My Pilgrimage Tour To India - Sarnath

Sarnath is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, about 30km from the city of Varanasi (Benares). From Bidhgaya the distance is about 250km.

Sarnath , Place of the Buddha's First Sermon, after spending seven weeks at the seven places in Bodhgaya following his enlightenment , The Buddha was undecided about teaching the Dharma to others as he realized that it was profound and hard to discover, and others would not understand Him. 

Brahma Sahampati (大梵天人) 

According to the Buddhist scripture, it was Brahma Sahampati (大梵天人) who entreated the Buddha to teach the world about Dharma. Initially  Buddha hesitated to preach the principal of Dharma teaching that as He realized that it was profound and hard to discover, and others would not understand Him.  But Brahma Sahampati insisted as in this way the doctrine of Dharma will spread amongst the lay peoples, and pleaded with Him to teach the Dharma otherwise the world would be lost.The Blessed one listened to Brahma Sahampati's pleading and decided to go to Benares to peach to the five Ascetics, namely: Kondanna, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama and Assaji, who had served him for 6 years but left Buddha abandoned the path of self-mortification.

Finally Buddha agreed to spread the Dharma.

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Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

Words of wisdom by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa

The essential point in practicing the Dharma is to tame our minds.

Our mind is not only the basis for being caught in cyclic existence. It is also the basis for freedom from cyclic existence.

When I talk about protecting the natural environment, it is not a matter of knowledge or information. It is something I speak from the bottom of my heart.

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Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

The Living Journal - Karma Will Be Knocking Our Door

As it's said in Guru Puja, living beings and their environments are filled with unbelievable problems and sufferings, coming one after another like rainfall, sufferings that are the results of negative karma. Many questions raised and asked for a thousand times when one has met adverse or hostile conditions and :-

I have practiced with my devotion faithfully, Why ?
I had prayed every day, Why ?
I have chanted thousand and thousand of mantra daily,Why ?
I am on vegetarian diet and practicing compassion and loving kindness, Why ?
I do charity works and being a charitable person, Why ?
I am suffering a serious illness, Why ?
Is my practise gone wild, Why ?
Buddha or Bodhisattva are not responding to my prayers, Why?

Give up hope and lose my faith and religion completely and negative thoughts are powerful to destroy our faith and will always remind you to give up your faiths . Your fears of practice, the more you practice ,and more hostile obstacles will chase after you.

It's just like the weathers, the four seasons of Spring, summer, fall and winter will arrive naturally whether you like it or not. So whether you are practising Dharma or not , our good and negative karma will be knocking our door naturally.

For example, when you wash a dirty piece of cloth, the water becomes black with dirt. You don't see the black dirt as a negative thing since it means the cloth is getting clean. Rejoice! You should feel great joy about finishing the karma instead of seeing the negative and obstacles are something bad.

"Please grant me blessings to see my obstacles as exhausting the results of my negative karmic imprints, and bless me always transform bad conditions into the path to enlightenment."

So you may think to stay away from the spiritual path or Dharma activities, because you are afraid of your negative karma will be ripen and causing you to have many adverse obstacles, bad luck, sufferings or deadly illnesses. It means, we do not understand what Dharma is, you can think, "I'm exhausted so much of my negative karma now that I've accumulated throughout countless of my past lives.".

In the same way, when we practise Dharma, our negative karmas can be ripen causing you to get sick or unwell or obstacles, because you're purifying so much negative karma by practising Dharma. So you should rejoice when you are having difficulties in life. 

Thank you for reading, may you find peace and great bliss. With your support it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turning the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migrators from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

Note

I do not own or violated any infringement of copyright of these pictures, 

Pictures courtesy and credit to the rightful owners

My Pilgrimage Tour To India - The ruin in the Nalanda University

Nalanda is known as the ancient seat of learning. World's most ancient University lies in ruins which is 62 km from Bodh Gaya and 90 km south of Patna. Emperor Asoka built many monasteries, temples and Viharas here. Though the Buddha visited Nalanda several times during his lifetime, this famous centre of Buddhist learning shot to fame much later, during 5th-12th centuries.

Nalanda University complex covered an area of 14 hectors and its building were constructed with red bricks. When we arrived at the Nalanda University, we can witnessed the ruin of the university, and its architectural structure still can be seen but most of the complex had been plundered and destroyed by the invasion of Muslim soldiers under the Turuskas or Muhammmad Bakhtiyar Khaliji from Afghanistan dealt the fatal blow to Buddhism in India at the closer of the 1198 AD.

The Turuskas or Muhammmad Bakhtiyar Khaliji from Afghanistan, they were fanatical religion extremist or we shall called it the terrorists in today world's term, and they bent on conquest and mass destruction. By then, they had conquered the western part of Uttar Pradesh called the Doab, the region bordered by the Yamuna and the Ganges rivers.

