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- THIS BLOG SHOULD BE SECRET June 17, 2026
- FREEDOM FROM THE CYCLIC EXISTENCE June 17, 2026
- THE SHARED HALLUCINATION June 17, 2026
- WHY THE OBSESSION WITH THE PAST? June 16, 2026
- THE MUD IS JUST A DIRTY LENS June 16, 2026
- STARVING THE MONSTER June 15, 2026
- THE NOVELTY TRAP June 15, 2026
- NO LONGER SATISFYING June 14, 2026
- THE MORE WE REALISE June 13, 2026
- REALITY IS CONTENTMENT June 13, 2026
- THE DANGER OF ADOPTING STORIES June 13, 2026
- WHAT ARE WE A PRODUCT OF? June 13, 2026
- WHAT REINCARNATES? June 12, 2026
- THE HABITUAL LOOP June 11, 2026
- WHY DO PEOPLE ACCEPT LIES SO READILY? June 11, 2026
- THE PARADOX OF RITUALS AND WORDS June 11, 2026
- WHAT DO WE BASE OUR LIFE ON? June 10, 2026
- SPIRITUAL AUTONOMY June 10, 2026
- THINKING THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE June 9, 2026
- NOT TOO TIGHT AND NOT TOO LOOSE June 9, 2026
- OUR GREATEST PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT June 8, 2026
- PRIDE STOPS US EVOLVING June 8, 2026
- THE TINKERBELL EFFECT June 7, 2026
- EVIL IS ANYONE WHO THINKS THEY ARE SUPERIOR June 7, 2026
- FOUR OPIUMS OF THE PEOPLE June 6, 2026
- THE CONSUMER BECOMES CONSUMED June 6, 2026
- ULTIMATE MATURITY June 6, 2026
- THE BUDDHA SAID, “I SEE YOU MARA” June 5, 2026
- THE TWO ASPECTS OF ‘HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT’ June 5, 2026
- SULKY SELF June 4, 2026
- THE COMPLETE PICTURE June 3, 2026
- GIVING UP GUILT June 2, 2026
- TESTING MARA AND GURU June 1, 2026
- THE BUDDHA. JESUS, SOCRATES AND OTHERS WERE REBELS June 1, 2026
- ABSOLUTE TRUTH IS REALISED BY ABSOLUTE TRUTH June 1, 2026
- FINDING WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR May 31, 2026
- WE ALL LIVE IN DIFFERENT ECHO CHAMBERS May 31, 2026
- A HARD LESSON TO LEARN May 31, 2026
- BUDDHIST FORUMS CREATE CONFLICT May 31, 2026
- ONE MIND, OR MANY MINDS? May 30, 2026
- SPIRITUAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL MATERIALISM May 30, 2026
- SPONTANEITY IS THE ONLY REALITY May 29, 2026
- REALITY IS BEYOND WORDS May 28, 2026
- HUMANITY: SEEKING VALIDATION OF A SELF May 28, 2026
- DISPELLING THE GURU May 27, 2026
- EVERY DAY I THINK, “I COULD BE WRONG” May 27, 2026
- THE DARK AND UNSETTLING ASPECT OF EXISTENCE May 26, 2026
- ‘JUDGING’ FROM A DZOGCHEN POINT OF VIEW May 25, 2026
- WE BECOME THE COMPANY WE KEEP May 24, 2026
- WE ARE ALL HYPOCRITES May 24, 2026
Category Archives: Uncategorized
THE SUPREME FINDING
The Supreme Finding The supreme finding is looking into the mind, and finding nothing. What is looking? The mind itself. This mind is not created or reliant on something else. It just is. It never changes. Mind is clear, luminous … Continue reading
THE PROBLEM WITH REPEATING WORDS
The Problem With Repeating Words Every day, I am self critical while writing this blog, the reason being that words are meaningless unless experienced, and put into practice. Practice makes perfect ‘-) . Merely repeating, “It is emptiness” is of … Continue reading
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Tagged Awareness, emptiness, Madyamika, The meaning of words
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HOW FAR ARE WE FROM ENLIGHTENMENT?
