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Dear Dao Bums, Here's my experience with Tulku Lobsang (known for doing Tummo in -5 degrees celsius on "Story of God With Morgan Freeman" on NGC). I'll share in 4 parts: 1) Intro and Background 2) Medicine Buddha 3) Dream Yoga 4) Wrap Up - To Be Continued 1) Intro and Background I heard about Tummo when I was a child from my dad. He learnt about yoga on a hippie island camp full of naked women burning bras when he was a child, forced to go with my hippie grandmother in the 60s. He had a life changing experience as a child with yoga and mantras, while on this naked women camp. So in his late teens when small yoga and meditation workshops started in the West, he started attending. Buddhism was super famous in my country on the spiritual scene, as it still is in much of Europe with the New Age crowd I would say. While I grew up, my dad told me of naked monks in the snow-clad Himalayas drying wet sheets with their body temperature through magical yoga practices. So now the family saga continues; as an adult, I've also pursued further what my dad exposed me to as a child. This time, I saw Tulku Lobsang with Morgan Freeman. Being able to be comfortable in a t-shirt in -5 degrees on television I took as a "good enough" show of Tummo skill, that maybe I could finally pursue this magical practice myself. However, I still had some doubts. So, when I saw he was coming to my country, I decided to go check him out. If he "checked out" I would be willing to give it a go and fork over my hard earned cash to flight, hotel and the Tummo workshop (when the time comes). With the intro out of the way, let me share how it went! The first day he taught Medicine Buddha. The following 2 days it was one long workshop on Dream Yoga. 2) Medicine Buddha He gave us the mantra and we all chanted together for maybe 5-15 minutes. Then he instructed us step-by-step in the visualisation. After having stabilised the visualisation, we resumed chanting together (we were maybe 20-30 people). During his transmission, I felt a special kind of energy coming into my head center. I felt like it made it easier for me to visualise. I also felt the energy from each of the lights we visualised in all of my body, and felt pleasantly relaxed. Since this day, I've been doing a minimum of 108 reps of the mantra and then the visualisation meditation procedure he explained. Already on the second day of the practice, it's like the energy had increased in power. Now it's growing day by day with my daily practice. So far so good! He's definitely legit. 3) Dream Yoga My dad took me to a dream yoga weekend workshop when I was about 18-19 years old with a Rinpoche visiting my country. I thought the whole idea of lucid dreams and using them for spiritual practice was extremely fascinating, and even at that young age I practiced quite consistently for about 3 months (while also reading his book). However, I had no results whatsoever. Then again when I was in my mid 20s, I picked up the book again and decided to give it a go. I practiced again for about 2 months, but zero results. In my late 20s, I again read yet another book by a tibetan teacher on dream yoga. I tried it again. No results after 1 month. All of the above practices were the usual "visualise a red drop in your throat chakra, surrounded by a white lotus flower with 4 leaves". In this book there was also a tibetan letter on each leaf, and you said them one by one as a kind of mantra for a while, then proceeded to only visualise until falling asleep. However, at the end of this particular book was also a shamanistic bön practice for lucid dreaming. After 1 month of failing with the vajrayana buddhist practice, I tried the shamanic practice. After about 7-14 days, it happened! I was super excited. Then it would happen every single day like clockwork for about a week. However, with each day I felt like I got more and more tired. Like I used up energy while sleeping, instead of regaining it. I remembered a warning from a daoist qigong teacher who had (as usually) dissed buddhist practices, especially their dream practices. He said "night is for sleeping and resting, that's what nature intended". So I thought maybe my bön lucid dreaming practice was sapping my energy and discontinued it. Lo and behold, now I'm in my early 30s, and I was faced with yet another tibetan vajrayana buddhist practice of visualising a red drop in my throat. "Here we go again!" I found myself thinking, however I still had an open mind during the workshop. During the workshop I felt Tulku Lobsang transmitted different states as well as different energies. I also found him to be extremely grounded in Being, never losing connection to himself, even if some of the people were weird or asked weird questions etc. He remained in Being, very relaxed, very present and extremely grounded and Embodied. I was quite impressed! However, no succes with lucid dreaming, neither during the nights between the workshop days, nor during the workshops when we actually slept for 10-30 minutes under his guidance and blessing. I really felt he transmitted a lot of energy during these sleeping sessions on the workshop, but still no lucid dreams. However, now after the workshop, I have actually had 3-4 lucid dreams so far using the typical tibetan buddhist vajrayana practice with the red drop! Something that's never worked for me, even though I've tried it on/off since I was 19. So that also tells me that his transmission is legit! 4) Wrap Up - To Be Continued So to wrap up, Tulku Lobsang is legit! He's extremely grounded in Being, in Presence and in his body, and he really does transmit states and energies. There's no more doubt in my mind - I will glady fork over my time and cash to learn Tummo from him when the time comes

