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. 

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 

Wearing the Sun Mask: Giving and Receiving Meditation

A friend recently shared with me difficulties with working in the family business. It felt futile to try to make improvements in order to achieve prosperity. The chaotic family dynamics present  a seemingly insurmountable challenge. How is it possible to attain the focus required to rise above the situation? The tendency to fall into negative patterns constantly inhibits the ability to move forward and achieve the dream of prosperity.

The quest for prosperity is fickle even under the best circumstances. Sometimes it appears very possible, other times it seems impossible. Accepting the chaos is not easy. Even after achieving acceptance, learning how to effectively live within the chaos is more difficult still.

This story reminded me of the "Theater of the Absurd", the existentialist plays and poetry. Have you read some of the plays by Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett and Jean-Paul Sartre? The genre embraces tragic (but somehow comical) studies of characters stuck in chaotic life situations; stuck in samsara. The play "No Exit" epitomizes the condition of suffering. 

The satirists do not provide the instruction on how to exit chaos. It is Buddhism that teaches us that the only escape from samsara is enlightenment.

When we are stuck in chaotic circumstances we feel weighed down by the gravity of our situation. Gravity is all embracing. It is a type of nostalgia for becoming spherical; returning to the womb. But we do not see it as spherical, we perceive it as horizontal. Life is two-dimensional. We are flatlanders and cannot see beyond the horizon.

Succumbing to gravity is a condition of cycling, orbiting and localization. We can think of it as being stuck in a pattern of cyclic existence. The Buddhists call this samsara. We feel as if there is movement, and there is, but there is a lot of going around in circles. We cannot escape from the surface.

Escaping gravity is to be radiant and expand beyond the surface of our situation. It is not easy to rise above and escape the pull of flatland thinking. We must look to the heavens. Our intention must be to focus upward and outward from the surface.

Bucky Fuller said, "Horizontal is to die, vertical is to live."

Rising above the horizontal gravitation-ally challenged existence requires building up a great deal of potential energy. Like a rocket that requires a tremendous fuel supply to reach escape velocity, we must find a source of energy and fuel ourselves for this great vertical journey. 

So we meditate and gather our strength and store up the fuel in our tanks. We do nothing other than sit and breathe; watching our breath go in and out.

Meditation is a subversive method of planning our escape. I say "subversive" in a good way. We subvert our tendency to move sideways, scuttling around the surface like a nervous crab. Instead, we connect with the emptiness of our efforts to find prosperity in this flatland, within samsara. Once we realize the truth of this emptiness we can sit perfectly still and put our mind at rest, abandoning our quest for prosperity.

What, did I say? Abandon our quest for prosperity? This is indeed a subversive thought. However, there is great joy in abandoning prosperity. Through meditation we embrace the simple, profound truth of finding ultimate meaning in the simple act of sitting up straight, breathing in and out. The joy and boundless energy of the cosmos washes over us. We are free of gravity and become a source of radiant energy ourselves. Focused on the single task of breathing in and out we discover an infinite store of radiant energy.

This is the essence of the meditation practice of "Tonglen", the Tibetan Buddhist practice of "Giving and Receiving". We breath in and receive the suffering of all beings trapped in samsara. We breath out and transmit radiant joy and happiness to all beings with the intent to alleviate their suffering. 

Breath in and feel the gravity of all beings' situation. Use the gravity to pull in all the suffering of all beings into a critical mass in the center of your heart. Like our Sun pulls in all surrounding matter and fuses the very atoms together releasing profound life-giving radiant energy, we convert this mass of suffering into boundless joy and radiate positive energy throughout the surrounding universe.

Sun mask sculpture, "Tamanuitera" by James Webster,
a Maori multimedia artist working with wood sculpture,
stone, bone, painting and mural creations.
He comments that his work is
"Art as a passion in life and a journey of discovery."
Pasted from <http://www.carving.co.nz/webster.php> 

We become a living-breathing Sun God. We put on the Sun Mask and shine our light throughout the world. The Sun is the ultimate victor over gravity, using gravity to fuse cold, dark, life-less matter into radiant life-giving energy, the source of fuel for all life in the cosmos. 

Would you like to know how the Sun performs this miracle of giving and receiving? Breath in and breath out, give and receive.

Store Consciousness, Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu and Triacon

This is a brief talk about Store Consciousness. 

Vasubandhu was the founder of the Yogacara (Mind Only) school of Buddhism.  It is Vasubandhu that introduced the concept of Store Consciousness. He was a brilliant logician and philosopher. He was the author of many profound teachings. 

