Ksitigarbha, Majestic Earth King of Vajra Freedom

a reply to: Itisnowagain

I want to tell you three things.

One, is that I do not want to insult you or hurt you. But throwing this kind of general advice my way is amusing. We may have actually had a conversation on these forums many years ago, at which time I advised you exactly what was off about your meditation and what you need to do in order to grow. Not much has changed since then, actually, and it's not a good thing. There is the changeless nature, but trying to reach the changeless nature by realizing oneself as the seeing aspect (which by the way is the seeing aspect, you cannot be the seeing aspect, that in itself is a conceptual degree of illusion) is impossible. Sight is just one mental aspect, and as I told you then, it's actually the one that humans cling most to.

Second, your expression of the primordial state is lacking. Anyone with a higher degree of attainment than you can quickly feel this.

Three, and this is most important. Becoming involved with a mantra would very very quickly show you just how much is lacking. I went through a hardcore enlightening experience much more profound than most practitioners could imagine, and this was before mantra. Mantra then kicked by ass innumerable times, showed me what was lacking, and empowered me in countless ways. Take it for what it's worth, but a mantra will run through you like a shock through a really defective system and let you know exactly what's up.

a reply to: johnnyjoe1979

Lord of Heroes is one of the names of Vajrapani

a reply to: WhiteHat

There are many types of Ngondro, meaning preliminaries, practiced according to the school.

In general Ngondro is meant to be a purification and introductory experience, it can lead to enlightenment experiences in someone who is naturally open enough, but that is not its main purpose.

However, since the main practice of the preliminaries is the Vajrasattva mantra, and Vajrasattva is a form of the primordial Buddha, and can fully lead to enlightenment, simply practicing the Vajrasattva mantra will get you there.

a reply to: UniFinity

Will send you an email now.

Regarding visualizations, I personally do not do them.

They are done a lot in Mahayoga, very clear and detailed visualizations. In Anuyoga, which is considered higher, the visualizations are more like visualizing the essence/feel/vibration of the deity, such as instinctively feeling the form and colors in a very subtle and quick manner. In Atiyoga, which is highest, there isn't much visualization, as it is concerned with Awareness and the Nature of Mind, and working with Pure Presence and Space. This is, of course, a very very quick overview. There are still some visualizations in Atiyoga, but they're more for the purpose of generating a specific type of energy, it's not the main point of the practice, so it's for a specific goal, not the main practice. Because Mind is beyond creation and completion, which are the stages of visualization as generally taught.

So the purpose is to realize the Nature itself.

I'll give you a quick explanation of visualization. Basically all human bodies are Nirmanakaya transformation bodies. Illusory bodies. With visualization you "create" an illusory form with the qualities and attributes of a Deity, of a Buddha, and eventually you visualize yourself as that illusory form, and learn to work with the channels and wheels and so on as part of Heat Yoga and Illusory Body Yoga and Clear Light Yoga (the first 3 of the 6 yogas of Mahamudra).

This practice generates a specific type of energy, corresponding to the mantra of the deity (which you practice during visualizations) and the energy of the visualization itself, the colors, your work with (the visualized) channels (because for most people it won't be their actual energy channels, just some channels visualized in their head or in some part of their body which may not be the correct one, as non-enlightened humans have a very restricted view of their actual body). Hopefully you are then able to use that illusory body and its good energy to rest in the heart center, which is in the middle energy channel, and using the very pure consciousness there, the clear light, to realize emptiness directly.

Once you realize emptiness and are enlightened, you basically have to stabilize for a long time, you start seeing your actual channels, which may be a lot more incomplete and generally messed up than you had hoped for, and so on. Here it's hard to say, do you start working with your actual Vajra body, do you continue doing visualizations, do you combine the methods, and so on, so many questions, so little time.

Why so little time? Because there is little good karma in the world, and human bodies are messed up. Even if you realize emptiness and become enlightened, you won't be flying through the sky immediately.

So what this really depends on is wisdom, true transcendent wisdom, which can realize the right path of practice at any one time, and it also depends on samadhi. On the basic non-conceptual power of your samadhi. If your samadhi depends on visualization, not so good.

Yes, the truth is you can keep visualizing the deity and so on, and grow from there, but true emptiness will consume whatever you visualize, and it's time to move on to Anuyoga and beyond.

The truth is I never bothered with visualizations. I find Emptiness, Awareness and Samadhi to be superior for all purposes, and it has served me well.

If you gain samadhi and emptiness and cultivate emptiness and awareness, you'll eventually realize the clear light anyway.

And Clear Light yoga relies on mantra anyway, since that is the power that gives you the actual ability to go into the Heart center and realize clear light. Without mantra, and with just a human body and human karma, good luck, won't happen.

