vajrayana

26
May
2012

Review: Vajrayogini – Elizabeth English


Vajrayogini: Her Visualizations, Rituals, and Forms – Elizabeth English
Wisdom Publications. 2002. 563pp. 086171329X.
Vajrayogini is one of the primary female figures of Vajrayana Buddhism. Her practice stems from the earliest reaches of Tantric Buddhism and continues to be popular to this day. Beautiful and fierce, loving and powerful. This massive tome is all about her. Let me make this clear though, this text is academic, it’s adapted from a thesis, nearly 600 pages. If you’re curious about Vajrayogini, this isn’t the book for you, if you’re a practitioner of her sadhanas, this still might not be the book for you, but if you’re very serious about understanding her, this is the book for you. (Or if you have a lama like mine who insisted I read this as part of my preparation for her empowerment.)
This book isn’t about Vajrayogini in general, but specifically focusing on her appearance in a twelfth or thirteenth century manuscript that collected sadhanas devoted to her. English states that “I hope the book will serve a double purpose: examining, from out textual evidence, the cult of Vajrayogini in India prior to 1200 C.E., and shedding light on tantric sadhana meditation” (xx). She accomplishes both goals quite well, it’s dense and academic, but thorough and well laid out.
The text follows the origins of the wrathful and erotic in Tantric Buddhism to Saiva praxis. Saiva mythology being adapted into a Buddhist cosmology is explained in a way that really clarifies a lot of the history and connection between the traditions. For those of us who practice Vajrayogini sadhanas and/or rituals of emanations of her (like Machik in some conceptions) there is an explanation of 17 different forms and emanations of Vajrayogini and what they mean and represent and where they came from. For the symbolism of figures like Vajrayogini this is the most detailed and complete writing on the topic I’ve ever come across.
Moving from the figure of Vajrayogini herself English explores the sadhana, breaking it down into smaller parts, while offering remarkably in-depth analysis of these sections. From benedictions, to creating the Circle of Protection, to Generating Vajrayogini to the mandala, and into specific practices. This is 110 pages of how to do the basic rituals, while that might sound like it will teach you, it requires a lot of prior knowledge to understand how to assemble and use all this information.
As someone who has been practicing chöd for coming up on two years, this book was very insightful due to the connection of Machik (founder of chöd) being an emanation of Vajrayogini. This is a book that takes a lot to read, it is long, complicated, and dense, but for those serious in their practice it is a great text to read, though one that will constantly have to be referred to in order to make use of the massive amount of information there in. If you’re interested in the tradition and history of Tantric Buddhism this text also has a lot to offer.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
16
May
2012

Eclipses: Moon, Magick, and Multipliers


May 20th will deliver us an Annular Solar Eclipse. I love eclipses; mundanely, magickally, and astronomically. It’s amazing that our Moon is about 1/400th the size of the Sun, and is 400 times closer so that we actually get these eclipses. If our Moon was smaller, or farther away it wouldn’t obscure the Sun, just blot out a little as it passes. I love the world slipping into a fake twilight. I love the feel eclipses give me, and what they mean to me, what they inspire in me.
I mentioned it when discussing the period between my birthday and New Years, but I love the liminal places, the twilight realms, that is where I thrive. Magickally I love the expression of being balanced and in transition, and it’s something I love to make use of. A lot of my life (and my death) has been about these neither-nether places and they have a personal appeal to me.
In Vajrayana Buddhism it’s believed that during a solar eclipse the effects of positive and negative actions are multiplied by 10,000. So in general they’re considered auspicious days to practice on. This eclipse takes place on the 30th day of the third Tibetan month, the next day begins Saga Dewa, the holy month containing the birth, Enlightenment, and death of Shakyamuni Buddha. (I have some issue with the concept of multiplier days, but I still practice with them.)
Eclipses are linked with other eclipses in different ways. Eclipses occur when the Moon is conjunct a Node; South Node is a solar eclipse, and North Node is a lunar eclipse. While the Moon is at the same plane as the nodes it can have multiple eclipses, the most common is a lunar eclipse 14-15 days before and/or after a solar eclipse. We have just such a link this year, a lunar eclipse falls 15 days after this solar eclipse on June 4.
This is the 15th day of Saga Dawa, known as Saga Dawa Düchen, the day celebrating the Enlightenment and death of the historical Buddha. That holiday is another multiplier day, as is the lunar eclipse. (But, like a well balanced role-playing game these multiplication modifiers don’t stack) So this eclipse is part of a bigger system.
On top of this the Sun and Moon will be conjunct Alcyone during the eclipse, Alcyone being the central star of the Pleiades. The only thing that could make this eclipse better in my system was if Pluto was aspected somehow, but alas he is not.
So what does all this mean? It means I’ll be locked in my temple pretty much all day. The eclipse doesn’t start locally (EST) until 16:56, is full at 19:53, and ends at 22:49 but even still there will be preparation to do. I have stacks of pendants and talismans that I’ve been waiting to complete (and some I have to finish physically making) so there will be a lot of time spent on that. I’ll probably complete them properly during the lunar eclipse to tie them into both. I have materia to transform, magickal items to make, bless, and charge. I have a Cosmos to love.
I’ll probably end up figuring out more in the next few days. I see my lama tonight, so we’ll nail down (phurba down?) some plans and I’ll go from there.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
14
Jan
2012

