29 February 2024

Meditation is being practised - Battlecry of Freedom


“Meditation practice leads to meditational experience. A meditational experience is called a nyam. Nyams can be pleasant, unpleasant, or simply peculiar. They can be connected to any of the senses – experiences of sensation, sight, hearing, taste, smell, or ideation. Nyams occur through the settling of the psycho-physical elements during meditation. Nyams are ignored in sutric and tantric practice, but recognised as a sign of progress. (In Dzogchen, nyams are not always ignored. There are particular nyams that are engaged as method.) Nyams arise through meditation, so a nyam indicates meditation is being practised.”

Battlecry of Freedom by Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2019, ISBN 978-1-898185-46-8 Part II - the slogans, p. 150



22 February 2024

Slogan 52 - Battlecry of Freedom

Slogan 52 of ‘Battlecry of Freedom’ is now available to view on Aro Ling Cardiff’s YouTube channel: https://youtube/KiB48be8gCc

For live commentary on these slogans of Buddhist Mind Training, join us for Monday Meditations: 7 - 8:30 pm (UK time) on Zoom, Monday evenings.
Zoom Meeting ID: 85249620913
Passcode: 640389
Silent sitting and yogic song, finishing with a slogan from ‘Battlecry of Freedom’.
Everyone is welcome.

To see all videos with Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/c/AroLingCardiff

Being shy - Illusory Advice


“One of the purposes of the sangha— the vajra family—is that it provides an arena in which trust can be developed. The vajra family are a group of people who are actively attempting to develop and hold pure view. On retreat the vajra family especially attempts to maintain pure view of their vajra brothers and sisters. They assume that their vajra brothers and sisters are also engaging with this practice. This means that you can trust that your fellow retreatants welcome interaction with you, and that they are interested in what you have to say and will respond kindly. If you say something clumsy or inappropriate you trust that they will not ridicule you but will wish to help you to communicate more effectively. If you hear a vajra sibling speaking in a way that seems hurtful or unkind, you entertain the possibility that they didn’t mean it like that and respond in a kind and open manner.”

page 138, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6



Slogan 51 - Battlecry of Freedom

Slogan 51 of ‘Battlecry of Freedom’ is now available to view on Aro Ling Cardiff’s YouTube channel: https://youtube/KiB48be8gCc

For live commentary on these slogans of Buddhist Mind Training, join us for Monday Meditations: 7 - 8:30 pm (UK time) on Zoom, Monday evenings.
Zoom Meeting ID: 85249620913
Passcode: 640389
Silent sitting and yogic song, finishing with a slogan from ‘Battlecry of Freedom’.
Everyone is welcome.

To see all videos with Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/c/AroLingCardiff

15 February 2024

Pure view - Illusory Advice


To belong to a sangha and to be able to immerse oneself in the pure view of a practising Vajrayana community is an extraordinary opportunity. You can let go of self-image and posturing; you can let go of needing to impress others or wishing to appear in a good light; you can let go of needing to be liked and appreciated, because being liked and appreciated is the ground of vajra sangha; you can let go of the fear of others’ limited views and misconceptions about you, because trust is the ground of the vajra sangha; you can let go of needing company and fearing isolation. You can free-flow in awareness-presence and discover the liberation of that experience.

page 128, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6



08 February 2024

Won`t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz - Illusory Advice


Apprentice: The people I work with only seem to want to be able to afford an exotic holiday or to live like pop stars. I wouldn’t mind those things as well but feel as a practitioner I should be doing more to help others. 

Teachers: Indeed. As practitioners it would be inappropriate to indulge in regretting having insufficient money to fulfil fantasies, such as going on exotic holidays or owning expensive cars as one might if one was a pop star. Practitioners understand that such things are irrelevant to the cause of satisfaction. They practice rather than feeling sorry for themselves. They regard the unhappiness of others as real and to be taken seriously – whatever form that unhappiness takes, but are realistic about their capacity to help people, about their opportunities to help, and about what might be the most valuable focus of their lives. The most valuable focus in a practitioner’s life may be helping the person who sits at the desk next to them in the office of a multinational company.

Through being a Dharma warrior, you can help ordinary people in everyday situations. If you can work for an organisation whose purpose is to help with the suffering in the world, that is all well and good, but still your most valuable contribution may be your influence—as a practitioner—on your co-workers rather than on the nameless thousands your organisation sets sets out to assist.

page 128, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6



01 February 2024

Slogan 50 - Battlecry of Freedom

Slogan 50 of ‘Battlecry of Freedom’ is now available to view on Aro Ling Cardiff’s YouTube channel: https://youtube/KiB48be8gCc

For live commentary on these slogans of Buddhist Mind Training, join us for Monday Meditations: 7 - 8:30 pm (UK time) on Zoom, Monday evenings.
Zoom Meeting ID: 85249620913
Passcode: 640389
Silent sitting and yogic song, finishing with a slogan from ‘Battlecry of Freedom’.
Everyone is welcome.

To see all videos with Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/c/AroLingCardiff

Dying with dignity - Illusory Advice


 

The state of mind is the most important aspect of dying. It is important to die with an alert and happy mind so that it is an alert and happy mind that enters the bardo state between rebirths. The length of life in that sense is irrelevant as the mind-stream simply continues. It is the capacity of the mind to be present and aware in the moment that either moves your consciousness in the direction of greater openness or greater confusion.

page 127, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6