getting qi from the tree

[IronFist]

The great Milarepa came from a life of killing and stealing to becoming a saint. Be mindful of being afraid to be reborned into the other realms, but do not attach yourself to this fear.

Sorry prana, I have a few more questions for you.

1) Couldn't he have killed a lot in his last life, but at the time of that death, some really good karma from an even prior life was ripening and thus he was born a saint? So, he's born a saint, but he still has all that "killing karma" left to worry about?

2) If someone is good, only for fear of being reborn in a hell realm, wouldn't they be aquiring selfish karma, and thus bad karma?

3) Can killing be good karma? What if someone assassinated Hitler, thus preventing many many deaths?

4) I'm not bugging you with my questions am i?

Thanks,

Iron

[prana]

nope not bothered by your questions.

1.
http://www.cosmicharmony.com/Av/Milarepa/Milarepa.htm here is a link. There are many writtings on this infamous yogi. It was actually in the same lifetime. Such is the benefit of practising Dhamma with Boddhicitta vow.

2. Yes, but one who acts in numerous goods, will have inherited a mindset of doing good. Although one who is motivated by fear is not the best, it is better than one who continues to kill, hurt etc.
Some lamas regards being reborned into Nirvana as a sad sign, because they have generated so much compassion to wish for themselves to be reborned in the hell states to help free the suffering beings.

3. One's body is a gift, built up of numerous Buddha's. Every living being has Buddha nature inside of them. We do not assassinate a tiger because it is about to kill 50 cows in its lifetime.... we could prevent it I suppose but this will lead to debate of uncontrollable proportions...

4. Nope.

Medicine Buddha
om namo bhagawate bekandzyai - guru bendurya prabha randzaya - tatagataya - arhate - samyaksam buddhaya - tayata om bhekandzyai bhekandzyai - maha bhekandzyai bhekandzyai -randza samungate soha

[IronFist]

prana,

thanks for answering all my questions. I have one more that has been bugging me for a long time.

ok, having bad karma causes bad things to happen to you, and vice versa. So, is everything bad that happens to me a result of bad karma?

Is it possible for something bad to happen to me that is NOT a result of my bad karma? If this is not the case, then it could be reasoned that all of the Jewish people who died in WWII died because of their bad karma.

And, if everything that happens is a result of karma, then if I go break someone's arm, it happened because of something bad THEY did in a past life, and I should not incur any bad karma. I only broke their arm because THEIR bad karma was ripening at that moment.

Is that completely wrong? Can bad or good things happen that are random, and in no way related to karma?

I'm going crazy now thinking about this.

Thanks a lot,

Iron

[prana]

Hmm try not to think kamma as some sort of magical empowering phenomena. Although it may become instinctual, your kamma is something you can eliminate, undo or do.

Sometimes things happen not because of kamma directly, but because of our actions. So it is preferable that we request for forgiveness for all the sins we may have done, but it is mandatory that our actions be righteous.

If kamma was totally empowering, we would be like zombies, and things will happen to us uncontrollably and we would be better off sitting there and awaiting our outcome. However, on the whole, it is our kamma that has caused us to be reborn in the realm of having to die, this is the nature of the life cycle. Sickness and death is a neccessary part of life.

Hope this helped you. In the QiGong group, I had a link to the Dalai Lama's speech on kamma. You should probably read his discourse on kamma and what it is. Although it is long, it is also easier to understand...

[Nexus]

I just read a very great book about the Dalai Lama this weekend. He is indeed very interesting and compassionate. I hope things work out for the best with him and the Tibetan people, wish I could do something to help, maybe this message is doing something!!!

Prana, what is your affiliation with Tibetan Buddhism?

And what Gods do you pray to when you pray? I wonder this because when the "Buddha" saw oneness, how could he pray to something that he knew he was the same as, part of, etc. Its as if you are praying to yourself, just not your ego/id.

- Nexus

<font size="1">"Time, space, the whole universe - just an illusion! Often said, philosophically verifiable, even scientifically explainable. It's the <font color="blue">'just'</font> which makes the honest mind go crazy and the <font color="blue">ego</font> go berserk." - Hans Taeger</font>

[prana]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Prana, what is your affiliation with Tibetan Buddhism?