Water Offerings


I hate twitter. It keeps trying to rope me into conversations, that you can’t really have on twitter. Hence this post.
Water Offerings.
Water Offerings are a Tibetan Buddhist method leaving offerings for essentially any and all spirits. Offering water is nearly a universal practice showing up in pretty much all religions, though with different ideas, and methods. The method I use and describe is essentially one of the standard Tibetan systems, with two tweaks I’ll discuss.
Why offerings? Well there are hosts of reasons why it is a great idea to give offerings, sometimes it is payment, sometimes it is respect, sometimes friendship, other times simply compassion. Always parallel it to real life, if you want help from someone, they’re more likely to help if you’ve given them something, helped them out, fed them, and respected them, why would spirits be that different? Wouldn’t you share your good fortune with friends and family? Why are spirits that different?
Why water offerings? If I were to designate offerings as simple, complex, and medium, water offerings would be medium. Simple offerings would be ones of pure intention or energy, and they definitely have their places. Complex could be as “simple” as the eight traditional offerings, involving having flowers, bells, food, incense, and more, and can be a lot more than that. Water offerings are the best of both worlds. Energy offerings tend to dissipate, the moment your focus wavers it starts to go. Water serves to “stabilize” the intention into a form and lets it persist, so you get the versatility of an intention/energy offering, but with more of the solidity of a complex offering.

Traditional set of seven


So in the version I perform I use eight small cups, plus a ninth to bring the water to the altar. This is one of my differences, the number. Water offerings have different amounts, I prefer eight, because I already do the eight offerings and I’m familiar with them, and while several forms of water offerings do use the eight offerings they decide randomly to include a candle instead of the one cup, I use water for everything. I find the single candle mixed in with all the cups disrupts the flow in my head. You can either offer this to anything and everyone, or call up a specific spirit to dedicate it to, even if you “produce” far more than you think they need.
Place all the cups (or bowls) in a row from left to right and fairly close together, the width of a grain of barley or rice they say. Slowly pour the water into the first bowl, each drop, each particle of water represents a basin of warm clean water to wash the feet after a long journey. It is a symbol of rest and relaxation. As you pour repeatedly say “Om Ah Hum” and if you can visualize it, the Om creates the offering, the Ah multiples it many times, and the Hum distributes it to those in need. If you’re more Western A-I-O works instead. My personal tweak is once I’m done pouring the offering, I just focus on that cup. I really focus on making a clear visual, as big and as many as I can. Om, an ocean of water to wash the feet as far as my mind’s eye can see. Ah, a universe of these oceans. Hum, those in need throughout all the universes get what they need.
Once you are done, then take that cup and slowly pour most of it into the next cup, leaving some in the cup you’re pouring from. This time as you say Om Ah Hum (or A-I-O) the particles of water are glasses of fresh cold drinking water. Again finish with a really big offering and copious amounts of the offering.
You follow this pattern with all the following cups. The next offerings are flowers, incense, candles/light, scented water, food, and musical instruments. When you are done visualize the eight cups and repeat the multiplication and distribution for everything.
If you’re doing this for a specific entity each of the offerings can be customized for them. When offering in this manner for Tzamaron, my Mercurial Angel, the flowers and candles are orange, the incense is amber, etc. When offering to a peaceful being the food never contains meats. If offering to a specific departed person if I know them I offer their favourite drinks, food, scents, music, and the like. Things like this can make it more specific and appropriate.
I do a water offering in the morning, and in my nightly rituals I thank the spirits, pour everything back into one cup, and dispose of it; in a potted plant, in the backyard, even down the sink if done respectfully. Generally you should leave it out for a while, so the spirits can make use of it. You don’t drink it though, it was given to someone else, it is not yours. When you’re done dry all the cups and stack them upside down, this keeps them clean and makes sure each offering is fresh.
May you, and yours find benefit in this simple and elegant offering.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
12
Dec
2011