Vasubandhu (image from Wikipedia)

Vasubandhu was the author of a wonderful, short document which we refer to as The Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu (Tri sikavijñaptikarika ). A version of this document which is translated by the famous modern-day Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh can be found at: http://pvom.org/  This is the Plum Village Online Monastery website, which is founded by Thich Nhat Hanh. 

I am quite thrilled about finding The Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu translated by Thich Nhat Hanh online. Turns out that there are very few Buddhist teachings that include the number thirty (30).  I know this because I have searched extensively.  I performed this search because of my fascination with the Triacon which has thirty (30) faces!  Now I can make a Triacon that has each individual verse of the The Thirty Verses of Vasubandhu inscribed on each face of the Triacon.

Thirty Transcendent Virtues
by Thomas J. Greenbaum
Fused glass Triacontahedron

Also, check out the video: http://vimeo.com/29003349 This is the third Dharma talk offered by Thich Nhat Hanh in the Together We Are One Retreat at Deer Park Monastery on the North American Tour, given on Friday, September 9th, 2011. Thich Nhat Hanh talks about store consciousness and mind consciousness, and specifically how they relate to the Four Noble Truths: 1) suffering, 2) the making of suffering, 3) it is possible to transform suffering into happiness, 4) the path to happiness. It is a long video, but at about 33 minutes Thich Nhat Hanh talks specifically about Store Consciousness.

Here is additional information on Store Consciousness (from Wikipedia):

Eighth consciousness : "store consciousness" (Tibetan: kun-gzhi rnam-shes; Sanskrit: ālāyavijñāna); " The seed consciousness (bi^ja-vijn~a^na); "the consciousness which is the basis of the other seven. The seven prior consciousnesses are based and founded upon the eighth. It is the aggregate which administers and yields rebirth; this idea may in some respects be compared to the usage of the word "citta" in the agamas; see below. In the early texts the sankhara-khandha plays some of the roles ascribed to the store-house consciousness by later Yogacara thinkers.

Store-house consciousness accumulates all potential energy for the aggregate of the 'bodymind' (Sanskrit: namarupa), the mental (nama) and physical (rupa) manifestation of one's existence, and supplies the substance to all existences. It also receives impressions from all functions of the other consciousnesses and retains them as potential energy for their further manifestations and activities. Since it serves as the basis for the production of the other seven consciousnesses (called the "evolving" or "transforming" consciousnesses), it is also known as the base consciousness (mūla-vijñāna) or causal consciousness. Since it serves as

the container for all experiential impressions (termed metaphorically as bija or "seeds"), it is also called the seed consciousness or container consciousness.

It is my wish that the reader research this topic thoroughly and contemplate these philosophical concepts during meditation. My experience is that great benefits will result.

Ground of Reality

When we are grounded and in touch with the Ground of Reality we are not afflicted by ego, we are present here and now, we have faith in an absolute truth which is beyond our mental concepts, and we feel comforted by a connection to all beings and all energy events in Universe. This magnificent connectivity is awe-inspiring yet it feels firm beneath our feet.

When we are in touch with the Ground of Reality we are fearless when confronting illness, hardship, suffering and the attack of evil forces. We understand that the laws of Universe (Dharma) and the law of karma (cause and effect) is our ever present refuge.

The phrase "Ground of Reality" is my own, but I equate it to the Mahayana Buddhist concept of Dharmadhātu.

From Wikipedia:

In Mahayana Buddhism, Dharmadhātu means "realm of phenomena", "realm of Truth" and of the noumenon, where Tathata (Reality "as-it-is"), emptiness, dependent co-arising and the unconditioned, uncreated, perfect and eternal Buddha are one.

Here is a passage from A DIRECT PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, being a commentary on the Mahayana teaching of THE SEVEN POINTS OF MIND TRAINING:

1. You don't need to flee adverse circumstances, since they perform the function of a spiritual friend. Through relying on adverse conditions, you can gather accumulations, remove obscurations, remember the holy Dharma, strengthen realization, and so on.
2. There is no need to be frightened of the magical displays of gods and demons, or the injury devils may inflict, since, because they assist you to increase your devotion and constructive activity, they are emanations of your guru or Buddha.
3. Since previous evil karma will affect you as you practice the holy Dharma, various physical diseases and illness will occur again and again. Not just when you're really ill, but even when you have only a slight affliction such as a headache, meditate joyfully as has been said again and again in the Sutras, that all your unskillful acts and obscurations accumulated over beginning-less time are being removed and are being swept away as if by a broom.
4. When you're suffering, there is no need to be depressed, since, when you look at the essence of sorrow, it arises as emptiness. however much suffering there is then enriches the treasury of Dharmadhātu. If all these occur, it is good; it is sufficient to carry them as aids for application. This last is an instruction not to abandon the four Dharmas for ever-present emotions, but to apply them.

