KARMA's topics - tribe.net

creating a self discovery interactive art project on my tribe page

2007-04-30T11:39:07Z

I am creating an interactive art project on my tribe page
to help explore the human spirit
I make an piece of art and then post a question
and the comments inspire the next piece of art and question

comments greatly inspire the projects direction
so please hop on over to my tribe page
and see if this art project will provide anything of value to you

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

KARMA

2007-03-15T18:29:28Z

"Karma comes around two time, so you better be good!" lol

posted in KARMA - 2 replies

Am I cursed?

2007-02-08T09:42:41Z

I refused a life changing decision and now since then it seems all I have is bad luck and bad karma. When doesit end and does my sorrow lead me back to REDEMPTION?

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

When does it end?

2007-01-14T14:01:31Z

OK, I have bad stuff -- was really a thoughtless immature jerk in my early life -- crimes of soul and heart - using, abusing, wasting the life of others.

Then I grew, gave allot, saved allot, helped others, worked hard to do a little good.

But the evil done, cannot be undone. Those whose lives I stole, whose paths I bent, whose branches I broke, are now in new directions.

When I think of what I was, I see an immature soul who knew no better, and realize that as souls coming into this life we are not provided with the answers, we must learn them/ earn them.

So is the regret I feel, the pain in recognition of my own evil the debt I must pay? Or will I burn in the next life for the lessons learned in this?

posted in KARMA - 4 replies

Tibetan Yogas of Dream & Sleep - Maui - Jan 25-27, 2007

2006-12-28T06:06:30Z

Free Public Talk
Thursday, January 25, 2007 6:00 PM
Location: Jan 25 Kahului Borders Maui

3-Day Workshop
Jan 26-28 Ko`lea`lea Retreat Center
1120 Kaupakalua Road, Haiku, Maui, Hawaii
Haiku, Maui, Hawaii 96708 view map

More Info: www.DreamYogaMaui.com

"We spend a third of our life sleeping. No matter what we do, however virtuous or non-virtuous our activities, whether we are murderers or saints, monks or ibertines, every day ends the same. We shut our eyes and dissolve into darkness,. We do so fearlessly, even as everything we know as "me" disappears. After a brief period, images arise and our sense of self arises with them. We exist again in the apparently limitless world of dream. Every night we participate in these most profound mysteries, moving from one dimension of experience to another, losing our sense of self and finding it again, and yet we take it all for granted. We wake in the morning and continue in "real" life, but in a sense we are still asleep and dreaming. The teachings tell us tha twe can continue in this deluded, dreamy state, day and night, or wake up to the truth."

If we cannot carry our practice into sleep, if we lose ourselves every night, what chance do we have to be aware when death comes? Look to your experience in dreams to know how you will fare in death. Look to your experience in sleep to discover whether or not you are truly awake.

In order to fully travel the path to enlightenment, all of life must be recognized and engaged as spiritual opportunity. Tibetan yoga has, from ancient times to the present, used the dream and sleep states both as aides to the path and as complete paths in themselves. During this teaching, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will explain the dream yoga and give instruction and transmission for its practice.

Dream yoga is not only a practice to be done in the dream state. Its understanding and methods work with all moments of life, waking and sleeping. Preliminary practices are engaged to bring greater awareness to each moment and to turn the practitioner's mind from engagement in dualistic preoccupations to integration with the boundless view of the non-dual path. Concentration practice steadies the mind, and yogic practices done during waking periods in the night carry awareness into the sleep state. Eventually the practitioner develops the capacity for lucid dreaming--knowing during the dream that one is in a dream. Once lucidity is stabilized, the dream state is used for tantric practice, for healing, for the development of insight, and finally for the direct penetration into the truth that underlies both the dreams of night and the dream of our waking life.

The focus of dream yoga is integrating with the clear light state of our natural mind. By following precise instructions, the practitioner develops awareness of the onset or presence of dreams; having recognized the dream experience as a dream, the advanced practitioner is able to experience its nature with clear non-conceptual awareness. For less advanced practitioners, becoming lucid in the dream allows one to work with the various manifestations--one can overcome fears, perform actions normally beyond one's capacity, and gradually increase dreams of clarity. In this system, ordinary dreams are understood to be caused by habitual propensities ssociated with previous actions and experiences conjoined with the energy of the mind. Eventually these emotional dreams can be transformed, liberated, or brought to the path by the accomplished practitioner.

Tenzin Rinpoche will talk about the practice of dream yoga both from the point of view expressed in the text as well as from his own unique experiences.

people.tribe.net/TenzinWangyalRinpoche
www.DreamYogaMaui.com
www.ligmincha.org

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

Hello..........

2005-12-30T16:04:02Z

Any One there?

posted in KARMA - 3 replies

the law of life

2005-11-30T02:23:07Z

Whatever you give away today,
Or think or say or do;
Will multiply about ten fold,
And then return to you.

It may not come immediately,
Nor from the obvious source;
But the law applies unfailingly,
Through some invisible force.

Whatever you feel about another,
Be it love or hate or passion;
Will surely bounce back to you,
In some clear or secret fashion.

If you speak about some person,
A word of praise or two;
Soon tens of other people,
Will speak kind words of you.

Our thoughts are broadcasts of the soul,
Not secrets of the brain;
Kind ones bring us happiness,
Petty ones, untold pain.

Giving works as surely as,
Reflections in a mirror;
If hate you send, hate you'll get back,
But loving brings love nearer.

Remember, as you start this day,
And duty, crowds your mind;
That kindness comes so quickly back,
To those who first are kind.

Let that thought and this one,
Direct you through each day;
The only things we ever keep,
Are the things we give away.

posted in KARMA - 6 replies

new-ish

2005-11-16T16:27:43Z

hi there
i am new to Karma tribe, though i have become a bit of a 'tribe.net' addict. keeping yourself open and loving is the only way that we can appreciate and understand each other in a non-judgemental way....now i try to find ways of remembering my unbiased self in such a biased world....
hugs
stacy

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

New to Karma tribe

2005-11-13T06:33:49Z

Hi all, Karma here nice to find the tribe. Walking the path of karma (burnning karma's) can bring true freedom and liberation.
Peace, Love and Light- Karma Dharma Red Bear

posted in KARMA - 1 reply

appreciation~

2005-10-22T21:54:58Z

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts, " the pot said.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.

But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

karmic debt

2005-10-11T18:10:33Z

any thoughts on getting one's account into the black?

posted in KARMA - 5 replies

water words

2005-03-07T08:13:19Z

I saw this documentary the other day that described how a scientist in Asia was doing experiments on how feelings travel through the water in the air. ever notice how much more emotional things feel when it is wet outside? In the experiment there were these water droplets taken from a spring water-fall and then frozen. Each frozen droplet formed a pentagon. when harmonious music was played for the crystals it would grow 3dimentionally in amazing patterns. when they thanked the water and blessed it it would do the same. but when they would call the water a looser and negetive names it would become foul.

posted in KARMA - 1 reply

no address

2004-12-29T18:50:14Z

Am I alloud to love thee?
choices cause a stir
and blur potential love
would you leave me if you had a chance with someone more attractive?
many people stay in their relations because no one else will accept them and love them completely
at what extent do you wish to be accepted? completely?
am i alloud to love thee?
do you want me because you enjoy the chase?
or do you love me completely?
will you be available?
or resist me?
will you be proud of me and involve me as family?
will you approve of me to write this floetry?
will you expect me to be different and get upset when i do not meet your expectations?
or will you support my decisions knowing that i use discretion for well being of all
do you love me enough to stay, to returm, to compromise, to let go of your ego and please me, caress me, cuddle me, hold my hand unheedingly?
will you answer your phone even when im crying? and rescue me?
will you love me the way we dream of?
or will you tease me?
will you appreciate our conversations and silentses?
our ups and downs?
will you accept my need to speak and act out my passions?
will you believe in me, be patient, and teach me?
will you fly with me on magic star sprinkeled skies?
or will you be afraid to leave the ground? i will not drop thee.
will you be my angel just entralled to complete me? to kiss me?
will you give yourself to me freely?
I am confused but when you are here to reassure me I forget my confusion.
will you help me find that place we call home? in your heart will i have a safe place??
aren't these the blessings your wish for 2??

