Author Archives: tony

BEING ADDICTED TO THE PATH

Being Addicted To The Path makes the path pointless. If we become addicted to the trappings of religion, we lose the whole point. Having lost the point, our genuine intelligence and genuine inspiration weaken, and we become half-hearted, being satisfied … Continue reading

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THERE IS AN END TO SUFFERING

There Is An End To Suffering when suffering becomes an opportunity. The end of suffering comes with the end of desire and aversion – hope and fear – accepting and rejecting. The over activities of desire and aversion lead to … Continue reading

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WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF SUFFERING?

What Is The Cause Of Suffering? This is very simple, but becomes complex. We want to be, or appear to be, better then we already are, both as individuals and as a collective. Our ultimate reality is just pure awareness: … Continue reading

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TRUE GRIT!

True Grit! Do we have to suffer to become enlightened? No, but it helps. Some take up the Dharma because it’s an intellectual or cultural pastime, while for others, it is experiential. The first noble truth is, in fact, the … Continue reading

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CAN WE BE TOO KIND?

Can We Be Too Kind? The word “too” seems to hold the answer. The level of kindness depends on the understanding of the individual applying skilful clarity in order to benefit a situation. Not too tight and not too loose. … Continue reading

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MEDITATION RELIEVES STRESS

Meditation (which is deep relaxation) Relieves Stress It’s this simple! The following is taken in part from an article by Talya Steinberg: Psychological stress affects the levels of chemicals in the brain and body. This includes the neurotransmitters dopamine, epinephrine, … Continue reading

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THE FEELING OF WELL-BEING

The Feeling Of Well-Being This is what it’s all about; taking care of our energy and enthusiasm, and not wasting these. We need to feel enlivened, positive and inspired. We need to feel right. Along our path there those “Ah, … Continue reading

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BUDDHISM, JESUS AND FAITH

Buddhism, Jesus and Faith Theistic religions are based on belief and faith as, in fact, is Buddhism in the beginning, despite it being non-theistic. In Buddhism, we hear about something and we may believe it to be true, but it’s … Continue reading

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BUDDHISM AND ADAM AND EVE

Buddhism and Adam and Eve The story of the garden of Eden. “Adam and Eve took from the tree the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.” Interesting..! Before knowledge of good and evil – which is judgment – there … Continue reading

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THE SIMPLEST TEACHING CAN GO OVER OUR HEADS

The Simplest Teaching Can Go Over Our Heads “We are not fettered by appearances, but by attachment to those appearances.” The subtlest attachment limits our freedom as we have acquired an extra part: we have joined ourselves to that appearance, … Continue reading

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IT’S ALL IN THE MIND

It’s All In The Mind All of it! Happiness, doubt, fear, worry, expectation, confusion . . . all of which are transitory . . . are only experienced in the mind, by the mind. They are experienced precisely because of … Continue reading

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LIFE IS DESIGNED TO GO WRONG

Life Is Designed To Go Wrong We are fed, or we acquire, false information, day in and day out. Understanding the confused world in which we dwell is the path to enlightenment. The world happens outside. Our world happens inside. … Continue reading

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HOW LONG WILL ENLIGHTENMENT TAKE?

How Long Will Enlightenment Take? As long as thoughts, emotions and reactions take over our minds, distracting and controlling us. Be aware that, at any moment, we can turn this on its head, by simply being enlightened to the fact … Continue reading

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“I AM HERE, NOW”

“I Am Here, Now” When it comes to describing pure experience, language is a problem, but it’s what we use to communicate (although a gesture and even silence can be most effective). When we talk about ‘I’, ‘here’, ‘now’, we … Continue reading

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ONE QUESTION WE SHOULDN’T ATTEMPT TO ANSWER

One Question We Shouldn’t Attempt To Answer: Where Am I Now? “Why?” In doing so, we move out of now. Just do it! “What do I do?” Come to your senses. See, smell, taste, touch, hear… and be. Sometimes this … Continue reading

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ACCEPTING OR NOT ACCEPTING REINCARNATION

Accepting or Not Accepting Reincarnation There is no argument: some believe in reincarnation while others do not. Either way, it’s a belief, and beliefs have psychological consequences. Every individual decides what life and death are all about. We may not … Continue reading

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I CAN’T MEDITATE

I Can’t Meditate I want to meditate, but can’t. I don’t see the point of meditation; it seems so complicated. There are many responses to meditation, and sometimes the reasons for meditating are not clearly explained. We may be wary … Continue reading

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HOW DOES ME BECOME A BUDDHA?

