok, but as the OP got the impression that Vajrayana is the same as  Advaita Vedanta I would say something went seriously wrong.

Malcolm wrote:
This is quite a common error. Doubt it is a result of DG's translation.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 3rd, 2022 at 11:13 PM
Title: Re: Vajradhara, Pantheism, Advaita Vedanta Brahman
Content:



heart said:
Emptiness is not "one entity with many isolates", where did you find that?

/magnus

Konchog1 said:
David Gonsalez.
We can understand this by thinking about the Prasangika's presentation of "same entity different isolates." In the case of emptiness, all phenomena have the same nature or entity but have different conventional bases or imputation or “isolates." Therefore they have the same entity emptiness-but different isolates their bases of their bases of designation.


heart said:
Entity = "a thing with distinct and independent existence". So using "entity" for "nature" as he does in your quote is just plain wrong. Emptiness is not a thing, it means that there is nothing that have an "distinct and independent existence" all phenomena are free of distinctions and they only appear to  have distinctions because of the interdependence on other phenomena.

/magnus

Malcolm wrote:
He is translating ngo bo as "entity." So does Thubten Jinpa. So do I when it is warranted. For example we have the entity (ngo bo), then its definition, divisions, and so.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 3rd, 2022 at 10:38 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
That's racist.

Archie2009 said:
You can't be racist against white people according to the good guys/gals/they/thems in the culture wars.

Or as Whoopi Goldberg would say :"The Holocaust was not about race."

Malcolm wrote:
The comments on twitter about this are pretty funny, especially this one:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 3rd, 2022 at 8:43 PM
Title: Re: Reading restricted texts
Content:
namtose said:
With humble and great respects to my dharma brother and fellow Lamdre-pa (we took the LamDre together in 1990 in Nepal with the Late Dagchen Rinpoche) I quote From Sakya Trichen's introduction To Taking the Result as the path:

"A very important aspect of these secret pith instructions is that, from their beginning until now, they have been held in the greatest respect and have only been available to those whose mental continuum has been ripened through the relevant preliminary practices and initiations. Without such a base, esoteric teachings such as these cannot actually be comprehended. It is vitally important, both for the ripening of disciples and for the maintenance of the authenticity of the teachings, that this respect and guardianship of these teachings continues in their transport into the west. (xv-xvi)

Malcolm wrote:
The disclaimer nonwithstanding, you can purchase this book on Amazon. But as any mature student knows, it won't mean much to someone who has not received Lamdre.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 3rd, 2022 at 7:36 PM
Title: Re: Tibetan/Western qualification "equivalents"
Content:


Lingpupa said:
SO - from what I know (and this is particularly where I'm hoping for more knowledgeable input), it seems that the following, necessarily vague, equivalences might make sense:
kyorpon: beyond secondary education, perhaps equivalent to some sort of tertiary diploma focussed on relevant textual knowledge and expertise
khenpo: Master (whether of Arts or Studies is not important), being higher than a normal first-degree Batchelor's.

But I could be wrong...

Malcolm wrote:
The first problem is that the equivalent for kyorpon would be TA, teaching assistant, it’s an appointment, not a degree. So grad student.

The degrees are bka’ bzhi pa ( four treatises), bka’ bcu pa (ten texts), and mkhan po. Slob dpon is not a degree, but a title, usually for nonmonastics with an advanced education. Technically, a Khenpo can lead an ordination of monks and nuns.

The Geshe degree system is different.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, June 3rd, 2022 at 5:43 AM
Title: Re: Is dzogchen independent from Vajrayna?
Content:


florin said:
Dzogchen rejects the ten natures. They are obstacles to understanding the dzogchen state. Lots of practitioners develop limiting attitudes as a result of these characteristics.

Malcolm wrote:
A lot of other practitioners develop limiting attitudes because they do not understand the absence of the ten principles refers to the basis, in which these ten principles are indeed absent. No one needs an empowerment, samaya, etc., to possess the primordial state. These ten principles refer to the path. And indeed, the path of Dzogchen requires empowerment, samaya, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 at 9:42 PM
Title: Re: Namkhai Norbu's SMS teacher give transmission in China and IDC did almost nothing
Content:
heart said:
I think Adriano Clemente clarified this point in December 2021. It is good enough for me at least.

https://melong.com/adriano-clemente-closing-talk-vajrasattva-longsal-retreat/?fbclid=IwAR0pf8KFoPNo-YNnUJXXjR6ez8332BoRXOGvQOJ9mgkLfG6O5rhdUp4Q1q0


/magnus

xjh2021 said:
I belive more in ChNN than  Adriano Clemente.

Malcolm wrote:
Adriano is Rinpoche's oldest active student (circa 1974), and the sole translator of Rinpoche's Longsal cycle. If you don't trust him, who would you trust?


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 at 2:36 AM
Title: Re: Is dzogchen independent from Vajrayna?
Content:
xjh2021 said:
Is dzogchen independent from Vajrayna?

Malcolm wrote:
Depends what you mean by “Dzogchen.”

Depending on that, the answer is yes and no.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 29th, 2022 at 12:32 AM
Title: Re: Namkhai Norbu's SMS teacher give transmission in China and IDC did almost nothing
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
They need to receive it from someone who has received it and practiced it.

xjh2021 said:
such as Fabio, SMS instrutor  or common student ?

Malcolm wrote:
From whoever feels confident to transmit it, based on their experience, and is willing to be a responsible teacher for that person, and understands what that means.

The qualifications for who can give teachings is clearly described in the Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra. People should check those out and see if they think the person they wish to receive teachings from is qualified.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 28th, 2022 at 8:05 PM
Title: Re: Namkhai Norbu's SMS teacher give transmission in China and IDC did almost nothing
Content:


PeterC said:
In any case, ChNNr had plenty of time to decide this, and chose not to appoint someone as his successor.

It’s important to remember that there isn’t some “ChNNr Transmission”.   He taught Buddhadharma, and within that, primarily Dzogchen. If we get hung up on the “ChNNr Lineage” then I think we misunderstood what he taught.

xjh2021 said:
Then how Can new Students practice ChNNr's special teaching such as long sa ? or They can't.

Malcolm wrote:
They need to receive it from someone who has received it and practiced it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 28th, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Title: Re: Namkhai Norbu's SMS teacher give transmission in China and IDC did almost nothing
Content:


Queequeg said:
I find it interesting that ChNNR didn't name a successor or leave any specific guidance despite having time to prepare for his passing.

xjh2021 said:
ChNN taught many students. Why He  dudn't choose a lineage holder fron them?

Malcolm wrote:
He said many times that everyone who receives a lineage is a holder of that lineage. You are treating “lineage” as if it were intellectual property. That is an incorrect point of view.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 27th, 2022 at 8:56 PM
Title: Re: Looking for the origin of Naro-khechari's Yakshini
Content:
AmidaB said:
The location is:
gsung 'bum/ tA ra nA tha/ (rtag brtan phun tshogs gling gi par ma/)
"rje btsun tā ra nā tha'i gsung 'bum". "rtag brtan phun tshogs gling" edition, reprinted in Ladakh. BDRC reference: MW22277.
nā ro mkha' spyod kyi rdzogs rim thun mong ma yin pa, Tāranātha, 4 (nga): 663-673.
On p. 664 among a couple of side practices (mirror of predictions, sman grub)  a Yakshini practice was mentioned by Taranatha.
I would like to ask for your help to identify  the possible source, lineage and any more or less publicly available details of this Naro Khechari related side/branch(?) practice.
Any of your help would be greatly appreciated.

Malcolm wrote:
Drakpa Gyaltsen’collected works in Sa skya bka’ ‘bum


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 26th, 2022 at 8:22 PM
Title: Re: Namkhai Norbu's SMS teacher give transmission in China and IDC did almost nothing
Content:
Queequeg said:
I find it interesting that ChNNR didn't name a successor or leave any specific guidance despite having time to prepare for his passing.

treehuggingoctopus said:
Actually, we do not know that. When the IDG were asked in 2020 if there is a will that deals with the future of the DC, they said: "We do not know."

Malcolm wrote:
He did say the DC would split into different groups. This is already happening.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 26th, 2022 at 9:34 AM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:



PeterC said:
The Chinese grandmother happened.

If you were working age, they basically made it necessary to get vaccinated if you wanted to leave your home. But nobody tells their Chinese grandmother what to do. And granny is very nervous about these new medicines.  So the elderly didn’t get quite so much pressure, and many of them didn’t get vaccinated.

Queequeg said:
Oh. That changes the story. The shut down is not a narrative about control, vaccine inefficacy, but filial piety.

Now it makes sense.

PeterC said:
Not quite.  The government decided it couldn’t/wouldn’t/whatever require the elderly to vaccinate in the same way it required the working age people.  So now it is stuck with a large unvaccinated elderly population.  Etc etc.

If they were not in the middle of an outbreak they would have more options available.  As it is they had authorized use of paxlovid and molnupravir at the end of 2021. But once you’re actually engaged in trying to suppress an outbreak, your options are limited.  It’s hard to run a second mass vaccination campaign while you’re trying to suppress an outbreak - you have to either let the suppression go and deal with a few million deaths, or continue the suppression until cases come down. Neither are great options.

Malcolm wrote:
According to Soros, the Chinese never developed a vaccine for variants. Not sure if he is right.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, May 25th, 2022 at 2:10 AM
Title: Re: Rajasic and Tamasic Foods
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Are the 25 Tattvas mentioned mostly by, say, Caraka; or are they also taught within Tibetan Medicine as well?

Malcolm wrote:
They are not taught in Tibetan Medicine, nor are they taught in the Ayurvedic treatises of Vagbhata, which directly influence Tibetan Medicine.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 24th, 2022 at 11:11 PM
Title: Re: Rajasic and Tamasic Foods
Content:



Sādhaka said:
Then as I mentioned a post or so back, perhaps it is better to not take the Gunas into so much consideration, and instead go by the Three Humours (Vata/Lung, Pitta/Tripa, Kapha/Badkan). Now the Three Humours don’t seem to be exactly parallel to the Three Gunas, although maybe there’s some overlap; at least with pitta/tripa & rajas and the fire or heat element (?) In other words maybe I’ll want to look into adding more pitta or tripa foods, instead of trying to look up what foods are rajasic….

And I wouldn’t say that I eat rotten, stale, reheated, or (overly) processed foods (all tamasic); yet I’m all about fermented foods with bacteria, which if the latter are considered tamasic, would still be worth the trade-off due to the nutritional content.

Also if pasture-raised egg yolks are tamasic, they’re still also packed with naturally occurring vitamins like Vitamin K2 and just about every other essential vitamin you can think of….

Malcolm wrote:
All food is tamasic, actually. Why? All food is made of the four elements, which are the in tamasic portion of the 25 tattvas.

