Today's Thoughts.

Been bumming around. Felt wonderful, finally I feel rested again.  I have fixed up my Sangha's site, with the help of Sangha-friend Max, so now we have an English version: http://www.ktg.nu/en.

Been pfutzing around with my pictures too, and realized I have to have better order in the house. So, now I have re-imported every raw picture I still owned into Lightroom and rename the directories according to date and content.
Feels good!

And... Staffan and I have ordered our tickets for next summer. PHEW!  7400 SEK per person for trips going from Stockholm on the 8th of June to Delhi, then Katmandu, then Delhi, then Bangalore and then Delhi back to Stockholm via Doha on the 22nd or August.
Quite the trip this time.

From today on - I will study one chapter of the Manual of Standard Tibetan so that I remember something from last time spent in Kathmandu and Rangjung Yeshe Institute. 

My Saraswati will hopefully keep me safe on all my ventures...

Our Grand Old Lady - Queen Amidala - Amy - and ... Lucifer, the pug

...from the net: two stories of the Kagyu Lineage.

Naropa and Tilopa...

Tilopa was about to take his leave, but Naropa, out of desperation and devotion, clung to Tilopa without any shame or embarrassment and again requested him to be his teacher. Saying neither yes nor no to Naropa's request, Tilopa walked away. Naropa tried to follow Tilopa, but although Tilopa appeared to be walking normally, and although Naropa was running, he was unable to catch up, no matter how fast he ran. Naropa could see the form of Tilopa in front of him, but he was unable to get closer. As this area in India was particularly hot and arid, it became very difficult for Naropa to keep running after Tilopa, and although he subjected himself to thirst, hunger, and fatigue, he was not able to catch up.
Eventually, Naropa saw Tilopa sitting on a very high cliff. He went over to him and prostrated, again requesting Tilopa to be his teacher. Tilopa responded by saying, "If you were really desperate and determined to learn about the teachings, you would obey my order to jump off this cliff without any hesitation because you would be able to understand how important it is to follow the commands of your master." Naropa jumped off the high cliff and fell to the ground. All his bones and joints were broken into many, many pieces. Tilopa went down to Naropa and inquired, "Are you experiencing any pain?" Naropa replied, "The pain is killing me!" This is how Naropa got his name. ("Na" in Tibetan means "pain," "ro" means "killing" and "pa" makes the word a noun.) Tilopa gently touched Naropa's body and all his broken bones joined together and were healed.
After undergoing so much suffering, Naropa once again asked Tilopa to give him the profound teachings. Tilopa said, "You are not yet pure enough to be introduced to the nature of mind!" With a wrathful expression, Tilopa removed his slipper and slapped the face of Naropa so hard that Naropa fainted. When he regained consciousness, Naropa's mental state of realization was equal to that of his teacher.
Becoming very peaceful, Tilopa lovingly explained to Naropa why he had to be so very wrathful and subject him to so much suffering. He explained, "The fact that I led you into so many painful circumstances does not mean that I am a cruel person. Your negative karma could not be purified by your own effort alone. Only by your actually experiencing hardship could you purify the negative karma that prevented you from realizing the ultimate nature of buddhahood. Throughout all your experiences of hardship, you did not develop any doubts, hesitation, or wrong views, and you diligently obeyed all commands. In this way you were able finally to overcome the conflicting emotions and experience realization."

Karma Pakshi

Karma Pakshi
The 2nd Gyalwa Karmapa
(1203 - 1283)
was a child prodigy who had already acquired a broad understanding of Dharma philosophy and meditation by the age of ten. His teacher, Pomdrakpa, had received the full Kagyu transmission from Drogon Rechen, the first Karmapa's spiritual heir.
The second Karmapa spent much of the first half of his life in meditation retreat. He also visited and restored the monasteries established by the first Karmapa and is famous for having introduced to the Tibetan people communal chanting of the OM MANI PADME HUNG mantra of compassion.
Karmapa travelled widely in China, Mongolia, and Tibet and became famous as a teacher. Returning to Tibet towards the end of his life, he had an enormous (sixteen-meter) statue of the Buddha built at Tsurphu, to fulfill a dream he had had long before. The finished work was slightly tilted and Karma Pakshi straightened it by sitting first in the same tilted posture as the statue and then righting himself. The statue moved as he moved.