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This is a phrase that is used often in Buddhist liturgy and today a team of physicists has claimed that our view of the early Universe may contain the signature of a time before the Big Bang.

The discovery comes from studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB), light emitted when the Universe was just 400,000 years old. Their model may help explain why we experience time moving in a straight line from yesterday into tomorrow. Their model also suggests that new universes could be created spontaneously from apparently empty space. They even suggest that from inside the parent universe, the event would be surprisingly unspectacular [1].

Buddha taught that our perception of time is a merely a localized reference that depends entirely upon our own observation - time unfolds in dependence upon our mind - and Buddhist scholars and lineage holders have been expounding this truth for nearly 1500 years!

In the Prajna Paramita (Heart of Wisdom and Perfection of Wisdom Sutras), Bodhisattva Avalokitshvara explains to Sariputra that all things and phenomena, even time itself, arise out of emptiness, and that with the perfection of wisdom, we can come to fully realize this. Now we have modern evidence to suggest that this may indeed be the ultimate nature of reality - form is emptiness and emptiness is form [2]. Shantideva, in the ninth chapter of the Bodhicharyāvatāra, demonstrates the difference between conventional and ultimate truth, and how we may perfect our wisdom realizing emptiness [3].

Over the centuries, great Mahayana scholars have elucidated the meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras in their commentaries. In “Ocean of Nectar”, where Geshe Kelsang Gyatso continues this noble tradition by providing an explanation of Chandrakirti’s famous commentary Guide to the Middle Way, we can see this understanding brought full circle as Geshe Kelsang explains with breathtaking clarity, the logic upon which this can be proven, even without modern technology, by realizing the true nature of our own mind. [4]

It has been demonstrated by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (and now the scientists) that all things arise from, and dissolve into;

e m p t i n e s s . . .

This is why it is also said that NOW is the time to turn the wheel of Dharma to realize our true nature and full human potential!

OM AH HUM

[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7440217.stm
[2] http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/emptiness.html
[3] http://www.shantideva.net/guide_ch9.htm
[4] http://kadampa.org/en/books/ocean-of-nectar

(reposted from a tribe discussion)

Forgive me if this is long…

First a bit of context. I have spent the past year recovering and living with the results of unfinished business regarding major surgery to remove life threatening tumors and nearly died in the process. It has been contrary to what many people might think, a very affirmational experience that I consider a great blessing. I have realized both renunciation and bodhichitta throughout the ordeal. Tomorrow, one year to the day, they open me back up for six hours or so to reverse an colonostomy, perform radio-thermal oblation on three metastasis in my liver, and repair an eight inch herniated scar from the last surgery. I have supreme faith in all three surgeons who will be performing ‘yet another days work’ on my behalf. During the past month I have been preparing myself for another potential brush with mortality by engaging in retreat at my local Dharma Center, preparing a proper will, and debating ideals of free will and determinism with y’all here on Tribe. Its been to quote my son; ‘All Good’. (except when my delusions get in the way ;) During this retreat I have been almost exclusively studying the topic of emptiness in order to develop a strong conceptual understanding of it and in particular how it relates to wisdom and the mind itself.

Tonight, I had a strange phenomenon occur that might fit in with our discussion here.

As I prepared for sleep, I re-read several passages from The Bodhicaryavatara Chapter IX: The Perfection of Wisdom for perhaps the hundredth time and then prayed to the Buddha Avalokiteshvara that I might have a direct experience of this wisdom realizing emptiness. I gathered my winds in the central channel as I have been instructed, witnessed clear light mind, and then into deep sleep. I awoke two hours later when my partner became very startled that a book had fallen off the shelf, landing on my forehead. I was not startled at all but picked it up, glanced at the cover, and placed it back on the shelf where it was before. It was The Bodhicaryavatara! It was a moment that I can only describe as precognition why I was not startled, reacted calmly, ‘knowing’ what had happened.

