A prayer for happiness

My all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings never be separated from the happiness free from suffering.
May all beings have equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.

Overcoming Death Mandala

from "the art of asia," minneapolis institute of arts:

Yamantaka Mandala (Overcoming Death Mandala)

A mandala, or circle, is a representation of the Buddhist universe. These cosmograms represent in symbolic color, line, and geometric forms, all realms of existence and are used in Tantric meditation and initiation rites. The creation of a mandala, considered a consecrated area, is believed to benefit all beings.

This is the Yamantaka mandala, a cosmic blueprint of the celestial palace of the deity Yamantaka, Conqueror of Death, who is represented at the center by the blue vajra, or thunderbolt. It consists of a series of concentric bands, the outermost representing eight burial grounds with a recognizable landscape and animals symbolizing our earthly plane of existence. Moving inward are a circle of flames, a circle of vajras, and a circle of lotus petals. These bands circumscribe a quadrangle with gates at the four compass points, suggesting the realm of form without desire. The innermost square is divided into triangular quadrants, and an inner circle is subdivided into nine units containing symbols representing various deities. This is the realm of absolute formlessness and perfect bliss. In the four outside corners are the attributes of the five senses (smell, sight, sound, taste, and touch), reminders of the illusory nature of our perceived reality.

All mandalas represent an invitation to enter the Buddha's awakened mind. Tibetan Buddhists believe there is a seed of enlightenment in each person's mind; this is uncovered by visualizing and contemplating a mandala. The complex symbols and exquisite combination of primary colors are considered a pure expression of the principles of wisdom and compassion that underlie Tantric Buddhist philosophy.

This mandala was created to honor the 1.2 million Tibetans who have lost their lives to political/religious persecution during this century.

The museum thanks the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota for bringing the Gyoto monks to Minnesota and for their efforts to preserve Tibetan cultural traditions.

What is a Seraph?

The following is a mash-up of information I found on the internet:

A seraph (plural, seraphim) is one of a class of divine creatures or celestial beings. The root word comes either from the Hebrew verb saraph ("to burn") or the Hebrew noun saraph ("a fiery flying serpent"). The term saraph appears several times in the Old Testament, with reference to the serpents encountered in the wilderness. It has often been understood to refer to "fiery serpents." From this it has also often been proposed that the seraphim were serpentine in form and in some sense "fiery" creatures or associated with fire.

Seraphim are described as very tall, generally having the figures of men, with six wings and four heads (one for each of the cardinal directions). One pair of wings are for flying, one for covering their eyes (for even they may not look directly at God), and one for covering their feet.

Seraphim serve and are in the direct presence of God. It is said that whoever lays eyes on a seraph would be instantly incinerated due to their immense brightness. [Do you remember the final scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in which the Nazis were consumed by fire? They foolishly dared to look at the seraphim protecting the Ark of the Covenant.]

Later Jewish imagery perceived seraphim as having human form, and in that way they passed into the ranks of Christian angels. In the Christian angelic hierarchy, seraphim represent the highest rank of angels.

King James Bible, Isaiah 6: 1-2 "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly."

The Mandala of Seven Seraphim

The Bodhisattva Mañjushrî

Mañjushrî is an ancient Buddha who vowed to emanate throughout the universe as the always youthful, princely Bodhisattva of Transcendent Wisdom. His special purpose is to lead the audiences of the Buddha in the inquiry into the self, to discover the true nature of reality. He is usually depicted holding the text of the Transcendent Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) Sutra in his left hand and the double-edged sword of analytic discrimination, which cuts through all delusions, in his right.

Mañjushrî raises his hands in front of his heart in the teaching gesture. He sits comfortable in the pose of ease atop an ornate lotus pedestal whose base is decorated with winding vines and cavorting lions, probably a reference to the lion mount he sometimes rides.

Mañjushrî carries with his right hand the double edged sword able to cut through illusion and with his left hand a blooming lotus that supports a volume of the Prajnaparamita Sutra. He is depicted as a youth of sixteen years in order to convey the Buddhist insight that wisdom is not a matter of mere experience or years, but results from the cultivation of intellectual genius, which can penetrate directly to the bedrock of reality.

Wisdom is considered the most honoured virtue in Buddhism, called the Mother of all Buddhas, since only wisdom makes possible the great bliss of total freedom from all suffering that is the goal all living beings. Thus, Mañjushrî is one of the most important of all Buddhist deities.

Manjushri's mantra:
Om A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhih

This mantra has absolutely no conceptual meaning. The syllables are the first syllables of each line of the Avatamsaka Sutra, which is a text concerned with the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñaparamita).

Pronunciation notes:
a is pronounced as u in cut
c is like ch in church
ii is like ee in bee
The final h in dhiih has the effect of producing an echo sound. So the syllable is pronounced dhii-hii.

Seeing Paramahansa Yogananda on film

this is a silent film


this is a talking film
Self Realization Fellowship

A disciple of Yogananda keeps it simple

Center for the Study of Awareness