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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
MEDITATING IN AN AVATAR
Meditating in an AvatarNow, more than ever, is the time to meditate. Our bodies are under attack from bad food, bad medicine, bad water and bad electrical atmosphere. Our bodies are stressed out and exhausted: all of these affect our … Continue reading
EVEN THE DHARMA CAN IMPRISON US
Even the Dharma can imprison us The Dharma is the teachings of the Buddha about reality.The reality of the Buddha’s teachings is in the actualexperience. When we are caught up in any activity in the mind, we imprison ourselves.There are … Continue reading
SEEING BUT NOT LOOKING
Seeing but not Looking In meditation, especially in awareness meditation, the body, speech and mind are immobile. Then there is the gaze. The eyes are open, as are all the senses. Not staring: just open. Be aware of your peripheral … Continue reading
BEING ORIGINAL
Being Original Being original is going back the source of inspiration: the origin. The thoughts in our minds are not original, as they are the result of other causes and conditions. To put it bluntly, “We do not have an … Continue reading
MEDITATION – BEYOND JOY AND HAPPINESS
Meditation – Beyond Joy and Happiness I know this is a strange thing to say, but bear with me. Meditation works on three levels: body, mind and spirit.We can meditate to relax and relieve stress – our health.We can use … Continue reading
RE-COGNISE
Re-cogniseTo recognise, is to re-cognise, to know again, to validate. So when we recognise truth this is because we recognise what is already known. That is how we know. We only doubt because of not being quite sure what is … Continue reading
MEDITATION IS BEING ORDINARY
Meditation is Being Ordinary Meditation is just being.That ‘just being’ is being happy.Just being happy is our natural state.Due to this, we naturally love.Because we love, we have confidence, and are therefore compassionate.Meditation is just a reminder of our true … Continue reading
HOW DID EVIL START?
How did evil start? Everything has a cause. We may be able to answer the question “What is evil”if we start with what meditation is.Meditation is simply correcting a mistaken view.Instead of always looking outwards,we turn our attention inwards,to the … Continue reading
HOW WE POISON OURSELVES
How we poison ourselves If we think life is a battle to be won, we will find the world a lonely place. In suspecting everyone and everything we practice the evil art of self preservation. We become nasty, bitey creatures, … Continue reading
‘TO BE’ AWARE OR ‘NOT TO BE’ AWARE
“To be” aware or “Not to be” aware.That is the question! Most of the time, we are unaware of our own awareness.We are a little too busy being aware of something– usually our own puffed-ness – rather than the awareness … Continue reading
THOUGHT IS SAMSARA AND NIRVANA
Thought is Samsara and NirvanaThought is ignorance and emptiness. When we, as empty essence, are snared by thought,we ignore our true natureand so create the illusory appearances of samsara. When we, as empty essence, recognise thought,we recognise our true nature … Continue reading
HEALING THE EFFECTS OF EVIL
Healing the effects of evil Even though evil is a psychological problem, it is dealt with from a spiritual perspective. Evil is that which causes harm. The process of protecting ourselves and others, and thereby healing, is by not consenting … Continue reading
BUDDHA WASN’T BUDDHIST – CHRIST WASN’T CHRISTIAN
Buddha wasn’t Buddhist – Christ wasn’t Christian Within essence there isno see-er,no meditator,no reference point. (Buddha was Hindu and Christ was Jewish!)
