Studying alone

[jonesboy]

Originally Posted by sky123

THE BUDDHA'S FAREWELL.
'Those who, either now or after I am dead, shall be lamps unto themselves, relying upon themselves only and not relying upon any external help, but holding fast to the truth as their lamp, and seeking their salvation in the truth alone, and shall not look for assistance to any one besides themselves, it is they, Ananda, among my bhikkhus, who shall reach the very topmost height 'But they must be anxious to learn.'

MAHAPARINIRVANA SUTRA.

If all you ever do is search for validation. You will not get anywhere. The above quote is taken out of context.

First what is a Bhikkus?

A bhikkhu is an ordained male monastic ("monk") in Buddhism. A female monastic ("nun") is called a bhikkhuni. The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimokṣa or pātimokkha. Their lifestyles are shaped to support their spiritual practice: to live a simple and meditative life and attain nirvana.

Now for the rest of the Quote:

"Now I am frail, Ananda, old, aged, far gone in years. This is my eightieth year, and my life is spent. Even as an old cart, Ananda, is held together with much difficulty, so the body of the Tathagata is kept going only with supports. It is, Ananda, only when the Tathagata, disregarding external objects, with the cessation of certain feelings, attains to and abides in the signless concentration of mind, [19] that his body is more comfortable.

33. "Therefore, Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.

"And how, Ananda, is a bhikkhu an island unto himself, a refuge unto himself, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as his island, the Dhamma as his refuge, seeking no other refuge?

34. "When he dwells contemplating the body in the body, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome desire and sorrow in regard to the world; when he dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, the mind in the mind, and mental objects in mental objects, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome desire and sorrow in regard to the world, then, truly, he is an island unto himself, a refuge unto himself, seeking no external refuge; having the Dhamma as his island, the Dhamma as his refuge, seeking no other refuge.

35. "Those bhikkhus of mine, Ananda, who now or after I am gone, abide as an island unto themselves, as a refuge unto themselves, seeking no other refuge; having the Dhamma as their island and refuge, seeking no other refuge: it is they who will become the highest, [20] if they have the desire to learn."

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit....1-6.vaji.html

He is talking about how he has reached the point where he is not his body, the mental objects etc. He is telling Ananda that this is the highest point, it is when you have reached that, that you are a light, an island unto yourself and to seek no other refuge than in the Dhamma.

Whole different take no?

[jonesboy]

This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. If you want to know what emptiness is or clear light awareness, rigpa or what is MahaMudra this is the book for you. This book gives detailed instructions on how to rest your awareness in a very easy to understand way.

Maybe the only book someone may really need...

The Meditations of Longchen Rabjam A Guide to the Four Chog Zhag and Three Samadhis

In the Nyingma lineage, Dzogchen is considered to be the pinnacle of all the various Dharma approaches. It consists of three series or categories of teachings: the “Mind Series” (sems de), the “Space Series” (klong sde) and the “Direct Instruction Series” (man ngag sde), with the last being regarded to be the “highest teaching.” Although Longchen Rabjam quotes from texts from all three categories of Dzogchen, he states that Chöying Dzöd is principally about the ultimate meaning of “Cutting Through” of the “Direct Instruction Series.”

Longchen Rabjam discusses the two approaches to practice within the “Direct Instruction Series” of Dzogchen. These are (1) “Cutting Through” (khregs chod), also known as “Cutting through to Original Purity” (ka dag khregs chod) and (2) “Leaping Over” (thod rgal), also called “Leaping Over to Spontaneous Presence” (lhun grub thod rgal). Longchen Rabjam makes sure to clarify the distinctions between the two approaches, when it is necessary.

Through Meditation One, one cuts through the apparent solidity of one’s ignorance of the grip of Samsara and also one’s mistaken holding on to "sending off" and "leaving be."

Through Meditation Two, the Ocean

Chog Zhag, one cuts through the apparent solidity of occurrence and engagement, hope and fear, and also the very proliferation of fixation itself.

Through Meditation Three, the Awareness

Chog Zhag, one cuts through the apparent solidity of meditation as something other than non-meditation and also rests directly in naked, all-penetrating awareness itself.

Through Meditation Four, the Appearance Directly

Chog Zhag, one cuts through the apparent solidity of fundamental differences between display capability and the great expanse of timeless knowing and also any remnant of clinging to "accomplishment by doing."

Through Meditation Five, the Mountain

Chog Zhag, one cuts through the apparent solidity of any sense of wavering from the fundamental state of reality itself, which remains spontaneously ensured in its own state.

