SHORT SADHANA OF DORJE SHUGDEN
To be performed for the welfare of all mother sentient beings after
the Gaden Lhgayama or one’s Yidam practice

PRAISE

Before myself, as yidam deity,
Amidst a wind swept dark red fire,
On lotus, sun, and splendid, frightening
Lion trampling enemies and obstructers,
Is the supreme heart-jewel of Dharmapalas,
Mighty Gyalchen, Dorje Shugden,
Body, beautified by robes of a monk,
Wearing the golden domed hat on his head,
Razor sword and enemy heart in his hands,
In a manner, pleased with the practitioner,
Fierce expression destroying enemies and obstructers,
Surrounded by oceans of retinues
Of attendants such as Kache Marpo,
Light rays from my heart invite
From the sphere of pure nature
And each palace, wherever they are,
The wisdom beings who, in one instant,
Become inseparable from the commitment beings!
DZA HUM BAM HO!

KAWANG

HUM !
Heart’s blood drinking offerings set out like the flow of the Ganges,
Flowers of the sense organs blossoming and clouds of smoke gathering,
Human bile perfume, flesh and blood, and the sound of thigh bone trumpets,
Please accept these as well as an ocean of undefiled nectar!
Also sensual objects and the seven royal objects,
The intelligent horse, elephants, frightful yaks, sheep, and dogs,
Saffron robes, strong, hard armour and shields,
Arrows, spears, swords, and outer, inner, and secret bases,
With these clouds of offerings, both supramundane and worldly,
O Dorje Shugden and all your wrathful entourage,
May your heart commitment be fulfilled and degeneration restored!
Especially, each accumulated faulty deed of body, speech and mind
We have committed under the influence of ignorance,
Which goes against your mind, protector,
We confess with a mind of remorse and regret.
Furthermore, transgressions of our commitments to the protector
And entourage, neglect or degeneration of retreat practice,
Tormas, offerings, and so on,
We practitioners confess all of these
Within the unobjectifiable emptiness of the three spheres.

EXHORTATION FOR ACTIVITY

HUM
Unimpeded in power and miraculous emanation,
Unrivaled in wisdom and compassion,
Great King of Dharma Protectors whose time has come,
Dorje Shugden, Five Families and Principal,
And hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of entourage,
Offerings, tormas, and samaya substances covering the earth,
Basal substances filling the expanse of space,
Actually arranged and mentally emanated,
I offer, please accept with compassion!
Spread Lozangs’ Teachings and for its upholders,
Committed patrons and entourages,
Increase their lifespans, merit, and wealth like the waxing moon!
Bring under control whatever they wish,
And, like the jewel that fulfills all wishes,
Spontaneously accomplish all of their dharmic activities
In this and future lives!

GOLDEN DRINK OFFERING

HUM
Gurus who rain down two purposes,
Yidams who bestow the two siddhis,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Three places’ heroes and dakinis,
Mighty hosts of sworn dharmapalas,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Six-armed and White Mahakalas, Dharmaraja, outer, inner, secret,
Palden Lhamo, Tent and Four-faced Mahakalas, and Vaisravana,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Manjusri’s attendant, sworn Dharmaraj,
And oceans of outer, inner, and secret entourage,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Transcendent supreme dharmapala,
Dorje Shugden, strict and swift of power
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!
(3x, 7x, 21x, 108x or more)

Five types that bestow unimpeded
Acts of peace, increase, control, and wrath,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Nine beautiful consorts, eight guide monks,
Ten young wrathful agents, and the rest,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Especially, principal guardian of Buddhadharma,
Setrab Chen and your entourage,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish! (3x)

Life-taker of those with broken bonds,
Fierce Kache Marpo, invincible,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Vow-breakers’ heart-blood purified like gold,
This drink of fully boiling serkyem,
I offer to Namka Bardzin and entourage
Accepting, accomplish the yogi’s intended purpose!

Emanations, beyond thought, as well,
Attendants that rock the billion worlds,
Offering you nectar that bestows bliss,
Spontaneously grant our every wish!

Being thus honored and exhorted,
Unslacking in four activities,
Through the six times, always protect us
Like a father caring for his son!

Hosts of fierce attendants, remember
Your sworn oaths before Lord Dulzin and,
Swiftly, now, perform, unslackingly,
Each and every action I request!

PRAYER – OFFERINGS AND REQUESTS

HUM
With three doors I prostrate reverently,
Make outer and inner offerings,
Flesh, blood, torma, tsog, tsampa, butter,
Milk and curd, set out and envisioned!

Tantric, base, fulfillment, commitment,
Favorite visual, and sang offerings,
Filling space, thus, may heart commitments
Be fulfilled, broken bonds be restored!

All our mistakes of thought or deed that
Trangress the great Dharmapala’s mind,
Confessed from the heart, purify us;
Like a mother, care for your children!

Supreme Protector, we beseech you:
Spread Conqueror Losang’s tradition!
Extend Lama’s life and influence!
Increase Sangha’s teaching and practice!

Like my shadow, never part from me!
Clear every hindrance and obstacle!
Make conditions favorable, as wished!
Nurture and protect us, without break!

The time has come to show your might,
With four conducts, swift and decisive,
Swiftly accomplishing, just as wished,
Deeply heart-felt aims, especially!

Now is time to judge the karmic truth!
Time to clear the innocent of blame!
Time to guard weak, protectorless beings,
Time to protect your dharma children!

Henceforth until great enlightenment,
Enthroned as Guru and Protector,
Watching over us both day and night,
Ever unslackingly protect us! (3x)

MANTRA

From the heart syllable of myself visualized as the yidam, light rays emanate. They strike the HUM syllables and surrounding mantra garlands which, matching each deity in colour, stand upon the sun seats at the hearts of Dharmapala Gyalchen Shugden’s five fierce families, exhorting them without choice to perform whatever desired peaceful increasing, powerful, or wrathful activity, without obstruction.  