How Does Me Become A Buddha? Look within the mind. Drop the ‘me’ and, finding nothing else, rest in that emptiness. There you are! A complete Buddha = awakened: recognition of empty essence purified: exhaustion of all karmic effects You … Continue reading

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GENUINE INNER PEACE

Genuine Inner Peace Genuine inner peace is available at any moment. Not a temporary affair, but the real thing. This blogger cannot claim to have genuine peace at every moment, but merely an understanding that it is accessible. The obstacles … Continue reading

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Dzogchen Retreat UK, Tsoknyi Rinpoche 1 – 7 August 2016

Dzogchen Retreat, Tsoknyi Rinpoche 1 – 7 August 2016  “A Dzogchen Guide to Living Fearlessly in an Unsettled World.” Kingswood School, Bath, UK. Go to http://www.pundarika.uk.net/category/news/

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WHAT IS BUDDHISM?

What is Buddhism? This will depend on our understanding. For some, it is a religion, and for others, it’s a philosophy. For some it is a science, and for others, rebellion. For some, it is the teachings of the Buddha, … Continue reading

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OTHERS’ EUPHORIA, ECSTASY, HEAVEN, DEVOTION

Others’ Euphoria, Ecstasy, Heaven, Devotion People have feelings. They may appear to get carried away with their feelings: that’s just the way they feel. We may not feel that way. We may get carried away with our feelings about their … Continue reading

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MASTER OF LIGHT OR SLAVE TO DARKNESS

Master Of Light or Slave To Darkness In prayers, we ask for light (clarity), but also protection. We ask that all evil and ill-will be pacified. We might assume that this means outer evils, but it also addresses our inner … Continue reading

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CONFOUND OUR ENEMIES WITH…LOVE

Confound Our Enemies With…Love Confound = amaze, astonish, dumbfound, stagger, surprise, startle, stun, stupefy, daze, nonplus; throw, shake, unnerve, disconcert, discompose, dismay, bewilder, set someone thinking, baffle, mystify, bemuse, perplex, puzzle, confuse… Our = that to which we relate. Enemies … Continue reading

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THE BUDDHA REFLECTS OUR TRUE NATURE

The Buddha Reflects Our True Nature We have to look to see if this is true. By looking for more, we become distracted, preferring to wander off on a vague path that seems interesting. We will never realise the simple … Continue reading

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DO GOOD, DO NO HARM, TAME THE MIND

Do Good, Do No Harm, Tame The Mind The Buddha Said, “Do Good, Do No Harm, Tame The Mind”. How do we do this? Simply choose a prayer or mantra such as ‘Om Mani Padme Hung’ which, as the mantra … Continue reading

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UNDERSTANDING CHAOS

Understanding Chaos “I don’t understand.” Chaos is total confusion. Chaos: complete disorder, vast chasm, void. Total openness to a situation. In pure experience, there is neither comprehension nor understanding; there is merely raw, first hand experience. Our wish to understand … Continue reading

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NO PATH, NO JOURNEY, NO DESTINATION

No Path, No Journey, No Destination We are here now. So what obscures ‘now’? Nothing. Absolutely nothing of any substance. Emotions arise to protect the false idea of ‘me and mine’: pride, jealousy, desire, fear, hatred and ignorance obscure nowness. … Continue reading

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TEACHING IS COMMUNICATION

Teaching Is Communication It is passing on information, and we all communicate in one way or another. Whether verbally or non-verbally, we are constantly picking up information and signals. Our motivation is the driving force as to what we tune … Continue reading

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WHAT IF ENLIGHTENMENT WAS ONLY…

What If Enlightenment Was Only… realising the true nature of self and all phenomena. Which is? That our imagined self and all phenomena are empty of true existence: they are all a fabrication and there is nothing more than that. … Continue reading

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OUR LIFE IS JUST A STORY

Our Life Is Just A Story We become so involved in and obsessed by our story – our life – that we don’t bother about how the story started, and where it will end. When we were young, we acquired … Continue reading

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ANYTHING DIRTY CAN BE CLEANED!