Divining Direction: Planning Magick


Recently I’ve been talking with an occultist from the city; he asked me about my “occult odd-jobs” as mentioned on my About page. He asked me hypothetically what I’d do for someone asking about wealth magick. There are two “levels” of service I provide. One is a very simple one size fits all; granted what it is changes from time to time but it’s usually a charm and a short petition, no real depth or detail. The other is more in depth, rather than just tossing wealth magick at someone I investigate the source of the issue and work out how to solve this case specifically. More time intensive, but I prefer it. So I couldn’t really answer…until about a week and a half after that someone contacted me for some financial work. With her permission I’m going to talk about the process of the investigation and how I decided what to do. For people who are used to just tossing magick blindly at problems hopefully this will show a bit more about narrowing down and focusing the aims. Sometimes it is a very narrow and clear cut process, sometimes like this it is a bit more intuitive and open-ended.
To start off with I generally use a Mo divination. It is very clear in regards to what is causing a problem and how to solve it. So I cast the die and received Ah Tsa – The Bright Star. This lists the various types of wealth coming your way. I was actually very confused by this, the person is having financial problems and the first step of the divination essentially said “Don’t worry about it, money is on the way.”
I then turn the tarot, but usually I have a clear direction in mind thanks to the Mo, this time I didn’t. Using the Watcher Angel Tarot I began my spread. “What do I need to know to improve “Moni”’s finances over the next month?” XXI – The World – Metatron. Everything must be pulled together magick-wise, the answer will come from everything I’ve learnt. This wasn’t going to be easy, it’s a card about magick, but it’s about the completion, everything used along the way, whatever my method was to be it wasn’t going to be simple.
Understanding the cause is important in planning. If Moni was unemployed, just divorced, or recently robbed, each would require a different magickal path to help best. So what is the cause of the financial problems? IV – The Emperor – Azazel. The Emperor is a sign of the system, so I’m pretty sure the money problem is the government’s fault. Another problem would likely be giving others control and not being active enough.
How can the issues of the Emperor be overcome? Nine of Pentacles. Create, art projects, produce, accept the windfall that is coming and charge into it. I didn’t know what this meant.
After the first stage of divination was done I contacted Moni with the results and asked for more details. It felt very odd, I’ve never had to say “You want me to do some financial magick, but apparently money is already on the way.” Anyways, I got my clarification one of the main issues is the government recently recalculated her deceased husband’s pension and started sending her almost half what they used to. So it was a government issue, another smaller part of it, was Moni runs a hobby jewellery business on the weekends and in fighting with the government over the benefits she’s been too stressed to keep it up, even though it wasn’t a major loss it started to add up. I asked since apparently money was on its way if she wanted my services still, she decided even if it looks like it is improving she’d like some help so we began looking at this as financial maintenance magick.
Continuing the divination: What can I do magickally? Two of Swords – Stalemate. This just gets better and better. I wasn’t sure what to think about this, tossed around a few ideas in my head and none clicked, so I turned to the book and read “Opposing forces are locked in balance, for the moment.” That clicked. Mercury is Retrograde and turning stationary tomorrow. That’s the “for the moment.”
What can I do after Mercury goes Direct? VIII – Strength – Turiel. Okay maybe there was a bit of bias using the Watcher Angel Tarot, but aside from the meaning of the card I felt it was pretty clear it was to be an Angelic working. Strength is always about a subtle power to me, coercion, and grace, so this is going to be a gentle working. Not a strong evocation, but something gentle. I’ve sent Moni an Angelic Seal to use and she is to offer it water, bread, and a tealight candle each day along with a two sentence prayer. I’m doing the same thing on my end, except the Angel is receiving an eight-fold offering (a Buddhist practice) each day with a longer prayer and petition and a specially crafted honey jar filled with the usual things and a few offering ingredients specific to this angel. This will be done until at least January first, when Mercury it out of its shadow. Moni can continue it after that point, but until then is the only obligation on our part.
While checking the astrology of the situation I realized Jupiter is also Retrograde (people only complain about Mercury) and while not horribly transiting her chart, it could be better, but it’s almost over. So I asked what I could do once Jupiter goes Direct? King of Wands. This is a card about passion and strength, the ability to forge ahead, to pick a goal and trample over anything to get it. Don’t be deceived by how the King is lounging, he only looks so relaxed because he is so confident. King of Wands is also Fire of Fire. So lots of Fire and trampling obstacles, to me it was a pretty clear choice. Once Jupiter is Direct I’ll perform a Riwo sangchö (ri bo bsang mchod), a type of smoke and fire offering. Along with the traditional ingredients in the offering I’ll include several with Jovial attributes. This offering is accompanied by a ritual, in this case the offering will be dedicated primarily to Jovial forces, to help pick them up in Moni’s life as Jupiter comes out of Retrograde, to feed and prime these attributes, as well as to clear obstacles from Moni’s path. Also a request that Jupiter keep the path open, and an evocation to a Jovial spirit with the aim that Moni continues to get her benefits and the government doesn’t try to cut out any more.
So Moni is getting a variety of services, like the World indicated. Some Ceremonial Magick, some Hoodoo, some Buddhist rituals. As her problem apparently is taking care of itself this became more of a financial magick tune-up, rather than a rescue, which is unusual, but not a bad idea. Some work on keeping what is functioning working well, as well as work to try to call in some new life to these matters.
Mayhaps from time to time I’ll post these type of reports, just to show a little bit of what can be done about narrowing down your magick. As this was a tune-up it didn’t get as precise as I often would, but I think serves as an example of the process of figuring out what is to be done.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
10
Nov
2011