OM BENZA WIKI BITRANA SOHA!
(principal deity)  

OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWANA RUDRA
PANTSA KULA SARVA SHATRUM MARAYA HUM PHAT!
(entourage) 

By just recollecting you for an instant, outer and inner
Obstructions are dispelled. O powerful five families
Of Gyalchen Shugden, bestower of the four activities,
To the Dharmapala and his entourage I bow down.

OM VAJRASATTVA …

Whatever I have done incorrectly
Through not finding, not knowing,
Or lack of ability,
Please be patient with all of these.
By remaining together with this image
For the sake of all migrators,
May you grant us long life without illness,
Power, and supreme attainments!
OM SU PRATISHTA BENDZA YE SOHA!

By the virtue arising through my effort,
With pure motive in this method,
May all beings be cared for inseparably
By peaceful and wrathful Manjushri from life to life!

May the Venerable Gurus’ lives be firmly stable,
May pure activities flourish to the ten directions,
And may the lamp of Losang’s Teachings remain forever,
Dispelling darkness of the three realms’ beings.

In all lives may we be inseparable from the perfect Guru,
Enjoy the glory of Dharma, and,
Fully completing all qualities of the paths and grounds,
Swiftly attain the state of Vajradhara.

By this virtue may I quickly, having attained the state of Guru Buddha,
Establish every being without exception in that state.

That the Dharma King Tsong Khapa’s pure Dharma tradition flourish
May obstructive omens be eliminated and conducive conditions
Without exception be complete!

In dependence on the two combined accumulations
Of myself and others over the three times,
May the Conqueror Losang Drakpa’s
Teachings flourish for a very long time.

May there be auspiciousness of the root and lineage Gurus!
May there be auspiciousness of the hosts of yidam deities!
May there be auspiciousness of the goddesses, dakas, and dakinis!
May there be auspiciousness of the Dharma protector guardians!

In that snow-mountain encircled land,
Source of every benefit and joy,
May Lord Tenzin Gyatso, Chenresig,
Live forever ’till the end of existence!

This year, I took a couple days longer, to carefully consider all that I am doing, and to honestly ask myself what I could be doing better. I spend a great deal of time in pujas as well, asking what my beloved Root Guru would ask of me today, and allowing myself to feel the intense loss that I have tried to busy myself out of feeling, since her passing.

And I gave careful consideration to the intentional community I co-founded, some thirty years ago. I looked back at where we have been, what we have accomplished, and asked myself where it is that we must go now…

Our path could be called, “Sarvodaya Shramadana Sampradaya”, a universal effort to build an Enlightened Community.

And I believe that the time has come for our senior monastics, our lamas and acharyas to come together to begin to formally create a new, living Dharma for the western world – inspired and informed by the timeless teaching of the Buddha Śakyamuni, consistent with the compassionate message of the Issa (Yeshua) the Anointed One, and enriched by the ancient wisdom of the Tao… A path which remembers and honours the traditions of our beloved teachers, and which carries on the legacy of our Satguru, Tenzin Yangchen Ma.

The time has come to recognise that we are no longer Tibetan, or Zen, or Shingon or Franciscan. We are free from religion, bound by no institution, and embrace all paths to Enlightenment and Non-suffering.

It is time to set aside the conventions of those traditions, and to begin to work toward the development of something authentically representative of the Dharma in the Western World and postmodern ethos.

It is time to embrace and express what it means to live the Dharma of Compassion (Daya ka Dharma Sampradaya).

I am no longer convinced that the traditional approach is necessary or merited. We must dig in and ask the difficult questions, make commitments to ourselves and to the Sangha, and begin to forge the way, for those who lack the desire or confidence to do so themselves. And so I am issuing this challenge, not only to the members of our formal Sangha, but to the brothers and sisters everywhere, who recognise the need to make the teachings of the Buddha and the Christ more relevant, accessible and pragmatic for those living in a postmodern ethos.

This may mean an end to projects like the Western Buddhist University. It may mean a completely new way of developing and presiding over monastic formation. It may mean setting aside the terms “monk” and “nun” and accepting that we are universally contemplatives, in the simplest of terms, as were the Enlightened and Awakened Ones. And it may mean creating a new way of teaching the timeless truths of those Beloved Masters, so that we can build a community of Awakened Hearts and Minds, and alleviate suffering everywhere.

I’m no longer willing to accept excuses for not doing so, from myself or from others.

I’m taking 100% responsibility… and welcome all of those who share than commitment to join me.

Over the past two weeks, I have had the privilege of working with three entirely different groups of people… folks who don’t ordinarily come to dharma classes… some of whom didn’t even know what the Dharma was. But they understood one thing:

That there is something bigger than us that occurs when love fills the moment, and takes root in the hearts of two or more people.

They recognised that this Love weaves a thread that interconnects every sentient being, sending out ripples like a stone thrown into a pond, connecting us with people we may never have met before. At these weddings, people who may have never before met came together as strangers, and parted as friends. There was no drama, no backbiting, no warning others to run away… simply the sharing of this incredible love, and that opened the door to the discussion of what true love is, and how it can only be experienced when we let go of our self-cherishing habituations, turn our hearts to the Beloved and serve those in need.

It was a remarkable thing to witness, and a true blessing to be able to share the words of the Buddha and the Christ in such a simple, open and accessible fashion.

And it gave me the strength to continue to deal with the residual effects of the bird mites that continue to lay eggs, and which are not responding very well to the medications to eliminate them. It would be very easy for me to understand how such an illness would cause someone to “go crazy” or become suicidal. Insurance refuses to pay for the medications that will eradicate this, and won’t pay for return visits to the emergency room. So this has frankly created the worst hardship we could imagine financially, and one which we wouldn’t even have been able to consider were it not for the assistance of loved ones and students. But even with that, I cannot begin to consider buying the newer medication, because spending $80 on something that may or may not work is out of the question.

