The Brothers Crazy-mazov

William Butler Yeats I
and Yeats II


⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ezra Pound I
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀and Pound II









"In 1913, Yeats met the young American poet Ezra Pound. Pound had traveled to London at least partly to meet the older man, whom he considered "the only poet worthy of serious study". From that year until 1916, the two men wintered in the Stone Cottage at Ashdown Forest, with Pound nominally acting as Yeats' secretary. The relationship got off to a rocky start when Pound arranged for the publication in the magazine Poetry of some of Yeats' verse with Pound's own unauthorised alterations. These changes reflected Pound's distaste for Victorian prosody. In particular, the scholarship on Japanese Noh plays that Pound had obtained from Ernest Fenollosa's widow provided Yeats with a model for the aristocratic drama he intended to write. The first of his plays modeled on Noh was At the Hawk's Well, the first draft of which he dictated to Pound in January 1916."

-- from Wikipedia


I can't imagine two crazy-er people than W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound. Imagine them working together for several years! I have to find out more about this (i.e., reading books instead of the internet). So much for meticulous research.


Pound (second from left) and Yeats (third from left).

"the 'certain' Lama"

Khandro Déchen and Ngak'chang Rinpoche
Monterey, California, 1994

"the 'certain' Lama", a transcript of teachings on the five certainties, apprentice retreat – the 19th of March, 1993
by Ngak’chang Rinpoche



The Aro gTér Lineage
The Aro gTér is a stream of Vajrayana Buddhism in which ordination is congruous with romance, marriage, and family life. It focuses on the teaching and practice of the Inner Tantras from the point of view of Dzogchen, an essential non-dual teaching.

Platonic solid fractals and their complements

From the faces of its bounded three-dimensions, this fractal reduces itself infinitely towards an infinite number of empty "centers" contained within this finite three-dimensional space.From the "center" of the boundaries of this finite three-dimensional cube, this fractal expands itself infinitely towards the cube's faces without ever fully reaching them.


Go here for more information.



Here is a paradox. Mathematically speaking, these two infinite fractals can reside in each other, occupying the same three-dimensional space, without any space remaining between them, without any overlap or intersection between them, and without any modification to their shapes.

The yellow fractal reduces infinitely. The blue fractal expands infinitely. Yet the sum of these two infinite fractals is a completely solid, finitely bounded cube!

Finity and infinity are one, residing perfectly in each other.

Fractals

Go here to learn about fractals.


By the expression of a simple mathematical formula, a two-dimensional "fractal" is created. This fractal infinitely and indefinitely contracts and expands in an exactly repetitive manner to approximately "reach" an infinite and indefinite number of "emptinesses." The only differences in this fractal are in it sizes of scale, which expand and reduce without end.

Hyperbolic Orthogonal Dodecahedral Honeycomb

Bincuntracated Cubic Tiling

Fourth-Dimensional Hypercube

This is what a fourth-dimensional hypercube looks like as visualized from a three-dimensional perspective.

Hypercubes in other dimensions

The Platonic Solids

The Platonic Solids

Tetrahedron


The exact projection of a Tetrahedron onto a sphere




Hexadron (Cube)


The exact projection of a Hexahedron (Cube) onto a sphere



Octahedron


The exact projection of a Octahedron onto a sphere




Icosahedron


The exact projection of a Icosahedron onto a sphere




Dodecahedredon


The exact projection of a Dodecahedron onto a sphere


Higher Dimensions of the Platonic Solids
In the mid-19th century the Swiss mathematician Ludwig Schläfli discovered the four-dimensional analogues of the Platonic solids, called convex regular 4-polytopes. There are exactly six of these figures; five are analogous to the Platonic solids, while the sixth one, the 24-cell, has no lower-dimensional analogue.

In dimensions higher than four, there are only three convex regular polytopes: the simplex, the hypercube, and the cross-polytope. In three dimensions, these coincide with the tetrahedron, the cube, and the octahedron.

It's not about others

It is not the shortcomings of others, nor what others have done or not done that one should think about, but what one has done or not done oneself.
The Dhammapada, Verse 50

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

In Search of the Garudas

This is a traditional Tibetan image of the Red Garuda.

This description of garudas follows from the The Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism page:

"The Garuda is daring and fearless and abides in the north. With great strength and power it soars beyond without holding back. It symbolizes freedom from hopes and fears, the vast mind without reference point. It is a powerful antidote to the negative influences of Nagas (spirits) which can cause disease and all kinds of harm."


