Is This A Bad Omen?

[TARA]

Around 11 kilometres from the centre of Kathmandu is the holy town of Boudhanath, where a centuries-old chorten or stupa stood in the middle of this busy bustling town.  This stupa is believed built on the centre of Earth for protection.  The Boudhanath stupa sustained a long crack across its tip during the Nepal earthquake on 25th April 2015 measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit Nepal.  Is this a bad omen?





A large crack can clearly be seen on the famous Boudhanath Stupa, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

[psylotripitaka]

Next phase of the Kali Yuga has begun

[icy]

This sounds scary Chokyi Dorje. 

[psylotripitaka]

Icy,

To me, because Nepal is such an international hub of spirituality, that it was destroyed is not an auspicious sign. It seems to be symbolic of a major shift in the collective karma of our world, not just regarding spirituality, but of the increase of suffering in general. It is similar to the major world changing events of the atomic bombing of Japan, and 9/11 - they ushered in new world eras.

Shantideva says that because everything arises from mind, the only thing to fear is our own uncontrolled mind! So luckily, we have the Holy teachings from Space Enjoyers, in particular, 7-point mind training of Geshe Chekawa, and the Heruka and Vajrayogini Tantras.

Heruka Chakrasamvara emanated his mandala and retinue to subdue Maha-Ishvara and his retinue. Heruka left his mandalas intact rather than re-absorbing them. The meaning of these things is that as the negative activity of Maha-Ishvara increases, the blessings of Heruka and Vajrayogini increases to match and subdue that activity. So from the point of view of the practitioner, it is an increasing time, and the vigilant application of these Tantras will subdue the practitioners fears and sufferings. Because the correct practice of Tantra embodies the lamrim and lojong, when we concentrate on lojong instructions such as the 7-point mind training, the blessings are increasing and our experience will protect us from fear. We will come to place of strength where suffering becomes a very powerful ally helping us to quickly deepen our realizations.

Shantideva said:

"Moreover, suffering has many good qualities.
Through experiencing it, we can dispel pride,
Develop compassion for those trapped in samsara,
Abandon non-virtue, and delight in virtue."

If we decide the meaning of life is realization, everything becomes fuel for realization. The more that people become familiar with this way of viewing their reality, the less suffering they will experience. That is 100% guaranteed by the Lineage Gurus, and many people have seen that it is indeed the truth. So if you're scared, let it breathe power into the flames of your practice.

Je Pabongkhapa says in Heart Spoon:

"Now! Don’t be distracted! [With the sounds of hurrying] “la…ur…la…ur…,”
Right this moment is the time to steel your will.
It’s not only time—it’s almost too late.

Right now! Right now! “La…ur…la…ur…,” [apply yourself with] great force!
Holy precept of the lama, kind father;
Heart of the authoritative scriptures of the Victorious Losang;
Practice of the pure path of complete sutra and tantra;
It’s time to place real experience upon your mindstream.

Who’s the faster:
Yama, the Lord of Death,
Or you in your practice of realizing the essence of your eternal dream—
The welfare of both yourself and others—as much as you can each day?
Unifying the three doors [of your body, speech, and mind],
Put the whole of your effort into your practice."

Go deep!

[Dondrup Shugden]

Thank you, Chokyi Dorje. I have read your explanation of this incident (crack at the Boudhanath Stupa, Nepal)  and also agree that it is not auspicious at all.

However, it is during such times when the collective negative karma arises, we should take the teachings of the great Buddhas and practise and do our best to alleviate our minds in order to purify the negativities that are arising.

In a sense that the urgency now arises for us to be vigilant in our practice of Buddhism. Life is short.

This is how I understand and I hope that it is the correct view. 

[Kim Hyun Jae]

What is kali yuga or degenerate times? Extracted the meaning of this online from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga:

Kali Yuga, lit. "age of [the demon] Kali", or "age of vice" is the last of the four stages the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Sanskrit scriptures, within the present Mahayuga. The other ages are called Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, and Dvapara Yuga.

Kali Yuga is associated with the apocalyptic demon Kali (who is not to be confused with the goddess K?l?). The "Kali" of Kali Yuga means "strife", "discord", "quarrel" or "contention".

With regard to human relationships, Markandeya's discourse says:

* Avarice and wrath will be common. Humans will openly display animosity towards each other. Ignorance of dharma will occur.
* People will have thoughts of murder with no justification and will see nothing wrong in that.
* Lust will be viewed as socially acceptable and sexual intercourse will be seen as the central requirement of life.
* Sin will increase exponentially, whilst virtue will fade and cease to flourish.
* People will take vows and break them soon after.
* People will become addicted to intoxicating drinks and drugs.
* Gurus will no longer be respected and their students will attempt to injure them. Their teachings will be insulted, and followers of Kama will wrest control of the mind from all human beings.
* Brahmans will not be learned or honored, Kshatriyas will not be brave, Vaishyas will not be just in their dealings.

[Dondrup Shugden]

Oh my god! That really sounds like a horrible time to be living in.  So listen to the Great Buddhas and Lamas and hold on fast to practice the Dharma.

Even though during such times the light may be small but at least there is still light. Hmmmm what a bad time and it will come. 

[psylotripitaka]

Dondrub Shugden,

That time has already come. We are in the Kali Yuga world age right now. There are a number of stages in it, and we are in the last of them. Just looking at the list provided we see all of those things - every one of them - are already happening and increasing greatly year after year. My comment about 'the next phase' refers to a subphase. It is like we are on a roller coaster and recently went off another large and sudden drop in elevation.

[psylotripitaka]

Dondrup Shugden and others, I believe you'll find this a dense but interesting read, particularly closer towards the end of the article. I am going to start a separate thread for people to explore and share links about this topic, including predictions and related Dharma research. If this topic interests anyone reading here, by all means please share with us in the other thread. It will simply be titled KALI YUGA & OUR PLANET

http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/DMisraB6.php

Of particular interest will be his mention of 2025 and his general view on what our present climate activity represents with regards to the cyclic (not linear) life on this planet.

For me, things like this remind me of Je Pabongkhapa's advice in Heart Spoon: Encouragement through recollecting impermanence. The point is, in particular, that by exploring this cyclic history of our planet, particularly the phase we're moving through, we are immediately seized by the realization of how precarious our circumstances are and that our opportunity to go deeply into the Dharma will soon be gone. It also urges us to prepare more vigorously for facing difficulties with lojong experience.

[eyesoftara]

It can be a bad omen or we can say the Boudhanath Stupa absorb the negative karma of the people of Nepal and of planet Earth. It is similar to having a pendant or a car tsatsa broke which we believe karma was purified. Perhaps an accident was avoided. I know someone who have a bad car accident and survive without a scratch; only the tsatsa was lose.
But instead of calling this a bad omen (or not), the best is to generate the understanding that we can help so little the sufferings of beings unless we ourselves gain enlightenment and practice toward enlightenment to benefit these beings.

[MoMo]

It is said that the moment our Lord Guru passed into nirvana we are at the beginning of degenerating. Our only hope for  liberation was only through one kind Guru who take the place of Lord Shakyamuni . It has been 2,500 years lapsed and during this period we are still unattained and continued with our negative tread . The stupa was there to remind us of law of cause and effect , that suffering can be alleviated and liberation can be achieved and had been achieved. When sentient beings do not heed the advice given, then there are no causes created for the remain of a sacred object worthy of veneration . The same can be said about long life of an highly attained master  , when the students ignored his instructions usually he chose to leave. Therefore, it will be considered a bad omen.