Mechanics and Magick of Malas and Mantras


Malas are probably one of my favourite magickal tools, they walk a line between practical and transcendent; they are devotional, developmental, chargeable, and portable. Plus if you’re fashion forward they can be used as accessories, unfortunately the colours and materials of my malas have more to do with their purpose than looking good. So I’m sure most of the time I’m committing some fashion faux pas, does this mala make my Yesod look big?
What are malas? Mala means garland in Sanskrit, in Tibetan they’re called phreng ba (Wylie) and simply put they’re a string of beads often worn as a necklace or bracelet, or carried in a pouch. A brief disclaimer, I’m speaking from my training and education but different lamas and sects have different views and rules on malas, if you’ve heard something else, I’m not saying they’re wrong, just different. Traditionally a mala has 108 beads, but 54, 36, 27, and 21 bead malas are relatively common, though I have no real use or understanding of the smaller malas, only having training in the use of the 108 bead malas.
Some traditions believe that every X number of beads has to be of a noticeably different size so you can keep track by feel, I’ve never been taught that and frankly haven’t found a need for it. At the end of the mala, where the string comes back upon itself there are three beads of a different size or colour, that are connected to the side of the mala. These are called the guru beads or the gem beads, as they represent the triple gem of the Buddha, the Dharma (teachings), and the Sangha (community). Sometimes there is a single bead in which case it represents your lama, and that contains the triple gem as through lama devotion do you gain access to the triple gem.
While cotton, wool, and other natural materials are traditional for malas, for practical reasons I restring all my malas onto an elastic cord and I commonly see them on nylon, metal thread, and more. There are three main materials the beads are made from: wood/seeds, bone, and crystal. Some traditions heavily emphasize that the beads must be sandalwood (they probably mean acacia and that’s a translation error), or bodhi seeds, or rudraksa beads. I’ve found that with wood/seeds that material doesn’t seem to make much of a difference and my lama never stressed one over the other. Bone malas were traditionally made from human skulls, giving them more of a flat disc than a round bead, but now almost all bone malas are made out of yak bone. Crystal malas have become popular but I can’t find much on how traditional they are, but one of the lamas I studied with briefly suggested that quartz malas are the best we can use as their “molecular makeup” will change with our use. While I don’t believe that, I can see quartz doing a great job at holding onto what we put into it, but I’ve never had an issue with wood holding the “charge.” Again my lama doesn’t stress materials much one way or the other. With cross-pollination with the West crystal malas are now being believed to pick up all sorts of powers based on what they are made from. Rose quartz resonates with compassionate practices, onyx and garnet with wrathful practices, amber with healing, etc. I don’t discount the idea but it isn’t that traditional and I like wood malas just fine.