It’s better evaluate food based on the six tastes and in particular, their post-digestive tastes, sweet, sour, and bitter.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 24th, 2022 at 5:52 PM
Title: Re: Rajasic and Tamasic Foods
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Are there any authoritative texts with extensive examples of both of these?

I’ve found online what appeared to be a translation of the Caraka Samhita, and in doing a search within the said PDF, didn’t find anything about foods; only on the Gunas in relation to types of people.

The reason I ask, is because most websites provide contradictory information. One website says that eggs are rajasic and another says that they are tamasic. One website says that avocados are rajasic and another says that they are tamasic. One website says that red meat is rajasic and another says that it is tamasic. Etc., etc., etc.

Malcolm wrote:
It’s based on tastes, In the Bhagavid Gita, sweet is defined as sattvic. Sweet is composed of earth and water.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 23rd, 2022 at 9:42 AM
Title: Re: Is the alaya vijnana outside of spacetime?
Content:
dpcalder said:
It's my understanding that the Yogacara concept of the alaya vijnana is transpersonal and contains the sum total of all impressions of all sentient beings. How is this compatible with the Buddhist view of impermanence? Can anyone link me to any good discussions on this issue (or provide their own answers)?

Malcolm wrote:
Your understanding is incorrectl. The all basis is personal. Read Mahayana Samgraha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 22nd, 2022 at 9:26 PM
Title: Re: Most Important Empowerments in the Sakya Tradition
Content:
Kai lord said:
As for why some Sakyapas still practice Hevajra... well, just think of lamdre and vajra verses.

Malcolm wrote:
Lamdre is a hetrogenous system (see my two volume forthcoming translation of Lamdre material published by Shambala under the auspice of Tsadra).

Kai lord said:
Will do

One can use these completion stage practices for any mother tantra deity. Indeed, Sachen's Nyakma commentary shows up in the terma revelations of Longsal Nyingpo.
Is it because the older brother of the founder for kathok was a student of Sachen?

Malcolm wrote:
I don't know.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 21st, 2022 at 9:39 PM
Title: Re: Most Important Empowerments in the Sakya Tradition
Content:
Kai lord said:
As for why some Sakyapas still practice Hevajra... well, just think of lamdre and vajra verses.

Malcolm wrote:
Lamdre is a hetrogenous system (see my two volume forthcoming translation of Lamdre material published by Shambala under the auspice of Tsadra). The Vajra Verses are primarily focused on completion stage practice. Lamdre also incorporates eight other upadeśas brought to Tibet by Drokmi. Lamdre is in fact the distilled essence of nine upadeśas, based on Hevjara, Cakrasamvara, and Guhyasamaja.

One can use these completion stage practices for any mother tantra deity. Indeed, Sachen's Nyakma commentary shows up in the terma revelations of Longsal Nyingpo.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 21st, 2022 at 6:16 AM
Title: Re: Tilopa 6 words of advice
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
Question

Do Tilopa’s Six Words of Advice apply the same to Dzogchen practice even though they were written and intended for Mahamudra?

Malcolm wrote:
Sure.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 21st, 2022 at 3:46 AM
Title: Re: White Tara Empowerment
Content:
heart said:
It is considered Mahayoga,

Malcolm wrote:
It can be practiced in Anuyoga style as well. It may not not be evident from the sadhana, but it is pretty clear in the root text, which specifies two ways of arising: instantly or according to the five abhisambodhis. You don't need much of sadhana to practice in the Anuyoga style.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 21st, 2022 at 1:56 AM
Title: Re: White Tara Empowerment
Content:
Aloke said:
How can Chimé Pakme Nyingtik be conferred, as a Wang, Jenang?

Malcolm wrote:
It has three kinds of empowerments: two day major empowerment; one day blessing, as well as a Jenang.

It is HYT in general so no dietary restrictions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 21st, 2022 at 12:09 AM
Title: Re: Gelug responses to these critiques of Tsongkhapa?
Content:


wei wu wei said:
All classical Madhyamaka scholars in Tibet accept emptiness as a non-affirming negation.
Does Mipham qualify as a "classical Madhyamaka scholar"?

Malcolm wrote:
He accepts emptiness as explained by Madhyamaks as a non-affirming negation. Freedom from the four extremes is a series of negations which do not affirm anything. If there is nothing in the relative that can be found by an examination of the four extremes, there is also nothing ultimate which can be found by any of the four extremes. Mipham's final view is prasangika, just as it is the view of Longchenpa, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2022 at 9:57 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2022 at 3:22 AM
Title: Re: Chakravartin, Indian myth of a Flying Saucer King
Content:
Caoimhghín said:
I'm looking at it this way:

Physical objects cannot actually travel at light-speed, at faster-than-light-speed, or even substantially near light-speed. Objects become energy. Matter dematerializes.

If they can re-materialize a spaceship, they might as well just re-materialize their bodies, which they would have to do anyways.

PeterC said:
We’re into the realm of speculative theoretical physics here, but: the basic idea that to cross a very long distance you would find a way to accelerate to beyond the speed of light is not the most plausible.  A more plausible way would be to construct a stable wormhole large enough to go through - ie to distort spacetime rather than to travel through it faster.

But just because we can speculate that a means might exist to do this - eg using exotic matter to stabilize and expand a wormhole occurring naturally on the event horizon of a supermassive object - the far, far more likely outcome is that this simply isn’t possible.  That our simplistic view of physics is actually correct and that there’s no means of crossing interstellar space, and we are therefore de facto alone and always will be.

Malcolm wrote:
There is always rebirth...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2022 at 3:09 AM
Title: Re: Different conceptions of the bodhisattva path
Content:


retrofuturist said:
Sometimes I hear about bodhisattvas, "sticking around" to assist all sentient beings (or even every single blade of grass!) to liberation.

Sometimes I hear about bodhisattvas striving to become Buddhas ASAP as a means to help enlighten sentient beings.

Are these different paths? Are there other paths that can be followed by the bodhisattva other than the two mentioned above?

Kai lord said:
Basically those bodhisattvas speed run to the Tenth bhumi which is super close to Buddhahood and then stick around to help sentinel beings.

Vajrapani, Manjusri, Chenrezig and other eight major bodhisattvas or Mahasattvas like Maitreya, are all at Tenth bhumi.

Malcolm wrote:
Tenth stage bodhisattvas are buddhas, just not samyaksambuddhas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2022 at 2:34 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2022 at 2:26 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:


Johnny Dangerous said:
I have really come around to this view. It’s not that I don’t see the importance of establishing right view, I just think most contemporary polemicism is primarily a way of wasting ones time. I mean I participate myself, in no way am I above it, I’m just not gonna justify it as something productive when it’s not. It’s so easy to become enamored with our own thoughts! Damn!

Malcolm wrote:
The purpose of studying of tenets is not to become expert in arguments, rather, the purpose is to identify erroneous concepts one may be holding and abandon them.

There are two basic erroneous concepts: "This is" and "This isn't." All tenets spring from these two assertions. The only view free from these two assertions of the view of dependent origination, i.e. the Buddha's view.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2022 at 2:22 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:


Passing By said:
Is it correct to say that the Basis (gzhi in Nyingma /Kun gzhi in Bon) and its characteristics of ngowo, rang zhin and thukje or the dang, rolpa, tsal, need no cultivation, and so is always ready to be recognized or ("observed" for want of better word) by using the method used to give you pointing out for yourself?

Malcolm wrote:
The basis is your real nature. So, it is like picking the fruit of the a tree. As it says in the Tantra Without Syllables, the dharmakāya is encountered in the intimate instructions. So, one does need a qualified teacher.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2022 at 11:26 PM
Title: Re: Most Important Empowerments in the Sakya Tradition
Content:
Kai lord said:
Most Sakypas practice the four unbreakables,  so they practice both hevajra and yogini at the same time daily.

Malcolm wrote:
Theoretically. The reality is different.

Kai lord said:
Let me guess,  many just do kilaya snd yogini similar to what some Gelugpas did, except with solitary hero and Yogini

Malcolm wrote:
Many only practice Yogini.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2022 at 6:32 PM
Title: Re: Most Important Empowerments in the Sakya Tradition
Content:
Kai lord said:
Most Sakypas practice the four unbreakables,  so they practice both hevajra and yogini at the same time daily.

Malcolm wrote:
Theoretically. The reality is different.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 at 7:56 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:



cjb said:
Hi Malcom,

I appreciate your translation work, thank you very much for your efforts.

I'm not familiar with this term at all.

Malcolm wrote:
Your assertion that "awareness," by which I assume you mean the term "rig pa," is not something to be cultivated is completely mistaken. I am not sure where you learned this, but it is not a correct understanding. Rig pa is just a special kind of knowledge, that's all.

cjb said:
Malcom,

Thank you for clarifying.

I am not suggesting that familiarization with rig pa is not required, if that is what is meant here by cultivation. Only that rig pa is not created/modified/etc upon recognition of it,

Malcolm wrote:
Rig pa is the recognition. When there is no recognition, there is no rig pa. There is instead ma rig pa, ignorance.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 at 5:33 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:


cjb said:
Awareness is timeless and unobstructed. It is never separate from your being and it cannot be created anew, lost, or destroyed and is not something that is cultivated.

Malcolm wrote:
Spoken like a true crypto-advaitan.

cjb said:
Hi Malcom,

I appreciate your translation work, thank you very much for your efforts.

I'm not familiar with this term at all.

Malcolm wrote:
Your assertion that "awareness," by which I assume you mean the term "rig pa," is not something to be cultivated is completely mistaken. I am not sure where you learned this, but it is not a correct understanding. Rig pa is just a special kind of knowledge, that's all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 11:36 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:


Sādhaka said:
By the way, I don’t endorse whoever posted the tweet. I’m not  concerned about the messenger; just the message there.

Malcolm wrote:
Maccaffery deleted it when he realized it was an error. That is more than I can say for the person who posted the tweet, who has nothing but errors filling his entire timeline.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 11:53 AM
Title: Re: Gelug responses to these critiques of Tsongkhapa?
Content:


wei wu wei said:
All classical Madhyamaka scholars in Tibet accept emptiness as a non-affirming negation.
What I mean is the distinction that Duckworth is setting up above: "For these thinkers, emptiness is not the negation of a putative object of negation, for emptiness is beyond any description and hence transcends both affirmation and negation."

Malcolm wrote:
All Classical Madhyamakas agree that emptiness is the emptiness of something, and that without something, there cannot be nothing. What is that something? Dependent Origination. No classical Madhyamaka accepts a self-established ineffable emptiness. The ultimate is the ultimate of something, no classical Madhyamaka rejects this, including Mipham. Otherwise one cannot have the Union of the two truths and so on which became codified with the translation of the MAV of Candrakirti.



wei wu wei said:
Thanks for that clarification. Perhaps some of them don't. Are there some you question?

Malcolm wrote:
Most, not some.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 9:22 AM
Title: Re: Dharanis that don’t require initiation
Content:
Aemilius said:
"Initiation" or "abhisheka" can take place formally or informally.

