Tag: dream yoga
Dreams – The Cranberries
Two Dragons – Two Babies – Tibet – Dream Follow Up
In dream interpretation as per the dreaming symbols suggested by Théun Mares, with which I largely concur, two can be seen as a symbol of destiny and indication of something either yet to come or in some cases something gone before. {This last comment about before is by way of a new found idea.}
Dragons are mythical beasts and are symbols of power in the universal sense or of magic. Here power is the flow of the universe its intent perhaps. It is big universal and significant.
Babies are the symbol for a new and powerful change in awareness. In this case I both see and am the babies of which there are two.
Lingpa has significance contextually in Tibet.
Gold is the symbol for the Nagal or spirit. Here is the sense of universal Nagal and well perhaps the nagal beings
Vajra dragons
“In Buddhism, the vajra or dorje is the symbol of the Vajrayana, one of the three major schools of Buddhism and most identified with Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrayana is translated as “Thunderbolt Way” or “Diamond Way” and can imply the thunderbolt experience of Buddhist enlightenment or bodhi. It also implies indestructibility, just as diamonds are harder than other gemstones.”
In the Toltec context these dreams are of portent, power and impact. I cannot un-have these dreams. What is unusual is the cross-over of subject with Tibetan or Vajrayana Buddhism. In this life I have only briefly crossed paths with this on the nirmanakaya level. Having had a Guru Rinpoche empowerment. Given its public nature it would have been Guru Rinpoche 101. I have however been chanting Vajrayana mantra sometimes in deep voice on and off for more than a decade. In principle for the uninitiated this would have been foolhardy.
I have approached with respect and caution.
The restless dragons of the dream are perhaps high technology entrepreneurship and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Dragon Lore is Toltec
Druk is Tibetan / Bhutanese.
There are numerous Tibetan themed dreams. There are others with books, letters and magical writing. I have long wondered on the notional similarity of Tibetan gterma or terma and Toltec time capsules.
Somehow the two streams are “coming together”
If you view these dreams taken together they seem to carry more weight.
In isolation it is easy to say, “it was just a dream”. As a dated grouping it is harder to write off..
At the moment we live a socially isolated life. I am out of contact and not easily contactable. The chances of banging in to someone by chance are very slim.
I’ll speculate that the level or detail in my dream recall surpasses that of most others.
It remains to be seen if anything materialises or simply stays in the dream…
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Two Golden Dragons – 29-12-2025
The dream starts with me in an indeterminate space where I am inquiring of a disembodied voice. I ask for advice on why I am having trouble sleeping. It says, “It is because of the dragons, the twin dragons you have inside of you, the restless dragons. They keep stirring.” I note what the voice is saying.
Then in full visual field I can see two spectacular highly ornate golden dragons, “Chinese” in character. Theye are Li dragons with no discernible legs, serpentine in appearance with fearsome heads. I know that these are Mu {moo phonetically} dragons. They are my dragons, in me. I remember “collecting” the first Chinese dragon two decades ago. These dragons “swim” inside me. They are a part of me. They are also Vajra dragons.
{I understand Li to be fire in the dream but note that it might refer to the longer word Loong on waking.}
The image of the dragons persists for a very long time on and off. They swirl. They face each other.
They then chase each other head to tail in an animated ying yang. They present over and over, in various shades of iridescent gold. They are present on the orange-yellow and red flag of Bhutan. They are druk and dragon, dragon druk. They are most definitely oriental and not western dragons. I feel them writhe in me like the opening sequence to “The Crying Freeman” film. Despite my real world handicap, I feel lithe, flexible and able. The dragons are on my skin and under it, in me. I am dragon like able.
I see the double Vajra dragons of Bhutan..
I can see people in a Himalayan street with long golden dragon “puppets” held aloft on sticks dancing through the streets in procession. The puppet dragons are blowing in the wind and harsh Tibetan style horns are playing. There is celebration. They are making the druk, the dragons dance. It is a dragon dance, festival.
The image of golden two dragons head chasing tail disembodied in space against a cloudy thunder sky replays, over and over. I see dragons against a summer sky. I see dragons against the stars in the firmament. These are the two golden dragons, nimble and fluid.
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Two Babies – Lingpa – Dream Snippet – 15-01-2026
He is looking down onto a roughly hewn crib in which are two babies swaddled in cloth and wrapped tightly up like an envelope. Their heads are also tightly wrapped. They have ruddy cheeks and dark eyes. The woman says to the man, “here are the babies, the twins”. I can see the man from the cot and the babies from the man.
He says that they are Lingpa, ling-pa. That he will take one to the monastery and one to be raised normally. I know in the dream as a baby that he is talking about me-us. I know that the dream is ago. I know that even if we are separated we are two sides of the same. We are connected intimately.
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The Future of the Dragon Dream 26-08-2025
Here is this morning’s dream had between 5 and 7 AM. It was sufficiently realistic that I just opened my email expectantly.
The dream opens with me sat on a sofa with a coffee on a glass coffee table in front. The furniture is ratan in build and the room tropical themed. There are batik hangings and a golden Thai style top-knot haired Buddha figurine. The walls are white washed and stone and there is a feel of castle and perhaps Scotland. I am somehow at home in these settings. I go over to a large dark wooden desk with a green “club” leather chair. I boot up the computer. In an email account I rarely use I scan the list of emails. One email stands out from the bunch. It has the subject line, “The Future of the Dragon”. I do not know the sender’s address.
I pause for a moment and then open the email sceptical of spam / phishing. The email opens without problem and it is addressed to me. The person would like to meet up to discuss the future of the dragon. I look to the bottom of the mail for a signature. The address is arranged in the form of a Thai Wat temple and originated from a dojo in the Malay-Singapore-Thai region with a Singapore head office. It has ‘phone numbers, email address and an Instagram account. The protagonist is called Cheng. I am unsure how to respond or when to respond. I look at the Instagram account and see a picture of a young Asian male in his mid-twenties. He is pictured in karate-gi with his pals. There are other pictures of him in the dojo, in nature and it all looks fine and above board. I note his appearance. He has at least a part Chinese to him. I resolve to wait a little before replying.