If man is in love and loves what vanishes (moby dick)
then why do i love you because you are here?

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

president who??

2004-10-20T02:04:04Z

soooo. i went to the meeting at my school on the election and heres the scoop.
- the reason US invaded iraq and not north korea is because north korea "has" nuclear bombs --- hmm that's ironic and hypocritical. and because the middle east is "holy land"
- kerry has not indicated if he will expand war further but has not introduced any strategies of staying or leaving.
- bush will encourage the draft
- "rich man's war, poor man's fight"
- both kerry and bush want to be able to track people -- what like implant tracking devices in our asses??? sounds too much like 1984 and big brother to me
- why is democracy not actively inforced in the countries like Iraq that US has torn apart? because they don't speak the same language and they want their traditions that work for them - duh...
- is soft power an idea we could use - no because of poverty and resentment (fabrication of more people that hate US) and because of cultural differences.
- kerry will enforce a radical change in health policies.
- kerry and bush went to the same college and belong to the SAME secret society called SCULL and BONES and are distant cousins...hmmm
- kerry would ask the international world for consent in making war decisions - or so he says.
- would it be possible to do something to make it likely for there to be more choices in the election??? they didn't give me a strait, coherent answer but i think we need to start making some changes!!!
- what about John joseph kennedy the environmental activist for election - hah! out of the 5 teachers we interviewed only one of them even heard of him.
- so who do you choose the puppet on the right or the puppet on the left.
if professors for political science, history, and social work can't give straight answers - who will?? and who will have the knowledge to effect this situation???
http://www.johnjosephkennedy.com/media/stream_1.html<http://www.johnjosephkennedy.com/media/stream_1.html>
http://www.johnjosephkennedy.com/>
please pass this email on to everyone

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

Astral Travel, Meditation, Alchemy, Gnosis, etc.

2004-10-11T20:44:39Z

Free courses at http://mysticweb.org

Peace. :)

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

hello from Atlanta

2004-10-08T13:37:58Z

I'm new here but a BIG believer in Karma...especially the instant variety! I see it every morning as I drive in to work...those people who are nice and considerate and let people in the lane who need it seem to always move faster than the ugly aggressive drivers who cut people off and ride the bumper of the car in front of them. Every morning I sing a little song to the Lords of Karma, thanking them for making the universe such an interesting place!

Blessings!

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

Question for the enlightened

2004-10-04T05:37:52Z

While I believe in karma, my understanding is somewhat limited. Today I realize there is someone I hate. I've been watching her karma bite her in the ass. And, I must confess, I've been enjoying the show. Will I now be bitten myself for all that negativity?

posted in KARMA - 2 replies

Karma in relationships

2004-09-09T16:00:40Z

I wanted to follow up on Annette's interesting thread on karma and past lives and see how you feel karma works in your personal relationships.

There are some folks that I feel that I've known in other lifetimes. Most of the time it's a very positive feeling -- you know what the other person is thinking. You just fall into step naturally. Other times, especially in romantic relationships you feel that you're supposed to learn something. Maybe to correct the imbalance in your life. For a long time I thought I might have been a Casanova in another lifetime because I was born a woman and all the struggles that I've had in relationships. I'm not certain that I believe that now.

I do know that I've had that "strange but familiar" feeling with 4 men in my life. I had a great short affair with one and we were good friends. I had a tremendous long-term relationship with a wonderful man that I learned a lot from. I was devastated when it ended. But I can see how its ending might have been karmically influenced by the breakup of a previous relationship. The next person I met on the heels of that; I couldn't really handle the intensity and it ended badly. That was years ago. Now after a period of meditation and working on myself I've met someone that I have this connection with. I'm trying to analyze what I didn't learn in the past and what I need to learn. I'm also trying to keep karmically clear as much as possible.

What are your experiences???

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

CHANGE the PEACE symbol...

2004-08-19T02:46:39Z

PEACE ON EARTH

(here is my new peace symbol: an UPRIGHT peace symbol on the EARTH)

Do you like?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ALGIZ the RUNE of Protection, a shield.

Upright: The protective urge to shelter oneself or others. Defense, warding off of evil, shield, guardian. Connection with the gods, awakening, higher life. It can be used to channel energies appropriately. Follow your instincts. Keep hold of success or maintain a position won or earned. Algiz

Reversed: or Merkstave: Hidden danger, consumption by divine forces, loss of divine link. Taboo, warning, turning away, that which repels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a vision that when we all realize that our 'peace symbol' has been used "upside down" for many years, and we CHANGE it, then our kharma may change. :-)

Its time we start writing the peace symbols UPRIGHT, yes? :-)

xoxo lana

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arnold Whittick comments in Symbols, Signs And Their Meaning, that "Communication depends on the symbolism of language, and thus man becomes aware of another's thoughts by means of symbols .... All social and economic activities are carried on by means of symbols; the various offshoots and adjuncts of language, like numbers and money, make this apparent. Religious worship and government, too, are dependent on them. A.N. Whitehead, in his valuable book (Symbolism: Its Meaning And Effect) shows that society is held together by acceptance of, and reverence for, its symbols."

The reverse of this is also true. A society can be attacked by the undermining or perversion or destruction of its symbols.

Symbols are very important in the psychic field of human being. It is with ‘symbols ’that the High Initiates of Ancient Egypt used to communicate with telepathically.

I believe if we delve deeper into the "peace symbol" we will be amazed at how its creation was born from "deep despair", which is not very good sufficient grounds for peace.

HISTORY OF OUR PEACE SYMBOL

It was designed in 1958, February 21, (White Rythmic Wizard) by a British Gerald Holtom, a professional designer, artist and a graduate of the Royal College of Arts. He showed his preliminary sketches to a small group of people in the Peace News office in North London and to the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War, one of several smaller organisations that came together to set up CND.

A SYMBOL OF DESPAIR?

Gerald Holtom, a conscientious objector who had worked on a farm in Norfolk during the Second World War, explained that the symbol incorporated the semaphore letters N(uclear) and D(isarmament). He later wrote to Hugh Brock, editor of Peace News, explaining the genesis of his idea in greater, more personal depth:

“I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya ’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it. ”

Eric Austin added his own interpretation of the design: "the gesture of despair had long been associated with the death of Man and the circle with the unborn child."

(I wonder if this Gerald Holtman, creator of our peace symbol is any relation to Capt. Gerald P. Holtom, a Marine intelligence officer born and raised in Japan.)

