Category: Artifact

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Ensō

“Teacher, you say, “Only that without beginning has no end, and only that without end has no beginning.” What, if anything, is without beginning? What, if anything, is without end?”

“If the continuum of space had an initial instant, it would have arisen from no cause or from cause not substantially commensurate with its nature. Both possibilities are contrary to and thereby negated by the law of cause and effect, thus the continuum must have no beginning.”

“Similarly, if the mind continuum had an initial instant, it would have arisen from no cause or from cause not substantially commensurate with its nature. Both possibilities are contrary to and thereby negated by the law of cause and effect, thus the continuum must have no beginning.”

Upon reflection the student then replies, “Space gives rise to space as mind gives rise to mind, without beginning, without end.”

“Good. Good. Very good. 

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Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

Dhamma wheel

Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, SN 56:11, V 420-424

Herein abridge and wherein the Blessed One, after his enlightenment, gives his first discourse…

Thus was heard [on the occasion when]

The Blessed One dwelling at Bārānasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana addressed the five monks present at his first discourse.

“ … These two extremes should not be followed… the pursuit of sensual happiness in sensual pleasures… and the pursuit of self-mortification… Without veering toward either of these extremes, the Tathāgta awakened to the middle way, which gives rise to knowledge, leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.”

The Noble Eightfold Path

“That middle way… is this Noble Eightfold Path that is; right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration… That middle way… gives rise to knowledge, leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.”

The Four Noble Truths

“This then is the noble truth…

  1. …Of suffering: birth is suffering, as are illness, death, union with what is displeasing, separation from what is pleasing, not getting what one wants… in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering
  2. …Of the origin of suffering… [in brief] craving… craving for sensual pleasure, for existence, for extermination
  3. …To the cessation of suffering… the cessation of that craving… freedom from it, nonattachment
  4. …Of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is the Noble Eightfold Path”

Three Phases, Twelve Modes

“[This is the noble truth of suffering]: thus, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, penetration, and light.”
[This noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood ]
[This noble truth of suffering has been fully understood ]

[This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering]
[This noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be fully abandoned]
[This noble truth of the origin of suffering has been fully abandoned]

[This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering]
[This noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be fully realized]
[This noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been fully realized]

[This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering]
[This noble truth of the the way leading to the cessation of suffering is to be fully developed ]
[This noble truth of the the way leading to the cessation of suffering has been fully developed]

“…[Only] when my knowledge and vision of the Four Noble Truths as they really are in their three phases and twelve aspects was thoroughly purified in this way, then I claimed to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment… ‘Unshakable is the liberation of my mind. This is my last birth. Now there is no more renewed existence.’”

The Wheel of the Dhamma

…There arose in the Venerable Kondañña the dust-free, stainless vision of the Dhamma: “Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.”

[The many devas] raised a cry, “At Bārānasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana, this unsurpassed wheel of the Dhamma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped.”

Then the Blessed One said, “Kondañña has indeed understood! Kondañña has indeed understood!”

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Anātman

“Teacher, you have said, ‘Truly happy is the one who desires happiness for others and not self.’ How can one find happiness if one doesn’t desire happiness for themself?”

“‘Whatever suffering there is comes from desiring happiness for oneself.’ All phenomena that one seeks to find happiness in will eventually be source of misery, this very realization is itself cause for renunciation, the cessation of suffering. The life span of an ant is insignificant when compared to that of man. The lifespan of a man insignificant when compared to that of Earth. The span of the Earth insignificant compared to the cosmos, and further there are infinite universes, impossible to comprehend. So what is there to be attached to but the path that leads to transcendental awareness? Why waste this precious existence on anything other than peaceful  realization? One with diligent awareness is not attached to what is temporal. Freed from miseries, that one desires only this same realization of the path to happiness for all unaware beings. Only one self-liberated and devoted to liberating others of their miseries is steadfastly happy.”

Upon reflecting on his master’s lesson, the student replies, “One must realize causality to be freed from causality.”

“Good. Good. Very good.”

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The Root Verses of the Six Bar Dos

Dhamma wheel

A pith guide on the practice of making full use of the opportunity offered by human existence in the cycle of life and death [samsarā].

Herein “The Root Verses of the Six Intermediate States [Bar do]”

Homage to the Peaceful and Wrathful Victorious Ones.

Alas!  Now, as the intermediate state of living arises before me,
Shedding indolence for which life has no time,
I will enter without distraction on the path of study, reflection, and meditation.
Taking sense perception and the nature of the mind as the path,
I will train in manifesting the three enlightened dimensions.
Now that I have obtained a precious human body,
I do not have leisure to remain in the ways of distraction.