THE STEPS TO ENLIGHTENMENT
The Steps to Enlightenment(getting out of a sticky mess) First, recognise that the nature of mind is clarity. It is clear.Second, maintain that clarity, by not clouding clarity with attachments. Our conduct – which is the continuity of clarity – … Continue reading
WE LEARN AND LEARN LITTLE
We learn and learn little. On completing his studies, the wise old master said to the student, “Every situation is an opportunity.” The student went away with joy on his heart. Second scenario. On completing his studies, another student said … Continue reading
TRUTH NEEDS REPEATING
Truth need repeating. The Buddha said, “Do good Do no evil Tame the mind.” This sounds so ordinary, but is so profound. The Buddha knew his statement would last for thousands of years, because of its simplicity and profundity. Every … Continue reading
THE BUDDHA SAID
The Buddha said: “Do good. Do no evil. Tame the mind”. The word Buddha comprises of two syllables:Bud – recognising our awakened nature = Gooddha – purifying defilements in the mind = Evil Taming the mind is recognising our true … Continue reading
UNDERSTANDING THE FORMULA
Understanding the Formula To understand the answer we have to understand the formula (the process), or the outcome is meaningless. In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the ultimate answer is 42, which doesn’t make sense without the correct question.It’s … Continue reading
MEDITATION WITHOUT COMPASSION
Meditation without Compassion The whole point of meditation is the release from suffering, not to make us more efficient at suffering. Corporations are using ‘mindfulness meditation’ for their workers, so that they become more effective…at making money. As a banker once … Continue reading
EFFORT
Effort To realise effortless effort, we have to make effort.The Buddha said, “Not too tight and not too lose”. There is a fine line between maintenance and allowing.
How the world has gone nuts!
In the Dharma we talk about Samsara (the vicious cycle of existence), but now we know that there are those who profit from Samsara, making life miserable for others causing suffering. WE CAN NO LONGER IGNORE THIS!
THE STAINLESS SPHERE OF NO CIRCUMFERENCE
The Stainless Sphere of No Circumference This is mind essence. Pure awareness. Sacred space. It is what we are.This stainless sacred space embodies, through ignorance, a temporary form as dictated by karma. Mind essence is pure. Through the bodily senses, … Continue reading
Q. WHAT IS OBSCURING OUR VIEW?
Q. What is obscuring our view?A. Wrong view! We are looking the wrong way. Let’s say ‘mistaken’ view. The problem is that we do not think this is important enough to rectify. We prefer to stick to what we ‘know’. … Continue reading
DEALING WITH KARMA
Dealing with Karma in our Minds, and the Minds of Others Although we create our own karma, which results in ingrained concepts in our mind and limits our view, making us a little neurotic (make that ‘very’ 😉 ), we … Continue reading
TWO THINGS TO UNDERSTAND
Two Things to Understanding Two things to understand:reality, and that which obscures reality. Recognising our absolute natureis not really that difficult.Recognising what is obscuring that absolute natureis not really that difficult. Stopping one’s habitual patterning is.There ‘I’ go again.
THE DISTORTION OF EVIL PART TWO
The Distortion of Evil(dealing with demonic forces) We have to recognise evil in order to know what we are dealing with. Once an obstacle is recognised, it can no longer causes harm in the mind. However, before recognising the obstacle, … Continue reading
THE DISTORTION OF EVIL
The Distortion of Evil (Mundane reality)(actually, evil has no reality!)(but still there is reality within the non-reality!)(This is the Buddhainthedirtyenergy!) Our essential nature – what we truly are – has wisdom qualities: the three kayas, the five wisdoms and the … Continue reading
SELLING OUR SOUL FOR COOKIES
Selling our Souls for Cookies We sold our souls for cookies lifetimes ago, by forgetting who we are. (In this context soul is just a euphemism for our essential nature.) We take our concepts as being real, and because of … Continue reading
THE VALUE OF EVIL
The Value of Evil From a spiritual point of view, our enemy is our best friend.Friends tend to agree with the status quo, but enemies want to provoke reaction. The power of evil is quite mundane, but has the same … Continue reading
DELIGHT IN VIRTUE
Delight in Virtue Virtue is doing good,not doing evil,and taming the mind. To purify our habitual tendencies,delight in instruction to purify our habitual tendenciesand delight in virtue.Then we are spiritual practitioners. “Purify our habitual tendencies” means putting an end … Continue reading
PROTECTION
Protection. Just to clarify, I am not a teacher, but a student who has spent over 40 years studying the subject of spirituality. Of course, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Meditation is a practice in stillness. Protecting is … Continue reading
