A Buddha to-be. Meanwhile, a koala. __________________________________     "G'day Mate !!"   bb's ack from Down Under !!   Our counterparts are very much the Aussies: generous, open and happy !!   Where auspiciousness goes, we caught flight with and managed to offer whatever we could afford to the venerable nun on her way to the Chenrezig centre in Queensland. ( Well, CAS belongs to Chenrezig too !! )   The breathtaking stretch of rainbow arched mightily high above our house in the Brisbane suburbs where we completed recitation of the Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of the Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha and the Middle-Length Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra. It triggers what we felt were nods and approval of the local deities at the sacred words of Lord Buddha, heard and received.   Then, there was the hungry possum which scratched cheekily at our kitchen door, always at dinner time, and the peering kangaroo who jumped and simply, stared.       Yea... the Bodhisattavs' lovely beings, ain't they ??    A respectful and warm encounter with Rev Kong Hee, one of the most successful Chinese evangelical pastors in our region, was sincere and memorable. bb was introduced as "the Dalai Lama's student" ( what honour !! ) and received warm embraces and much sincere goodwill from this spiritual man.      Church attendance, unfortunately, throughout Australia in addition to secular western Europe, is low and even the relatively popular church, bb's been arranged to go to has more than 30% of her congregation missing most months of the year.   On the other side of the coin, similarly spiritually minted and funnelled through the centuries of social, cultural mixings, Buddhism peeks forth as the fastest expanding faith in Australia in the past two decades, not least of all, through Asian migrants and other brave Aussies.    We gave our hearts that these pioneering Buddhist brethren will walk, steady and happy, embodying Teachings of our Enlightened Teacher in the sprawling Australian palette.   bb & beings   @ CAS     p/s: The invincibly bubbly wife of a teacher of divinity in Australia told bb: "When you worry, you die. When you don't, you die. Why worry at all ??!!"   _____________________________________________________________________________________________________   ...for the Christian practitioner, the Creator and the acceptance of the Creator as almighty, is a very important factor within that tradition in order to develop self-discipline, compassion, or forgiveness and to increase them in one's intimate relationship with God. That's something very essential. In addition, when God is seen as absolute and almighty, the concept that everything is relative becomes a little bit difficult. However, if one's understanding of God is in terms of an ultimate nature of reality or ultimate truth, then it is possible to have a kind of unified approach. ...As to one's personal religion, I think this must be based on one's own mental disposition.... Generally speaking, I think it is better to practice according to your own traditional background, and certainly you can use some of the Buddhist techniques. Without accepting rebirth theory or the complicated philosophy, simply use certain techniques to increase your power of patience and compassion, forgiveness, and things like that. --from Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective by H.H. the Dalai Lama, translated by Thupten Jinpa, published by Snow Lion Publications ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The books have arrived !!   "Buddhahood Without Meditation"( S$40/- per book ), for the 15 students who requested for them, with Oral Transmission from the Maha Pandita Katok Getse Rinpoche.   The texts have been specially shipped from USA and will go into supporting Chagdud Gompa's valuable work in the west.    The holy texts have been bought with funds borrowed from CAS's Dharma Propagation Fund. So, students who ordered them, come and get them at Camden Education Center.   [ The address of the education centre can be found at  www.camden.edu.sg ]     _______________________________________________________________________________________________________   A beautiful, beautiful song-prayer in Chinese to the great Chenrezig  ( or Guan Yin ):   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASsUmS8CUtg&feature=related      You have nice Buddhist related clips, audio or visual to share ?? Email bb: contact@casotac.com   _______________________________________________________________________________________________________   From Arpad Joo:   I thought you would be interested in this.   Some observations on the great mantra of Lord Manjushri: OM ARAPACANA DHIH   (Arapachana actually has a meaning in original Sanskrit: melodious voice) (This is from the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in 25,000 lines)   A is a door to the insight that all dharmas are unproduced from the very beginning; RA is a door to the insight that all dharmas are without dirt; PA is a door to the insight that all dharmas have been expounded in the ultimate sense; CA is a door to the insight that the decrease or rebirth of any dharma cannot be apprehended, because all dharmas do not decrease, nor are they reborn; NA is a door to the insight that the names of all dharmas have vanished; the essential nature behind names cannot be gained or lost.     