Wisdom of the Masters

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Jean Klein ~ Listening ~ Advaita Dec 18, 2024

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This is a selection of teachings taken from Jean Klein's text, "Transmission of the Flame" - formatted for guided meditation purposes. Jean Klein (October 19, 1912 – February 22, 1998) was a French author, spiritual teacher and philosopher of Advaita Vedanta (Nondualism). He was born in Berlin and spent his childhood in Brno and Prague. Having left Germany in 1933 for France, he secretly worked with the French Resistance in the Second World War. Klein was a musicologist and doctor, traveled to India where he was influenced by Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon, studied Kashmir Shaivism and was sent to the West to teach Advaita Vedanta. He is regarded as one most eloquent communicators of non-duality in the second half of the 20th century.

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Gnostic Gospel of St Thomas ~ Teachings of Jesus Dec 15, 2024

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This is a selection of "Sayings of Jesus" from the gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas (translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson) plus a few other selections of Jesus' key teachings from other gospels. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-versions-and-translations/the-gospel-of-thomas-114-sayings-of-jesus/ Here's the link to various other translations: http://gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is a non-canonical sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate that the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. Scholars have proposed dates of composition as early as AD 60 and as late as AD 140. The Coptic-language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have designated as Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. In the Gnostic Christian tradition, Christ is seen as a divine being which has taken human form in order to lead humanity back to the Light. The usual meaning of gnostikos in Classical Greek texts is "learned" or "intellectual". Art image - "Ground" by Dan Hillier used with kind permission of the artist. Please see Dan's incredible art at: https://danhillier.com/ Music: Father Archimandrite Serafim Bit-Kharibi and his choir - Saint- Petersburg

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Anandamayi Ma ~ Opening to the Light ~ Bhakti Dec 13, 2024

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Selected teachings of Ma's taken from various sources. Anandamayi Ma ( 30 April 1896 – 27 August 1982) was a Bengali Saint, described by Sivananda Saraswati (of the Divine Life Society) as "the most perfect flower the Indian soil has produced." Precognition, faith healing and miracles were attributed to her by her followers. Paramahansa Yogananda translates the Sanskrit epithet Anandamayi - as "Joy-permeated" in English. This name was given to her by her devotees in the 1920s to describe her perpetual state of divine joy. Music: "Sleep Music" - Le Code Bandcamp : https://le-code.bandcamp.com/ Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3GN1OGm https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGykDEr7ugNVA6QylRuzOPA

With thanks to Alex for his gift of music

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Upasika Kee Nanayon ~ Looking Inward ~ Thai Forest Tradition Dec 11, 2024

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Upasika Kee Nanayon or Kor Khao-suan-luang was a realized female practitioner from Thailand. She was mostly self-taught, reading the Pali canon and other Buddhist literature. She considered the Buddha's Dhamma as her primary teacher. Her dhamma talks and poetry were widely circulated.

As word of her spread, she became one of the most popular meditation teachers in Thailand. This, and many of her talks, have been translated into English by Thanissaro Bhikkhu who sees her as "arguably the foremost woman Dhamma teacher in twentieth-century Thailand."

The full text can be downloaded here: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/kee/inward.html Art credit: "Looking Inward": Paitoon Jumee https://artscope.com.au/artist/paitoon-jumee/

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Stonehouse ~ Master Shiwu 石屋 ~ Nothing to Do or Change ~ Zen Buddhism (Chan) Dec 08, 2024

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A selection of poems read from the text, "The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse" - translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter) The Zen master, Shiwu 石屋, or Stonehouse (1272–1352) was a Chinese Chan poet and hermit monk who lived during the Yuan Dynasty. He was considered one of the greatest Chinese Buddhist poets and used poetry as his medium of instruction for Dharma. In 1312 at the age of forty he moved to Xiamu Mountain near Huzhou to live as a hermit and it is here that he composed his "Mountain Poems" (Shan-shih), one-hundred and eighty-four verses expounding Dharma and the facets of living in the mountains. Near the end of his life, monks asked him to record what he found of interest on his mountain; Stonehouse delivered to them hundreds of poems and an admonition: "Do not try singing these poems. Only if you sit on them will they do you any good." The text can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Mountain-Po... Music: Time for Peace - Bridge - Stillness and Voices of the Land www.timeforpeace.bandcamp.com. With deepest thanks to Swami Madhuram Puri for his kind offering of this exquisite music for this channel. Art/image: Anna Vladi

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Ramana Maharshi ~ That Which Sees ~ Advaita Nov 10, 2024

