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Archives
- WHY DO WE FEEL WRONG? April 30, 2026
- OUR MORAL LANDSCAPE April 29, 2026
- FOR COMPASSION, WE NEED EMPATHY April 29, 2026
- COMPOS MENTIS – NON-COMPOS MENTIS April 29, 2026
- CONQUERING THE UNIVERSE April 28, 2026
- THIS IS WHERE WE ARE AT April 26, 2026
- WE FEAR COMMUNICATION April 25, 2026
- MISUNDERSTAND OUR PATH April 25, 2026
- THE ASPECTS OF SELF April 24, 2026
- CREATOR, OR CREATIVE PRINCIPLE? April 23, 2026
- STAYING ON THE RIGHT PATH April 22, 2026
- OUR FABULOUS TEACHER April 21, 2026
- THE NON-PERSON MOMENTS April 21, 2026
- WHY DO WE PREFER STORIES TO DIRECT EXPERIENCE? April 20, 2026
- ARE WE A LIFESTYLE, OR LIFE ITSELF? April 19, 2026
- THE AGE OF DECLINE – THE AGE OF NONSENSE April 18, 2026
- LOOK AT YOUR OWN MIND, RATHER THAN SOMEONE ELSE’S April 17, 2026
- THERE ARE MANY ASPECTS TO TIBETAN BUDDHISM April 16, 2026
- WHAT IS WISDOM? April 16, 2026
- THE ULTIMATE ACT OF REBELLION April 15, 2026
- AN ALIENS VIEW April 15, 2026
- PRAYER IS HOPE April 14, 2026
- COMPASSION DOESN’T MEAN WE LIKE SOMEONE April 13, 2026
- DEPRESSION SUDDENLY LIFTS April 13, 2026
- THE JOY OF MEETING IDIOTS April 13, 2026
- IT’S AMAZING April 12, 2026
- UNIFIED DIVISION – AND THE CONSEQUENCES April 11, 2026
- WE SELF CENSOR … WHY? April 10, 2026
- THE DIFFICULTY OF KNOWING WHAT IS REAL April 9, 2026
- WHY DO WE DOUBT? April 9, 2026
- IT’S A MASSIVE SHOCK April 8, 2026
- TRY NOT GETTING BACK TO ‘NORMAL’ April 8, 2026
- THE TACTIC HASN’T AGED April 7, 2026
- INTERCONNECTEDNESS – UNISON OR HARMONY? April 7, 2026
- THE CURSE OF THE MESSENGER April 6, 2026
- FIBONACCI: THE LAWS OF SURVIVAL April 5, 2026
- THE FIBONACCI EFFECT – THE GOLDEN RATIO April 5, 2026
- THE POWER OF FIBONACCI April 5, 2026
- THE FIBONACCI EFFECT April 5, 2026
- QUESTIONING TRUTH April 4, 2026
- BEYOND A SHADOW OF DOUBT April 4, 2026
- THE WONDER OF BEING A LATE DEVELOPER April 4, 2026
- WOUND MEANS SUFFERING April 4, 2026
- PREDICTABLE SUFFERING April 4, 2026
- NATURE (BUDDHA-NATURE) VERSUS NURTURE (MARA-NATURE) April 3, 2026
- BEING BUDDHIST IS BEING ORDINARY April 2, 2026
- A LUCKY ESCAPE April 1, 2026
- SUDDENLY NOT FEELING WRONG April 1, 2026
- REALISATION COMES FROM DROPPING THE MEDITATION March 31, 2026
- WE CANNOT NOT COMMUNICATE March 30, 2026
Author Archives: tony
IS LIFE ALL ABOUT SUFFERING?
Is Life All About Suffering? We are here to realise our true nature. So what is stopping us? Mental obstacles prevent us from realising that true nature, and therefore we suffer. We have become walking, talking cliches. Cliche: a phrase … Continue reading
IS THERE ENLIGHTENMENT?
