Living in Tibet

Don’t criticize any beliefs, because what you think is not the truth.You come into this world only to take responsibility for yourself.Why bother trying to change others?Just choose to do what you believe is right, and that’s enough.
True wisdomlies not in the accumulation of knowledge,but in the awakening of the heart.
True freedomlies not in escaping,but in facing and accepting.
If your heart is kind, you see more kindness;if your heart is evil, you see more evil.If you think I am compassionate, it is because you are compassionate.
“Better” does not meanhaving more money,being healthier, or more beautiful.

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6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 56

Living in Tibet

The Choice of Flames: Abyss and Stars

Between the morning bells and evening drums, humanity’s quest for pleasure surges like a tide: to chase the fleeting illusions in chemical reagents or to ignite the eternal candlelight in the Zen hall? Two paths diverge in the realm of the soul, one leading to the illusory flames of the abyss, the other ascending to the radiant glow of the stars. The euphoria of drugs and the awakening of Zen are like two flames, illuminating the truth of life and reflecting the cost of choice.

Fireworks of Illusion and Sparks of Truth
Drugs are a rebellion of the nerves. Chemical molecules plunder synapses like pirates, and dopamine floods over the dams of reason. In that moment, the neurons in the nucleus accumbens dance wildly, like out-of-control floats at a festival, crushing the boundaries of reality. However, this splendor is but a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water—repeated stimulation drains the reward circuits, leaving withered nerve fibers trembling like a dying candle in the wind, and the soul shrivels in the void.
The awakening of Zen, however, is another kind of burning. The spark ignited by the Buddha under the Bodhi tree pierces through the fog of “self-attachment,” illuminating the clarity of the prefrontal cortex. It is like the snow on the Himalayan peaks, reflecting the true nature of all things in silence. Long-term meditation silences the brain’s default mode network, like a beach after the tide recedes, revealing the true self buried under delusions. The joy of Dharma is like a flash of lightning, not a carnival of the senses, but a moment of cognitive reshaping, akin to the twinkling of the first star at the dawn of the universe.

Quicksand of Breath and Amber of Light
The pleasure of drugs is the quicksand of time. Each dose is Sisyphus’s futile labor, followed by a void that clings like a shadow after brief joy. Cocaine destroys transporters, methamphetamine distorts serotonin, the body becomes a hostage to desire, and the soul shatters in faded dreams. The dance floor of the nightclub evaporates the luster of life, and when dawn arrives, only broken reflections remain.
The sudden enlightenment of Zen is the amber of time. The Sixth Patriarch Huineng, upon hearing “Let the mind be present without abiding,” suddenly understood, like picking up a grain of gold from the sands of the Ganges, and henceforth, every dawn and dusk shimmered with the faint light of awakening. The alpha waves in the brain are like deep ocean currents, rippling endlessly; mindfulness extinguishes the fear in the amygdala, and wisdom grows into coral reefs in the anterior cingulate cortex. Enlightenment bestows an elegant rhythm to life, standing firm amidst raging storms.

Wings of the Prisoner and Footprints of the Pioneer
Drug addicts are bound Icarus, flying towards the sun with chemical wings, only to fall in the heat of desire. The angels sketched by hallucinogens are mere graffiti of neurotransmitters on the retina; the hippocampus shrinks, the prefrontal cortex hollows, and the price of the soul is already written in the contract of the trade. They are prisoners of fireworks, and after a brief brilliance, the abyss echoes with endless sighs.
The awakened are pioneers of consciousness. They measure the vastness of life and death between breaths and dismantle the chains of suffering through contemplation. Nagarjuna Bodhisattva perceived “dependent origination and emptiness,” like a blade cutting through the dark night of ignorance, expanding the frontiers of cognition into lasting joy. The gray matter of the brain grows, the insula resonates with all things, not as waves of emotion, but as the reshaping of the ocean of consciousness.

The Dream of Bubbles and the Maxim of Sunlight
Modern people waver between two extremes: some regard hallucinogens as quick-fix sutras, feigning enlightenment in chemical bliss; others see meditation apps as spiritual panaceas, delusionally seeking technological enlightenment. However, is awakening a product of chemical equations? Just as the flying apsaras of Dunhuang disdain the pull of wires, true joy cannot be hastened. The sutras say: “All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows.” The illusions of drugs are colorful bubbles, ephemeral as the night-blooming cereus; the clarity of enlightenment is sunlight, piercing through the falsehood of bubbles to reach the purity of life.

Moonlight spills, bathing both the laboratory and the Zen hall in its glow. Humanity’s pursuit of pleasure ultimately returns to an ancient question: to be a prisoner of fireworks, burning oneself out in an instant, or to become a child of starlight, igniting an eternal life? The answer lies not in test tubes, but in the choice of every breath—to ignite the fuse of destruction or to let the spark of awakening blaze into a vast starry sky.

