Nothing really.

Nothing.
This is all i can give you, so use it well.
I will stand beside you and help you.
There is nothing stopping you.
There is nothing you cannot do.
What you do with it is up to you.
I wonder so, what you will do with nothing.

May the force be with you
Fugen

The closed fist and the open hand

The closed fist and the open hand

Hands can be used as an teaching.

You can say that the the closed fist holds on to everything, is shut and hides whatever it is holding.
It is also clenched, hard and can hurt others when hitting.

The open hand, on the other hand, is not holding on to anything.
It is ready to give freely, receive, carry and caress.
The open hand is the richness that comes out of the generosity that occurs when we let go.
Not letting go of everything is not the same as in the sense of letting go off all your possesions, running naked into the woods asf but really letting go of everything, what some traditions call an awakening.

These richnesses comes as gifts, both big and small, and they are always in this moment, that is why we call it the present.

The closed fist and the open hand can both be the same hand, so be mindful and pay attention when handing out presents, are the hands closed or open?

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

House of mourning part 1 &2

Hi.

Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not.

-Master Yoda, star wars

For many, a funeral is a day of mourning. Many are sorry for the person in question who is dead and gone, which is understandable, but do not forget to rejoice in life and what that person has done.

In the Bible, pred 7, speaks of the joy of going to a house of mourning.
We gather to celebrate a person's behavior and deeds. We gather to celebrate life.

Funerals, for me, is never a sad event, it is only a step along the way. And like every step of the way, it is an important step. Going to a house of mourning can make you think more on the days you have, and the desire to make the best of them.

The funeral ceremony itself has several purposes, but one of the most important is for those present.
It is an opportunity for reflection and honoring of the dead, each other and life.
When asked what the ceremony would be for, it was, for me, obvious. 
For everyone.
In my take on the ZenBuddhistfuneralceremony, i chose to strip away as much esoteric as possible to put the emphasis on the gathered and the deceased. 
The ritual consists of three parts, the ordination, life history and messages, and leave-taking from the gathered. The ordinations are a standard feature of the Zen Buddhist funeralceremony and is a modified shukke Tokkudo, priest / monk ordination, and contains the same elements as if she were alive, albeit slightly modified. 
The Lifestory makes the person more alive in the ceremony. The leave-taking may look different. Usually it's an individual or several people who go to the coffin and make their own ceremony, whether it is reading a poem or just stand there in silence.  

Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is
a mystery and today is a gift,
which is why it is called the present.
What the caterpillar perceives is the end;
to the butterfly is just the beginning.
Everything that has a beginning has an ending.
Make your peace with that and all will be well
- Master oogway, kung fu panda

In Buddhism we talk about grasping, wanting to hold on to something, but also that everything is in a state of constant change. As master Oogway says in kung fu panda "Everything That has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well."
If you have something, it will disappear and you'll miss it, cause and effect. It's fine, it's part of the process, and if you see that, everything will be well.

In the Christian faith they talk about that the deceased is again with God. In Buddhism, the parallel is that of the the wave returning to the ocean.
Both analogies demonstrate the same, you return to the source, who never left you and is always with you.  In a sense, You turn your face to the face that is always turned towards you. And as much as the face is turned to the you, the face is turned to the deceased, and the deceased's face is turned to you. Always. Although the person may seem gone, he never is. So let us rejoice, for the person is always here.

striking bells

Hi.

Why do we strike the bells as we do?

Maybe we strike the bell 3 times for Buddha, Dharma, sangha.

2 times because we walk on the earth on two legs, putting on foot in front of the other.

1 time to remind us that we are all one.

Or maybe we strike the bell because it can.

Maybe.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

The ocean

Hi.

The most important part of understanding “the ocean” is that “the ocean” is not a word.

There are lots of concepts and words.

“Life” is a word, but the experience of it is not.

Something will happen, but not that.

Theres something else going on here besides words.

That thing is one thing, and that thing is you.

In essence, You are the ocean.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

No rush

Ferris: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

- "Ferris Buellers day off"

Stop and smell the roses once in awhile.

It may not be easy, but if you keep on rushing through life you might be missing a lot of good things, and what a sad thing that would be, as life, after all, is what we are here for.

All to many people rush by these days. 