Next, I am driving South down Regents Street in London, near Hamleys. I am in my white Jeep style SUV. It is around Christmas time because the lights are on. Coming in the opposite direction, North, there is a stream of traffic which comes to a halt in front of me. A young man gets out and walks past me to see what is going on. It is Cheng. I call out his name. He stops and turns looking surprised. I say that he emailed me and that I recognised him from the photos. I say to remind him, “The future of the dragon.” It suddenly clicks. I gesture for him to get into my car which he does. I do a U-turn and gesture for his friends to follow me in their open top Jeep-Moke.
We drive off into one of the large semi-circles of grand housing next to a park. There is a pub nearby. I say that we should talk. He has suddenly gone all shy. I ask him if a beer would help. Yes, perhaps. We make our way to the pub and are soon joined by his friends which include his tiny sister. Chris turns up and I suggest that he gets us all a drink which he does.
I ask Cheng as an icebreaker about the style of karate he was training in and offer him my shoulder to punch. I ask was it non-contact and play punch him in the head or was it full contact. He says that is was a little heard of martial art specific to region but that is not what the dragon is about. He knows that I know this. I see through my contact with him a small wizened Asian man who is tiny and dressed in a Chinese “Tai Chi” outfit. He is Malay, Burmese or Singaporean. I understand him to be a master and that Cheng is by way of his contact. I have never met the master before but he is somehow familiar. I can feel him now as I type. I can recognise him.
Cheng’s sister calls her mother back home and explains that he has found me.
The dream ends.
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Dreaming Courses Dream – 14-08-2025
Here is this morning’s dream had between 4 and 6 AM. Again another one seemingly out of the blue.
The dream starts in a faculty office. Behind a large desk is a woman in her 40/50s. She is powerful and dressed in an expensive skirt and jacket suit with a royal blue shirt. She exudes wealth and she is very accustomed to getting her own way, obeyed even. She tells me that the faculty have agreed to my proposals for a course on dreaming and that I may go ahead with these courses on an experimental basis. She needs to be kept in the loop of developments. She thinks that I am fearful and subordinate to her. When I simply very relaxed and fluid. I know that she has other agendas which she is trying to forward and that there are politics going on behind the scene. She hands me a book of mounted photos like a book of material swatches used in fashion or decorating design. The book of “swatches” has covers and I cannot see the contents. She intimates that she wants these included in the courses.
Her office leads out onto a full or partial quadrangle with a covered ambulatory or walk way. It has a light reddish-brown brick. There are cobbles in the quad. It feels a little like Greenwich but also has a sense of Berkley CAL. There is a history and the word meridian is to mind. On the side wall of the ambulatory there is a small wooden display case with a lockable glass front. In this cabinet I will display course synopsis for the passing footfall of students.
I go into an open room with whitewashed walls and a dark red stone or painted concrete floor. I am met there by a younger woman who has been assigned as to help me and, to keep an eye on me. She asks me why I think that there are no definitive books on dream content. I say that by their very nature dreams are nebulous and not well suited to reductionist quasi-logical methods. Dreaming is dreaming and it has to be approached via dreaming and not structure. Sense-making can hinder dreaming significantly.
I open the book of swatches to show to her. Inside it are photos of some kind of Tibetan centre, out in the country. There are images of coloured prayer flags blowing in the wind. One of small stupa only a few metres high. There are western white participants and a very few Tibetans dressed monastically. I know the word Drukpa is associated. It is clear that a part of the agenda from the powerful woman relates to Tibetan dream practices. There is more agenda.
The young woman has a notion that in dreaming cultures there is always a myth and a mythos. That these grow up around the dreams and the reporting thereof. As a part or her research she would like to see if we can seed a myth and a mythos into those participating in the dreaming. Rather than that being an ancient hagiography she wants to seed an artificial mythos and see where it goes. She ushers me over to the back of the room where there is a museum style display case with a sloping horizontal glass covered display. Under this are full depth “admiralty” drawers containing specimens. She pulls out one draw and there packed in cotton wool nests are several rock specimens. She selects a grey and black speckled “agate” egg. The black is dark like obsidian
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She says that this will or could be the dream egg around which we start to create a dream mythos or myth. She is excited and I say that I am happy to explore this avenue but that it needs fleshed out. We can use the egg for the birth of the course, metaphorically.
The power woman, the principle, from before knocks and enters the room. She is wearing high heels which have been tricky on the cobbles. I show her two pages of A4 text which will serve as a flier for the course. This text will go into the cabinet. She asks what the syllabus will be and I say that the syllabus will be decided to a large extent by the attendees and mostly by dreams. She looks sceptical.
I usher her over to a tarpaulin. On which are several plants in black plastic pots tied to short bamboo supports. I say that these are going to go into the green house and that these will comment upon and be a part of the course. I ask if she would like to help us plant them. Yes. We load half the plants onto a flatbed trolley and head out of the quad-building to the university allotment where our greenhouse is. Together we all plant the plants. The principle comments that she found it very enjoyable and that it is the first time for a very long while that she has had dirt under her nails.
We go back to the quad room. The principle asks about a web presence or page. At her prompt I know that I have to send someone a link to the dream yoga blog as it currently stands. I will do this after I have written up and posted this dream.
The dream ends and I note with some surprise on my way back from the bathroom that its exactly 6:00 AM…
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Dragon Lore Dream 23-11-2024
This is a short but very intense dream from ~ 4 AM
I am with MF whom I knew as an undergraduate. We are sat in the front room of a British house in which I am living temporarily. He is sat on leather bound armchair. We have invited him over for dinner. We have eaten and are relaxing in front of an open fire.
I am lying on my stomach on the floor. My legs are bent at the knee and moving freely. I am reading my beat-up copy of “The Mists of Dragon Lore”. I can see the well-thumbed yellowed pages. I turn to the back of the book. Inside the hard cover is attached a vellum high quality cream envelope, the flap of which is sealed down with a fine bright red braided fabric. I slowly unwind the fabric and open the flap of the envelope.
With utmost care I pull out a card like piece of paper which is like artist’s paper. Embossed into the paper is an exquisitely drawn oriental dragon. It is in jet black ink and is something to behold. Next to it in fine black calligraphy is written in Kanji is “the famed black dragon”. I show the dragon to M he admires it and thinks it odd that such a print is stored in such a tatty old book.
