Selections from the “Holy Bible” King James Version
Genesis 3
19 “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Luke 22
15 And he said unto them, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”
Luke 22
39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, “Pray that ye enter not into temptation.” 41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 And said unto them, “Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”
Luke 23
46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
Luke 24
35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, “Peace be unto you.”
Luke 9
60 Jesus said unto him, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
“The Bliss of Inner Fire: Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa” (1998, 2014)
A Commentary on Je Tsongkhapa’s Having the Three Convictions: A Guide to the Stages of the Profound Path of the Six Yogas of Naropa
By Lama Yeshe Outlines to full text and (editorial) guide to application of practice herein.
Full Outline
Foreword by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche Editors’ Preface Introduction by Jonathan Landaw Prayer to the Lineage Lamas of the Six Yogas of Naropa
“[In meditation] placing seed-syllables in the chakras is vital to generating the four blisses.”
HAM White, upside down
Crown Contemplating the HAM at the crown increases the white male kundalini, which is the source of bliss.
…
OM Red
Throat Contemplating and penetrating the OM at the throat chakra increases the female blood energy and also helps the practice of dream yoga.
…
HUM Blue, upside down
Heart Concentrating on the HUM at the heart helps to develop the clear light.
…
A (short A) Bright Red
Navel Meditating on the short A at the navel increases the strength of the inner fire; it also increases the white blissful energy, because of the navel chakra’s link with the left channel. Activating inner heat at the navel chakra automatically causes energy to come to the crown chakra.
…
Accompanying each syllable are a crescent moon, a drop, and fine sharp nada. (Nada is a Sanskrit term that sometimes refers to nonduality.)
While we should become familiar with all the chakras, remember that the inner fire at the navel is the key to the realizations of all the chakras.
kundalini (Skt). In Tibetan tigle, drops; blissful energy; also referred to as bodhicitta. Red and white subtle liquid energy that exists throughout the channels of the body, the red predominating at the navel chakra and the white at the crown chakra.
True nature of mind, which is pure awareness, clean and clear, luminous void. (akin space)
Dualistic mind, which perceives conceptions, subject and object. (akin field and charge)
The “I” is emergentthe mind-stream of dualistic mind’s consciousnesses.
Mediative meditation can be sustained by focusing the mind on an objective (a mental object: such as an image; a mandala; a mantra; etc…, a physical object, an activity: such as archery; hatha yoga; breathing; etc…, etc…).Therein focusing, directing,and thus gaining control of the mind and stream.
Meditative absorption begins to develop when the object of mind is on the subject, the mind itself, and a conceptual understanding of its nature emerges. Mind that aspires to awaken.
A chakra ( Sanskrit, romanized: cakra, lit. ’wheel, circle’; Pali: cakka) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism (Vedic Traditions) and Buddhism.
Etymology
Lexically, chakra is the Indic reflex of an ancestral Indo-European form *kʷékʷlos, whence also “wheel” and “cycle” (Ancient Greek: κύκλος, romanized: kýklos) It has both literal and metaphorical uses, as in the “wheel of time” or “wheel of dharma”, pervasive in the earliest Vedic texts.
In Buddhism, especially in Theravada, the Pali noun cakka connotes “wheel”. Within the Buddhist scriptures referred to as the Tripitaka, Shakyamuni Buddha variously refers the “dhammacakka”, or “wheel of dharma”, connoting that this dharma, universal in its advocacy, should bear the marks characteristic of any temporal dispensation. Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of freedom from cycles in and of themselves, whether karmic, reincarnative, liberative, cognitive or emotional.
Overview
The Chakras are part of esoteric ideas and concepts about physiology and psychic centers that emerged across Indian traditions. The belief held that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one “physical body” (sthula sarira) and other “psychological, emotional, mind, non-physical” it is called the “subtle body” (sukshma sarira). This subtle body is energy, while the physical body is mass. The psyche or mind plane corresponds to and interacts with the body plane, and the belief holds that the body and the mind mutually affect each other. The subtle body consists of nadi (energy channels) connected by nodes of psychic energy called chakra.
Hindu Tantra
Esoteric traditions in Hinduism mention numerous numbers and arrangements of chakras, of which a classical system of six-plus-one, the last being the Sahasrara, is most prevalent
Hindu Tantra associates six Yoginis with six places in the subtle body, corresponding to the six chakras of the six-plus-one system.