How Far Are We From Enlightenment? We are as far from enlightenment as the sky… …and the sky touches the earth! When we realise that altruism is relative compassion When we realise that emptiness is ultimate compassion When we realise … Continue reading
DEALING WITH NEGATIVE CRITICISM
Dealing With Negative Criticism. Whether it’s our own criticism, or criticism from others, negative criticism is a product from the past. It’s our/their way. This is the most important issue in spiritual development because we are defending a mistaken ‘I’. … Continue reading
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BEING CRITICAL = MORE PERCEPTION
Being Critical = More Perceptive It’s surprising when you think about it; the more one perceives, the more precise one becomes. Of course, it could just mean one’s being more picky…! Here we are talking about positive criticism. This is … Continue reading
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Tagged “The Wisdom of Discrimination”, FIVE BUDDHA FAMILIES, Tenga Rinpoche
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CRITICSM – RIGHT OR WRONG?
Criticism – Right or Wrong? It all depends on the context. To sit on the wall and make blanket statements that we shouldn’t criticise is dumbing down our intelligence. I’ve often heard such statements used as a spiritual weapons to … Continue reading
WHAT IS MIND?
What is Mind? It is awareness and ignorance. It is awareness of ignorance and it is ignorance of awareness. The opposite of awareness is ignorance. However, the moment awareness recognises ignorance, ignorance dissolves. When knowing is present, not knowing vanishes. Mind … Continue reading
TAKING THE TEACHINGS TO HEART
Taking The Teachings To Heart OM MANI PEME HUM is the mantra for the Lord of Compassion – Chenrezi (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit). This mantra within the practice enhances our own compassion for all beings in the … Continue reading
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Tagged Chenrezig Mahakala, OM MANI PEME HUM, Rigpa, The six deeper paramitas
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ANGELS?
Angels? “I’ve never seen one!” “Oh, really?!” It all depends on whether we see this as an external or internal matter. If this is an external matter, then we will need someone to intercede for us, as we are not … Continue reading
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Tagged angels, Dakinis, divine energy, Hermes, Mercury, Spiritual inspiration
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THE REASONS WHY WE SHOULD MEDITATE
The Reasons Why We Should Meditate. There are three reasons why we should meditate. One – to be free of our mental obstacles (concepts in the mind) and so realise our true nature. Two – to be free from everyone … Continue reading
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Tagged Meditate to be free, Protecting the establishment, The Chatham House Rule.
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WHY DO WE MEDITATE?
Why Do We Meditate? Meditation is becoming familiar with our true nature. Techniques clear the mental distractions that obscure this pure nature. Meditation is not something we do; it is recognising what we are. Pure awareness. Humans are excellent at … Continue reading
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Tagged dissolve all distractions, Pure Awareness, Why Do We Meditate?
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THE PROBLEM WITH BUDDHISM
The Problem With Buddhism I’ve been a Buddhist for thirty years and am truly happy, so perhaps I have some insight… The Buddha’s teachings are perfect. However, when the teachings move from one culture to another, there are problems, and … Continue reading
WHY ACT WITH VIRTUE?
Why Act With Virtue? The Buddha said, “Do good. Do no harm. Tame the mind.” What is ‘doing good’? What is ‘virtue’? It is a sympathetic understanding of cause and effect. A simple sentence can have a whole load of … Continue reading
DON’T MISS THE BLISS
Don’t Miss The Bliss True emptiness is bliss True relief from fabricating is bliss True confidence in recognition is bliss True joy in knowing is bliss True compassion and devotion is bliss Bliss can easily be missed. What is bliss, … Continue reading
ESSENTIAL DZOGCHEN
Essential Dzogchen Essentially, we are Dzogchen bliss These teachings are principally about clarifying confusion. Tulku Urgyen wrote about Dzogchen; “It is what a spiritual practitioner needs to reach complete enlightenment in a single lifetime.” Padmasambhava explains: “You must make sure … Continue reading
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Tagged Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Dharma Practice, Dzogchen, Essential Dzogchen, Padmasambhava, Tsoknyi Rinpoche
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THE PROBLEM WITH DHARMA CENTRES
The Problem With Dharma Centres This is in response to the points Daisy raised yesterday. What she wrote sounds familiar, although first we have to say that if we want to find out about the Buddha’s teachings, then we have … Continue reading
DOES SPIRITUALITY PUT YOU OFF SPIRITUALITY?!