Is There Enlightenment? Who knows? Are there enlightenments? Certainly. Understanding something we didn’t before, we are no longer in the dark. Step by step, clarity enlightens.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT TERRORISM
What To Do About Terrorism Don’t support terrorism. Don’t support the causes of terrorism. Understand the causes of terrorism. Terrorism is the pursuit of political aims disguised as righteousness to impose power over others. What can we do? Not consent. … Continue reading
TOGAL – YOU DECIDE
Togal – You Decide Dzogchen has two aspects: in Tibetan, these are called Trekcho and Togal. Trekcho is seeing concepts as soon as they arise and ‘cutting through’ them. Togal is ‘leaping over’; it is direct experience of spontaneous presence. … Continue reading
KARMIC SYNAPSES
Karmic Synapses ‘Synapse: a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter. Our brain cells communicate with one another via synaptic transmission controlling the body and brain functions.’ Neurons … Continue reading
NEGATIVITY IS CONTAGIOUS
Negativity Is Contagious …and so is blind positivity. Look, see, recognise, understand, drop. Be wise, be compassionate.
THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS, ONLY QUESTIONS
There are no problems, only questions ..and questions have answers. I assumed that I was a worrier, which had a negative effect on my mind. On investigation, however, I found that the worry was merely a question; this had a … Continue reading
IS IT, ‘AS IT IS’?
Is It, ‘As It Is’? The Buddha’s teachings and commentaries are vast. How do we know they are true? How do we test them? What is true? It is we who have to recognise what it is we are dealing … Continue reading
‘OTHERS’ KNOW MORE ABOUT US THAN WE DO
‘Others’ Know More About Us Than We Do The enlightened know our potential and our weaknesses. The endarkened know our potential and our weaknesses. We have to know what both the enlightened and endarkened know. What is preventing knowing? Habitual … Continue reading
BEST RELAXATION = BEST MEDITATION
Best Relaxation = Best Meditation Tulku Urgyen said about Dzogchen, which is resting in pure awareness, “Short moments many times.” This is so we relax and stop trying to sustain, which is tiring. Short moments, is dropping effort, and so … Continue reading
EXPERIENCE IS BEYOND EXOTIC WORDS
Experience Is Beyond Exotic Words It doesn’t matter what words we learn, experience is just experience as it is. The dharma can then be assimilated into our own culture. That being the case… 😀
TRANSFORMING AN EMPTY FEELING INTO EMPTINESS
Transforming An Empty Feeling Into Emptiness Sometimes we may feel empty, as in deplete, emotionless, pointless. Disillusioned. We are no longer in the swing of samsara; we are in no-man’s land, neither in the groove of samsara nor dwelling in … Continue reading
THE AGE OF ABSURDITY
The Age Of Absurdity In the age of absurdity, we have become experts in absurdity and then complain about it. All life is precious, especially human life as we have the ability to become enlightened – to be lifted out … Continue reading
THE ANSWER WE SEEK IS…
The Answer We Seek Is… …that which asks the question! Don’t be fooled by appearances. The world is not what it seems. Life is not what it seems. Every thing is not what it seems. Whatever appears has absolutely no … Continue reading
DO YOU FEEL PROTECTED?
Do You Feel Protected? Feeling protected is relying on something that we consider to be more powerful than ourself, or our present situation. As we are still caught up in a sentient reality, we need help. This may mean different … Continue reading
BEING WELL BALANCED
Being Well Balanced To be balanced suggests two sides: these are our human side and our spiritual side. Being balanced is being in harmony or unity. This is the two truths. We need to be decent human beings to appreciate … Continue reading
THE DAWNING OF OUR TRUE NATURE
The Dawning Of Our True Nature When in meditation, thoughts subside and stillness is found. Stillness, if not observed, can easily turn into a state of vacancy, of not knowing, of being oblivious, of suspended animation. We have gone from … Continue reading
THE BUDDHA TEACHES US WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW
The Buddha teaches us what we already know… …but have never recognised. Our true nature. There are no special rules or languages for knowing. It is naturally, purely aware and present. What is preventing recognition? Absolutely nothing.
