Why Pagan Shaman Buddha?
On the Buddha's farewell tour he spoke everywhere of ethics, meditation and wisdom:
Ethics: natural morality, our harmonious relationship to the earth - hence paganism
Meditation: the exploration and transformation of conciousness - hence shamanism
Wisdom: Insight into the true nature of reality, things as they really are - hence the Buddha, the One who is Awake
A talk by Lokabandhu in the series Buddhism and the Big Questions at Manchester Buddhist Centre on 24th September 2011.
In a wonderfully entertaining talk on Perfect Vision, Vajrin tells a story of a wide ranging journey, including his early days at the Bristol Buddhist Centre in Long Ashton; his time as a junior doctor working in Africa; travels through India and Tibet; a visit to an Everest base camp and finally to ordination at a retreat centre high in the Spanish sierras. Along the way he manages to acquire a splendid Vajrasattva rupa and overcoming considerable obstacles, brings it home, thereby establishing a life-long association with this powerful bodhisattva of purification.
What does the Buddha think about what we call pleasure?
