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seoafin · 3 years

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BYE I WAS IMMERSED WITH GENSHIN’s STORY PLOT (AND THE FANARTS ON MY TL) WHICH WAS ALSO DROPPED EARLIER THIS MORNING AND FORGOT ABT JJK FOR A SPLIT SEVONDSJJSJEJ

but anyways ,, jjk 145// the more i write abt it, the more i’ll sound incoherent, this is ur last warning to ignore this 🧍‍♂️(1)

the one who is based on avalokitesvara (i’ll start calling it them as kannon from now) that i mentioned was actually brain (out of ppl) 😭😭

kenjaku (羂索) is shorten from "不空羂索観音 (fukukenjakukannon)" ,, they existed b4 the heian period... older then sukuna ?? suggested that brain is at least 1k years old... hsjsjjsjs

fukukenjakukannon, a manifestation of the buddhist god of mercy and compassion,, perhaps of some interest is that the fukukenjaku shares some kanji with gojou's infinite void followed by kanjis for trap & rope, with kannon directly referring to an all-knowing/overseeing divine existence. it rly does seem that kenjaku, tengen, and gojou's fates have all been strongly interwined throughout history,, kannon has been perceived as both male and female depending on the portrayal and the region, not unlike jjk's kenjaku switching bodies and genders over the course of time (kamo vs kaori vs getou)

some associations with kannon may be relevant to jjk. namely, as yuki mentions, salvation ,, kannon is a deity to serve his subjects, and resolve their suffering by eliminating its source,,, in which case, i think kenjaku's goal may possibly not be too far off from geto’s ,,,,, he may think that he is saving a group that is enduring greater suffering than any other. whether that is shamans, cursed spirits, or sth else entirely is up for debate. given his persistence over the millenia, and the likelihood of spreading suffering worldwide through a universal tengen merger, it's more than likely that he has a very personal motive. note that under his plan it is specifically the evil of a human that would spread and destroy all of humankind connected through tengen

this is an interesting contrast to sukuna, who is much more whimsical and far less calculated. i think the clash between these 2 in the past will have strong relevance for the future,,, on the other hand, since kannon has historically manifested in response to the suffering of various beings, it may be that the feelings of cursed spirits as a whole have led to kenjaku's existence. he could very well be a curse born from curses, instead of from humans.

okay now what i'm really excited abt: the relationship between kenjaku and the 6 eyes. 1 of the functions of kannon is to protect the 6 realms of rebirth/the 6 paths. u may already be familiar with this buddhist concept as it has been referenced in a variety of animanga (notably it is a major plot point of naruto, it's mukuro's ability in KHR, etc.). there's strong reason to believe this concept also has connections to the gojou 6 eyes ability. i think if we get to learn more abt the 6 eyes, i may be able to speak more on this point.

(as a side note here, i’ll mention that there’s an association between kannon and the protection of aborted children, perhaps relating to og kamo and the death paintings)

at the very least, we know that kenjaku and the 6 eyes are in opposition, and i'm speculating that the gojou bloodline is the true manifestation of a protective deity, at least for the humans, and kenjaku's goals are antithetical to that,,, perhaps, as yuki kind of suggested, taking the name kenjaku is a joke of sorts. if sukuna is malevolence incarnate, kenjaku is mercilesness,,

i think some of the core concepts being explored by the tengen storyline are that of form and existence. gojou satoru, tengen, kenjaku, and eventually the star plasma vessels are existences that transcend the norm,,, toji on the other hand, is the only example of the opposite. an existence that shouldn't have ever existed, in a sense. kenjaku seemed to have used that to his advantage in his manipulation of the events in hidden inventory,,, but it also leads me to believe that only a similar anomaly could undo the new destiny he's setting up for himself.

geto was the perfect piece to set kenjaku up for success in conducting a merger and putting this culling game into motion. geto's path has led to this outcome,,, in which case, an apt parallel as we have known all along is that gojou's path should lead to the counter-outcome: megumi, yuuta, and especially yuuji— these 3 will be the key to unravelling kenjaku's plan.

also tengen said that kenjaku’s objective is to send all the ppl in jpn to higan or turning all non shamans into one but he doesnt have enough cursed energy to do that,,, i did say that yuuji’s birthday took place in the 4th solar term where a part of a week long celebration haru no higan (higan 彼岸→other shore, buddhist pārāmitā), when ppl would honour the dead and sweep ancestral tombs took place,,,

so theres this buddhist mantra, called the “heart sutra” and the last verse of the sutra is,,

there are many sutras in buddhism, but the most well-known among them is probably the Heart Sutra,, altho it depends on the sect (of buddhism), the heart sutra is often read at funerals and memorial services, so even if,, and for some reason the sutra is often associated to kannon even in the utube thumbnail 👁👁 if u search up prajnaparamita sutra,,

heart sutra has the meaning of "an important teaching to reach the state of enlightenment by the power to see through the truth and essence." which is based on the idea of "void" as this important teaching,, the sutra tells us what we shld do to be free from the suffering of this world and live in peace,, in the heart sutra, the idea of "void" is especially important.

buddhism can be broadly divided into theravada and mahayana buddhism,,,,

theravada is a teaching that only some ppl (those who practice buddhism with strict lifestyle like the monks) reach the state of enlightenment, while mahayana is a teaching that all ppl (some who practice Buddhism) can reach enlightment even if u dont practice anything related to the religion,,, the idea of the void has the idea of not being caught up in individual things and not being obsessed with it, and the idea of heart sutra belongs to the category of mahayana buddhism

"void" does not mean "empty" but "no substance (no fixed shape)". the sutra also states that "everything keeps changing" and "although it keeps changing, the essence (core) of things remains the same."

for eg, the idea is, "i am me, no matter how old i am,, my appearance and various abilities deteriorate, how I am evaluated by others, whether i feel good or bad."

in other words,,, it’s a teaching to be aware of the essence without being caught up in the phenomenon of change.

"void" means "no substance (no fixed shape)", which means that u don't have to be obsessed with things or get caught up in one value.

eg, the reason why diamonds are beautiful is that diamonds arent beautiful from the beginning, but that humans decide that they’re beautiful,,, and that each person has a fixed evaluation of the movement of their hearts that they feel is beautiful. but thats not always the case right?

the last verse goes like this :

“Therefore, Prajna Paramita is known as the most divine mantra,

the great enlightening mantra,

the utmost mantra,

the incomparable mantra,

destroyer of all suffering!

Since what is true is not in vain, listen to the mantra of the Prajna Paramita– it goes like this:

GATE GATE PARA GATE PARASAM GATE BODHI SVAHA!”

the translation of the last line is: “going, going, going on beyond, always going on beyond, always becoming buddha.”

quoted from a web here : “it suggests movement toward awakening. It expresses the enlightenment of a buddha as an unfolding process, rather than a steady state. It puts us in the hopeful position of one who may not have arrived, but who may be on the way. The destination may not be an end, but the journey itself.

As appealing as this translation is, it is by no means the only one. When you do an Internet search for the terms “Heart Sutra” or “Prajna Paramita” you get numerous references. At these various pages you will find several different translations of the mantra. These include:

* Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond. Oh what an awakening! All hail!

* Gone, gone, gone beyond altogether beyond, Awakening, fulfilled!

* Gone, gone, gone to the Other Shore, attained the Other Shore having never left.

* Gone, gone, totally gone, totally completely gone, enlightened, so be it.

* “Oh, you have done! You have done! You have completely crossed the margin. This is Enlightenment! Congratulations!” “

the irony though of toji dying thinking that he should've stuck his principles but actually having ridiculous impact on the world,, this also puts a new spin on the "look upon the flesh of one who is free" (afaik it was left untranslated on his cover page when he invade dagon’s domain) and the implication is imo,,, the more cursed energy, the more restrictions and so in a way humanity goes into a devolution the more cursed energy there is because they will be bound even more tightly to the cycle than before,, which is the irony of the kenjaku & bodhisattva linkage

toji had a heavenly restriction and has zero cursed energy, which is an anomaly that is his own, which makes me wonder what he would've been like if he had an expressed technique,,, but it's the zero cursed energy part, that uniqueness, that makes him powerful in canon

im rly curious how having cursed power automatically seems to lock u into a binding,,, which is seemingly fate. the shaman world rly operates entirely on rules,, where this is because of tengen's barriers or the origin of techniques being more commonplace im not sure

i used to think CTs came abt when individual sorcerers made pacts with supernatural beings etc but now im not sure,, despite leaning hard on shinto and buddhist frameworks there isnt much overt indication over what is and is not a real power in canon,,, like we have mahoraga but are bodhisattvas assumed to be real and exist? or as figures of belief, are they and other figures of shinto mythology, all just cursed spirits in the end?

but that tengen is linked with the proliferation of 6 eyes and star plasma vessel, makes me start wondering how and why tengen started this whole barrier thing,, like yes jpn has a ton of cursed spirits but was it before or after the barrier i can't remember now

maybe Kenjaku was messing around too much back then,, i like how sukuna also maybe had very lil to do with this and is possibly going to interfere as a wild card once more. is the idea to use him as a hail mary so u convey more ppl to the other side all at once? unless kenjaku thinks sukuna is the person who got closest to the next evolution of humankind and is actually a fan 🥴

but yeah if sukuna and megumi can remake the world together can they just hit the reset button so tengen isn't somehow this massive jungian collective unconscious? is sukuna going to accidentally save the world lol,,, i didn't care for fate themes before since it felt like akutami hadn't wholly committed to it as a theme,,, but fate and collective responsibility/influence on the individual just became a much bigger theme

also the mind/body/soul thing with tengen,,, when is that idea coming back

so tengen and sukuna are so far the only ppl who have said to have evolved into curses, whereas kenjaku still seems to be a shaman, as well as angel. what catalyzes that??

also how tf are the cursed weapons made i have questions,, just putting it out here but i actually thought that if toji, presumably, didnt rebel and defected from the clan,,, what are the chances of zenin thinking of turning him into a cursed weapon lol

,,, does being a cursed spirit mean u are bound even more tightly to fate? or do u escape because u are no longer a human bound by ur technique and u are instead just energy that keeps cycling over and over.....cursed energy rly just karma with strength mechanics???