Malcolm wrote:
You don't know what you are talking about.

Montoya said:
In a recent thread (quoted below), you make a clear distinction between formal and informal forms of initiation. Can you clarify what you don't agree with in the above statement?

Malcolm wrote:
Abhisheka is a very precise term for a specific rite. It was the incorrect use of that word that prompted my initial comment. There are many kinds of transmission in Buddhadharma. But these two gentlemen regularly speak of such things in a very haphazard, irresponsible manner that is misleading.

When speaking of how Dzogchen is transmitted, for example, as in sutra, the kind of transmission depends on the capacity of the practitioner. These issues are detailed precisely in various authoritative commentaries. It’s true that Dzogchen transmission does not need to be wrapped up in a complicated mandala ritual,  but it still has identifiable principles of transmission that have written about extensively, the most important of which are the teacher’s intent and the student’s receptivity. The teacher  must be able to and intend to give transmission and the student has to be receptive and proactive in receiving transmissions. The details depend on  a variety of factors. For example Manjushrimitra was a highly trained pandita as well as a Vajrayana practitioner already when he met Garab Dorje. Garab Dorje was a Indian child prodigy, a nirmanakaya.

Especially when discussing the other Vajrayana systems, a formal set of ritual empowerments is essential. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the assertion that the result, buddhahood depends on gathering the two accumulations.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 8:25 AM
Title: Re: Gelug responses to these critiques of Tsongkhapa?
Content:
wei wu wei said:
The people who arm themselves with such polemics, imagining that there is some transcendental emptiness, have missed both Tsongkhapa's point, as well as the point of Classical Madhyamaka thinkers in Tibet prior to Tsongkhapa.
Setting aside pure polemicists, there are obviously substantially different views in how to characterize emptiness (as shown in the Duckworth quote above). I regularly see non-Gelug refutations of Tsongkhapa's formulation of emptiness as a non-implicative negative...

Malcolm wrote:
All classical Madhyamaka scholars in Tibet accept emptiness as a non-affirming negation.


wei wu wei said:
First one has to make sure they actually understand the point of view they think they are defending. It is not clear at all that this is case.
Hmmm. What can I say? I've done my homework the best I can for several years, even with a mentor. Have spent my time in all volumes of the Lamrim Chenmo, Hopkins, Newland, Napper, HHDL, Garfield, Westerhoff, Thakchoe, the primary early Madhyamaka texts. I won't claim direct insight into emptiness but if I'm not qualified to begin understanding the broader dialogues of the path I'm taking, then I don't know exactly when I would be.

Malcolm wrote:
My point is that it is really not clear whether these western scholars you refer to actually understand Madhyamaka at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 8:22 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:


cjb said:
Awareness is timeless and unobstructed. It is never separate from your being and it cannot be created anew, lost, or destroyed and is not something that is cultivated.

Malcolm wrote:
Spoken like a true crypto-advaitan.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 4:34 AM
Title: Re: Vajrayana parallels to the Aggañña Sutta of the Pali Canon
Content:


Kai lord said:
On the fun side, some prominent Tibetan noble families like the Khon have their own famous creation myth that their ancestors were descended from beings of light from a second dhyana plane of existence called Heavenly Clear Light.

Influences from agganna or similar theme found in the sutras? Well, its up to one to decide for themselves.

Malcolm wrote:
'Od gsal lha are pre-buddhist. They cannot be Ābhāsvara devas since they belong to the desire realm. Indeed, the Khon clan identify a very specific mountain peak to the north of the Tsangpo river  as the site where the sky gods (gram aha) as they are also called descended in Tibet. The middle brother was called gYu ring, or Long Turquoise. His sons were the famous seven Ma sang brothers, which include the dharmapāla Vajrasadhu. The Ma sang are also credited with inventing divination and gambling with dice. The ancient Tibetan game of Pagchen is credited to them as well. In any case, it is impossible for form realm gods to descend to the desire realm, much less the human realm, and even if they were to do so, humans could not interact with them. There is a similar myth from the lCe clan, only in this case, the 'od gsal lha descend in Tajik, and conquered the humans there, before moving into Mang yul, Tibet via Zhang Zhung.

Thus, these so-called gods from which these Tibetan clans claim descent are pre-buddhist classes of deities, and have nothing to with Indian cosmology at all.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 2:48 AM
Title: Re: Chakravartin, Indian myth of a Flying Saucer King
Content:


Kai lord said:
Not to worry though according to the time wheel tantra, in the darkest hours, the 25th king of shambala, the next iron wheel chakravartin, will arrive with his army of enlightened warriors to cleanse the world and free everyone from their suffering by encouraging them to do the ten virtuous deeds.

Malcolm wrote:
Bad idea to interpret this literally.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 1:49 AM
Title: Re: White Tara Empowerment
Content:
Silent Bob said:
Not to put too fine a point on it, but Chime Pakme Nyinthik is a terma and not really equivalent to the White Tara of Atisha's tradition.

Chris

Malcolm wrote:
There are two traditions of Tshe lha rnam gsum, and they are connected. There is the tradition from Bari, Marpa, and Maitriyogi, and then there is the tradition of Shri Singha, Padmasambhava, and Vimalamitra.

The former is the outer practice of the latter.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 11:36 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Svalaksana said:
Let's just hope Erdogan does not come up with another of his classic brainfarts and vetoes their joining.

Malcolm wrote:
It won't impact Finland much, I don't think there are many Kurds in Finland, and Finland has pretty strict laws about immigrating, learning Finnish, for example, being a primary requirement.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 11:26 PM
Title: Re: Gelug responses to these critiques of Tsongkhapa?
Content:
wei wu wei said:
From my little corner of the dharma social media universe,Tsongkhapa is taking a beating at the hands of people armed to the teeth with Mipham, Gendun Chopel, and other non-Gelug thinkers.

Malcolm wrote:
The people who arm themselves with such polemics, imagining that there is some transcendental emptiness, have missed both Tsongkhapa's point, as well as the point of Classical Madhyamaka thinkers in Tibet prior to Tsongkhapa.


wei wu wei said:
Well, I'm not sure how the average social media user engages a "renowned Buddhist scholar-monk" at one of the great monasteries, but they are  skillfully and directly taking on Tsongkhapa's presentation of emptiness. Yes, internet debate is easy, but I'm not talking about low-level sectarian mud slinging: I'm talking about serious points of criticism raised by non-Gelugpas regarding important issues of interpretation.

Malcolm wrote:
First one has to make sure they actually understand the point of view they think they are defending. It is not clear at all that this is case.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 11:19 PM
Title: Re: Dharanis that don’t require initiation
Content:
Soma999 said:
My experience is that with a true master, even casual words can be a transmission. Some transmission can introduce - initiate - you to certain mysteries.

Malcolm wrote:
You also have demonstrated repeatedly that you have no idea what you are talking about.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 9:19 PM
Title: Re: Dharanis that don’t require initiation
Content:
Aemilius said:
"Initiation" or "abhisheka" can take place formally or informally.

Malcolm wrote:
You don't know what you are talking about.

Aemilius said:
Many instances in teachings of Shakyamuni can be described as initiations. "

Malcolm wrote:
You still don’t know what you are talking about.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 6:57 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Fortunately, there is some indication that the midterms will not be the GOP red tsunami everyone fears/hopes for.

Queequeg said:
We can only hope the Republican primaries give us lunatics like Herschel Walker and Dr. Oz.

Malcolm wrote:
Seems to be the case.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 3:00 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:


Arnoud said:
Would it be possible for a Terton to recover or renew the tradition?

Malcolm wrote:
No, I don't think so.

Arnoud said:
Maybe the manual will show up in some long lost library one day. Of course, there are still plenty of practices left so…

Malcolm wrote:
We can only hope. Sometimes, when knowledge is lost, it is lost for good.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 2:14 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 2:10 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:


Arnoud said:
Would it be possible for a Terton to recover or renew the tradition?

Malcolm wrote:
No, I don't think so.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 12:37 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:
Nalanda said:
Meditation on the sound of 4 elements? There was really no clear instruction on that.

Malcolm wrote:
This is called "guidance of the three kāyas (sku gsum sna khrid). It is not practiced extensively because the complete instructions for it have been lost for centuries. We only have partial, incomplete instructions.

YesheDronmar said:
Thank you for this information, Malcolm.

Is the Guidance of the Three Kayas from Dudjom Lingpa?

Malcolm wrote:
No, it is an ancient category of preliminaries found in the Sound tantra and its attendant commentary. Unfortunately, one of the key manuals that explains how to actually practice this is missing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022 at 12:34 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
In this, Dems are currently failing, and so the election will be about the economy.

Malcolm wrote:
If people are stupid enough to think the people who created this mess will get us out of it...SMH.

Formulagate is a direct result of the revised NAFTA rules.

Fortunately, there is some indication that the midterms will not be the GOP red tsunami everyone fears/hopes for.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 11:57 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Queequeg said:
We're reasonably rational about this. Unfortunately, a lot of the country is not very rational about this at all. And their votes count, too.

Malcolm wrote:
Given that 70 percent of the country supports Roe, let's hope so.

Queequeg said:
Its gaming the minor league system of the judiciary.

Malcolm wrote:
Time to change the game. Hating the players is irrelevant.

The reason there are nine Supreme Court judges is that back in the day there were only nine district courts. Now there are 13. Hmmmm....

Queequeg said:
I have to revise my comment about passing an abortion rights law not being open to constitutional challenge. The issue would pit the law against the fetus's right to life. We'd then have to address your point about when a person comes into being.

As for packing the court with 13 justices... that might fix things for a while but we could end up with a gamed court again. I like the idea of having a term limited (10 years? 15 years? 20?) panel of up to 20 judges who could sit on smaller benches to decide minor cases and then a full bench for more significant cases. Packing the court with 4 more justices would be the easier thing to do. Just be careful we don't get around to doing that under a Republican president.

Malcolm wrote:
Expand the court and mandatory retirement by 70, irrespective of length service.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 11:24 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:


Queequeg said:
Can a third trimester fetus do any of those things? Roe said personhood was triggered by viability.

Malcolm wrote:
Children have limited rights. But first they have to survive outside the womb.

Queequeg said:
We're reasonably rational about this. Unfortunately, a lot of the country is not very rational about this at all. And their votes count, too.

Malcolm wrote:
Given that 70 percent of the country supports Roe, let's hope so.

Queequeg said:
Its gaming the minor league system of the judiciary.

Malcolm wrote:
Time to change the game. Hating the players is irrelevant.

The reason there are nine Supreme Court judges is that back in the day there were only nine district courts. Now there are 13. Hmmmm....


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 10:52 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:


Queequeg said:
Actually, since there's no right to privacy, we don't even need to talk about rights of either the woman or the zygote. Abortion can simply be regulated with criminal law, prohibit the act, without violating anyone's non-existent rights or having to justify it by granting rights to the zygote.

