510 years ago, Lord Kabir had organized "Divine Dharma Yagya" for three days. In which more than 18 lakh sadhus, saints and people performed Mohan Bhandara. The same history is being recreated under the guidance of Bandichod Satguru Rampal Ji Maharaj. 'Divya Dharma Yagya Diwas' is being organized in 10 Satlok Ashrams from 26 to 28 November 2023 in the presence of Jagatguru Tatvadarshi Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj in which all of you are cordially invited.
This is based on the fascinating fusion of cultures after Alexander the Great invaded India, otherwise known as Indo-Greek or Greco-Buddhism.
In Gandharan sculpture, Heracles is depicted alongside the Buddha as Vajrapani, the Buddha's protector. The pairing of two figures so iconic in their mythologies seemed perfect material for art.
The Buddha would help Heracles with anger management, while Heracles would help with clobbering evildoers. Business as usual.
"You must be broad-minded and whole without relying upon others. An upright, independent spirit knows how to avoid degrading situations." - Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157)
“Ice in winter melts and flows in spring, and minerals and rocks are burnt and melted by fire. In this way, all things are established by causality and have no true nature.” - Kukai
[Kukai (b. 27 July 774 – d. 22 April 835), posthumously called Kōbō Daishi ("The Grand Master who Propagated the Dharma"), was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the esoteric Shingon school of Buddhism.]
Buddha to his disciples, mini-series (21)
Nidana - "direct cause" & "indirect cause" in all phenomenal things
Kukai's quotation of the sacred word 'causality' is referred to as the 'Twelve Causes (Pratītyasamutpāda,Ref)', etc., and is one of the fundamental doctrines that the Buddha taught to his first disciples after his enlightenment, and the content of enlightenment itself. The Buddha realised that "the phenomena of this world are the result of the interrelation of causes and conditions. Everything is the result of nidana".
In Buddhism, all phenomenal things which those caused by phenomena, have a hetu (direct cause), and a pratyaya (indirect cause) conditions that help the cause to produce the result..
Tara is a completely enlightened buddha and as a young bodhisattva she promised always to appear in the form of a female bodhisattva and goddess for the benefit of all beings and especially to protect from the eight fears. In this white form she appears specifically for the purpose of bestowing longevity.
There's no such thing as good karma, karma is karma, ruled by Saturn, the planet and god of limits, lessons, restrictions and responsabilities. The opposite of karma is dharma, the rewards of Universe after facing Saturn's lessons. Btw, dharma would be represented by Jupiter.
For those who have worked with Saturn as a deity besides of astrology, they know that is a god that don't take things lightly, in fact, he is sometimes considered as a demon and, in astrology is seen as a malefic planet. He is a great but severe teacher, and my dears, he helps us release karmic debts from past lives, he doesn't bring any good karma because karma are still lessons to be learnt, and again, there's no such thing as 'good karma'.
It might be a personal feeling but the devil hides in the details and talking about 'good karma' it only brings more karma that is something that you actually need to release, not to attract. If you want to talk about the positive coming into your life, it would be more appropiate to talk about dharma
• Presets include beige and navy, with generic text in both Simlish and English and an English text ‘LaFleur- Head of Security’ swatch. Generic, Security and Motor Pool logos.
• HQ compatible.
download/SFS
This will be the last download from my LOST project before the entire pack is released.
Some of my followers may be familiar with my past article in which I described Xuanzang's historical itinerary and discussed what a more realistic Journey to the West might be like. Towards the end, after the pilgrims return to China with the scriptures and the disciples (Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing) receive their elevation in spiritual rank, I stated: “They would thereafter leave to enjoy their divine lives in the Western Paradise.” But I’ve never really liked the idea that Monkey would forever abandon his people. This is especially true since his rebellion led to heaven decimating the monkeys and burning their cave (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 31).
I think a better ending for this historical version would be for the “Victorious Fighting Buddha” to return to the Mountain of Flower and Fruit, where he transforms it into his own Pure Land (Jingtu, 淨土). The monkeys killed in years passed would be reborn there, and everyone would receive periodic lessons on the dharma between bouts of play. It would be a paradise even grander than when the Great Sage was at the height of his power.
Here is some information about pure lands from the Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Gomez, 2004):
I love this circa 1700 Tibetan painting of Amitabha in his pure land of Sukhavati. Just imagine the Victorious Fighting Buddha sitting in Amitabha's place, and monkeys would take the place of the monks, protectors, and devas.
Sources:
Gomez, O. L. (2004). Pure Lands. In R. E. Buswell (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (pp. 703-706) (Vols. 2). United Kingdom: Macmillan Reference, USA.
Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
I sometimes come across people who say they “don’t believe in karma.” I believe this stems from a misunderstanding of karma as a purely supernatural force.
Karma is not something you believe in: it is cause and effect, as real and insentient as the force of gravity. Karma is a shorthand for everything a being can experience and the causes that lead to these experiences.
You touch the fire and it burns you. That’s karma. Your karma is that you are a being of flesh and your body cannot tolerate certain elements.
Your family has a history of cancer, and you develop cancer. That���s karma. Your karma is that you carry the genetic inclination for certain diseases.
You encounter a challenge and overcome it against all odds. That’s karma. Your karma is that you had the skills and resources to achieve the outcome you desired.
When we observe certain phenomena in the world, we understand that this was possible because there was the necessary karma for it to occur - the necessary causes were present. Sometimes we label this as ‘bad’ karma or ‘good’ karma, purely because of how we perceive that experience. There will have been innumerable factors involved in that experience coming to pass. Hence, karma can be understood in a purely mundane context.
Since we spiritual practitioners tend to get involved with magic, gods, spirits and other realms, then naturally we observe that there are additional ways in which karma can work. Sometimes on a scale that is difficult to comprehend and spans lifetimes.
When we understand karma, that is, cause and effect, we come to understand some of the myriad of influences upon our experience. Sometimes we understand enough that we can change the karma that we have.
In my opinion, karma makes the most sense in the context of rebirth and spiritual inheritance: the idea that there is some continuity after death and the karma of one life can be inherited by another.
The way that I personally understand karma is that it is like an attunement, or a momentum. Every action, every thought, is like a movement that creates a gust of wind that pushes us toward a certain outcome. Repeated actions of a certain nature solidify this momentum, like gathering winds that create a storm, or trails of water that carve a riverbed into the earth.
Across lifetimes, this becomes especially powerful. We may find ourselves repeatedly experiencing certain themes in our lives. The same kinds of fortune and misfortune that come back in different forms, created by the momentum of our inherited karma. It takes persistent effort to escape what has been ingrained into our experience and go beyond what our past has shaped us to be.
Karma must also be understood in the context of interdependence. We do not exist in isolation, our own karma will impact the karma of others, and vice versa. Everything in the world has its own karma, a way it can influence other things: how we navigate these influences determines our fate.
Don’t be daunted by the enormity of it all. A ship that sails across the sea will not encounter every wave on the ocean, only the ones in its path. We have the choice to ride upon those waves, or we can learn to read the winds and waters and try to change our course.