why did gojou get rid of the black rope only for yuuta go to find more??? seems contradictory,, like...did he exorcise sth in that couple years gap?? or were there other reasons? or is HE the one scared since he also hid the inverted spear of heaven,,, makes me wonder how common knowledge all these mechanics actually are

trying to wrap my head around potential megumi learned helplessness or not being able to work through his own problems, or if it's this weird backward wishing that he didn't HAVE to deal with problems if he didn't HAVE to do these things and there were simple solutions,,, like i don't think he's exactly lazy bc he seems to do a lot of work behind the scenes, but there's a certain stasis to him, a wishing not to know. i wonder if he was ever given the "u are a child and I'm the adult" speech nanami gave yuuji

nanami, qifrey and maybe reigen are the adult/ mentor figures i wish was/ is in my life orz

i think it's kind of funny how 145 is like suddenly christianity! this manga is just abt the many ways people seek freedom and want to be delivered,,,

but im not going to talk abt it 😔 — i only have lil to no knowledge abt it other than the lil trivias my friends dropped time to time whenever we’re having a discourse abt religion suddenly lmao and im not a big fan of talking abt things idk abt bc i’ll just look stupid otherwise LMAO

its interesting to note that christian have this uh for a lack of better way to describe it, higher power which can grant u eternal salvation or damnation while buddhism is just fending for urself in pursuit of enlightment ,,, while buddhism also have beings like devas/ deities it just means that 1) if ur born as one, u must have done a good deed sometime in one of ur previous lives,, 2) u just have a ridiculous long life span but yes u’ll eventually die again and rebirth as sth depending on ur actions,,, that goes for living in gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts or hells realms

this is completely unrelated but,, my mother used to blast the heart sutra frequently in my house back then and the only thing i catch is the “gate gate parasamgate bodhi svaha” which i used ,, whenever i see sth..that is supposed to be unseen

theres this time i stayed behind in cram school for an exam,, i purposely took a another path from my usual one to clear my head (but im still familiar) and i saw this guy standing on the side road and the only thing that went thru my mind back them was “why is he not moving? is he waiting for someone? is he lost or sth,, the main road is just 6 foot away tho lol”

it was until i keep looking at each house that i finally notice that the spot he stood on is not even a ground lvl asphalt,, it’s a fucking sewer which means that he’s actually floating 😭😭 i just jogged and say sth along the line “wow today, ma is cooking hotpot for dinner (i actually have no idea what she plans to cook everyday) i dont want to eat it cold,, so i better hurry up” out loud while chanting the verse in my head

theres also this time me and a friend were sitting on my motorcycle after getting our late night food run until a particular smell and when we stay silent, a woman is singing on the branch right above us that we dipped right away and i almost catch a ticket for speeding all the while thinking abt that verse💀

i dont mind seeing one of “them” but i do have a problem with them following me back home and end up haunting my house for some period of time,, that one or sth ghost who slam things around and giggle in the middle of the night is enough for me to deal with 😀

now im off crying abt genshin (again) now and i’ll go back to sleep afterwards,,, ALSO I LOVE WITCH HATE ATALIERJSJEJEJ- 🐱 (2)

you literally brought up THE SAME EXACT QUESTIONS I HAVE!!! like why would gojo send yuuta to find more of the rope if he destroyed it in the first place?? unless he destroyed it in the heat of the battle with miguel during the prequel but it didn’t look like that. also i saw on twitter kenjaku might not even be a male?? apparently when referring to kenjaku, tengen didn’t use gendered pronouns. im also super curious as to how the six eyes, star plasma vessel (riko...), tengen, and kenjaku are all entwined because kenjaku’s plan was a long time coming, even though he was foiled two times already.

this reminds me of the heavenly restrictions because im still so confused about what exactly it is!! is it something a person is born with or is it something that is placed on a baby by another person??

you brought up fate too and i think that’s such an interesting concept like with akutami making more and more references to the heian era and the “golden age of sorcery” in the end I feel like everything led up to this moment. the existence of cursed energy too just feels like this “endless cycle of fate” which makes sense considering this theme also kinda aligns with yuuji’s birth which was pre planned. idk...this whole thing is suddenly feeling so much more insidious than we may have originally thought.

the sudden christianity mention is a pretty odd choice on akutami’s part but a lot of ppl (including me) are speculating that hana is going to be a harbinger of doom or something. once again is she even japanese?? the western concept of angels have never been particularly altruistic either.

unfortunately gojo has always been treating megumi like an adult so i don’t think he was ever given the “you are a child” talk from gojo. we can see it in their first meeting too. when their conversation takes a turn to serious, it becomes a conversation is from one adult to another. gojo also seems like the type to pile even more responsibility onto megumi because gojo isn’t responsible, so megumi had to pick up that slack.

i agree with you. i think sukuna is literally a wild card LMAO he does what he wants when he wants and that’s in. i don’t even think you can have a contingency plan for sukuna because he’s just that unpredictable!!!

nanami, qifrey and MAYBE reigen LSDNFKJFKN....reigen beats gojo by far though so i’ll give reigen that (that's not saying much tho tbh 😭) reigen's still sexy as hell tho 😁

also you mentioned khr!! khr is one of my favorite mangas of all time....although amano akira cannot write women despite being one khr still holds a very special place in my heart. i had no idea mukuro was influenced by kannon (to be fair i was like 14) but then again...mukuro’s eyes....i can’t believe our tastes in animanga are the same....bestie our taste>>>

HELLO???? YOU’RE RUNNING INTO SUPERNATURAL CREATURES LIKE THAT??? also motorcycles!! now im like 80% sure you're in SEA somewhere, bc as someone who lived in a SEA country for 3 years and went to school in a haunted building I feel you LMAO

#as always....you truly never miss!!!!#and witch hat atelier is sooo good #i love qifrey....white haired anime man of my heart!!!#🐱 anon #all ur analyses are MWAH

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meditativeyoga · 5 years

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Feel Your Full Bloom: Lotus Pose

When she's really feeling ungrounded or anxious, KK Ledford counts on one of yoga's essential presents, Lotus. As the San Francisco-based Anusara teacher moves right into this classic asana, she feels her femurs origin, her groins resolve down, and her side body lift. Settling in, she discovers her midline and also envisions her roots coming down to the earth as the power removals up and also out of the top of her head. From this dance of stability and also gentleness, a natural contentedness and peace sweep over her. This effective hip and heart opener has entirely changed her power. 'I feel the planet is holding me, and also from that location I really feel actually stabilized as a feeling of liberty emerges from my heart.'

Lotus Posture (Padmasana) is considered by several to be an archetypal yoga pose. The plan of your hands as well as feet in the pose resembles the flowers of a lotus flower-- the blossom that expands from its base in the mud to rest above the water and also open up to the sun. The photo is absolutely nothing less compared to a metaphor for the unraveling process of yoga. 'A lotus is rooted in the mud, and also when it grows, it blooms into a beautiful blossom,' claims Richard Rosen, the director of Piedmont Yoga exercise Studio in Oakland, The golden state, as well as a Yoga Journal adding editor. 'In the exact same means, when a person starts yoga, they are rooted in the mud as component of the mundane globe. But as they advance, they can become a growing flower.'

Lotus's Humble Origins

The lotus, or padma in Sanskrit, is a powerful symbol that goes beyond time and faith. Over the centuries, the blossom has actually represented an entire period of states, including knowledge, detachment, cosmic renewal and also rejuvenation, purity, charm, and spiritual and also worldly wealth. This well-known flower plays a popular function in the production stories of old Egypt and India. It is likewise a generally used icon in Hindu iconography, linked with several effective deities. Lakshmi (the siren of wealth) is usually shown resting on an open lotus and holding one more in her hand. The exact same holds true of Ganesha, the elephant-headed destroyer of challenges, and Lord Vishnu, who is said to represent the principle of conservation in deep space. As well as lore has it that any place the Buddha walked, lotus flowers bloomed.

From such extensive imagery, the yoga present arised. Scholars typically aren't really sure when the initial mention of the asana was videotaped. Patanjali's Yoga exercise Sutra, composed circa 200 CE, discuss the relevance of finding a constant and also comfortable seated posture to assist in yoga's goal of self-realization, but does not mention Lotus by name.

This happens a couple of centuries later on: In a job considered the earliest reliable discourse on the Yoga exercise Sutra, circa 400 CE, the sage Vyasa broadens on Patanjali's idea of locating a comfortable seat. He refers to Lotus as one of 11 crucial positions-- including Virasana (Hero Pose) as well as Dandasana (Staff Pose)-- that could help with reflection as well as pranayama.

Lotus shows up once more in the Hatha Yoga exercise Pradipika, created in the 15th century and also assumed to be the initial message to discuss doing specific physical stances for wellness as opposed to simply for reflection. Calling Lotus the 'destroyer of disease,' it details the myriad physical and energised benefits of the position. According to the Pradipika, as a result of the means the body is 'secured' right into area, different parts of it in Lotus Posture press into the acupuncture factors of tummy, gallbladder, spleen, kidneys, and also liver. This causes modifications in the metabolic structure and also brain patterns, aiding to develop equilibrium in the entire system.

The Pradipika's companion messages, the Gheranda Samhita as well as the Shiva Samhita, additionally point out Lotus Posture-- in somewhat lofty means-- as a pose to understand for Pranayama. (Together, these 3 works are referred to as the earliest texts on classical hatha yoga exercise.) The Gheranda Samhita instructs pupils to 'sit in Lotus Pose (Padmasana) on a seat (asana) of kusha-grass, an antelope or tiger skin, a blanket, or in the world, and face either eastern or north.' And also the Shiva Samhita says: 'When the yogi sittinged in the Lotus position leaves the ground and remains firm in the air, he should know that he has actually attained mastery over that life-breath which ruins the darkness of the world.'

Awakening Energy

Contemporary experts, though not likely to rest on antelope skins or attempt to leave the ground, continue to exercise Lotus for its various physical as well as energised advantages. The present is said to raise flow in the lumbar spine, nourish and also tone the stomach organs, reinforce the ankle joints as well as legs, and rise flexibility in the hips.