Malcolm wrote:
The fourteenth amendment gives us our right to privacy, rather than the penumbra theory you advocated above.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/privacy

Queequeg said:
14th amendment proscribes states from making laws that violate federal civil rights without due process.

The due process clause still requires some precedent for identifying the right to be protected by due process. The Penumbra of Rights was devised to identify rights that are not specifically enumerated in the constitution. This is the point that the literalists insist on as the basis for identifying and protecting rights.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Malcolm wrote:
BTW, we do not disagree about codifying ROE. And we might as well pass the ERA again, while we are at it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 10:47 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:


Queequeg said:
Can a third trimester fetus do any of those things? Roe said personhood was triggered by viability.

Malcolm wrote:
Children have limited rights. But first they have to survive outside the womb.

Queequeg said:
I didn't follow the link to draw the context, but where the policy is facially neutral, the issue is whether students feel compelled to participate. Consistent with what I wrote earlier.

Malcolm wrote:
The point is that public schools are not allowed to advocate for one religion over another. Appointing a rabbi to speak at a graduation is facially biased, and hence not permitted since it violates the establishment clause. Selecting any version of when life begins, other than viability, will also being up the same problem. Viability is the only objective, evidence-based criteria which works.

Queequeg said:
They don't need a general election win. They just need Pennsyltucky and Ohio to break their way. The New Yorkers moving to Florida these days are not the liberal ones. They're the ones fed up with NY taxes and want to go enjoy their hard hat pensions in the nice weather.

Malcolm wrote:
Good thing their days are numbered.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 10:21 PM
Title: Re: 'Dakas and dakinis' in Seven-Line Prayer
Content:
LhakpaT said:
Recently saw a translation being used that had the fifth line as "surrounded by many dakas and dakinis". I can only assume this was an attempt at gender-inclusive language? Doesn't seem right to me though to change the translation that far from what the Tibetan literally says especially when it's being encountered for the first time by English-speakers who don't know that liberties are being taken with translation. Anyone have thoughts?

Malcolm wrote:
Mkha' 'gro is actually male gendered in Tibetan, translating the word "ḍāka." "Ḍākinī" is "mkha' 'gro ma."

Guru Rinpoche is surrounded by both ḍākas and ḍākinīs, in fact.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 10:11 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:


Queequeg said:
Actually, since there's no right to privacy, we don't even need to talk about rights of either the woman or the zygote. Abortion can simply be regulated with criminal law, prohibit the act, without violating anyone's non-existent rights or having to justify it by granting rights to the zygote.

Malcolm wrote:
The fourteenth amendment gives us our right to privacy, rather than the penumbra theory you advocated above.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/privacy


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 10:08 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
At the end of the day, these legislatures will have a difficult time proving they are not violating the establishment clause.

Queequeg said:
No they won't. Fertilization is a discrete biological event which sets off a chain reaction that sometimes results in a live birth. There is no need to refer to anything else to identify that moment as the point at which rights attach to the zygote.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, they will. They have to prove a zygote is a person with rights. That's impossible.

Queequeg said:
Again, they've made corporations "people" with constitutional rights. They can make a zygote a "person" with constitutional rights.

Malcolm wrote:
They will have a hard time proving a zygote is person. For example, how can a zygote enter into a contract? Own property? Be sued?



Queequeg said:
It bars them from legislating their religious views into law. Thus is why we do not have prayers before class in public schools.
The prayer per se was not what was barred. Its because the nominal neutrality actually sanctioned a particular religious practice.

Malcolm wrote:
"The Supreme Court's decisions set forth principles that distinguish impermissible governmental religious speech from constitutionally protected private religious speech. For example, teachers and other public school officials, acting in their official capacities, may not lead their classes in prayer, devotional readings from the Bible, or other religious activities, [ 4 ] nor may school officials use their authority to attempt to persuade or compel students to participate in prayer or other religious activities. [ 5 ] The Supreme Court has held, for example, that public school officials violated the Establishment Clause by inviting a rabbi to deliver a prayer at a graduation ceremony because such conduct was "attributable to the State" and applied "subtle coercive pressures," "where the student had no real alternative which would have allowed her to avoid the fact or appearance of participation." [ 6 ] Accordingly, school officials may not select public speakers on a basis that favors religious speech. [ 7 ]"

https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html


Queequeg said:
As you've admitted yourself, science has not defined when life starts. As such, that question is open to determination.

Malcolm wrote:
There is no evidence-based criteria for defining human personhood before a fetus is viable and can survive on its own, which is why viability has been the standard in US law since Roe. If one defines personhood for a multi-celled organism and one then assumes it has rights, this raises a huge thicket of issues: does a pregnant woman have the right to work in a job which may cause a miscarriage, resulting in manslaughter, etc. The law on this point is schizophrenic, on the one hand, as of now, a women has a right to terminate pregnancies even in the late term, under certain medical conditions. On the other hand, if a pregnant women is killed, one can prosecute the murderer for two counts of murder.

Queequeg said:
Maybe if we ever have a Supreme Court where secular views prevail, we'll get that decision you want. But, let's be clear - that's also an arbitrary line.

Malcolm wrote:
The point is that secular views must prevail in US Courts. If not, we are doomed to fight a bitter civil war over religion, which the founders sought to avoid by implementing in the establishment clause in the first place. If that happens, the world for your children is finished.

Queequeg said:
The real takeaway here is that we can't rely on the courts to create protections that we want. We need to win these in the legislature. Which brings us back to the reason this issue was brought up - there is no popular groundswell that will deliver democrats come election time over this issue. Dems are dead in the water at our current trajectory. Republicans just need to pound the economy.

Malcolm wrote:
Not really. The right is far more fractured than you think, and much less competent than they were, as a whole, six years ago. People think infighting among Dems is bad. Look at the crazy shit going on in the GOP. You really think the GOP can win a general election by going full racist? I mean a real general election win, not an electoral college slide into home base.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 9:13 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
As for whether overturning Roe violates the establishment clause, I don't see it. Conception itself is a biological event with no dependence on any religious views. They made corporations people, they can make a zygote a person.

Malcolm wrote:
But there is no special reason to privilege the biological event of conception over any other kind of biological event.  Medical privacy laws are absolutely at risk here. Women will be losing the right to medical privacy. Now we are going to allow the state to have control over women’s reproductive choices? Based on what precedent?

The question that hinges on when “life” starts is less important. That question has no scientific definition. There is no agreement when a fetus becomes a person. Any claim will be purely arbitrary, and necessarily posited upon a religious opinion.

But medical privacy is another issue entirely.

Queequeg said:
Roe set up a biological condition, "viability", as the cut off point for having an abortion. That line is totally arbitrary but makes some sense where the balance of interests are weighed between the right to privacy and the right to life of a person. The courts are going to be reluctant to question a legislature's decision that life starts at conception. If that's the popular will, then the courts will have a hard time questioning that without wading into the intersection of theology and biology.

Malcolm wrote:
At the end of the day, these legislatures will have a difficult time proving they are not violating the establishment clause.

Queequeg said:
The establishment clause does not prevent people from bringing their religious views to inform their political choices, just as it does not bar people from bringing their ideas about the civil person defined by a particular bundle of rights. It only bars the official sanction of a particular religion to the exclusion of others.

Malcolm wrote:
It bars them from legislating their religious views into law. Thus is why we do not have prayers before class in public schools.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 9:59 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
As for whether overturning Roe violates the establishment clause, I don't see it. Conception itself is a biological event with no dependence on any religious views. They made corporations people, they can make a zygote a person.

Malcolm wrote:
But there is no special reason to privilege the biological event of conception over any other kind of biological event.  Medical privacy laws are absolutely at risk here. Women will be losing the right to medical privacy. Now we are going to allow the state to have control over women’s reproductive choices? Based on what precedent?

The question that hinges on when “life” starts is less important. That question has no scientific definition. There is no agreement when a fetus becomes a person. Any claim will be purely arbitrary, and necessarily posited upon a religious opinion.

But medical privacy is another issue entirely.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 6:00 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
justsit said:
And there will undoubtedly be covert runs to the blue states, just like there were runs all over the East coast to NYC in the 70's. Women will still get abortions.

Malcolm wrote:
My mother used to do this. She is absolutely livid. Never in her life did she think Roe would be overturned.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 5:10 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
I suggest that the major spiritual paths in the West hold this position so it wasn't much work to get people to frame the abortion issue in this light.

Malcolm wrote:
But they don't. Genesis for example holds that life begins at birth, with the first breath. Jews maintain the following:

https://rac.org/blog/abortion-and-reproductive-justice-jewish-perspective

Overturning  Roe necessitates violating the Establishment clause, causing the state to favor one religious tradition over others.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 4:56 AM
Title: Re: Dzogchen Meditation Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten May 13-15 2022
Content:
Nalanda said:
Meditation on the sound of 4 elements? There was really no clear instruction on that.

Malcolm wrote:
This is called "guidance of the three kāyas (sku gsum sna khrid). It is not practiced extensively because the complete instructions for it have been lost for centuries. We only have partial, incomplete instructions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 2:49 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
KristenM said:
I’m with Q. on this. I think the perception of the economy will be more important than abortion rights at election time to voters.

Malcolm wrote:
Not if SCOTUS upends Roe.

In other news:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 11:48 PM
Title: Re: Dharanis that don’t require initiation
Content:
Aemilius said:
"Initiation" or "abhisheka" can take place formally or informally.

Malcolm wrote:
You don't know what you are talking about.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 11:07 PM
Title: Re: White Tara Empowerment
Content:
heart said:
There are Dzogchen teachings connected with this cycle but I think they are mainly connected with the Vimalamitra Guru Sadhana.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, correct.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 5:26 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Bitecoffer's favorite pollster:



Unknown said:
The poll does give Democrats some hope, however. In a generic matchup, respondents indicate they would be more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate over a Republican candidate, 44-38, to represent their congressional district, while generic Democratic candidates carry a 13-point lead (46-33) among respondents in states facing a Senate battle this fall. Support for Democratic Senate candidates has actually increased since UMass Polls conducted in April 2021 (+2) and December 2021 (+4), while support for Republican Senate candidates in the new poll is five points lower than both of last year’s UMass Polls. About one in five respondents indicated that they don’t know which party’s candidate they would vote for in either their House (19%) or Senate (21%) races.

“If the past is any indication, then President Biden and the Democratic Party will likely lose seats in the U.S. Congress if not total control of both the House and the Senate,” says Nteta. “However, our results suggest that all is not lost, with Democratic candidates in both the House and Senate holding on to slim leads over their Republican opponents. With six months until Election Day, it looks like the fight for control of Congress may not comport with our historical expectations.”