In earlier times the peace character "actually began as a symbol of Satanic benediction during the rituals.'' This sign has been used by Yasser Arafat, Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill, and Stewart Meacham, Co-Chairman of Reds' New Mobilisation Committee." Churchill said that the sign stood for victory but remember that Churchill was one of the insider "elite" and a Mason.

"Known as the 'peace sign' throughout the 1960's and into the present day, this symbol is the Teutonic rune of death. 1950's peace advocate Gerald Holtom may have been commissioned by communist sympathiser Bertrand Russell to design a symbol to unite leftist peace marchers in 1958. It is clear that either Holtom or Russell deemed the Teutonic (Neronic) cross as the appropriate symbol for their cause.

"Throughout the last 2,000 years this symbol has designated hatred of Christians. Nero, who despised Christians, crucified the Apostle Peter on a cross head downward. This hideous event resembled the Teutonic cross and became the popular insignia of the day. Thereafter, this sign became known as the 'Neronic cross.'

"The symbol's origin in history proves it to be the visual mystic character for 'Aum' (the split 'Y'- UPRIGHT). This is the sacred word to the Hindu. Chanting 'Aum' is supposed to help awaken 'the serpent power of Brahma' at the base of the human spine. Occultist Albert Pike also identifies this symbol as mystical in his book on Freemasonry Morals and Dogma.

The peace symbol (also called the "broken cross," "crow's foot," "witch's foot," "Nero Cross," "sign of the 'broken Jew,'" and the "symbol of the 'anti-Christ''') is actually a cross with the arms broken - DOWNWARD. It also signifies the "gesture of despair," and the "death of man.''

"The Germanic tribes who used it attributed strange and mystical properties to the sign. Such a 'rune', in reverse is said to have been used by 'black magicians' in incantations and condemnations....To this very day the inverted broken cross--identical to the socialists' 'peace' symbol--is known in Germany as a 'todersrune,' or death rune. Not only was it ordered by Hitler's National Socialists that it must appear on German death notices, but it was part of the official inscription prescribed for the gravestones of Nazi officers of the dread SS. The symbol suited Nazi emphasis on pagan mysticism.''

With the arms of the cross raised in an upright position, it is "a Pythagorean emblem of the course of life, in the form of a rising path with fork roads to Good and Evil.'' It also signifies fertility, but with the arms pointing downward, it denotes evil and death.

"In fact, the inverted 'Man-rune'--the figure encircled in the common sign which the Communists tell us means 'peace'--has for centuries been a favourite sign of Satanists.''

Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, used the peace symbol as the backdrop for his altar.

One former Satanic witch makes the following comment about the peace symbol:

"It is an ancient and powerful symbol of Antichrist. During the dark ages it was used by Satanists of all sorts during the initiation of a new member to their order. They would draw the magic circle and give the initiate a cross. The initiate would then lift the cross and "turn it upside down". He would then renounce Christianity in all three dimensions (sic) of time (past, present and future) and break the horizontal pieces downward forming the design of the 'Raven's Foot.' For one to wear or display this symbol is to announce either knowingly or unknowingly that you have rejected Christ. Remember, symbolism is a picture language, and a picture is worth a thousand words.''

It was designed from the naval code of semaphore, and the symbol upright represents the code letters for ND (Nuclear disarment). The peace symbol widely used is reverse: DN.

A little before the first Aldermaston march at Easter 1958, Holtom showed up at the offices of _Peace News_ in London with drawings for banners and the symbol: "On a purple square was superimposed a white circle with a purple cross inside it, or almost a cross. The arms had slipped and were drooping against the lower sides of the circle. Holtom had made the design by combining the semaphore letters N and D: N for nuclear and D, naturally, for disarmament."

Herb Greer an American journalist and playwright was actually there on and before the first Aldermaston March for which it was created. He visited Holtom, and saw the original sketches and discussed it with him. The reason for the symbol being upside down (D over N) is that semaphore is a military code. He said Upside down, it was anti-military." ?????

Holtom had been commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The CND, headed by philosopher Bertrand Russell, was planning an Easter march to Canterbury Cathedral to protest the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment atAldermaston.

After doodling around with several versions of the Christian cross set in A circle, Holtom hit on the crow's-foot idea. This had a couple things going for it.

During the heyday of the peace movement, other interpretations of the Symbol were also offered. A national Republican newsletter noted that it looked a lot like an emblem used by the Nazis during World War II--an apparent coincidence.

Another interpretation, widely promoted by the John Birch Society and other right-wing groups, was that the symbol was really the "broken cross," sign of the Antichrist.

The most omnipresent symbol used currently by the international socialists is the one, is a sign of "peace." The Communists love "peace." You will remember that Lenin declared more than forty years ago in The Tasks Of The Youth League that: "As an ultimate objective, 'peace' simply means Communist world control." And the Communists are campaigning for precisely that sort of "peace." Their symbol is a part of the trappings of this scheme. Resembling a reversed chicken track enclosed in a circle, or a swept-wing bomber in vertical flight, the "peace" insignia - like the other symbols of the international socialists - reflects what Lenin called "that cursed 'Aesopian' language."

According to the radical World Without War Council: "The Peace Action Symbol was designed on February 21, 1958 for use in the first Aldermaston Easter Peace Walk in England.

A less guarded commentary on the origin and meaning of this symbol appeared in Win magazine, an official publication of the subversive War Resisters League. On Page twenty-seven of Win for October 1, 1969, we read that the "Nuclear Disarmament Symbol" was "adopted immediately by Hugh Brock and Pat Arrowsmith on behalf of the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (London) who initiated and organized the first Aldermaston March at Easter of that year [1958] ." According to the authoritative Intelligence Digest, both Brock and Arrowsmith have for years been affiliated with Communist enterprises in Europe.

Elaborating on this theme, Win explains that in creating the initial design:

The first mark on paper was a white circle against a black square. This was followed by various versions of Christian crosses drawn within the white "spere" [sic] on a black background and these in turn gave way to the final ND form .... but reversed D over N.

Immediately following the "First March" (there had been previous small scale Aldermaston demonstrations} an ND badge version of the Symbol was devised and made by Eric Austen. Eric's researches into the origins of symbolism confirmed that the "gesture of despair" motif has been associated through ancient history with the "death of man," and the circle with the "unborn child" .... THE DEATH OF MAN??????????

Apparently the "N" and "D" were an afterthought. That explanation came later. The design is a product of careful research of ancient symbolism - especially various forms of the Christian cross. But, what these propagandists of the War Resisters League (2) do not say is that the design was adopted from one initiated by the infamous Bertrand Russell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SOoooo.... my freinds we must CHANGE our peace symbol yes? Its time to use WHITE magic and a positive attitude rather than one of despair....

peace & love to you all

xox lana

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

Kharma for the PEACE symbol

2004-08-10T22:57:57Z

I had a vision that when we all realize that our 'peace symbol' has been used "upside down" for many years, and we CHANGE it, then our kharma may change.

:-)

It was just a thought, or rather vision.

To understand why I am saying this, you have to be familiar with the oracle of RUNES. You see, the peace symbol is an 'upside down Y' inside of a circle with a straighline thru it. The Y with a straight line thru it is the symbol rune stone of "PROTECTION", (symbolic of the human body - kinda like a stick man version).

BUT instead of writing peace symbols with the symbol (Y) upright we all write these peace signs with the RUNE of protection in a "reverse" manner. This is giving us the reversed energy of protection.