But anyone who methods Lotus could tell you that its advantages go beyond loosening up the hips. 'Just what is special concerning Padmasana is that it's both a grounding and a greatly extensive pose,' states ParaYoga owner Pole Stryker, that has actually been instructing yoga exercise considering that the late 1980s as well as that created the sequence revealed right here. 'The grounding happens in the body, yet vigorously it guides our recognition towards the spine and the higher facilities.'

In various other words, Lotus holds the appealing possibility to awaken the inactive energy called kundalini at the base of the back and also action that power up the chakra system. You do this by involving the bandhas, or energetic locks, located at the chin, abdomen, as well as pelvic flooring. Inning accordance with Stryker, the body's setting in Lotus makes it simpler to accessibility Mula Bandha, the pelvic-floor lock, considering that it brings the pelvic flooring directly right into call with the planet, and the heels press right into the belly, aiding to naturally attract the pelvic flooring up. (The best way to read more regarding chakras as well as bandhas is to choose a teacher that focuses on yoga's energised techniques).

' In yoga, this is a crucial technique to start to gather and also carry life pressure,' states Stryker. As well as when we have begun to direct our life pressure? We really feel much less flighty as well as more based. Much less fatigued as well as a lot more lively. We could more carefully utilize our energy, whether toward advancing in our very own spiritual advancement or being of service to others.

One objective of a hatha yoga technique is to stir up kundalini power. The Pradipika discusses how Lotus helps us reach that objective: 'Having actually positioned the hands one after an additional, take care of the chin strongly upon the breast as well as, pondering upon Brahma, often contract the rectum and also increase the apana [down breath] up, by similar tightening of the throat, compel the prana [life pressure] down. By this [the yogi] obtains unequalled understanding through the favour of Kundalini, which is awakened by this procedure.'

By creating physical security, Lotus provides strong ground for yogis who laid out to stir kundalini. That's not the only factor to exercise the posture. In our frantic, always-connected globe, a lot of us walk around disconnected from our bodies and also minds. 'A great deal of individuals have raised off their pelvises and run from their neck as well as shoulders,' Ledford notes. By accumulating your power and also rerouting it back into the pelvis, Ledford states, Lotus can help you discover to root down vigorously as well as ground yourself.

Calming the Mind

While invigorating the body, Padmasana can additionally be a profoundly calming and also stabilizing present. Lotus helps to preserve proper position as well as spinal positioning, which assist in the deep breathing essential to get an introspective state. And also interlacing the body parts helps maintain movements to a minimum. From this stable seat, the detects can transform inward. Inning accordance with Stryker, the hips grounded right into the flooring boosts the nerves in the sacrum, which triggers the parasympathetic nerve system for a relaxing effect.

Ledford adds that when the body launches apana downward, excess vata energy (defined by air) leaves the body. 'Launching excess vata has a relaxing and grounding result on the nerves,' she states. Richard Rosen states that the results of resting in Lotus can be rather dramatic. 'The posture itself changes awareness. It silences the mind and it draws your awareness inside,' he says.

Whether you exercise fifty percent or complete Lotus, with the arms bound or on the thighs, for 10 breaths or 10 minutes-- you develop an opportunity for this stereotypical present to change your perspective. 'When doing the posture, visualize that you are a lotus,' claims Ledford. 'It's gravity calling you to obtain rooted again. Even if your life is muddy, you can bloom and also open your heart to the sunlight.'

Freedom Flowers

Let your mind be uninterrupted, like a lotus fallen leave in murky water.

Pankajam is among the numerous Sanskrit words for 'lotus' and indicates 'that which is substantiated of the muck or mud.' The lotus flower grows in the overload however rises above it, resting on top of the mire to ensure that it is not spotted by the swamp it came from.

That something so stunning and also pure could climb above its origins makes the lotus a symbol of kaivalyam, or 'freedom.' Kaivalyam is synonymous with liberty from suffering, which is the supreme goal of yoga.

The lotus fallen leave does not absorb just what landeds on it, water grains up and also slides off, leaving the leaf unaffected. So we, also, need to aim for the mind to be undisturbed by whatever it enters call with. No matter what our history or exactly what conditions we are born into, all of us have lotus potential.

Grow Your Lotus

Asana sequence by Rod Stryker

Benefits: This sequence opens up the hips, knees, as well as ankle joints, extends the hip flexors and sacral location, and also orients the hips as well as femurs in a solid external turning. Include warm-ups, Sunlight Salutations, and also counterposes for a total practice.

Contraindications: Persistent knee or ankle joint concerns, instability in the sacrum or reduced back, and also (if the present is done with a solid pelvic-floor lock) pregnancy.

1. Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangular Posture, variation)

Start by standing with your feet parallel, 3 to 4 feet apart. On an inhalation, lift your arms bent on the side in accordance with your shoulders. On an exhalation, spin and also flex down to reach your left hand to the flooring or into a block near the exterior of your best foot. Reach your right arm up. Stack your shoulders as well as your arms over the bottom hand. (To modify the posture, slightly bend the best knee.) On each exhalation, spin from the navel as you revolve it toward the ceiling. Remain for 8 breaths. Take a break and also return as much as standing with your arms at your sides. Repeat on the various other side.

Benefits: When finished with the feet parallel, develops a mild launch in the hips, low back, and also thighs.

2. Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Standing Ahead Bend)

Stand with your feet parallel as well as 3 to 4 feet apart. Place your hands on your hips. Inhale and lengthen your spinal column. Exhale as well as fold onward, positioning your practical the exterior of your calves or ankle joints. Bend your left knee, extend the front of your upper body, and also move your top body via your legs. Raise your sitting bones as well as draw them towards each other. Hold for 8 breaths. Do the other side, correcting the alignment of the left leg and also bending the appropriate knee. Come back to Tadasana (Hill Pose).

Benefits: Opens the hips as well as extends the internal thighs.

3. Ardha Padmottanasana (Half Lotus Standing Onward Bend)

From Tadasana (Mountain Pose), bend your best leg and also place your right heel at the top of your left upper leg in Half Lotus. If this pressures the knees, area your foot in Vrksasana (Tree Posture). Flex your right foot and a little bend your left leg. Inhale and extend the spine. Exhale and fold ahead, bringing your hands to the floor or to blocks. Ground the big-toe side of the left foot into the floor. Flatten the reduced back, elevate the resting bones, and attract the shoulder blades in as well as down. Hold for 6 to 8 breaths, keeping a level back. Breathe in to come up. Release your right leg and repeat on the other side.

Benefits: Prepares the hips, knees, and ankle joints for Lotus.

4. Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose, variation)

Come to the floor and rest on your back. Bend your knees, raise your hips off the flooring, as well as move them 3 to 4 inches to the right. Align your left leg on the flooring. With the right leg still bent, take it across the body. Raise your right heel 6 to 8 inches off the floor as you work your ideal knee toward the floor, your foot must be greater than your knee. (This opens the external hip location.) Reduced your right shoulder to the flooring as well as look to the right. On each exhalation, contract the navel as well as twist to the left. Repeat on the various other side.

Benefits: Loosens hip potter's wheel muscular tissues as well as prepares the pelvis and also low-back muscular tissues for full Lotus.

5. Upavistha Konasana (Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend)

Roll to one side and also being in Dandasana (Personnel Posture) with your legs extended in front of you. Bring your arms behind you, lean back, and also open your legs into a 90-degree angle. Flex your feet, press your upper legs down, and rotate them exterior so the kneecaps are dealing with the ceiling. Put your hands on the floor in front of you. Inhale to lengthen your back. Exhale and walk your hands ahead without rounding the center or lower back. (If your back rounds, remain on a folded covering or pillow to elevate your seat.) Press via your heels, lengthen and also lift the inner upper legs towards the ceiling, and push the thighs toward the flooring. Remain below for 6 to 8 breaths. Breathe in ahead up.

Benefits: Creates flexibility in the internal thighs and orients the thighs towards external rotation.

6. Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

From your wide-legged setting, flex your knees and bring the soles of your feet with each other. Permit your knees to fall open. Wrap your hands around the tops of your feet. Inhale as well as extend your spine. On an exhalation, fold forward with a flat back. On each inhalation, extend the spine, and also on each exhalation, launch the top body towards the floor. To strengthen the stretch, area your elbow joints onto your calves, and also lengthen your back as you carefully motivate your knees toward the floor. Stay for 6 to 8 breaths, gradually come up to launch, and also return to Dandasana.

Benefits: Stretches the inner thighs as well as tones the sacral and also lumbar areas.

7. Ardha Padma Paschimottanasana (Half Lotus Seated Onward Bend)

From Dandasana, bend your appropriate leg as well as transform the sole of your foot toward the ceiling, allowing your upper leg to launch. Bring the top of your foot to the top of your left upper leg as near the groin as possible. As soon as your foot remains in area, highly bent it. Press your straight leg strongly right into the flooring and also turn your pelvis onward. Bring your hands to the round of your left foot, or make use of a band. On a breathing, raise the breastbone. On the exhalation, press the lower back towards the upper legs. Remain for 6 to 8 breaths. Repeat on the various other side. If this position strains your knees, practice Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Forward Bend) instead.

Benefits: Produces a deep stretch in the knees, ankle joints, and also hips in last prep work for the full pose.

8. Padmasana (Lotus Pose)

Come back to Dandasana, cuddle your best foot into the top of your left thigh. Then flex your left leg, externally revolve it, and grab your left foot, transforming the sole towards the ceiling. Location the left foot on the top of the right thigh. Flex both feet as well as attract the inner thighs toward the pelvic flooring. Lengthen your spine and relax your hands on your knees, with your palms dealing with up. Take 5 smooth, even breaths. As you breathe in, really feel the crown of your head approaching the ceiling. On each exhalation, maintain the activity of the internal thighs, delicately raising the pelvic floor in Mula Bandha (Origin Lock). Maintain a soft look, with eyes relaxing downward. Get in touch with the feeling that as your mind transforms inward, you are growing ever before much more vibrant. Really feel that your heart is buoyant as well as open. Stay for 6 to 12 breaths. Change legs and also repeat on the other side.

Note: If you weren't able to do the Half Lotus variations of the previous positions, your body is not yet open enough to do Lotus without running the risk of injury. Maintain dealing with the previous presents till you are ready.

Nora Isaacs is a contributing editor at Yoga exercise Journal as well as the author of Women in Overdrive: Discover Balance and Conquer Burnout at Any type of Age.