Malcolm wrote:
https://www.umass.edu/news/article/over-two-thirds-republicans-think-president-biden-should-be-impeached-if-gop-retakes

This poll reflects my gut instinct. And if the Dems hold the house and the senate, then Biden will win in 2024, no ifs, ands or buts.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 4:59 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Queequeg said:
I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Malcolm wrote:
Considering that almost every pollster cited in the article is a right wing poll, I think the data is skewed in the article. However, there is this tidbit:
This dynamic could be shifting. As FiveThirtyEight reported, “After the Supreme Court allowed a highly restrictive abortion law to go into effect in Texas last fall, the share of Biden voters who said abortion is a ‘very important’ issue for them jumped, while the share of Trump voters who said the same thing fell.”
FiveThirtyEight, which is cited in the article, asserts that 69% of Americans do not want Roe overturned. How anyone can think this is not a game changer in the upcoming elections is beyond me.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/where-americans-stand-on-abortion-in-5-charts/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 4:48 AM
Title: Re: Upasaka vows - strengthening / retaking
Content:
zerwe said:
Yes, but there is not a way to "retake" the vows you received during your initial refuge ceremony.

Malcolm wrote:
Renewing, retaking, more or less the same thing.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 1:35 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
I don't get the impression young women as a whole understand what is happening or care all that much. Maybe they don't quite understand what they're about to lose. Maybe I'm around too many Catholics.

Malcolm wrote:
You must be living in some kind of bubble. All the women I know, everywhere, are completely freaked out.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 1:31 AM
Title: Re: Upasaka vows - strengthening / retaking
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
Hi,

going through some talks on the five upasaka vows and for example Thubten Chödron mentioned retaking the upasaka vows as a way to strengthen them. How does one go about it?

Malcolm wrote:
Everytime one recites the refuge formula one is renewing one's pratimokṣa vows.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at 1:25 AM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Biden is going to run, and Biden is going to win. Why? TFG has hollowed out the GOP. DeSantis lacks the panache and gift for grift of TFG.

And Roe v. Wade. This will create much more of an impact than anyone realizes if SCOTUS really goes through with overturning it.

And, the Dems keep the senate, as well as knocking out Ron Johnson. The Dems also keep the house.

Queequeg said:
You have much more faith in our fellow Americans than I do.

Malcolm wrote:
I have faith in the self-interest of women.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 13th, 2022 at 11:55 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:


Queequeg said:
Republicans are going to love Desantis.

Malcolm wrote:
Biden is going to run, and Biden is going to win. Why? TFG has hollowed out the GOP. DeSantis lacks the panache and gift for grift of TFG.

And Roe v. Wade. This will create much more of an impact than anyone realizes if SCOTUS really goes through with overturning it.

And, the Dems keep the senate, as well as knocking out Ron Johnson. The Dems also keep the house.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 13th, 2022 at 11:23 PM
Title: Re: White Tara Empowerment
Content:
Arnoud said:
HH Sakya Trizin is giving a Tara Wang in MN next month. Don’t know if it will be streamed. Most are though.

discoskwalla said:
Hi! Do you have a date and time? I know HH is doing a chime phakme empowerment, but I didn't hear abt White Tara!

Thanks

Rich

heart said:
chime phakme nyingtik empowerment is a white tara empowerment.

/magnus


Malcolm wrote:
More specifically, it is a terma version of what is known as the Three Long Life deities: White Tāra, White Amitayus, and Uṣṇīṣavijaya.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 13th, 2022 at 11:14 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
I will make a (not so) bold prediction and say Ron DeSantis will be the next president and it will be a stomping. He will  have both houses of Congress and cruise to a landslide reelection. He is going to have Reaganesque stature by the end of his second term and the Republican party will be in his mold for a generation.

Malcolm wrote:
The man who tried to killed Disney will not go on to be president.

Queequeg said:
Between promoting brown skinned princesses and speaking out to protect teachers who want kindergarteners to change their gender, Disney is no one's darling anymore. Mickey is a creepy as we thought.

Malcolm wrote:
Desantis will never be president. He is just not that likable, and he is pro-Gilead. It is one thing to appeal to Florida Man, quite another to appeal to a country which has a firm, liberal majority.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 13th, 2022 at 9:37 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Queequeg said:
I will make a (not so) bold prediction and say Ron DeSantis will be the next president and it will be a stomping. He will  have both houses of Congress and cruise to a landslide reelection. He is going to have Reaganesque stature by the end of his second term and the Republican party will be in his mold for a generation.

Malcolm wrote:
The man who tried to killed Disney will not go on to be president.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 13th, 2022 at 10:23 AM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Unfortunately, the Green Party US, both of them, are incompetent and incapable of governing. Our problem right now is keeping the damn GOP out of power.

Norwegian said:
...

Let me add, that I do try my best in what I can do, to contribute to the cause. But it's absolutely nothing compared to what the powers that be can do. And when I see them sit there and tell us to recycle or whatever, when they don't give a single shit, and when they have so much more capacity to enact change than what we could ever dream of achieving on our own... It's rather infuriating to say the least.



Kim O'Hara said:
We in Australia do have a chance to make a change in the next week or so, with a federal election. I'm putting my time into supporting a climate action candidate because it leverages my own vote. If enough of us do that, we can make a difference.


house-on-fire-c.jpg



Kim


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 13th, 2022 at 3:36 AM
Title: Re: Dharanis that don’t require initiation
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
Any great Dharanis Sutra Level that don’t require initiation can anyone recommend any?


Malcolm wrote:
Medicine Buddha.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 10:58 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:


Queequeg said:
20 years? I don't know if the US survives. It truly feels like we're coming to the end of an age. Maybe the only reliable thing will soon be Prime Delivery.

Malcolm wrote:
The edges, like Florida, Texas, and so on will continue to fray.

The East Coast Metro Corridor will be fine, as will the West Coast, but strange things will happen in the interior and in the South, as is already the case.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 10:08 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
KristenM said:
I think one big reason why just offing Putin won’t bring a revolution in Russia is that they have created an authoritarian culture which breeds deference to authority figures despite all rational evidence.

Malcolm wrote:
Russia is what happens when so-called “people’s democracies” decide to liberalize without proper regulation around how and by whom state assets are privatized. After the USSR euthanized itself, there was no real plan. Russia swallowed the neoliberal myth, straight, no chaser. Milton Friedman is indirectly responsible for the present state of affairs. Russia is a perfect example of the wet dream the libertarian side of the GOP has been advocating for the last century. What they fail to understand is that Autocracy is the certain outcome of poorly regulated markets. The US has fallen into the same trap. However, our liberal institutions have been more resilient, but, they are wearing thin. Unfortunately, there is serious political apathy in the US, and in 20 years, the US could be in much the same condition if we make poor National choices.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 6:12 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Brunelleschi said:
Also, you whole "Russians are orcs and crush them like bugs" schtick is not exactly contributing to a flattering picture of yourself.

Malcolm wrote:
Not all Russians are orcs. Just the ones invading Ukraine. We wouldn't call them orcs, generally, because it is dehumanizing and that is generally a negative place to go. But the Russian troops in Ukraine have been behaving dreadfully, behaving just like orcs.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 5:54 AM
Title: Re: What are some of the most recent termas?
Content:
Nalanda said:
Yeah, hat's off.

So to avoid losing the confidence of the Gelugpas and the Ngorites, how does the Nyingma school validate new termas?

Malcolm wrote:
They really don't care what the Ngorpas and the Gelukpas think, nor should they.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 4:52 AM
Title: Re: Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö on Dolpopa
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
It is because they are both views of intellectual analysis. But there can be no doubt that Longchenpa proclaims that the view of Prasanga is the highest Mahāyāna view, and the one most compatible with Dzogchen teachings.

Seeker12 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that what Longchenpa specifically says is that Prasangika is the highest view of all of the cause-based dialectical approaches.

Malcolm wrote:
Gzhan stong also a causal vehicle view.

But that is besides the point. Longchenpa makes it very clear in the Treasury of Dharmadhātu Commentary that Prasangika is the view most compatible with Dzogchen, as does Jigme Lingpa, etc.

As for dbu ma chen po, Great Madhyamaka, everyone in Tibet called their view "dbu ma chen po." It's a meaningless term.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 4:44 AM
Title: Re: What are some of the most recent termas?
Content:
Nalanda said:
If I may wear my Donald 'skeptical scholar' Lopez hat for a second, if the terma is coming from the so-called "mind termas", is it not possible that that the terma is a sincere and skillful creative production of the Terton themselves? To put it kindly.

Malcolm wrote:
That is the general skeptics point of view, yes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 4:03 AM
Title: Re: What are some of the most recent termas?
Content:
Nalanda said:
So how does this work, they discover a text somewhere in a cave in between rocks? Are the texts buried?

Archie2009 said:
Here are two photos of the place called Zha'i lha khang (c. 90 km east of Lhasa) where Vimalamitra hid the 17 Dzogchen tantras. They were rediscovered centuries later. Photos by Hugh Richardson (1948) taken from Michael Henss' The Cultural Monuments of Tibet.

Malcolm wrote:
Richardson is slightly in error. It was Nyang Tingzin Zangpo who hid the texts, sometime after Vimala's death/departure to Wu Tai Shan, depending on who one believes.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 3:03 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 2:53 AM
Title: Re: What are some of the most recent termas?
Content:
Nalanda said:
So how does this work, they discover a text somewhere in a cave in between rocks? Are the texts buried?

Malcolm wrote:
These days most termas are so-called mind termas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 1:10 AM
Title: Re: Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö on Dolpopa
Content:


Seeker12 said:
What do you think of Dudjom Rinpoche saying that for one whose intelligence is authoritative, one does not differentiate between rangtong and shentong?

Malcolm wrote:
It is because they are both views of intellectual analysis. But there can be no doubt that Longchenpa proclaims that the view of Prasanga is the highest Mahāyāna view, and the one most compatible with Dzogchen teachings.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, May 11th, 2022 at 10:52 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, May 11th, 2022 at 12:34 AM
Title: Re: Daily Laugh Thread
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 11:52 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
PeterC said:
As a hypothetical: suppose Putin nukes Kyiv. What do we do?  We aren’t going to retaliate proportionately by attacking Moscow. So - what do we do?

Malcolm wrote:
If they use a low-yield nuke on Ukraine, there will be immediate mobilization by NATO. The only way they can prevent that is to nuke Berlin, Paris, and London. But that is suicide.

PeterC said:
I’m not so sure. How would NATO respond?  I’m sure they’ve thought through the military options, but it’s a political decision.  They would not bomb a Russian city.

Malcolm wrote:
I think NATO would strike a Russian city with conventional weapons in response.

PeterC said:
I agree with all of that but it could remain as the status quo for some time yet.  Even if the rumors on Putin are correct - he’s got Parkinson’s, he has more Botox than blood in his veins, he’s chronically paranoid, etc - and he doesn’t have long to go, what comes next?  Why wouldn’t someone a lot like him just take over the apparatus he created?

