Ted Stevens' Crash

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About 2 ½ years ago, I went in for an eye exam.
As I was preparing to leave, I was told that the time had come
for me to start wearing bifocals.
I felt that at last old age had pounced upon my like a hungry panther.

It felt like the earth was opening up to swallow me,
such was the flavor of this particular reminder
of this body’s impermanence.

Impermanence is NOT some difficult concept that requires
a PhD. in advanced metaphysics.

With the change of every season,
we see the impermanence of the year.
With the waxing and waning of the moon,
we see the impermanence of the month.

With the rising and setting of the sun,
we see the impermanence of the day.
And with the swelling and sinking of our chest
we see the impermanence of this moment.

And yet we all tend to feel we will live forever.
Did Ted Stevens know that air plane ride, two days ago,
would be his last?




Perhaps that is why it is written:

“Ever changing one and all,
there is nothing permanent to grasp.”

And yet there is something deep in our heart
that resists the natural impermanence that surrounds us.
Something, deep, visceral and quite petulant.

What are some of the ways that an
empowered realization of the temporary nature of every suffering
could be the key to letting-go of each one?


The Wednesday series of webinars begins in just 3 weeks.

May you and yours be

happy and healthy!

Om Mani Padme Hum,

Lama Jigme Gyatso: Rime Manipa Tantrika

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Sunday's Recommended Reading

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From Dilgo Khyentse's
"The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones,"
lets read from the Commentary on pg. 68-69 and
let's also read from the root text on page 187.






In today's selection from Dilgo Khyentse's commentary we can read:

"As the Ka-dam-pa masters used to say,

'The only good thing about wrongdoing
is that is can be purified.'

Negative actions are compounded phenomena,
so they must be impermanent;
therefore, as the Buddha said,
there can be NO fault so serious
that it cannot be purified by the four powers."

From the Dalai Lama's
"The Path to Enlightenment,"
lets read page 90-91 and
let's also read from the biography of
the 3rd Dalai Lama on page 221.





In today's selection the 14th Dalai Lama explains:

"Thus, in the 'Three Roots' death meditation,

#1 - we Contemplate that death is certain and
Resolve to practice Dhar-ma;

#2 - we Contemplate the uncertainty of the time of death and
resolve to practice immediately; and

#3 - we Contemplate that only Dhar-ma wisdom is
of value at that time and
resolve to practice Dhar-ma purely."


The easiest way to contact me is at:
http://www.FaceBook.com/LamaJigme

In today's exploration of
the " Intermediate Collection of Practices "
we could consider:


Oh La-ma Chen-re-zig, “I” confess and regret my
negativities of body, speech and mind as well as
resolve to err NO more;

may “I” now receive the complete purification of
“my” every Karmic-negativity and it’s tendencies:
Om Ma-ni Pad-me Hum!



I invite you to share your feelings and insights with
my other students at: Buddha's Quick Path


Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso: Rime Manipa Tantrika


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Saturday's Recommended Reading

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From Dilgo Khyentse's
"The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones,"
lets read from the Commentary on pg. 64-65 and
let's also read from the root text on page 183.





In today's selection from Dilgo Khyentse's commentary we can read:

"How does one start to
generate aspiration Bo-dhi-chit-ta,
the feeling of compassion for all beings that
inspires in us the wish to attain enlightenment
for THEIR sake?

First, take Chen-re-zig as a witness of
your determination to attain realization in
order to benefit others.

Next, try to overcome the attitude of
only wanting to help those close to
you while rejecting the needs of
people you dislike.

This becomes possible when you
realize that, in all your infinite previous
existences, every being, without exception,
must have been your mother or father
at least once.

Each one of these beings,
down to the smallest insect,
wants only to be happy and NOT to suffer;
but what none of them know is that

suffering is caused by negative actions and
happiness is generated by a virtuous mind.

When you think about all those beings who
are sinking hopelessly in suffering like
blind people lost in a vast desert,
you can NOT help but feel
great compassion for them all."


From the Dalai Lama's
"The Path to Enlightenment,"
lets read page 87 and
let's also read from the biography of
the 3rd Dalai Lama on page 219.





In today's selection the 14th Dalai Lama explains:

"When we contemplate death and
the impermanence of life,
our minds automatically begin to
take an interest in spiritual achievements,

just as an ordinary person becomes apprehensive
upon seeing the corpse of a friend.

Meditation upon impermanence and
death is very useful,
for it cuts off attraction toward
transient and meaningless activities,

and causes the mind to turn
towards Dharma."


The easiest way to contact me is at:
http://www.FaceBook.com/LamaJigme





In today's exploration of
the " Beginning Collection of Practices "
we could consider:


If the First "I" is Inscription, and
the Second "I" is Inquisition then
the Third "I" is Invocation.

You see there are two ways of doing anything:
humanistically or spiritually.
We can rely upon our limited insight or
the Buddha of compassion's infinite wisdom.

We can lean upon our petty sentimentality or
Chen-re-zig's infinite love.
We can implement what strength we seem to posses or
A-va-lo-ki-te-shva-ra's infinite power.

Do you like "Show me" jokes?
I love 'em.
I'm reminded of one that goes...

"You show me a 'self-made-man' and
I'll show you the Frankenstein monster!"

That is why we,
of the "Rime Manipa Tantrikas"
rely upon:

#1 Contemplative notation,
#2 Power-questions and
#3 Invocations of the Buddha of Compassion
either by name or mantra.

What about the Fourth "I"?
That will wait until another lesson.



I invite you to share your feelings and insights with
my other students at: Buddha's Quick Path


Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso: Rime Manipa Tantrika


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Scuba Adventures

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Tips on Meditation and the Spiritual path - idea #156
from your Buddhism expert



Scuba Adventures

Have you heard that 49 year old, Markus Groh, a
tourist from Vienna, was attacked by Sharks? When
in Florida, he participated in a caged dive with
the outfit known as “Scuba Adventures.”

All was going quite well.
• The underwater tourists were in their
Shark Cage,
• the water was “chummed” with fish blood,
as well as fish parts,
• and consequently, the sharks were present.

Yep, all was well, until Markus jumped OUT of the shark
proof safety cage. He was attacked and later died of his
injuries. But Why?

Why would someone swim out of a perfectly good shark
cage and willingly approach sharks that are in the
grip of feeding frenzy? In all the excitement is can
be easy to forget our own mortality and vulnerability.
Perhaps that is why Buddha taught that if you were
to observe the gound in a forest, the deepest
impressions would be those of the elephant and
that likewise of all the contemplations we can
consider, the ones that effects us the most
profoundly are those concerning the inevitability
of our own death and impermanence.

Why contemplate death? Does Buddha want us to be
timid, frightened or maudlin? Nope! But the
enlightened one recognized the power of
impermanence to snap us out of the “highway
hypnosis” that we sometimes find ourselves caught in.

I sincerely wish that when the late Markus Groh
found himself swept up on the emotional momentum of
excitement and adventure he would have taken a
moment to recall the impermanence and consequential
NON-grasp-ability of:
• the circumstance,
• the excitement
• and the desire to “up the stakes”.

Yes, contemplating death, impermanence and
NON-grasp-ability are good ways to help us change
the way we feel and snap us back into the present
moment. But there is an even easier process.

Use the precise Words, Gestures and Invocations in
“Harnessing the Power of the Bowing Prayer” and
you’ll increase your experience of
physical calmness, energetic centeredness and
mental resourcefulness –
http://www.lamajigme.com/Change-90.html

But hurry, because this special offer for
“Harnessing the Power of the Bowing Prayer”
will be over in just 3 days.


Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika



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