#asana #Hatha yoga #Pranayama #spiritual #Yoga #Yoga Journal

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garywonghc · 6 years

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The Sutra of Recollecting the Three Jewels (Part 1)

by Khenchen Appey Rinpoche

This is the teaching known as The Sutra Recollecting the Three Jewels. In this sutra, what does “jewel” mean? The Sanskrit word ratna has been translated into the Tibetan language as dkon.mchog. The Tibetan translation of the word ratna is not a literal translation. The translator at that time thought that if it were translated into Tibetan as “jewel,” there would be the possibility of it being understood as a gem, gold, silver, coral, and the like. So the translator decided to translate the term as dkon.mchog, which means “excellent rarity” or “rare excellence.” The translator himself revealed this. In the Uttara Tantra, when he was explaining the meaning of “rare excellence,” the Victorious Maitreya said, “Generally, there are six characteristics of something that is very precious: it is rare, stainless, powerful, attractive, superior to other things, and unchangeable.”

What does “recollecting” mean? Recollecting means keeping in mind whatever any person already knows to be the qualities of the Three Jewels. If someone were to ask, “What are the benefits of recollecting the qualities of the Three Jewels?,” it is said that one of the benefits to arise through recollecting the qualities of the Three Jewels is the production of faith. Examples of this faith in the Buddha are that producing faith in the Buddha who shows the path to temporary and ultimate bliss will lead you to taking refuge in the Buddha; it will lead you to producing the Enlightenment Thought for the sake of other sentient beings that is a cause for attaining the state of complete Buddhahood; and it will also motivate you to engage in virtuous actions, such as prostrations and making offerings to the Buddhas. Now, producing faith in the Dharma will inspire you to study the Dharma. After understanding what you have studied, you will then desire to put that into practice. Producing faith in the Sangha will cause you yourself to spontaneously aspire to gain the state of a Bodhisattva, and it will also create a desire within you to make offerings to other Bodhisattvas.

In brief, faith will create a desire within you to engage in virtuous actions. It will lead you to take refuge in the Three Jewels. It will also inspire you to perform such practices as the Seven-Limbed Practice, which is dedicated to the objects of refuge who are endowed with infinite qualities. If you do not have faith in the Three Jewels, no Dharma qualities will be able to arise within your mind. In a sutra it is said, “A flower will not arise from a burnt seed.”

There is enormous merit in remembering the qualities of the Three Jewels. Previously, when the Buddha Kashyapa was teaching, a girl walked by that area and heard the Buddha teaching. In her mind she thought that the Buddha Kashyapa had a very pleasing voice, and because of this she produced faith in the qualities of his voice. Due to the merit arising from this, in her next life she obtained rebirth in one of the heavens. So it was said by the Buddha. If you are able to gain such a result from just recollecting a single quality of a Buddha, then there is no question of the merit accrued by studying, contemplating, and meditating on the qualities found in the sutras and their commentaries.

The Sanskrit word sutra is translated in Tibetan as mdo. The sutras are to be understood as the collection of many different topics spoken by the Buddha. This particular sutra is known as The Sutra of Recollecting the Three Jewels. When the translator began translating this sutra from Sanskrit into Tibetan, he added the words “Prostrations to the Omniscient One.” This sutra is divided into three sections: recollecting the qualities of the Buddha, recollecting the qualities of the Dharma, and recollecting the qualities of the Sangha.

[FIRST, TO EXPLAIN THE RECOLLECTION OF THE BUDDHA:]

There are two sources that explain the first of these, recollecting the qualities of the Blessed Buddha. These are the sutras of the Hinayana school and the sutras of the Mahayana school. According to the first, the Hinayana sutras, his qualities are described in the following manner:

Thus the Blessed One is called the One Gone to Suchness, the Foe Destroyer, the Perfectly Accomplished Buddha, the One Who Possesses Knowledge and Its “Feet,” the One Who Has Gone to Bliss, Knower of the World, the Charioteer Who Tames Sentient Beings, and the Unsurpassable Teacher of Gods and Humans.

The part described here at the beginning of this sutra is the Hinayana version of The Sutra [of Recollecting the Three Jewels]. Up to this point, it seems that there are different translations of the qualities of the Buddha. If we explain this in accordance with the word order in the Hinayana sutra, there are some inconsistencies. Since the word “Buddha,” for example, is omitted [in the Hinayana sutra], a person trying to explain it as it is written would have a difficult time. For this reason, the words “Thus” and “the Blessed One” are placed side by side. Further, if someone were to continue explaining those words from the sutra, they would need to explain the nine qualities of the Buddha starting with “the Blessed One.” In any case, we see that the one who possesses those nine qualities is known as Buddha. This is the meaning of the sutra. Both Asanga and Vasubandhu similarly described it in their two commentaries on the sutra.

Among those nine qualities enumerated in the quote from the sutra, the first one is [that the Buddha is] “the Blessed One” (Tibetan bchom.lden.’das; Sanskrit bhagavan). The meaning of this first quality is that the Buddha is called “the Blessed One” because he has destroyed the enemy that obstructs the attainment of enlightenment. Someone might ask, “What obstacle did the Buddha have?” Just when the Buddha was about to attain enlightenment [under the Bodhi Tree], the Mara of the Son of the Gods created a lot of obstacles for him. Therefore, the Buddha’s main obstacle was the Mara of the Son of the Gods. So the Buddha is known as “the Blessed One” because he attained enlightenment after having defeated that demon. Furthermore, another meaning of “the Blessed One” is that the Buddha destroyed either the three afflicting emotions [i.e., desire, hatred, and ignorance], as understood from the twelve limbs of Interdependent Origination, or the two obscurations [of the afflicting emotions and knowable things]. Therefore, he is called “the Blessed One.”

Normally, in the Sanskrit language, this term, “the Blessed One,” is known as bhagavan. The first part of this word, bhaga, means “to destroy,” “fortunate,” or “excellence.” The second part of that word, van, means “to possess.” Therefore, it means “the one who possesses the quality of destroying,” or “the one who destroys the things that have to be destroyed.” The second part of the word means “the one who possesses those qualities that need to be possessed.” So a person like this is known as bhagavan or bchom. lden. He is also known as “the Blessed One” because he possesses all good qualities.

Now, the second part of the word [bchom. lden.’das, namely,] ’das, was added on by the Tibetan translator. The reason for this is that the word leg.lden. can be substituted for the word bchom.lden. The term leg.lden. refers to worldly gods. In order that the word leg.lden. not be understood to mean “worldly gods or higher beings,” the translator added the word ’das to differentiate it [i.e., bchom.lden.’das] from leg.lden or bchom.lden. The word bchom means “defeating the four Maras”: the Mara of the Afflicting Emotions, such as attachment and aversion; the Mara of the Aggregates, such as the impure aggregates arising from ignorance and the like; the Mara of Death, such as the one who dies by the power of his [or her] individual karma while not having any choice over the matter; and the Mara of the Son of the Gods, who is a god within the realm of desire and who creates obstacles to Dharma practitioners. So bchom.lden means that the Buddha has already overpowered all four of these Maras.

There is also another connotation of this, known as leg.pa.gdrup, which means six excellences or six virtues. What do the “six virtues” mean? First, it can mean six excellent qualities. The first of these six virtues is the excellent quality of power. Here, this denotes that no scholar is able to criticise the Buddha by saying such things as “the logic and reasoning you use in relation to the teaching of the Dharma is incorrect.” The second excellent virtue is the excellent quality of body. The Buddha’s body is very beautiful — even more beautiful than the body of the gods. The third excellent virtue is the excellent quality of glory. The reason for this is that the field of the Buddha’s activities is extraordinarily vast and the Buddha has an infinite number of perfectly trained disciples. The fourth excellent virtue is the excellent quality of fame. His fame has spread to wherever his disciples reside. The fifth excellent virtue is the excellent quality of transcendental wisdom. Through his wisdom, the Buddha has the realisation of knowing all knowable things within the relative and ultimate truths. He knows all things unerringly. The sixth excellent virtue is the excellent quality of diligence. The Buddha can effortlessly and untiringly perform different activities for millions of sentient beings in a single moment.

The second epithet [of the Buddha] is “the One Gone to Suchness” (Tibetan de.zhin.shek.pa; Sanskrit Tathagata). The meaning of this appellation is unmistakably knowing the nature of all things as they are. This quality emphasises that the Buddha is the perfect teacher. For this reason the Buddha has this title “the One Gone to Suchness.” The main reason for calling him “the One Gone to Suchness” is that no matter what teaching the Buddha might give, it always shows the true nature of all phenomena. It is not otherwise. The Buddha has never taught anything that is a perverted wrong view. For this reason, the Buddha is called “the One Gone to Suchness.”

The third epithet is “the Foe Destroyer” (Tibetan dgra.bchom.pa; Sanskrit arhat). The first syllable of this word in Tibetan, dgra, refers to delusional afflicting emotions, such as attachment, hatred, and the like, that arise within our minds. Those afflicting emotions are called “enemies” because they cause obstacles to the practice of virtues. Due to this they also throw us into suffering, and so they are called enemies. Since the Buddha has destroyed all the afflicting emotions, he is called “the Foe Destroyer.” And so it shows that the Buddha has gained the perfection of the abandonment of the afflicting emotions.

The fourth epithet is “the Perfectly Accomplished One” (Tibetan yang.dag.par.dzogs.pa’i.sangs. rgyas; Sanskrit samyaksambuddha). What does “the Perfectly Accomplished One” mean? The one who has accomplished all the qualities of enlightenment and who has accomplished all knowledge is called “the Perfectly Accomplished Buddha.” The Buddha is one who has realised the wisdom that knows all knowable things in a completely perfect way. This explanation shows that the Blessed Buddha is the one who possesses the perfection of realisation. For this reason, it shows that the completely and perfectly enlightened Buddha is the teacher who is superior to other teachers. For example, the Foe Destroyers of the Shravakas possess the quality of a Foe Destroyer because they have abandoned all the afflicting emotions that arise within their own minds. However, they do not have the ability to teach without making some mistakes and they do not know all phenomena as they truly are. Also, the teachers of the heretical schools, such as Hinduism, do not have all these qualities [such as abandonment of the afflicting emotions within their own minds, teaching without fault, and knowing phenomena as they truly are].