Dear Dao Bums, This post is about sexuality and spirituality, and joining these two together (which may mean different things to different people). Three parts: 1) Intro 2) A newfound discovery (link to interesting stories!) 3) Inviting you guys for sharing knowledge, experiences and helping me answer some interesting questions Intro Sexuality and Spirituality has been my own two main interests in my life. This has made me venture into many interesting things, including: Sri Vidya which I've written about here: https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/53122-sri-vidya-yantra-mantra-tantra-mudra-guru-karunamaya/ Genital weightlifting and daoist lovemaking, which I've written about here: https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/52045-my-experience-with-genital-weight-lifting-sexual-qigong-daoist-lovemaking-and-meditation/ https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/52880-healing-in-different-systems/ I feel like I've managed to a certain degree to blend and understand both domains (sexuality and spirituality), but I am still searching, looking, living, exploring and experiencing. Lately I've been very fascinated by the power of ancient Sri Vidya rituals (including mantra, yantra, tantra, mudra and nyasa used in rituals). While researching online, I discovered that Sri Vidya has been kept secret until very recently, where my own Sri Vidya Guru's Guru (my paramguru) made it open to the public. My Sri Vidya Guru is Guru Karunamaya. His Guru is Amritananda Saraswati Natha. Amritananda has build a small place for the practice of Sri Vidya called "DeviPuram" (city of the Goddess). While reading and researching more on my paramguru, I came across this very juicy and very amusing story! 2) A newfound discovery In Devipuram, sex rituals are a very big part of their practice! This really surprised me, as India is known for being extremely conservative. The spiritual abstain from alcohol, meat, sex etc. You can read this very interesting story here: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/05/sex-messiah-the-virginal-monk-adult/ https://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/05/sex-messiah-breaking-the-master-adult/ In short, it's about the son of two western hindu converts, who grew up in a puritan hindu ashram in the US. He was celibate and trained to be a religious leader, however, in his 20s he rebelled and went to India. He came to Devipuram. And was involuntarily immersed in all kinds of sex stuff. You can read his amusing and interesting take on it in the links above. 3) Invitation for you guys' participation and questions 1) Have you been to Devipuram? 2) What was your experience? 3) Do you know anyone who's been there? 4) Do you know where one could obtain the way to conduct "yoni puja"? (worship of the woman's "bab'ul-jannah" or doorway to paradise ;)) 5) Do you know where one could obtain the way to conduct "linga puja"? (worship of the man's lingam or sexual organ) 6) Do you know where one could obtain the way to conduct "maithuna" or ritual lovemaking? After having experienced the power of Sri Vidya rituals and mantras on my life, I would be very interested to give it a go, and try to say these mantras while worshipping the Divine in another's body. It's cool, fun and interesting to sit and worship a turmeric cone or pyramid with water to get money and happiness, or worship a yantra with milk and ghee to heal yourself... but imagine how much fun it would be with your partner It sounds fun and exciting and if it works, even better! I look forward to hearing you guys' reaction to the stories, thoughts on this whole subject, and hopefully some who can share some experiences or point towards manuals explaining the rituals. Be blessed by the Divine!

Dear Dao Bums, What I wanted to share today was my very interesting discovery about the parallels between the TCM and qigong meridian system, and the chakra, nadi and petal system in Yoga and Sri Vidya. The two channels in the agyna chakra: Ksham (क्ष) is the left side of the forehead, it is the left, outermost bladder meridian in TCM. Ham (हं) is the right side of the forehead, it is the right, outermost bladder meridian in TCM. The bladder branches into 2 channels on each side of the spine, i.e. 4 channels in total. An innermost and an outermost on each side of the spine. The four channels in the muladhara chakra: Sam (सं) is the left, lower kidney meridian (i.e. from the muladhara chakra and down to under the foot) Vam (वं) is the right, lower kidney meridian (i.e. from the muladhara chakra and down) Sham( शं) is the upper part of the right kidney meridian (from muladhara chakra and up through the body, through the lung and finally into the brain) Ssam (षं) is the upper part of the left kidney meridian (from muladhara chakra and up) The six channels in the swadistana chakra: Lam (लं) is the left, lower part of the spleen meridian (running from svadistana chakra and down to the big toe) Bam (बं) is the right, lower part of the spleen meridian. Bham (भं) is the right, upper part of the spleen meridian (running from svadistana and up) Mam (मं) is the innermost bladder channel to the right of the spine, running from swadistana chakra and up alonside the spine Yam (यं) is the innermost bladder channel to the left of the spine, running from swadistana chakra and up alonside the spine Ram (रं) is the upper part of the left spleen meridian (from swadistana and up). I can't wait to journey through the rest of the chakras and nadis, and clear the channels even more (nadi shuddhi). I'll keep you posted as I discover more If you'd like to know a bit more about the background, read on: There are mantras for 6 chakras and their individual nadis. There are 2 nadis in the agyna chakra, 4 nadis in the muladhara chakra, 6 in the swadistana, 10 in the manipura, 12 in the anahata, 16 in the vishuddi. That means you need to memorize a total of 50 sanskrit letters and their mantra, which is going to take some time Saying the sound of the sanskrit letter in the "petals" of the chakra, activates the nadi. Saying the sound of the sanskrit letter in the middle of the chakra, activates the chakra. All of this knowledge is from Hinduism, namely the Yoga and Sri Vidya tradition, as taught by Guru Karunamaya. I've written about my experiences with it here: The method is simply "sandwiching" an empowered mantra from your guru in between the sanskrit letter for each channel. This 1) activates the channel, 2) sends energy from your guru mantra into the channel, 3) closes the energy inside the channel. For example: lam aum nama shivaya lam. So far, I've only mastered the agnya, muladhara and swadistana (which I've described above), so the next one I'll work on memorizing and opening is the manipura chakra and its 10 nadis Be blessed by the Divine! May we all enjoy good health, long life, prosperity, happiness, wisdom and peace