And what Gods do you pray to when you pray? I wonder this because when the "Buddha" saw oneness, how could he pray to something that he knew he was the same as, part of, etc. Its as if you are praying to yourself, just not your ego/id.
[/quote]


Hi Nexus, sorry if I answered your questions incorrectly, I am having trouble understanding some words you use.
I study meditate in accordance to the Tibetan teachings belonging to Naropa and Lama Tsongkhapa.

I mainly pray to the four Buddha's, depending on the need. They are Shakyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Vajrasattva Buddha and of course, Buddha Avalokitashevra.

I didn't know that Buddha prayed to a god that was himself. Perhaps during his meditation, he manifested himself as Heruka Chakrasambhava, a deity with a body as blue as Lapis Lazuli, whilst he was practising adsorbtion yogas.

Hope that answers your questions...

Medicine Buddha
om namo bhagawate bekandzyai - guru bendurya prabha randzaya - tatagataya - arhate - samyaksam buddhaya - tayata om bhekandzyai bhekandzyai - maha bhekandzyai bhekandzyai -randza samungate soha

[Crimson Phoenix]

Prana, very deep posts...
Ironfist, to add up to the infos already provided by Prana on karma, it is said that "your actions are your only belongings, they are the ground on which you stand"...your actions make your karma, and it's totally up to you to act accordingly to the dharma...if you fail, there is no other guy responsible but you, if you hurt someone, don't think about "it's their bad karma that lead them to that", just realize that you are 100% responsible for your actions...
It reminds me of what a wise karate practicionner of old (Master Henry Plee, only non japanese to have ever been awarded a tenth dan by japan) told me once...he said "remember young man, everything that happens to you, wether good or bad, is your sole responsibility...even bad luck that seems to fall down on you, when you see things clearly, you can always trace them back to something you did or should have done but didn't"
Apprently, when men all over the world become awake, they all have the same view of what is behind the veils, whatever their culture is...
As for Buddha praying a God, it is my understanding that in the same ways boddhisatvas are prayed, it is more in a fashion of abiding and obeying to higher spiritual principles and succeeding to make them live in you than really praying higher beings in the sense we understand with our judeo-christian minds...
Buddha himself knew that men are quick to give birth to gods and warned (or his closest disciples put these words in his mouth, at least) "I am only a man, not a god...if you want to pray, pray the buddha in you, not me"
I Hope these humble thoughts fit well in the discussion...

Om Mani Padme Um

[prana]

Crimson Phoenix

Excellent! I don't know how you put all that into such a little sentence but I am sure glad :)
On the side, I noticed you were in France. I wish I could be in Sud De La France et grimpe su Buoux 'or' Ceuse ! Desolee mon France est tres terrible.

Medicine Buddha
om namo bhagawate bekandzyai - guru bendurya prabha randzaya - tatagataya - arhate - samyaksam buddhaya - tayata om bhekandzyai bhekandzyai - maha bhekandzyai bhekandzyai -randza samungate soha

[Crimson Phoenix]

uhh..thanks Prana, I guess I was just lucky this time since it usually takes me many lines to deal with simple ideas hahhhah
Anyway, you've been to the south of France I see?? Nice place, I have to say ;-)
And don't worry about your french, the grammar is so twisted that even french peeps have troubles with it...you all wondered why french suck at foreign language? Well, it's because they already have troubles dealing with their own!!!
And before some do-not-verbally-abuse-frenchies league comes up to flame me (like something that cool would ever exist!), I want to say that I am french...hahahha lucidity hurts!

[GeneChing]

I didn't know where to post this. There's a vid but it looks just like you'd expect it to look.

Kung fu master climbs tree in seconds
Newsflare Duration: 00:33 6 hrs ago

Impressive footage has emerged from China of a 57-year-old kung fu man climbing 10 metres up a tree in five seconds. The video, filmed in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province on March 19, shows the man named Liu Yang shimmying up the tree with ease. Liu works out for around one hour every morning by climbing trees.