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, more cops. But cops are not good at war. They are only good at terrorizing unarmed civilians. In the long run, with no economy, that won't get you very far unless you go for extreme isolation, like N. Korea.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 11:13 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 10:59 PM
Title: Re: Drikung Yangzab Structure
Content:
Konchog Thogme Jampa said:
Is there a website anywhere that lays out all of the termas, texts and practices within the Drikung Yangzab? So the overall map and structure.

Looked online but can’t find anything complete.

heart said:
I received from Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche the ngondro and the main yidam practice that is a hayagriva/varahi practice along with several other empowerments and teachings (one which was a trechö teaching). But he never told us about the further structure.

/magnus

Malcolm wrote:
Yangzab is like most Nyingma systems: preliminaries, combined three roots, and then move on to Nyinthig practices, rushan, all under the guidance of one's teacher.

Dzogchen is Dzogchen. People make a big deal out of this lineage and that lineage, but it all comes from the Dzogchen tantras. As the Yangzab is an appendix of the Kandro Nyinthig, the systematic way of practicing it is no different than what Longchenpa explains in his long commentary on the Khandro Nyintig, which is preserved in the Khandro Yantig.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 10:52 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
PeterC said:
As a hypothetical: suppose Putin nukes Kyiv. What do we do?  We aren’t going to retaliate proportionately by attacking Moscow. So - what do we do?

Malcolm wrote:
If they use a low-yield nuke on Ukraine, there will be immediate mobilization by NATO. The only way they can prevent that is to nuke Berlin, Paris, and London. But that is suicide.

PeterC said:
We need, somehow, to take the initiative away from him.

Malcolm wrote:
They are wasting hypersonic missiles on malls and hotels to the tune of $100 million per pop. Putin is running out of options. When you are out of options, you have lost the initiative. I would say that Putin lost the initiative after he lost the Battle of Kyiv. It is he who is on his back foot now.

For example, the Ukrainians have a new and very novel software package which runs their artillery. In the US Army, call to strike is generally 1 hour, and never gets better than 15 minutes. What is the main delay? JAG officers, apparently, who have to sign off on that that strike is a legitimate military target. The Ukrainians have a five minute window from call to strike. Also, their artillery strikes are designed to confuse Russian counter-artillery radar. Now they are also being gifted with advanced counter artillery radar from the US, etc. At the present moment, the conflict in Donbas, etc., is mainly an artillery war, and the Russians are wasting huge amounts of ammunition on empty farmland. The Ukrainians on the other hand are able to accurately target tanks, etc., with artillery directly. This is unheard of before this war. UAV's have really changed the nature of air war permanently. All bets are on Ukraine pushing Russian troops out of all occupied territory with NATO backing.

Russia is toast. They will be Germany after WWI, since not many people are going to be willing to help them rebuild after this war. Also, it is quite likely that the RF will split up as a result of all of this. Who wants to be part of a country lead by crazy, old white people? (Oh wait, I live in the US... ). Anyway, back to the main point: ethnic division in the RF is going to be exacerbated by this conflict. The RF, IMO, is only held together at this point by inertia and nostalgia. All the youngest and smartest Russians have already left (3.4 million).


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 8:43 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Queequeg said:
We...have a Christian Taliban among us who would like to bring back witch trials. We still have robust, free elections and in the big picture, robust regimen of civil rights.

Malcolm wrote:
The fight at home.


Queequeg said:
If you're going down the road of drawing moral equivalency between the US and Russia, then I'll let you walk down that path on your own. I don't know many Americans who want this fight. Maybe some hawks at the Pentagon and State Department. We're mobilizing for a long standoff with Russia - this is true. Sometimes you just have to deal with shit. That's life. Even if we chose to ignore Ukraine, its not like we'd be putting those resources toward a progressive agenda.

Malcolm wrote:
The fight abroad.

The USSR was a different sort of country that the RF is today. The only reason Russia is a power is because of they have the old Soviet nuclear arsenal. Advancing the interests of the Western bloc through soft and hard power is something to which we need to return, or cede the space to China, primarily. Russia is toast.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 9:17 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 9:11 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Miorita said:
The data don't add up.
Putin is born in '52. He didn't fight in WW2. I don't know what he celebrates.
You have to have earned the merit to celebrate that is to have fought in it yourself or at least having been around at the time.

I think it's called nepotism. The merit is not transferable.

Malcolm wrote:
Means he was born in a dragon year. Dragons are the weakest member of their group.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 4:16 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 1:40 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
It doesn't say anywhere in Mahayana sutras that all six perfections, Bodhicitta, three roots, three wisdoms, etc., are one in the nature of mind.

Malcolm wrote:
Sure it does.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 9th, 2022 at 11:55 PM
Title: Re: Daily Laugh Thread
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 9th, 2022 at 9:50 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Chechen TikTok soldier:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 9th, 2022 at 8:15 PM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:


PadmaVonSamba said:
Merit and karma are two different things, although they are related. Merit accumulates but it doesn’t “ripen”.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, actually it does. It ripens as birth in higher realms, longevity, absence of illness, and so on.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 9th, 2022 at 3:38 AM
Title: Re: Vajrayana parallels to the Aggañña Sutta of the Pali Canon
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
Vajrayana itself is Abhidharma.

Malcolm wrote:
It is true that Vajrayāna is included in Abhidharma, according to one way of categorizing things.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 9th, 2022 at 2:03 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
Crazywisdom said:
Karma and interdependence are general not specific, unless you want to go with Vasubandhu, which some here rely on. I don't, because it's one guy's opinion.

Malcolm wrote:
The Abhidharmakośabhaṣya is not just one guy's opinion. It Is a compilation of many different opinions by one guy—mainly those of the Kashmiri Sarvāstivādins and the Sautrantikas. In many, many, places the opinion Vasubandhu actually supports is ambiguous at best.

For example, in chapter 4, karma, Vasubandhu frequently cites the Buddha directly, and then discusses how these citations are understood in different schools. It is not as simplistic as you make out.

Dzogchen teachings offer no novel reinterpretation of karma.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 9th, 2022 at 12:46 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 8th, 2022 at 10:07 PM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:


Queequeg said:
No, the metaphysical substrate I was referring to is the idea that there is some sort of karma bank in the sky where everyone's deposits are tracked and appreciate and depreciate depending on the outcomes of actions.

Malcolm wrote:
You mean the Akashic Record... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashic_records


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 8th, 2022 at 5:30 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 8th, 2022 at 2:10 AM
Title: Re: After taking HYT initiation
Content:
Vajradhara said:
hould I stop and wait to find another guru that can grant me a more official HYT initiation (if ready for it) ?

Malcolm wrote:
FInd a qualified teacher. Since you seem to be attracted to Geluk, try to make a connection with Jado Rinpoche.

https://tibet.net/the-envoy-of-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-jado-rinpoche-awarded-the-medal-for-merit-to-republic-of-buryatiya/


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 7th, 2022 at 11:46 PM
Title: Re: Vajrayana parallels to the Aggañña Sutta of the Pali Canon
Content:


heart said:
Maybe this can help

Malcolm wrote:
Should be read with care, it is not a complete account.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 7th, 2022 at 11:01 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:
Kim O'Hara said:
But also, we need to get money out of fossil fuel production as fast as possible.

Malcolm wrote:
It is not happening. In fact, it is getting worse.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 7th, 2022 at 9:38 PM
Title: Re: Vajrayana parallels to the Aggañña Sutta of the Pali Canon
Content:
Sādhaka said:
Dzogchen cosmogony says things similar to the Aggañña Sutra, yet provides more detail.

For said details though, likely better to receive them from a Lineage Holder.

Malcolm wrote:
These myths are not some privy information. And, frankly, most westerners do not seem to understand that Dzogchen cosmogony is a minor variation on the cosmogony in the third chapter of the Abidharmakośabhṣya.

Specifically the mythology of the Aggañña sutra in Tibetan sources is to be found in Asanga's Yogacārabhhumi.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, May 7th, 2022 at 9:09 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:


Queequeg said:
Its like the stock market - your good deeds are like stock bets that can vary in merit depending on the beneficiaries of your actions. Past results do not guarantee future performance.

Malcolm wrote:
Nagarjuna prefers to think of karma as something like a debt which must repaid.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 10:18 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Archie2009 said:
We have even worse/more dangerous fascist scum in parliament now in https://twitter.com/thierrybaudet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Baudet

Malcolm wrote:
Indeed, but not as cartoonish.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 10:09 PM
Title: Re: Daily Laugh Thread
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 10:05 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:
Archie2009 said:
I'm sorry you have to live in one country with creatures like that. The footage was even worse than I expected.

Malcolm wrote:
They're in every country, I mean after all, you have this guy:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 9:27 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 8:41 PM
Title: Re: Reversing Global Warming - Science and Politics (split from: Reversing Global Warming -Prayers and Aspirations")
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 4:29 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 4:15 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Caoimhghín said:
These threads are 90% twitter, it sometimes seems like.

I've resisted, successfully, getting twitter and being a twit for 16 years. I was 15 when twitter first came out and I instinctively knew it was garbage then as I still do now. Once Musk owns twitter, I wonder what these threads will look like.

Malcolm wrote:
Twitter is ahead of the news orgs by about 48 hours when it comes to Ukraine. Prior to the war, I never used it much.

Then there are the twitter mean girls...brutal but funny. I would mostly check in to see who they were ripping to shreds.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 3:42 AM
Title: Re: the cause of intention
Content:



clyde said:
1. Desire ( tanha ) and clinging ( upadana ) are afflictions, but that doesn’t answer the question: What is the cause of (what gives rise to) intention ( cetana )? And are you saying that intention is an affliction, even ‘good intentions”?

Malcolm wrote:
Cetana (volition/intention) is a caitta (mental factor). It accompanies every citta, being neutral in character. Cetana is colored by whether that citta is governed by other positive, afflicted, and negative caittas. So, when you find the cause of citta (a mind) you will also answer the question of what causes cetana, which is one of the mental factors that accompanies all minds in the desire realm. (Not all caittas accompany all minds. For example, a negative mental factor can never accompany a positive mind.)

clyde said:
3. And your “essential components” imply that all karma leads to suffering, even so-called ‘good karma’ (merit). Is that your meaning?

Malcolm wrote:
Good question. The truth is that positive actions are also afflicted when they are not connected with path phenomena. Basically, all compounded phenomena are afflicted or conducive to affliction, which the exception of path phenomena.

So it still applies that --> affliction --> karma --> suffering -->, since afflicted positive actions only lead to birth in higher realms, and not to liberation.