Each letter of this mystical alphabet then is associated with some point of the Dharma, and all together are referred to as the syllable-doors (to the Dharma). The 'power' of these syllables is somewhat cryptically explained thus:   "No letters or syllables are in conventional use except the foregoing. And why? For no word that is not composed of them is used when anything is conventionally expressed, talked about, pointed out, written about, made manifest or recited. Simply like space should one pursue all dharmas. This, Subhuti, is called the entrance into the door of the Dharanis, the entrance into the exposition of the letters A, etc. Any Bodhisattva who cognises this skill in the letters, etc. will not be tied down by any sounds, he will accomplish everything through the sameness of all dharmas, and he will acquire the skill in the cognition of sounds"   Geshe Rabten describes the formal debating procedure of Tibetan monks at the beginning of which they yell dhih - invoking Manjusri. They pose some problem for an opponent, and yell dhih as they clap their hands together leaving the opponent to answer as best they can. He says: "Then you draw the right hand back, and at the same time put the left hand forward. This motion of the left hand symbolizes closing the doors of the three lower states of rebirth; drawing back the right hand symbolizes one¡¯s wish to bring all sentient beings to liberation. But to fulfil this wish is not easy. You must have great knowledge and wisdom; and for this you recite Dhih asking Manjusri to pour down a torrent of wisdom upon you."   Dalai Lama answers a question on "Emptiness" Question: If a person views the self and other phenomena as being empty of any inherent existence, is it then, in that state, possible for them to take any animate or inanimate phenomenon as their object, and through the power of imputation or words, enable that object to actually take on a manifesting role with the qualities which we view objects to have? His Holiness: This is an instance of not properly understanding the meaning of "lack of inherent existence." If we think that "emptiness" means things cannot function, then, with an improper understanding of the view of emptiness, one will have fallen into nihilism. So, because one has failed to reconcile emptiness and the fact that things work, this view is incorrect. That is why it is said that the meaning of emptiness is to be understood in terms of dependent arising. Now, since the meaning of emptiness is to be explained in terms of dependent arising, we can only explain something as arising dependently if there is a basis, that is, some thing that is dependent. Hence, such a basis must exist. We see then that when we speak of dependent arising, we are indicating that things work. Dependent arising proves that things have no inherent existence, through the fact that things work in dependence on each other. The fact that things work and the fact that they do so in dependence, one on the other, eliminates the possibility of their being independent. This in turn precludes the possibility of inherent existence, since, to inherently exist means to be independent. Hence, the understanding of emptiness, of the the emptiness of a kind of inherent existence that is independent, boils down to understanding dependent arising. --from Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists by the Dalai Lama, edited by Jose Ignacio Cabezon, published by Snow Lion Publications _____________________________________________________________________________________________________   From PD in Cheng Du:   Hi BB, how have U been?? We havent been talking for a long time. Hows Camden doing now? Nyanlung Rinpoche** is here in Chengdu & here in Chengdu this winter is snowing the heaviest of the past 12 years!! China got hit by the WORST winter of the past 20yrs.. Send U some pix of the snow here in Chengdu.. Me & my wife getting better now..She's more understanding & we communicate more now.. Tell me more abt U & CAS Bodisattvas & Camden & etc.. Miss U Guys & I wont be back this year cos we will be doing puja with Guru Nyanlung Rp.. We have done the last Dakini Puja of the yr few days back with Guru.. I have not forgotten to visualise U & all CAS Bodhisattvas with me at the Puja,hoping all get the wonderful blessing from the Puja,moving onto a BetteR, More FruitFuL & Tashi Delek.. Pls send my WarMEST regards in this ColdEST New Yr to every CAS Bodhisattvas.. & Yr Parents too,I have not forgotten any1 tou I'm miles away.. <<XIN NIAN KUAI LE,YONG YUAN JI XIANG RU YI>>   With Bodhicitta, PD   ** Nyanlung Rinpoche is one of the seniormost students of the late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok and is an authentic and realised Terton.