Anything Dirty Can Be Cleaned! Says it all really. 😀 . . . . (It’s a saying of my wife’s)

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RESPONDING TO A HOSTILE WORLD

Responding To A Hostile World If we want to solve a problem, we need to analyse the problem closely. If we leave this to others, then we become part of their analysis! People are dying prematurely through the use of … Continue reading

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THE HEART OF DZOGCHEN

The Heart of Dzogchen The pointing out instruction is letting go. Awareness looks, sees and drops. Traditionally, the gesture (non-verbal) for the pointing out instruction is: the teacher holds his/her palms up to show looking out. They then turn the … Continue reading

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REMEMBER – WE ARE HAPPY BEINGS

Remember – We Are Happy Beings Let no thing steal your inner joy. We are so conditioned to desire fulfilment that we engage in excessive activity which leads to frustration and in fact, addiction, and this creates our destiny. As … Continue reading

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MAKING SENSE OF DZOGCHEN

Making Sense Of Dzogchen is nonsense 😀 Dzogchen is a Tibetan word for a style of experiencing the essence of compassionate, primordial purity of luminous awareness. It’s what we actually are; the reality of being. Other styles have other names: … Continue reading

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IS OUR KARMA OUR GUIDE?

Is Our Karma Our Guide? The recognition that we are seeing through a habitual bias is an extremely subtle business: “we see through a glass darkly”. We needn’t feel guilty about this because the moment that we become aware of … Continue reading

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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM

Collective Narcissism Narcissistic groups could be an extension of individual narcissism, although this may not necessarily be the case. There are also groups within groups, which gives rise to in-group bias. Narcissism is self love. One could call the Kali … Continue reading

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BEING PRECISE IN PRACTICE

Being Precise In Practice If we are going to tame the mind, we have to be as precise as we can. If we are not to do harm, we have to be as precise as we can. Focusing on the … Continue reading

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WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

What Is Spirituality? It is pure, empty awareness. We are spirituality. We are ethereal beings, caught and held by concepts; because of this, we are imprisoned in a physical form. Ethereal: extremely delicate and light in a way that seems … Continue reading

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THE COCOON OF NO CIRCUMFERENCE

The Cocoon Of No Circumference Emptiness that envelops everything Meditation is being thought-free, and not thought-less. Thought-free is being free of thoughts – spacious – clear – light – with limitless joy and compassion. The cocoon of no limitations. Thought-less … Continue reading

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CAN ROBOTS HAVE CONSCIOUSNESS?

Can Robots Have Consciousness? From a Buddhist perspective, yes they can. If we regard consciousness as the ‘be-all and end-all’, then we have a very limited view of ourselves. If we are using the word ‘consciousness’ to mean ‘aware’ then … Continue reading

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ULTIMATE CRAZINESS

Ultimate Craziness There is no one seeing and there is no one seeing it. There is just seeing. Just seeing, clear view, pure awareness, pure consciousness, higher self, the father, God … are just fancy-schmancy words for something indescribable. Descriptions … Continue reading

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CHRISTIANS AND BUDDHISTS DO NOT UNDERSTAND

Christians and Buddhists Do Not Understand that they tread the same path of confusion, following religious translations rather than direct experience. A Buddhist cannot disagree with the Gospel of Thomas: These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which … Continue reading

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THE PURPOSE OF ROUTINE RITUAL

The Purpose Of Routine Ritual To counteract the effects of misplaced energy of body, speech and mind during daily activities when our actions are self centred, we engage in routine prayers, pujas and meditation. This routine ritual calms the body, … Continue reading

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IS GOD A MEME?

Is God A Meme?* Is the ‘idea’ of God a meme? Not that God is a meme: ‘God’ is a word to describe a quality of pure existence. We can experience pure existence by recognising our own pure awareness, and … Continue reading

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POINTLESS LIFE?

Pointless Life? The human potential is complete enlightenment – to be a Buddha. This is one who has awakened to inner clarity and dissolved all confusion through the continuity of clarity at every moment, which is the practice of purification. … Continue reading

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THE SECRET OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM IS…

The Secret of Tibetan Buddhism is… that the three wisdoms are the three poisons. The three wisdoms are Empty essence, cognisant nature and unconfined compassion. The three poisons are ignorance,* desire and aversion. Our absolute being is wisdom. Our relative … Continue reading

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BEING OF BENEFIT

Being of Benefit The more we practise, the more we benefit, the more we want to practise, the more others benefit, the more we practise. Practice is taming the mind, and the benefit is insight. We have to be careful … Continue reading

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THE LIFE WE LEAD WAS BUILT BY OTHERS

The Life We Lead Was Built By Others The life we lead was build by others. We follow and suffer in silence, dumbing ourselves down as a result. Resting in pure awareness, insight just happens and we lose the dumbness … Continue reading

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