In the dream I note that this is the very first black dragon I have encountered. I have seen many other colours.
With greatest care I return the artwork to its envelope and retie the seal.
The scene changes and I am now with M in a freight railway carriage. The carriage is empty of goods. M turns to me and says that the mullahs are talking about the coming of a new buddha. I ask if he is referring to the Islamic mullahs. Yes. I say that I know a little bit about Buddhism.
M gets out a prayer mat and places it in one corner of the carriage. He sits on it. Two young white boys, young teenagers, follow suit sitting next to him. Without a prayer mat, I sit next to the youngest boy. I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
The scene changes again and I am no longer in the carriage nor bound by the rails. I can go wherever I want.
Dream ends.
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Tibetan Buddhist Search Committee Dream 29-04-23.
This dream was so out of the blue, unexpected.
The dream starts in the UK in England. I am hosting a personal development course in a country house with a large events room. We are sat in plenary in U-shape around the side of the high ceiling dance hall. It is ornate but now carpeted. A smartly dressed tall woman with a feint American accent and long blonde hair is speaking on a slightly raised wooden dais. She is using a long wooden pointer to point at a presentation she is making, which is running on a white screen.
It is time for a break before the final closing remarks and conference wrap up.
Everyone gets up for refreshments which are served in the antechamber. I walk through this into the back of the house which turns into a smaller building. This is where I have been living in the UK countryside. There is a wooden shed and outbuildings. I am checking on the content of these as we will be moving soon. Someone has started moving the items of furniture. I say to a woman there that she ought to have known better not to disturb my system. There is a symmetry to how I have fitted things in the shed. They only go in one way and must come out the reverse way. The passage to the shed is narrow and there is only one way to do this. I am slightly angry and the people are sheepish.
I return to the conference and it is over. Everyone has left, they are all people from my past in one sense. I have missed my chance to do the summing up and to thank the speaker. They have mostly left in embarrassment. The sense of embarrassment is strong and clear.
The speaker is now playing a video recording of semi-rural Tibet. The camera is running through the streets and I can see a large white and brown temple up on the hill. There are prayer flags and modern Tibetan people together with some more rustic “peasants”. I look at the woman and she has changed into an embroidered gold and red jacket over her novice nun robes. He hair is now short. I ask her about the video she says that it is of her people and that she has been working for them in making my acquaintance.
At this point a small party of people enter the room. They are all dressed in ceremonial Tibetan robes. These are very opulent. The embroidery is yellow, red, magenta, and saffron. It is ornate and slightly garish. There is a scent of incense accompanying them They are headed by a monk/abbot who is old and his right hand man who has jet black hair. In the entourage there is a western woman with a round yellow-red embroidered cap over her bald head. I recognise her as someone whom I have met in this lifetime. I go up to her and say, “I know you”. She winks, smiles and says that yes, I do and that she had been sent to observe me. Amongst them is a tall athletic Tibetan man who moves with grace, poise and style. I point my finger into his chest. I say to him, “you are warrior and fighter.” He laughs and says yes. We can spar later using traditional Tibetan weapons to see what I remember.
Now into the back of the room furniture is being carried in by hand. I know it to be of a ceremonial nature and this has been carried from afar. My eyes are drawn to a very ornate chest with meticulous cabinet work. It is made in the shape of a Welsh dresser with an upper cupboard. The wood is highly polished, perhaps walnut. The detail of the closures is in gold. It is a treasure and contained within it are relics. Although not visible to the naked eye, inscribed into the wood in “magic” lettering are some words in Tibetan script. The calligraphy is excellent and the downward strokes of the letters are longer and more artistic than is customary. They have been inscribed with flourish. There is a sense that the intense black calligraphy has been “burned” into the wood over the centuries and that only certain people can see it.
The carpet on the floor of the hall has been rolled back to reveal a parquet dance floor of some considerable sheen. Amongst the entourage I can hear gossiping. “It cannot be him; he is too coarse thickset and muscular.”
I hear this and whip off my shirt to reveal my muscular bare chest. I say that I will cooperate with whatever it is they must do. Take a look if you must. I am now wearing saffron yellow trousers, training pants, that are “elasticated” at the ankles. I start to do a forward splits on the floor to warm up. I say that given I am nearly sixty I am surprised that being that old I can still do that.
One of the woman in the entourage says to me that I am much older than that both in this lifetime and stretching way back. I am nearly 73 she says. I do the mental calculation that I must have been “born” in the early 1950s. She says, “we tried to wake you five years ago”. You have been “asleep” and we have been waiting.
I briefly wake up and then drift off.
I am at an oriental Temple scene with ponds and in an immaculate garden. At first pass I think Chinese and then know Japanese. There are people there with round black ceremonial hats and flowing Japanese robes. I am poured into the pond as very large and bright, shiny goldfish. I swim in the Temple ponds and in the dream, I know that my second Buddhist life was Japanese. These ponds are my home, where I swim.
I the return to the hall in the previous part of the dream and the warrior comes into the room carrying some odd looking Tibetan martial arts weapons. Which I recognise. Some of the monks are now seated and are reciting mantra whilst thumbing through their prayer beads.
I have a very strong visual image of two yellow-hat Tibetan monks in full colour sat on a rock up in the mountains playing their long Tibetan alpine horns. That image and the sound persists even now. I can “hear” the horns inside my mind. They are precursors to a ritual, setting the scene.
I get up and greet the cat. I take my medication and put the coffee on. I sit down and start typing.
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Tibetan Monk – Soil – Dragon Lore Dream 31-3-23
Sat next to me on my right at my table is a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He is a little younger than me and has very short cut jet black hair. The blackness is very jet. He is sun tanned and serious. He is concentrating on the lesson. He does not have any headgear. Next to him is a small rucksack which is blue-grey in colour and stands out against the colour of his robes.
The lesson draws to a close and the pupils start to leave.
He taps me on the shoulder and asks me to please wait as he has something for me. He puts his rucksack on the table in front of us. He gets out a smallish clear plastic bag and a tie for it. He lays it on the table. Then gingerly he gets out a bigger thicker plastic bag containing dry dusty soil. He handles it with care.