The fifth epithet is “the One Who Possesses Knowledge and Its Feet” (Tibetan rig.pa.dang.zhabs. su.ldan.pa). These two terms show the path to attain Buddhahood. If someone were to ask, “practice of what kind of path will help you attain Buddhahood?,” then this is explained in the following manner. First, to explain “knowledge” from the phrase “knowledge and its feet”: Suppose, for example, you need to walk to another country. To do this you need both eyes and feet. In this example, knowledge is analogous to eyes, and feet are analogous to the basis on which you stand and by which you move. So when you walk you look through your eyes and you move with your feet. Similarly, to attain the state of Buddhahood you need both knowledge and basic practice. From among the three higher trainings, knowledge refers to the training of wisdom. “Feet” refer to the other two higher trainings — the training of moral conduct and the training of meditation. These last two play the role of being the basis, or foundation, of wisdom. In brief, this shows that through practicing the three higher trainings the state of Buddhahood is attained.

With respect to wisdom, it is the mind that realises the true nature of phenomena. Moral conduct is to be understood as the mind that is committed to relinquishing non-virtuous actions. With respect to meditation, since at this point we don’t have freedom over our own mind, our mind is not able to rest in one place [i.e., it is distracted]. One-pointed concentration is needed to enable the mind to penetrate into the true nature of phenomena. However, during the recitation of sadhanas [Vajrayana Deity recitation practices] or the performance of rituals, there are chances for the mind to rest in one place or focus on some virtue. That very state of mind is called meditation.

Here is another way to explain this: “knowledge” is understood as the Right View from among the Noble Eightfold Path, while “feet” are understood as the seven remaining limbs of the Noble Eightfold Path. So all eight parts of the Noble Eightfold Path are needed to reach the City of Liberation. Yet again, another way to explain this is that “knowledge” refers to the three supernatural perfections of direct realisation, and “feet” refer to other perfections, such as the perfection of moral conduct.

The sixth epithet [for the Buddha, i.e., “the One Who Has Gone to Bliss,”] is known in Sanskrit as sugata (Tibetan bde.war. gsheks.pa). Su means “bliss” or “happiness.” Gata means “going.” Further, this is explained as: By relying on a pleasant path, you arrive at a pleasant destination. So, understand sugata to mean that you use a pleasing path to reach a happy destination. In some other traditions, the path is not pleasing or happy. For example, in the practice of Hinduism, some practitioners will immerse themselves for a long period of time in cold water during the winter, while others will sit or lie upon a bed of thorns. By these actions, they inflict much pain upon themselves. However, the followers of the Buddha do not practice Dharma in that manner. For them, through a pleasant path and through pleasant Dharma practices, they are able to attain Buddhahood. Thus, sugata means “going pleasantly.” Hindu practitioners claim that if you are too inclined toward the happiness of body and mind, then desire will arise. For that reason they believe that one should practice austere penances. However, these types of Hindu spiritual practices are regarded as faulty by Buddhists. Why do we say this? When you are too happy, you become desirous. Similarly, by inflicting pain upon your body and mind, torturing yourself, you will become depressed and that will lead to anger. Therefore, the performance of virtuous activities is the method that will free you from the entrapment of worldly existence. In other words, through these mind-pleasing methods you will attain liberation from the bonds of samsaric existence. Whatever practice you engage in, you should make sure that your action will lead you to the attainment of freedom from worldly existence. Otherwise, just engaging in an action of penance is meaningless and will never lead you to a higher result.

Further, if we look in detail about the meaning of the term sugata, then we see that su refers to “good,” “never falling back,” and “complete” or “without exception.” Gata is to be understood as the Buddha’s qualities of relinquishment and realisation. If you were to explain the word good simply in relation to both the Buddha’s quality of relinquishment and his quality of realisation, then the first syllable su should be understood as “not relapsing” with respect to the quality of relinquishment. Once the Buddha has relinquished the afflicting emotions, they will not return. So the Buddha’s quality of relinquishment is a complete abandonment. For example, once you are cured from the disease of smallpox, this disease will never return for the rest of your life. Similarly, once you relinquish the afflicting emotions, such as selfclinging, then no matter what external or internal conditions may appear, self-clinging will never arise within you again. For that reason the Buddha is called “Sugata.” This means that the Buddha has gained perfect and complete relinquishment.

Next, we will explain the term sugata in relation to the Buddha’s realisations. Since the Buddha perfectly realises all knowable things, we address him as “Sugata.” For example, it is similar to a vase full of water to which not even one more drop can be added. Other teachers who impart the Dharma, such as Arhats, Shravakas, and Pratyekabuddhas, have relinquished the afflicting emotions of obscurations so that these afflicting emotions will not return. However, they do not possess the quality of realising all knowable things. Therefore, teachers of other schools do not have the dual qualities that are suggested by the term sugata. The meaning of the qualities of the Buddha, or Sugata, is explained in great detail in Dharmakirti’s Pramanavartika as “good,” “not falling back,” and “without exception” in relation to the Buddha’s qualities of relinquishment and realisation. Also, in the words of the sutra, the Buddha’s names and the qualities of his enlightened activities, such as Knower of the World, Tamer of Sentient Beings, Unsurpassable One, Charioteer Who Tames Sentient Beings, etc., are all explained in great detail. However, here we are explaining them briefly.

The seventh epithet is understood as “Knower of the World” (Tibetan ’jig.rten.mkhyen.pa). Since Buddha knows the races and predispositions of all his disciples, he is addressed as “Knower of the World.” The Buddha knows which disciples have faults, which ones are progressing, which ones are about to go to lower births, and which ones have already arrived in the lower realms. The Buddha has the power to see all this. Further, he has the ability to see which ones need to be placed on the path to higher rebirth from the lower realms and which ones have already been placed on the path to liberation. So, Buddha is an omniscient one and is recognized as the “Knower of the World.”

The eighth epithet is known as “ the Unsurpassable Charioteer Who Tames Sentient Beings” (Tibetan skyes.bu.’dul.ba’i.kha.lo.sgyur. ba.bla.na.med.pa). Why is the Buddha known as “the Unsurpassable Charioteer Who Tames Sentient Beings”? Having seen the movements from birth to birth of sentient beings, the Buddha destroys the afflicting emotions of living beings who are fortunate enough to be able to attain the path leading to the City of liberation. For those beings, the Buddha will steer them along that path.

What does “charioteer” mean here? It is similar to one driving a horse cart or some other vehicle. In accordance with the predispositions and abilities of sentient beings, the Buddha leads them onto the path of liberation. For this reason, the Buddha is addressed as “Charioteer” and “Tamer of Beings.”

“Unsurpassable” should be understood to mean that there is no one superior to the Buddha who can lead sentient beings to the state of liberation. In the sutras there are several reasons cited as to why the Buddha is matchless. Sentient beings who are difficult to discipline can be tamed only by the Buddha. Even those whose mental continuum was filled with delusion were able to be tamed by the Buddha. For example, the Buddha’s younger brother, Nanda, had a difficult time being apart from his wife Pundarika due to his attachment to her. Through very skillful means, the Buddha convinced his brother to become a monk. He then led him in the practice of meditation, and finally Nanda attained the state of Arhatship. Another case involved Angulimala, a frightful and ferocious killer whose mind was filled with anger and hatred. Just hearing his name brought great terror to the hearts of people. Generally speaking, Angulimala was a very famous person due to his renown as a fearsome mass murderer. However, through the Buddha’s assistance, he became a monk and entered the path. Even then, he still frightened people. One time he was listening to the Buddha’s teaching along with an assembly of others that included King Prasanjit of Sarvasti. During the teaching Angulimala happened to cough, and even this caused the king to tremble. In yet another case, there is the story of a dimwitted Stavira monk. During his studies his teacher asked him to memorise the syllables om and bhu. When he tried to memorise the syllable om, he would forget the syllable bhu. When he memorised bhu, then he would forget om again. Even this person was also trained by the Buddha. In order to purify his obscurations, the Buddha first had him clean the shrine room of the monastery. Through this and other skillful means, the Buddha was able to cause him to purify his afflicting emotions and obscurations. Later, he became a learned monk. Not only that, but the Buddha placed him in meditation practice, and later he attained the state of Arhatship. In a similar way, there was another Stavira monk by the name of brtan.rgya.’od.srung who was a very proud and arrogant person. He possessed many qualities, such as clairvoyance and the ability to display miraculous feats. Due to this, he was very haughty and conceited. In order to discipline him, the Buddha himself displayed many miraculous acts. In his mind, though, even when the Buddha demonstrated so many miraculous feats, this monk continued to believe that he had more special qualities than the Buddha. In order to tame him, the Buddha continued to display even more miracles. Finally, this caused the monk to produce true faith in the Buddha. He then received teaching from the Buddha and eventually attained the state of Arhatship.

The ninth epithet is “the One Who is the Teacher of Gods and Humans” (Tibetan lha.dang.mi.rnam. kyi.ston.pa). Generally, the Buddha gives teachings to all sentient beings, without bias and regardless of their race. However, though the Buddha teaches all beings, gods and humans are the only two types of living beings who are capable of practicing the path of liberation. Foe Destroyers (Arhats) are of two kinds: god Foe Destroyers and human Foe Destroyers. There is no such category as animal Foe Destroyer. Therefore, the principal disciples of the Buddha are gods and humans. For this reason, the Buddha is addressed as “the Teacher of Gods and Humans.”

These nine phrases in the Hinayanists’ rendition of this sutra refer back to the Buddha being known as “the Blessed One.” Therefore, this last phrase, “the Teacher of Gods and Humans,” completes the enumeration of terms referring to the Buddha who has the nine qualities that have just been explained.

If someone were to ask, “Who is the Buddha?” we would have to say that that unique person who possesses these nine qualities is none other than the Blessed Buddha. The meaning of the Sanskrit term bhagavan [usually translated as “the Blessed One,” as explained above,] can sometimes also be interpreted as “known as.” Therefore, without using the term “Blessed One,” it is all right to translate the phrase as follows: the one who possesses the nine qualities is “known as the Buddha.”

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themanofrennes · 6 years

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TOP 2017 #20 - #1

Un peu pris de court cette année à cause d’un déménagement, voici en retard et à l’arrache mon top de mes albums préférés de 2017.