Now, as the intermediate state of dreams arises before me,
Shedding the corpse-like sleep of uncaring ignorance,
I will relax in the natural state of undistracted presence,
Recognizing dreams, I will train in generating and transforming them
And with clarity, having overcome beast-like slumber,
I will treasure the practice of integrating sleep and clear light.

Now, as the intermediate state of [samādhi] meditation arises before me,
Shedding the multitude of distractions and fantasies,
I will rest in the state beyond limitations without grasping or losing focus,
And achieve stability in the practice of generation and completion,
Now free of all activity, practicing single-mindedly,
I will not be swayed by deceptive emotions.

Now as the intermediate state of the moment before death arises before me,
Shedding all attachment, grasping, and compulsion,
I will remain without distraction in the state in which the meaning of the oral teaching is clear,
And transfer my pure awareness into the unborn expanse of space.
As soon as I separate from the amalgam of flesh and blood,
I will recognize my body as an ephemeral illusion.

Now, as the intermediate state of [dharmatā] reality arises before me,
Shedding all feelings of terror and fear, I will recognize whatever appears as natural manifestations of my own pure awareness.
Knowing that sound, light, and rays are apparitions of the intermediate state.
Now that I have come to this crucial point,
I will not fear the host of peaceful and wrathful deities that emanate from myself.

Now that the intermediate state of rebirth rises before me,
I will maintain a strong resolve,
And determinedly unite with propensities of my past and good deeds.
I will block the womb entrances and recall the methods of reversal.
This is the moment when steadfastness and pure vision are vital.
I renounce all jealousy and meditate on my spiritual teacher with his consort.

Accomplished master have spoken these words:
“Because of indifference, thinking that death will never come,
Bewitched by the meaningless activities of this life,
If you were to return empty-handed, would not all your aspirations be confounded?”
“Recognize what you truly need is [dharma]!
So why not practice [dharma] from this moment on?”

It is also said [by the siddhas]
“If [one does not take their guru’s] teaching to heart,
[Does one] not become [one’s] own betrayer?”

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Gnosis

The preachings of a preacher
Are not the teaching of  the teacher.
At best an interpretation.
Worst, misrepresentation. 
Relying on another to imply,
Reliant on how to apply. 
Follow its course, 
Find purity of source.
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V838 Monocerotis Light Echo

V838 Monocerotis a spectroscopic binary star system (a binary star evident from the Doppler effect) in the constellation Monoceros about 19,000 light years from the Sun. Identified as a luminous red novae, thought to have been [caused by the] merger of two stars within a triple system.

V838 Monocerotis and its light echo as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on December 17, 2002
Credit: NASA/ESA
Images showing the expansion of the light echo. Credit: NASA/ESA.

A light echo is a physical phenomenon caused by light reflected off surfaces distant from the source, and arriving at the observer with a delay relative to this distance. The phenomenon is analogous to an echo of sound

Reflected light following path B arrives shortly after the direct flash following path A but before light following path C. B and C have the same apparent distancefrom the star as seen from Earth.
Direct light from a stellar outburst (white spot) reaches the observer (path 0) followed by light reflected off particles on progressively wider paraboloids (1–5): the observed disc apparently initially expands faster than light but the illusion is due to light reflecting off different unrelated particles
Animation of 11 images of light echo of V838 Mon

In the case of V838 Monocerotis, the light echo produced was unprecedented and is well documented in images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. While the photos appear to depict an expanding spherical shell of debris, they are actually formed by the illumination of an ever-expanding ellipsoid with the progenitor star at one focus and the observer at the other. Hence, despite appearances, the structures in these photos are actually concave toward the viewer.

Source Wikipedia: V838 Monocerotis, Light echo

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Vascellum

To hear but not listen, 
The pot upside down
In which no water can be found. 

To listen but not retain, 
The pot with holes that soon drains
And contains little of what rains. 

To retain but then taint, 
The pot that is soiled 
With contents spoiled.
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Nada

“Teacher, you have said ‘There is nothing to comprehend. Nothing to attain.’  Yet you have practiced for many years with great masters, have spent countless hours studying the texts and commentaries, and even more in reflective meditation?”

“Nothing is very difficult to comprehend. Nothing is very difficult to attain.”

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Somnambulist

Narayana and Brahma
Like turbulence on surface of river,
Thoughts arise then subside.
Over bed river flows,
So mindstream goes.
As river is not individual drops, nor accretion, 
Mind not thoughts, nor stream of sensations,
Mere conceptualizations of dreamer’s creation.