Rushing to get a lot of things, as THEN life will begin. 
What they are missing is that life is right here, right now, unfolding itself for us as we rush on.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

No spoon

Hi

"-Master, we're playing tags and TAG! You're it.

-No, YOU're it!"

In the movie Matrix we see this exchange:

”Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Spoon boy: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Spoon boy: Then you'll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself. ”



What is real?
How do you define real?
If what you're talking about is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real', in a "scientific sense", is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.
We can get angry or scared from movies and dreams because from the point of view of the brain, it is all 'real'. Your brain can't tell the difference between something imagined and something in the material world. They are both just electric signals.
In fact, if you imagine you are a God, you are.
So, what are you?

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

Carpe diem

Hi.

Carpe diem. Seize the day boys. Make your lives extraordinary.

-Dead poets society

Even in the making of your lives, you make your lives extraordinary. Some Buddhists, if not all, say that you being alive is extraordinary, a blessing even. In the book the tibetan book on living and dying by sogyal rinpoche you have this story.

"Every spiritual tradition has stressed that this human life is unique, and has potential that ordinarily we hardly even begin to imagine. If we miss the opportunity this life offers us for transforming ourselves, they say, it may well be an extremely long time before we have another. 
Imagine a blind turtle, roaming the depths of an ocean the size of the universe. Up above floats a wooden ring, tossed to and fro on the waves. Every hundred years the turtle comes, once, to the surface. To be born a human being is said by Buddhists to be more difficult than for the turtle to surface accidentally with its head poking through the wooden ring. And even among those who have a human birth, it is said, those who have the great fortune to make a connection with the teachings are rare; and those who really take them to heart and embody them in their actions even rarer, as rare, in fact, 'as stars in broad daylight'."

The important moment is now. 

That is the only moment you can do anything about as The past is history, the future is not yet here.

They are both dependent on the now as it is dependent on them. It is a gift and that is why we can call it the present. What you do about the gift you have been given is up to you.

Use it wisely.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

Bookreview: Cave of tigers

Hi.

John Daido Loori was born in Jersey City, New Jersey 1931. He was raised Roman Catholic, and only later on found his way to Buddhism and was ordained as a priest in 1983 and later on received dharma transmission in both a Soto and a Rinzailineage and was the dharma heir of the influential Japanese Zen master Taizan Maezumi Roshi. He is the author of numerous books and also the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order and Abbot of Zen mountain monastery. He died of lungcancer On October 9, 2009.

Dharma encounter is an public interchange between a teacher and student.. The Dharma encounter can happen after a teaching or reading of a text, but it is not required. It has an long history, but can look very different depending on the sangha, although there are some very ritualized, formalised occurrences of its useage. In the book Cave of tigers we are invited to recapture edited dharma encounters (also know as dharma combat or dharma assembly) Zen mountain monastery between students an John Daido Loori.

The dharma encounters we encounter in this book are not the ritualized form, but rather a soft flowing back and forth between two long time friends. The subjects brought forth has something for the whole spectrum of zenpractitioners, whatever their level of understanding is at, presented in an modern context. What unfolds in the mix might sometimes confound you, and might require several readings before you get it, but when you do, it is a gem.

I like these kind of books who do not try to drag a specific teaching out. In the book, Daido Loori gives an short text and then adds an couple of friendly back and forths corresponding to the initial text. This gives the short text, and the Dharma encounters, an extra depth and although that is not really needed, it is very appreciated.

He covers both a lot off different subjects and an important part of the Buddhist tradition, that of the public back and forthdiscussion that is, in my view, a good practice. I only hope that we get to see more of that in the future, and it no be shyed away, because there is so much to be won in presenting it more..

But you don't have to wait that long, you can get engaged right now, right here.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

1 john 3:18

Hi.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

-1 john 3:18

Buddhism is all about action, or if you want, doings.

Put into words, Buddhism is all about verbs.

Not subjects, adjectives, but verbs.

And if you didn't know, verbs is what you get paid for.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

Bookreview: Inside the grass hut

Hi.

Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen priest in the Katagiri lineage at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. In the book he has taken on a thirty-two linepoem by Zen master Shitou (700-790) called "Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage" and uses it as a stepping stone to illuminate the meaning of spiritual practice, humility, simplicity, and living lightly.