He asks me to hold the small plastic bag open. Which I do. He then unties a ribbon which is holding the other bag closed. He lifts the bag and pours a couple of teacups full of sand/soil into the smaller bag which I am holding. In doing so he spills a few grains of soil. He sweeps these up into his hand and adds them to my bag with utmost care. He closes the big bag with the ribbon and puts the bag tie on my bag.
He says that the bag contains Tibetan soil from a special place and that he has given it to me for my keeping. He says that this is my piece of Tibet and it is for me to look after it henceforth. I am by way of a custodian. He takes out a small cloth bag and gestures for me to put the plastic bag into it. Once I have done this, he seals the cloth bag with a ribbon and hands it back to me. I thank him and he thanks me. He utters something which I know to be a blessing in Tibetan, he bows his head. Together we exit the classroom. When we reach the corridor, we go our separate ways. I am holding the bag of soil in both hands.
Much later I am in another place. I am attending a Mind, Body, and Spirit event in a large hall. There are “hippie” stalls everywhere selling “wellness” merchandise, courses on various things, different societies, trinkets and with live demonstrations of various arts. At the back of the hall, I notice some tables selling books on spiritual and esoteric themes. I go over to peruse.
On one stall there are two younger people sat with a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He too is fairly young about 30. I can see various Buddhist texts including the Dhammapada and various Tibetan works translated into English. On top of one of the Buddhist books is “The Mists of Dragon Lore”. It looks incongruous on the pile. But I know that it has been specifically placed there as a kind of “bait” intended to attract my attention. I know in the dream that the Tibetans have been and are looking / searching for me. They wish to discuss amongst other things how Toltec cosmology compares with their own. I go over to the stall and gesture to the book on Dragon Lore. This piques the attention of the monk who comes over to see what is going on.
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Four Dragons – Wheel of Fortune – Dream 30-08-2016
Here is this morning’s dream, a birth-day dream…
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I am looking at an antique wooden wheel of fortune against a background wall. The wheel has stopped and it has a pointer facing East. At the four cardinal directions are arranged four dragons. They are small and intricate and somehow alive. Their nature is consistent with their name. The pointer faces the Fire dragon. In the dream I know that the dragons going N,E,S,W should be Earth, Wood, Water, Fire. Yet somehow the wheel has stopped with the Fire dragon in the East. I reach out and pluck the Fire dragon off the wall / wheel.. I put the dragon in my pocket.
“You may use the Fire dragon now. Although you were born a Wood dragon and your predilection is for the Water dragon, you may use the Fire dragon now. You own all the dragons…and can use them at will.”
Implicit is that the Blue Dragon, the Red Dragon and the Golden Dragon are also “mine” and available to me.
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Some Texts Attributed to Karma Lingpa
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Excerpted from Bardo Thödol
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“As elsewhere noted, our manuscript is arranged as one work in two parts or books, with thirteen folios of texts of Bardo prayers as an appendix at the end. The Block—Print is arranged as two distinct books and lacks the appendix of prayers. But at the end of the first book of the Block—Print there comes a very important account of the origin of the Bardo Thödol, which is not contained in our manuscript, and this is given in translation in the following Section.
XIV. THE ORIGIN OF THE BARDO THÖDOL
Thus, from the Block—Print, and also from other Tibetan sources, we learn that the Bardo Thödol text originated, or, what is perhaps more correct, was first committed to writing in the time of Padma Sambhava, in the eighth century A. D.; was subsequently hidden away, and then, when the time came for it to be given to the world, was brought to light by Rigzin Karma Ling—pa. The Block—Print account is as follows:
‘This has been brought from the Hill of Gampodar (Tib. Gatnpo—dar), on the bank of the Serdan (Tib. Gser—ldan, meaning ‘Possessing Gold’ or ‘Golden’) River, by Rigzin Karma Ling—pa (Tib. Rigs—hdzin Kar—ma Gling—pa).
Rigzin, as herein given, is a personal title, and Karma Ling—pa the name of a place in Tibet meaning ‘Karma Land’. The translator has pointed out that Rigs is an erroneous spelling of Rig; for, if Rigs were correct, the name Rigzin would mean (Rigs + hZin). That Rig is intended—thus making the name mean Knowledge—Holder (Rig+ hdzin), a caste or class designation—was confirmed by a small section of a Bardo Thödol manuscript in the possession of the translator, in which Rigzin Karma Ling—pa is otherwise called Tertön (Tib. Gter—bston) , or ‘Taker—Out of Treasures’. The Bardo Thödol is, therefore, one of the Tibetan Lost Books recovered by Rigzin of Karma Ling—pa, who is held to be an emanation or incarnation of Padma Sambhava, the Founder of Lāmaism.
It was in the eighth century A. D. that Lāmaism, which we may define as Tantric Buddhism, took firm root in Tibet. A century earlier, under the first king to rule over a united Tibet, King Srong—Tsan—Gampo (who died in A.D. 650), Buddhism itself entered Tibet from two sources: from Nepal, the land of the Buddha’s ancestors, through the Tibetan King’s marriage with a daughter of the royal family of Nepal; and from China, through his marriage—in the year 641— with a princess of the Chinese Imperial Family. The King had been nurtured in the old Bön faith of Tibet, which, with its primitive doctrine of rebirth, was quite capable of serving as an approach to Buddhism ; and under the influence of his two Buddhist wives he accepted Buddhism, making it the state religion; but it made little headway in Tibet until a century later, when his powerful successor, ThI—Srong—Detsan, held the throne from A.D. 740 to 786. It was Thl—Srong—Detsan who invited Padma Sambhava (Tib. Pednia Jungue, i.e.’ The Lotus—Born’), better known to the Tibetans as Guru Rin—po—che, ‘The Precious Guru ’ to come to Tibet. The famous Guru was at that time a Professor of Yoga in the great Buddhist University of Nālanda, India, and far—famed for expert knowledge of the Occult Sciences. He was a native of Udyāna or Swat, in what is now a part of Afghanistan.