The ruin of the university, and its architectural structure still can be seen but majority of the complex had been plundered and destroyed by the invasion of Muslim soldiers, this religion fanatical soldiers were especially hostile or ferocity was directed towards Buddhist institutions with images or statue of the holy Buddhas and Bodhisattvas which were systematically plundered ,destroyed or vandalised and massacred wholesale as idolaters.

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Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

Lord Ganesha - Depicted in Tibetan Buddhism Part 2

Arya Ganapati Mantra

Om Ah Gah Hum Phat Svaha

Lord Ganesha is compassionately and famously depicted in Hinduism, He is revered as the Remover of obstacles and a Bringer of Wealth. 

Lord Ganesha is the son of the Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. Lord Ganesha he was born with a human head, but beheaded by Lord Shiva during a misunderstood clash. 

His father Lord Shiva placed an elephant head in place of the human head, which was lost during the fight. 

Lord Ganesha is compassionately to be known as Arya Ganapati, Maha Rakta (The great red Lord of host or Ganas). According to Tibetan Buddhism, he is an emanation of Avalokitesvara ( In Sanskrit) Chenrezig (In Tibetan) Goddess Of Mercy Kuan Yin (In Chinese). 

Above the Arya Ganapati is Amithabha Buddha as printed in this Tangka. Amithabha Buddha, the Buddha of infinite Light. Lord Ganesha is most widely worshipped in Hinduism, but is also revered in Buddhism and Jainism.

Arya Ganapati, who is in essence Chenrezig, manifested in this aspect to relieve the poverty of sentient beings. May I be able to obtain wealth and be able to eliminate all sentient beings' poverty, according to Dharma and poverty of the means of living, and the enjoyments, immediately. 

My kind root guru manifested in this aspect. I shall prostrate, offer incense, and generate infinite bliss. 
This is guided and praised by H.E. Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

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Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

Lord Ganesha - Depicted in Hinduism Part 1

Lord Ganesha is compassionately and famously depicted in Hinduism, He is revered as the Remover of obstacles and a Bringer of Wealth. Lord Ganesha is the son of the Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. Lord Ganesha he was born with a human head, but beheaded by Lord Shiva during a misunderstood clash. His father Lord Shiva placed an elephant head in place of the human head, which was lost during the fight.

Lord Ganesha has one tusk, having thrown the other at the moon when teased about his girth. He is often shown dancing on a mouse, which represents desire. Lord Ganesha's ten arms carry various instruments of his enlightened activity, such as the sword of wisdom, khatvangas, and skull cups.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge and as well turning the Dharma wheel to the world. Kindly support to sign up a free 123Rf.com subscription at the advertising sponsor banners to enable us to grow better and stronger.

Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

Machig Labdron - The Yogini

This is a field of merit from the Chod (cutting through) lineage. It is features the Yogini namely Machig Labdron in the center of this Tangka printing. She is surrounded by other lineage masters. and as well surrounded by the other semi-wrathful divine beings. 

In front of Machig Labdron are the Dharma protectors from this lineage  and the four great kings appear below them and the Buddhas of the three times are indicated above of Machig Labdron, with great Mother of Prajnaparamita above them. Gifts bearing gods and goddesses are shown at the very top of this Tangka printing.

Machig Labdron is often depicted with the attributes of a Dakini or a deity, an emanation of Yum Chenmo or Prajnaparamita, the embodiment of the wisdom of the Buddhas. She is a representation of enlightened female energy and she holds a drum in her right hand and a bell in her left. Her right leg is often lifted and the standing left leg is bent in motion. 

Machig Labdron is white in color with three eyes and wears the six bone Ornaments and she is which is traditional for a practicing Yogini. The different between Yogini and Dakini.  The Yogini wears the six bones Ornaments and the Dakini wears five bones Ornaments and both are the wisdom beings.

* Footnote

Please consult your Guru or a qualified lineage master for Vajrayana practice! Should a devotee even want to start studying and contemplating the Vajrayana practice, then it is truly necessary to first have completed the preliminaries and to be certain and sure that bodhicitta has arisen and developed in one’s mind.

Vajrayana features countless skillful and powerful methods which, if they are practiced in the proper way, can make the process of accumulation and purification incredibly swift and direct. It is absolutely necessary to have the pure motivation and to know that Vajrayana practice is not carried out to increase one’s own ego, power and profit. 

Thank you for reading, may you find peace and great bliss. With your support it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turning the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Nagarjuna's Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migrators from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright of these pictures.

Pictures courtesy and credit to the rightful owner