My collection of malas


So how are malas used? Most commonly and obviously a mala is a counting device. You use a mala to keep track of how many times you’ve said a mantra, recited a name, or performed a prostration or other action. Every time you complete a mala you count yourself as having completed 100 repetitions, there are 108 beads but eight are there assuming you’ll make mistakes several times.
Using the mala for mantra/names is the most common use (sometimes called japamala other times japamala is just used to refer to a mala) and there are many reasons, benefits, and effects for doing this. Different schools, different thoughts, but I was taught that for every syllable in a name or mantra that you have to recite it 100,000 times. Om Mani Padma Hum is a quick little 600,000 recitations while Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Soha is 1,700,000. (This grows exponentially as not only does every syllable add in another 100,000 recitations, but that extra syllable has to be said an extra 100,000 times. 3.6 million syllables with Om Mani Padma Hum and 28.9 million with Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Soha. This means in this case three times as many syllables in a mantra equal eight times as much work).
Aside from anything mystical and internal this is a brilliant act of devotion. More than anything if you say the name or mantra associated with a particular figure hundreds of thousands of times, it will get their attention and it will serve as a show of your devotion to them. A practical side to malas as a mantra counter is simply timing, it is an easy way of making sure you devote a certain amount of time to a mantra without setting an alarm. The last major practical facet of a mala is use in meditation, this applies in many ways, but the most “mundane” of them is simply that if you cannot focus on a broad thought verbally and mentally reciting a mantra over a mala brings the mind to something concrete forcing out other thoughts. Using a mala while reciting and visualizing a mala brings body, speech, and mind into harmony.
Of course aside from the practical stuff there is a lot of stuff associated with malas (and mantras) that are far more fun. The most obvious is siddhis, which means attainment or accomplishment (and many other things), which are believed to be granted by reciting vast amounts of mantras. Siddhis can be understood as blessings and abilities, they range from mythic and powerful (shape-changing, instant travel) to more magickal and mundane siddhis (long life, protection from spirits, ability to read minds, health). Related to this there are various rituals and spells that require the recitation of mantras to complete. Again this is where malas as counters are useful.
What is interesting (though a point of dispute) is reciting a mantra over a mala has an extra benefit. A siddhi is a personal thing, it is a part of you, but a mala with hundreds of thousands of mantra recitations over it also has that siddhi or an imprint of it. Perhaps it is not as “powerful” but the same effect seems to radiate from a completed mala. This means a completed mala both serves as a tool of personal development and becomes a magickal tool in its own right. It can be given as a gift, kept as a “connection” to the siddhi, or the siddhi-energy (for lack of knowing a better term) can also be transferred into another item. I’ve used the last to make blessed pendants before and it has proven to be a very efficacious method.
Of course there are many examples in Buddhist and Hindu magick where the recitation of thousands of mantras are used in order to enchant a specific end. I wouldn’t presume to limit this to Buddhist and Hindu systems, similar patterns of recitation can be used for other works. I’ve had a few Angels request that I dedicate a mala to them, as I have done with various Buddhist figures, which greatly increased my collection of malas as shown above. So there is a use outside of Buddhism, I have my devotional malas for some of the Angels I work with and used them as counters for various rituals.
If you don’t use a mala, I recommend them, they’re relatively cheap (unless you buy bone or stone), they’re practical, and easy to keep with you.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
02
Nov
2011