Its time we start writing the peace symbols UPRIGHT, yes? :-)

xoxo
lana

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

Plumbing Karma

2004-08-09T19:17:43Z

I think that I have bad plumbing karma. My friends think this is a crazy notion, but how else can one explain the excessive plumbing problems I've encountered ever since I was a young child?

I moved into a "new" apartment a few months ago because I got so tired of the drain in the kitchen sink deciding to spew water forth regularly and the shower filling up to overflowing so that half my apartment would be soaked. And we won't even talk about the mold and goo running down my walls. The water in that building was off AT LEAST once every week.

While the water turn-off isn't nearly as frequent here, I have been without any hot water three days in the past week and my toilet and tub filled (as they were clogged) my first day here. The garage is flooded on a regular basis, especially where I park. I should have ordered some hip waders by now but, silly me, I actually thought the problem was temporary and, once fixed, I would never need them again. The water will be off all day tomorrow, so maybe the garage will drain that day.

After having an auger used on my toilet and tub in September, I began using enzymes after every shower to prevent clogs and peiodic 3-day rounds in the toilet. Then I had to buy some of that poisonous stuff, as nothing else seemed to be working. I was finally able to take an (almost) hot shower last night--had to rush before the tub overflowed. The toilet is also again clogging after every second or third flush, even if it's just liquid and a bit of biodegradeable paper.

Can anyone tell me what the cause of bad plumbing karma might be and offer advice to counteract it? I am a kind, honest person who never intentionally mistreats another living creature. In fact, I'm almost positvie I never unintentionally mistreat anyone, either, aside from the occassional bug, making me feel incredible remorse.

Please help!

posted in KARMA - 2 replies

Astral Travel, Meditation, Awareness, Alchemy, etc.

2004-08-05T00:40:00Z

Free courses: http://mysticweb.org :)

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

THE MECHANICS OF KARMA

2004-03-09T01:37:58Z

THE MECHANICS OF KARMA

By Noel Huntley

The mechanism of karma appears to be a by-product of the design of life and the universe, and as a result provides a natural scheme of salvation. We consequently have what we call karmic lessons. Without this karmic law (referred to in channelling as the 'great karmic law'), entities of consciousness would accumulate negativity and eventually become totally fragmented from the whole, resulting in annihilation. In turn this could ultimately destroy the whole. Thus it is desirable to have a mechanism which protects the whole.

The fragmentation results because in order to do something to another, which one would not want done to oneself, one must block off one's ability to perceive the other person's viewpoint. In doing this, one builds up occlusion within consciousness, fragmenting it, lowering the vibrations, and one gradually sinks into increasing unconsciousness. Note that such a process can't be observed when it is a gradual devolution. Consciousness fundamentally can only know its own state.

The karmic law creates debt whenever harm is done to another, which must be paid back. It is a mechanism which safeguards the whole (All That Is, God) but gives freewill to the fragments. Note that the law also pertains to good actions being returned to one, but the consequences of negative actions is of more concern.

It has been stated that this law cannot be annulled but it would appear this doesn't mean it can't ever be overridden by special procedures, either by the individual or on a grand scale by possibly such authorities as the so-called Karmic Board, or God.

In the East, people have retained an understanding of karma, contrary to Western education which omits it. Nevertheless, there has been a tendency, particularly in the East, to avoid helping another in karmic matters, with the misconception that they will incur karma by interfering with the individual's lessons. However, to the contrary we can know that omission in helping others can incur karma. This is one of the reasons Christianity rejected karma, believing that members would similarly take on this belief in contradiction to the Christian teaching regarding serving others.

Individual karma often occurs in group experiences as group karma in which the members of the group plan the events prior to the particular lifetime. And of course this planning of a lifetime always applies to any individual karma that needs to be resolved similarly, which has resulted from past lives. This karma, created from previous lifetime experience, is brought into events which are planned prior to a lifetime with a view to resolving it.

The physics of karma has been described in terms of 'cause and effect'. Fundamentally, however, and from the higher viewpoint, in which space and time are spanned, cause and effect is simultaneous. For example, the perpetrator harms the victim. Did the perpetrator cause this harm? From the third-dimensional viewpoint they apparently did, but taking into account more data we know that the victim also attracted the perpetrator. That is, each sought out the other---it is a simultaneous phenomenon.

This is an example of duality--a two-polarity system. The perpetrator pole and the victim pole are interdependent. You can't have one without the other. Evil can't exist without the opposite pole of receivers of evil.

Now this duality gives us a mechanism for the return of energy in order to learn lessons. A whole energy (quantum state) divides into two poles. One pole acts as a debt to pay back the energy. The process of paying back the energy is the same as the process of one pole or energy seeking wholeness by returning to the other to cancel it, leaving a condition of unity (higher dimensionally). That is, the energy seeks wholeness and the poles come together, causing a return to self of what was inflicted on another.

We might expect then that every selfish action splits unity into the two poles of the duality. The condition prior to this division is a harmonious, more four-dimensional one. All energies can operate in phase in this nondual 4D state, which means anyone can duplicate (can be) another's viewpoint and no harm is possible. But by dividing the unity into two poles, these energies are kept separate (and, in addition, the frequencies are lowered). Actions on the part of the individual utilising the energies of one side of this duality can harm another. The other pole, the debt, will then seek the first pole to achieve unity, as this happens the individual experiences the negativity they originally put out. This experience, even subconsciously, can sometimes produce a cancellation of the opposites and a subsequent resolution of the karmic distortions.

This principle of cancellation given here has general physics applications. When we say bringing together the two poles (to cancel the debt/karma), this is the same as phase conjugation in which two wave patterns, one reversed relative to the other (which simply means 180 degrees out of phase), come together and cancel one another. This was achieved with the Priore machine in the 1970s which was developed to cancel disease patterns, before the invention was suppressed. Another application of cancellation and phase conjugation was achieved by the Germans during WWII. They coated their U-boat periscopes with a material which caused radar to be reflected by 180 degrees, thus cancelling itself. Note that in these examples of cancellation there is no reference to the two poles coming together to form a unity as in the karmic examples---this wouldn't be recognised in our current physics anyway---but in fact they do higher dimensionally.

The duality configuration is exactly the same as given in the article on the basic energy unit: the two centripetal spirals of energy coming from the 4D periphery of the vortex to the centre, forms two poles and the subsequent oscillation between them. In terms of physics, the two poles shouldn't be visualised as in 3D, side by side, but one pole 'inside' the other 4th-to-3rd dimensionally (but is symmetrical with it).

Thus if we have two people, A and B, representing the perpetrator and the victim respectively, each will have this duality in their own mind, that is, perpetrator/victim polarity. Person A will, say, be dramatising the perpetrator, and B the victim (they may change roles in another life). Each person projects out into the external world the imbalance. Person A seeks a balance by finding a victim B, and person B seeks a balance in perpetrator A. Eventually the duality resolves into unity and wholeness but it appears as though it may take many roles of A and B, alternating from perpetrator to victim until they resolve the imbalance internally by observing their internal condition reflected outwards. Conscious awareness of this will speed up the process.

The ego is essentially a mass of unresolved dualities each influencing the individual to resolve the polarities into unity. We can draw the conclusion that a behaviour which involves no effort to resolve these dualities results in learning by misadventure; that is, the basic imbalance reacts to seek balance--person A kills B, and A must now be killed. This is the slow and painful way of overcoming karma--it isn't very efficient.

