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The Sun at Midnight: The Revealed Mysteries of the Ahlul Bayt Sufis

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Laurence Galian

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“The Heart-mantra of Dependent Origination (rten-'brel snying-po [རྟེན་འབྲེལ་སྙིང་པོ]), which liberates the enduring continuum of phenomena and induces the appearance of multiplying relics ('phel-gdung [འཕེལ་གདུང་] and rainbow lights, is: [OṂ] YE DHARMĀ HETUPRABHAVĀ HETUN TEṢĀṂ TATHĀGATO HY AVADAT TEṢĀṂ CA YO NIRODHO EVAṂ VĀDI MAHĀŚRAMAṆAḤ [YE SVĀHĀ] ('Whatever events arise from a cause, the Tathagāta [Buddha, "Thus-gone"] has told the cause thereof, and the great virtuous ascetic has taught their cessation as well [so be it]').”

BuddhismTantraMantraTibetan BuddhismDependent Origination
Book:The Tibetan Book of the Dead
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“...if we seek the permanence of an object as something existing from its own side, we discover something inexpressible. If we take three sticks and place them together in a certain way, they will all stand up. If each of the sticks could stand under its own power, it would remain standing even if the others were removed, but they cannot. In this way we must understand dependent arising precisely. Another way of thinking about it is to consider clothing. Only when cloth is of the correct color, shape, and so forth is it labeled "clothing." Or think of a clock. Whenever we see a clock, we label it a clock, but if we were to separate the component pieces, then the "clock" would cease to exist, because no basis of imputation would remain. In actuality there was no truly existent clock in the first place—only the causes and conditions fit to be labeled a "clock.”

BuddhismImpermanenceMahayanaDependent Origination
Book:Chöd in the Ganden Tradition: The Oral Instructions of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche
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“The dependent origination, or structure of conditions, appears as a flexible formula with the intention of describing the ordinary human situation of a man in his world (or indeed any conscious event where ignorance and craving have not entirely ceased). That situation is always complex, since it is implicit that consciousness with no object, or being ( bhava— becoming, or however rendered) without consciousness (of it), is impossible except as an artificial abstraction. The dependent origination, being designed to portray the essentials of that situation in the limited dimensions of words and using only elements recognizable in experience, is not a logical proposition (Descartes’ cogito is not a logical proposition). Nor is it a temporal cause-and-effect chain: each member has to be examined as to its nature in order to determine what its relations to the others are (e.g. whether successive in time or conascent, positive or negative, etc., etc.). A purely cause-and-effect chain would not represent the pattern of a situation that is always complex, always subjective-objective, static-dynamic, positive-negative, and so on. Again, there is no evidence of any historical development in the various forms given within the limit of the Sutta Piþaka (leaving aside the Paþisambhidámagga), and historical treatment within that particular limit is likely to mislead, if it is hypothesis with no foundation. Parallels with European thought have been avoided in this translation. But perhaps an exception can be made here, with due caution, in the case of Descartes. The revolution in European thought started by his formula cogito ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”) is not yet ended. Now, it will perhaps not escape notice that the two elements, “I think” and “I am,” in what is not a logical proposition parallel to some extent the two members of the dependent origination, consciousness and being (becoming). In other words, consciousness activated by craving and clinging as the dynamic factory, guided and blinkered by ignorance (“I think” or “consciousness with the conceit ‘I am’”), conditions being (“therefore I am”) in a complex relationship with other factors relating subject and object (not accounted for by Descartes). The parallel should not be pushed too far. In fact it is only introduced because in Europe the dependent origination seems to be very largely misunderstood with many strange interpretations placed upon it, and because the cogito does seem to offer some sort of reasonable approach.”

Dependent Origination
Author:Nanamoli Thera
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“Must be frustrating being a scientist. There you are, incrementally discovering how the universe works via a series of complex tests and experiments, for the benefit of all mankind - and what thanks do you get? People call you "egghead" or "boffin" or "heretic", and they cave your face in with a rock and bury you out in the wilderness. Not literally - not in this day and age - but you get the idea. Scientists are mistrusted by huge swathes of the general public, who see them as emotionless lab-coated meddlers-with-nature rather than, say, fellow human beings who've actually bothered getting off their arses to work this shit out.”

ScienceHumour
Author:Charlie Brooker
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“To be is to be contingent: nothing of which it can be said that "it is" can be alone and independent. But being is a member of paticca-samuppada as arising which contains ignorance. Being is only invertible by ignorance. Destruction of ignorance destroys the illusion of being. When ignorance is no more, than consciousness no longer can attribute being (pahoti) at all. But that is not all for when consciousness is predicated of one who has no ignorance than it is no more indicatable (as it was indicated in M Sutta 22).”

Dependent Origination
Author:Nanamoli Thera
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“Creation and Free Will are constantly moving, hand in hand, like children traveling along a path full of impulses and inspirations.Through the use of the Dragonflame philosophy they become superior artistic beings able to enjoy and share the fruits of creative labor.”

PhilosophyInspirationCreativityFree WillDragonflamebylawrenleo
Book:Dragonflame: Tap Into Your Reservoir of Power Using Talismans, Manifestation, and Visualization
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“In the sleepy village of Lower Newton Falls, as they had promised their mother they would do the night before, the Lowery brothers [ages 12,10] rose early, ate their breakfast, packed their books, and headed straight for school. When a mile later they reached the turn in the lane that led to the schoolhouse, only Jack Lowery took it; Eddie [the younger brother] stopped and handed Jack his book bag. 'I'm not going,' said Eddie. 'What are you talking about?' 'I'm going to the [Brookline Golf] club,' said Eddie. 'If you had any guts you'd come with me.”

Golf1913CaddieEddie LoweryFrancis OuimetUs Open
Book:The Greatest Game Ever Played
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“Jack, you can't go to school, you promised Francis you'd be on his bag tomorrow [for the 1913 US Open] Eddie whispered harshly. 'I know I did -' 'You can't do that to him, he's counting on you.' 'They caught me fair and square, Eddie, what am I supposed to do?' 'You're supposed to live up to your promises.' 'I can't do it, Eddie,' said Jack. 'Francis'll catch on with somebody else, you'll see. He'll be all right.' Eddie remained unconvinced, but nothing he said could change Jack's mind. Before he went to bed, Eddie changed the bandage on his foot; there was a fair amount of blood soaked into it. He examined the wound and decided it would stand up to what he was about to put it through. It would have to. As he lay there restlessly trying to sleep that night, Eddie Lowery, tough and tenacious beyond his size and years [10 years old], had already made up his mind that it didn't matter what his brother decided to do. Both Lowery brothers weren't going to let down Francis Ouimet.”

Golf1913CaddieEddie LoweryFrancis OuimetUs Open
Book:The Greatest Game Ever Played
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