Association of six yoginis with chakra locations in the Rudrayamala Tantra:
The esoteric traditions in Buddhism generally teach four chakras. In some early Buddhist sources, these chakras are identified as: manipura (navel), anahata (heart), vishuddha (throat) and ushnisha kamala (crown). In one development within the Nyingma lineage of the Mantrayana of Tibetan Buddhism a popular conceptualization of chakras in increasing subtlety and increasing order is as follows: Nirmanakaya (gross self), Sambhogakaya (subtle self), Dharmakaya (causal self), and Mahasukhakaya (non-dual self).
A system of five chakras is common among the Mother class of Tantras and these five chakras along with their correspondences are:
Basal chakra (Element: Earth, Buddha: Amoghasiddhi, Bija (S. ‘seed’) mantra: LAM)
Abdominal chakra (Element: Water, Buddha: Ratnasambhava, Bija mantra: VAM)
Heart chakra (Element: Fire, Buddha: Akshobhya, Bija mantra: RAM)
Throat chakra (Element: Wind, Buddha: Amitabha, Bija mantra: YAM)
Crown chakra (Element: Space, Buddha: Vairochana, Bija mantra: KHAM)
Chakras play a key role in Tibetan Buddhism, and are considered to be the pivotal providence of Tantric thinking. The highest practices in Tibetan Buddhism point to the ability to bring the subtle pranas of an entity into alignment with the central channel, and to thus penetrate the realization of the ultimate unity, namely, the “organic harmony” of one’s individual consciousness of Wisdom with the co-attainment of All-embracing Love, thus synthesizing a direct cognition of absolute Buddhahood.
Manipura (focus of Inner Fire practice)
Located above the navel, Manipura translates from Sanskrit as “city of jewels” alternatively translated as “resplendent gem” or “lustrous gem”.
Manipura is associated with fire and the power of transformation.
The energies of Prana Vayu and Apana Vayu (inward and outward flowing energy) meet at the point in a balanced system.
Manipura is represented with a downward-pointing red triangle, signifying the tattva of fire, within a bright yellow circle, with 10 dark-blue or black petals like heavily laden rain clouds.
Seed Mantra
The seed mantra is the syllable ‘रं’ (ram). Within the bindu, or dot, above this mantra resides the deity रुद्र Rudra. He is red or white, with three eyes, of ancient aspect with a silver beard, and is smeared with white ashes. Rudra makes the gestures of granting boons and dispelling fear and is seated either on a tiger skin or a bull.
Rudra’s Shakti is the goddess लाकिनी Lakini. She has a black or dark-blue vermilion color; has three faces, each with three eyes; and is four-armed. Lakini holds a thunderbolt, the arrow shot from the bow of काम Kama, and fire. She makes the gestures of granting boons and dispelling fear. Lakini is seated on a red lotus.
Petals
The ten petals of Manipura are dark-blue or black, like heavily laden rain clouds, with the syllables डं, ढं, णं, तं, थं, दं, धं, नं, पं and फं (ḍaṁ, ḍhaṁ, ṇaṁ, taṁ, thaṁ, daṁ, dhaṁ, naṁ, paṁ, and phaṁ) upon them in a dark-blue color. These petals correspond to the vrittis (S. “streams of consciousness”) of spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness.
The petals represent the ten Prānas (currents and energy vibrations) that are regulated by the Manipūra Chakra. The five Prāna Vayus are: Prāna, Apāna, Udāna, Samāna And Vyāna. The five Upa Prānas are: Nāga, Kūrma, Devadatta, Krikala and Dhananjaya.
In the Vajrayana
In Vajrayana traditions, the chakra is triangular, red and has 64 petals or channels that extend upwards. This chakra is important as the seat of the ‘red drop’. The short syllable ‘Ah’ is located inside the ‘red drop’.
Meditation on ‘Ah’ is the key component of the practice of tummo, or inner heat. In tummo, a practitioner’s ‘subtle winds’ are made to enter the central channel, and rise up to its top. This is sometimes compared to ‘Raising the kundalini’ in Hindu terminology, melting the subtle white drop in the crown, and causing an experience of great bliss. ‘Raising the kundalini’ is considered the first and most important of the six yogas of Naropa.
Manipura chakra is shown as having ten petals, bearing the Sanskrit letters ḍa, ḍha, ṇa, ta, tha, da, dha, na, pa, and pha. The seed sound in the centre is raṃ. The tattva for the element of Fire is shown (here in outline) as a red triangle.
source: wikipedia.org (excerpts from entries: Chakras, Mainpura)
Inner fire meditation (Tummo, one of the Six Yogas of Naropa) enables the yogi or yogini to absorb all the energy-winds into the central channel, generate the four joys, and thus experience simultaneously born great blissful wisdom. This process leads to the union of the illusory body and clear light, and finally to full enlightenment.