PRAYER IS SOMETHING MEANINGFUL TO US
Prayer Is Something Meaningful To Us Prayer may be a psychological expression, a request, a wish, a hope, a desire. Or a prayer can be a reminder of who and what we are. It is not a sweet dirge; it … Continue reading
UTILISING OUR PATTERN OF BEHAVIOUR
Utilising Our Pattern Of Behaviour. Our pattern of behaviour is a regular and intelligible sequence discernible in certain actions and situations. If you asked me what I’d like to eat, I’d generally say, “Grilled tomatoes on toast!” Because of our … Continue reading
THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF DHARMA TO UNDERSTAND
The Most Difficult Aspect Of Dharma To Understand Nirvana and Samsara are indistinguishable. Conceptual thoughts and emptiness are indistinguishable. Emotions and wisdoms are indistinguishable. We see these as separate, thus turning emptiness into something and giving it a relative value. … Continue reading
SPIRITUAL ORGANISATIONS
Spiritual Organisations A spiritual organisation – a centre – is an excellent place to learn about the Dharma that is not necessarily in books, because there is a teacher and a collective experience: this seems to heighten the emotions. However, … Continue reading
EGOLESSNESS – CHOGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE
Egolessness Some teachers are so clear and to the point… Egolessness by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche “The effort to secure our happiness, to maintain ourselves in relation to something else, is a process of ego. But this effort is futile because … Continue reading
ACTING BADLY
Acting Badly There is a programme in the mind that conditions how we act and behave. This is the limited storehouse of biased judgements and memories to which we refer. We are all actors, working from a script in the … Continue reading
DISSOLVING DUALISTIC MIND
Dissolving Dualistic Mind Dualistic mind is one that relates to something. The key word here is ‘relates’, as this is the relative reality we hear about, which is sometimes called conventional reality. We are seemingly constantly caught up in a … Continue reading
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TO BE SERIOUS OR NOT TO BE SERIOUS
To Be Serious Or Not To Be Serious We should treasure and take seriously the precious teachings that are so hard to find, and that liberate and cut through our mistaken view which causes suffering. However, once we have taken … Continue reading
LIFTING HEAVINESS
Lifting Heaviness Life can be hard, depressing, problematic, traumatic…followed by illness and death. Life is heavy with emotions. Even though we may be in the present moment, when karma strikes, the answer may not always be immediately available. We merely … Continue reading
PURITY IS NOT SOMETHING TO ACCOMPLISH
Purity Is Not Something To Accomplish To realise purity, we don’t have to keep washing, chanting or meditating, as it is naturally ever-present. Our spiritual evolution is dependant on maintaining the recognition of purity, and then letting be. Our differing … Continue reading
THE WORLD IS A CONSPIRACY
The World Is A Conspiracy A conspiracy is a small group making secret plans to do something harmful to a larger group. But what if the larger group was actually carrying out the conspiracy? Not wanting to realise our true … Continue reading
THE POWERFUL PULL OF DEVOTION
The Powerful Pull Of Devotion This can cause lot of problems 😀 …but needn’t! Traditionally, in Buddhism, we go for refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – the three jewels. The root teacher, the teachings and those who uphold … Continue reading
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Tagged The Powerful Pull Of Devotion., Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche said
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HOW THICK IS YOUR MARBLE?
How Thick Is Your Marble? We might assume that we have far to go, to get to Dewachen/Heaven/Enlightenment. This very high place. What if we were there now, and that there wasn’t anywhere to go? We just hadn’t noticed, as … Continue reading
COMMUNICATE THROUGH A FOG OF CONCEPTS
We Communicate Through A Fog Of Concepts Verbal and written communication is unique to humans. It’s one means of transmitting information, intelligence, wisdom and love: our unspoken demeanour also says much. Communication is, however, tainted by veils that fog and … Continue reading
HARMONY IN DIVERSITY
Harmony In Diversity In essence, we are enlightened pure awareness that manifests wisdom and love for the benefit of confused beings. Complex confusion calls for suitable manifestations of wisdom and love. Until then, we imitate the Buddhas…or not 😉
THE SHOCK OF RIGPA
The Shock of Rigpa The Tibetan word Rigpa means pure awareness, our essential nature – what we are. Why is it a shock? It is because we suddenly see how easy it is for this essential nature to be obscured … Continue reading
“MEDITATION ISN’T A LEARNING PROCESS.”
“Meditation Isn’t A Learning Process” – Chogyam Trungpa “You see, meditation should not be regarded as a learning process. It should be regarded as an experience process. You should try to learn from meditation, but try to feel it. Any … Continue reading
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MINDFULNESS AND AWARENESS
Mindfulness and Awareness The experiences of mindfulness and awareness are not the same as the words that describe them. Our experiences will differ, so what I’m about to say may or may not make sense to the reader, and finding … Continue reading
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Tagged Mindfulness and Awareness., The Flooding in of Awareness.