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7 months ago | [YT] | 39

Living in Tibet

Mount Kailash, towering at 6,656 meters in Tibet’s Ngari Prefecture, is revered as the cosmic center by Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Bon, embodying boundless sanctity. Each year, pilgrims from across the globe converge to circumambulate the mountain, seeking spiritual purification and merit. The 52-kilometer trek, mostly at high altitude, takes 2-3 days, with the 5,630-meter Drolma La Pass, where thin air tests both stamina and faith. Carrying simple packs, spinning prayer wheels, and chanting “Om Mani Padme Hum,” pilgrims tread reverently, answering the call of devotion. The route unveils stunning vistas: majestic snow peaks, vast grasslands, and the jade-like Manasarovar Lake, breathtaking in its beauty. Circumambulation transcends physical endurance, serving as a soul’s ascension; devotees believe one circuit cleanses a lifetime’s sins, while thirteen ensure liberation in the next life. At night, camping under starry skies and meditating amidst cold winds, pilgrims merge with nature. Kailash’s mystique and solemnity, steeped in millennia of faith, draw countless souls across mountains and seas to pursue inner peace and life’s ultimate meaning.

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8 months ago | [YT] | 111

Living in Tibet

Tibetan spiritual practice: Touching the dimension of the soul on the top of the snowy land

Deep in the folds of the roof of the world, Tibetans have used thousands of years to weave a unique spiritual operating system. The practice here is not a meditation game to escape reality, but an art of survival that transforms life itself into an awakened dojo. On the plateau where the average oxygen content is less than 60% of that on the plains, Tibetan practitioners have built a spiritual universe that transcends physical limitations with an astonishing density of life.

1. Survival philosophy under the contemplation of reincarnation
The foundation of Tibetan spiritual practice is deeply rooted in the cognitive framework of the "Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path". The prayer wheel rotates at a uniform speed of 3 times per second (equivalent to the basal metabolic rate of humans), which implicitly conforms to the ancient wisdom of the law of conservation of energy. The pilgrims' body-length heads prostrate themselves on the ground, using their bodies as a ruler to measure the earth, achieving a quantum reset of the nervous system in mechanical repetition. Modern brain science has found that continuous prostration can activate the theta waves of the prefrontal cortex, increasing the efficiency of the brain entering a deep meditative state by 47%.

2. Energy Code of Tantric Tradition
The precise geometric structure of the sand painting of the mandala is actually an energy topological model of the three-dimensional mandala. When tens of millions of colored sand particles form a 3-meter-diameter cosmic diagram, the practitioner forms an afterimage lasting 0.1 seconds on the retina through the persistence of vision effect. This periodic visual stimulation can increase the secretion of melatonin in the pineal gland by 2.3 times. The mineral pigment layer in thangka painting is accurate to 0.1 mm, which is essentially a bioresonance technology that opens the chakra through color frequency vibration.

3. Modern decoding of ascetic wisdom
In the snow mountain caves at an altitude of 5,000 meters, the hermits reduce the basal metabolic rate to 4.2MJ/day through the "body possession method" (consciousness transfer training), which is only 1/3 of the normal value. In this state, the practitioner's brain waves will show a rare superposition state of γ waves and δ waves, and the reversibility of the synaptic density of the hippocampus will increase by 19%. Contemporary parapsychological experiments have confirmed that senior yogis can raise their body surface temperature by 4.2℃ through "tummo" in a -25℃ environment. This bioenergy control technology has not yet been fully deciphered by modern science.

4. The vibration truth of the sound universe
The physical characteristics of chanting sound waves hide mysteries - the frequency combination of the six-character mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" (from 147Hz to 329Hz) just covers the resonance frequency of the main organs of the human body. When the mantra is chanted 108 times to form a sound field resonance, the cell membrane potential difference can be increased by 15mV. This bioelectric change has been proven to enhance telomerase activity. The 3-meter-long tube design of the temple's copper horn allows the 35Hz infrasound waves it emits to directly act on the internal organs, producing a physical effect similar to ultrasonic therapy.

5. The ultimate revelation of ecological spirituality
The "relying on the guru" system of Tibetan Buddhism is actually a group cognitive network for building a neural mirror. When the brainwave synchronization rate between the practitioner and the guru reaches 72%, the default mode network (DMN) of the anterior cingulate cortex will show cross-individual coupling. This quantum entangled state of group consciousness shows amazing adaptability in responding to the climate crisis. The "holy mountains and holy lakes" system in the traditional ecological wisdom of Tibet has made the biodiversity in the Sanjiangyuan area 38% higher than that in the surrounding areas.

