Evie and I leave for Singapore on the red-eye tonight and have a 20+ hour flight ahead of us. We are taking lots of beads to make malas to give away at the festival. We will return from this delayed honeymoon trip as daka and dakini; fully qualified Mahamudra Tantra practitioners.
the squirrel told me so;
“you mustn’t lose your nuts-
the crow told me so.”
Eve and I are card-carrying members of the Goat Justice League and are happy to announce that the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to reclassify the goats - also known as dwarf, or miniature goats - as small animals rather than farm animals after testimony touting the virtues of the dog-sized critters as companions, weed eaters and milk producers.
“One small step for man, one giant step for goatkind,” council member Richard Conlin, who sponsored the measure, said after Monday’s vote.
Now I have a mission to construct a pen for us to keep them in when I return from Singapore. Ummm, got milk?
The question came up tonight about whether or not Buddha’s can actually take other’s suffering. On page 142 in “Eight Steps to Happiness” in the section on Taking and Giving it says:
“There are many examples of accomplished Yogis using their concentration to take on the suffering of other beings with whom they have a karmic connection. There is a story of and Indian Buddhist Master called Maitriyogi who took on the pain of a dog that was being beaten, so that the wounds appeared on his body instead of the dog’s. The great Tibetan Yogi Milarepa had completely mastered the meditation on taking and giving. On one occasion he took on the suffering of a sick man, but the man refused to believe that it was due to Milarepa that he was free from pain. To prove it, Milarepa returned the pain to him, and when the pain became too much Milarepa then transferred the pain to a door, which started to shake!”
In the next paragraph, the text says:
“If Buddhas and high Bodhisattvas have the power directly to take on the suffering of others and bestow happiness upon them, we may wonder why living beings are still suffering? Because Buddhas have this power, they are continuously bestowing blessings on all living beings. As a direct result of receiving these blessings, each and every living being, including animals and hell beings, occasionally experiences peace of mind, and at these times they are happy and free from manifest suffering. However, the only way living beings can achieve permanent liberation from suffering is if they actually put Buddha’s teachings into practice.”
This is true!
When I was in the hospital, at times I would drift into consciousness and be very afraid. One thing I discovered was that by praying for a peaceful mind, and being open to it, I would naturally start imagining the sufferings of all the other beings in the hospital. This would appear to my mind as thick black clouds of smoke. These would billow around and I would breathe them in thinking I was taking all this suffering ‘out of circulation’ by letting the Buddhas bless it through my heart as a conduit. I would imagine it being transformed by their presence into pure light and would breathe this out into emptiness where it would mingle with the smoke, forming patterns of stars and light. Sometimes it would change color like a LightBright™, and sometimes the imagery was quite frightening, but I found myself becoming calmer with each breath. In a short while, I was able to view even the most horrendous visions with a peaceful mind, and could imagine the clouds too, disappearing into emptiness. When this occurred I could feel myself fully in the presence of a very powerful being- Buddha. I know it wasn’t the drugs because I can still have these experiences without them.
If I, a house-holder and novice Bodhisattva, can experience this, imagine what a more accomplished yogi can!
By requesting with a mind of faith and a heart of bodhicitta, it is completely within the power of Buddhas to (re)move your mind’s suffering.
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