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This is a reading for meditation of Bhagavan Ramana's instruction to Frank H. Humphreys, a devotee. Ramana Maharshi ( 1879 -1950) was an Indian sage and jivanmukta (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was born in Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India. In 1895, an attraction to the sacred hill Arunachala and the 63 Nayanmars was aroused in him and in 1896, at the age of 16, he had a "death-experience" where he became aware of a "current" or "force" which he recognized as his true "I" or "Self". Music: Le Code - Prophet Rev 2 & Strymon Big Sky Ambient Pads Sleep Music with Prophet Rev2 and Strymon Big Sky Ambient music with synth Bandcamp : https://le-code.bandcamp.com/ Spotify : https://spoti.fi/3GN1OGm

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The Great Tantra of Vajrasattva ~ The Heart of Enlightenment ~ Ati Yoga Nov 04, 2024

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The Great Tantra of Vajrasattva is a Root Tantra of the Space Section first translated into Tibetan in the 8th Century by Vairochana Rakshita, a famous translator during the early period of Buddhism in Tibet. This tantra is one of a handful of the earliest translations of Ati Yoga teachings into the Tibetan language, where they were preserved long after the originals disappeared in India, possibly during the Islamic invasions. Vairochana did not attribute these Ati Yoga source texts to himself, but rather to Garab Dorje, who was revered as a full emanation of Vajrasattva in human form. Vairochana’s translations stand on their own as jewels of Wisdom, the core teaching being always the same: the luminous, natural, non-dual mind of Great Perfection itself. Compiled by Yeshe Donden (Roger Calverley) integrating various contemporary English translations. With thanks to Roger for permission to read from this newly published work: "The Gospel of Garab Dorje" which can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0B3NBFF86?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_au Music: Bing Satellites - 'Mirage' - https://bingsatellites.bandcamp.com/ Rahjta Ren - "Pause" - (with thanks to Raj for his gift of music) https://soundcloud.com/rahjta-ren Ambient Pads in E Major - Vishal Bhojane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwyPafq4iwg&t=72s&ab_channel=VishalBhojane

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Niguma (Dakini) ~ The Innate State ~ Vajrayana Buddhism Oct 30, 2024

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Niguma is considered one of the most important and influential yoginis and Vajrayana teachers of the 10th or 11th century in India. Born in Kashmire, she was a dakini, and one of the two female founders of the Shangpa Kagyu school of Vajrayana Buddhism, along with dakini Sukhasiddhi. Her birth name was Shrijnana (or Palgyi Yéshé in Tibetan). From the perspective of the spiritual lineage, it is said that Niguma's spiritual realisation originates directly from the Buddha Vajradhara, rather than from any living human teachers. The great meditation master and translator, Marpa Lotsawa received teachings from Niguma on at least two occasions. Marpa is said to have visited Niguma each time he traveled to India. Sources say that he sought out Niguma on the advice of Naropa, Niguma's brother. The elusiveness of Niguma is typical of the lore of the dakini, the very embodiment of liminal spiritual experience. Music: State Azure - Foundations 1

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Lankavatara Sutra ~ Mahayana Buddhism Oct 24, 2024

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A reading of excerpts taken from Chapter 1 of The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra - translated by Suzuki and Goddard. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra was first translated into Chinese in the 5th century and has been the subject of many treatises and commentaries. It is a distinctive and influential philosophical discourse in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. The sutra recounts a teaching primarily between Gautama Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahāmati ("Great Wisdom"). The sūtra is set in mythical Laṅkā, ruled by Rāvaṇa, the king of the rākṣasas. The Laṅkāvatāra discusses numerous Mahayana topics, such as Yogācāra philosophy of mind-only (cittamātra) and the three natures, the ālayavijñāna (store-house consciousness), the inner "disposition" (gotra), the buddha-nature, the luminous mind (prabhāsvaracitta), emptiness (śūnyatā) and vegetarianism. It is also notably an important sūtra in Zen Buddhism, as it discusses the key issue of "sudden enlightenment".

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Sri Aurobindo ~ The Evolution of Consciousness Oct 17, 2024

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Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, mystic, and Indian nationalist. He joined the movement for India's freedom from British rule and for a duration (1905–10), became one of its most important leaders, before turning to developing his own vision and philosophy of human progress and spiritual evolution. At Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo developed a spiritual practice he called Integral Yoga. The central theme of his vision was the evolution of human life into a divine life in a divine body. He believed in a spiritual realisation that not only liberated but transformed human nature, enabling a divine life on earth. In 1926, with the help of his spiritual collaborator, Mirra Alfassa (referred to as "The Mother"), Sri Aurobindo Ashram was founded.

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