So my advice to you, because believe me, I can feel people's karma and presence. My advice is that you need mantra practice big time, you need to gain samadhi with some powerful mantra and change your karma, because it is at the same time heavy, in the sense that you seek a lot, and weak, in the sense that you do not have a powerful practice of your own.

If you do not gain powerful samadhi, you may never achieve anything, or might get stuck under some human guru and achieve a few things very slowly.

Who knows. What is best is to gain samadhi, to realize the essence and deity of the mantra, and to help other beings.

Then if you want to do this type of yoga or that type of yoga, if you have the merit for it from mantra, it's not that hard.

But to add one thing, it's very good to nonconceptually visualize a Buddha, like I said, the essence and colors and the mental symbolism, and even to identify with a Buddha while in samadhi with the mantra.

Don't block emptiness with details, but use emptiness to generate the subtle presence of the deity.

a reply to: Fevrier

hey, thanks for everything. Truly.

what mantra to choose? There are a bunch in your article and many more on the net. I bet pronunciation is not as important as other things when reciting a mantra.

Is this intuitive type of thing or is there more technicality behind the choice and I should do more research. For instance I have found this:
om ah vajrapani hum hum phat

or from your article about Vajrapani:

Om Vajrapani Hayagriva Garuda Hum Phat

And I like both, they are short and simple.

a reply to: UniFinity
Ok - but what are you hoping to see? What do you want to visualize?

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Please read Fevrier response to my inquiry about visualization. It is just one stage of spiritual development and nothing more and nothing less. There is no hoping involved just progress to reach samadhi and it depends on the person which type of practice they choose. Visualizations can help some people to relax their mind and strengthen concentration at the beginning stages as I understand it now. Like a form of a visual mantra for users who have vivid imagination.

a reply to: Fevrier

While scrolling on your blog rapidly I saw you, sitting in padmāsana.

a reply to: Bybyots

what do I look like

a reply to: UniFinity

Om Ah Vajrapani Hum Hum Phat is a very energetic form of Vajrapani

the Triple Wrathful Ones is a very powerful and healing form. Both are very good and very powerful.

In general, if you stick to the mantras I give, it will be auspicious, because I go through a great deal of effort to find the correct original Sanskrit form of the mantra. A lot of mantras from tibet for example are very modified, so are many from china, to the point of the sound being very corrupted.

In the Ksitigarbha text I said reading the long dharani daily would be very very powerful for anyone, and it is.

Then you have the main Ksitigarbha short mantra: OM HA HA HA VISMAYE SVAHA

And here is the Vajravidarana mantra:

Vajravidarana Mantra

om namaścaṇḍavajrakrodhāya | om hulu hulu tiṣṭha tiṣṭha bandha bandha hana hana amṛte hūṃ phaṭ |


Vajravidarana is a form of Vajrapani, so now you have a longer Vajrapani mantra to work towards. I also just updated the Vajrapani article with the full Vajravidarana dharani and sutra.

So, in short, Ksitigarbha is incredibly powerful and auspicious and healing, creating compassion and stability in everyone, so it's the best practice for human beings, most soothing and accessible. Vajravidarana is the Vajra Heart, the very root of tantra, there is no practice that can be said to be superior to it, whatever anyone mentions, Vajravidarana is the root of it.

I also added the Dhvajagra Keyura dharani and mantra. She is a female deity, known as Victory Banner, who is perfect victory, and who handles the full karma of this world perfectly. The sutra explains it and it's there.

You should add me on facebook.

In fact, anyone who needs help should add me on facebook. You can find it through my medium profile.

a reply to: Fevrier
What do you think Saint Francis of Asissi meant when he said: "We are looking for what is looking"?

originally posted by: UniFinity
a reply to: Itisnowagain

What I wish to achieve in my life is knowledge of the real self. We are the same in that aspect but we have different views about how deep this knowledge about the real self goes.

Yours goes as far as all is one - true. But what is this one?
For you it seems, it is just "appearing" and "dream stuff" and more simple words which ordinary ego persona is easily satisfied with.

Absolute reality (real self) is emptiness - it is what there is in the deep sleep state - there is nothing appearing - you do not even know that you exist. But in deep sleep you exist as nothing (no thing at all).
When the light comes on (on waking from deep sleep) there appears to be something (vision, sound, sensation, thoughts) but that something (this image that is here now) is not made of anything other than the nothing that was there as deep sleep.
So it is not 'all is one' - it is more like emptiness is forming.
The forming is what is appearing. The emptiness is here now and is not separate from the forming.

