Vajra Guru Mantra - YouTube video

Vajra Guru Mantra - Padmasambhava - Guru Rinpoche

OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ

I created a YouTube video for my recording of the Vajra Guru Mantra. I made the recording and mixdown using Studio One 5 DAW and a Zoom R16 recorder, interface controller. It is entirely my voice chanting the mantra. I did all of the recording, audio & video production. I took all of the photos in the video. These are photos of lotus flowers that I grew myself in my backyard pond. It was a lot of fun creating the video, I hope you enjoy it. Perhaps you will want to join the chant and share in the benefits.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/yOhW0mdns5E

By Karma Lodro Gyaltsen (Thomas J. Greenbaum)

Description:

The Vajra Guru mantra is the essential mantra of Master Lotus Born, Guru Padmasambhava. It is the life-essence of the deities of the four classes of tantra, the nine vehicles, the 84,000 aspects of the Dharma, and so on. The heart essence of all the Buddhas of the three times, the lamas, deities, ḍākinīs, Dharma protectors, and the like is encompassed by this mantra. Listen well and hold this in your heart. Recite the mantra. Write it. Tell it to sentient beings in the future.

See more info from the PDF file: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/karma-lingpa/benefits-vajra-guru-mantra "The Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra And an Explanation of its Syllables, A Treasure Text Revealed by Tulku Karma Lingpa"

Notes on Creating the Video

This was my first time doing recording and mixdown using Studio One 5 DAW and a Zoom R16 recorder, interface controller. I must tell you that learning the Studio One 5 software is quite a challenge.

Don't underestimate the learning curve and technical requirements of microphone staging, cabling to the Zoom R16 and interfacing with the computer. Fulfilling the requirements of obtaining devices, hardware and software, connecting everything properly without blowing anything up is another challenge. Haha!!

Of course, the same technology and production methods could include live video clips which this video does not. It is basically a slide show, a sequence of high quality lotus photos with text overlaid for better understanding of the audio. 

Emptiness and Illusion - Two Truths - Heart Sutra - Ultimate Reality

Sanskrit manuscript of the Heart Sūtra,
written in the Siddhaṃ script.
Bibliothèque nationale de France

Mind/Body Dualism

This little essay started as a discussion of mind/body dualism with a friend. Out discussion then proceeded with a comparison of materialism and idealism. Then my friend made the following point, after I brought up the illusory nature of reality, 

"If you feel that physical reality is an illusion, kick a rock as one materialist has argued. That is unless you think the pain you feel is an illusion. That takes an awful lot of denial."

Illusory Nature of Reality

In my opinion, the concept of "illusion" is not well understood in this example. My understanding is that idealism does not deny perceived reality, it simply states that our sensory inputs are quite different from the realization of an objective reality existing outside of our mind. Of course, when we kick a rock we feel pain; idealism does not deny our pain (or any other perceived or imagined sensory phenomena). 

Physics Declares No Solid Objects Exist

Physics explains that when we kick a rock we feel pain because of the strong electron-electron repulsion force between the rock and our toe. Physics tells us that the rock and our toe (or any perceived "solid" object) are really just clouds of invisible particles held together by powerful electrical forces and that solid objects are mostly empty space. Therefore physics declares that there exists no such thing as a solid object despite our painful toe. The illusion is the apparent perceived solidity of objects. 

With that said, we don't go around saying, "Ouch! The volume of mostly empty space that I perceive as my body just experienced a strong electron-electron repulsion force with the volume of mostly empty space that I perceive as a rock." Practically speaking, we just say "F**k, I just stubbed my toe on a rock!" 

What is an electron really? Have you ever seen an electron? If you have not perceived an electron directly using your senses, does it exist outside of your mind? 

Do We Live in a Dream?

We perceive apparently external objects and have strong feelings in our dreams, but the objects in our dreams are not objectively real; they do not exist outside of our mind. This is why the illusory nature of reality is often likened to a dream.

Phantom pain is pain that feels like it's coming from a body part that's no longer there. Synesthetes can often “see” music as colors when they hear it, and “taste” textures like “round” or “pointy” when they eat food. The rock that we kicked that caused us pain is mostly empty space. The examples of the illusory nature of the reality perceived by our senses are endless. 

We only see 0.0035 percent of the Electromagnetic Truth

As humans we are in many ways limited by what our senses can directly tell us about the universe, that's why scientists invent instrumentation that extends our senses. The entire rainbow of radiation observable to the human eye only makes up a tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum – about 0.0035 percent. We are in this way misled by our visual sense. We feel that what we see is "real" and existing outside of ourselves, however even if you trusted your eyes 100% this is only 0.0035 percent of the electromagnetic truth.

Expansive knowledge of the universe has been gathered with the invention of powerful instruments used to explore the microcosm and macrocosm. It is the mind that developed and tested the theories upon which these tools were created. It is the mind that engineered and developed these tools. It is the mind that gathered the data from these tools which then found patterns in the data and developed new theories, more sensitive tools, etc., etc.