This passage is very powerful and it ties in nicely with our previous discussion of Buddhist Medicine.

Buddhist Medicine

I was asked, "What health system arises from Buddhism. Other than Qi Kung and maybe Tai Qi.  Do you know?"

Good question, but there is no single answer. Just as the practice and philosophy of Buddhism itself evolved over time and was influenced by the culture of the people who adopted the practices, there is no single Buddhist medical practice.

For example, check out the excellent Wikipedia article on Traditional Tibetan medicine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Tibetan_medicine  

Regardless of the culture, Buddhist medical practice is based on the belief that all illness ultimately results from the three poisons of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion. These three poisons are the primary causes that keep sentient beings trapped in samsara.

The root poison is ignorance. From ignorance, attachment and aversion arise. Not knowing the real nature of phenomena, we are driven to generate desire for what we like and hatred for what we do not like and for what blocks our desires.

The Buddhist idea of ignorance is equivalent to the identification of a self as being separate from everything else. It consists of the belief that there is an "I" that is not part of anything else.

Therefore, the cure for all disease, the antidote to three poisons of the mind, and the ultimate cause for happiness is to dispel the belief in an independently existing self. This is referred to as anattā or anātman, the notion of "not-self." The Buddha taught that all things perceived by the senses (including the mental sense) are not really "I" or "mine," and for this reason one should not cling to them.

Furthermore, there are some very good Buddhist teachings regarding antidotes for what ails us. Personally, my favorite is the THE SEVEN POINTS OF MIND TRAINING or Lojong. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motivations and attitudes. There are 7 Points to Lojong, which consist of the 59 Slogans. The root text of the mind training practice are designed as a set of antidotes to undesired mental habits that cause suffering.

They Lojong methods expand one's viewpoint towards absolute bodhicitta (enlightened mind), such as "Find the consciousness you had before you were born." and "Treat everything you perceive as a dream.", and methods for relating to the world in a more constructive way with relative bodhicitta, such as "Be grateful to everyone." and "When everything goes wrong, treat disaster as a way to wake up."

You may find a listing of the  7 Points of Mind Training root text at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_training#Root_text

Some Notable Ayn Rand Quotes

I heard the following quote on a recent episode of Criminal Minds television show. I am a big fan of this TV show and a much bigger fan of Ayn Rand. I read Ayn Rands' The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged in college; both books had a big impact on me. It has been a while since I thought about Ayn Rand and so I felt a compulsion to record this excellent quote.

“Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone.”

The last two sentences of the quote were not mentioned in the Criminal Minds episode. Of course, the FBI agents would not have much to do if they followed the last bit of advice.
My challenge is to "leave them alone" as Ayn Rand says. Definitely a tough one for me. I am a student of reason and find it frustrating when I encounter someone who denies reason. It is almost a feeling of religious zealotry that grips me. I feel the need to convert the person to a belief in reason. This is especially difficult for me in dealing with my father who I feel often denies reason for the sole purpose of winnning an argument.

“The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it.”

Then we come to this quote about truth and the persons who seek it. This tempers my need to convert people to the belief in reason because it is also the path of the truth seeker. Who am I to force someone on the path to seek truth? Truth can only be found by following reason. Therefore, someone who denies reason has no interest in the truth. Do you agree?

What about religious truth? Can this be found using reason? The Buddhists believe this. The seeker applies intellect, logic and reason to the path of truth in order to test all assumptions and relative truths. It is only after exhausting these tools that we come to the end of the path and find the absolute truth which is beyond logic and reason.

Teyata Om Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sohm Gate Bodhi Swaha

This is the great mantra from the "Heart Sutra" also known as the Prajnaparamita Sutra. It means Beyond, Beyond, The Great Beyond, Beyond That Beyond, Awaken, Rejoice!

Ayn Rand reminds us that reason is the source of all great creative acts. Can we include the "highest religious abstraction" among the artifacts of our reason as she states? Some may have a problem with this. I believe this is true, because language itself is a product of reason.

“From the smallest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from one attribute of man -- the function of his reasoning mind.”

The Buddha says that words [religious abstraction] are but fingers pointing at the moon. They are not the moon itself. The intent is to look at the moon and not focus on the fingers. In this way, the religious abstraction, an artifact of reason, can point to the absolute truth beyond the reasoning mind.

“A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others”

Which brings us to creative compassion, or compassionate creativity. This is the foundation of Ayn Rand's philosophy. The reasoning mind, with its tremendous power to create is motivated by compassion. A wonderful, beautiful and hopeful thought indeed. Something that is needed especially in troubling times when world finance is controlled not by compassionate creative people, but by destructive, anti-creative scammers (anti-truth seekers) motivated by greed.