The Great Guru saw the wonderful opportunity which the King’s invitation offered, and promptly accepted the call, passing through Nepal and arriving at Saniye (Sam—yas) Tibet, in the year 747. It was to Samye that the King had invited him, in order to have exorcized the demons of the locality; for as soon as the walls of a monastery which the King was having erected there were raised they were overthrown by local earthquakes, which the demons opposing Buddhism were believed to have caused. When the Great Guru had driven out the demons, all the local earthquakes ceased, much to the wonder of the people; and he himself supervised the completion of the royal monastery, and established therein the first community of Tibetan Buddhist lāmas, in the year .749.
During his sojourn in Tibet at that time, and during subsequent visits, Padma Sambhava had many Tantric books translated into Tibetan out of Indian Sanskrit originals— some of which have been preserved in the monasteries of Tibet—and hidden away with appropriate mystic ceremonies in various secret places. He also endowed certain of his disciples with the yogic power of reincarnating at the proper time, as determined by astrology, in order to take them out, along with the treasures hidden away with them and the requisites needed for properly performing the rites described in the texts. This is the generally accepted tradition; but according to another tradition the Tertons are to be regarded as various incarnations of the Great Guru. According to a rough estimate, the religious texts already taken out by such Tertons, from century to century, would form an encyclopaedia of about sixty—five volumes of block—prints, each, on an average, consisting of about four hundred ordinary—sized folios
Our text, the Bardo Thödol being one of these recovered apocryphal books, should, therefore, be regarded as having been compiled (for the internal evidence suggests that it was a Tibetan compilation rather than a direct translation from some unknown Sanskrit original) during the first centuries of Lāmaism, either—as it purports to have been—in the time of Padma Sambhava or soon afterwards. Its present general use all over Tibet as a funeral ritual and its acceptance by the different sects, in varying versions, could not have been the outcome of a few generations; it testifies rather convincingly to its antiquity, bears out the pre—Buddhistic and at least partially Bön origin which we attribute to it, and suggests some validity in the claims made for the Tertöns.
We are well aware of the adverse criticisms passed by European critics on the Tertön tradition. There is not lacking, nevertheless, sound reason for suspecting that the European critics are not altogether right. Therefore, it seems to us that the only sound attitude to assume towards the problem is to keep an open mind until sufficient data accumulate to pronounce judgement. Though the Tertön claim be proven false, the fact that the Bardo Thödol is now accepted as a sacred book in Tibet and has for some considerable time been used by the lāmas for reading over the dead would, of course, not be affected; only the theory concerning the textual compilation of what, in its essentials, is apparently a prehistoric ritual would be subject to revision.
As for Padma Sambhava’s own sources, apart from such congenial traditional teachings as no doubt he incorporated in some of his Tibetan treatises, we are told, by oral tradition now current among the lāmas, that he had eight gurus in India, each representing one of the eight chief Tantric doctrines.
In a Tibetan block—print, which belonged to the translator, purporting to record the history, but much mixed with myth, of the Great Guru entitled Orgyan—Padmas—mzad—paJti—bkah—thang—bsdüd—pa (pronounced Ugyan Padtnay—zad—pai—ba—thang—du—pa) , meaning’ The Abridged Testament made by Ugyan Padma’ (or ‘by the Lotus-Born Ugyan’—Padma Sambhava), consisting of but seventeen folios, there is recorded on the twelfth folio, sixteenth section, the following passage, confirming the historical tradition touching the origin of the Bardo Thödol text:
Behold! the Sixteenth Section, showing the Eight Ling—pas, the Leaders of Religion, is thus:
‘The Eight Incarnations of the Great Bodhisattvas are:
Ugyan—ling—pa, in the centre;
Dorje—ling—pa, in the east;
Rinchen—ling—pa, in the south;
Padma—ling—pa, in the west;
Karma—ling—pa, in the north;
Samten—ling—pa
And Nyinda—ling,
And Shig—po—ling (or Terdag—ling).
These Eight Great Tertöns shall come; ‘Mine own incarnations alone are they.’
Padma Sambhava himself is herein represented as declaring that the Tertöns , or “Takers—out’” of the hidden books, are to be his own incarnations. According to this account, the Tertön of our own book, the Bardo Thödol , is the fifth, named after the place called Karma Land, thus confirming the Block—Print of the Bardo Th’ódol* and Karma Land is in the northern quarter of Tibet. We have been unable to ascertain the exact time in which this Tertön lived, although he is a popular figure in the traditional history of Tibet. The name Rigzin, given to him in the Block Print first above quoted, meaning ‘Knowledge—Holder’, refers to his character as a religious devotee or lāma; Karma ling—pa, as given in both accounts, refers also to an ancient Tibetan monastery of primitive Lāmaism in the Kams Province, northern Tibet.
According to our view, the best attitude to take touching the uncertain history and origin of the Bardo Thödol is that of a critical truth—seeker who recognizes the anthropological significance of the passing of time, and of the almost inevitable reshaping of ancient teachings handed down at first orally and then, after having crystallized, being recorded in writing. As in the case of the Egyptian Bardo Thödol, popularly known as ‘The Egyptian Book of the Dead’, so in ‘The Tibetan Book of the Dead’, there is, no doubt, the record of the belief of innumerable generations in a state of existence after death. No one scribe could have been its author and no one generation its creator; its history as a book, if completely known, could only be the history of its compilation and recording; and the question, Whether this compilation and recording were done within comparatively recent times, or in the time of Padma Sambhava or earlier? could not fundamentally affect the ancient teachings upon which it is based.
Although it is remarkably scientific in its essentials, there is no need to consider it as being accurate in all its details; for, undoubtedly, considerable corruption has crept into the text. In its broad outlines, however, it seems to convey a sublime truth, heretofore veiled to many students of religion, a philosophy as subtle as that of Plato, and a psychical science far in advance of that, still in its infancy, which forms the study of the Society for Psychical Research. And, as such, it deserves the serious attention of the Western World, now awakening to a New Age, freed, in large measure, from the incrustations of medievalism, and eager to garner wisdom from all the Sacred Books of mankind, be they of one Faith or of another.”
