Upadeśa

You may eventually see meditation on the breath as combining samatha and vipassana On the out breath we stay with the focal object (breath) and practice non-distraction (samatha) On the in breath we let go of that and allow the mind to quietly investigate experience (vipassana)

@SenseiMilli It’s both though. The natural oil on our skin combined with repeated persistence of daily practice. 🙏

@olddog108 I was thinking it was my persistence in the purification practice, or maybe I didn’t cut my nails short enough 🤣🤣 I think the monk was right 🙏❤️

Fun fact: Since the time I started practicing Tibetan Buddhism in 2020, I’ve already been through two malas in my mantrayana practice. You can see the first mala I used on the left, the second in the middle, and my current one on the right. I prayed so much using the first mala that all of the black paint or varnish rubbed off over time, revealing an almost ivory, pearl like interior. Reminds me of the purification practice I did during that time. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the first two malas, I believe I can still practice using them. The middle one still has a nice scent to it. But they’ve been used so much that the strings are getting so drawn and thinned out that I’d rather use my new one. Maybe I’ll learn how to restring my malas one day!

@olddog108 Yes, I mean all had their right leg extended and left bent, why is this one the only one that has the right leg bent and left extended, it seems meaningful!

About the Seventh Tara - Tara Aparadhrishya, The Unassailable One This is from Chandra Easton's book "Embodying Tara. Twenty One Manifestations To Awaken Your Innate Wisdom", a book I really think all the dharma girlies would love!

@BeraHugs It does indeed seem meaningful. Have you asked Grok to check Tibetan sources to explain why?

@BeraHugs An extended leg in iconography usually reflects compassion, as in ready to step-up as needed. It's similar to Avalokiteshvara and 1000 arms.

@olddog108 True! It's still a question why some Taras have their right leg bent and left extended!

@Thomasdelvasto_ @timoshando And brainless too. It was both.

@timoshando by being outstanding in his field

how did the scarecrow become a millionaire?

@jyotishiiphilip 100% and all genuine lineages do exactly this.

I read some posts where people were complaining that there were too many sūtras to study. In my humble opinion, we don't have to study many sūtras. Each sūtra is a Dharma-door. So we just have to pick some, recite them, study them, and follow their instructions. It's also good to share them.

@BeraHugs You may not be starting from #1 though 🤔

@olddog108 Interestingly here the 7th Tara if we count from left to right has her right leg bent and left leg extended (which is different from most depictions of Tara). I find this change interesting. I've been wondering if it has to do with the mirror like wisdom but I don't know.

🔥All compounded phenomena are impermanent 🔥All contaminated phenomena (dualistic perceptions, emotions) are suffering 🔥All phenomena are empty (including mind itself) 🔥Nirvana is peace ✌️🧘🏻🙏

@DevayanaEnjoyer The former is “easier” to come by. Not easy. Just easier than the latter. 🎩 🪄

Esoterically speaking, the acquisition of magical powers is a childish endeavor when compared to transcendence and that realization of truth that accompanies it.

Fire Horse year rewards boldness 🔥🐎

Innate nature is never apart from you. 🔥Guru Padmasambhava

@niroshajmurugan Fantastic 🌟

Yesterday was leg day. I was working toward a new PR on Bulgarian split squats (they suck, but feel so good when you hit it). Right at that point where your legs are shaking and your mind is ready to tap out, I felt that oh-so-familiar high-resistance pull to stop. And then these (see below) came to mind. @MitoPsychoBio once showed me these beautiful EM images of mitochondria (left: skeletal muscle; right: heart muscle). Such beautiful folds. He pointed and said, "This is where the electrons flow.” So in that moment, legs shaking, palms sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy (IFYKYK). I pictured them. Millions of these tiny structures inside my muscles, transforming energy into electrochemical gradients, heat, biophotons….doing their work so I could do mine. If that isn’t mind-mitochondria connection, I don’t know what is. (And yes, I hit my PR.)

@youzensan Thanks for sharing this view.

Not how it works as far as i understand and witness it. It's not that if you cheat someone out of their fortune, you will be cheated out of yours. It's that if you cheat someone out of their fortune, then you have created a seed of corruption in your own mind, that will grow & corrupt your actions & choices, life after life, leading you to suffering and confusion. You become free of that karma when that corruption is purged, seed and all. That usually requires understanding how your actions led to your suffering and that of others. When that understanding is deep enough, the purge happens. In other words, it's not a "trade". It's a cause and effet thing. As long as the seed/cause is there, you will keep paying for it, life after life.

When karma ripens it is done. If I cheated someone out of their fortune previously and my karma is to be cheated out of my fortune as a result, after it has ripened and I’m broke, the karma is completed. My experience to now not be broke is subject to new causes & new conditions.

Some people will take any excuse to argue, huh?

It’s a wrong view to think that karma is ripening day after day and you’re forever doomed to be broke. The karma completed from seed (you cheated someone) to ripening (you were cheated.) New causes & conditions to escape the broke experience are now accessible. (Kagyu teachings)

A wrong view would be that after I lose my fortune it is my karma to wake up broke every morning. Since that is the experience, unless new conditions are gathered that can reverse that, that mistaken view is reinforced. But it is still mistaken. The karma ripened.