Nonduality Salon Highlights, #2087

So what is there to realize?

Peonies bloom on peony trees.
A cat doesn't become a chicken.
Tulips are tulips, not roses.
Why can't we realize this true fact?
That to be me is great.
I don't have to be anyone but me.
I am blooming as I am in my life, just as
a peony blooms on a peony tree.
Further, a beautiful peony flower does not
worry about when it will wilt and fall to the ground.
It does not compete with the flower next to it;
rather it blooms with its whole self.

~Sensie Ogui
from "Zen Shin Talks"

Allspirit Inspiration ` Gill Eardley

Let the vision
of the vastness
you are
leave you
in glorious
ruins.

Pilgrims will come
to imagine
the grand temple
that once stood,
not realizing

the wreck
made this empty plain
holy ground.

"A meditation technique used a great deal in Tibetan Buddhism is uniting
the mind with the sound of a mantra. The definition of mantra is "that
which protects the mind." That which protects the mind from negativity,
or which protects you from your own mind, is mantra.

"When you are nervous, disoriented, or emotionally fragile, inspired
chanting or reciting of a mantra can change the state of your mind
completely, by transforming its energy and atmosphere. How is this
possible? Mantra is the essence of sound, the embodiment of the truth in
the form of sound. Each syllable is impregnated with spiritual power,
condenses a deep spiritual truth, and vibrates with the blessing of the
speech of the buddhas.

"It is also said that the mind rides on the subtle energy of the breath,
the prana, which moves through and purifies the subtle channels of the
body. So when you chant a mantra, you are charging your breath and
energy with the energy of the mantra, and so working directly on your
mind and your subtle body."

~Sogyal Rinpoche

OM MANI PADME HUM!

OM TARE TUTARE TURE SOHA!

Rinpoche's quote from the book, "Glimpse After Glimpse," published by
Harper Collins.

posted by DharmaG to Daily Dharma

The Mani mantra is the most widely used of all Buddhist mantras, and open to anyone who feels inspired to practice it -- it does not require prior initiation by a lama (meditation master).

The six syllables of the mantra, as it is often pronounced by Tibetans -- Om Mani Padme Hum -- are here written in the Tibetan alphabet:

The vowel in the sylable Hu (is pronounced as in the English word 'book'. The final consonant in that syllable is often pronounced 'ng' as in 'song' -- Om Mani Padme Hung. There is one further complication: The syllablePad is pronounced Pe (peh) by many Tibetans: Om Mani Peme Hung.

The mantra originated in India; as it moved from India into Tibet, the pronunciation changed because some of the sounds in the Indian Sanskrit language were hard for Tibetans to pronounce.
http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/meaning-of-om-mani-padme-hung.htm (Note: The background of this email has Om Mani Padme Hung in the Tibetan script.)

This page offers information on how to install several types of digital prayer wheels on your computer or website:

A chanting session by the community of monks at Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram, Thailand

You can either listen to the chanting immediately by clicking Streaming Audio (RealPlayer required),

or you can download the mp3 file for permanent use.

http://www.concentration.org/_chants.htm

The question arises: if the Buddha was not a god, and the blessings are not prayers or petitions, how are they effective? The answer is that if we look at the English translations, we can see that the protective passages ward off evil influences and wish the listener well through the power of the Buddha's perfections, the Dhamma's purity, and the Noble Sangha's right practice. These passages take effect through the purity, practice, and loving kindness (metta) of the reciter and the understanding and receptiveness of the listener. In short, the passages are made effective by the power of the mind. As Venerable Piyadassi Thera has noted, "Mind not only makes us sick, it also cures." The passages we recite are a skillful means for diverting the power of the mind away from its ordinary random -- and often harmful -- ways and focusing it on a healing purpose.

Taming Wild Cats With Tibetan Buddhist Chants

Jan Bright is the guardian of about 30 abandoned and/or feral cats and kittens in Berkeley. She tames the felines by chanting Tibetan Buddhist prayers so that they can be fixed and adopted out to human homes. Bright, who is homeless herself, seeks to create a sanctuary for wild cats where they can be cared for, tamed and studied for the healing properties of their purring.

Everything is clapping today.

Light,
Sound,
Motion,
All movement.

A rabbit I pass pulls a cymbal
From a hidden pocket
Then winks.

This causes a few planets and I
To go nuts
And start grabbing each other.

Someone sees this,
Calls a
Shrink,

Tries to get me
Committed
For
Being too
Happy.

Listen: this world is the lunatic’s sphere,
Don’t always agree it’s real,

Even with my feet upon it
And the postman knowing my door

My address is somewhere else.