————————————————————
From Lotsawa House web Site
Source: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/karma-lingpa/benefits-vajra-guru-mantra
The Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra
And an Explanation of Its Syllables
A Treasure Text Revealed by Tulku Karma Lingpa
I prostrate to the Guru, the Yidam and the Ḍākinī.
—————-
“At best, practitioners will attain the rainbow body; failing that, at the time of death, mother and child luminosities will meet; and at the very least, they will see me in the bardo and all their perceptions having been liberated into their essential nature, they will be reborn in Ngayab Ling and accomplish immeasurable benefit for sentient beings.”
Thus she spoke.
“Great Master, thank you for telling us about such infinite benefits and powers. You have been immensely kind. Although the explanation of the benefits and powers of the syllables of Guru Padma’s mantra is unfathomable, for the sake of sentient beings in the future, I humbly ask you to give us a brief description,” she asked.
Then the Great Master spoke thus:
“O, Noble Daughter, the Vajra Guru mantra is not only my essential mantra, it is the life-essence of the deities of the four classes of tantra, the nine vehicles, the 84,000 aspects of the Dharma, and so on. The heart essence of all the Buddhas of the three times, the lamas, deities, ḍākinīs, Dharma protectors, and the like is encompassed by this mantra. The reason for this is as follows. Listen well and hold this in your heart. Recite the mantra. Write it. Tell it to sentient beings in the future.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ is the supreme essence of enlightened body, speech and mind.
VAJRA is the supreme essence of the Vajra Family.
GURU is the supreme essence of the Ratna Family.
PADMA is the supreme essence of the Padma Family.
SIDDHI is the supreme essence of the Karma Family.
HŪṂ is the supreme essence of the Buddha Family.
–
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ
OṂ is the complete Sambhogakāya of the Five Buddha Families.
ĀḤ is the complete unchanging Dharmakāya.
HŪṂ is the complete Nirmāṇakāya—Guru Rinpoche.
VAJRA is the complete assembly of Heruka deities.
GURU is the complete assembly of Lama Awareness Holder deities.
PADMA is the complete assembly of Ḍākinīs and powerful female deities.
SIDDHI is the heart of all the wealth deities and protectors of hidden treasures.
HŪṂ is the heart of each and every Dharma protector.
–
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ transfers one to the primordial pure realm.
VAJRA transfers one to the Eastern Buddhafield of Intense Joy.
GURU transfers one to the Southern Buddhafield of Glory.
PADMA transfers one to the Western Buddhafield of Bliss.
SIDDHI transfers one to the Northern Buddhafield of All-Accomplishing Action.
HŪṂ transfers one to the Central Buddhafield of Immutability.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ
By OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ, the level of the Three-Kāyas Awareness Holder is attained.
By VAJRA, the level of Level-Dwelling Awareness Holder is attained.
By GURU, the level of Immortal-Life Awareness Holder is attained.
By PADMA, the level of the Great-Seal Awareness Holder is attained.
By SIDDHI, the level of the Spontaneous-Presence Awareness Holder is attained.
By HŪṂ, the level of Fully-Ripened Awareness Holder is attained.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ
One recitation of the Vajra Guru mantra will grant a physical body and entry into this world. Any sentient being who sees, hears, or thinks of the mantra will definitely be established among the ranks of the male and female Awareness Holders. The infallible Vajra Guru mantra is the word of truth; if what you wish for does not happen as I have promised, I, Padma, have deceived sentient beings—absurd! I have not deceived you—it will happen just as I’ve promised.
If you are unable to recite the mantra, use it to adorn the tops of victory banners and prayer flags; there is no doubt that sentient beings touched by the same wind will be liberated. Otherwise, carve it on hillsides, trees, and stones; after they are consecrated, anyone who merely passes by and sees them will be purified of illness, spirit possession, and obscurations. Spirits and demons dwelling in the area will offer wealth and riches. Write it in gold on pieces of indigo paper and hang them up; demons, obstacle-makers, and evil spirits will be unable to harm you. If you place the mantra upon a corpse immediately upon death and do not remove it, during cremation rainbow colors will flash out and the consciousness will definitely be transferred to the Blissful Realm of Amitābha. The benefits of writing, reading and reciting the Vajra Guru mantra are immeasurable. For the benefit of sentient beings in the future, write this down and conceal it. May it meet with those of fortune and merit. Samaya Gya Gya Gya
From those with wrong views, this is sealed to secrecy. Gya Gya Gya
It is entrusted to those with pure samaya. Gya Gya Gya
Tulku Karma Lingpa brought forth this treasure and copied it down from a golden scroll.
——–
Translated by Heidi Nevin in Darjeeling, India on August 9, 2002.
Two Babies – Lingpa – Dream Snippet – 15-01-2026
Here is last night’s dream snippet had around 2 AM. It was somehow important to retain and I wrote the word lingpa down on a yellow post it note before taking my medication and putting the coffee on. The idea being that I would ask Google later.
The dream starts in a poorly lit dwelling. The ceiling is not high and I can smell smoke from a fire at the far end of the room. There are a mother and family there. They are dressed in heavy dark coloured clothes. Standing there in an animal fur jacket and with a hat with ear flaps is a taller man who has a presence of some power. He is armed.
He is looking down onto a roughly hewn crib in which are two babies swaddled in cloth and wrapped tightly up like an envelope. Their heads are also tightly wrapped. They have ruddy cheeks and dark eyes. The woman says to the man, “here are the babies, the twins”. I can see the man from the cot and the babies from the man.
He says that they are Lingpa, ling-pa. That he will take one to the monastery and one to be raised normally. I know in the dream as a baby that he is talking about me-us. I know that the dream is ago. I know that even if we are separated we are two sides of the same. We are connected intimately.
The woman is a little in awe of him. He says that he will return and that for now nothing must be said.
As I am coming to I know that I have to remember the word Lingpa. I do not know what it means and wonder if it is one of the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It seems familiar but not.
I wake and drift off again.
Several times during the night and in the dreaming I recall the word and sound Lingpa.