Wednesday Webshares: Death, Demons, and Dead Folks


Well I’m happy to announce my life is returning to normal –well, as normal as the life of someone who spends so much time with demons and hanging around in cemeteries can be. I had to take some time off due to a ridiculous amount of work, schooling, and spiritual dedication. Twelve hour school days plus five hours of spiritual work a day means not a lot of time for anything else. I survived; I’m not noticeably insane from it, so it is time to continue. I have real posts in the wings to put up, and book reviews, but let’s just start with a Wednesday Webshare.
There is an utterly fascinating and informative pamphlet pdf Notes on Death and Dying for Vajrayana Practitioners.  It contains sections that are basically dying and Bardos of dying, death, and rebirth 101; what the signs of death are, how to help those who are dying, etc. The section that interests me the most (and was why it was pointed at me) was about the legal and practical side of properly dying according to Vajrayana ideals.  Death in Vajrayana can occurs days after death in Western understanding, what are the laws and practicalities of leaving a “dead” body undisturbed for a few days until the signs of death begin to show themselves, or can you donate organs while dying properly (which is what I was looking for). Anyways fascinating opinions and information on it, it’s specifically in regard to the laws of Dallas County, Texas, but gives some ideas and some of the hows to go about collecting the proper information.
With 2012 looming closer are you curious what the Mayans actually said about it? I’ll give you a hint: it begins with an F and ends with an Uck All.  A great interview with an archaeologist (re: someone who actually has researched this area) about 2012 and how even what seems to be legitimately coming from the modern Mayans is essentially newage backwash. I’m not surprised but it’s great to see, especially the reasoning on why some supposed descendents of the Maya are talking about it now.
Tara Hefler is looking to make a visual compendium of the 72 spirits of the Goetia as imagined by modern artists.  It is time those wood carvings got an update and I wasn’t a fan of art in the Crowley’s Illustrated Goetia. Like me you can wait for the project to be finished, or if you’re an artist yourself some of the demons still need to be adopted and illustrated if you want to try your tentacle at that.
The New Alexandrian Library recently received paintings of the four archangels by Dion Fortune, gifts from Dolores Ashcroft Nowicki. Awesome artwork, and a great gift.
I’m a taphophile, it’s no secret. In my childhood while my friends’ parents were taking them to Florida or amusement parks or ski weekends or just the C.N. Tower, my mother and her mother would take me to cemeteries all across the province. I grew up spending a lot of time in cemeteries, so it isn’t surprising that I love them and just happen to end up part of a spiritual tradition that requires me to do a lot of my work in cemeteries. While it is an American site I’ve loved following The Cemetery Traveler since I came across it. It essentially just chronicles the journeys of one person through cemeteries, their thoughts and experiences. Fans of dead people and cemeteries should definitely follow it.
Also there is a video on those Jordan Lead Codices. While a lot of the information wasn’t new to me as I’ve been following this personally and academically it was nice to see some of it put down visually.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
31
Aug
2011

Review: Mo: Tibetan Divination System – Jamgon Mipham


Mo: Tibetan Divination System – Jamgon Mipham, translated and edited by Jay Goldberg
Snow Lion. 1990. 156pp. 9781559391474.
While a lot of has been written on Tibetan Buddhism there is still a lot more to be translated and written about in English. This book covers one such area, Mo –which just means divination– in this case refers to a system of dice divination. This text is based on the version put forth by Jamgon Mipham (1846-1912), a renowned master from the Nyingma school, based upon his study of the Kalachakra Tantra and The Ocean of Dakinis, along with other texts and his own insight.
This system is deceptively simple, you role a die twice, and that gives you one of thirty-six possible answers. The die is rolled to make a pair, twice, the second two rolls being used to indicate how strong or weak the answer is, or how fixed or changeable it is. Each answer is split into eleven categories so that instead of a blanket statement you get information that is specific to family, money, enemies, spiritual practice, health, and the like.
One thing I really enjoy with this system (and there is a lot I enjoy) is that it is eminently practical. It is part of a religious system so when it says something is wrong it sometimes tells you what caused it, but it also recommends what sutras to read, or Boddhisattvas to work with, or what rituals to perform in order to increase your chances of success. I like having that answer right there, you may have to work out the physical side but this gives you the spiritual work to undertake. Of course the advice is specific to Buddhism, and some is specifically Tibetan Buddhist, which can limit the usefulness to non-Buddhists. Though some of the advice is simple enough that even someone without familiarity with Buddhism would be able to undertake, such as reading the Prajnaparamita.
Traditionally the die has six Tibetan letters on it, but you can substitute a numeric die or order a proper Mo die from the Snow Lion website. (This is where I felt a touch let down, as far as I can tell they don’t sell the die and book together, which I think is a mistake, and inconvenient). Also each letter has various attributes: directions, body parts, Buddha families, elements, and so on. These attributes can be used to give you more insight into the answers, and Goldberg mentions this but doesn’t explain how. While I’ve been cobbling together my own system of finding increased meaning it would have been nice to see more of it.
Also the nature of the advice/answers doesn’t allow for the same freedom of form in your questions that you would get with something like tarot. It took me a while to learn how to ask the right type of questions, which in many cases is just “Tell me about my health” “What’s going on with Frank’s job?” and so on. It’s a small thing but it wasn’t addressed and I wish it had been as I believe knowing how to ask the right questions is an important part of getting a relevant divinatory answer.
Regardless of my few quibbles I think this is an excellent book and essentially unique in topic, and as such I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in adding a bit more depth to their study of Tibetan Buddhism, or varying divination systems in general. I’ve experimented with the system many times in the last month and I’ve found the results very insightful as well as practical and synchronicistic to a degree that surprised me.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
13
Jul
2011

