by Dirk Johnson | Jan 21, 2024 | Commonplace Book
Oṃ In A Dictionary Oṃ (ॐ) is well known in the English speaking world, even outside of India. But all most of us know about it is that it’s an ancient sacred syllable with some sort of spiritual significance that some people chant either on...
by Dirk Johnson | Jul 23, 2019 | Commonplace Book
The above is a screenshot from the video below, the third video in a series by Anuja Kamat called “Basic Theory of Indian...
by Dirk Johnson | May 8, 2019 | Commonplace Book, Quotation
One early spring evening in the Water Pig year (1923), Tertön Sogyal met Guru Padmasambhava in a vision. Sometimes his visions were mixed with dream-like states, so that he had to be diligent in assessing the validity of the visions. On this occasion, he believed...
by Dirk Johnson | Apr 16, 2019 | Commonplace Book, Quotation, Scholarship
Etymologically, the term “Mantrayana” may be explained as follows. In Sanskrit, “mantra” is a conflation of the elements “manas,” which means “mind,” and “traya,” which means “to protect.” In...
by Dirk Johnson | Apr 8, 2019 | Commonplace Book, Quotation
48. When the urge arises in your mind To feelings of desire or angry hate, Do not act! Be silent, do not speak! And like a log of wood be sure to stay. 49. And when your mind is wild or filled with mockery, Or filled with pride and haughty arrogance, Or when...
by Dirk Johnson | Apr 5, 2019 | Commonplace Book, Quotation
Compassion is based on some sense of “soft spot” in us. It is as if we had a pimple on our body that was very sore—so sore that we do not want to rub it or scratch it. During our shower we do not want to rub too much soap over it because it hurts....