Is it possible to achieve liberation through a mantra?

The mantra Om Namo Narayanaya is what we must chant with the intentions of waking everyone up and ending all conflict, not just the main one now. Aloud, in your head, writing it down, singing it—just do it. Anyone more dedicated, please recite the Golden Light sutra. https://fpmt.org/education/teachings/sutras/golden-light-sutra/download/ If you still can’t be convinced, remember that besides the children who have died and the poor kids forced to pick up guns aren’t the only ones suffering, it’s the dogs and cats: https://twitter.com/domdyer70/status/1500028923597496320?s=21 That is all. Thank you.

Dear Dao Bums, Today I'll share my experience with "Guru Karunamaya" and his teachings of Sri Vidya (a branch of spiritual practice in Hinduism). I have tried many things under the sun, but I am extremely positively surprised by the power of his teachings. Intro to Sri Vidya: Your body, energy, chakras, aura, psyche etc, is a perfect replica of the universe. This is called the "microcosm" and "macrocosm" idea. How the energy flows in your chakras and nadis, or energy centers and energy channels, showcases how your mind works, as well as how your life is working (and will work in the future). If the energy is flowing freely in a particular chakra and its nadis, it means your life is flowing freely in that particular area. E.g. regarding work and money, sexuality and pleasure, power and fame, love and relationships, manifestation and communication, understanding and wisdom, spirituality and oneness with the universe, etc. By opening your chakras and nadis, you also open the corresponding areas of your life. You then progress through the "sri chakra" or "sri yantra". This yantra holds all yantras, all gods and goddesses, all chakras and nadis, and all areas of your life. The beginning practice: You start from the outside perimeter, and then work your way through it. You end up in the center, the "bindu", the point, the dot.. The divine The outside perimeter (bottom left corner, the outermost square line) corresponds to the elephant God "Ganesha" or "Ganapati". This energy corresponds to the root chakra (muladhara chakra), and general stability and trust in your life. This also includes basic needs like work, security, fincances etc. When you get the deeksha (initiation) into the "ganapati" (another name for Ganesha or the elephant God) you start opening this chakra. With the shaktipat (energy transmission) of the teacher, you get a boost to your own process. Then you recite 100.000 repetitions of the mantra. This makes the mantras energy "flower" - both in your chakras and nadis, your physical body, as well as your life. This will give you physical health, heal any problems related to the anus, spine, legs and feet, bring you emotional and mental stability as well as trust, energetically it will open your muladhara chakra and its nadis, in your life it will attract a job to you (if you're looking for one), otherwise it will make your work situation stable. The scope of continued practice: Further, you continue this journey of self-healing alongside realization of ever subtler levels of the Divine, inside and out (your body, energy, emotions, mind and soul, as well as your outside life). This is done by working your way through the Sri Yantra. There's a process for everything: opening chakras and nadis, getting a job, attracting more wealth, removing black magic and evil spirits, controlling the weather, overcoming racism, depression and other negative mental states, and it just goes on and on. The sri yantra contains everything. Also ALL the siddhis (supernatural powers, e.g. auric vision (called divya dristhi or divine sight), controlling the weather, healing of self and others, and so on and so forth). Ending blessing and prayer: May you all be blessed, and enjoy good health, long life, prosperity, happiness, wisdom and peace

So, this is my first post, I'm trying to be brief yet clear. Anyone in this forum has experience (as in in practicing) in bija mantras meditation ? By bija mantras I mean Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, Om. They are traditionally associated with chakras, but that's a secondary aspect, actually they work on the Tattvas: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Mind. What I'm interested are these: 1. How long/intensive was/is your practice ? 2. How would you describe/prescribe the practice ? 3. What results have you achieved ? With no intent to be rude...please understand that I have no interest in replies from the books, but only in your experience.