Flying on Instrument Readings

Pilots are taught to fly by their instruments and trust the data from their instruments and not their own senses. I underwent some pilot training in the Air Force Academy and experienced first hand how our senses can be easily fooled. For example, lots of disorienting fun can be had by spinning in a chair LOL. In aviation, a graveyard spiral is a type of dangerous spiral dive entered into accidentally by a pilot who is not trained or not proficient in instrument flight when flying in instrument meteorological conditions. 

Our survival in this highly technological world is dependent upon our ability to cognize data delivered to us by instrumentation and not by our unaided senses. This is another way to understand the illusory nature of perceived reality. Of course, we must perceive the instrument readings through our senses, however it is the mind that must intervene and draw conclusions from the instrument data in order to decide how best to act.

Science is flying on instrumentation. The enormous amounts of instrument data analyzed on a daily basis by human minds is unimaginable. This instrument data has extended the human neurological system far beyond what can be perceived. Our best knowledge and understanding of conventional truth are conceptual models derived empirically and mathematically by the mind. The mind has elevated our understanding of phenomena and describes with greater and greater accuracy conventional truth. 

Two Truths - Conventional and Ultimate

The ever-evolving mind in this way has developed conceptual models of conventional reality far beyond what we can directly perceive. However, I believe that ultimate truth is beyond what even the mind can understand. 

The Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism investigates the workings of the mind, stating that only the mind or the representations we cognize, really exist. In later Buddhist Mahayana thought, which took an idealistic turn, the unmodified mind came to be seen as a pure consciousness, from which everything arises. This is what makes sense to me. 

Pure Consciousness

My friend often talks about what he calls, "Pure Consciousness," but I'm not certain if his meaning is the same as the Mahayana teaching. 

The Heart Sutra

The famous statement from the Heart Sutra, "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form," is also relevant. The Heart Sutra is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine (conventional and ultimate truth). The Two Truths doctrine says that ultimately all phenomena are empty of an unchanging essence. This emptiness is a 'characteristic' of all phenomena, and not a transcendent reality, but also "empty" of an essence of its own. 

In the Heart Sutra, Avalokiteśvara (the Buddhist deity of compassion) explains the fundamental emptiness of all phenomena, known as the five aggregates of human existence: form, feeling, volitions, perceptions, and consciousness. This is interpreted according to the Two Truths doctrine as saying that teachings, while accurate descriptions of conventional truth, are mere statements about reality—they are not reality itself—and that they are therefore not applicable to the ultimate truth that is by definition beyond mental understanding.

Perfection of Wisdom Mantra

The Heart Sutra, Perfection of Wisdom mantra in Sanskrit is: 

gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā

meaning

"gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, awaken, rejoice"

Hans-Peter Wellke uses my Spheriphor

Tom Greenbaum with Rocky, Bucky and
the gift of two bells from Hans-Peter Wellke

18.01.2008

Dear Tom,

When you asked me to send a token gift about my area for the use of your Spheriphor and your more-pixel-solution, I thought "what for a great idea" and I started immediately to find something very special.

I am living in the very south of Germany near the Alps. It is a very green area and next to my house there start the first mountains. Because of quite much rain in the summer and a lot of sun at the same time and lots of steep hills, we do not have any fields, just hills and mountains covered with grass. Munich is about 1 ½ hours drive away. Austria half an hour and Switzerland about 1 ½ hours drive. We are also living near the castle Neuschwanstein (1/2 hour) which you know as a copy standing in Disneyland. In our area there are living more cows then people. When I look out of the window of my office there are cows next to my door and next to my home we can listen to the sound of the bells, all the cows are wearing round their neck to be found everywhere in the mountains when we go hiking in summer. So I decided to send you this special sound of our hills. But when 1 tried the different ding-dongs of the bells to buy, something strange happened: One bell sounded nice, but two sounded exactly like the never ending ding-dong of our area in summer. That's the reason you got two instead of one. The calendar includes photographs which are all made in our area. You can reach each of these places in about 10-40 min drive around my home and my office.

Hope you have fun with it.

Thank you and best wishes
Hans-Peter Wellke

The letter from Hans-Peter Wellke

Spheriphor by Tom Greenbaum
Cube Face Center View

Spheriphor by Tom Greenbaum
Cube Corner View

Spheriphor by Tom Greenbaum
Cube Edge View

Empathic Coupling and Kinesthetic Empathy in Dance Movement

"Laminar Flow" a dance movement by Thomas J. Greenbaum

Following my Encore Fellowship at Keshet Dance and Art Center, I participated in a unique Art/Science collaborative development of a dance movement. The teams vision led us to explore incorporating a citizen science experiment to validate the central ideas of Empathetic Coupling and Kinesthetic Empathy.

ABSTRACT

A creative project in which a diverse group of dancers and scientists investigate opportunities to collaboratively develop a dance movement evoking a common understanding of human discovery.

• Partnership with Sandia National Labs and the Weizmann Institute.
• Explore the synergy between dance and science.
• Commonality as creative human endeavors.
• Relationships between the languages of both science and art.

Empathic coupling, is coupling dependent on being physically present at a dance performance as opposed to watching a video. 

Spectators of dance experience Kinesthetic Empathy when, even while sitting still, they feel they are participating in the movements they observe, and experience related feelings and ideas. 