Even though the language in the book, and poem, is easy, has an air of zen aesthetics, and talk about the simplicity of life in a down to earth kind of style, they are not an light read in the sense of thoughts and the impact they will leave on you. Both the poem and the book opens up a spectrum of thoughts and inklings to the features of our hut.

Each chapter in the book focuses on a single line of the poem.
By doing so Connelly lets the reader immerse himself thoroughly in each line, explore it and then step out for air before moving on to the next line/chapter.

Line by line, chapter by chapter, Connelly shows the reader how the poem draws on and expresses elements from the thousand years of Buddhist thought that preceded it, how it is applicable in living a daily, simple, life with a deep connection to all things.

The book is going to be an valueable companion to life in general and Shitou's poem for anyone, not just Zennies, who find these gems.

Song of the grassroof hermitage

I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.
After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
Now it’s been lived in – covered by weeds.
The person in the hut lives here calmly,
Not stuck to inside, outside, or in between.
Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.
Realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love.
Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.
In ten square feet, an old man illumines forms and their nature.
A Great Vehicle bodhisattva trusts without doubt.
The middling or lowly can’t help wondering;
Will this hut perish or not?
Perishable or not, the original master is present,
not dwelling south or north, east or west.
Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.
A shining window below the green pines –
Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare with it.
Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.
Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.
Living here he no longer works to get free.
Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?
Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.
The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.
Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instruction,
Bind grasses to build a hut, and don’t give up.
Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.
Open your hands and walk, innocent.
Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,
Are only to free you from obstructions.
If you want to know the undying person in the hut,
Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.

- Shitou Xiqian

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

"Teachers"

Hi.

Several people have said that i, apparently, is a lot like the character ”richard from Texas” in ”eat pray love” played by Richard Jenkins, who is one of the ”teachers” that Liz gilbert (played by Julia Roberts) meets.

So i thought i'd write something up about the teachers we meet in our practicelives.

Just so we get one thing absolutely clear, there are many teachers out there.

Some who claim they are and some who don't, some good some not so much...

Here are some general ramblings in the topic of teachers from this old fool.

1. The teacher is not there for himself or ”no ego”.

A good teacher is there for everyone. She is in it for the sake of everyone getting a benefit out of it. A good teacher respects. She's not in it just for her own fame and fortune, if she were then she would just suck up all the energy in your relationship and then leave you dry while moving on. Don´t forget that fancy names are good on paper, and a good teacher never leaves you, she's always with you...

2. Where does she come from?

Finding out the backpack that she is carrying can be important. If you don't know what she brings, you don't know what you're gonna get. That can be a bit like a box of chocolates, but not nearly as nice. And don't be fooled by fancy wrappingpapers and such, often the simplest things are the best.

You don't always need to know everything, but its good to keep in mind, the backwater of the raft.

3. Behaviour

How does she behave?

Does she behave accord to what she preaches?

Does she produce a lot of onesided clones or spirits free to live?

If she is nice, flexible and helpful it's all good. Watch out if she goes ballistic, goes into rages, tries to manipulate and other bad behaviours. If she only wants her ways and not listening to others, opening up possibilites asf i would watch my back, slowly walk out and run.

This does not mean that a challenging behaviour is bad. If done with the correct intent, that is necessary. Being challenging is quite different than being abusive.
She might be the best teacher in the world but quite abusive in her manners and where would that leave you? Abused. And do we want that?

We do not always realize that we are being abused either. We can continue the relationship happily thinking that it is a soaring one, while, in reality, it is a parachutejump where there is only one who has an parachute.

So what do you do?

You live.
You learn.

You stumble and fall.
Sometimes you will be the teacher to, then be the best teacher you can.

In the meantime, leave the bad and cling to the good and remember its all good practice, groceries.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

Bookreview: Why i am a buddhist

Hi.

The book takes a grounding in the life and thoughts of the author Stephen T. Asma. 
From there we go through the Buddhist basics in a ”no-nonsens with redmeat and whiskeyway” as the frontpage of the book says.Asma is professor of philosophy and interdisciplinary humanities at Columbia College in Chicago. He has written extensively on Buddhism and taught it at the university level.