Om mani Padme Hum pretty popular except for you until I decided to cultivate this mantra until this year is over. my daily mantra around 2000 times daily but I’ve also practiced 3 Dantians cultivation has imprinted on them. I notice during the inward mantra, I felt all dantians being full up with this mantra qi. I had heard voices and gong first day of this mantra. The mantra meditation itself trying to open up my thrusting channel and at the same time purging energetically out of my body. It came from liver,heart and spleen weird crawling like and out from my crown. Yesterday, I saw gold color in my practice. i know their lots of stuff but I would share and Cliftnote for myself as well.

Extensive and detailed information on Buddha Amitabha https://buddhaweekly.com/amitabha-buddha-infinite-light-whats-name-merits-vast-name-amitabha-practice-synonymous-compassion-happiness/?fbclid=IwAR3XkVoXlL3Dc9ozoMY3BwAG30xNX31cqzO8520rOZD66z8ATB3mxfWlRno

Crises bring out the best and worst in humanity. It’s good too see the wide scale sharing of practices from all traditions in response to the pandemic. You can’t practise them all, but for anyone attracted to Tara there is a live online event this Sunday (22nd March) dedicated to the recitation of the mantra of her 20th form, Tara Ritro Loma Gyonma, Noble Lady of Mountain Retreat, Clothed in Leaves, Who Removes Contagious Diseases. Details and video invite here: https://www.taramandala.org/Tara20/

Thought I would share with the board this lovely video by Master Chin-Kung. While it's a talk about what to do if you're the sole person among your family and friends to follow the Buddha that's not why I am posting it. The real gem of the story is appended from an article account of what happened to Lady Clara Lin Kok Yuen at the moment of her death. She practiced the Amitabha Rebirth in Pureland mantra regularly. Let's just say...if the account is really true - well, I was blown away and knew I had to post this video to the board. If you want you can fast forward to 4 minutes. That's when Master Chin-Kung begins the story about Lady Clara and her family and friends. Don't exit the video after his talk because that's when the newspaper article begins. Read it. And if you're like me - be stunned at the power of this Pureland Mantra (and of Amitabha!). Lady Clara Lin Kok Yuen and the Amitabha Pureland Rebirth mantra

I would like to ask the following questions: 1. Can Mantra and Dharani Samadhi and Mantra/Dharani repetition/chanting lead to enlightenment? 2. Is this a recognized method? Is anyone here following this method, and would you be willing to discuss it? 3. Which branches of Buddhism practice Mantra and Dharani Samadhi as an enlightenment method? How does this work? 4. How does such practice transform or destroy akusala karma?

I often listen to the youtube chanting of Om mani padme hum(x9 version) which i find soothing. I have also tried many hindu chantings on youtube, but none comes close to the above mantra version. I stick to youtube for listening, even though it does not have a "repeat" feature. Do you know of another chanting/song that is as powerful and soothing to listen to ?

does anyone know where I can find audio of the Arya Manjushri Namasamgiti in Sanskrit? I want to practice reciting for the Monlam Chenmo in Bodh Gaya later this year. I have the written text, but want to hear it to practice and pronounce properly, perhaps even memorize.

Recently been reading through some of the medicine Buddha sutras. Medicine Buddhas appear as two types--the Lapis Lazuli Buddha of the eastern land and the healer bodhisvattas. The dharani of Lapis Lazuli Buddha is beautiful, esp. as performed thusly: Now, Lapis Lazuli Buddha has his pure land now in this era, while the healing bodhisvatas will become Buddhas in some far distant future. However, the benefits of recitation (of their respective mantras) is very similar. I particularly like that the healing bodhisvattas came to enlightenment throught the sense of taste, and are essentially supreme herbalists. Anyone have experience with these mantras? Insights into medicine Buddhas? 8)

Does anyone know of a source, in print or online, for finding Taoist mantras and sutras, especially those for particular deities? Preferably in English, but latinized Chinese would be okay, too (both would be best!). Thanks!

My wife is utterly awesome... for fathers' day, instead of getting me a tie or cologne of some other cliche gift, my wife gave me a rosewood mala... it is gorgeous. And I love the constant reminder of the benefits of putting intentional energy into my day.

Showing many peoples http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSLcEZG0rD0