Metaphysical Times How Buddhist?
May 2014 • Page 15
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flictions that typically beset us: ignorance, grasping, aversion, self-love, and envy. Buddhist Tantra or Vajrayana is concerned with the transformation of these deluded energies into aspects of transcendent wisdom. According to the Vajrayana teachings, mantra – the power of speech, its sacred vibration – can expedite our progress on the Path, but it must be orally transmitted from master to student in order to activate its transformative energy. Therefore, it is considered a great blessing to have the karmic affinity that enables one to receive a mantra and be introduced to the Buddha form or “diety” who embodies it. Since the wisdom by which Buddhas realize themselves is inherent in all beings, insight into one’s own unlimited essence, blissful and “empty” of all qualifiers, is always possible. But staying awake is something more. It takes a sustained effort to be present with skillful means to meet the circumstances of one’s life. The Buddha said that he gave his followers a Path, but that each of us must walk it for ourselves. Yet we don’t walk it alone. We have 2,500 years of a tradition (much longer, from a more mystical perspective) and it includes countless fellow practitioners and enlightened teachers to accompany us. We even have the Perfection of Wisdom scriptures that became embodied as a loving mother -- the goddess Prajnaparamita – from whom we are never apart.
FROG WATCHING
Peter Fortunato holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina –Greensboro, and is certified as a hypnotherapist by the New England Institute for Neurolinguistic Programming. He has taught at Cornell and Ithaca College for many years and has been a Buddhist practitioner for most of his life. He can be reached in Ithaca at 607 273 6637. His public Facebook page is <facebook.com/ peterfortunatopoet> His recent book of poetry,
Buddhist practice -Prajnaparamita Mother -walking wet morning surprise: at my feet a big frog squatting, big green Buddha, dark eyes, golden ringed, unblinking, watery lamps. I sit before her not directly face to face but for propriety’s sake slightly off to her right Peter Fortunato's recent book of in the weeds. Silence. poetry, Late Morning: New and A veery sings unmistakable Selected Poems whistle whispering is available at http://www.amazon.com/Lateinvisible spirals, Morning-New-Selected-Poems/dp/1600478395/ a cardinal calls clearly, ref=la_B001KIX0X0_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=136 and it must be several sparrows 7263594&sr=1-1 twittering, hopping about the shiny leaves overhead, poem now making its way into the light, frog watching me always. Small bow, rising drawing near, I prod her broad girth just a finger tip to urge her safely off the soon to be busy trail. She puffs up and glares. Sitting there. All right. Just sitting there.