Asma does a good job laying out the basiscs of the basics of Buddhism in a very elegenagt punchy style which will attract people of all ages. Providing just enough technical language to educate the reader without getting bogged down in Sanskrit terms or doctrinal details is another one of the upsides. 
His chapters on Buddhism and science and Buddhism and the arts are good. He deconstructs the quantum mechanics mysticism that seems popular in New Age thought and demonstrates the connection between Zen and the arts in a nice way. 

He puts forth the notion for thinking about Buddhism in terms of a "first language" (cultural Buddhism) and a "second language" (learned Buddhism). He also makes a great deal of the difference between what he terms "Chicago" Buddhism and what he sees as a more New Agey form of California Buddhism.

Asma also talks about how there are two main groups of Buddhists, all variations aside. There is the group which grows up with Buddhism and a a second group which comes to Buddhism later in life, seeking it out. A topic he covers fairly well in the exposee.

He also talks about the attraction of Buddhism and Buddha, and does a good job about it.

The author teaches philosophy at a Chicago college which makes me wonder why he wrote this book as he did, maybe as some sort of textbook to be used at his lectures, as there is plenty of anecdotes who would work there. But then comes the question on why would he then leave so much out that needs to be in a comprehensive  book about Buddhism and why does he include writings the way he does.

He attacks views of spirituality and schools of Buddhism and dismisses them right off, which makes no sense.

His discussion of cravings, for example, is all about romantic love, which could be a good start to the chapter, but where's the rest?

The chapter on parenthood leaves a lot, even though he showes he is protective of his kid, there is not much buddhistparenthooding in the chapter. His ending chapter, in which he looks at Buddhism and the global stage, he both outlines the attacks on and uses of Buddhism but includes an assault on Islam in favor of Christianity. It makes for an final example of the uneven quality of the sections in the book - some are very good and others are not. 
 

Near the end we come back to the message of balance. 
Buddhism is all about the middle road. 
Buddhism is a practice of both mind and body, you cant just read/write or just sit your way to it's core. 
But with a bit of practice, and/or editing Asma might might get it, just as you can.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

Unbuttoned

Hi.

One of my favourite words is unbuttoned.

A good, storytelling word. 
A word that makes you think.

Unbuttoned.

There are words that really can tell a story.
Unbuttoned is one of them.

“He unbuttoned his jacket and laid back in the chair.”

“She unbuttoned the top button”

Just taste it, Unbuttoned.

Next up we have life...

Mtfbwy

Fugen

To serve is to love

Hi.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

-1 Peter 4:10

To serve another, to really serve, is the ultimate act of love.
To really serve means that you do everything you can for that person/s you are serving. The mindset should be much like that of faithful stewards. Once you really commit to that which you do for them, you are truly serving. Serving can take many shapes, we are all different, much like the drops in the rain, as different as they are, serve the earth with the rain. Much like the raindrops, we can all serve to the best of our ability
Life is our temple and its all good practice. 
Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy
Fugen

Treeleaf 2015 swedish summer retreat

Hi.

The Treeleaf 2015 Swedish summer retreat will be an  6-days retreat right in the heart of the Swedish natural park of Tiveden at Rödjorna retreatcenter.
Welcome!

http://www.retreat-sweden.com/Retreat-Sweden/Zen_Vandra_engels2.html

Mtfbwy
Fugen

Bookreview: Mahayana Buddhism, the doctrinal foundations of Mahayana Buddhism

Hi.

This is a book about a branch of the Buddhist tree, the Mahayana Buddhism. 

It covers not only the branch and leaves of the tree, but also takes a look at the root, and the stem holding the branch up.It is an scholarly book made by an scholar. And it shows. 

The reference pages alone is 30 pages long. 

Do note though, this is not an introduction for the beginner. 

Each side in the book is crammed to the max with facts, names, dates, terms, and sad to say, his own views.

The author, Paul Williams, is a Professor of Indian and Tibetan Philosophy and Co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol. 

That means he's a scholar, used to reading scholarly texts, which is why I again and again, ask myself, why?!?

Don't get me wrong, its a very good book. 

His writing is good, clear and the issues are discussed in an interesting way which gets me, as a reader, interested in reading more. He presents the history, central texts and teachings, and disputes of the Mahayana with more or less well-focused discipline.