• What is kinesthetic empathy? See: Watching Dance: Kinesthetic Empathy

How does Dance through Kinesthetic Empathy AFFECT our experience of Time and INFORM our understanding of the nature of Reality? 

Furthermore, if Consciousness is the new Fundamental CONSTANT of Reality, then can Dance convey this concept?"

Alchemical Light-Fire Yoga

Heart Center Circle Hum by Thomas J. Greenbaum

Artwork Description

My artwork is a mashup of several wisdom teachings, sacred geometry and meditation exercises from a variety of sources including teachings from my blessed gurus.

It was my intention to create this artwork as a meditation device in order to begin with focused attention centered on my heart and expand healing, brilliant light outward to All Sentient Beings. In this way I creatively combine Sacred Geometry, Alchemical, Tibetan Buddhist and Zen teachings in one artwork. 

Heart Center Circle Hum includes a hand-drawn black circle with a fine black dot in the center (ink on rice paper). This simple Circle and Center dot is supported by two Tibetan "Hung" symbols on either side (acrylic paint on mylar). The surrounding frame is art paper and vellum (27"x19"). 

Following are my inspirations for this artwork, each one a meditation in itself, together they form a unity of wisdom and skillful means. 

Circle and Zero Point Center - Zen Teaching

The circle and center point is a simple sacred geometry, but it is highly charged with energy and meaning for me. 

You are probably familiar with Zen masters drawing a circle with an ink brush in a demonstration of their self-realization, the art form known as Enso.

I was a student of Zen Master Philip Kapleau Roshi (Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Santa Fe) in the early 1980's. During the first teaching of Kapleau Roshi that I attended, I witnessed him draw a circle similar to Enso, but he did not use an ink brush, instead he used a black marker on a clearboard! 

Kapleau Roshi was a creative thinker and added a black dot in the center of the circle. Enso paintings do not traditionally include a center point dot. Kapleau Roshi taught about two types of consciousness. The dot in the center represents inwardly focused attention. The circle represents expanded awareness of the universe we perceive 'outside' our selves). I will never forget this teaching. This artwork was primarily inspired by my memory of Roshi Kapleau. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Kapleau

Tibetan Buddhist Hung - Heart/Mind

The two Tibetan "Hung" symbols on either side. The meaning of hung (in Sanskrit hum) is Mind visualized at the Heart center of our ethereal body. The artistic form of the two hung symbols informed by Lama Anagarika Govinda Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism (page 189). Rider & Co. American edition 1969. https://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Tibetan-Mysticism-Anagarika-Govinda/dp/0877280649

Symbolism of the Seed-Syllable HÚM as quintessence of the Five Wisdoms

The Demchog Tantra, therefore, says that HÚM represents the 'mind free from all thought-contents or concepts'. The five parts of which HÚM is composed in its visible form (in Indian as well as Tibetan script) correspond to the five Dhyãni-Buddhas and their Wisdoms. 

The third phase, consists in the return to the human plane, on which all attainments are translated into life and deed. The place of this experience is the human heart, in which the 'Diamond Being', that is Vajrasattva, is realized and becomes an ever-present force in the seed-syllable HÚM.

Side note: Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism was one of my first books introducing me to Tibetan Buddhism. I started reading this book in college. Then following my studies with Kapleau Roshi my spiritual path led me to take refuge in the Buddhist Three Jewels entering formally into the Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist lineage. My Buddhist name, Karma Lödro Gyaltsen was given to me by the Venerable Khenpo Kharthar Rinpoche. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khenpo_Karthar_Rinpoche

Hand to Source Reaching for Contact

A presence of light.

Free form not bound by structure.

The desire to connect.

Fingers, a hand reaching.

To reach for, but not to grasp.

Defined by shadow and light.

True connection not felt, only imagined.

We observe the play of diffraction patterns portraying the illusive nature of perception:

1. the source exists as revealed by movement of shadows.
2. the shadows exist only as illuminated by the source.

Relaxed Awake Tai Chi

Dedicated to Great Grandmaster Willem Reeder (Liu Siong)

photo from http://www.tibetantaichi.com/LiuSeong.htm 

Relaxed Awake is a general attitude toward being, however we are discussing an attitude with Tai Chi practice in mind. 

Relaxed Awake 

Movement timed to our breath. 
Counting breaths, measuring time,
For each stance, each moment,  shifting.
Each stance only a temporary milestone,
Along a long journey of 108 Long Form kata.
Movement happening in a relaxed manner.
Not-holding, embracing, stillness, a pause.
Not-pushing, feeling volume, allowing space.
Not-pulling, connecting, centering inward.
Tension and compression always coexist.
Balancing tension and compression,
Being the synthesis of cohesion.
Being fully awake each moment,
Is all that is needed to
Maintain balance.

Physical form ebbs and flows, always cycling. Round and round she goes, where she stops no one knows. 

Stance flows into stance and there exists a pause between. That's the wide open door right before it closes. Or, the fully closed door right before it opens. The opening at the end of the Blue Tube Ojai Portal.

The pause right after in-breath and right before out-breath is different yet similar to the pause right after out-breath and right before in-breath. Observe this difference from complete breath to complete breath, multiple times in a row and achieve Heightened Awareness. 