——————–
gling pa
གླིང་པ
Lingpa (title of great tertons, person on a continent/ island, sanctuary [IW]
1) usual title of great tertons. 2) people on a continent. 3) sanctuary. 4) Lingpa [RY]
Lingpa. A title usually appended to the name of a terton, revealer of concealed treasures. Literally, it means ‘sanctuary’ of peace and happiness for beings [RY]
Source – https//rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/gling_pa
———————-
Science Boffin Dreams His Own Death – Phowa Practice
I have not had a dream since the “whopper” of the 4th of January. In that I dreamed my own death {My Death – pārasaṃgate – Phowa – Dream 04-01-2025} and what seems like a phowa death practice according to what I have read.
Click here for Dream Link
That dream might have been scary for some but it seemed entirely natural to me. Likewise dreaming about Naropa etc. does not seem odd. Dream yoga is one of his super six…The death in the dream was from an earlier life.
What is strange is that I do not currently have any direct mundane physical plane linkage to Tibetan Buddhism.
There is an internal consistency to the logic, if I know how to do advanced death practice, it is likely that I might be more able to recall past life snippets than your normal common or garden person. But given my physical science background I would be more likely to be very sceptical. There has been a convergence in the dreaming towards a more recent putative incarnation of the magenta robed kind.
The weight of dreaming “evidence” for me outweighs any scepticism I personally have. I am confident that I have partial recall of a number of lives several of which have been Buddhist. I cannot six-sigma prove this, but I am happy with a strong working hypothesis.
In terms of Vajrayana empowerments I have only “had” very public White Tara and Guru Rinpoche. I recognise a shamanic ritual when I see one. In terms of tantra you probably only need Padmasambhava, a tantric key. This was via Akong Rinpoche in London en passant.
I have had numerous dreams with various scripts and calligraphy in them.
There is a weird feeling that the 4th of January dream was “cumulative” if I may use that word. I have as a raja yoga been visualizing “outside” the crown chakra over quite a number of years. In a sense I have without tuition been doing this as if I already knew.
The wife has recently dreamed about the involvement of a journalist…
It will be interesting to see if the dreaming hiatus is more permanent…
Two Golden Dragons – Dream Follow Up
I had another one of my very many dragon dreams late December click here.
This morning I went for an X-ray wearing my y ddraig aur, golden dragon t-shirt. It had me thinking of prophecy and myth…
These excerpted from “The History of the Red Dragon” by Carl Lofmark
ISBN 0-86381-317-8
Gateway to the Nagual’s World – South the place of Dreaming
In my case, don Juan wanted an omen before he taught me the ritual. That omen came when don Juan and I were driving through a border town in Arizona and a policeman stopped me. The policeman thought I was an illegal alien. Only after I had shown him my passport, which he suspected of being a forgery, and other documents, did he let me go. Don Juan had been in the front seat next to me all the time, and the policeman had not given him a second glance. He had focused solely on me. Don Juan thought the incident was the omen he was waiting for.
His interpretation of it was that it would be very dangerous for me to call attention to myself, and he concluded that my world had to be one of utter simplicity and candor – elaborate ritual and pomp were out of character for me. He conceded, however, that a minimal observance of ritualistic patterns was in order when I made my acquaintance with his warriors. I had to begin by approaching them from the south, because that is the direction that power follows in its ceaseless flux. Life force flows to us from the south, and leaves us flowing toward the north. He said that the only opening to a Nagual’s world was through the south, and that the gate was made by two female warriors, who would have to greet me and would let me go through if they so decided.
He took me to a town in central Mexico, to a house in the countryside. As we approached it on foot from a southerly direction, I saw two massive Indian women standing four feet apart, facing each other. They were about thirty or forty feet away from the main door of the house, in an area where the dirt was hard-packed. The two women were extraordinarily muscular and stern. Both had long, jet-black hair held together in a single thick braid. They looked like sisters. They were about the same height and weight – I figured that they must have been around five feet four, and weighed 150 pounds. One of them was extremely dark, almost black, the other much lighter. They were dressed like typical Indian women from central Mexico – long, full dresses and shawls, homemade sandals.
Don Juan made me stop three feet from them. He turned to the woman on our left and made me face her. He said that her name was Cecilia and that she was a dreamer. He then turned abruptly, without giving me time to say anything, and made me face the darker woman, to our right. He said that her name was Delia and that she was a stalker. The women nodded at me. They did not smile or move to shake hands with me, or make any gesture of welcome. Don Juan walked between them as if they were two columns marking a gate. He took a couple of steps and turned as if waiting for the women to invite me to go through. The women stared at me calmly for a moment. Then Cecilia asked me to come in, as if I were at the threshold of an actual door.
Don Juan led the way to the house. At the front door we found a man. He was very slender. At first sight he looked extremely young, but on closer examination he appeared to be in his late fifties. He gave me the impression of being an old child: small, wiry, with penetrating dark eyes. He was like an elfish apparition, a shadow. Don Juan introduced him to me as Emilito, and said that he was his courier and all-around helper, who would welcome me on his behalf.
It seemed to me that Emilito was indeed the most appropriate being to welcome anyone. His smile was radiant; his small teeth were perfectly even. He shook hands with me, or rather he crossed his forearms and clasped both my hands. He seemed to be exuding enjoyment; anyone would have sworn that he was ecstatic in meeting me. His voice was very soft and his eyes sparkled.
We walked into a large room. There was another woman there. Don Juan said that her name was Teresa and that she was Cecilia’s and Delia’s courier. She was perhaps in her early thirties, and she definitely looked like Cecilia’s daughter. She was very quiet but very friendly. We followed don Juan to the back of the house, where there was a roofed porch.
It was a warm day. We sat there around a table, and after a frugal dinner we talked until after midnight. Emilito was the host. He charmed and delighted everyone with his exotic stories. The women opened up. They were a great audience for him. To hear the women’s laughter was an exquisite pleasure. They were tremendously muscular, bold, and physical. At one point, when Emilito said that Cecilia and Delia were like two mothers to him, and Teresa like a daughter, they picked him up and tossed him in the air like a child.
Of the two women, Delia seemed the more rational, down- to-earth. Cecilia was perhaps more aloof, but appeared to have greater inner strength. She gave me the impression of being more intolerant, or more impatient; she seemed to get annoyed with some of Emilito’s stories. Nonetheless, she was definitely on the edge of her chair when he would tell what he called his “tales of eternity.” He would preface every story with the phrase, ‘Do you, dear friends, know that. . . ?’