Does Spirituality Put You Off Spirituality?! “…OMG, they’re at it again…!” When spirituality becomes a facade, we recognise this immediately, and it causes us confusion. Happy-clappiness is emotional blackmail to suck us in; “Everything is wonderful! And you’re being negative … Continue reading
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Tagged Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, one taste, SPIRITUAL BLACKMAIL
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BUCKET LIST PART TWO
Bucket List Part Two Our choice of achievements, before we die, will be driven by our desires and interests – or maybe by the interests and desires of others! We live in a collective bucket list. If we can accept … Continue reading
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Tagged Bucket List, The Four Mind Changes in Buddhism, unfulfilled desires
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“THE LIGHT’S ON AND NO ONE’S HOME!”
“The Light’s On and No One’s Home!” “The Light’s On but No One’s Home!” The common usage of the saying, “The light’s on but no one’s home” can be defined as: “… a person lacks intelligence or awareness.” “…someone is … Continue reading
SEARCHING FOR OUR DONKEY
Searching For Our Donkey A man rode his donkey from village to village asking people, “Have you seen my donkey?” Spiritual practices are to realise our true nature, and not to just engage in a practice while missing the whole … Continue reading
‘DOING’ ENLIGHTENMENT
‘Doing’ Enlightenment It’s something we can all ‘do’… ..and it’s based on reasoning Enlightenment is awareness of absolute clarity of the mind, free of contamination, resulting in pure awareness. Realising that ideas of self and phenomena (contaminates) are made up … Continue reading
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Tagged 'Doing' Enlightenment, The Buddha's teaching makes sense.
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TIME-RELEASE TROUBLE
Time-Release Trouble That’s a load of bad karma. It’s not just our bad karma; we have to put with others’ as well! On a personal level, the trouble we experience was created by our past decisions and reactions. Our future … Continue reading
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Tagged As we sow, Kali Yuga, OUR KARMA - OTHERS' KARMA, so we reap
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DESIRE IS NOT ALL BAD
Desire is not all bad The more we want, the more we want The more we eat – the more we want to eat The more we sleep – the more we want to sleep The more we drink – … Continue reading
VIEW, MEDITATION AND CONDUCT
View, Meditation and Conduct. View is pure awareness. Meditation is pure awareness. Conduct is pure awareness. There is nothing to view. There is no meditation. There is nothing to do. Recognise pure awareness and rest there. When there is something … Continue reading
TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF…
Take a look at yourself… Looking at the image ‘we’ have created over a very long period of time and call ourself means that something is aware of something else. We – our true nature, absolute reality or pure awareness … Continue reading
THE SYNAPSES AND CLARITY
The Synapses and Clarity Have you ever wondered why we ‘sort of know’ something, but either cannot express it or don’t quite get it? From Wikipedia: SYNAPSES It is widely accepted that the synapse plays a role in the formation … Continue reading
HOW TO PRACTISE
How to Practise “Not too tight and not too loose”. Such wonderful, simple and adjustable advice from the Buddha Shakyamuni 2500 years ago. Not too uptight and not too sloppy; a precise balance of relaxed dignity. “What a relief!”
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Tagged “Not too tight and not too loose”., Buddha Shakyamuni
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What’s in our mind, may not be our mind!
What’s in our mind, may not be our mind! Look very careful at what has happened – and is happening – in the world. We are being led subversively by the nose at every moment. What is in your mind … Continue reading
WHAT IS MOST CHALLENGING?
What is most challenging? What is most challenging? To see the potential in others. It is only when we are confident that we can be generous. Seeing the potential in others can make us compassionate or angry. It is in … Continue reading
AWARENESS IN STILLNESS
Awareness in Stillness Awareness in Stillness Awareness in Busy-ness It’s all the same a-w-a-r-e-n-e-s-s! Through mindfulness meditation, the mind becomes still. Because of stillness, we become aware of the awareness of a still mind. Now, anything that arises in this … Continue reading
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Tagged Awareness in Stillness, the Heart Sutra, the Prajna Paramita
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STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Stairway to Heaven! Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche: Rainbow Painting “People have the habit of thinking that something is bound to happen after practicing meditation a while – like going through school – that after ten or fifteen years you will end … Continue reading
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Tagged Enlightened beings, Stairway to Heaven, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
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THOUGHT IS SAMSARA AND NIRVANA
Thought is Samsara and Nirvana From one point of view/level/vehicle, thought is ignorance/samsara and From another point of view/level/vehicle, thought is essence/nirvana. ….I laugh in the face of confusion…! Plan A When we start to investigate our mind, we realise … Continue reading
MENTAL HEALTH – SPIRITUAL HEALTH
Mental Health – Spiritual Health That which we ingest into our bodies and minds affects our physical and mental health. Chemicals, environment, media…everything we come into contact with affects the programming of our natural system. The pleasure-seeking environment in which … Continue reading
CONFIDENCE BEYOND DOUBT
Confidence Beyond Doubt We need confidence that is beyond belief and wishful thinking. Confidence must be without conceit. True confidence is unshakeable, which leads to unshakeable compassion. This is not for the faint hearted! Although we have much to learn … Continue reading
LUMINOSITY IN THE DARK
Luminosity in the Dark Glimpses of reality are moments of nothingness constantly present, that fade unnoticed into subconscious memory. Therefore we remain in an impure illusory state. Dream walkers. It is rare to meet someone who is aware of awareness. … Continue reading
DHARMA – MAGIC OR PSYCHOLOGICAL?