One of the first practical steps we need to take to achieve this result is to learn about the structure of the vajra body, especially of the channels and chakras. We have to visualize them in meditation until we are totally familiar with them.
To prepare for visualizing the channels and chakras, we need to visualize our body as hollow, or empty. This meditation is simple but very important. When you do it well, there is less chance of experiencing difficulties later when you investigate the channels and chakras. First, however, I will discuss how to sit properly.
Tantra simply uses the natural resources of your body; it follows your own natural play of energy.
Correct body posture is very important during inner fire meditation.
Cross your legs into the full-lotus position.
Completion stage practices should be done in this position.
Your spine should be straight and your head bent slightly forward.
Half close your eyes, without focusing on anything, and look toward the tip of your nose. However, if your mind is very distracted and you cannot quiet it, you may find it helpful to close your eyes. Place the tip of your tongue against your palate just behind your front teeth, with your lower jaw relaxed. Your shoulders should be held back straight, not hunched forward. Your hands should be placed below your navel in the mudra of concentration, with the right one on top of the left and with your thumbs touching to form a triangle.
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMMENTARY ON “THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD”
(excerpts from)
By C.G. Jung
Herein bolded and indented: quotes by Jung from “The Tibetan Book of the Dead“, or “The After-Death Experience on the ‘Bardo’ Plane”, according to Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup’s English rendering, edited by W. Y. Evans-Wentz.
I do not think I could better discharge my debt of thanks to the two previous translators of the Bardo Thödol, the late Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup and Dr. Evans-Wentz, than by attempting, with the aid of a psychological commentary, to make the magnificent world of ideas and the problems contained in this treatise a little more intelligible to the Western mind. I am sure that all who read this book with open eyes, and who allow it to impress itself upon them without prejudice, will reap a rich reward… the Bardo Thödol has been my constant companion, and to it I owe not only many stimulating ideas and discoveries, but also many fundamental insights.
The Bardo Thödol offers one an intelligible philosophy addressed to human beings. Its philosophy contains the quintessence of Buddhist psychological criticism; and, as such, one can truly say that it is of an unexampled sublimity.
“Recognizing the voidness of thine own intellect to be Buddhahood and knowing it at the same time to be thine own consciousness, thou shalt abide in the state of the divine mind of the Buddha.”
Such an assertion is, I fear, as unwelcome to [the] Western philosophy as it is to [its] theology. The Bardo Thödol is in the highest degree psychological in its outlook; but, [within the Western traditions], philosophy and theology are still in the medieval, pre-psychological stage where only the assertions are listened to, explained, defended, criticized and disputed, while the authority that makes them has, by general consent, been deposed as outside the scope of discussion.
“Thine own consciousness, shining, void, and inseparable from the Great Body of Radiance, hath no birth, nor death, and is the Immutable Light-Buddha Amitäbha.”
The soul is assuredly not small, but the radiant Godhead itself. The West finds this statement either very dangerous, if not downright blasphemous, or else accepts it unthinkingly and then suffers from a theosophical inflation.…if we can master ourselves far enough to refrain from our chief error of always wanting to do something with things and put them to practical use, we may perhaps succeed in learning an important lesson from these teachings, or at least in appreciating the greatness of the Bardo Thödol, which vouchsafes to the [dying] the ultimate and highest truth, that even the gods are the radiance and reflection of our own souls.
It is highly sensible of the Bardo Thödol to make clear to the [dying] the primacy of the psyche, for that is the one thing which life does not make clear to us. We are so hemmed in by things which jostle and oppress that we never get a chance, in the midst of all these “given” things, to wonder by whom they are “given.” It is from this world of “given” things that the [dying] liberates themself; and the purpose of the instruction is to help them towards this liberation. We, if we put ourselves in the place [of the dying], we shall derive no lesser reward from it, since we learn from the very first paragraphs that the “giver” of all “given” things dwells within us. This is a truth which in the face of all evidence, in the greatest things as in the smallest, is never known, although it is often so very necessary, indeed vital, for us to know it.
The Bardo Thödol is, an initiation process whose purpose it is to restore to the soul the divinity it lost at birth.
There are, and always have been, those who cannot help but see that the world and its experiences are in the nature of a symbol, and that it really reflects something that lies hidden in the subject themself, in their own transubjective [psychic] reality. It is from this profound intuition, according to lamaist doctrine¹, that the Chönyid state derives its true meaning, which is why the Chönyid Bardo is entitled “The Bardo of the Experiencing of Reality.”