So how am I coping? By letting my focus be on those who are suffering… really suffering. By going down to the parks and spending time just being present to those who have no one to talk to.

A sincere and dedicated monastic doesn’t wallow in self- pity. He or she doesn’t blame others for the conditions he experiences. And he certainly doesn’t take advantage of his position to demean others by brow-beating or playing the martyr. He or she simply opens his arms and his heart and gives, with no expectation of receiving anything in return.

He recognises that he is Pure Awareness and that the moment is filled with love.

And life continues, in spite of the pain, the hardships and the challenges. Because tomorrow is always another day!

If we’re serious about cultivating compassion, we have to begin by “practicing the presence”… really learning to give our full attention to the other person in that moment, and recognising that they are a mirror of something deep within us that needs healing or acknowledgement.

The entire purpose of our spiritual practice is to develop mindfulness and to generate compassion. These give rise to wisdom and awakening. If our sadhana is not filled with awareness of the immense suffering in the world… if we are not aware that children are going to dying of hunger and disease… that animals are being tortured and slaughtered for selfish consumption… that people are being marginalised, disparaged and attacked… then our practice is without merit. Spiritual practice is the practice of mindfulness and engaged awareness. If mindfulness and compassion are not part of the practice, then it is escapism and egotism. It is showmanship and puffery.

The following video includes some of the insightful observations of Eckhart Tolle, and I think complements this concept nicely.

The Bauls were to India what Francis d’Assisi was to Umbria. They danced and sang joyful bhajans, mystic chants and love songs. They were neither Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh nor followers of the Abrahamic religions. Their path was like that we call the yeshe chölwa – feral wisdom tradition.

The Bauls had no religious institutions, no scriptures, no temples, mosques or churches, no holy mandirs or stupas. They were mendicants, without homes or personal property. They took with them a simple zen (shawl or blanket), a kettle drum and their wisdom. Nothing more.

They believed their enrapt dancing removed the blockages created by the ego-mind, the monkey-mind as Buddha called it. Their lives were fluid, unstructured and unobstructed.

The world has known this kind of mad poet in every culture. And most cultures no longer welcome such feral wisdom, such profound and unconventional mysticism… such troubadours of love.

Those of us on the feral wisdom path of the Dharma of Compassion are akin to the Bauls, to Francis d’Assisi and Neem Karoli Baba… to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati and Krsnamurti. We dance with the Great Buddha Avalokitesvara, and with Siva… we sing songs of love and devotion to Kali, Tara and the Christokos. We journey alongside Milarepa, Ramprasad and Mary Magdalen, and call our Beloved Teachers Krsna, Christ and Tsongkhapa. And our dance calls forth the Protectors and Removers of Obstacles, Ganesa, Dorje Setrap Chen, Dorje Shugden and Hanumanji.

We are beloved and reviled. Respected and held with disdain. None of it is ours… and so none of it matters.

We sing the soundtrack of our lives, and fill each minute with what we are… LOVE. Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes of LOVE.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

Copyright ©2010, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

The Contemplative Order of Compassion draws deeply from the Tibetan Buddhist path of transformation, which transforms negative emotions into positive, enlightened ones. Likewise, drawing on the wisdom of Kali Natha Yoga, ours is a tradition we consider to be “yeshe chölwa”, or “feral wisdom”, as well as being what is called a “wrathful practice”.

The Tibetan term, yeshe chölwa, which is frequently translated in the West as “crazy wisdom”, refers to the more fluid, organic upayayana school of Buddhist Dharma, whose most respected teachers include such teachers as Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati (Tenzin Yangchen Ma), Ani Pema Chodron, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

The feral wisdom tradition and its wrathful practice is not well suited to those who lack the spiritual maturity or commitment to the Dharma to be willing to make their spiritual practice the singularly most important aspect of their lives, under the close supervision of a lama. And it should not be undertaken by those whose personal and psychological constitution is needy, or severely unbalanced. This practice is demanding and comes with a steep price.

The benefit of the tantric approach is best understood as one in which we wait and observe as negative emotions, delusions and fears to arise (often at the instigation of the guru), and then skilfully, under the guidance of our qualified teacher, use skilful means to transform the negativity into tools for awakening.

There was no one I have ever met, who was more skilful at this than Tenzin Yangchen Ma. To the ignorant, she appeared to be “a bully”, yet for those who longed to sit at her feet, we recognised the Wrathful Mother, weilding her sword, and draining us of the encumbrance of the ego and delusion.

Central to our practice is working with a wrathful yidam — a visualised deity who is enraged or wrathful. Destruction is considered to be one of the four functions of a Buddha, and the wrathful practice gives you the clarity of mind to recognise what must be destroyed.

We do not actually (personally) become the enlightened yidam deity, but instead become the “observer” of the perceived yidam (“awareness-being”) occurring.

Again, to the casual observer, this wrathful approach might seem unsettling. Such persons often fall into the dangerous trap of judging teachers based on their notions of “holiness”. When Bodhidharma, who developed the Zen yana, was asked by the Chinese emperor about the importance and place of holiness, he responded, “No holiness… VASTNESS!” What Bodhidharma understood was the vastness of nonduality, where purity and impurity are equally meaningless.

That is why there will always be those who “disapprove” of my use of language, and whose own delusions influence their perceptions so much so that they imagine their teachers to be bullies and “mean-spirited”.

All reality is primordially pure, because nothing has ever been “impure”. We only perceive “impurity”, which is a construct of the dualistic mind. In Dzogchen, we speak of “kadag” — the primordial purity — which allows us to observe all phenomena with a neutral mind (trek-chod).