He presents a core text and then adds the rest as notes to the text, which gives 120 (!) pages of notes. 

And that in a book of 440 pages. I don't see that as an problem, it is actually helpful sometimes when you read. It gets you some kind of flow in the storyline. Alas if you are not used to reading books like these I can see a problem...

The problem I have with this book, is that, now and then, he puts in his own thoughts and views in the mix and muddling it up. If this had been any fluffy pinkcloudbook about Buddhism, I can see some people doing like that. But this is an scholarly book on Buddhism done by a Buddhist scholar in an scholarcontext. 

You don't do that. 

Period.

Despite some minor setbacks this is by far the best allcovering introduction on Mahayana Buddhism in english out there. It is not something you begin with but as you feel the need to get your feet wet, this is your perfect companion on the trip.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

Drama and Dharma

“ What is drama and what is dharma?

I guess you could say that drama is illusion that acts like truth and dharma is truth itself- the way things are, the basic state of reality that does not change from day to day according to fashion or our mood or agenda. To change dharma into drama, all we need are the elements of any good play: emotion, conflict, and action – a sense that something urgent and meaningful is happening to the characters involved.”

• "Rebel buddha on the road to freedom", dzogchen ponlop, p. 2

The dramas in our lives can happen on both an big and small scale.

They often start out with “facts”, then concepts, emotions and “truths” gets added to the storyline and we are really getting ourselves ready for the big stage.

The thing is also that the more time we spend in this storyline, the more hooked we get by it and we begin to think about it as “The TRUTH”, rather than just another imaginery play.

The important things to remember is that we can, at any time, realize that we are in a play and look out over the theatre to see the real truth, that these stages of life are just that, stages.
And, also, that it is all good practice, because without the theatre, the storyline and the stage, we can never realize our starpotential, that yes, YOU are a star.

Deal with it, kiddo.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

The Dark Cave

Hi.

"-Master, they threw a snowball at me!

-And what did you do before that?

-Nothing.

-Sometimes nothing is enough."

The scene with the dark cave in ”Empire strikes back” is a good teaching about life.

As Luke is about to enter he asks "What's in there?" and Yoda replies "Only what you take with you" which leads up to that Luke straps on his weapons. Yoda then tells him he wont need them, but he continues on in with them. In the cave he meets Darth vader, we hear the iconic sound of the lightsaber and realize that Luke has drawn it first.
A short bout continues, where Luke cuts off Darth vaders head, only to see it transform into his own face.

What happens in the dark cave is an reflection of our own doing/being, much like the snowball.

If you do something, something will happen.
A coin has two sides, you can't have one without the other. 
Like newton's third law of physics states: To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.
There is no question about it.

The real question is: are you ready for the reaction?

Mtfbwy

Fugen

article: cup of coffe

Hi.

This is the english translation of an article in an Swedish  Magazine.

"Such being the truth, we must learn that there are many appearances and grasses throughout the earth and that each grass and each appearance are not apart from the entire earth. Holding this view is the point of departure for training. When we reach this sphere of our journey's end, there is one grass and one appearance. We sometimes meet the appearance and sometimes not; sometimes we meet the grass and sometimes not. Because it is only time of this sort, uji is all time, and each grass and each appearance are time. In each moment there are all existences and all worlds. Try to think - Are any existences or worlds separated from time?"

- Shobogenzo Uji (Dogen)

Dogen was an zenmonk in 1200-century Japan and is considered the founder of Sotozentradition. Seemingly contradictory starting points often lay the foundation for his view, with multiple perspectives simultaneously. To gain insight into Dogen reasoning, we can, based on the above text, examine his theory of current-time (being-time / Uji). In his view space and time is both existent and nonexistent simultaneously. All of space and time is here and now, which is in line with modern quantum physics thinking.

We often assume the idea that time flows from the past through the present to the future and that events such as that here and now we drink a cup of coffee, can never be turned into an event in the there and then.
Dogen also pointed out that the past is just “a memory”, and that the future is “a dream”. In this way, the past and the future is illusions. He wonders on what we need for the words "current / present” , if there exists a past or future, as these concepts really only exists as a concept opposed to the present's concept?