Wednesday Webshares: Birthdays, Arson at an OTO Lodge, Mail-Order Mormons and More


I was informed that at least two version of feedreaders have trouble with my image embedding, so I’m sorry about that focus, but I don’t know how to fix that. I’m going to fiddle with what I can and see if I can’t get my blog looking proper in the feeds.
This week saw the birthday of Lon Milo Duquette, so happy birthday to Lon. The day before I came across this … interesting birthday song to him.

I found out from Thelema Weekly that the Sekhet-Maat Lodge building in Portland was the victim of Arson. Not surprisingly over half of the article is explaining what Sekhet-Maat Lodge and the OTO are, and the comments are filled with someone concerned (but he doesn’t care really) about the OTO worshipping the Antichrist and wanting to kill people. Gets into full on essays, glad to see sympathy for the victims, no? You can donate if so inclined to help the repairs.
There has been a round of discussion on the blogs about ethics and “enlightenment bombing” which was (to simplify) the idea of banishing/binding someone with a blessing that they become a better person. I planned (still might) get in on it from an interesting take from my tradition, but instead I prefer the idea of this “enlightenment bombing.” Yes, I just found out along with books, food, porn, and body parts, you can order Mormons over the internet. My main question is how often is this service used by people actually wishing to learn more, and how often do people do this as a prank?
Computers now aiding in the question to sort out Biblical authorship. So far the computers are performing amazingly and may shed some new light on how the Tanakh was authored. I’m actually really interested in this as one of my side-studies at University involve Biblical scholarship as literature and history.

Edited: I almost forgot to include this. There is a movement “Take Back Yoga” that is trying to return yoga to the actual religious practice and not stretching in your Lululemon pants. I’m in love with it, as that is very often a rant I have.
Lastly an interesting interview with the Venerable Thupten Ngodup, who is the State Oracle of Tibet. I think it is a fascinating look into the side of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture (in exile) that many people are unaware of.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
07
Jul
2011

Review: Chöd Practice in the Bön Tradition – Alejandro Chaoul


Chöd Practice in the Bön Tradition: Tracing the origins of chöd (gcod) in the Bön tradition, a dialogic approach cutting through sectarian boundaries – Alejandro Chaoul, Forewards by Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Snow Lion. 2009. 116 pp. with appendices. 9781559392921.
Chöd is a fairly obscure practice from Tibetan Buddhism and it also appears within Bön, the pre-Buddhist “shamanic” religion of Tibet. It is generally conceived as a Buddhist practice, framed in Buddhist imagery and philosophy, and the mythology places it firmly within the realm of Buddhism by use of its founder Machik Labdron, a Tibetan Buddhist saint. Yet in Bön the philosophy and mythology are a bit different though the practice is largely similar. So where did chöd come from?
Chaoul makes, what he believes, to be the first real study of chöd within Bön tradition. The book based upon his MA thesis at the University of Virginia, where he tried to find the interconnection between the two chöd practices. He did not focus on trying to find an origin for chöd but instead focused on how the practice has been shared and exchanged and developed between the two traditions. One tradition was not viewed as more legitimate or superior, instead Chaoul states “that the beauty of this rich, intricate, and often misunderstood practice, is to be found in the coexistence of many different views, which can expand beyond the traditional horizons delimited by social, academic, and sectarian boundaries.” (4)
I find this a curious and interesting case; as a perfect example of what he was studying Chaoul included in the book the sadhana called in English “The Laughter of the Dakinis” which is a sadhana within my lineage as well, even though his source is Bön and my lineage is Buddhist. So there I find not just the general sharing, but a specific ritual within both traditions. Personally it was a great book to read because of my lineage, my lama taught me (and understands this) through the Buddhist perspective and it was great to see the other, less common, perspective.
In fact in my initial chöd training I learnt that chöd had incorporated aspects from Bön, as it had from tantra and sutra traditions and even Hinduism, but I was unaware that there was a full chöd tradition within Bön. Most of this book made sense, and I could see the exchanges and changes, and some parts had me really wondering. For example when describing the tools the damaru (drum) is described as being made from two skulls (53) whereas I was taught, quite emphatically, that the damaru is to be acacia wood and the skull drums are from an unrelated tradition but due to similar appearance get associated with chöd, but should never be used for chöd. (Sidenote: The damaru shown on the cover is quite clearly not made from skulls) Things like this intrigue me, I want to learn is this a difference between Bön and Buddhist chöd, or is this lineage specific and my lama was speaking from his bias?
This book is highly academic, as mentioned it was based upon an MA thesis, it has 299 endnotes (to help make the point), so if you’re looking for an easy read, this isn’t it. This book is not appropriate for someone curious about chöd or looking to learn it, too much of the knowledge, history, mythology, and philosophy is chöd specific. For those studying chöd the complete sadhana of “The Laughter of the Dakinis” is included and “intended for use by those who have received transmission and explanation from an authentic lineage holder” (69) and if you are a chödpa (Buddhist or Bönpo) with an academic or bookworm leaning, this book is an excellent read and resource.

