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Dearest
Friends @ CASonline,
We
are sending you nice information on the last two Meditational-
The full programme is available from CAS's website:
Do please give all your dedications and prayers for the greatest good to come of the programme !!
"Namo Amitofuo !"
bb
& other
p/s: TEXT Practice-texts
of all the programmes are available upon requests and will
either be make available via CAS's website ( password provided
after the initiations-
Commitments No commitments for taking the initiations. The BASIC requirement will be FAITH and a wish to take the programme so that we can be Buddhas fastest for good of all !!
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Initiation
of the great Victorious White Parasol Deity The name Ushnisha Sitatapatra
translates as "The Victorious White Parasol." Her parasol indicates
her ability to protect sentient beings from natural catastrophes,
diseases, and so forth. She is white in color, because the principal
means by which she accomplishes this function is the enlightened- Ushnisha Sitatapatra is a
female form of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
Like him in his elaborate form, she also has a thousand eyes
that watch over living beings, and a thousand arms that protect
and assist them. Thus she symbolizes the power of active compassion.
She
has the awe-inspiring majesty and radiates light. Taking the
white parasol, she protects all beings. She has a beautiful
face and two arms. She holds a parasol in her hand as the major
religious instrument. The parasol is one of the seven treasures
and eight auspicious things. It helps eliminate evil thoughts
and symbolizes that the Buddhist virtues shine on all beings.
She
symbolizes the immaculateness of Buddha dharma as an umbrella
covering everything.
Excerpted from the exhibition catalog written by Glenn Mullin, Andy Weber and Buddha?¡¥s Village Forum. ____________ Initiation of the Five Jambhalas It
is stated in the holy scriptures that Jambhala was a protector
of the Buddha, in addition to being related to Vaisravana, the
King of the North. While in Buddhism there is no belief in the
supplication of favors from external gods, there is a recognition
of the power of attitude and mind which can be harnessed using
expedient means. The practice of Jambhala is associated with
generosity and the quality of richness and abundance and is
therefore considered the most effective in eradicating poverty,
both on the psychological and material level. In Tibetan Buddhism, Jambhala
embodies the Wealth Deity aspect of all the Buddhas & bodhisattvas
of past, present and future, and grants longevity & prosperity
in daily life. Jambhala is an 8th level Bodhisattva
who completely mastered the art of the ten perfections, and
is especially committed to the perfection of prayer. With his
wisdom, he knows the situations of all sentient beings, and
with his compassion, he acts for the benefit of all sentient
beings. Vai?rava?a
( the main form of Jambhala ) in the Therav¡§?da tradition
In
the P¡§?li
scriptures of the Therav¡§?da
Buddhist tradition, Vai?rava?a
is called Vessava?a.
Vessava?a
is one of the C¡§?tummah¡§?r¡§?j¡§?no,
or four Great Kings, each of whom rules over a specific direction.
Vessava?a's
realm is the northern quadrant of the world, including the land
of Uttarakuru.
According to some suttas, he takes his name from a region there
called Vis¡§??a;
he also has a city there called ¡§?lakamand¡§? which
is a byword for wealth. Vessava?a
governs the yakkhas
¡§C beings with a nature between 'fairy' and 'ogre'. Vessava?a's
wife is named Bhu?jat¡§?, and he has five daughters, Lat¡§?,
Sajj¡§?, Pavar¡§?, Acchimat¡§?, and Sut¡§?.
He has a nephew called Pu??aka,
a yakkha, husband of the n¡§?ga
woman Irandat¡§?. He has a chariot called N¡§?r¡§?v¡§?hana.
His weapon was the gad¡§?vudha (Sanskrit:
gad¡§?yudha), but he only used it before he became a follower
of the Buddha. Vessava?a
has the name "Kuvera" from a name he had from a past life as
a rich brahmin mill-owner, who gave all the produce of one of
his seven mills to charity, and provided alms to the needy for
20,000 years. He was reborn in the C¡§?tummah¡§?r¡§?jik¡§?
heaven as a reward for these good kammas. As
with all the Buddhist deities, Vessava?a
is properly the name of an office (filled for life) rather than
a permanent individual. Each Vessava?a
is mortal, and when he dies, he will be replaced by a new Vessava?a.
Like other beings of the C¡§?tummah¡§?r¡§?jika
world, his lifespan is 90,000 years (other sources say nine
million years). Vessava?a
has the authority to grant the yakkhas particular areas (e.g.,
a lake) to protect, and these are usually assigned at the beginning
of a Vessava?a's
reign. When
the
Buddha was born, Vessava?a
became his follower, and eventually attained the stage of sot¡§?panna
(Sanskrit: srota¡§?panna, one who has only
seven more lives before enlightenment) Bimbis¡§?ra,
King of Magadha,
after his death was reborn as a yakkha called Janavasabha in
the retinue of Vessava?a. In
the early years of Buddhism, Vessava?a
was worshipped at trees dedicated to him as shrines. Some people
appealed to him to grant them children. Vai?rava?a
in Japan
In
Japan, Bishamonten (or just Bishamon)
is thought of as an armor-clad god of warfare
or warriors and a punisher of evildoers ¡§C a view that
is at odds with the more pacific Buddhist king described above.
Bishamon is portrayed holding a spear in one hand and a small
pagoda
in the other hand, the latter symbolizing the divine treasure
house, whose contents he both guards and gives away. In Shint¡§
beliefs, he is one of the Japanese
Seven
Gods of Fortune. Bishamon
is also called Tamonten (?¨¤??¨¬¨¬),
meaning "listening to many teachings" because he is the guardian
of the places where Buddha
preaches. He lives half way down the side of Mount
Sumeru. Vai?rava?a
in Tibet
In
Tibet, Vai?rava?a
is considered a worldly dharmap¡§?la
or protector of the Dharma.
He is also known as the King of the North. As guardian of the
north, he is often depicted on temple murals outside the main
door. He is also thought of as a god of wealth. As such, Vai?rava?a
is sometimes portrayed carrying a citron,
the fruit of the jambhara tree, a pun on another
name of his, Jambhala (in Tibetan pronunciation
Dzambala or Zambala). The fruit helps
distinguish him iconically from depictions of Kuvera.
He is sometimes represented as corpulent and covered with jewels.
When shown seated, his right foot is generally pendant and supported
by a lotus-flower
on which is a conch shell. His mount is a snow lion. Tibetan
Buddhists consider Jambhala's sentiment regarding wealth to
be providing freedom by way of bestowing prosperity, so that
one may focus on the path or spirituality rather than on the
materiality and temporality of that wealth. Excerpted from wikipedia, Jamyang
Khyentse and Lodu Rinpoche?¡¥s teachings.
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