The supreme vision comes not at the end of the Bardo, but right at the beginning, at the moment of death; what happens afterward is an ever-deepening descent into illusion and obscuration, down to the ultimate degradation of new physical birth. The spiritual climax is reached at the moment when life ends. Human life, therefore, is the vehicle of the highest perfection it is possible to attain; it alone generates the karma that makes it possible for the [dying] to abide in the perpetual light of the Voidness without clinging to any object, and thus to rest on the hub of the wheel of rebirth, freed from all illusion of genesis and decay. Life in the Bardo brings no eternal rewards or punishments, but merely a descent into a new life which shall bear the individual nearer to his final goal. But this eschatological goal is what he himself brings to birth as the last and highest fruit of the labours and aspirations of earthly existence. This view is not only lofty, it is heroic.
It is an undeniable fact that the whole book is created out of the archetypal contents of the unconscious.
The world of gods and spirits is truly “nothing but” the collective unconscious inside [one]. To turn this sentence round so that it reads “The collective unconscious is the world of gods and spirits outside me,” no intellectual acrobatics are needed, but a whole human lifetime, perhaps even many lifetimes of increasing completeness. Notice that I do not say “of increasing perfection,” because those who are “perfect” make another kind of discovery altogether.
The grace of my Guru enters my heart; Pray help me to realize the truth of the Void!
In answer to my faithful patrons, I sing to please the Deities and Buddhas:
Manifestation, the Void, and Non-differentiation, These three are the quintessence of the View.
Illumination, Non-thought, and Non-distraction Are the quintessence of the Meditation.
Non-clinging, Non-attachment, and complete Indifference Are the quintessence of the Action.
No Hope, no Fear, and no Confusion Are the quintessence of Accomplishment.
Non-attempt, Non-hiding, and Non-discrimination, These three are the quintessence of the Precept.
[subsequently]
I bow down at the feet of my Guru.
Deep in the forest by man untrod, I, Milarepa, happily practice meditation.
With no attachment and no clinging, Walking and tranquility are both pleasing.
Free from sickness and disorder, I willingly sustain this body of illusion; Never sleeping, I sit in the comfort of quietude.
Abiding in the Samädhi of Non-permanence, I taste enjoyment. Continuance in Heat-Yoga without cold is indeed felicitous.
With no cowardliness or dismay, Joyfully I follow the Tantric practice; With no effort I perfect the cultivation; With no distraction whatsoever, Remaining in solitude, I am truly happy. These are the pleasures of the body.
Happy is the path of both Wisdom and Means! Happy the Yoga of Arising and Perfecting; the meditation of the Two-in-One. Happy the Prajna; the awareness of no-coming-and-going! Happy the absence of talk; no friends and no chatting! These are the pleasures of words.
Happy is the understanding of Non-grasping; Happy the meditation without interruption; Happy the accomplishment without hope or fear; Happy the action done without defilement. These are the pleasures of Mind.
Happy is the illumination with no thought and no mutation! Happy the great bliss in the purity of Dharmadhätu! Happy the Non-ceasing Realm of Form!
This little song of great happiness That flows freely from my heart, Is inspired by meditation, By the merging of act and knowledge. Those who aim at the fruit of Bodhi May follow this way of yogic practice.
“The Twelve Meanings of Mind”
I bow down at the feet of my Guru.
Oh good patrons! If you wish to realize the Essence of Mind, You should practice the following teachings: Faith, knowledge, and discipline, These three are the Life-Tree of Mind. This is the tree you should plant and foster.
Non-attachment, non-clinging, and non-blindness, These three are the shields of Mind; They are light to wear, strong for defense, And the shields you should seek.
Meditation, diligence, and perseverance, These three are the horses of Mind; They run fast and quickly flee! If you look for horses, these are the right ones.
Self-awareness, self-illumination, and self-rapture, These three are the fruits of Mind; Sow the seeds, ripen the fruit, Refine the fluid, and the essence emerges. If you look for fruit, these are the fruit you should seek.
Sprung from yogic intuition, This song of the Twelve Meanings of Mind is sung. Inspired by your faith, continue with your practice, my good patrons!
“Let those who desire enlightenment not train in many teachings but only one. Which one? Great compassion. Those with great compassion possess all the teachings as if in the palm of their hand.”
From “Words of my Perfect Teacher” part 2, chapter 2