Generally speaking, a Sutrayana teacher is expected to convey the conceptual material of the scriptures to the student, much like a college professor does with science or mathematics, and is expected to be “nice” to his or her students. For this reason, there is little meaningful connection between the teacher and student. This is not the case in the Vajrayana tradition.

It would be inappropriate and confusing for me to try to explain the roles of Outer, Inner and Secret Tantra, as related to the relationship between teacher and student.

The student need not concern themselves with the workings of the guru, using esoteric practices, on their behalf. This is what is called Outer Tantra. It is when we begin to rely on the guru for instructional guidance, which, unlike Sutrayana instruction, is often non-conceptual, and more intimate transmission, which we refer to as Inner Tantra.

And this relationship is a very personal, very individualised, and as I said, very intimate relationship. If a student lacks confidence in their guru, or allows their delusional mind, their arrogance, neediness and drama-addiction to conjur up perceptions of all that is “wrong” with their guru, then their practice and progress (in this life and the next) is seriously endangered.

Once you have taken refuge with a Vajrayana master, they become the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha for you. Therefore, to fuck up that relationship, or to turn one’s back on it, like a temperamental child, because you did not get your way, or because the guru pushed your buttons, and caused you to look as some things that were perhaps “unpleasant”, you are turning your back on the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

No matter how much you try to convince yourself and others that this is not the case, and whether you want to believe it or not, this is what you have done. That is why every student is required to study the Lam Rim before taking samaya commitments/vows.

For our community, this is done through the primary monastic preparation course, and relies on using Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s book, Modern Buddhism; while the second course relies almost entirely on Geshe-la’s Meditation Handbook, and Je Pabongkha’s “Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand”.

For twenty-nine years, I have accepted students, who wished to have me as their primary teacher. I do not ever invite a student to make me their teacher. They always initiate the relationship. Once that commitment is made, it is a relationship that cannot be broken. The student, in their ignorance, may choose to turn his or her back on the teacher, but the teacher never turns his or her back on the student. It is the darkness of the student’s delusional mind that creates the illusion of separation. In the simplest of terms, when a student does so, their mind is diseased.

I don’t take hostages in life or in the Dharma. If someone does not wish to honour their commitments, it will affect their life and their future lives. They will not take higher birth. They can pretend to become solitary practitioners, but what they will actually be practicing, will be their own delusion and ignorance, not Buddhism. You can teach a parrot to repeat mantras, but that doesn’t mean the parrot is practicing Buddhism.

This is an important aspect of the teaching, because we are constantly being approached by those who wish to study Buddhism, or who wish to become part of our tradition and intentional community. It is essential for them to not enter into this relationship without giving it proper consideration, so that when they make their commitments, they are maturely prepared to live up to them.

Have I made mistakes in allowing certain individuals, particularly in recent years, to take vows? Yes. I believe I have. I can only take people on their word, and if they are lying and copying the responses of others, then putting on airs to appear to be ready, when they secretly harbour disparaging thoughts of the guru, then a teacher may be fooled into accepting someone who does not deserve to be part of the teaching.

I am sincerely sorry to not have been more skilful in recognising such duplicity. But I can be certain that these mistakes will have informed my experience now, so that I am better equipped to recognise that kind of behaviour in the future.

It cannot be denied that the experience of doing what I jave done for three decades within the confines of a traditional monastic community has been greatly challenged by the obstacles and demands of trying to adapt that experience to a non-traditional setting. Within the monastery, I could see the behaviours that would alert me to such lies and agendas. I could see the signs of spiritual and emotional immaturity quickly. Now we must cultivate new skills to be able to do this when students might live 100 or 5000 miles away.

As Rumi said, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”

ct Lama Yeshe, or Robert Danza Sensei, to refrain from challenging me on my shit, when necessary.

Then she decided to announce to the Sangha, without taking the mature and rational steps of first discussing her condition with any of the senior monks, or most especially, with her guru, that she was “hanging up her robes” and going to practice without a teacher. Like a two year-old, who screams and throws a tantrum, when she’s not being given enough attention, and when she’s not getting her way, this former practitioner quickly descended that slippery slope of broken samaya.

Samayas or commitments are essential in that they aid the practitioner in refraining from mistakes which, if engaged in, would damage his or her practice and thus counteract progress on the path.

When a student is intitiated (called the abhiśeka ceremony) they create (through vows) a bond between the guru and themselves.

There are fourteen root downfalls, which constitute the breaking of samaya — a karmically dangerous and serious offense, which jeopardises and can illegitimise one’s entire Dharma practice.

These vows pertain specifically to the anuttarayoga tantra class of practices; they are incurred after one has received an abhiṣeka into that class of practices. The fourteen vows described by Sakya Pandita, as elucidated by Shamar Rinpoche,[5] are transgressed by the following fourteen root downfalls:

1. Physically harming or slandering the teacher from whom one received the abhiśeka – The following conditions must be present for the samaya to be broken: one must be fully aware of one’s actions and intend them, be aware that they will displease the teacher, and fail to regret them. With intention but no follow-through, only a breach is committed. Further, the severity of the breach is considered small, average or great depending on whether or not the student has received abhiṣeka, explanations and pith instructions—if just the former it is small, if the first two it is average, and if all three it is great.

2. Opposing the words of the buddhas – Denigrating Buddhist teachings.

3. Strong negative emotions towards one’s vajra brothers and sisters – Becoming strongly hostile towards men and women who have received abhiśeka from the same teachers as oneself.

4. Abandoning loving kindness and compassion for sentient beings.

5. Abandoning the bodhichitta in aspiration or application.

6. Criticising other Buddhist traditions.

7. Revealing secrets to those who are unworthy. “If one describes the meaning of great bliss as taught in Vajrayana to individuals who do not possess the required educational background, they might misunderstand and abuse these teachings.”

