Wisdom of the Masters

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...

A reading of excerpts taken from Chapter 1 of The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra - translated by Suzuki and Goddard. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra was first translated into Chinese in the 5th century and has been the subject of many treatises and commentaries. It is a distinctive and influential philosophical discourse in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. The sutra recounts a teaching primarily between Gautama Buddha a...

Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, mystic, and Indian nationalist. He joined the movement for India's freedom from British rule and for a duration (1905–10), became one of its most important leaders, before turning to developing his own vision and philosophy of human progress and spiritual evolution. At Pondicher...

Ryōkan Taigu 良寛大愚 (1758–1831) was a quiet and unconventional Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit. Ryōkan is remembered for his poetry and calligraphy, which present the essence of Zen life. He renounced the world at an early age to train at nearby Sōtō Zen temple Kōshō-ji, refusing to meet with or accept charity from his family. These selected excerpts and poems by Ry...

This is a 15 minute guided body scan meditation to develop and deepen calm and insight. Focusing on simple tactile sensations can provide myriad health benefits for mind, body and heart, as well as lead to insights into the nature of impermanence and the non-self nature of the physical form. 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings. 🔆...

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, OCD (c. 1614 – 12 February 1691) served as a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris. Christians commonly remember him for the intimacy he expressed concerning his relationship to God as recorded in a book compiled after his death, the classic Christian text, The Practice of the Presence of God. Brother Lawrence developed a simple way of praying from his...

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. His teachings are delivered in plain, direct language. 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be f...

This is a reading of selected pointers for meditation taken from the book "This" by Papaji. Formatted as a guided meditation. Sri H. W. L. Poonja (1910 -1997) was born in Lucknow, India, known as "Poonjaji" or "Papaji", was an Indian sage who taught Self-enquiry as advocated by Ramana Maharshi. Music: State Azure - Late Night Stream https://stateazure.bandcamp.com/ 🙏...

This is a selection of some key Pali suttas where the Buddha teaches directly on the topic of Nibbana. They are an amalgam of translations by Bhikkhus Bodhi, Thanisarro, Sujato, and Anandajoti. Compiled and edited by Ayya Jitindriya. They include, in order of reading: Udana 8.1 Udana 8.2 Udana 8.3 Udana 8.4 Majjhima Nikaya:140 Udana 8.10 Anguttara Nikaya 10.81 Bahuna Sutta 🙏 May whatever goodness...