For example, when one perceives an enemy, the caitta of anger is produced, this colors cetana negatively, and one then engages in verbal and physical actions which aim to harm that enemy. Cetana is simply that mental factor that puts the mind's negative and positive qualities into action. That's is why the Buddha defined cetana, intention, as karma, action, in the Anguttara NIkaya, iii.415:

"Mental volition, O Bhikkhus, is what I call action (Kamma). Having volition, one acts by body, speech and thought."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2022 at 12:22 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Anne Applebaum's hubby.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 11:36 PM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
Aemilius said:
On the contrary, it seems evident that Shantideva has got it wrong.

Malcolm wrote:
No, since Śantideva is an awakened person and Lamotte is not even a Buddhist.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 11:31 PM
Title: Re: the cause of intention
Content:
Tao said:
--> affliction --> karma --> suffering --> rinse, repeat.

Very nice but it lacks ignorance, as it's the only way out from the links... and one noble truth is "there's an exit"

Ignorance --> attachment -> affliction --> karma --> suffering --> rinse, repeat.

Malcolm wrote:
No, ignorance is an affliction, it also has a cause.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 9:17 PM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
Aemilius said:
The old question about merit is: Does it matter if the recipient of one's generosity does not actually get one's gift? Due to some circumstance that is, or seems to be, beyond one's control. Like for example a sudden earthquake or a traffic accident, that destroys the actual gift or its giving. I.e. is the intention really enough to create the positive karmic consequence or not ?

Etienne Lamotte has in his History of Indian Buddhism answered this question: According to tradition the merit of a gift is twofold, 1. there is the actual intention, the disposition it creates in one's mental continuum, and its future karmic reward. And 2. there is the aspect of the enjoyment of the gift by its recipient. This event creates happiness also in the giver.  If the gift is not received nor enjoyed this happines is not created. Thus it does matter whether the gift is  received or not.

Malcolm wrote:
He is mistaken. The intention alone is sufficient, as pointed out by Shantideva.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 4:48 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
rai said:
...

Malcolm wrote:
FFS, we prosecuted those guys and Calley went to jail )(but not for long enough). You think Russia is going to prosecute even one orc? Even a show trial? Nope. They give them f*cking medals.

This is whataboutism at its finest. What happened in My Lai on March 16, 1968 is just not relevant to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 4:01 AM
Title: Re: the cause of intention
Content:
clyde said:
This may be a bit technical (or semantic), but according to dependent origination (pratitysamutpada), desire (tanha) gives rise to clinging (upadana), not intention (cetana).

Malcolm wrote:
Clinging (tanha) and addiction (upadana) are both affliction. Becoming is karma. Birth, aging and death, are the result of karma.

When the twelve links are reduced to their essential components: --> affliction --> karma --> suffering --> rinse, repeat.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 3:57 AM
Title: Re: the cause of intention
Content:
clyde said:
From a discussion about “karma and its fruit or fruits” a question arose for me: Since all dharmas arise based on causes and conditions, what is the cause of an intention?

Malcolm wrote:
All positive, negative, and neutral intentions (karmas) are caused by positive minds, affliced minds, and neutral minds. This is why it is important to understand operation of mental factors.

For example, for neutral karmas, I see food, then I decide to eat it. For negative karmas, I see an object I dislike, which arouses my affliction of hatred, then I try to eliminate it. I see something I desire, then I decide to steal it.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 3:46 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:


Könchok Thrinley said:
Apparently he has decided it is time to start a new body count.

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, orcs.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 3:05 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Found him. Danish Reality TV dude. Not a Nazi.




The Tats are pretty new, there is this from 2019:

https://www.dr.dk/mitliv/storm-med-218-sexpartnere-skal-giftes-jeg-tror-stadig-ikke-paa-den-eneste-ene

Claim to fame? Had sex with 218 partners.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 2022 at 2:02 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Well, some fellow Scandinavians, presumably far-right death metal fans by the looks of their facial tattoos, are laughing about the bounty placed on their head by Russia, "See you in Valhalla, guys."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, May 4th, 2022 at 11:54 PM
Title: Re: the great vegetarian debate
Content:
seeker242 said:
Fruit and vegetables are plentiful plant food sources.

My species evolved to eat these food sources.

My species is still around, it is not extinct.

My species is here today because it evolved to eat these plentiful plant food sources.

Meateater: we’re here because we ate meat.

Makes total sense.


Sādhaka said:
Well most of the fruits and vegetables we now eat didn’t exist until recent centuries. Just about any of them you can find at a grocery store are grafted, selectively bred, hybridized etc. Almost every contemporary common vegetable (broccoli, cabbage, etc.) was bred from a simple mustard green or something like that.

https://i.insider.com/5638f775dd08957b788b463e?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp

You won’t find broccoli just growing in the wild, and most natural fruits in the wild are mostly tough rind and seeds with very little edible fleshy parts.

And with how much fruit and vegetable matter you have to consume to get all your nutrients, you’d be very hard-pressed to live on berries, the few edible roots you could find, and like maybe wild nettles, mustard greens, and dandelions. Of course some regions are more plentiful than others, but most environments aren’t so much.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct, most crops eaten today were developed by humans in the last 10,000 years. Prior to that there was little or no cultivation, just gathering berries, tubers, etc. The notion of rich natural orchards of fruit and natural grain where humans just ate of them free of competition is a fantasy. .

This is kind of diet is more consistent with what ancient humans in temperate zones likely ate:

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rstb.1991.0112


Author: Malcolm
Date: Wednesday, May 4th, 2022 at 10:55 PM
Title: Re: Is it better to gain enlightenment first versus trying to do as many charitable deeds as possible?
Content:
Sādhaka said:
And I think that the First Bhumi is implied above.

Malcolm wrote:
No. The five abhijñās can be accomplished by everyone.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022 at 9:31 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Crazywisdom said:
Why not use air power for this? This would be evidence of a greatly diminished air force. It would be a lot easier to drop bombs.

Malcolm wrote:
The Russians have failed achieve anything resembling air superiority. So they are using tanks and artillery instead.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022 at 1:36 AM
Title: Re: Coronavirus
Content:
Genjo Conan said:
But I don't think we're there yet.

Malcolm wrote:
As warming continues, there will be more severe pandemics.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 10:54 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Könchok Thrinley said:
I really wonder what is up with those fires and attacks on Russian soil. I mean is UA army that good, or do they get help from some underground movement within Russia? If anything it fills me with hope that there is a possibility of change of regime in Russia, although who knows if it would be better...

However if it is UA army action I have to applaud because that is how you do modern warfare. Minimal casualties, targets hit and destroyed, very precise and clean. The same would go for the underground movement.

Malcolm wrote:
There are Ukrainians all over Russia...


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 10:49 PM
Title: Re: What are you doing about the coronavirus?
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/02/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-yellow-risk-level.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR3pmtxqja4bGXHxEOPQuKTgdOhIUINSowMCBtp4-eytcZ0fO5ww4VHFlKw

Unknown said:
The city moved into the medium risk level, known as yellow, as it sees a troubling increase in cases and the mayor weighs bringing back some restrictions.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 10:36 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 9:44 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The difference between Ukrainian shelling and Russian shelling:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 9:36 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 9:31 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
rai said:
video

Malcolm wrote:
Yes, Ukrainian villages get caught in the cross fire as the UA has completely halted the advance of the RFA, and begun to wear them down through superior training, tactics, and morale.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 8:32 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 3:47 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Brown is the new red:

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1520751923355398144?s=20&t=O8aenamIpfXbaKXdkMXDcQ

Brunelleschi said:
Give me a break, Chomsky is on record calling Trump a criminal, a fascist, comparing him to Hitler, urging everyone to vote first for Hillary then for Biden.

To imply that Chomsky is pro Trump is just deeply, deeply dishonest.

Malcolm wrote:
Chomsky is a useful idiot, always has been.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 1:17 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Monday, May 2nd, 2022 at 1:03 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
Brown is the new red:


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 1st, 2022 at 11:44 PM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
muni said:
There is no point in contemplating it.
Non-conceptual contemplation.

Without any duality of perceiver and per­ceived, there is no way a normal thought can survive; it vanishes.

Malcolm wrote:
But they (concepts) still arise, so not a state of blankness.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 1st, 2022 at 8:53 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:



clyde said:
I disagree. It’s not materialism that prevents us from understanding the Dharma; it’s the belief in a self, an enduring essence (soul).

I understand the meaning of “effulgence” and that the mind is luminous. My question is about what you meant by:


Malcolm wrote:
He means that matter comes from mind. This is consistent with Abhidharma as well.

Queequeg said:
Yes, with the caveat that matter is not what we ordinary beings are conditioned to think it is. ie: water for animals and humans is molten metal to a hell beings, puss to a preta, and amrita to asuras and devas, dharmakaya to tathagata. Correct or no?

Malcolm wrote:
Water for example, is a liquid state of matter, no matter how it is perceived.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 1st, 2022 at 2:59 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Sunday, May 1st, 2022 at 12:39 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
Queequeg said:
Most of us, this materialist conditioning casts a mist over Dharma Teachings preventing us from understanding them.

clyde said:
I disagree. It’s not materialism that prevents us from understanding the Dharma; it’s the belief in a self, an enduring essence (soul).

I understand the meaning of “effulgence” and that the mind is luminous. My question is about what you meant by:

Queequeg said:
Matter is an effulgence of consciousness

Malcolm wrote:
He means that matter comes from mind. This is consistent with Abhidharma as well.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 11:08 PM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
PadmaVonSamba said:
We may assert that matter exists independently of the mind, but that asserting itself is still based completely on our perceptions.

Malcolm wrote:
It's a reasonable, evidence-based assertion.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 8:35 PM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:



clyde said:
If karma and vipaka are functions of the mind, I understand how intentions influence one’s mental state, but how does karma influence form (rupa)?

Malcolm wrote:
It influences how our minds experience sensations. Actions ripen only as pleasurable, painful, or neutral sensations.

clyde said:
If I understand you correctly, your understanding is that karma effects how we experience sensations - but that karma does not effect which sensations arise, yes?

Malcolm wrote:
Karma vipaka are only sensations, fundamentally. However, the Buddha taught there are a variety of effects of action, long vs short life, Hugh vs low status, health vs illness, etc.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 8:44 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
clyde said:
I thought I was done with this issue. Malcolm and Sadhaka both explained the momentariness of intentions, actions and their effects. And since my sense-organs, including my mental consciousness, don’t appear to operate at ‘karmic speeds’ (1/60th of a finger snap), I can’t directly corroborate this, but there’s nothing that seems illogical about their understanding.

But Queequeg opens another issue.
Queequeg said:
Karma is a function of the mind. Vipaka is a function of the mind. As functions of the mind, they can't transcend the mind. These are technical terms and if you understand what these terms designate, then things are clear.

clyde said:
If karma and vipaka are functions of the mind, I understand how intentions influence one’s mental state, but how does karma influence form (rupa)?