QUESTIONS
I was wondering, if anyone wanted to ask a question, but didn’t want to put a question out in the open. I could create an email address for private questions. If the question is about dharma and not too private, … Continue reading
BE TOTALLY CONFUSED
Be totally confused! In the last verse in one of Gampopa’s prayers he states: “May confusion dawn as wisdom.” That, in a nutshell, is the Buddha’s teaching on the two truths! Our present state of mind is confusion about our … Continue reading
THE BANALITY OF EVIL
The Banality of Evil Evil is an act of deliberately or unwittingly causing harm to others, in body, speech or mind (‘unwittingly’ because at the back of our mind, in our conscience, we know what we are doing but we … Continue reading
KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge. Knowledge is neutral, it is how we use knowledge that matters.If it is used for selfish gains, we end up in mental turmoil.If it is used for gaining wisdom, we end up in inner peace. Selfish gains take no … Continue reading
PROTECTION
Protection Protection comes from the Light of Clarity.Light either clear demons from our mindor makes us demons run away.We have both potentials of Light and Dark within us.This is expressed in our reaction. The recognition of the Darkis our own … Continue reading
PRECIOUS HUMAN BIRTH
Precious human birth. There are an incalculable number of sentient beings on this planet. Anything that moves and makes a decision is sentient..having a mind. Therefore has Buddha nature! Some of these beings are human. Most humans spend their lives … Continue reading
KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge. Knowledge is neutral, it is how we use that knowledge that matters.If it is used for selfish gains, we end up in mental turmoil.If it is used for gaining wisdom, we end up in inner peace
THE WORLD NEEDS BODHISATTVAS
The World Needs Bodhisattvas Intense passion*Intense intelligenceIntense compassion Having a good wish is not enough. We need to take responsibility. A bodhisattva has no doubts, no faint heart, no fears, and has total confidence. Yesterday, I attended a refresher course … Continue reading
THE RIGHT ANSWER MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT ANSWER
The right answer may not be the right answer Actual experience is not the same as received information. It’s easy to mistake the words for the actual experience. Recognising our mind at work at this moment is what it … Continue reading
MAY WE HAVE THE RIGHT INTENTION
May we have the right intention.We cannot remind ourselves enough. May all beings find happiness.May they be free from suffering.May they realise their true nature.May they be free from aggression.May we dedicate all our action and prayerstowards their happiness. … Continue reading
SUFFERING
Suffering As long as we are governed by the emotions of hope and fear, we will suffer. We will be discontented and defensive. We are told that “being normal” is doing what is to be expected within a particular culture … Continue reading
BUDDHISM IS PERFECT. BUDDHISTS ARE NOT!
Buddhism is perfect. Buddhist are not! Isn’t it relief to know that we still have something to do?
PRAYER ENLIGHTENS ONE’S INTENTION
Prayer enlightens one’s intentions. To become a protector, Bodhisattva or Buddha, one must supplicate for blessings from existing protectors, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. I’m sure there are other methods, but I’d like to give you a taste from a Tibetan Buddhist … Continue reading
SPIRITUAL BOOT CAMP
Spiritual Boot Camp We may find ourselves in a dilemma. Our spiritual journey grows ever more subtle…subtle…subtle. However, there are times when we have to face a spiritual ‘boot-camp’ (a tough situation) when we feel we are not ready, but … Continue reading
HOW MUCH DO WE REALLY CARE?
How much do we really care?(Deconstructed anger is compassion!) There are some subjects I try to avoid: I suppose that because I’m too passionate about them. After morning meditation, a theme comes to mind, and I just write. There are … Continue reading
BODHISATTVA
Bodhisattva There are nine levels of Bodhisattvas, the tenth being a Buddha. If we take the path of a Bodhisattva, then we have to have tamed the mind and emotions. All sense of what “I” want and “I” do … Continue reading
WE ARE ALL ONE…REALLY?
We are all One…really? This is a complicated subject, as we all have the same potential, but not at the same time. If we were all one, then if one was enlightened, we would all be enlightened! We’re not 😉 … Continue reading
WHEN OUR MINDS LEAN
WHEN OUR MIND LEANS Through habit, the primitive mind leans.It either leans towards something,leans away from somethingor leans in indifference. Fight, flight or freeze. When this happens, we losewakeful presence. When we see this happening,we either claim“I am that which sees”(frozen space)orwe … 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. 