As the kata progresses through 108 stances, it is joined by relaxation and awareness. The intrinsic nature of breathing overrides willfulness. The breath slows down on it's own. The mind settles and movement tends to Stillness.

Breath is the ever-cycling junction between self and other -- between our individual mind/body/spirit and the greater Universe Of All Existence. 

By itself, the kata slows down always, never done slowing down (Hexagram 64). Observant consciousness (different from controling consciousness) relaxes control, but at the same time becomes more awake. Relaxed Awake Tai Chi.

The system which slows down informs a self-governing process. If the observer/performer is successful in Turning The Light Around, then powerful life-energy pours forth from the Fountain Of Youth. 

In other words, the physical body has an innate ability to slow itself down when our mental complex releases control and observes our inner processes with continuous, un-interrupted attention. The observed lengthening of intervals influences conscious processes in general. Stillness increases for all processes at the root. Profound stillness opens etheric channels of communication with the Essence Of Life.

Ultimately the kata performs as a self-governing feedback loop resulting in an increased flow of life-energy accompanied by bliss, peaceful mind and healthy body. Relaxed Awake Tai Chi. 

Karma Lodro Gyaltsen

Tom Greenbaum

20201104

Tree of Life by Tom Greenbaum a New Media Artwork (work-in-progress) Jul...

Leonard Nimoy, the Vulcan Salute, Jewish Priestly Blessing and Shefa Tal

I was sad to hear that Leonard Nimoy died. Although he wrestled with the fact that people saw him only as Spock, I believe that it was Nimoy's vital human spirit that was shining through and illuminated the character of Spock. This is why I discovered a childhood hero in Spock.

Do you know the origin of the Vulcan salute invented by Leonard Nimoy? Consider first that he was born in the West End of Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Soviet Union (now Ukraine).

Nimoy witnessed the Priestly Blessing, Birkat Kohanim (Raising of the Hands) when he was a young boy. At the time Nimoy did fully understand what he saw, but the hand gestures (Shefa Tal) used during the blessing stuck in his memory. It is the Shefa Tal that he remembered years later when he came up with the idea for a Vulcan salute. 

I first came across the Priestly Blessing and the Shefa Tal years ago in my research on Kabbalah, the Tetragrammaton and Shekinah.

Look closely at the drawing of the Shefa Tal below. Do you see the four letters written across the wrists of the two hands? Do you recognize these four letters as the Tetragrammaton?

Leonard Nimoy on the Jewish Story Behind the Vulcan Salute:

http://jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/leonard-nimoy-vulcan-salute-yiddish 

YouTube Video Interview of Nimoy (in only 5 min. Nimoy tells the entire story):

Live Long and Prosper: The Jewish Story Behind Spock, Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek Character

http://youtu.be/DyiWkWcR86I

YouTube Video:

Priestly Blessing, Birkat Kohanim, Raising of the Hands: Shefa Tal

http://youtu.be/fNTWLl--oqc

Wiki article Priestly Blessing (excellent general information):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestly_Blessing

Wiki article Vulcan Salute:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_salute 

In his autobiography I Am Not Spock, Nimoy wrote that he based it on the Priestly Blessing performed by Jewish Kohanim with both hands, thumb to thumb in this same position, representing the Hebrew letter Shin (ש), which has three upward strokes similar to the position of the thumb and fingers in the salute. The letter Shin here stands for El Shaddai, meaning "Almighty (God)", as well as for Shekinah and Shalom. Nimoy wrote that when he was a child, his grandfather took him to an Orthodox synagogue, where he saw the blessing performed and was impressed by it.

The symbol became so well-known that in June 2014 it was added to version 7 of the Unicode standard as U+1F596 (raised hand with part between middle and ring fingers), and the White House referenced it directly in its statement on Leonard Nimoy's death, calling it "the universal sign for 'Live long and prosper.'" NASA astronaut Terry W. Virts posted the salute without commentary on his Twitter feed from the International Space Station with the Earth as the background. 

Washington Post article The touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy from space:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/02/28/the-touching-tribute-to-leonard-nimoy-from-space/

On Saturday, American astronaut Terry Virts tweeted this photo while aboard the International Space Station:

The simple Vulcan salute, flashed back at earth from so many miles away, speaks to the impact that Nimoy and "Star Trek" had on American space exploration.

"Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most. NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague."

Rest In Peace Leonard Nimoy

Newly Hatched Praying Mantis - Teaching Patience

Newly Hatched Praying Mantis

I encountered another Praying Mantis Sunday night (4/27/14). It was a newly hatched praying mantis on my front porch stucco wall. Smaller than a dime, this little guy is already on the hunt. 

This is the second year in a row that I have found multiple juvenile Praying Mantis on my front porch. They grab moths attracted to my porch light. 

He was a challenge to photograph, even at this young age he was very much aware of his environment and the possible threat that I represented. He dodged my macro camera lens for awhile. I lost him several times. Eventually, he settled down and I got this close-up shot.