8. Mistreating one’s body. “The human body is the support for dharma practice, the basis upon which realization of the two buddhakayas is attained. With respect to Vajrayana the human body is considered to be an important instrument on the path. Therefore exposing the body to extreme conditions such as whipping, burning or destroying it by suicide, contributes to the breaking of the samaya.” The human body is the support for dharma practice, the basis upon which realisation of the two buddhakayas is attained. With respect to Vajrayana the human body is considered to be an important instrument on the path. For example, if a student is hospitalised for a medical condition, and learns that disgusting personal habits, such as smoking, overeating, or not properly caring for one’s body, will make the condition worse; if they do not correct those habituations, they are guilty of this downfall.

9. Abandoning emptiness.

10. Keeping bad company. Associating with samaya corrupters.

11. Failing to reflect on emptiness.

12. Upsetting those who have faith in the teachings.

13. Failing to observe the samaya commitments.

14. Denigrating women. Shamar Rinpoche writes, “Within Vajrayana women are considered to be the embodiment of wisdom. Regarding women as inferior or abusing them as witnessed in certain cultures, contributes to the breaking of the samaya.”

Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche comments on the Lamrim Yeshe Ningpo that samaya is established by taking abhiṣeka and samaya is the manner in which practitioners “preserve the life-force of that empowerment within your being”. Breaking these commitments, removes all benefits of one’s Dharma practice. As Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche teaches, “the most egregious root samaya to violate is the commitment to one’s guru.”

According to Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, there are four increasing stages in which one’s samaya may be damaged: “infraction, breach, violation, and complete break”. Once damaged, samaya may be repaired. But if it is left without repair for more than three years, it is irreparable.

Samaya is easily damaged. Patrul Rinpoche said it is very hard to maintain samaya, and used a famous metaphor that maintaining samaya is like keeping a mirror or tile clean that is lifted up into a sand storm; dust settles on it as soon as it is clean and we must continuously clean it. To repair samaya, a practitioner may restore mindfulness and awareness of sacred view; confess the violation to another practitioner that holds samaya;recite the one hundred syllable mantra (Vajrasattva mantra); or use other methods determined by their guru. They must then take the steps to restore those commitments, and return to the lotus feet of their guru. If they refuse, then they will suffer the karmic consequences of their actions.

For those whose spiritual maturity is severely lacking, and who after breaking samaya with their guru, claim to be returning to a “solitary practice”, unguided by a qualified teacher, the danger of breaking samaya is exponentially increased, because such practitioners, without a qualified teacher, are enrapt in nothing more than the egocentric appearance of being “devout and holy practitioners,” while in reality, their own arrogance, immaturity, and excuses have been used to justify disgracing their commitments, turning their back on their teacher, who is the embodiment of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Therefore, no matter what they would like to pretend, they have turned their back on the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, the moment they broke samaya.

It should be noted that simply disagreeing with one’s teacher is not breaking samaya. Even if one’s actions are in discord with a teacher’s instructions, for example, if a morbidly obese student wishes to pretend that they are just “overweight”, this does not jeopardise their practice, it simply means they are in denial and refuse to accept simple medical facts. No samaya is broken, since this is just a sign of psychological weakness and ignorance.

Samaya is broken when the following conditions are present:

• one is fully aware of a lama to be his or her guru and consciously physically or verbally harms this person,
• awareness that ones actions will displease the guru,
• feeling no regret after having harmed the guru.

His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche offers key insights on why this breaking of samaya is dangerous:

Teacher samaya is very special to me. Good relations and good samaya with one’s guru can never be overstressed in our growth for spiritual practices. If we don’t keep good relations with our guru, then our mind will degenerate. How does it degenerate? We find samsaric activities more and more ‘pleasurable’. We find our daily routine activities ’safe’. We are able to find more and more excuses for ourselves to justify and do our best to convince others that we are fine, we will do Dharma later or that we are doing the ‘best’ we can now. In fact, people can see through our excuses. But they are too polite to say more…

But in actuality we are drifting further and farther away from our practice, Dharma thoughts, Dharma activities and especially Dharma growth within our mindstream. Sometimes we are able to see the degeneration happen, but due to broken unrepaired samaya, we do nothing about it even though we see it. Conviction in Dharma that was very strong before becomes intellectual knowledge used to ‘debate’ with others to protect our degenerated position.

When our samaya further degenerates then we start developing wrong view of our teacher even though our teacher may have been very helpful and beneficial in our lives in the past.

When our samaya further degenerates then we start developing wrong view of our teacher even though our teacher may have been very helpful and beneficial in our lives in the past. In some cases the teacher has saved our livelihood, lives and even sanity. We start to have a mental and physical distance. Why? Outwardly it is to show that ‘I am not happy’ with our teacher, but inwardly we know that we have degenerated and we are angry and ashamed to face our teacher and other students. It is hard to face the cold hard facts that we know to be true. Blaming other students for our distance is another cover for laziness, jealousy and anger. Why? What Bodhisattva-aspirant hates their perceived enemies? Or blames their enemies?

Seeing our teacher point-blank reminds us of our degeneration. The other students working hard, doing well in their Dharma pursuits and activities reminds us of what we’re supposed to do but are not doing. Therefore we avoid, or go deeper into our so-called beneficial activities in our mundane lives.

In extreme cases, even boiling jealousy may arise when we hear other students are successful in their Dharma work and pursuits. Why would jealousy arise? Because we have used Dharma to feed our ego and to look good. Looking good is to fill a empty void that we feel inside. That empty void exists because there is a gnawing feeling that we have not done something really worthwhile with our lives. This would eat at us. Sometimes in our degenerated state, we wish to teach our teacher a ‘lesson’ or ‘punish’ our teacher for not giving us WHAT WE WANTED; so we stay away or do not cooperate. But the whole point of a teacher is not to give us what we want but what we ACTUALLY NEED. After all, that is why we call it a teacher-disciple relationship.