It is like the tv screen is not noticed when the screen has little moving people running around on it and other exciting things going on. The screen is always present, still (stable) and unchanging but overlooked. The movie appearing on the screen is not separate from the screen - the image on the screen constantly changes and moves but the screen is always there allowing the movie to happen unconditionally. The screen is the unchanging aspect although it constantly looks/appears different.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Francis meant that he had not yet cut through the seeing function, and many others as well.

And neither have you. While your understanding of emptiness is better than a few years ago, it still lacking.

You do not "exist" as anything, not as nothing, not as emptiness, not as form.

Appearances are not actually appearing and they are not made out of anything, they are not made, not even out of emptiness or nothing.

Emptiness is not forming, since form is merely emptiness, and process is also emptiness, hence there is no process of forming, it is all emptiness. However, what I am saying now is only relative emptiness, since it started with your own statement, which lacks true emptiness.

Emptiness is not "here now", that is also an illusion of process. Here now is also merely emptiness, hence non-appearing.

You're welcome. Anytime you want me to cut through your various illusions, you can drop me a private message.

Or you could practice mantra.

Remember, there is no looking, no actual emptiness, no form, and no process. And that is only the very very beginning of true emptiness, beyond that there is also great emptiness and ultimate emptiness, and then Vajra emptiness.

a reply to: Fevrier
Lol.

a reply to: Fevrier

awesome information and thanks for the invite to fb.

You strike me as a person with a lot of experiences and I would love to read about what your thoughts are about Samadhi and how to achieve it and make it stable.

Is good pranayama/breathing techniques important? Indian yogis seems to think that what about Tibetan buddhism?

Well if you want to indulge my curiosity that would be great although it is not related to this thread...

a reply to: UniFinity

I'll do an article soon on the 9 bottled wind technique from tibetan tantra, and how to also use the best techniques from pranayama.

But these are more like exercising the energetic mechanism than actual breath practice.

True breath practice involves realizing the breath body and working with it.

Basically, air is the element of transformation, it's the first in the sequence of transformation of the elements, so if you begin with air, all the others transform as well.

Just gently focus your awareness at the nose, the tip of the nose basically, and gently stop the breath.

Now focus on the breath itself, you're actually doing this at step one as well, but for people with little awareness it will seem like focusing on the physical nose, and then once the breath stops, after a while they can feel the breath.

The truth is you're focusing on the breath from the start, but it's easiest and best to stop it at the nose. Herukas, the wrathful Buddhas, are said to be gently gazing at the tip of their nose. But this is an inner gaze, the gaze of inner awareness, and the nose is like a triangle that unites the two side energy channels into the middle channels.

So this is why it works so well.

Anyway, once the breath is stopped, concentrate it, just mentally concentrate the breath, and this of course unites awareness with it, so you can say you unite awareness with the breath and then concentrate it, or the other way around, it's the same thing.

After a while of doing this the breath becomes very stable and begins to expand. This is the breath body.

It's an actual body, far more primordial than your karmic body, and it very easily unites with awareness.

When the breath body goes everywhere, so it's a full body, and your breath is stopped for quite long periods of time in meditation, you're starting to approach real samadhi.

Of course, for this to happen you'll also have to go through some fire transformations, because when the breath is stable, fire grows. The best way to let it unfold is with emptiness, and in emptiness everything becomes peaceful, all transformations happen and return to peace.

The breath body is also there in activity, in fact, air is the element of activity, so cultivating the breath means cultivating all activities, you become better at everything.

You can, and SHOULD do all this while practicing a mantra. With mantra samadhi is pure mind, so you can say you have samadhi without going through all these transformations, because it's the pure mental samadhi of the mantra, but then you bring it into the body and transform the body using the breath. It's far more powerful than just the breath, so simply unite mantra, breath and awareness, unite them in concentration.

That's that. This is the best way to cultivate samadhi, and the most stable.

a reply to: Fevrier

what do I look like

I saw a semi-bald white dude sitting on a cushion.

More importantly, to me, anyway, I noticed that you and I might be barking up the same tree...

...Follow my posts down:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I mean, it's just me being an ass, but I think we are thinking about the same stuff sometimes.

Yoga gives me an intolerable rash of hives, so I quit; which is to say that your practices aren't for me, but it doesn't mean they aren't good for others.

It's nice to see the real deal around ATS sometimes.

Cheers.

a reply to: Fevrier

thank you!

Now I feel that I have finally found correct practice for meditation to cultivate samadhi.
When you publish your new article please let us know and make a new thread or something.

Samadhi is so rarely mentioned these days that I think many people are not aware of this most important stage of meditation. Maybe due to weak concentration in general in the west people rarely experience it while meditating.

What a great thread this has become, so full of information thanks to your posts and other users questions and info.