FUN FACT: unlike most of other insects, mantises have stereoscopic vision (the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions). See more at: Praying mantises get extra-tiny 3D glasses to test their vision

Lastly, I believe that it is of symbolic importance when we encounter certain animals. A friend of mine gave me a reading regarding the Praying Mantis. She was very accurate and the reading was very helpful to me. Essentially, the reading was very similar to the following web page excerpt:

Praying Mantis Meanings in the Realms of Animal Symbolism

Excerpt from: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-mantis.html

The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet and calm in our lives. Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with so much business, activity, or chaos that we can no longer hear the still small voice within us because of the external din we've created.

After observing this creature for any length of time you can see why the symbolism of the praying mantis deals with stillness and patience. The mantis takes her time, and lives her life at her own silent pace.

A Question Of Ego: Who Am I If Not Ego?

If the Ego's greatest act of deception is to get oneself to believe that the Ego is who we are, then who are we?

Stated another way:

If I am not who I think I am, then who am I?

Good question. It is a matter of perspective. Ego is the mistaken perspective that we are an independently existing, singular self. We actually are a collection of experiences loosely tied together. All these experiences depend on a large number of causes and conditions. In truth, the ego is an illusion; there is no singular, separately existing, independent self.

Following is an image of the Buddhist deity Manjushri. Manjushri has the ability to see the nature of reality as it is. Manjushri is seen holding the flaming sword of Discriminating Wisdom with his right hand and a book called Prajñāpāramitā with his left hand. Prajñāpāramitā in Buddhism, means "the Perfection of (Transcendent) Wisdom." The word Prajñāpāramitā combines the Sanskrit words prajñā ("wisdom") with pāramitā ("perfection"). The Prajñāpāramitā sūtras suggest that all things including oneself, appear as thoughtforms (conceptual constructs).

Our stream of consciousness is composed of five senses, feelings/emotions, and higher intellect/reasoning. What we perceive becomes the reality of ego and ego is at the center of all this experience. One moment we are focused on listening to music, the next moment we feel a chill, the next moment is lost in a memory, the next moment the cat catches our eye, etc. From this stream of discontinuous experiences that involve various different perceptions and mental events we deduce that an ego or self exists. We feel that a separately existing self resides at the center of these perceptual/mental events. 

We experience the illusion of "self-awareness" in the midst of a seemingly objectively existing external world. We feel as if we are separate from others and an entire universe of separately existing objects, as small as atoms and as large as galaxies. The truth is that all things are temporary and inter-dependently existing. No-thing exists separate from any other thing. There is no external, objective reality. There are no separate, independently existing "selves" at all. There are no separately existing things at all. 

CAUTION: this is not the same as nihilism. This is not a negation of existence. This is a reinterpretation of our knowledge gained through experience. We are simply arriving at a greater truth derived from higher order reasoning. 

The truth is that existence is a collection of experiences tied loosely together. Reality is consciousness only. The mystery of the nature of human consciousness is revealed through meditation on the temporary nature of all things and the truth of selflessness. The Buddhists call this sunyata or emptiness. That is, experience is in actuality empty of separate, independently existing things and consciousness is empty of a self. 

No self is required to explain phenomena. Occam's Razor states that among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected. The assumption of the existence of a self is unnecessary and should be discarded due to succinct reasoning.

We go through life in a fairly successful manner and make okay decisions even while under the false assumption based on the existence of an ego. We go through challenges, illness, periods of doubt, depression, pain and even mental anguish. Eventually we get to the end of our life and wonder what it was all about. Of course, waiting until we die to face the meaning of life is not the best strategy. Having to face death while clinging to an ego results in fear and mental anguish is not a good way to go.

If we are blessed with curiosity, a sense of wonder, or a sharp intellect, then we may explore alternative explanations for life's experiences even before we are faced with illness, pain and death. During moments of introspection and philosophical query we question the nature of what we are. The person seeking answers to life's mysteries may find that we exist on a wholly different level of reality than what is commonly held as actual reality.

To seek truth and meaning while facing the challenges of mundane existence is a spiritual warrior's path. It is a very difficult path, but it ultimately yields the greatest rewards. The spiritual warrior focuses the mind inward and sharpens their mental focus and inner calm. The spiritual warrior wields the flaming sword of Discriminating Wisdom to cut down falsely held beliefs, dispel the illusion of ego and clear a path to greater happiness and peace of mind.

Consciousness Only / Yogacara / Emptiness

A lot of what we seek as spiritual explorers can be satisfied with an understanding of the nature of consciousness. I gather that this is why we question the nature of mind and reality. We seek a level of understanding beyond the mundane. For many of us this becomes a thirst and hunger for esoteric knowledge or jnana (as it is known in Sanskrit).

One of the challenges to realize a deep understanding of the nature of consciousness is to heighten our awareness beyond our senses and beyond our mental and conceptual activity. This is required because reality can be treated as consciousness-only. Reality is perception and mental activity. Once we achieve an awareness not bound by perception and mental activity, we clearly see both the nature of reality and the nature of consciousness. To fully realize this nature we need jnana's perception.

In Tibetan Buddhism, jnana refers to pure awareness that is free of conceptual encumbrances. The Uttaratantra Shastra is a profound teaching on Buddha-nature attributed by the Tibetans to Maitreya, the future Buddha. To realize our Buddha-nature is to gain enlightenment and achieve awareness of the true nature of reality, or Tathatā.