When we degenerate in our relationship with our teacher, degeneration in our Dharma practice WILL DEFINITELY FOLLOW. It is unfortunately a natural process. Then we are left with just the mundane activities of daily life that we try to seek ‘refuge’ and comfort in. Engaging in familiar mundane activities may temporarily ’soothe’ our mind for the time being, but it deceptively takes a toll on our time that is fast running out. No one lives forever. Not the teacher nor the students. We end up hiding behind our daily mundane activities and cover up by telling people that WE ARE VERY BUSY. But in fact we are no busier than other Dharma students who are doing the same mundane activities we are doing daily COMBINED WITH THEIR DHARMA WORK / PRACTICE simultaneously.

When we degenerate in our relationship with our teacher, degeneration in our Dharma practice WILL DEFINITELY FOLLOW.

I cannot personally help but note that of the three students who have broken samaya with me over the past nineteen years, all three also chose not to practice the Dorje Shugden Dharma Protector sadhana. And the last two, one of whom broke her samaya two weeks after being ordained, and the second, most recent situation, did not perform Guru yoga (Lama chopa). So it’s clear that where this is no desire for one’s practice to be protected, and where one has never truly taken to recognise the fact that their teacher becomes the living expression of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, it is easy to fall into a degenerate practice.

We will continue to offer the merits of our Medicine Buddha Practice today for the mental illness that has caused the downfall of these three former monastics, that they might one day recognise the damage they’ve done to their lives and to their practice, and make proper amends.

Be gentle with yourselves, and know that you are appreciated and loved.

Namasté
khenpo gurudas sunyatananda
_____________________________________________
♥♥ मा मा मा ♥ ♥
Jai Śri Mata Jaya Sati Bhagavati, Santa Maharajni.
♥♥ मा मा मा ♥ ♥
_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Khenpo Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://orderofcompassion.com

Copyright ©2012, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.”

“Dear Khenpo:
I hope I am not out of line for asking, but you said no question was off-bounds, so here goes.  I’ve noticed you seeming to distance yourself from certain individuals and groups with whom you seemed to have worked very closely for some years, from what you said. And as that happens, it seems that the other groups are moving in pretty radically different directions from the tradition you’ve been teaching us. Not that I think their direction is better or worse, it’s just exceedingly more New Age and secular it seems. Could you explain why your focus remains rooted in the religious tradition? Is there a benefit to a more contemplative approach to ho’oponopono and mind control? Thank you and namaste!”

Karen, thank you for a very thoughtful and gentle question. And thank you for showing those who’ve taken a “different” approach the respect they deserve.  In the end, I am not convinced that our approaches are so much what is different, because I know the real people behind the sometimes manufactured personalities, and believe their hearts are on exactly the same page as ours.  And I don’t believe our approach is really religious at all. It is definitely spiritual, and definitely appears to have more structure, substance and continuity than the other approach might have, simply because my approach is based on the teachings I received over a thirty year period of time. Therefore, my path reflects the cumulative wisdom of our tradition

I don’t see myself as having distanced myself from others, because I am still doing exactly what I have been doing all along, and for the past thirty years. Others have chosen to distance themselves from me, and for many reasons, including seeking a more personal expression of their own truth, which may not include the contemplative, Buddhist or Taoist wisdom from which all of my teaching has come. Those individuals have never studied with qualified Dharma teachers, and so they cannot and do not teach the Dharma. What I teach will always be based on a commitment to preserve the Dharma as transmitted through our lineages, so I am not at liberty to simply watch a video or read a book, and then make stuff up that I think might be popular, as a means of gaining the trust and attention of those who could help me advance personally, professionally and financially. I am bound by vows to teach what my teachers taught, and their teachers taught, and so on.

I know it seems unorthodox for someone like me to have been ordained as a Buddhist contemplative, and then to enter a Catholic contemplative religious order, become ordained to the priesthood, elevated to the episcopacy, and then to merge two seemingly incompatible traditions, six years ago, to form what we have today. And we must not ever disparage those who choose not to take this approach, because it is not an easy path, nor a path for the spiritually immature, weak or undisciplined. Therefore, we don’t expect everyone to want to follow us.

Over the years, many have asked why our Sangha chose to merge with the Order of Franciscan Companions of the Immaculata — a contemplative intentional community, which had its origins in the Roman Catholic Church, and which later broke away from the Roman Communion, to become part of the Emergent Sacramental Movement (Old Catholic Mariavite, Jerusalem, Syrian and Mar Thoma Successions).

The truth is that every major spiritual path has a contemplative expression, either as a part of its mainstream or more esoteric traditions. Contemplative spirituality focuses on quieting the mind, so that one can cultivate a personal capacity for deep concentration, mind training and insight. As contemplatives, we learn to bring the various aspects of our lives into focus, which allows us to begin to gain insight into the realisation that we are not our bodies or minds. This organically gives rise to a more compassionate, richer and fuller experience of life.

Our Sangha recognised that the very teachings that I brought to the contemplative monks were teachings that ought to be accessible to all sentient beings, and that the practices of the monks could be integrated into the daily lives of those living outside the monastery or hermitage walls.

And so we became the Contemplative Order of Compassion, merging the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path and the Franciscan Companions of the Immaculata. Our tradition is at once very pragmatic, simple, radical and transformative.

The experiential methods developed within the contemplative traditions of Buddhism, Taoism, Advaita Vedanta, Quaker Universalism, and the Franciscan and Camaldolese traditions within Catholic monasticism, provide us with an unparalleled set of tools, which make exploring the mind, opening our hearts, and serving the world possible.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

♥ मा मा मा ♥

The past few months have been particularly difficult for us, and we are very grateful for those who have assisted us in meeting our monthly operating and living expenses. Please hold us in your thoughts as we strive once again to meet those outstanding bills.

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Khenpo Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project.

Copyright ©2012, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.”