Dharma – Magic or Psychology? …or a little of both? Walking around a Stupa (a large circular structure with sacred objects inside, representing the Buddha) in order to gain merit; is there magic in it, or is it psychological? That’s … Continue reading
INNER PEACE
Inner peace Inner peace comes through recognition of the nature of mind. The nature of mind is clarity; pure uncontaminated view. The continuity of pure view is stability in inner peace. Life and karma unwind through relaxed inner peace. In … Continue reading
HOW DO WE CHANGE?
How Do We Change? First, we have to recognise that change is needed. If we feel dissatisfied, uncomfortable, bored, worthless, and are suffering in some manner, we will want to change. However, because of past events, we may have to … Continue reading
THE BEST ONE CAN SAY ABOUT MEDITATION
The best one can say about meditation “ ! ”
OUR PATH IS OUR CONFUSION
Our Path Is Our Own Confusion Our confusion happened when we create a limited self identity. Our realisation is that the confusion and self identity – and therefore the path – never existed. So here we are, in seeming confusion. … Continue reading
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Tagged Buddha, Christ, Our Path Is Our Own Confusion, Spiritual paths
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COMING DOWN TO EARTH
Coming down to earth The following may sound a little controversial but is meant kindly, in order to clarify: you may not see this the same way, but that’s ok… Realisations can be a shock in their obvious simplicity. Before … Continue reading
THE COMPLETE DHARMA IS WITHIN US ALL
The Complete Dharma is Within Us All Even though the teachings of the Buddha and the ancient masters are fully comprehensive and elaborate, they are all within us. We know everything there is to know; we merely have to take … Continue reading
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Tagged .pure awareness of awareness, compassion, The Buddha, Tibetan Buddhism
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NOT GETTING IT – GETTING IT
Not Getting It – Getting It Sometimes we might find that we are not ‘getting’ the teachings, that they don’t make complete sense to us. Those around us seem to be happy enough, and we might be feeling left out. … Continue reading
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Tagged Dzogchen, FINDING SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS THAT SUIT US, Mahamudra.
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THE JEWEL IN THE MUD
No mud No Lotus No mud No Buddha Know mud Know Buddha via THE JEWEL IN THE MUD.
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THE JEWEL IN THE MUD
The Jewel in the Mud No mud No Lotus No mud No Buddha Know mud Know Buddha
CARE MORE ABOUT HATE OR LOVE?
Care more about hate or love? The answer is not so obvious. How much of our mind is taken up by hate, and how much by love? The problem arises when we realise – either way – that we are … Continue reading
WHAT MAKES US CRAZY?
What Makes You Crazy? It’s people, isn’t it?! It’s the rules and assumptions that people make, without discussion: there is an expectation that we all think the same way. What is crazy is our craziness becoming involved with their craziness … Continue reading
DO WARS JUST HAPPEN?
Do Wars Just Happen? (yesterday was Armistice Day in Britain) We learn nothing from history, as the same things keep happening… …a lot of people suffer and die. We learn much from history, as the same things keep happening… …and … Continue reading
THE RESULT OF DHARMA TECHNIQUES
The Result of Dharma Techniques Dharma teachings are of a technical nature to melt mental obstacles, revealing a pure compassionate heart. Our true human nature is kindness. We are of a type…“humankind”. …however, we act like a bunch of obsessive … Continue reading
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. 