• The Uttaratantra; A Treatise on Buddha-Essence
by Thrangu Rinpoche
Link: http://amzn.com/1877294292 )

From the Uttaratantra by Maitreya, a treatise on Buddha-Essence -

The Sangha - The Third Vajra Point - The Salutation

I bow down to those whose mind is no longer obscured,

the deeply realized who have jnana's perception,

awareness of the total purity present in limitless beings.

As the true nature of mind is lucid clarity,

they see the defilements to be without essence

and truly realize ultimate no-self -- 

peace within all beings. Thus they know

the all-pervading presence of perfect Buddhahood

in each and every one of them.

This salutation to the enlightened Sangha also reveals what might be called the web-like nature of universal love, "truly realize ultimate no-self peace within all beings." It is wonderful how the text provides a definition of unconditional love.

I have studied the nature of mind, consciousness, compassion, love and emptiness since I was a teenager. However, my milestone achievement was when I took the empowerment for the Progressive Stages of Mediation on Emptiness from Khenpo Tsultrum Gyamtso Rinpoche at KTD Monastery in Woodstock, NY. This is in my experience the most profound path of wisdom leading directly to peace, love, happiness and enlightenment.

• Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness 
  by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
  (Link: http://amzn.com/1877294012) 

In this teaching Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche presents the main schools of Buddhist philosophy with their progressively more subtle and refined views of reality. However, it is not just a teaching on the view but a presentation providing the student the means to realize it through meditation practice. The idea of a series of meditation practices on a particular aspect of the Buddha's teachings is that by beginning with one's first rather coarse commonsense understanding, one progresses through increasingly subtle and more refined stages until one arrives at complete and perfect understanding. Each stage in the process prepares the mind for the next in so far as each step is fully integrated into one's understanding through the meditation process.

Here is another book that is worthy of investigation, but only for the truly dedicated:

• Three Texts on Consciousness Only
  by Vasubandhu
  (Link: http://amzn.com/1886439044)

The Three Texts on Consciousness Only is a commentary on the Indian Buddhist monk Vasubandhu's Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā (Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only) and gives an exposition of the Yogācāra (Mind-Only) school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā was composed in the 4th century CE and became one of the core texts for the Yogācāra school.

In Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness Stage 5, Emptiness-Of-Other (Shengtong Approach) is the same as the Yogacara Mind-Only school as explained in Three Texts on Consciousness Only. In this way, a study of both texts take the seeker on a deep dive into the heart of the Buddhist understanding of the nature of consciousness and the nature of reality.

Please keep in mind that ultimately, it is our attainment of a direct experience of emptiness through the diligent practice of meditation that provides us with jnana's perception. One must put down the books and spend regular intervals of time in meditation to gain progress.

Here is an excerpt from Three Texts on Consciousness Only, Chapter 1: Demonstration of Consciousness Only.

... the ultimate reality that is revealed by emptiness (sunyata)

and absence of self exists, does not exist, both exists and does not

exist, and neither exists nor does not exist. It demolishes the processes

of thought and language and is neither the same as dharmas,

nor different from them, etc. It is the true principle of dharmas,

hence it is called the "true nature of dharmas." It is called "space"

because it is free of all impediments. It is called "cessation resulting

from discrimination" because through the power of discrimination

it ends various impurities and one understands thoroughly.

Or, as a result of being revealed by the absence of conditions, it is

called "cessation resulting from the absence of conditions." Feelings

of pleasure and pain are removed, so it is called "immovable."

It is called "cessation of thought and feeling" (samjna-vedita-nirodha)

because thought and feeling are not active. These five unconditioned

dharmas are provisionally established on the basis of ultimate reality.

But "ultimate reality" itself is merely a provisionally granted name.

To refute the idea that it does not exist, it is said to exist.

To refute the idea that it does exist, it is said to be empty.

But it must not be thought to be empty and illusory, so it is

said to be real. Because this principle is not false or erroneous, it is

said to be the ultimate nature of everything. It is also called the 

"ultimate nature of everything" because it is not the same as the

real, eternal dharma called "ultimate nature of everything" apart

from form, mind, etc., of other schools. Thus none of the above

unconditioned dharmas really exists.

Dharmas grasped by non-Buddhist schools and other schools

of Buddhism do not really exist apart from mind and mental

activities, because they are grasped in the same way that mind and

mental activities are grasped by mind itself. The apprehension

that grasps them does not have them as objects, because it grasps,

like the apprehension that takes as an object this same intellect.

Also, because mind and its activities arise in mutual dependence,

they do not really exist, just as magical illusions do not. In order to

refute the false attachment to a really existing realm exterior to

mind and its activities, we teach that there is nothing but

consciousness (vijñaptimātratā). But if one believes that consciousness

only really exists, this is no different from attachment to external

objects, and it remains attachment to dharmas.

This is one page from this 450 page book. Definitely not light reading, however from this one page you can perhaps obtain a glimpse of jnana's perception of the true nature of reality, dharmatā, suchness, thusness, or Tathatā.

Thusly and Lovingly,

http://www.Karmatetra.com 

The Black Lotus Tibetan Double-Terminated Smoky Enhydro Quartz Generator Wand

This is a fun story with magical elements. It is one of my longer blog posts, but I hope you enjoy it.

