Since the 1970s, I have travelled extensively through Nepal, Bhutan and India, where I met and studied with many spiritual teachers. One subject that has fascinated me throughout those decades is the extraordinary visual world of Tibetan thangkas. I have always been struck by their power, complexity and precision. After many years of study, I … Continue reading The Thangka Book: Sacred Images as Maps of Inner Experience
buddhism
TWIM- meditation: Four Stages, One Recognition: Reading the Ariya-Puggala Model From the Lab
The Theravada model of the four stages, stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, fully liberated, is one of the few contemplative maps specific enough to actually test something against. Ten fetters, removed in a fixed order, each with a description precise enough that a practitioner could in principle notice whether it is still operating or not. That specificity … Continue reading TWIM- meditation: Four Stages, One Recognition: Reading the Ariya-Puggala Model From the Lab
The Light That You Are: What the Tibetan Rainbow Body Actually Means
Jan M. Keppel Hesselink, MD, MSc, PhD There is a story told in Tibetan Buddhism that sounds, to the Western ear, like pure mythology. When a great meditation master dies, the body does not decay in the ordinary way. Instead, it dissolves into colored light. Witnesses describe rainbows appearing around the place of death. The … Continue reading The Light That You Are: What the Tibetan Rainbow Body Actually Means
南無 阿弥陀仏 Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu and the Inner Light: A Phenomenological Bridge Between Prayer and Vision In the Japanese Pure Land tradition, the recitation of Namu Amida Butsu is not merely a devotional act, it is a sonic gateway to another mode of consciousness. Just as phosphenes arise through subtle visual stimulation, here, light emerges through sound, … Continue reading 南無 阿弥陀仏 Namu Amida Butsu
Seeing Your Own Essence in the Blue Sky
I start with a qoute: On the side of a mountain in the great Himalayas, there sits a yogi in a meditation pose. Surrounded by a stunning panorama of snow-capped peaks, he meditates by gazing into the deep blue of the cloudless Tibetan skies. Present yet relaxed, he holds his posture and gaze without moving, … Continue reading Seeing Your Own Essence in the Blue Sky
Zazen and the White Wall Effect into the Divine
Someone asked: if you sit before a white wall and look without moving the eyes from one point, as in zazen, what will you see? That's a beautiful and very deep question — and it touches the core of perceptual physiology, consciousness studies, and spiritual experience. Here’s what happens step-by-step if you sit before a … Continue reading Zazen and the White Wall Effect into the Divine
The Only Real and Essential Reincarnation!
Investing in the Next Life? Doing it Next Time in a Better Way? See if you can wrap your understanding on the more important issue, the incarnation in NOW and HERE! Reincarnation Reimagined: A New Understanding of Identity and Form Don't bother about next lives. Whether you incarnate as this or that. That is all … Continue reading The Only Real and Essential Reincarnation!
The eight jhānas: a formalized meditation path from the Theravāda tradition
The eight jhānas are profound meditative states in Buddhism, representing deep levels of concentration and mental absorption. The term "jhāna" (Pāli) or "dhyāna" (Sanskrit) translates to "meditation" or "absorption." These states are integral to Buddhist meditative practices, particularly within the Theravāda tradition. Origins and Development The practice of jhāna predates Buddhism, with roots in ancient … Continue reading The eight jhānas: a formalized meditation path from the Theravāda tradition
Real versus Fake Guru’s: Exposing the Hypocrisy
Exposing Hypocrisy: Real Spiritual Leaders vs. Fake Gurus In today’s spiritual world, the lines between genuine wisdom and manipulative exploitation have often blurred. Who knows the bullshit from the truth? The world has seen the rise of so-called "gurus," who capitalize on people’s vulnerabilities to promote shallow ideologies, amass wealth, and build empires of control. … Continue reading Real versus Fake Guru’s: Exposing the Hypocrisy
Tulku Lobsang on Rigpa the essence of This
Discovering Rigpa – The Essence of Natural Awareness Rigpa: to see Beyond into the clear luminosity of This! The teachings of Tulku Lobsang, as revealed in the video, beautifully encapsulate the essence of Rigpa, the nature of awareness in the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This profound teaching offers a direct and uncontrived approach to … Continue reading Tulku Lobsang on Rigpa the essence of This
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