What is the condition of your mind in this moment? Is it somewhat chaotic, frenetic, jumping all over the place? Whenever we experience that sense of confusion and disconnection, we need to recognise that it is not “us” we are observing. It is the ego, or what we more accurately recognise as dualistic and chaotic, erroneous data, playing on the subconscious level. We imagine that because of this seemingly unharmonious data, we are somehow disconnected from our Source… from Inspiration… or what we call “Zeropoint”.

The ego-state is one in which we waste time. We start ‘reinventing the wheel’, investing energy in worry about a non-existent future, or obsessing about a no longer real past. We get caught up in the showmanship that wants others to believe we are somehow “superior” to them, because deep down, we fear that we are terribly inferior to them.

Tenzin Yangchen Ma once taught, “When you realise that the Self is free from impressions of like and dislike, you have no need to criticise anyone.” And that includes yourself!

Through spiritual practice, you learn to recognise that you are not your body or your mind. You are Pure Awareness.

Some people waste most of their lives compromising who they really are, and worrying about getting ahead by making the right “connections”. They are so worried about creating this phoney, puffed-up, and ultimately ingenuine manufactured image that they miss out on the opportunities they might have once had to actually advance their spiritual journey, by studying with those who weren’t afraid to actually do the work.

Their “shortcut” takes them into the world of external solutions, where they have to fabricate stories, and surround themselves with equally unenlightened beings, whose sole pupose is to engage in mutual ego-masturbation.

Don’t waste your time with such people. You’ll recognise them easily enough. They’re usually the ones with the most to say, but whose words seldom say anything. When you remove the psycho-bable, the new age bullshit, and the narcissistic prose from their writing or speech, you’re left with nothing substantial… nothing insightful… nothing remarkable… much like their lives.

Come back to the moment, right here, right now. Engage your spiritual practice. Allow your heart and mind to become still, silent, and calm. If you do this, you will begin to experience a renewed awareness of your natural desire to serve those in need. This is called seva, which is the Sanskrit word for selfless service. Seva is the highest and truest form of bhakti (devotion).

In the two weeks that has passed since my Root Guru shed her mortal coil, entering into mahasamadhi, I’ve recognised this… that the time I am closest to her… when I feel the arms of the guru most tenderly wrapped around her child… is when I am serving others.

I continue to do pujas, and to chant the Maha Mritunjaya (the Tryambakum mantra) three times each day, as part of my normal bhakti practice. And I centre myself throughout the day with multiple periods of mantrayana, including chanting the Name of the Primordial and Archetypal Mother. These practices, however, merely strengthen my mindfulness, making it easier to focus on the ultimate truth… that we are Pure Awareness, and that our ultimate expression of devotion can only be when we are alleviating and eliminating the suffering of others.

Be gentle with yourselves, and know that you are appreciated and loved.

Namasté
khenpo gurudas sunyatananda
_____________________________________________
♥♥ मा मा मा ♥ ♥
Jai Śri Mata Jaya Sati Bhagavati, Santa Maharajni.
♥♥ मा मा मा ♥ ♥
_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Khenpo Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://orderofcompassion.com

Copyright ©2012, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.”

One young man felt compelled to post on Facebook and Twitter, that we could not legitimately claim to teach the Dharma transmitted  by Tenzin Yangchen Ma, because her Order of Dattatreya Saraswati Kali Sanyasin are all celibate, orange-robed monks, who follow the path of Kali Natha Yoga. First, it must be acknowledged that the eighteen men and women who make up the Order of Dattatreya Saraswati Kali sanyasin are a remarkable, dedicated, and very special group of men and women, who lead an interfaith order, dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the work of our Teacher. As renunciates, they have chosen a path that is unique and beautiful in its own way. And there is no question that they are the order Tenzin Yangchen (Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati) started.

The Contemplative Order of Compassion was originally known as the Franciscan Companions of the Immaculata, and was founded by four Franciscan contemplatives, two of whom were also ordained Buddhist practitioners, in 1983,  eight years before I met Ma. By the time I first came to Kashi, exactly twenty-one years to the day before Ma’s Mahasamadhi, I had already been ordained as a Buddhist contemplative for twelve years, and had been a solemnly professed Franciscan for eight years. Our Rule of Life and Constitution were well established. In time, Ma would ask me to send those to her, and she made some recommendations for changes in them, which we voted on and approved as a community. Ma wasn’t trying to turn us into a carbon copy of the Order of Dattatreya Saraswati Kali. Like everything else in life, she embraced the diversity from which our community arose. We were her children, like everyone else.

And so these detractors feel the need to try to make celibacy an issue again. They ignore the simple fact that most spiritual communities mandate celibacy as a practical matter, because it keeps the level of scandal and rumour to a minimum. (And they forget how some of us had tangential associations with many of the most prominent spiritual communities today, and remember the stories of the very early days… after all, I hold a doctorate in theological anthropology, and spent most of the past 20 years studying intentional communities.)

America has been plagued by backward thinking, socially and morally repressed Puritans from the very first invasion of the Native Peoples’ lands. Their shame and self-loathing about sexuality has created a culture of severe psychosis, neurosis and other pathology. And from the start, the Contemplative Order of Compassion has not subscribed to this sick attitude toward sexuality at all.

Human sexuality and sexual expression is natural, healthy and beautiful. Recognising that the leaders of religions almost always attempts to straightjacket the natural expression of sexuality (often while perverting it and turning it into predatory acts themselves), while society and corporations attempt to romanticise and capitalise on it, and that most of us know, at the core of our beings, that it is simply an organic expression of being human; we have chosen not to allow sexuality to be an issue in our lives at all.

While we agree that sex should never be used to manipulate or gain leverage over another… that it ought not ever objectify or abuse another… and that we must not delude ourselves into believing that sex is love, or that sexual expression will lead to ultimate happiness… we also acknowledge that celibacy can become an attachment and cause of spiritual downfall and suffering as well, if it is made to be such an issue.