I had been feeling the need to get out for a hike in the mountains. So we drove to the Jemez Mountains last Saturday, September 21, 2013. This story starts off with a hike around Battleship Rock chasing purple dragonflys.

Of course, I took my camera with me. We hiked along the bank of a stream under the cover of a dense pine forest. It seems that everywhere I looked there was a magical visual waiting to be captured. But it was the purple dragonflys that really caught my eye.

I first caught a twinkle of metallic purple flash in a sunny spot along the bank. Then I saw more purple flashes. I discovered the purple flashes were caused by dragonflys playing around the stream. I pursued them with my macro lens trying to get a close-up photo of these magical beings.

It took several attempts to get close enough and have the dragonfly not fly away. My macro lens finally succeeded in capturing a dragonfly as it settled down on top of a moss covered rock in the sun.

After the hike we had lunch at the Los Ojos Restaurant & Saloon. Then we strolled through Jemez Springs and visited the shops. One of the shops had a few crystals for sale, but nothing that really excited me. The store owner said that I should talk to John who is selling crystals on the side of the road. 

I found a collection of crystals spread out on some fold-up tables in front of a truck with a camper shell. John came out of his camper, stood behind his crystals and said hello. I told John I was looking for a healing crystal. 

This is where the story gets a little weird. Without looking down at the table his right hand seemed to move of its own accord. John's wandering hand took hold of a crystal before I could finish my sentence. John picked up the crystal and held it like a dear pet. All this time John was looking directly at me.

Somehow I had the feeling that this crystal had chosen me. It was if the crystal had commanded John's hand to bring it forth. John didn't even seem to notice that he had picked it up. He began to talk about his collection of Tibetan enhydro crystals and his trusted source for the crystals. All the while John was talking about his collection, he was holding this stunning double-terminated smokey quartz crystal.

John offered to bring out some flats of crystals to show me. I asked him, "What about the crystal in your hand?" John gave me the crystal. As soon as I held the crystal I knew it was perfect for me.

This photo shows me holding the crystal. You can see the size and shape in my hand. I have not seen another double-terminated quartz that is so perfectly sized and well-balanced. This is completely natural, not polished. I found a stone like this on eBay for $150, but I paid John $25. You may also see a black spherical inclusion just right of the center of the crystal, next to my ring finger.

This next photo shows a closeup view of the unique, black, spherical inclusion. I do not know what it is composed of, but it is roughly spherical in shape and centered within the body. It is surrounded by a halo of whitish quartz. 

Back home I meditated with the crystal holding it and bathing it in incense to cleanse it. While meditating and peering into the crystal the name Black Lotus came to me. The black spherical inclusion appeared to me like a Black Lotus rising up from the murky waters into the clear light, sending out rays of pure white healing light. 

The term "Black Lotus" was completely unknown to me before this name appeared in my mind during meditation with the crystal. I have never imagined or even read about a Black Lotus prior to this vision. But the name stuck in my mind and I decided that the crystal should be called the Black Lotus.

After meditation I did some research to see if a Black Lotus exists elsewhere. It turns out that Black Lotus has several interesting meanings. 

I grow lotus flowers in a small pond in my backyard so I am quite familiar with many different types of lotus, but I never came across a Black Lotus in any of my readings. After having the vision of a Black Lotus while peering into the crystal, of course I had to Google it. Turns out that the Black Lotus is a very special metaphysical entity.

According to Wikipedia, Black lotus may refer to:

People

• Black Lotus, a nickname of ISKCON spiritual leader Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and the title of his biography

Music

• Black Lotus, a demo album of the Sonic Syndicate
• Black Lotus Records, an independent record label based in Greece

Fiction

• Black lotus, a narcotic flower in the fantasy world of Conan the Barbarian as described in Red Nails
• Black Lotus, a member of the Marvel Universe group the Femizons
• *Black Lotus, the most valuable Magic: The Gathering (MTG) card ever to be released, one of the Power Nine
• Black Lotus, a Chinese criminal syndicate from the Sherlock episode "The Blind Banker"
• Black Lotus, a character in Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour

*Curiosity got the best of me and I had to search for Black Lotus, the most valuable Magic: The Gathering (MTG) card ever to be released. I found it currently for sale on eBay for $100,000 !! See http://r.ebay.com/3TrOJK

MTG MAGIC THE GATHERING BETA BLACK LOTUS BGS 10 > THE HIGHEST GRADED!

Price: US $100,000.00

This Is The Single Highest Graded Black Lotus In Existence ….. The Only BGS-10.

It Cannot Be Under-Estimated How Difficult It Is For A Card To Achieve This High Of A Grade. 

$100,000 Seem Extravagant?  Perhaps, But Perhaps Not.

Let's Look At Some Of The Top Items For Other Key Collectibles:

Comics:

Action Comics #1 - The highest existing copy sold for  $2,161,000 !!! 

Amazing Fantasy #15 (1st appearance of Spider-man) a 9.4 sold for $240,000. But, the HIGHEST graded 9.6 just sold for a whopping $1,100,000 !!

Incredible Hulk #181 (1st Wolverine)  9.8 goes for around $17,000. But, the only 9.9 in existance just sold for $150,000 !!!