The story that impressed me most was about some creatures that he said existed in the universe, who were the closest thing to human beings without being human; creatures who were obsessed with movement and capable of detecting the slightest fluctuation inside themselves or around them. These creatures were so sensitive to motion that it was a curse to them. It gave them such pain that their ultimate ambition was to find quietude. Emilito would intersperse his tales of eternity with the most outrageous dirty jokes. Because of his incredible gifts as a raconteur, I understood every one of his stories as a metaphor, a parable, with which he was teaching us something.
Don Juan said that Emilito was merely reporting about things he had witnessed in his journeys through eternity. The role of a courier was to travel ahead of the Nagual, like a scout in a military operation. Emilito went to the limits of the second attention, and whatever he witnessed he passed on to the others.
—————–
From “The Eagle’s Gift” by Carlos Castaneda, Part Three.
- The gate to our property is in the South. Currently there is a beat up Citroen there…
Transfer of Consciousness – Phowa – Implications?
It would be unusual for a kosher or pukka erstwhile science academic to have experience with the Six Yogas of Naropa and Phowa practice in particular. This kind of scientist is likely to be sceptical. Yet it seems I may have familiarity.
My scholar GPS entry can be found at: click here.
I have more publications in mainstream science than I do in the Buddhist literature. The publication number on this GPS web page is low. I also have three granted high technology patents two in Extreme Ultraviolet and one more recently on a Quantum Entangled Photon Pair Source.
This morning’s dream is no surprise to me. I have done extensive meditation involving central channel chakras and beyond. There is sufficient dreaming “evidence” to suggest that I have past life recall. So it would be no surprise, in context, if I had done some at death transfer of consciousness practice. There is a mild implication that I have something to offer in terms of knowledge pertaining.
The question is what if anything to do with it?
Is it just a curiosity or is there some other purpose?
The dream this morning hints at a more recent incarnation than my ongoing tally had suggested.
I might be able to modernise, is the first notion which comes to mind.
It was a nice dream which has provided a pleasant start to the year.
In a time in which we wake up and ask before turning on the TV, “what the fuck has Trump gone and done now?”
The initial omens for the year are not good…
My Death – pārasaṃgate – Phowa – Dream 04-01-2026
Here is this morning’s dream / vision which started around 5 AM and which persisted and replayed many times after that. It is now an “event” which I can hold and “visit”.
The dream starts with an elevated view looking down on a man in a magenta monastic sleeveless tunic with his hands held in his lap. They are in partial mudra. He is sat on a carpeted floor loosely cross legged with back leaning against a bench or sofa for support. He has a light faded plumb coloured blanket over his shoulders which has an inlaid fine embroidered pattern. I know him to be dead and my erstwhile body.
The scene changes to before. I am sat up in a hospital bead with a painted white metal frame. I am in a nursing home or hospital like facility. I call a nurse to me. I say that I think it is time and could she bring be my blanket and the cat. I am helped out of bed and down the corridor to a “sitting room”. I sit on the floor with my back against a bench. On each side are cloth privacy medical screens on metal frames with wheels. They are light blue-light green in colour. I am shielded from view. People in the corridor cannot see me. A mid-sized oxygen cylinder is brought and laid horizontally on the floor. A small clear plastic tube runs from the cylinder and is looped once around my head. There are two small outlet tubes which are fitted to my nostrils. The gas is flowing. I can see that the pressure regulator on the cylinder is tending towards empty. It is not yet in the red. The orderlies are not concerned because I will probably die before it runs out. I make myself comfortable on the floor and my grey cat is brought to me. She is very much like Bowie the stray cat we “rescued” here. I am given the cat and she sits briefly on my lap. I stroke her and she nuzzles. She then wanders off. Two attendants come with my blanket which they put around my shoulders.
I adopt the infinity mudra in which the thumb and middle finger of each hand are touching each other and the two rings so formed are intertwined to form an infinity or 8 sign. As I do this in the dream I can feel the “chakras” in the palms of my hands and feet instantly energised while I am sleeping in “real” life. It is “electrifying”.
I start to chant quietly to myself in the dream.
“gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā”
Slowly this changes to deep voice. I then focus on my crown or sahasrāra chakra which I “unscrew” to open it in readiness. I am making the way clear for me to go beyond form.
The scene changes to several weeks ago in the dream. I know we are last century. I am in the hospital bed and discussing with two white young male doctors. I am explaining to them that I need to make preparations for my death, my passing over. They are unconvinced that such thigs are necessary. Medical science does not believe in them. I suggest that there may be some things that medical science does not yet know and ask that they please humour a dying man. What I am asking is harmless and will not upset the running of the facility. One of the doctors says that he still does not believe me. I say that we shall see because I know that the time is approaching soon. We will find out. Not today but soon. They agree to help out.
I am now sat back down on the floor. I can feel that my face has been recently shaved and that I have bathed. I feel clean. My hair is still in a buzz cut growing out, a few millimetres long. I focus again on the sahasrāra and continue to chant lightly slowing fading this out. I can feel a first wisp beyond my body. The view shifts so that I am sat observing the body as if in a mirror. We are close a few feet apart. Slowly out of my crown a golden-yellow cloud of mist rises up and swells out. Like a murmuration of sorts. In amongst it I can see flecks of shining gold which catch the light and there are deep flecks of indigo-blue near glass-like threads and like tiny shiny fish scales. The cloud is filled with tiny sparkly mirrors glistening in the unusual supernatural light. The cloud moves slowly and expands. I look down to the hands. I can see them and feel them. At the moment the cloud is still anchored in the body. The right hand opens the finger-thumb mudra to break the infinity seal and the cloud detaches from the body. The head previously upright lolls slightly forward in what I know to be my physical death.
I look at the cloud for a while and then my consciousness merges with it, into it. I am liberated of body. I wait in the room for a while and then it is gone from view.
I wake knowing that I have seen a death of mine. Over the next few hours the scene replays. I know that I died consciously in this dream and vision. I know that I had prepared and that it had mostly gone according to plan..
Dreamyoga 