So I posit, what to ‘believe’ from this event:

a) Newton was right.
b) My wife is a light sleeper.
c) I read too much.
d) Everything becomes emptiness.
e) My wish was fulfilled.
f) Tribing is a meaningless activity.
g) All of the above.
h) Some of the above.
i) None of the above.
j) There is no ‘correct’ answer listed.

Anyhow, the passages…

96. It is impossible for consciousness, which has no form, to have contact; nor is it possible for a composite, because it is not a truly existent thing, as investigated earlier.

97. Thus, when there is no contact, how can feeling arise? What is the reason for this exertion? Who can be harmed by what?

98. If there is no one to experience feeling and if feeling does not exist, then after understanding this situation, why, oh craving, are you not shattered?

99. The mind that has a dream-like and illusion-like nature sees and touches. Since feeling arises together with the mind, it is not perceived by the mind.

100. What happens earlier is remembered but not experienced by what arises later. It does not experience itself, nor is it experienced by something else.

101. There is no one who experiences feeling. Hence, in reality, there is no feeling. Thus, in this identity-less bundle, who can be hurt by it?

102. The mind is not located in the sense facilities, or in form and other sense-objects, or in between them. The mind is also not found inside, or outside, or anywhere else.

103. That which is not in the body nor anywhere else, neither intermingled nor somewhere separate, is nothing. Therefore, sentient beings are by nature liberated.

104. If cognition is prior to the object of cognition, in dependence on what does it arise? If cognition is simultaneous with the object of cognition, in dependence on what does it arise?

105. If it arises after the object of cognition, from what would cognition arise? In this way it is ascertained that no phenomenon comes into existence.

106. Objection: If conventional truth does not exist, how can there be the two truths? If it does exist due to another conventional truth, how can there be a liberated sentient being?

107. Madhyamika: One is an ideation of someone else’s mind, and one does not exist by one’s own conventional truth. After something has been ascertained, it exists; if not, it does not exist as a conventional reality either.

108. The two, conception and the conceived, are mutually dependent; just as every analysis is expressed by referring to what is commonly known.

I’m sitting in the center drinking some hot tea and listening to the wind blow - or is that the tea kettle - it sounds like Mt. Meru in here! It has been a wonderful experience to engage in retreat with my Sangha this month. I have gotten just a taste of what a ‘real’ retreat might be like and now I can cultivate the sincere wish to make that happen in the future. I say a taste because life was not put on hold or anything for this month and I have split my time between the center and home to take care of the children and work. I am officially on FMLA as of last Wednesday and that has improved my mood somewhat considerably. It was a wise decision to take time off before surgery this time to wrap-up loose ends and just plain relax. Evie and I are going to La Conner this weekend to spend some Q-time together and I am really looking forward to that. Mostly it has been really nice to get more comfortable at the center and feel a sense of ownership by taking part in the everyday activities such as cooking and cleaning around here. Many wonderful opportunities for giving, receiving, and stimulating conversations have presented themselves and as Gen Khedrub mentioned to me prior to my stay, when living at a Dharma center you sometimes learn just by osmosis. I definitely feel that both my practice and relationships with Sangha have been strengthened considerably - it has been a great opportunity to stretch.

A friend asked the other day what enlightenment was exactly and I had to consult with my Spiritual Guide who referred me to the back of Joyful Path To Good Fortune, where it is stated that enlightenment occurs when any being eliminates the two obstructions of delusion and the karmic imprints of delusion - saṃskāra. But how to remove them specifically?

These teachings form the basis of the Shurangama Sutra which gives the most detailed explanation of the Buddha’s teachings concerning the mind. It is said that once when Buddha was preaching the Dharma that Ananda arose halfway through and gave praise to Buddha because he understood clearly and Purnamaitreyaniputra - who was apparently a more advanced practitioner - asked why it was that a Ananda could understand while he could not, and so Buddha explained the two kinds of obstructions - based on affliction and doubt - that must be cleansed for full enlightenment. This is also taught as the selflessness of person and the selflessness of phenomena.