Malcolm wrote:
It influences how our minds experience sensations. Actions ripen only as pleasurable, painful, or neutral sensations.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 2:58 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 2:48 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 1:30 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
Shinjin said:
What would be the karma of a guilty individual like oj simpson who gets aquitted of murder? Does aquital mean that his good karma overrided his bad karma and so he did not have to face any prison time?

Malcolm wrote:
Karma does not care about the justice system.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 12:35 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Saturday, April 30th, 2022 at 12:27 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
An actual deed of killing, etc., is not confined to a single moment of intention. It is rather a series of moments of intention —from anticipating it, executing the deed, and then relishing in the satisfaction of having carried it out. Each of these moments of intention is a discrete karma, each with separate force and vipaka. Thus one deed of killing, made up of many actions, can have in many results. But each result is the ripening of an individual karma, and the case above, 500 individual throwing karmas.

haha said:
Now, it is clear, it is rather a series of moments of intention. Its seems that his five hundred intentions with one act of killing produced five hundred vipaka. Thanks.

Malcolm wrote:
500 is one of those group numbers that really just means "many."


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 11:46 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Bundokji said:
Acknowledged

Archie2009 said:
"Commander, the woke Rebels demand all surrendering Stormtroopers list their various intersecting identities and assign a privilege to each of them."

Malcolm wrote:
Somehow, I think CRT is not going to be an issue in Ukraine.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 11:21 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 11:17 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
That's one point of view—foolish and short sighted—but one point of view.

Bundokji said:
Acknowledged


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 10:56 PM
Title: Re: Back in the USA...
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 9:47 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Caoimhghín said:
Out of curiousity, do you think that both Trump and Putin have been unjustly "demonized?"

Bundokji said:
Yes.

Malcolm wrote:
That's one point of view—foolish and short sighted—but one point of view.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 7:20 PM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 11:40 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:


haha said:
Here is an example for one karma but five hundred vipaka.

Malcolm wrote:
An actual deed of killing, etc., is not confined to a single moment of intention. It is rather a series of moments of intention—from anticipating it, executing the deed, and then relishing in the satisfaction of having carried it out. Each of these moments of intention is a discrete karma, each with separate force and vipaka. Thus one deed of killing, made up of many actions, can have in many results. But each result is the ripening of an individual karma, and the case above, 500 individual throwing karmas.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 11:06 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 8:38 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 7:38 AM
Title: Re: karma and its fruit or fruits
Content:
clyde said:
Nothing arises from a single cause.

Malcolm wrote:
Correct. But a given cause can only produce a single result. A cause expires upon the production of its result. This does not mean a seed is a sufficient cause of a sprout, but it is the necessary cause.  Sunlight, warmth, and moisture are also needed as conditions. But in absence of a seed, they won’t produce a sprout.

This also applies to a karma— a karma is exhausted when it produces its vipaka. But in order to produce its result, conditions necessarily come into play.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 6:34 AM
Title: Re: Conditioned vs Unconditioned
Content:


Malcolm wrote:
Unconditioned phenomena are just nonexistent. There are only four kinds of unconditioned phenomena in Buddhism: space, the two cessations, and emptiness, and they are all negations. Nirvana, for example, is simply the absence of afflictions which lead to rebirth.

PadmaVonSamba said:
In saying that space, the two cessations, and emptiness are non-existent, what do you mean by not “existing”? Do you mean they are not regarded as ‘things’ (phenomena)?

One could say that emptiness “exists” as a characteristic of phenomena just as heat exists as a characteristic of fire.

This is why I think the term “occur” is often better.

Malcolm wrote:
They are dharmas because they bear characteristics. Space is the absence of obstruction, cessation (both kinds) is the absence of a cause, emptiness is the absence of inherent existence.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 5:23 AM
Title: Re: Conditioned vs Unconditioned
Content:
TAG said:
Conditioned phenomena have entanglements and inverted structures of opposing inward and outward pressures that produce the formations that appear in the world: including physical and mental formations.

Unconditioned phenomena lack the entanglements and inverted structures of opposing inward and outward pressures that are capable of producing formations or appearances: including physical and mental formations.

Since no formations and no appearances happened in the "unconditioned world," there are no formations or appearances of suffering as well.

An extremely brief synopsis.

Malcolm wrote:
Unconditioned phenomena are just nonexistent. There are only four kinds of unconditioned phenomena in Buddhism: space, the two cessations, and emptiness, and they are all negations. Nirvana, for example, is simply the absence of afflictions which lead to rebirth.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 5:03 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 4:16 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:



Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 4:12 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Queequeg said:
Yeah. B, that's a terrible comeback.

Bundokji said:
Liberalism is another term to describe generosity. If it does not lead to non-violence, then how it can be generous?

Norwegian mentioned political philosophy, but in the context of the Buddha's teachings, the word "sabba" is known through negation. The three marks of existence are preceded by sabba, which shows an inherent limitation in worldly ways. This limitation expresses itself in what Malcolm shared, the urge to convert, even if violence is what it takes. This very urge translates into encouraging others to act against their own interest as long as they pretend to follow ones own ideology and become a member of the group. Within this mindset, encouraging Ukraine to challenge Russia is not a bad advise, even if this causes destruction and unnecessary suffering. This usually comes along with promises of better future, to rationalize short term self-inflicted misery.

Coming back as a cheap debating trick is not my intention. Asking direct questions to more knowledgeable members might improve my understanding.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 3:45 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Queequeg said:
Yeah. B, that's a terrible comeback.

Bundokji said:
Liberalism is another term to describe generosity.

Malcolm wrote:
"Liberalism" means different things to different peoples in different epochs, and these meanings are often quite at odds with each other. Liberal internationalism, of the Wilsonian variety, is definitely hegemonic, deliberately so, but it is not imperialist.

Bundokji said:
Within this mindset, encouraging Ukraine to challenge Russia is not a bad advise,

Malcolm wrote:
Ukraine did not challenge Russia, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Bundokji said:
even if this causes destruction and unnecessary suffering. This usually comes along with promises of better future, to rationalize short term self-inflicted misery.

Malcolm wrote:
The people causing unnecessary suffering is the Russian army. They can stop anytime. But they won't because Russia is imperialist and always has been, since its beginning.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 2:42 AM
Title: Re: Do you need lung to read the book Precious Treasury by Longchenpa
Content:


ManiThePainter said:
Does this treasury have an auto-commentary? Or is it only some of the Seven Treasuries which have auto-commentaries?

Malcolm wrote:
it does.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 2:35 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Malcolm wrote:
The US's initial reluctance arose from reflecting on our error in pursuing liberal agendas in countries that did not have native liberal-democracy movements. But since we have seen that the Ukrainians indeed wish to participate in the rules-based liberal international order, we steeled our resolve and now we are really helping them to win this war that Russia forced on the world. It's that simple. It represents the continuation of post-WWII US foreign policy. Basically, it's jump on or get out of the way.

Queequeg said:
I hope. And I hope this impacts us at home against the illiberalism rising here.

Malcolm wrote:
The problem at home are the MARs, identified in the 1980's by a far-right conservative, Samuel Todd Francis:
How could a political movement rise up to challenge ruling elites? Francis believed it required capturing the anger and resentment of a class of Americans whose interests the managerial revolution had not benefited. He called them “Middle American Radicals” and suggested they would soon form a revolutionary class...MARs were neither a distinct economic class nor a political movement committed to abstract principles. He claimed that MARs were united by a common “attitude” or “temperament” about their place in American society. Their grasp of American political history, to say nothing of their knowledge of Western culture, reflected the appalling state of general literacy. Francis frequently referred to them as a cultural “proletariat,” and noted that many rely on government help in the form of benefits or loans.  As Francis began to imagine a movement built around MAR interests, he cautioned that it might appear ideologically eclectic or even incoherent. MARs tend not to think about politics primarily in terms of the size of government, and they defend neither the minimal state nor the welfare state as a matter of strict principle. What made them “radical,” Francis maintained, was their instinctive defense of communal roots and their visceral opposition to cosmopolitan values. MARs are motivated by a particular view of political life, if not a systematic ideology. Francis called it a “domestic ethic,” and claimed it as the basis of a viable future conservatism.17 It reflects a traditional impulse, suppressed by liberal individualism, that sees political life in terms of interlocking loyalties that link the family to the nation. It assesses policies not by an impersonal standard of justice, but by whether they protect and enhance group well-being. Francis believed he had found his vanguard, who lacked only an awareness of its shared interests. It was a social movement, about to be born, that would unapologetically place citizens over foreigners; majorities over minorities; the native-born over recent immigrants; the ordinary over the transgressive; and fidelity to a homeland over cosmopolitan ideals.
Rose, Matthew. A World after Liberalism . Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.

This is Trumpism. In the 19th century, they were the Know Nothing Party.


Author: Malcolm
Date: Friday, April 29th, 2022 at 1:47 AM
Title: Re: Ukraine News
Content:
Queequeg said:
The Ukrainians refused to play along with Russia's narrative and changed the narrative for the world. The West reluctantly came to Ukraine's aid because it is demanded by our ideals but also our real security - so long as Russia was just poaching little countries here and there, so what, really. But once they moved on Ukraine and incidentally tried to move their effective border up against the EU, things got serious.

Malcolm wrote:
What we are dealing with here is an autocratic reaction to modernity and liberalism internationalism:
Illiberal states—autocratic and authoritarian regimes—might want to participate in the open, rules-based system but worry about its long-term effects on their ruling class and other entrenched interests.
Ikenberry, G. John. A World Safe for Democracy . Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.

Because Trump weakened this order, this conflict has become existential due to Biden's rebuilding the liberal consensus, and China and Russia view the liberal international order as a threat. Why? Because liberal democracy must promote other liberal democracies for mutual security. The more of us, the better.

Queequeg said:
Liberal internationalism has moralist tendencies and activist impulses, but it is ultimately a reform-oriented and pragmatic endeavor. Modern liberals do not embrace democratic governments, market-based economic systems, and international institutions out of idealism or as tools of empire but as arrangements better suited to realizing human interests than the alternatives. Liberal internationalists hold that world politics requires institutional cooperation and political integration in response to relentlessly rising economic and security interdependence...Liberal democracies are understood to have distinctive goals for international order as well as distinctive capacities to cooperate with other liberal states. Interdependence, a fundamental condition of modern society, calls forth liberal internationalist agendas for cooperation and prompts nations to create international institutions as tools for managing and reconciling sovereignty and interdependence. Liberal democracies cannot be secure or prosperous alone; they must create a larger world so as to survive and advance.

Malcolm wrote:
Ikenberry, G. John. A World Safe for Democracy . Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.

The US's initial reluctance arose from reflecting on our error in pursuing liberal agendas in countries that did not have native liberal-democracy movements. But since we have seen that the Ukrainians indeed wish to participate in the rules-based liberal international order, we steeled our resolve and now we are really helping them to win this war that Russia forced on the world. It's that simple. It represents the continuation of post-WWII US foreign policy. Basically, it's jump on or get out of the way.