Un titre de chaque album est en écoute dans le lecteur en bas de post ou sur cette playlist Spotify.

#20 PALM - L.A. Vortex Sutra

#19 Waking at Dusk - True Places Never Are

#18 Iron & Wine - Beast Epic

#17 Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me

#16 Wolf Parade - Cry Cry Cry

#15 Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now

#14 State Broadcasters - A Different Past

#13 The Mountain Goats - Goths

#12 Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly And James McAlister - Planetarium

#11 Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

#10 Flotation Toy Warning - The Machine That Made Us

#9 Jesu & Sun Kil Moon - 30 Seconds To The Decline Of Planet Earth (alerte autoplay)

#8 Destroyer - Ken

#7 Raoul Vignal - The Silver Veil

#6 Laura Marling - Semper Femina

#5 Will Stratton - Rosewood Almanac

#4 Garciaphone - Dreameater

#3 Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors

#2 Grandaddy - Last Place

#1 Ramona Córdova - On_Paper

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dhammajoti · 6 years

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A Ceremony of Chanting Usnisa Vijaya Dharani

(1)Inviting the Triple Jewel from Ten directions "Namo to the all-encompassing Dharma realm of the universe, the triple jewel of ten directions and of the past, present and future"

Each line 3x "Namo Bhagavate Sakyamunaye Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Loka-vistirna-tejesvara-prabhaya Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Bhaisajya-guru-vaidurya-prabha-rajaya Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Pra-bhuta-ratnaya Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Ratna-sikhinya Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Su-rupaya Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Vipula Gatraya Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Abhayam-karaya Tathagataya" 'Namo Bhagavate Amrta Rajaya Tathagataya" "Namo Bhagavate Amitabhaya Tathagataya" "Namo Maitreya Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Great Wisdom Manjusri Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Great Conduct Samanta-bhada Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Great Compassion Aryavalokitesvaraya Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Maha-sthama-prapta Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Great Pure Sea of Bodhisattvas" "Namo Great Vows Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Dharma Protector Wei Tuo Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Guarding Host Bodhisattvaya" "Namo all Dharma Guarding Deva Bodhisattvaya" "Namo Usnisa Vijaya Dharani"

(2) Mantra of Offering "Om, Amogha Puja Mani Padma Vajre Tathagata Vilokite Samanta Pra-sara Hum"

(3) Recite the Usnisa Vijaya Dharani

(4) Recite any one or all the following (21-108 times) "Namo Amitabha Buddhaya" "Namo Aryavalokitesvara Bodhisattva" "Namo Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva"

(5) True Words of Universal Transference of Merits "Om, Smara-smara vimala Sara Maha Cakra Vah Hum"

(6) Transference of Merits (a) For individual prayers or prayers on behalf of a person. "May the merits and virtues accrued from this recitation, be transferred to disciple(s) [name(s)], sincerely seeking the blessings and compassion of the triple jewel from ten directions, so that my/our karmic obstruction can be eradicated, be healthy physically and spiritually, my/our wisdom deepened and quickly attain Buddhahood. At the same time, may all my (our) friends and foes (and the ones who have passed away [name(s)] be reborn in the good paths of Western Pureland." For use during mass gathering or daily recitation. May all beings and ourselves be born together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

"May the merits and virtues accrued from these deeds, be transferred to the true and unchanging truth, every mind is in accordance with the truth."

"May the merits and virtues accrued from these deeds, be transferred to the highest fruition of Bodhi, every thought is accomplished and perfect to the fruition of Bodhi."

(7) Tree Refuges "To the Buddha I take refuge, may all beings understand the great Way profound ly and bring forth the Bodhi mind." "To the Dharma I take refuge, may all beings deeply enter the Sutra treasury and have wisdom as vast as the sea. "To the Sangha I take refuge, may all beings form great assembly, all in harmony."

Attention! The merits and awesome power of this Mantra is inconceivable, and the effect is also inconceivable. Please remember to recite the Buddhisattva's name(s) and transfer the merits after recitation.

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE SARVA TRAILOKYA PRATIVISHISHTA-YA OM from all three realms the Excellent Transcendental Arya Qualified Destroyer Mother BUDDHAYA TE NAMA prostrating to you, the Buddha TADYATHA Like this OM BHRUM BHRUM BHRUM SHODHAYA SHODHAYA purify, purify VISHODHAYA

VISHODHAYA the Mother Who Sees With Equanimity ASAMA SAMANTA AVABHA SPHARANA GATI the Radiating Gone Mother GAGANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE the nature of the sky, the completely pure mother ABHIKSHINCHANTU MAM I am reques ng to directly ini ate me SARVA TATHAGATA all those to suchness, the supreme SUGATA VARA VACHANA the supreme sublime holy speech of Those Gone To Bliss AMRITA ABHISHEKERA I am requesting please directly initiate me with nectar MAHAMUDRA MANTRA PADAIH with the word mudra and mantra, please collect all and for all me AHARA AHARA MAMA AYUS SANDHARANI the mother who is holding all my life SHODHAYA SHODHAYA purify, purify VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA purify well, purify well GAGANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE the nature of the sky, completely pure mother USHNISHA VIJAYA PARISHUDDHE crown Namgyalma, completely pure mother SAHASRA RASMI SANCHODITE the mother who is sending thousands of beams SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKINI gone to the suchness, the Mother who Sees All SHAT PARAMITA PARIPURANI the mother who completed the six gone beyonds SARVA TATHAGATA MATE the mother of all the Ones Gone to Suchness DASHA BHUMI PRATISHTHITE the mother who is abiding in the ten bhumis SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA the essence of all Those Gone to Suchness ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE who is blessed and who is blessing MUDRE MUDRE MAHAMUDRE seal, seal, the great seal VAJRA KAYA SAMHATANA PARISHUDDHE mother in the vajra holy body, completely purified one SARVA KARMA AVARANA VISHUDDHE mother who has completely purified all the karmic obscurations PRATINIVARTAYA MAMA AYUR again, please receive my life VISHUDDHE SARVA TATHAGATA one of all the Gone To Suchness Ones’ samaya SAMAYA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE the mother who took the pledge and blessed the blessing one OM MUNE MUNE MAHA MUNE mighty, mighty, The Great Mighty One VIMUNE VIMUNE MAHA VIMUNE the control aspect, the control aspect, the great control aspect MATI MATI MAHA MATI wisdom, wisdom, the great wisdom MAMATI SUMATI TATHATA my wisdom, wisdom deep only suchness BHUTAKOTI PARISHUDDHE the extreme of complete purity is the Mother Of The Completely Purified VISPHUTA BUDDHI SHUDDHE the wisdom is the completely pure mother HE HE JAYA JAYA victorious is victorious VIJAYA VIJAYA completely victorious, completely victorious SMARA SMARA remembrance, remembrance, increasing, increasing SPHARA SPHARA SPHARAYA SPHARAYA develop, develop, the Buddha is SARVA BUDDHA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE the blessing of all, the blessing mother SHUDDHE SHUDDHE the pure mother, the fully pure mother BUDDHE BUDDHE Buddha vajra, vajra mother VAJRE VAJRE MAHA VAJRE the Great Vajra Mother, purified SUVAJRE VAJRA GARBHE JAYA GARBHE the essence vajra, the heart of The Victorious One VIJAYA GARBHE the Heart Mother of the Completely Victorious One VAJRA JVALA GARBHE the Heart Mother of Vajra Flame VAJRODBHAVE mother where the nature of vajra is VAJRA SAMBHAVE VAJRE VAJRINI the mother having wisdom, the vajra mother VAJRAM BHAVANTU MAMA SHARIRAM the vajra body given by all sentient beings SARVA SATTVANAN CHHA KAYA PARISHUDDHIR BHAVANTU please make the body be completely purified, even all mysuperstitions ME SADA SARVA GATI PARISHUDDHI SHCHHA please make completely pure these all the me SARVA TATHAGATA SHCHHA even by all the Ones Gone To Suchness MAM SAMAS VASAYANTU I am requesting you to give breath to us BUDDHYA BUDDHYA mother who is atained SIDDHYA SIDDHYA BODHAYA BODHAYA realize, realize, realized aspect VIBODHAYA VIBODHAYA actualized aspect and liberate MOCHAYA MOCHAYA VIMOCHAYA VIMOCHAYA liberate and liberate completely SHODHAYA SHODHAYA purify, purify VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA neatly purify, neatly purify SAMANTENA MOCHAYA MOCHAYA liberate completely and liberate SAMANTA RASMI PARISHUDDHE the mother who is a completely pure beam all the time SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA the Essence of All Gone As It Is ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE the mother who is blessed by blessing MUDRE MUDRE MAHA MUDRE seal, seal, great seal MAHA MUDRA MANTRA PADAIH SVAHA establish the base by the great seal,

The words of the secret mantra OM BHRUM SVAHA OM AMRITA AYUR DADAI SVAHA the Mother who is granting immortal life OM AH HUM TRAM HRIH AM AH MAM SARVA SATTVAMSHCHHA RAKSHA RAKSHA KURU SVAHA establish the base, myself and all sentient beings to be protected.

Background History

The Sutra of The Supreme Sacrosanct Dharani From The Buddha's Summit (Tripitaka No. 967) Translated during the Tang Dynasty by Buddhapala

Thus I have heard, at one time, the Bhagavan (World Honored One) was dwelling in the city of Shravasti at the Jeta Grove, in the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary (Anathapindika), together with his regular disciples of twelve hundred and fifty great Bhikshus and twelve thousand Maha Bodhisattvas Sangha in all.

At that time the devas in Trayastrimsha Heaven were also having a gathering in the Good Dharma Hall. Among them was a devaputra by the name of Susthita who, together with the other great devaputras, was frolicking in the garden and courtyard, enjoying in the supremely wonderful bliss of heavenly life. Surrounded by devis they were extremely happy - singing, dancing and entertaining themselves.

Soon after nightfall, Devaputra Susthita suddenly heard a voice in space saying, "Devaputra Susthita, you have only seven days left to live. After death, you will be reborn in Jambudvipa (Earth) as an animal for seven successive lives. Then you will fall into the hells to undergo more sufferings. Only after fulfilling your karmic retribution will you be reborn in the human realm, but to a humble and destitute family, while in the mother's womb you will be without eyes and born blind."