Is there any other way this could be resolved? It is apparent that if A attempts self-improvement to a sufficient degree, or works in service to others, etc. the basic reaction is alleviated and A will not have to be killed in turn. The very activity of applying effort to bring about change of a positive nature will eventually cancel the karma. A miraculous change would always be possible, however, in which A perceives the imbalance within self by some therapeutic process or otherwise, and realigns it, resolving the karma immediately. These negatively karmic thoughts are of low frequency and it appears that they are stored as crystallized imprints in cells. It would be ideal to release these, transmute these energies, before they manifest in physical reality. The Anna Hayes' material gives some procedures for this, though they might be considered advanced for humans.

The mechanism described here will adhere of course to rigorous physics but karma in general will entail various factors that we can envisage as superimposed on the rigid mechanism. For example, intervention from high levels (already alluded to) and manipulation of karmic energies in situations where, for instance, a large group of people may experience a disaster to offset the karma of the whole race. Also, on the down side, karma can be coded into the DNA to incline people to commit negative acts and then (coded to) receive them back on themselves.

Possibly the most advanced method as far as knowledge is concerned, of handling karma, requiring not only persistence but a great deal of awareness, is through the recognition that the environment is reflecting one's inner state. More specifically, all problems, discomforts, conflicts impinging on one from the environment are fragments of oneself which one has disowned. This applies even if one is merely an observer of a discomforting situation. If one can understand that these experiences reflect one's own attributes that one has rejected, and integrate these into self--bring them in, not push them away--Karma becomes pointless.

As one may have realised, this method will involve intricate organisation of group relationships so that it works for everyone. Science would reject this as impossible but we say it isn't (see article The Theory of One). It actually means that not only is oneself involved in this process but also others, even if it is a simple observation of another's problem. For example, you observe another's illness (the importance of which will depend how close this person is to you), and if a positive attitude is taken it will include both oneself and one's view of the other person, aiding not only resolving one's own disowned experiences, relating to the observation, but also the other person's illness. The implication here is that more than the ill person may be involved in that person's illness.

Thus the strict and apparent unwavering mechanics of karma on the lower level must be viewed in relationship to a larger context involving other solutions for the karma, along with factors from higher influences, probabilities and intervention.

posted in KARMA - 1 reply

The Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa

2003-12-21T22:43:11Z

The Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa

The Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rikpe Dorje, was born in the kingdom of De-ge, in eastern Tibet, in 1923, as the son of a noble family called A-toop. Having received predictions that she would bear a great bodhisattva son, his mother had gone to stay in a holy cave, once used by Guru Rinpoche, where she waited to give birth. It is said that, at one point at the very end of the pregnancy, the future Karmapa disappeared entirely from his mother's womb for a whole day. He was to do many such things in his life which would confound materialists and doctors, as witnessed by physicians in the Chicago hospital, where he eventually died. The day of his birth, his mother returned to normal pregnancy size and soon gave birth to him. Those present heard him say to his mother that he would be leaving. Water in offering bowls there turned to milk. Realising that she had indeed given birth to a great bodhisattva, she pretended to have had a daughter, to protect the child through secrecy.

The Eleventh Tai Situpa, one of the most eminent lamas of the Kagyu tradition, soon recognised the A-toop child as being the new Gyalwa Karmapa and sought confirmation from HH the Dalai Lama. The details of the birth coincided properly with those of a prediction letter entrusted by the Fifteenth Karmapa to his attendant. Meanwhile, the child received his first ordination and bodhisattva vows from the Tai Situpa and from Palpung Kongtrul Rinpoche: his predecessor's two foremost disciples. Eventually, the Dalai Lama gave his aknowledgement. The boy was eight years old and still residing in the De-ge kingdom, when he received the Vajra Crown and ceremonial robes of the Karmapa, brought to him from Tsurphu. He visited Palpung monastery, stopping to bless the famous De-ge monastic printing works on the way, and was enthroned there, as the Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rikpe Dorj é, by Palpung's chief abbot, the Tai Situpa, who shortly afterwards accompanied him on the long journey to the seat of the Karmapas at Tsurphu, in central Tibet, where the new incarnation was greeted by Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Palpung Kongtrul and Pawo Rinpoche.

Tsurphu is close to Lhasa. Soon after his arrival, the Karmapa was received by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, who performed the "hair-cutting" ceremony. While so doing, the Dalai Lama had a vision of the celestial bodhisattva crown on the Karmapa's head. After this ceremony, the Karmapa was given a second enthronement, at Tsurphu, by the Tai Situpa and the Head of the Drukpa Kagyu school. He then studied for some years under Gongkar Rinpoche, an extremely erudite scholar who had mastered the entire tripitaka and who recorded several stories of former lifes told to him by the young Karmapa. It was a great loss that these stories remained with him in Tibet at the time of the troubles. He never escaped and the records were lost.

The Karmapa continued his studies within the Kagyu tradition by returning to Palpung and there receiving two comprehensive series of empowerments and teachings from the Tai Situpa: the "Treasury of Kagyu Vajrayana Teachings" and the "Treasury of Sacred Instructions". Around this time, while visiting Pangpook monastery, it is said that not only did both the Gyalwa Karmapa and the Tai Situpa leave footprints in the rocks, but so also did the Karmapa's horse and dog! Some time later, the Karmapa, still based at Palpung, received a full transmission of the teachings of the Sakya tradition.

The 18-year old Karmapa returned to Tsurphu. From 1941-1944 he spent much time in retreat, while in the world at large World War II was being fought to its conclusion. Tsurphu monastery was extended during this period. The Karmapa then went on pilgrimage to Samye, to Lodrak in the south of Tibet where Marpa had first introduced the Kagyu teachings, and then on to Bhutan . In 1945 the Tai Situpa gave him full ordination vows (bhikkhu) and further comprehensive Kagyu teachings, on the giving of empowerments. He also received from the great Nyingma master Urgyen Rinpoche complete transmission of the Nyingma teachings of Terton Chojur Lingpa, who had made important predictions about the lives of the Karmapas, up to the twenty-first.

In 1947 he travelled to India, Nepal and Sikkim - an independent kingdom at the time and now part of India. His pilgrimage included the major places of the Buddha's life: Lumbini, just inside Nepal, where the Buddha was born, Benares (Varanasi) where he first taught and Bodh Gaya, the place of his enlightenment. Upon his return to Tsurphu in 1948, he received the final transmissions of the Kagyu teachings from two gurus: the Second Palpung Kongtrul and the Eleventh Tai Situpa, who was now very advanced in years . By this time, his training was complete, not only in the Kagyu, but also the Sakya and Nyingma traditions. Indeed, in 1953, he was to pass on the Chojur Lingpa teachings to Mindroling R inpoche, head of the Nyingma tradition and one of Tibet's "four great lamas". By the 1950s the turbulence that was to end up as the takeover of Tibet by China was already stirring. In 1954, the Karmapa, the young Dalai Lama and other leading representatives of Tibetan Buddhism went to Peking in response to an invitation from the Chinese government. While there, the Karmapa had a vision of the reincarnation of his teacher, the Tai Situpa, who had passed away in 1952, and sent instructions to the Tai Situ's monastery at Palpung. The child was found, exactly according to his instructions, and he enthroned him at the Palpung seat on his return journey from Peking to Tsurphu. During his stopover in eastern Tibet, several hundred Kagyu reincarnate lamas gathered around him and, obviously aware of the troubles in store, he transmitted to them many teachings and empowerments, as well as giving extensive ordinations. During this time, he gave the most secret and powerful protector empowerments. These are given only once in a lifetime and to only thirteen lamas. Of the hundreds of tulkus present, some relatively unknown ones, such as Akong Tulku of Drolma Lhakang, were summoned secretly to be part of the thirteen. Very interestingly, these were all later to play key roles in establishing the buddhadharma in the world at large.