Both Rav Yeshua and the Buddha Śakyamuni have reminded us that it is not what goes into the mouth, which defiles, but that which comes out of the mouth as hatred, greed, insensitivity, lies, and so forth.

Yes, our ordained contemplatives are free to fuck. Big deal.

I am always deeply amused by students who have sat in my Dharma classes for months, talking about how much they’ve learned, and how much they admire the work I’ve done, etc., until they find out that I have not taken a vow of celibacy, but instead live a vow to live as chaste, which by definition means to be pure in thought, much like the Third Precept (Kamesumichacara), which vows that one avoid and abstain from sexual misconduct (not from sexual expression in general). Suddenly, I am a heretic, a monster, and a “bad monk”. What does the fact that I suck cock or get fucked have to do with whether or not I am able to live and teach the Three Marks of Existence, the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path? Can someone please clue me in? I would suggest that there are a good many celibate ordained monastics who would be much nicer, happier and more effective yogis and lamas if they got laid once in a while! And most of my dearest friends living in monasteries and intentional communities around the world, including every ashram I can think of, would say the same thing (usually not publicly, like I do, but then, I am my Spiritual Mother’s son!)

About a year ago, I sincerely and completely gave up giving a rat’s ass what the detractors had to say. I don’t even worry about the harm they can do to the reputations of our monks and contemplatives, because every one of us are grown-up enough to know that our actions speak louder than their words.  And I will never back down when someone shows disrespect for my Teachers, or for my students. Often, that confrontation leads to them stopping and taking a serious look at their own behaviour, and at times, even leads them to become friends and allies of the movement. I have lived according to the Feral Wisdom tradition for 29 years now, and will never be a conformist, nor what you would call “orthodox”. Don’t like that? Tough shit! I have never asked anyone to become my student. I have never insisted that someone call me their guru. Those who sit at my feet do so because they want to be there. We take no hostages, but we will always encourage those who might even only be within earshot to do what they can to alleviate suffering. Because we believe there are no throw-away people, we are compelled to be the voices of those who cannot speak for themselves. So yes, we will challenge everyone to step up and get off their lazy, apathetic and pious asses, and actually do something to manifest the Divine Love in the world.

You see, for us, this isn’t about boosting our egos, sitting around at the local psychic fair and blowing ego-inflating smoke up one another’s asses, to compensate for our lack of real spiritual and personal integrity. It’s about transforming people’s lives. I don’t care if anyone likes me. It’s not about me, so that doesn’t matter. I would be fine, if someone walked away from one of my classes, and said, “That Khenpo Gurudas is an asshole, and I will never go back to hear him again,” so long as the next time they passed a homeless person, something within them suddenly knew they could not walk by without doing whatever they could to help.

This is not a teaching for the Needy McNuggets – those who feel compelled to respond to anyone else’s problem with a story of their own bigger problem… who feel wounded if they don’t have 100% of the guru’s attention every day… who imagine it’s always all about them… or who expect attention at every turn. I’m not a spiritual babysitter. Every person I have accepted as a student was accepted because they possess the potential to transcend their experiences and transform their worlds.

Albert Camus once noted that where there is true integrity, there is no need for rules, and that is one of the existentialist ideas upon which our community was built. Often, I seem to misspeak, when I talk about the sadhanas of our Order. It would be more accurate to reflect that my daily sadhana is a reflection of the sadhana of the original members of the community. As a living and dynamic spiritual community, which truly embraces a post-denominational approach to the Dharma of Compassion, no two contemplatives share the same exact spiritual practices, routine or tradition. Some are Tibetan Buddhists, others are Zen Buddhist, still others are Vaiśnava, Wiccan, Quaker, Catholic, Anglican, Native American, Taoist or Jewish. What draws us together is the Dharma. Some believe in gods, others see them as metaphor and mythos. Each respects the others’ rights to interpret religion through their own unique lens and perspective. None of us are required to believe to do anything other than stand up for social justice, defend those who are oppressed and alleviate suffering in the world.

For those who wish to understand what I mean about finding your True Spiritual Path and being authentic to it, I offer this meditation my Beloved Guru once led us through near the end of an Intensive at Kashi:

Imagine your heart space opening into a beautiful red lotus…
From the centre of this lotus comes a crimson child.
Bring this child out of your body and imagine him or her floating above your head, at the centre known as the Chiticaś – the heart space over the head. And when grief strikes, when you begin to be swallowed by sorrow or self-indulgence, when you go out and serve like we do in the streets, to be able to do this kind of work, we go into this space. It’s not an escape, but a place of subtle discrimination. It is the place of detachment.
Picture yourself, as this crimson child, with the sun in your hands, raised to the level of your chest, and with your feet firmly planted on the moon below you.

Each of us must find this Crimson Child within us, born of the Mother, radiating the Light of the Sun. The Crimson Child represents the time in our lives, perhaps many lifetimes ago, when our energies were whole and balanced, and our hearts were untroubled by the duplicity and delusions of samsara.  And when we begin to do this visualisation, over time, we come to know… to feel with more than our six senses… that a certain spiritual path is where we belong in this moment. We take care not to become too attached, because we know it only what is right in this moment. And so rather than spending our time and energy worrying about finding the perfect path for the next 10 or 20 or 50 years, we return to the moment, follow the breath, and use our time to alleviate suffering.

That is our path. It is the message of our Gurus and their Gurus before them. It is the story and purpose of our lineage.

If it resonates with you, you are welcome here. If not, you are welcome to leave. Either way, it’s none of my business.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

♥ मा मा मा ♥

The past few months have been particularly difficult for us, and we are very grateful for those who have assisted us in meeting our monthly operating and living expenses. Please hold us in your thoughts as we strive once again to meet those outstanding bills.

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Khenpo Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project.

Copyright ©2012, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.”