On hearing this, Devaputra Susthita was so terrified that his hair stood on end. Tormented and distressed, he rushed over to the palace of Lord Sakra. Bursting into tears and not knowing what else to do, he prostrated himself at the feet of Lord Sakra, telling Lord Sakra of what had happened.

"As I was enjoying the frolic of dance and songs with the heavenly devis, I suddenly heard a voice in space telling me that I had only seven days left, and that I would fall into Jambudvipa after death, remaining there in the animal realm for seven successive lives. Following that, I would fall into the various hells to endure greater sufferings. Only after my karmic retribution had been fulfilled would I reborn as a human, and even then I would be born without eyes in a poor and disreputable family. Lord of Heaven, how can I escape from such sufferings?"

Lord Sakra immediately calmed his mind to enter Samadhi and made careful observations. Instantly, he saw that Susthita would undergo seven successive evil paths in the forms of a pig, dog, jackal, monkey, python, crow and vulture, all feeding on filth and putrescence.

Having seen the seven future rebirth forms of Devaputra Susthita, Lord Sakra was shattered and was filled with great sorrow, but could not think of any way to help Susthita. He felt that only the Tathagata, Arhate, Samyak-sambuddha could save Susthita from falling into the great sufferings of evil destines.

Thus, soon after nightfall that very day, Lord Sakra prepared various types of flower wreaths, perfume and incense. Adorning himself with fine Deva garments and bearing these offerings, Lord Sakra made his way to the garden of Anathapindika, abode of the World Honored One. Upon arrival, Lord Sakra first prostrated himself at the Buddha's feet in reverence, then circumambulated the Buddha seven times clockwise in worship, before laying out his great Puja (offerings). Kneeling in front of the Buddha, Lord Sakra described the future destiny of Devaputra Susthita who would soon fall into the evil paths with seven successive rebirths in the animal realm with details of his subsequent retribution.

Instantly, the usnisa (crown of the head) of the Tathagata radiated multiple rays of light, illuminating the world in all ten directions, the light then returned, circling the Buddha three times before entering His mouth. Then the Buddha smiled and said to Lord Sakra, "Lord of Heaven, there is a Dharani known as the 'Usnisa Vijaya Dharani'. It can purify all evil paths, completely eliminating all sufferings of birth and death. It can also liberate all miseries and sufferings of beings in the realms of hell, King Yama and animal, destroy all the hells, and transfer sentient beings onto the virtuous path."

"Lord of Heaven, if one hears this Usnisa Vijaya Dharani once, all the bad karma incurred from his previous lives that should cause him to fall into hells will be destroyed altogether. He will instead acquire a fine and pure body. Wherever he is reborn, he will clearly remember the Dharani - from one Buddhahood to another, from one heavenly realm to another heavenly realm. Indeed, throughout the Trayastrimsha Heaven, wherever he is reborn, he will not forget."

"Lord of Heaven, if someone at death's door recalls this divine Dharani, even for just a moment, his lifespan will be extended and he will acquire purification of body, speech and mind. Without suffering any physical pain and in accordance with his meritorious deeds, he will enjoy tranquility everywhere. Receiving blessings from all the Tathagatas, and constantly guarded by devas and protected by Bodhisattvas, he will be honored and respected by people, and all the evil hindrances will be eradicated."

"Lord of Heaven, if anyone can sincerely read or recite this Dharani even for a short period of time, all his karmic retribution which would lead him to suffer in the hells, the animal realm, the realm of King Yama and the hungry ghost realm, will be completely destroyed and eradicated without leaving any trace. He will be free to go to any of the Buddhas' Pure lands and heavenly palace; all gateways leading to the Bodhisattvas' abode are open to him unobstructed."

After hearing the above discourse, Lord Sakra immediately appealed to the Buddha, "For the sake of all sentient beings, may the World Honored One kindly give a discourse on how one's lifespan can be lengthened."

The Buddha was aware of Lord Sakra's intention and his eagerness to hear His discourse on this Dharani and so immediately proclaimed the Mantra thus. Then the Buddha told Lord Sakra, "The above Mantra is known as the 'Purifying All Evil Paths' Usnisa Vijaya Dharani'. It can eliminate all evil karmic hindrances and eradicate the suffering of all evil paths."

"Lord of Heaven, this great Dharani is proclaimed together by Buddhas as numerous as eighty-eight kotis (hundred million) of the grains of sand of the Ganges River. All Buddhas rejoice and uphold this Dharani that is verified by the wisdom seal of the Maha Vairocana Tathagata. This is because in the evil paths, to liberate them from painful retribution in hell, animal and King Yama's realms; to deliver beings facing immediate danger of falling into the sea of birth and death (samsara); to assist helpless beings with short life spans and poor fortune and to deliver beings who like to commit all kinds of evil deeds. Moreover, because of its dwelling and being upheld in the Jambudvipa world, the power manifested by this Dharani would cause all beings in hells and other evil realms; those with poor fortune and revolving in the cycles of birth and death; those not believing in the existence of good and evil deeds and are deviated from the proper path, to attain deliverance."

Again Buddha reminded Lord Sakra, "I now entrust this divine Dharani to you. you should in turn transmit it to Devaputra Susthita. In addition, you yourself should receive and uphold it, recite, contemplate and treasure it, memories and revere it. This Dharani Mudra should be widely proclaimed to all beings in the Jambu-dvipa world. I also entrust this to you, for the benefit of all heavenly beings, that this Dharani Mudra should be proclaimed. Lord of Heaven, you should diligently uphold and protect it, never letting it to be forgotten or lost."

"Lord of Heaven, if someone hears this Dharani even for just a moment, he will not undergo karmic retribution from the evil karma and severe hindrances accumulated from thousands of kalpas ago, that would otherwise cause him to revolve in the cycles of birth and death - in all kinds of life forms in the evil paths - hell, hungry ghost, animal, realm of King Yama, Asuras, Yaksa, Raksasa, ghosts and spirits, Putana, Kataputana, Apasmara, mosquitoes, gnats, tortoises, dogs, pythons, birds, ferocious animals, crawling creatures and even ants and other life forms. Owing to the merits accrued from hearing for a moment this Dharani, once this very life is over, he will be reborn in the Buddha lands, together with all the Buddhas and Ekajati-pratibaddha Bodhisattvas, or in a distinguished Brahmin or Ksatriya family, or in some other wealthy and reputable family. Lord of Heaven, this man can be reborn in one of the above-mentioned prosperous and reputable families simply because he has heard this Dharani, and hence be reborn in a pure place."

"Lord of Heaven, even acquiring the most victorious Bodhimanda is a result of praising the meritorious virtues of this Dharani. Hence, this Dharani is also known as the Auspicious Dharani, which can purify all evil paths. This Usnisa Vijaya Dharani is like a Treasury of Sun Mani Pearl -pure and flawless, clear as space, its brilliance illuminating and all-pervading. If any beings uphold this Dharani, likewise will they be bright and pure. This Dharani is similar to the Jambunada gold - bright, pure, and soft, can not be tainted by filth and well-liked by all who see it. Lord of Heaven, beings who uphold this Dharani are just as pure. By virtue of this pure practice, they will be reborn in the good paths."

"Lord of Heaven, where this Dharani dwells, if it is written for distribution, propagated, received and upheld, read and recited, heard and revered, this will cause all evil paths to be purified; miseries and sufferings in all hells will be completely eradicated."

Buddha again told Lord Sakra cautiously, "If someone could write this Dharani and place It on the top of a tall banner, high mountain or in a tall building or even keep It in a stupa; Lord of Heaven! If there are Bhikshus or Bhiksunis, Upasakas or Upasikas, laymen or laywomen who have seen this Dharani atop the above structures; or if the shadows of these structures should fall on beings who come near to the structures, or particles of dust from the written Dharani are blown onto their bodies; Lord of Heaven: Should the accumulated evil karma of these beings cause them to fall into the evil paths such as realms of hell, animal, King Yama, hungry ghost, Asura and other, they will all be spared from the evil paths, and they will not be tainted with filth and defilement. Lord of Heaven! Instead, all Buddhas will bestow predictions (Vyakarana) onto these beings who will never regress from the path to Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi (complete enlightenment)."

"Lord of Heaven, let alone if one makes various offerings of flower wreaths, perfumes, incense, banners and flags, canopies decorated with gems, clothing, necklaces of precious stones, etc, to adorn and honor this Dharani; and at major routes, if one builds special stupas to house this Dharani, then most respectfully with palms together circumambulates the pagoda, bowing and taking refuge, Lord of Heaven, those who make such offerings are called the great Mahasattvas, Buddha's true disciples, and the pillars of Dharma. Such stupas will be regarded as the Tathagata's complete body sharira-stupa."

At that time, in the early part of the night, the ruler of the Hell Realm - King Yama. came to the abode of the Buddha. First, using various Deva garments, beautiful flowers, perfumes and other adornments, he made offerings to the Buddha, then circumambulated the Buddha seven times before prostrating himself at the feet of the Buddha in reverence, saying, "I heard that the Tathagata was giving a discourse in praise of upholding the powerful Dharani; I have come with the intention to learn and cultivate it. I shall constantly guard and protect those who uphold, read and recite this powerful Dharani, not allowing them to fall into hell because they have followed the teachings of the Tathagata."

At this time, the four Guardians of the world - the Caturmaharajas (Four Heavenly Kings) circumambulated the Buddha three times, and most respectfully said, " World Honored One, may the Tathagata kindly explain in detail the way to uphold this Dharani."

The Buddha then told the Four Heavenly Kings, "Please listen attentively, for your benefit as well as for the benefit of all beings with short life spans, I will now explain the method to uphold this Dharani. On a full-moon day - the 15th day of the lunar month, one should first bathe oneself and put on new clothes, uphold the profound precepts and recite this Dharani a 1000 times. This will cause one to lengthen one's lifespan, and be permanently free from the sufferings of illness; all one's karmic hindrances will be completely eradicated. One will also be liberated from suffering in hell. If birds, animals and other sentient beings hear this Dharani once, they will never again be reborn in these impure and gross body forms once their lives have ended."