[MarathonTmatt]

The great Milarepa came from a life of killing and stealing to becoming a saint. Be mindful of being afraid to be reborned into the other realms, but do not attach yourself to this fear.

Sorry prana, I have a few more questions for you.

Hello,
I am sort of familiar with Milarepa. I obtained a translation of his life's story when the Massachusetts Archaeological Society were thinning out their back-of-the-house library collection.

From what I understand, Milarepa's father was a well-off merchant. A young Milarepa would have been well-off, a pillar of his community, even endowed to the most beautiful girl of the choicest family in the village. All this changed when his father passed away, and his Uncle and Aunt, who were entrusted to look after the family in such an event, greedily seized his family's estate and fortune for themselves. Milarepa, his sister, and his mother were forced to work like slaves- even below the status of a slave- in their own home/fields. They were robbed by their Uncle and Aunt, and their family (cousins.) With his mother's last precious jewel, Milarepa left the village one day to go find a teacher. (this is pre-Buddhist [bardo] as his later teacher was the first to bring Buddhism into Tibet, reportedly, and Milarepa becomming the first major proponent/saint of Buddhism in the region.)

Milarepa's first couple of teachers were reportedly very powerful and gifted medicine people/ conjurers. Milarepa himself learned to conjure hail storms. On the day of his cousin's wedding, an extravagant event (that should have rightfully belonged to Milarepa, according to "mundane logic" so to speak); Milarepa conjured a giant hail storm that killed his cousin, cousin's bride, greedy, thieving Aunt and Uncle (who robbed him/ his direct family) and about thirty other conniving people associated with his Aunt and Uncle at the gathering.

The thing is, Milarepa realized that what he did was wrong and found himself repenting through Buddhism. His teacher, Marpa, the man who initially brought Buddhist scripture/ teaching into Tibet, made Milarepa go through many hardships and physical labors (for years) before teaching him scripture/ etc. ("the word.") Milarepa is said to have obtained enlightenment in just one life-time, a rare achievement, he reached a state of Buddha-hood.

In the Judeo-Christian Bible, this same kind of a concept is even expressed. For instance, King David of the Old Testament had an affair with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite. David, who was said to be the "keeper of the natural animal forces" was tempted by just that- his lower, animalistic nature. King David is said to be guilty of adultery and "virtual murder" (murder of his character.) He was broken with remorse. On a material level, it would seem that he would reap what he sowed- his daughter Tamar for instance was raped and his wives violated in public. Yet, David was a "man after God's own heart", was always sincere in going directly to God in prayer, and in the end, was forgiven by the Lord. In fact, he was later married to Bathsheba (her name meaning "One declared that the thing promised shall be fulfilled; meaning, a swear by seven"). Some even say that it is no coincidence that Bethlehem was the birthplace of David as well as, later, Jesus the Christ.

[Edit: It was Milarepa's "awakening" that his conjouring the hail storm and killing 30+ people did absolutely no good. He realized he had spent that time trying to achieve a "wasteful" or unnecessary aim. I think he realized that the acquisition of material wealth is "Maya", or, an illusion- the illusory material world that people spend their lives involving themselves in. After cleansing himself from the years of hard labor and receiving the teachings, he did things like meditate for years in different caves, sustaining himself only on nettles. He was said to be a man of great power and abilities. My take away from Milarepa's life is not one of "he was a killer." I see it as he was supposed to grow up at least somewhat privelaged. This was stolen from him, his status became less than a slave. He harbored thoughts of revenge, in indeed did commit a horrible act of violence. He realized that this only brought more emptiness, and he started to understand the illusory nature of reality, repented through reform, and eventually attained Buddha-hood in one lifetime.

I can think of two ways this ties in to the main topic of the thread: concerning Wu De, martial morality. First of all, do not harbor thoughts of revenge. It is an "empty" aim, an "empty" emotion (only causes suffering). Second, how many modern people (general population) can even focus on something like traditional martial arts training. Most people aren't ever going to hold a horse stance for minutes on end or a Tai Chi "holding the post" position. Some people may never train any exercise in their lives, much less a practice that has the ability for self-cultivation.]