The Karmapa returned to eastern Tibet in 1955, to act as a peacemaker between the local Tibetans and the Chinese military. He brokered a five-year peace accord. He travelled on to Sikkim and from there continued on pilgrimage. Buddhists worldwide had agreed to lay aside their difference s over the dates of the Buddha's life and to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of Buddhism in 1956. This was based upon the date marked upon the historic Asoka stone pillar, which has Lord Buddha's passing from this world as (the equivalent of) 544 BCE. It was not only the celebration of a round number of years but also that of the beginning of the sixth era, as the Buddha had predicted the evolution of his teaching as taking place in ten 500-year periods. HH the Dalai Lama, HH the Karmapa and HH the Panchen Lama visited India to participate in the anniversay at the invitation of the Indian Mahabodhi Society invited. The Karmapa and his party revisited the holy sites of India as pilgrims. During this visit to India and Sikkim, he renewed his acquaintance with his disciples Tashi Namgyal, the Maharaja of Sikkim and with Azhi Wangmo, the Bhutanese Buddhist princess. The Maharaja invited him to visit Rumtek, a small monastery in Sikkim which the ninth Gyalwa Karmapa had founded at the end of the 16th century. His Holiness was unable to accept his invitation at that time but said that he would go there in the future, when it would be needed.

The next few years were to prove critical. His Holiness recognised several important new reincarnations, including Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Palpung Jamgon Kongtrul and Drongsar Chentse, and Tsurphu became the refuge of Kagyu tulkus fleeing the violence that had again erupted in eastern Tibet. These included Palpung's great yogi, Kalu Rinpoche and the young Tai Situ, Tralek and Sangye Nyenpa tulkus. These young reincarnations were to be the future heart of the Kagyu lineage and His Holiness nurtured them with great care. Some he sent to safety fairly early on, such as the Tai Situpa and Sangye Nyenpa, who were accompanied by Kalu Rinpoche to Bhutan. Foreseeing the inevitable horrors that were to happen to Buddhism in Tibet, the Sixteenth Karmapa informed the Dalai Lama, in the spring of 1959, of his intention of leaving his homeland in order to preserve the greatest "wealths" of his lineage: the clear young minds of its incarnate lamas and the spiritual treasures and relics that were portable. He led a party of some 150 tulkus, monks and laypeople on a relatively easy journey to Bhutan. It took three weeks.

It must have been a moving and awe-inspiring journey for his party. Accompanied by the leader they loved so dearly, they first passed through the southern area of Lodrak, where Marpa and Milarepa had created the history of their tradition and where the nine-storey tower, built single-handedly by Milarepa in back-breaking conditions as a trial of faith in his master, almost 900 years previously, still stood. When they were approaching the 6,000 metre pass which is the border between Bhutan and Tibet, most people wanted to stop and rest, yet His Holiness urged them on, saying that it was vital to cross that very day. They did so and, that very night, heavy snows fell blocking off the Chinese pursuers close behind them. The Karmapa's perspicacity saved them from certain capture, as they were unaware of being followed. In Bhutan they were warmly received by the princess, now a nun, and the Tai Situpa and Kalu Rinpoche came to join the Karmapa.

The Karmapa himself continued on to Sikkim, where he was again warmly received by the royal family and formally invited to establish his new seat. Of the several sites proposed, he decided it best to settle at Rumtek —the monastery built by the ninth Karmapa but now almost in ruins. He said the prophetic words that he hoped one day to return to Tibet but that Rumtek could be his seat out of Tibet. The generosity of the Sikkimese royal family and, a little later, of the Indian government, following the Karmapa's meeting with Pandit Nehru, funded most of the construction of the new Rumtek. The Indian Government donated 1.4 million rupees.

Saving the Lineage

After the initial turmoil of flight, a new reality was starting to take shape for Tibetans in India and the Himalayan kingdoms, living in refugee camps such as the one at Baxa. Some of the first contacts were made with sympathetic westerners, such as the now famous Freda Bedi, and an understanding of the world at large, into which they had been projected, began to form. The main task in the Karmapa's hands were to ensure the continuity of his lineage through the education of the young tulkus in his charge and the transmission to them of the many teachings and techniques of the Kagyu tradition , and to establish the temples and retreat centres needed for Kagyu Buddhism to continue. Yet, in another way, he simply continued to do what Karmapas have always done. The Sixteenth Karmapa sometimes shocked his followers, who saw him as a living Buddha and one of the most important people in Asia, by declaring in total sincerity, "I am simply a monk". Unattached to any country, any people or any thing —a friend and example for everyone —it was his duty as a monk to give teachings and nurture the dharma wherever he might be. This also explains the example he set by supervising the construction work at Tsurphu, right up to the imminent arrival of the Chinese. He doubtless knew what was to come and some may wonder, "why bother?". He was pointing to the sacred duty of doing all one can, every day, in a positive way. Thus his followers had made the good karma of building temples for absolutely as long as it was possible so to do and, from a Buddhist perspective, that good karma would be their best companion in times and lives to come.

In 1964, following a successful petition for reinstatement made to HH the Dalai Lama by the unofficial Shamar incarnation, the latter was enthroned by HH the Gyalwa Karmapa as the Eleventh Sharmapa. His reincarnation had also been born into the A-toop family and the young boy had been at Tsurphu and fled Tibet with the Karmapa but official recognition had been impossible in Tibet itself as Shamarpa incarnations had been banned by edict of the central Tibetan government from the late eighteenth century onwards, following accusations of war-mongering.

A new seat

By 1966 the construction of the new Rumtek was completed and the relics brought out from Tsurphu were installed. On Tibetan New Year's day (losar) HH the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa officially opened his new seat called, "The Dharmachakra Centre, a place of erudition and spiritual accomplishment, the seat of the glorious Karmapa". This was to be the hub from which Kagyu dharma spread throughout the world and, step by step, the traditional monastic calendar of special prayers, lama dances, summer rains retreat and so forth was reinstated in that centre-point to ensure the correct spiritual dynamic for the years ahead. Rumtek, the mandala with the Karmapa at its centre, became a very special place, described by many as "the monastery wreathed in a thousand rays of rainbow light".

In Sikkim itself the foundations of Kagyu dharma were established. Traditional texts were, studied, ordinations performed, tulkus found and enthroned, retreat centres built and texts carved onto wooden blocks for xylographic printing. The kindness of the Bhutanese royal family gave hospitality to his tradition in Bhutan also, with the gift of a palace and a large piece of land, upon which to establish a major monastery. Gradually, contacts were made in India and Nepal. At one point, His Holiness had a vision that the construction of many temples and monasteries close to the great stupa at Bodhnath in Nepal (which at the time had little except for the stupa, a temple and a few shops) would greatly help the spread of pure buddhadharma throughout the world. Mainly due to the Karmapa's inspiration, many teachers have established monasteries and temples there and it has become an important focus of Tibetan Buddhism.

Reaching out to the world

The past thirty years have brought Tibetan Buddhism to the world at large. It is as though the tremendous wave of inspiration that carried the Buddha's teachings from India to Tibet in the eleventh century had, 900 later later, surged back off that land's rocks and mountains onto the entire planet. This occurred due to what was, in fact, the gravest of horrors for the Tibetan people: the total destruction of their Buddhism by the events leading up to China's "cultural revolution". Yet through it, teachings safeguarded behind the Himalayan wall for almost a millenium have emerged to contribute to humankind's assets at a critical point in its history. It has been a cruelly expensive yet exquisitely beautiful gift from Tibet to the world.

In 1967, the first Western Tibetan Buddhist centre, named "Samye Ling" after Samye, the first great monastery of Tibet, was established by Trugpa Tulku and Akong Tulku in Scotland, under the Karmapa's auspices. Through the early seventies several other centres emerged in the West and in 1974 the Karmapa set out on his first world tour. I had the pleasure of meeting him at that time and of preparing his arrival in Scotland and France. The way had already been prepared by the visits of the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche, whose monks first blew the earth-shaking long horns (ra-dong) and oboes (ja-ling) of Tibet in Europe. His Holiness' visit set the seal on the beginnings which had taken place. Accompanied by tulkus, a full entourage of monks and Freda Bedi, who was now the Buddhist nun Sister Kechog Palmo, "mummy" to the Tibetans, he performed the Vajra Crown ceremony in Western lands for the first time and gave empowerments and dharma advice. In hindsight, that first visit was the milestone which marked the true arrival of the Kagyu tradition in the world at large.

A great wave of inspiration followed in its wake and His Holiness returned again for a fuller visit in 1977, this time with many more, new centres to visit. This was a very extensive world tour. He visited centres in four continents and met heads of state, heads of religion, elders of many traditions and people from the world of arts. Sometimes in dharma centres, sometimes in huge public spaces holding crowds of many thousands, he performed the Vajra Crown ceremony, gave empowerments, ordinations, bodhisattva vow and refuge and many blessings to people of all faiths. On looking through hundreds of photographs of these visits, the striking feature is the contagious joy and happiness of His Holiness wherever he went. One of the few English words he knew was "Happy?": a question he posed gleefully after giving Refuge or Bodhisattva vow. His joyful, yet nevertheless powerful and authoritative, presence gave many people new to vajrayana the first real chance to meet a perfect guru, free to show the blissfull liberation of his enlightenment.

During this tour, my wife and I had the honour of accompanying him for six months, I as a visa-seeking cum centre-preparing cum chauffeur factotum for the European stage of his tour, organised by Akong Tulku Rinpoche, and Katia as promoter of a major new monastery and dharma centre, to be built on land in France's Dordogne, donated by the inventor Bernard Benson. In travelling at his side during that time, through many different countries, I saw him time after time awaken the fundamental goodness and spiritual potential in people. It was like being with the morning sun as it passes over the earth, warming the ground, nourishing life everywhere and opening millions of flowers. Never had any of us met anyone who radiated so much fundamental goodness and joy, who spoke with such natural authority and fearlessness and whose every gesture was the living demonstration of mindfulness, compassionate care for everyone and lucidity. All paled next to the shimmering natural intelligence that he embodied and that seemd to permeate every place in which he stayed.

We had the particular pleasure of helping him buy and look after the birds of which he was so fond. I saw breeders amazed as their normally fearful and hard-to-catch birds went peacefully to the Karmapa. But especially we saw the birds which died stay erect for days in a peaceful glow of meditation on their perches, instead of dropping to the cage floor, as is normal. Some said these birds were reincarnations of former disciples, who through some bad karma had this lesser body but who through their devotion were born into his presence.

Enlightened activity

Under the Karmapa's overall guidance, the tulkus and rinpoches of the Kagyu tradition developed the interest shown by Americans, Europeans and people in South-East Asia in the centres which they had been invited to establish. His Holiness dedicated himself to preparing what would be essential for the proper future growth of this interest, ensuring the education of the younger reincarnated lamas he had recognised, nurturing the growth of the sangha, and sponsoring the printing, collection and translation of the main scriptures and prayers. During his life he ordained many thousands of monks and recognised more than a hundred tulkus. In particular, he sponsored and distributed to many centres a complete reprint of all the Buddha's teachings (tripitaka) and the main classical commentaries on them; some 300 volumes of scripture in all.

At one point early in his life, while still in Tibet, His Holiness had written a very telling poem, predicting his leaving Tibet. In it, he uses the analogy of the cuckoo which, in Tibetan folk culture, is known as the king of birds; a welcome bird whose call heralds the warmer weather. It is the bird that grows up in another bird's nest and the Karmapa, referring to himself as the cuckoo, obviously foresaw his own going to India. During the latter part of the Sixteenth Karmapa's life, people were already impressed by the accuracy of this prediction. Now it is seen to have had a double meaning, as the subsequent Karmapa goes to yet another nest and, significantly, a cuckoo landed on the tent, in which the Seventeenth Karmapa was being born, and sang its song.

Miracles

A great guru is the mirror not only reflecting his individual disciples' needs but the general status of things in the world. When their bodies take sick, it can be viewed as being their purification of the sufferings in the world and in their disciples. They also set the example of how to relate to sickness. However, there is no one interpretation of such things, as they are the emanation of cosmic purity within our lives, showing anything that can help us to learn. However, this type of "interpretation" could all be seen as just wishful-thinking, were it not for the miraculous power over the body shown by the Karmapas.

The Sixteenth Karmapa left footprints in rocks on many occasions and in many countries. One day poisonous snakes swarmed from a rock and covered him whilst he was bathing in the Tarzi hot springs, yet he danced joyfully, unharmed. He once tied a heavy sword blade into knots. In his presence, normally antagonistic animals got on well with each other. When photographed with a single plate camera at Rumtek, during an empowerment, he appeared almost transparent. Thorough checking of the negative and a giant print made from it showed that double exposure or any other normal explanation was impossible. At other times the Karmapa had made rain for the Hopi Indians and had stopped droughts, once by bathing on a chosen spot, whence a spring burst forth. His Holiness also left a footprint in the waters of a Tibetan lake, which can still be seen, as a constant footprint depression in the water, summer and winter. The stories of the physical wonders of the Sixteenth Karmapa, witnessed by Buddhists, are many but perhaps the most striking events were those which took place around his death, for these were witnessed by amazed non-Buddhist physicians in an Illinois hospital.

Passing

During the 1970s, the Karmapa started to show signs of cancer. At one point, this became life-threatening and he was operated upon. After a remission, there was a gradual recurrence, complicated by the fact that his symptoms came and went, totally disappeared or manifested as something completely different in a way which confounded regular analysis. He was undoubtedly unwell yet it was as though his body was joking with the machines. His illness was to end in death at the American International Clinic in Zion, near Chicago, Illinois.

Many inexplicable things happened during that Chicago time. A medical record of them was kept by the Indian army physician, Dr Kotwal, who had accompanied His Holiness medically for many years. When the immortal enlightened mind of the Sixteenth Karmapa left it's physical shell, his body remained in gentle meditation for three days, during which time the heart centre remained very warm and the skin supple. This was attested to by the doctors despite all the other clinical symptoms of death. Amazed, some of the medical staff visited the holy place of his room, to witness the impossible. Only after three such days did the usual manifestations of death appear. His Holiness' body was flown back to India and cremated in grand ceremony at Rumtek. During the cremation ceremony, each of the four main rinpoches made a mandala offering. When it was the Tai Situpa's turn, he approached the northern gate of the cremation urn to offer the tsampaka flour mandala and saw something fall from the blazing body onto the base of the inner pyre, near the gate. Unsure what to do for the best, the Tai Situpa quickly sent a monk to ask advice from the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche, who was most experienced in such things.

Some five minutes later, the monk came back through the crowd with a message from Kalu Rinpoche that it was something very sacred and should be removed and kept as a relic. It was His Holiness' heart, now partially charred. This was enshrined in a golden stupa at Rumtek and has become a Kagyu lineage relic; an object of deep veneration. Some of the bones found among the ashes had self-formed images of the buddhas on them and there were many small crystal-relics, known as rin sel. Such occurrences —the heart, the self-formed images and rin sel were also witnessed at the passing of the very first Karmapa, Dusum Chenpa. Some days after the cremation, Jamg ön Kongtrul Rinpoche noticed a baby's footprint in the northern quarter of one of the mandala arranged for the cremation. Perhaps the Sixteenth Karmapa was already leaving signs of the direction of his next emanation.

One duty of a great spiritual teachers is to discourage disciples from taking their presence for granted. Lord Buddha's passing into nirvana was a formidable teaching given to remind his followers of their own responsibility, to themselves and others, to practice and not to be always carried on the wave of another's spirituality. Lord Buddha's parting words were, "All composite things are impermanent; strive with earnestness" . In the passing away and reincarnation of the Karmapa, it is very important for each disciple to learn about impermanence and to pray sincerely and whole-heartedly for the master to reincarnate. Those deep prayers help shake them from the mental lethargy which is a meditator's enemy; the expectation of having everything "handed to one on a plate", the feeling that someone else will do the necessary. It is important for each person to participate in the calling out for that pure mind to grace the world again. Death is, and will always be, a Buddhist's greatest teacher and it was a painful lesson for many people, including westerners, when the Sixteenth Karmapa, and indeed their other beloved teachers, died.

Reincarnation

The years of uncertainty, longing, praying, reflection before the reincarnation is found bring much maturity to the mind, helping one to appreciate more fully each moment to be spent with fine gurus in the future. Meeting remarkable teachers is a result from excellent past good karma, and it is vital to keep generating the karma in the present in order to make such meetings happen again and again in the future. In this process, motivation and heartfelt prayer play a central role.

Marpa the Translator brought the Kagyu dharma to Tibet. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa brought it to the world, turning the wheel of dharma on all its levels and immaculately establishing the right conduct, meditation and wisdom which are the three mainstays of the Buddha's teachings.

posted in KARMA - 0 replies

Drug of choice to stop the pain

2003-12-18T23:26:46Z

What do you think? Is spirituality just another drug to subdue pain we all feel? Is it like a shot of tequella to read something uplifting and spiritual?
Maybe it is all some for of Masterbation and I mean the actual words meaning...self gratification.
It is all a mystery to me...but I like playing with it and I like other people to play with it oo ;) :)

posted in KARMA - 11 replies

Karma This..

2003-11-10T10:01:36Z

What do u think about Karma ? Can one chance the karma and how ? W.t.f is karma anyway..? (now I just got bad karma on my way, huh) but one thing is pretty sure: Karma never forgets..blaah. Talking about the karma..could it be actually attitude..? Please share your opinion.

Tx RavenBlueWolf for listing..

posted in KARMA - 8 replies

Karmic Signs

2003-10-24T14:48:50Z

Saturn is the Planet of Karma. Saturn is a strong disciplinarian and teaches us our lessons this lifetime. At times, this planet can be restricting and inhibiting. Joy is experienced once the lessons of Saturn have been learned. To understand your Karmic lesson, find what Sign Saturn was in at the time of your birth. This will reveal your Karmic Sign.

LINK:
http://www.astrology.com/allaboutyou/karmicsign/index.html

posted in KARMA - 4 replies

no bad karma

2003-10-17T21:36:45Z

Hi group. From my understanding, there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" karma. Karma is a result that follows from the law of causality. A cause may have several effects; an effect may have several causes (though only one is the true triggering cause). Notice that although time is important in causality (cause preceeds effect, except in certain conditions described below) previous lives are important in an incidental way only. If a value judgement must be placed on karma, then all Karma would be bad karma--and our goal should be to transcend the world of Karma. True non-suffering will only be realized when all causation has completed its course and all effects have played out.

Note that according to modern physics, it is possible that effects, to our limited view, may preceed their cause--in the case, for example, of reactions involving anti-protons which are essentially protons moving "backwards" through time.

posted in KARMA - 3 replies

THE HOLLOW / THE EMPTINESS

2003-09-30T03:47:45Z

THE HOLLOW / THE EMPTINESS

First of all let me explain that only in this article although they have separate meanings I am using the two words in the title together and accepting them as expressing a single meaning.
What happens if you fall into a hollow space on your way?
You get hurt and you may have some bleeding, isn’t that so?
However, I am not talking about a physical fall. I have used this as a metaphor and what I want to tell is the hollow/empty feeling that is created when one reaches a decision by his feelings and conditionings instead of using his mind.
This is a kind of mistake brought along by the insufficiency in preparing and arranging the alternative measures/precautions beforehand and due to the incomplete plans made for the future.
The following statement of Hz.Mohammad should be evaluated within the scope of destiny : ‘’There are 99 accidents by the son of man. If he can overcome these, then he may become old and die’’ .
However, in my opinion these words are pointing out some different aspects.
One interpretation that comes to my mind is ‘’There are hollows/emptiness in a major part of your life. If you can prevent yourself from falling into these, then you may have a happy and a hopeful life.’’
One of the easiest ways of falling into a hollow or emptiness is to live/experince everything that you encounter in your lifetime through your ego/feelings of security/ ownership. People with such an attitude are unaware of the principle ’The things that make you feel secure will melt like the snow under the sun and you will not be aware of this’’. Their lives are based on individualism/ their personal logic, they have to go on living in this manner as they do not know the universe, the outcomes of the system and in the end they will have to face the above mentioned sad results of such an attitude.
Sometimes, the surprises or simple, ordinary happennings may be enough to make one fall into a hollow/emptiness. Also, gossip, getting carried away by the dreams and a thought system based on anxieties, subjective thinking, assumptions are important factors in creating the hollow/the emptiness.
An event that has been encountered, having to face an unusual attitude from others, something meaningless would be enough to disturb the individual’s emotional balance and give a start for the ugliness (in the mind).
Following the disorder in behaviour and in perception, the fixations that are present in the data base of the brain will join the fears, the anxieties and it would be inevitable not to fall into the above mentioned state.
Dialogue, communication, supporting one another and sharing are the most important factors that prevent one from falling into this hollow.
We are living in a world where the powerful ones are stepping over the weaker ones.
We can exist in an honorable way, without needing others or without being dependant on them and solve our problems without falling into the hollow or emptiness.
As we cannot say ‘’Let us die and get saved’’, I would like to remind you once more that we have to be extremely careful before getting carried away in a series of inexperienced actions and thoughts.

posted in KARMA - 0 replies