Daily Archives: January 25, 2001

Some Similarities between Jnana Yoga and Kundalini Yoga: by Vib “Vibri” Ribbon

. Advaita and Yoga, Kundalini, Meditation, PERSONAL . , , ,

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini-Shakti is in traditional Indian spiritual sources described as the energy that propels man to liberation. Thus, awakening this energy in the body(mind) of the practitioner is central in some liberation teachings, most notably, the Kundalini Yoga systems and the Tantra Yoga systems. As the energy moves in the central channel in the body from its resting place and source in the Muladhara Chakra to the Sahasrara Chakra, and enlivens the passive element of the mind, liberation is said to ensue.

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Ramana Maharshi on Pradakshina

. Advaita and Yoga . , ,

Talk 212 :

Maharshi observed : Pradakshina ( the Hindu rite of going round the object of worship ) is ” All is within me “. The true significance of the act of going round Arunachala is said to be as effective as circuit round the world. That means that the whole world is condensed into this Hill. The circuit round the temple of Arunachala is equally good; and self-circuit (i.e., turning round and round) is as good as the last. So all are contained in the Self. Says the Ribhu Gita: ” I remain fixed, whereas innumerable universes becoming concepts within my mind, rotate within me. This meditation is the highest circuit ( pradakshina ).”

The Highest Teaching: Self or Emptiness? By Pham D. Luan (KKT)

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Whether ultimate reality is fullness of the Self or Emptiness has always been a fascinating problem. It had been for long a debate between Buddhists and Advaitins, and among Buddhists themselves (Yogacara with the Mind-Only theory and Madhyamika with the Shunyata or Emptiness theory).

Hui-neng, the Sixth Patriarch of Ch’an (Chinese Zen) but sometimes is regarded as the real father of this tradition, in his famous Platform Sutra said that “seeing one’s own original nature is enlightenment.” His view was condemned by other Buddhists as heretic because orthodox Buddhism believed in (absolute) No-Self. His Platform Sutra was burned after his death.

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Nirvana: By Thich Nhat Hanh

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From The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: By Thich Nhat Hanh

Nirvana, the Third Dharma Seal, is the ground of being, the substance of all that is. A wave does not have to die in order to become water. Water is the substance of the wave. The wave is already water. We are also like that. We carry in us the ground of interbeing, nirvana, the world of no-birth and no-death, no permanence and no impermanence, no self and no nonself.Nirvana is the complete silencing of concepts. The notions of impermanence and nonself were offered by the Buddha as instruments of practice, not as doctrines to worship, fight or die for. “My dear friends,” the Buddha said,” the Dharma I offer you is only a raft to help you to cross over to the other shore.” The raft is not to be held onto as an object of worship. It is an instrument for crossing over to the shore of well-being. If you are caught in the Dharma, it is no longer the Dharma. Continue reading →

WABI-SABI: By Jerry C. Weinstein

. TEACHERS . , , ,

GREG GOODE:

One could say that in artistic terms, “wabi-sabi” is a term describing the Zen-like esthetic, made popular by the tea ceremony. Wabi-sabi is hard to translate into English, but as Koren tells (pp. 21-22), sabi originally meant “chill,” “lean,” “withered.” Wabi meant the misery of living alone in solitude, cheerless, alone. Later, they acquired more positive values. Together, the words indicate the simplicity of the hermit, the spiritual opporunities of solitude, the beauty of inconspicuous and the overlooked.

This book tells about the esthetic of Wabi-Sabi. In Koren’s words:

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