The Bodhisattva Nagarjuna is said to have preserved these teachings and they later made their way to China where they were translated in 705 by an unknown Indian bhiksu (some say his name was Shramana Paramiti) as “The Summit of the Great Buddha, The Final Meaning of Verification though Cultivation of the Secret Cause of the Tathagatas, and [Foremost] Shurangama of All Bodhisattvas’ Ten Thousand Practices Sutra.”

It is said by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua that;

The (many) obstructions are also discussed in greater detail in the Prajna Paramita Sutra and the Heart Sutra where the great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara explains the emptiness of all things and phenomena quite eloquently.

See also: http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Shurangama/Shurangama.htm

Seven days of Lamrim — twenty-one meditations, scheduled four per day, into one week — the essence of all 84,000 of Buddha Sakyamuni’s teachings. And thus, the wheel turns. Next week it repeats once more in silence according to our guru’s instruction, passed down one spiritual guide at a time, through Atisha, Je Tsongkhapa, and into the world of today via Geshe-la’s kindness. My meditations are gradually becoming less distracted as I intentionally recognize them arising, and set them aside. Re-occurring themes are surgery and job related. I am stretching and strengthening my ability to sit through things and contemplate clearly, this is the essence of lamrim, to contemplate the causes and conditions for enlightenment to occur, one at a time, over and over, until they become your nature.

I am also most fortunate to have found a partner who will walk, and sit, and contemplate this path with me, thank you sweetie :)

_/|\_

Today I entered into preparation for retreat month at the Vajralama Buddhist Center. In early January I will be undertaking formal Lamrim retreat in preparation for a tranquil abiding retreat later in the month. I am settling into my room for the next six weeks and listening to the sounds of sangha in the kitchen.

If we appreciate the great potential of this life we shall not waste it. We need to meditate on love, compassion…. and develop and maintain a good heart towards all living beings. ~ Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

“It’s a Medical Miracle…, we have been watching your story unfold from afar and… we can’t explain it, it’s a miracle!”

My primary care provider said this to me a few weeks ago when I went to ask some specific blood sugar related questions. I hadn’t seen him in over nine months since I was diagnosed with not one, but two, (biochemically/genetically) unrelated  cancers in my pancreas and colon. These were big tumors (picture a grapefruit) that in the pancreas, had been growing for a number of years. “How do you feel?” he asked; “How are you?.

“Fine.” I said. I’ve never felt better. This whole experience has been such a blessing.”

“That’s wonderful.” he said; “Most people don’t see it that way. This makes you extraordinary.”

He said he wasn’t too alarmed with my sugars and wanted to see me in a few weeks after having my six-month check-up with Dr. Gold, my oncologist. “Have them run these tests while you’re at it and have them fax it to me. I want to compare these numbers.” He wrote down ‘CA 19‘ & ‘CEA‘.

I followed up with him today.

“Surprise to see you here, you look great. Look at this!”

He set down three sheets of paper and pointed at a line on the first one.

“These are your ‘Tumor Markers’. They are blood tests that we use to help diagnose the level of cancer in your body. These are your numbers in January.” He pointed to the following: CEA 40.0 H C 19-9 173 H . “Most people are around 2.5-5 CEA and 0-35 is normal for the C19, but your at this now.” He circled two numbers to the right. CEA 1.0 C 19-9 <2. He then showed two other intermediate numbers corresponding to May and August and showed how they went down, then dropped completely to normal.
“Falling Cea indicators is a good sign.” He said; “What do you do? Do you visualize?”

I said that it was faith mostly and that I did visualize my white blood cells as little Dorje Shugdan protectors riding around on a snow lion, sword drawn, hacking up little cancer cells.

He laughed and said; “Well it works- keep it up!”

I smiled and said; “You know you Doctors are good but Dharma is the supreme medicine, a little old Tibetan monk told me so.”

And I believe him…

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 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.