“I believe that a new level of taking responsibility can dawn for many this year and as a result entirely new spheres will open for them that they only vaguely remembered as possibilities when they were young.  Meanwhile the youth among us is beginning to really engender compassion and apply it in their way forward recognizing the interconnectedness of all things.” -Lama Rangbar-

Structure is not an enemy or inconvenience. Routines and arrangements of things are opportunities for transcending convention. You cannot really play excellent music without understanding basic scales.

Eighty four thousand tantras have arisen from the compassionate nature of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to assure you take your lower half with you. They are designed to make sure that you more than intellectually understand that the nerves are essentially an expression of the Nirmanakaya and nothing else. But if you treat these nerves like shit, they will be more than happy to oblige you and turn into shit on your watch.

“Enrico dedicated his life to the study and practice of Dharma and to benefiting others freely with his prolific work without holding anything back. In this way, his life was a very profound example of how Dharma was finally reaching the world of western people.”

Samaya is a field of trust beyond transaction although there may be many transactions needed with it in order to become real. Samaya is the high end Lexus of value in spiritual terms. Samaya is the only portal by which one can rid oneself of lifetimes of misconceptions and habits by allowing an intimacy with someone who is truly benevolent.

Different than a candle, butter lamps are made from a pure food. It takes time and effort to clarify the butter and make a wick, etc. Just like our lives could be, offering a butter lamp is an amazing but fleeting opportunity to bring light into the world that dispels the darkness of ignorance for ourselves and all sentient beings.

Many people who say they are students of other Lamas come to me and ask what practices they should do or how they should structure their practices on daily basis. I offer this for reflection in the hopes that it clarifies confusion and allows for the continuous flow or practice that would otherwise become obstructed by doubts.

“Son, did you know that bullies are cowards?”

“No I didn’t know that” I replied

“It’s true” he continued, A bully always picks on someone they know will not fight back. They chose the ones that they think are vulnerable.”

This Blog is by no means meant to be a message that I do not endorse the use of Masks. Personally, I feel they are very much called for regardless of how imperfect a solution they might be.

“In simple terms, even if one only had mediocre faith in the recitation of the Seven Line Prayer, the positive downpour of blessings are unstoppable. It is this unique power of this all-pervasive template of complete enlightenment that makes it so appropriate for the challenges we now face on all levels, outer, inner and secret.”

A clear purpose to benefit others enhanced by the powers within the aspiration and vows, is undoubtedly one of the strongest boosts to one’s own immune system that we have at present. By honoring, nurturing and refining such a pure motivation on a daily basis, the strong fortified trees of a dense forest of good qualities will grow into the pure land we somehow know is somewhere around the corner if we only set our sights correctly.

Cause and effect are not actually separated by time.

Normally, we see cause as coming first and effect as following the cause. This displays through the medium of time or at least how we perceive time. Quasimodo pulls the rope and then the bell rings. When he stops pulling, the bells settle down.

But if you really observe the functioning of the mind, the world we are experiencing does not in fact really work like that. The game is real time and everything stays at equilibrium at each and every moment. Although it seems to change, it is in fact at perfect equilibrium at any given moment.

Only from establishing a purpose can we begin to measure what a successful life really is, and it must by nature differ from person to person.

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

—Mark Twain

“The Future degenerate times will be known when the innocent are persecuted without cause and hardened criminals gain authority; when spiritual practitioners are ridiculed and sinners are praised; when impure foods are consumed; when professions of warfare, rape and pillaging become the norm; when gyalpos, srinmos , the eight classes of spirits and particularly evil nagas and nyens rise up and become powerful, and multitudes of epidemic diseases are let lose upon humans and animals; when the pattern of repeated broken promises causes samayas and vows to be broken. “

“ It is said that when the refuge vow is taken sincerely with proper understanding, that many benefits arise automatically. Having given up harming others, one’s own life becomes free of the causes of being harmed. This eradication of the cause being established, conditions no longer have the needed link necessary for a disease to manifest.”

Adversity is a main ingredient for success. Asian practitioners therefore praise their tough teachers as being kind.

 Many believe that understanding something intellectually is synonomous with realization.  That simply isn't true.  You couldn't reach the summit of the spiritual path with a mere intellectual understanding any more than you could lose  weight by thinking about push ups or pay back a loan simply by handing the bank teller some green Maple tree leaves. There is a currency unique to this path and it is not lip service or imagination. - Lama Rangbar -

What really leads to accomplishment? For most people, accomplishment ripens from two basic factors coming together over time. The first is an idea of what we wish for. Let’s call this the view. This view must normally be accompanies by a method to get there. In some way, we can say that the heaven in our minds (our goals or idea of heaven) and Earth (the realties of this world, must somehow come together to yield what we want.