Dogen wrote that the time never had a direction, but that everything depended on everything else, and being a perfect jewel right where it is. Similar to a flood, there is no upstream, downstream or here on the river, if we see it as "just the river." Although a river flows downstream, you can not have downstream without an upstream. And so we flow downstream into upstream. Similar thoughts are also in modern physics, where it is asserted that all timelines actually has two directions. The future flows into the present flowing further into the past, and vice versa, that is, everything is connected.

Because each location on the river is "just the river" so is every drop of the river "just the river". Every drop of the river flowing into each other drop of the river. So what happens to a drop is the time and being (time-being / Uji) of every other drop.
The picture can naturally grow outside the river and eventually include all beings, the universe, everything. So when you drink a cup of coffee, the whole universe drinks a cup of coffee. If you do, here and now, the whole universe is here and now, drinking a cup of coffee. Which means that, by extension, a cup of coffee, is here and now, drinking itself ...

But the ultimate question must surely be, do we have time for a cup of coffee?

 Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen 

Bookreview ”solens hjärta”- ”The heart of the sun”

Hi.

Lama Ngawang was an Tibetan lama who got to sweden in 1976 at the request of his holiness the 16:th Gyalwa Karmapa and honorable Kalu Rinpoche. 

He saw to it the Stupa in Fellingsbro was made, founded an Tibetan Buddhist centre in Tar, Nograd County, Hungary and he also ran the Buddhist center in Stockholm until his death in 2011.

"When we practice Dharma, our minds doesnt become discriminatory, we need no longer be one-sided when we desire to help someone. We are impartial and no longer distinguishes the good or bad practice. We walk a middle ground. If we exercise without discriminating against other religious traditions, then we find it all in our own practice. If we follow a tradition while we also believe that all the other traditions are worse, then it's pointless to be in no tradition at all. Such a view destroys everything.
All schools have been part of our tradition. "

This book consists of oral instructions that has been given at the Buddhist center Karma Shedrup Dargye Ling in Mälarhöjden, Stockholm. 

The teachings was then translated from Tibetan into Swedish by interpreters and has been edited by Elin Lagerkvist.

According to the book, and people who had met him, Lama Ngawang had favorite lyrics which he often told when he taught. 

You also see this in the book, as phrases and quotations from these keep popping up again and again in the book.

We are currently reading this book as part of the bookclub in the sangha here in skövde, and i look forward to the discussions that will arise, because they will be plenty if you go by all the things that is taken up in this book.

The book covers some of the basics of Buddhism such as Samsaras six worlds, the six paramitas and suffering. 

It also covers things like mind, meditation and chenrezig. 

This is all covered in a “thick Tibetan-Buddhism sauce” which is sometimes spread so thick that even some of my friends, who follow the tibetan Buddhist path, thought it a bit hard to swallow.

The texts in the book are edited talks done by an, what must have been, wonderful man. 

The image of an smiling man permeates through the texts presented in it. 

The texts themselves have been ordered into ”sections” ranging from the six realms of samsara to ”why do we meditate” in a very nicely edited version which the book book presents in an orderly and good fashion.

The downside is that it´s clear that it is talks that has been given, written down and edited. 

This is prominently clear when reading the texts and there is no real continuation or theme to the texts that is presented.

It is full of nonbuddhist truth, halftruths, and what must be teachings from the Tibetan Tradition, which i have not taken part in, which also gives an air of an edited talk, not really finished yet. 

Furthermore there are some things lacking, and you sometimes wonder who's opinion is displayed, Lama Ngawangs or the editor, Elin Lagerkvists. 

This gives me a bad taste, as i almost feel that his lifeteachings are tainted, which i think wasn't the purpose.

Now, don't get me wrong, the book is brilliant sometimes. 

I look forward to reading version 3 of it, the one after the next-next editorialredoing, if we ever get there. 

But i guess we will. 

Because Lama Ngawang was one of the important forefigures when Buddhism came to Sweden, and this is his written teachings.

Nevertheless, i find myself continuing reading the book with an smile on my face and an interest of whats coming next, as, all in all, it is an good book about Tibetanflavoured Buddhism, and in the end you shouldn't judge a book by its cover...

In the meantime, Thanks Elin Lagerkvist, it made an good reading in my Sangha here, and also gave birth to a lot of good discussions.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen