Wisdom of the Masters

This is a reading of Manjushrimitra's the Bodhicittabhavana, a seminal early text of Ati Yoga. Mañjuśrīmitra (d. 740 CE) was an Indian Buddhist scholar. He became the main student of Garab Dorje and a teacher of Dzogchen. He was a resident at Nalanda University where he became a respected Yogācāra scholar and practitionerAs explained by Yeshe Donden, "Manjushrimitra wrote the Bodhicittabh...

Selected passages from the "The Sutra of Hui-neng, Grand Master of Zen" (Platform Sutra), using an amalgam of translations. Hui-neng (638-713) was a seminal figure in Buddhist history and is one of the most beloved and respected figure in Zen Buddhism. An illiterate woodcutter who attained enlightenment in a flash, he became the Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen, and is regarded as the foun...

Excerpts of clear pointings and teachings from the book "Annamalai Swami Final Talks" edited by David Godman. Annamalai Swami (1906–1995) was a direct disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi who realized the Self after practicing Self-enquiry for decades. This experience gave him first-hand knowledge of how to perform Self-enquiry successfully, making his advice especially valuable to seekers. H...

Evelyn Underhill (6 December 1875 – 15 June 1941) was an English Anglo-Catholic poet and novelist as well as a pacifist and mystic. An only child, she described her early mystical insights as "abrupt experiences of the peaceful, undifferentiated plane of reality—like the 'still desert' of the mystic—in which there was no multiplicity nor need of explanation". The meaning of these experiences becam...

A brilliant, concise and clear set of instructions given by Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) to a devoted old lady and her attendant. This terma text was revealed by Nyang Ral Nyima Özer. Translated in Treasures from Juniper Ridge: The Profound Instructions of Padmasambhava to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal. Translated and edited by Erik Pema Kunsang & Marcia Binder Smith. 🙏 May whatever goodness aris...

These direct, powerful and humourous verses were spoken by the great Master, Patrul Rinpoche, to wake himself up to the reality of the ever-present Great Perfection. Translation by Constance Wilkinson. The original source can be found here: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/patrul-rinpoche/advice-from-me-to-myselfDza Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1887) — an enlightened master, who, though he li...

One of Bhagavan Ramana's Maharshi's favourite traditional spiritual works was the Ribhu Gita. He often referred to the Ribhu Gita in his talks with devotees and seekers, and is reported to have said that if one repeatedly read Chapter 26 of the Ribhu Gita one could pass spontaneously into Samadhi, or the natural state of Self- Realization. Ribhu Gita means "The song of sage Ribhu&quot...

This is a 20 minute guided Yoga Nidra to help you relax, find inner peace and sleep. It follows the traditional guidance of systematically relaxing and being aware of each part of the body. Yoga nidra, or yogic sleep as it is commonly known, is an immensely powerful meditation technique, and one of the easiest yoga practices to develop and maintain. While the practitioner rests comfortably in sava...

Tong'an Changcha, a Zen master from China, wrote the poem 'Ten Verses of Unfathomable Depth' in the tenth century. It is still considered to be among the most profound teachings within the Zen tradition. Changcha lived in the Jianchang county of the Hong region and was a master of the Dharma with lineage inherited from Jiufeng. Changcha's poem, “Ten Verses of Unfathomable Depth,” i...

This is a selection of key pointers from Siddharameshwar taken from the website Inner Quest. Siddharameshwar Maharaj is one of the greatest unknown saints of the age who attained the highest abode of Eternal peace. He was born in August 1888 in the small village of Pathri, in the district Sholapur of India. From 1925 until 1936, he taught many disciples and helped dozens attain Self-realisation. H...

Selected excerpts of a teaching given by Ajahn Chah at the request of one of his students whose mother was on her deathbed. The student had expected just a short message for his mother, but instead Ajahn Chah gave this extended talk of the Dhamma of profound wisdom, compassion and encouragement for the mother and the whole family. Ajahn Chah was a Thai Buddhist monk and meditation Master. He was a...

A reading of selected excerpts/verses from the gnostic text, The Sophia of Christ. The Sophia The Christ, also known as the Wisdom of Jesus Christ, is a Gnostic text that was first discovered in the Berlin Codex (a Codex purchased in Cairo in 1896 and given to the Berlin Museum which also contains the Gospel of Mary, the Apocryphon of John, and a summary of the Act of Peter). More famously, the So...

This is a selection of some key pointers from Nisargadatta on the nature of consciousness. The teachings have been extracted from the texts, 'Prior to Consciousness' and 'I am That'. Nisargadatta Maharaj (17 April 1897 – 8 September 1981), born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli, was an Indian guru of nondualism, belonging to the Inchagiri Sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the Navnath Sampradaya and L...

This is a reading of extracts of a talk given by Charlotte Joko Beck taken from the text 'Everyday Zen'. Charlotte Joko Beck (March 27, 1917 – June 15, 201) was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen. Born in New Jersey, Beck studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked for some time as a pianist and piano te...

A reading of one of Milarepa's songs taken from the text, Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet's Beloved Saint, Milarepa. Translated by Brian Cutillo and Kunga Thartse. Milarepa is one of the most important yogis and spiritual poets in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, but very little of his life is known with any historical certainty. Even the dates of his birth and death have been notoriou...

Longchenpa’s Explanation of the Three Statements That Strike the Vital Point (by Garab Dorje). 1. Be introduced to your own nature. 2. Decide upon one thing. 3. Gain confidence in liberation. This commentary is drawn from Longchenpa’s ​Profound Quintessence.​ ​The original translation is included in ​Great Perfection: Separation and Breakthrough​, translated by Cortland Dahl. Longchenpa, also know...

Karl Rahner (1904-1984) was one of the most influential Catholic philosophers and theologians of the mid to late twentieth century. A member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and a Roman Catholic priest, Rahner, as was the custom of the time, studied scholastic philosophy, Rahner's philosophy posited that the dynamic thrust of the knowing mind understands the being-most-irreducible as God and the...

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 wi...

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://gn...

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 "Jo...

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 t...

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 t...

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 a...

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...

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 sai...