Ogyen (Green) Garuda.
This is a description of the Green Garduda (Ogyen Garuda):

"Ogyen Garuda is Padmakara in the form of the immense space eagle who is born fully enlightened and in full flight. His furious gaze burns away the fabric of duality for all beings, conditions, and situations. His brilliant blue complexion reflects his spacious intelligence and the vast expanse of Dharmata. His hair is a roaring mass of wisdom-fire, which scorches the perceptual distortions of monism, dualism, nihilism, and eternalism. His two meteorite iron horns impale the deluded division of samsara and nirvana. His golden razor beak bites through every dualistic contrivance, and his two wings bear him beyond the limited spaces of existence and non-existence. The nine-fold pinions of his razor wings liberate beings in the temporal spaces of the nine bardos. He wears the human bone ornaments which display the spatial essence of the six classes of Vajrayana. At the centre of his chest ornament is the luminous green 'Trom' which illuminates the universe and makes total collision with reality inescapable.

In each hand he holds a nine-pronged meteorite iron phurba. These two phurbas liberate the potential of the solar and lunar channels and overpower all apparent phenomena in empty rage. With his two phurbas he stabs attraction, aversion, and indifference as they pertain to clinging either to samsara or nirvana. In each claw he holds a nine-pronged beryllium copper grigug. These two grigugs slash the fabric of dualistic clinging in every dimension of existence simultaneously -- without need of moving from the vast single point of awareness."

The Dark Blue Garuda.

Garudas are terrifying

The Garuda is the traditional mount of Lord Vishnu.

Garudas in Hinduism and Buddhism

"Garuda" in Wikipedia

Define "Judgment"

This is a post from my tribes friend Viveka.

Om jai Kindred Spirit… jai onto all

It is only by entering the darkness that one becomes fully enlightened; realizing we are the light we seek, and remembering that we really never left our humble abode beloved of Eternal Truth and Perfect Love behind.

Eternal Truth & Perfect Love is who we really are without the clothing of Maya.

If defining and judging the reality we see around us, helps us to remember Spirit, and moves us closer to the goal of Truth one seeks… We can say we are in Truth, we abide in the light, and it is good karma… If defining and judging the reality we see around us, moves away from the goal of Truth one seeks and, causes us to forget our divinity… We are not in Truth; we abide in darkness, and this is bad karma.

Bad karma leads to pain and suffering, and good karma leads to the eternal bliss of wellbeing. There is a time and a moment for everything within Maya. Maya is the seeming wondrous illusion of separation in beautiful yin/yang balance that helps us remember what we have forgotten. While we are clothed in Maya, with our costumes of name and form; we must explore both good and bad karma to fully understand the nature Eternal Truth & Perfect Love. We need both good & bad, light & darkness, hot & cold, so as to compare one with another to understand the nature both. Good and bad are two sides of the same coin. What gives value to a coin is the metal between the two sides, and so it is with the pair of opposites in yin & yang balance… The nature of Eternal Truth is found in that eternal moment between tick & tock, and the balance of yin & yang.

When we enter the darkness we forget.
We forget in order to sing God’s glory in the remembering.
We forget in order to honor the source of our being, through the cosmic karmic journey of awakening we are all on, transforming the darkness back into light.

When we move away from our center of truth, it is best to abide in seeming dark silence not judging the world around us, so that we find our center of truth, and better see where we are going with the singular vision of wisdom found in our heart… When we are centered in Truth within our heart, then it is time to open our eyes and express our divinity in all we do, as we explore and define the reality of Maya through the filter of viveka, honoring the source of our being.

We are the light; we are the seeming fragmented light that has entered the darkness to bring light to where light seems not to be; we come as an act of the highest devotion in motion honoring the source of our being.

It is most wonderful and beautiful how we are all expressing the same Eternal Truth from different points of view and in a different light, but the essence of the Eternal Truth we speak of, remains the same, unchanged and eternal.

JAI TO ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL LIGHTS, EXPRESSING ETERNAL TRUTH & PERFECT LOVE IN YOUR OWN UNIQUE WAYS!!! Thank you, for the wonderful contrast and beautiful colors that your individual and unique journeys of transformation add to our costume of Maya; which moves the heart to live life to the fullest.

Om shanti shanti shanti…

The Vedanta Society of Southern California