The Buddha continued, "If someone from a serious disease hears this Dharani, he will be free from the disease. All other illnesses will also be eradicated, so too will the evil karma that will cause him to fall into the evil paths. He will be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss after the end of his life. From then onwards he will no longer be born from the womb. Instead, wherever he is reborn, he will be born transformed from the lotus flower and would always remember and uphold this Dharani and gain knowledge of his past lives.

The Buddha added, "If someone has committed all the severe evil deeds before his death, according to his sinful deeds, he ought to fall into one of these realms of hell, animals, King Yama or hungry ghosts, or even into the big Avichi Hells, or be reborn as an aquatic creature, or in one of the many forms of birds and animals. If someone could obtain part of the skeleton of the deceased, and holding a fistful of soil, chant this Dharani 21 times before scattering the soil over the bones, then the deceased will be reborn in heaven."

The Buddha further added, "If one can chant this Dharani 21 times daily, one is worthy of accepting all the immense worldly offerings and will be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss after one's death. If one chants this Dharani constantly, one will attain Maha Parinirvana and be able to lengthen one's lifespan besides enjoying the most extraordinary bliss. After one's life is over, one will reborn in any of the wonderful Buddha lands, in constant company of the Buddhas. All Tathagatas will always give discourses on the profound and wonderful truth of Dharma and all World Honored Ones will bestow predictions of enlightenment upon one. The light illuminating from one's body will pervade all Buddha lands."

The Buddha further explained, "To recite this Dharani, one should first, in front of the Buddha's image, use some clean soil to construct a square Mandala, the size according to one's wish. On top of the Mandala one should spread different kinds of grass, flowers and burn different kinds of quality incense. Then kneeling down with the right knee on the floor, mindfully reciting the Buddha's name and with the hands in the Mudrani symbol, (i.e. each hand bending the forefinger before and pressing it down with the thumb and placing both palms together before the chest) in reverence, one should recite this Dharani 108 times. The showers of flowers would rain down from the clouds and would thus be universally made as offerings to Buddhas as numerous as the grains of sand of eighty- eight million Ganges Rivers. These Buddhas will simultaneously praise, "Excellent! Rare indeed! A Buddha's true disciple! " One will instantly attain Unobstructed Wisdom Samadhi and the Great Bodhi Mind Adorned Samadhi. Thus is the way to uphold this Dharani."

The Buddha again exhorted Lord Sakra, saying, "Lord of Heaven, the Tathagata uses this expedient means to deliver beings who would otherwise have fallen into hells; to purify all evil paths and to lengthen the life-spans of those who uphold this Dharani. Lord of Heaven, please go back and transmit this Dharani to Devaputra Susthita. After seven days, come to see me with Devaputra Susthita."

Thus, at the abode of the World Honored One, the Lord of Heaven respectfully received this Dharani practice and returned to his heavenly palace to convey it to Devaputra Susthita."

Having received this Dharani, Devaputra Susthita kept to the practice as instructed for six days and six nights, after which all his wishes were completely fulfilled. The karma which should have led him to suffer in all the evil paths were all eradicated. He would remain on the Bodhi Path and increase his lifespan for an immeasurable period of time. Thus, he was extremely delighted, exclaiming aloud in praise, "Extraordinary Tathagata! What a rare and wonderful Dharma! Its efficacy explicitly verified! Rare indeed! Truly I have thus obtained deliverance!"

When the seven days were over, Lord Sakra brought Devaputra Susthita, together with other heavenly beings, respectfully bearing excellent and wonderful adornment of flower-wreaths, perfumes, incense, jeweled banners, canopies decorated with gemstones, Deva-garments and garlands of precious stones, approached Buddha's abode and presented their grand offerings.

Using heavenly garments and various garlands of precious stones to make offerings to the World Honored One, they then respectfully circumambulated the Buddha a hundred thousand times, paid homage to the Buddha, then happily took their seats and listened to the Buddha preach the Dharma. The World Honored One then extended his golden arm and touched the crown of Devaputra Susthita, to whom He not only preached the Dharma but bestowed a prediction of Devaputra Susthita's attainment to Bodhi. Finally, the Buddha said, "This Sutra shall be known as the 'Purifying All Evil Paths' Usnisa Vijaya Dharani'. You should diligently uphold it." On hearing this Dharma, the entire assembly was extremely happy. They faithfully accepted and respectfully practiced it.

Hum

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Oldest Veg/Vegan Quotes on Earth

Porphyry and Being Vegan

“If, however, someone should think it is unjust to destroy brutes, such a one should neither use milk, nor wool, nor sheep, nor honey. For as you injure a man by taking from him his garments, thus also, you injure a sheep by shearing it. . . . milk, likewise was not produced for you, but for the young of the animal that has it. The bee also collects honey as food for itself; which you, by taking away, administer to your own pleasure.” (Porphyry, a 3rd century AD Neo-Platonist philosopher, in, On Abstinence from Beings with a Soul)

Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans

“As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. for as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.” (Pythagoras)

The Veg Pharaoh

In Egypt from 1351-1334 BCE Akhenaten, known as “the heretic king” was an Egyptian Pharaoh and pacifist who banned animal sacrifice and traditional Egyptian religion and instituted a religion based on compassion and monotheism. Akhenaten believed it to be sinful to take away any life given by Aten, his name for the One God or monotheistic deity. (According to Donals Mackenzie, author of Egyptian Myth and Legend)

In the Beginning...Vegetarianism is at the Beginning of the Hebrew Bible

Getting Back to Eden: "And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.'" (Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1:29, New International Version)

Jainism

The following is from the Yoga Shastra, a scripture of Jainism: “Non-injury to all living beings is the only religion…this is the quintessence of wisdom; not to kill anything. all breathing, existing, living sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. this is the pure unchangeable law. Therefore, cease to injure living things. all living things love their life, desire pleasure and do not like pain; they dislike any injury to themselves; everybody is desirous of life and to every being, his life is very dear.”

Hinduism

The Bhagavad Gita says: “One is dearest to God who has no enemies among the living beings, who is nonviolent to all creatures.”

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam we read: “To be non-violent to human beings and to be a killer or enemy of the poor animals is Satan’s philosophy.”

The Laws of Manu, a Hindu scripture which is dated anywhere between 10,000 years ago in the 7900s BCE and 200CE depending on the scholar, states: “Meat cannot be obtained without injury to animals…He who does not eat meat becomes dear to men, and will not be tormented by diseases. There is no greater sinner than that man who seeks to increase the bulk of his own flesh by the flesh of other beings. … Thus having well considered the disgusting origin of meat and the cruelty of fettering and slaying of corporeal beings, let him entirely abstain from eating flesh.”

Buddhism

"The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion." -- The Buddha, Mahaparinirvana Sutra

"One is not a great one because one defeats or harms other living beings. One is so called because one refrains from defeating or harming other living beings." -- The Buddha, Dhammapada

"If a man can control his body and mind and thereby refrains from eating animal flesh and wearing animal products, I say he will really be liberated." -- The Buddha, Surangama Sutra

Sayings of the Buddha from the Lankavatara Sutra:

"For innumerable reasons, Mahamati, the Bodhisattva, whose nature is compassion, is not to eat any meat."

"For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh."

"Meat is not agreeable to the wise: it has a nauseating odor, it causes a bad reputation, it is food for the carnivorous; I say this, Mahamati, it is not to be eaten."

"From eating meat arrogance is born, from arrogance erroneous imaginations issue, and from imagination is born greed; and for this reason refrain from eating meat."

"Meat-eating is condemned by the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Sravakas; if one devours meat out of shamelessness he will always be devoid of sense."

"Therefore, do not eat meat which will cause terror among people, because it hinders the truth of emancipation; not to eat meat? this is the mark of the wise."

Christianity Before Paul -- The Jesus Movement Was Vegetarian

“Now beware in yourselves that your hearts do not become heavy with the eating of flesh and with the intoxication of wine and with the anxiety of the world, and that day come up upon you suddenly; for as a snare it will come upon all them that dwell on the surface of the earth.” (Jesus, Luke 21:34, from a Syriac-Aramaic manuscript of the New Testament)

“James was a vegetarian….” (Robert Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus)

“James, the brother of the Lord, lived on seeds and plants and touched neither meat nor wine.” (Epistulae ad Faustum XXII, 3)

“John never ate meat.” (Church historian Hegesipp according to Eusebius, History of the Church II 2:3)

“The Apostle Matthew partook of seeds, and nuts, hard-shelled fruits, and vegetables, without flesh.” (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 2, Chapter 1)

Peter said, “I live on olives and bread, to which I rarely only add vegetables.” (Clementine Homilies 12,6; also see, Recognitions 7,6)

"There are likewise amongst the Bactrians, in the Indian countries, immense multitudes of Brahmans, who also themselves, from the tradition of their ancestors, and peaceful customs and laws, neither commit murder nor adultery, nor worship idols, nor have the practice of eating animal food, are never drunk, never do anything maliciously, but always fear God.” (Recognitions of Clement, Book 9, Chapter 22, Brahmans Volume Eight, of the, Ante-Nicene Fathers, page 187, T & T Clark Eerdmans edition.)

The Gnostics Were Vegetarians

While it's true that the vegetarian Prayer of Thanksgiving is part of the Hermetic scriptures of Egypt, it's also part of the Nag Hammadi Library, the Gnostic Gospels. At the end of the prayer the final verse reads:

"When they had said these things in the prayer, they embraced each other and they went to eat their holy food, which has no blood in it."*

* “Vegetarian food” — footnote from the Marvin Meyer's translation of this in, "The Gnostic Scriptures".

* A vegetarian meal. This passage is also found in the Epilogue of Asclepius, in "HERMETICA," translated by Sir Walter Scott: "Having prayed thus, let us betake ourselves to a meal unpolluted by flesh [animalia] of living things."

* The G.R.S. Mead translation of the same passage: "With this desire we now betake us to our pure and fleshless meal."

* "With such hopes we turn to a pure meal that includes no living thing." (Asclepius, translated in "Hermetica", Brian Copenhaver, Cambridge University Press)

The Prayer of Thanksgiving in the Nag Hammadi Library or Gnostic Gospels in Full: http://gnosis.org/naghamm/prat.html

#vegan #veganism #vegetarian #vegetarianism #world religions #gnostic #jesus #christianity #buddha #jainism #hinduism #pythagoras #akhenaten

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