Baseball Cards:

Honus Wagner Rookie - The Highest Existing Copy Sold For Well Over $1 Million Dollars

Okay, that was a big diversion looking into references to Black Lotus and the Black Lotus playing card worth $100,000. However, it does demonstrate the power of a metaphor. A visual metaphor may be so powerful that it can gather importance and gain the attributions of significant wealth in the mundane world. 

The Black Lotus metaphor has definitely impacted me in extraordinary and unforeseen ways. My intuition tuned into this metaphor and channeled a powerful Black Lotus entity living in this crystal.

Now more about this wonderful crystal.

Tibetan Double-Terminated Smoky Enhydro Quartz Generator Wand

Enhydro means "water within" and can apply to minerals other than quartz. Other names: Bubble Quartz

Features of my crystal:

This is a Generator Crystal, having six evenly spaced top faces - in both ends. It is naturally terminated all around, meaning that is has not been cut or polished in any way, this is exactly as nature made it.

The crystal has some Rainbow Irises. These are different from rainbow veils which were caused by an impact to the crystal and are obvious and easily seen. Rainbow Irises were created when oils or gasses became trapped inside the crystal as it grew, and they are much harder to spot. They often are hidden and need play of light to reveal them, even change in temperatures may cause them to appear or disappear.

There are several Keys on this crystal (Keys are where other small crystals were attached to this crystal). The rough looking Key is not a damaged area, it simply is a rough surfaced Key, instead of one having smooth walls, like they usually have. The side walls have faint striations (side to side lines), etchings, and steps.

There is a triangular indent on the flat of a broad face. It equidistant from the center of the crystal opposite the Black Lotus. This signifies this is a Recordkeeper Crystal. 

The Metaphysical Meanings Of The Features Of This Crystal

Quartz: Quartz is used the world over due to the fact that it one of the most amazing substances on the planet. All peoples have found out that - it works! Quartz is believed to: Bring health, good fortune, and prosperity. Extensive use in meditation and spiritual development. Enhances instincts, imagination, dream perception and telepathy. Balances emotions. Brings love and harmony. Encourages perseverance and patience. Imparts psychic vision and illumination. Aids in concentration, meeting and conquering challenges. Receives, activates, stores, transmits, and amplifies energy. Stimulates thought forms. Attracts like qualities, enables one to receive. Keeps brother and journey safe. Eases melancholy. Provides restful sleep.

Enhydro crystal: Helps bring forth the Great Masters. Heightens spiritual awareness. Bestows greater wisdom and abundance. Aids in meditation. Calms nerves. Provides safe astral travel. Restores energy and physical balance. Aids in healing work.

Metaphysical uses for Enhydro Quartz include:

• Bringing an energy of "I know I can" to the user.
  
• Connecting friends and companions.
• Allowing one to flow with changes.
• Increasing a sense of empathy and understanding.
  
• Inspiring spiritual receptivity.

A Generator Crystal: has six evenly spaced top faces. Sometimes also called a Merlin Crystal. It is believed to generate, ampligy, store, and transmit energy. Used as a connector between members of a group and a high powered transmitter amongst them.

Key Crystal: The key is where another crystal was attached to this crystal. It is believed that the Key crystal can be used to unlock the doors to healing. Access hidden information and help answer difficult questions and, solve problems.

Rainbow Crystal: is believed that Rainbow Crystals create the closest manifestation of Pure White Light that can be witnessed on the Physical Plane. They are used in meditation to escort us into the realm of the Pure White Light.

Recordkeeper Crystal: has pyramid-shaped or triangular shaped natural formations that are either engraved into or raised on a Crystal's face/s. Often you need to search for the Recordkeepers by looking at the Crystal in a bright light an viewing it from varying angles. It is believed that the Recordkeeper Crystal is one the most Sacred Crystals because it holds the Wisdom and Knowledge of the Universe.This ancient Knowledge is readily made available for a person, who has an open mind and a pure heart, and is properly attuned to a Recordkeeper Crystal. Recordkeepers are believed to contain profound secrets and esoteric knowledge of the Higher Awareness.

Clarity: The first impression of quality or value of natural crystal is usually judged by the clarity. The clarity ranges from milky white to glass clear that sparkles like a cut diamond. Most crystal is milky white at the base and gradually clears to the tip. The milky white crystal is said to represent the yin or feminine qualities of love, communication, negotiation and receptivity. The clear crystal represents the yang or masculine qualities of power, force, strength and creativity. A crystal with both is believed to promote a balance of the masculine and feminine enegy on both physical and mental levels. Large, water-clear crystal points with smooth sides are quite rare and consequently, more valuable.

Smokey Quartz Crystal: Brings good luck. Repels Evil Eye. Activates survival instinct. Helps overcome obstacles. Provides better understanding and increased intuition for meeting challenges and responsibilities. Brings confidence, creativity, abundance, and wealth. Encourages joy in living, personal pride, and kindness. Stimulates dream awareness. Attracts astral forces and aids access to astral plane. Promotes clairvoyance. Facilitates mental clarity. Keeps friend safe. Eases depression. Brings relaxation, has mild sedative effect. Smokey quartz has great healing properties.