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WHAT IS CONSCIENCE?
What is Conscience? It’s our innate, essential inner nature: instinctive, intuitive, spontaneous, untaught, silent, inner awareness, before anything is acquired. Conscience knows right from wrong. We know but we ignore. Why do we ignore? Because a belief in our acquisitions … Continue reading
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE COMES FROM UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
Unconditional Love Comes From Unconditional Love Unconditional love comes from compassion. Compassion comes from empathy. Empathy comes from insight. Insight comes from concentration/meditation. Meditation comes from discipline. Discipline comes from perseverance. Perseverance comes from patience. Patience comes from generosity. Generosity … Continue reading
FEELING AS IF YOU ARE NOT MAKING PROGRESS?
Feeling As If You Are Not Making Progress? This can have the effect of us becoming half hearted and merely going through the motions, or it can be the result of us actually noticing more. Some wise person said, “There … Continue reading
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KARMA IS A PICTURE SHOW
Karma Is A Picture Show …of the two truths Every day – at every moment – karma presents a situation that, in the first instant, is absolutely neutral; it is an experience of pure lights, sounds, tastes, smells, sensations. Depending … Continue reading
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DO THINGS JUST HAPPEN?
Do Things Just Happen? How can they? There is always a cause, because ‘things’ have parts: they are the result of a coming together of conditions. We call this karma, or perhaps good or bad luck. It’s the same thing. … Continue reading
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WHY HAVE A METHOD AND NOT USE IT?
Why Have A Method And Not Use It? The method is the healing. The Buddha saw that life was pain and suffering. For ordinary person, this doesn’t make sense as we see life as enjoyment, and so constantly look more … Continue reading
CONFUSING TRUTHS
Confusing Truths Absolute mind and relative mind. Absolute mind in a relative world. When we first hear about Buddhism, we want the top info! “What do we want? Crazy wisdom! When do we want it?…NOW!” We want the shock treatment, now. … Continue reading
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DEMONS FIND OUR WEAKNESS
Demons Find Our Weakness …and then exploit it. Just look at the tools available to us! If these words exist, then the experience exists: Machination – a plot or scheme to contrive. Divide – to force apart. Divide and rule … Continue reading
THE MIND IS JUST A REPEATER
The Mind Is Just A Repeater When essence is clear, the mind stops repeating. Then, we are original!
WAS THE BUDDHA A BAD BOY?
Was the Buddha a Bad Boy? …just like Christ, Socrates and Milarepa.. were they all rebels? Rebel: challenging society’s norms: nonconformist, dissenter, dissident, critic, sceptic, questioner; heretic, nonconformist, malcontent, rebel, subversive, renegade, mutineer; maverick; original, innovator, heretic, recusant, apostate; informal … Continue reading
IT IS AS IT IS
It Is As It Is “But I don’t like it as it is!” “Sorry; our karma chose this impure realm, and according to karma, it’s perfect. The good news is that we can end karma.” “How?” “By accepting everything as … Continue reading
SHOULD I HATE OR SHOULD I LOVE?
Should I Hate or Should I Love? What a strange question. Or is it? There are strong connotations and assumptions about the words we use – supposition, presupposition, presumption, premise, belief, expectation, conjecture, speculation, surmise, guess, theory, hypothesis, postulation, conclusion, … Continue reading
WARMTH AND WISDOM
Warmth And Wisdom Warmth and wisdom = integrity = conduct = compassion This is easier to say than do. In our relative spiritual world, genuine warmth and wisdom are lacking. Giving money for bigger temples may be splendid, virtuous and … Continue reading
I CAN’T FIND PURE AWARENESS WHEN I MEDITATE
I can’t find pure awareness when I meditate That means you’re trying too hard. Just relax. Our modern mind has been speeded up: pressure, time, job/career, family, mortgage, speedy food and drink lacking real nutrition, and over stimulation from media. … Continue reading
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BUDDHA IN THE MUD is a blog - a living book based on the Dzogchen teachings. Our teacher is life, and life is karma. We are all Buddhas in the mud of concepts. 