Posted by kalagni in blueflamemagick
25
May
2011

Review: Hundred Thousand Rays of the Sun – H. E. Lama Tsering Wangdu


Hundred Thousand Rays of the Sun: The Sublime Life and Teachings of a Chöd Master – H. E. Lama Tsering Wangdu, translated and edited by Joshua Waldman & Lama Jinpa
Lulu. 2008. 213pp. 9780557004096.
Finding and reading this book was an unusual and humorous event for me, my lama would probably read into it more -that I’m on the right path- I’ll just say it happened. So I saw the cover of this book from a distance and my first thought was that it looked like the various covers and handouts created by Lama Jinpa, only when I looked closer did I realize it was about our Lama and Lama Jinpa himself had helped with the book. That is all I needed to decide to get the book.
This book is an autohagiography of H.E. Lama Tsering Wangdu, a beautiful and gentle soul, as well as a wise and forceful ch‏‏ödpa. This tale follows him from the events of his crazy wisdom life from birth to the present day, including a meta-story section about being approached by Joshua Waldman to write the text.
Now as someone recognized as a master of his tradition it should not be surprising that parts of his story seem pulled straight from the tales of the Boddhisattvas and great yogis of the past. Born with a caul on his face and teaching his mother the mantra of Buddha Amitabha when first learning to talk (9) you can expect he would lead an interesting life.
In his youth he was transferred to a monastery and in his tale you see the political side of power in a temple that one might not expect. He came to age balanced between his family life and his religious life during the time of the Chinese invasion. Though lucky enough to be out of Tibet at the time you can read of the pain this caused him and his family.
Much of the book is focused on his wanderings as a chödpa performing chöd in the wilderness of Tibet, Bhutan, and India. The miracles, visions, and events he experienced were fascinating, if at times hard to believe. This section of the book proved to me very insightful because it showed me the role that chöd has in the life of the master I’m studying under; it takes it out of realm of the “classroom” and into his life.
The Dalai Lama said to Lama Wangdu “Padampa Sangye has no community of practitioners. It’s important that you establish one for the tradition” (164) and this book is part of that process as well as detailing the amazing events that led to Lama Wangdu founding his temple and then seeking out students to train in the dying practice of chöd. What surprised me is this book contains some basics on performing chöd, which in personal correspondence was warned against attempting without having received the blessing of Machik. None the less I will trust that the bare basics revealed in the text are nothing that could harm a practitioner if they did not have the blessing and that Lama Wangdu knew what he was doing.
While the story itself is quite engaging Lama Wangdu is not an author and the book doesn’t read like a story. In fact the best analogy I have is the type of rambling tale your grandparents tell you. It’s interesting, has lots of information in it, but doesn’t always follow a coherent narrative and occasionally a detail is lost. For example at one point Lama Wangdu mentions meeting his wife in a specific town, but we never hear of her or their relationship again. It took me a bit of time to get used to this style but once I did I found the cadence almost endearing.
For students of chöd and chödpas this is a great look into the life of one of the masters of our practice, but students of Buddhism in general it is still a great tale of a wandering yogi and his spiritual journey.

Posted by kalagni