The figure of Longchen Rabjam stands out as one of the greatest Dzogchen masters in the Nyingma tradition, and amongst the most brilliant and original writers in Tibetan Buddhist literature. He was the author of over 200 works, of which only about twenty-five survive, and amongst which the Seven Treasuries (Tib. མཛོད་བདུན་ Dzö Dun) and Three Trilogies are most well-known. It was he who brought together into a cohesive system the teachings of Vima Nyingtik and Khandro Nyingtik, on which he wrote the ‘Three Yangtik’ or Inner Essences.

http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?t...ongchen_Rabjam

[sky]

Quote "If all you ever do is search for validation. You will not get anywhere"...

I myself do not need validation to realise that some do not need a Teacher to be Buddhist, I came to that conclusion many years ago. But Buddha's final words might help others realise the same.

[jonesboy]

You took that whole sutra out of context.

What about everything before that last paragraph?

The Last Admonition

59. "So, then, Ananda, let us go to the hall of the Gabled House, in the Great Forest." And the Venerable Ananda replied: "So be it, Lord."

60. Then the Blessed One, with the Venerable Ananda, went to the hall of the Gabled House, in the Great Forest. And there he spoke to the Venerable Ananda, saying: "Go now, Ananda, and assemble in the hall of audience all the bhikkhus who dwell in the neighborhood of Vesali."

"So be it, Lord." And the Venerable Ananda gathered all the bhikkhus who dwelt in the neighborhood of Vesali, and assembled them in the hall of audience. And then, respectfully saluting the Blessed One, and standing at one side, he said: "The community of bhikkhus is assembled, Lord. Now let the Blessed One do as he wishes."

61. Thereupon the Blessed One entered the hall of audience, and taking the seat prepared for him, he exhorted the bhikkhus, saying: "Now, O bhikkhus, I say to you that these teachings of which I have direct knowledge and which I have made known to you — these you should thoroughly learn, cultivate, develop, and frequently practice, that the life of purity may be established and may long endure, for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, well being, and happiness of gods and men.

62. "And what, bhikkhus, are these teachings? They are the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four constituents of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the Noble Eightfold Path. These, bhikkhus, are the teachings of which I have direct knowledge, which I have made known to you, and which you should thoroughly learn, cultivate, develop, and frequently practice, that the life of purity may be established and may long endure, for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, well being, and happiness of gods and men."

63. Then the Blessed One said to the bhikkhus: "So, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness. The time of the Tathagata's Parinibbana is near. Three months hence the Tathagata will utterly pass away."

64. And having spoken these words, the Happy One, the Master, spoke again, saying:

My years are now full ripe, the life span left is short.
Departing, I go hence from you, relying on myself alone.
Be earnest, then, O bhikkhus, be mindful and of virtue pure!

With firm resolve, guard your own mind!
Whoso untiringly pursues the Dhamma and the Discipline
Shall go beyond the round of births and make an end of suffering.



Sounds like a teacher, teaching to me.

[mulyo13]

The Blessed One's Final Exhortation

1. Now the Blessed One spoke to the Venerable Ananda, saying: "It may be, Ananda, that to some among you the thought will come: 'Ended is the word of the Master; we have a Master no longer.' But it should not, Ananda, be so considered. For that which I have proclaimed and made known as the Dhamma and the Discipline, that shall be your Master when I am gone.

2. "And, Ananda, whereas now the bhikkhus address one another as 'friend,' let it not be so when I am gone. The senior bhikkhus, Ananda, may address the junior ones by their name, their family name, or as 'friend'; but the junior bhikkhus should address the senior ones as 'venerable sir' or 'your reverence.'[55]

3. "If it is desired, Ananda, the Sangha may, when I am gone, abolish the lesser and minor rules.[56]

4. "Ananda, when I am gone, let the higher penalty be imposed upon the bhikkhu Channa."[57]

"But what, Lord, is the higher penalty?"

"The bhikkhu Channa, Ananda, may say what he will, but the bhikkhus should neither converse with him, nor exhort him, nor admonish him."

5. Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "It may be, bhikkhus, that one of you is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice. Then question, bhikkhus! Do not be given to remorse later on with the thought: 'The Master was with us face to face, yet face to face we failed to ask him.'"

6. But when this was said, the bhikkhus were silent. And yet a second and a third time the Blessed One said to them: "It may be, bhikkhus, that one of you is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice. Then question, bhikkhus! Do not be given to remorse later on with the thought: 'The Master was with us face to face, yet face to face we failed to ask him.'"

And for a second and a third time the bhikkhus were silent. Then the Blessed One said to them: "It may be, bhikkhus, out of respect for the Master that you ask no questions. Then, bhikkhus, let friend communicate it to friend." Yet still the bhikkhus were silent.

7. And the Venerable Ananda spoke to the Blessed One, saying: "Marvellous it is, O Lord, most wonderful it is! This faith I have in the community of bhikkhus, that not even one bhikkhu is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice."

"Out of faith, Ananda, you speak thus. But here, Ananda, the Tathagata knows for certain that among this community of bhikkhus there is not even one bhikkhu who is in doubt or perplexity as to the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha, the path or the practice. For, Ananda, among these five hundred bhikkhus even the lowest is a stream-enterer, secure from downfall, assured, and bound for enlightenment."

8. And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"[58]

This was the last word of the Tathagata.

If a person prefer not to have a teacher and prefer 'walk' alone, it's okay. But please don't make as if buddha teach us to ignore sangha and ignore practice/discipline/tradition.
be careful, karma

[RyanWind]

5000 incarnations/lifetimes is a long time!

but what do I want to accomplish this time?

certainly not what I did last time... since I'm here again

the goal is to reach a state you don't need to come back

the earth is a harsh and negative space

so clearly I need to do something different than I've been doing for 5000 lives...

what could that be?

to stop doing! to just be! to surrender to the love and peace and calm that is always with us when we are truly quiet!
There's nothing to do, just something to be. In this moment, let go of everything you cling to.

I like this quote from Taoism:

"I do less and less until I do nothing at all...
Then nothing is left undone..."

When you have let go of the past and the future, when you are only here now. When you have let go of all expectations and demands on what now should be. When you are truly silent within... there is nothing more to do. By doing nothing, you have done it all.

[Shaunc]

There's also a Facebook group called buddhism and you get sent a few quotes a day. The one I got recently was from the dalai lama.
If you want others to be happy practice compassion.
If you want to be happy practice compassion

[sky]

Do not follow the ideas of others,
But learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

[sky]

Originally Posted by RyanWind

5000 incarnations/lifetimes is a long time!

but what do I want to accomplish this time?

certainly not what I did last time... since I'm here again

the goal is to reach a state you don't need to come back

the earth is a harsh and negative space

so clearly I need to do something different than I've been doing for 5000 lives...

what could that be?

to stop doing! to just be! to surrender to the love and peace and calm that is always with us when we are truly quiet!
There's nothing to do, just something to be. In this moment, let go of everything you cling to.

I like this quote from Taoism:

"I do less and less until I do nothing at all...
Then nothing is left undone..."

When you have let go of the past and the future, when you are only here now. When you have let go of all expectations and demands on what now should be. When you are truly silent within... there is nothing more to do. By doing nothing, you have done it all.

Lovely quote... RW.

[jonesboy]

[quote]

Originally Posted by RyanWind

5000 incarnations/lifetimes is a long time!

but what do I want to accomplish this time?

certainly not what I did last time... since I'm here again

the goal is to reach a state you don't need to come back

the earth is a harsh and negative space

so clearly I need to do something different than I've been doing for 5000 lives...

what could that be?

to stop doing! to just be! to surrender to the love and peace and calm that is always with us when we are truly quiet!

Just having fun here. How do you know what you have done in the past? How many times have you done nothing. Isn't that what most people do is nothing

Doesn't seem to be working very well.

There's nothing to do, just something to be. In this moment, let go of everything you cling to.

I like this quote from Taoism:

"I do less and less until I do nothing at all...
Then nothing is left undone..."

When you have let go of the past and the future, when you are only here now. When you have let go of all expectations and demands on what now should be. When you are truly silent within... there is nothing more to do. By doing nothing, you have done it all.

This is about being present in the moment. Residing in Rigpa, non-dual awareness. When you are not trying to change anything and just let it all flow through.

That is what traditions are helping one achieve.

From the TTC:

CHAPTER 2
All under Heaven can see beauty, because ugliness exists.
One knows good only because there is evil.
These two manifest from the same source
which complement each other.
From the myriad forms, each has a complement:
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other.
Voice and sound are in harmony with each other.
Front and back follow one another.
The Sage sees the Ten Thousand Things in harmony,
and goes about his business doing nothing, so the Ten Thousand Things rise and fall without
interference.
Bearing, yet not possessing, working, yet not taking credit, work is done, then forgotten,
therefore it remains eternal.