In the quantum era of the Internet of Everything, Tibetan spiritual practice reveals not only the secrets of the soul, but also the underlying code for the survival of civilization. When the linear thinking of scientific and technological civilization encounters the closed-loop system of plateau wisdom, those practice rituals that were once regarded as mysticism are receiving new annotations in particle physics laboratories and neuroscience institutes. This pure land closest to the sky always reminds us that true evolution always occurs when consciousness transcends the boundaries of matter.

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8 months ago | [YT] | 95

Living in Tibet

Suffering The desires of sentient beings in the world are always expanding infinitely, but the more desires there are, the greater the suffering. If ignorance is added to desire, it will lead to all the suffering we have today.
——Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro

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9 months ago | [YT] | 92

Living in Tibet

Spiritual Alchemy of Tibetans

At an altitude of 4,000 meters, the oxygen concentration is only 60% of that on the plain. Tibetans transform this physical "thinness" into the "abundance" of the spiritual world and create a unique practice system. Instead of using oxygen cylinders to fight against the thin air, they use spiritual alchemy to transform the survival dilemma into an opportunity for practice.

The prayer wheels on the waists of Tibetans never stop, and the rotation trajectory of the copper prayer wheels forms a perfect Möbius ring. Prayer wheel is not a repetitive mechanical movement, but an art of practice that folds time and space. The first drop of butter poured into the tea bowl by the herdsmen in the morning and the fingertips turning the prayer wheels at dusk are mutually causal on the timeline of reincarnation. This practice that transcends linear time makes daily labor a ladder to eternity.

On the bluestone slab in front of the Jokhang Temple, the traces of the collision between the pilgrims' foreheads and the stone surface are three centimeters deep. Prostration is not a self-torturing asceticism, but a ritual that transforms physical space into a spiritual dimension. When the body draws a prostrate trajectory on the ground, the three-dimensional space is folded into a mandala diagram. When practitioners measure the earth with their bodies, they are actually reconstructing the geometric model of the universe.

In the debate field of Drepung Monastery, the crisp sound of the questioner's high-five and the Buddhist interpretation of the respondent constitute a symphony of logic. This speculative tradition inherited from Nalanda Monastery in India transforms logical reasoning into a tool for the evolution of consciousness. Debate is not a battle of victory or defeat, but a consciousness experiment that ignites the spark of wisdom through the collision of languages, and refines the purity of cognition in the tension between paradox and truth.

The wisdom of Tibetan practice reveals that the soul is not a pollutant that needs to be purified, but a super conductor waiting to be awakened. In the thin air of the plateau, they have developed a unique method of spiritual electrolysis - using daily behavior as the anode and eternal pursuit as the cathode to continuously generate spiritual current in the primary battery of life. This practice does not pursue the ultimate liberation of ascending to heaven, but completes the microscopic transformation of the soul in every moment.

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9 months ago | [YT] | 39

Living in Tibet

## Waltz of Time: The Eternal Echo of the Prayer Wheel

The morning mist on the plateau has not yet dissipated, and the golden prayer wheel next to the Mani pile has begun to rotate slowly. The bronze and brass cylinders are shining with a warm luster under the reflection of the butter lamps, the six-word mantra is like a vine entwined around the cylinder body, and the Sanskrit spells flow into a golden stream in the sun. Every turn of the prayer wheel is like embroidering a circle of ripples on the silk of time, awakening the wisdom sleeping in the scriptures.

The moment the fingertips touch the copper cylinder body, the cold and warmth blend between the palm lines. The texture of the sandalwood handle contains the code of the body temperature of countless pilgrims, and the years of rubbing have soaked the wood into an amber-like patina. When the cylinder body begins to rotate clockwise, the built-in copper shaft and wooden core emit a low humming sound, which seems to come from the melting snow water deep in the snow-capped mountains, carrying fragments of the Tripitaka, and colliding with the ethereal resonance inside the prayer wheel.

When the old Tibetan man's hands full of ravines pushed the prayer wheel, the friction between the wheel and the bearing actually had a rhythm. The creaking sound echoed the old man's whispering six-syllable mantra, like an ensemble of ancient conch and copper. The mottled green rust on the copper outer wall is the annual rings soaked by countless dawns and dusks. When the sun shines through the rotating mantras, the light spots jump into a flowing mandala on the stone road.

The layers of scripture paper rolls inside the prayer wheel gradually stretch in the never-ending rotation. The copper skin engraved with "Om Mani Padme Hum" is like a time mold repeatedly carved by an invisible chisel, imprinting the wishes of the praying person into the trajectory of reincarnation. At a certain moment, the rotating prayer wheel seems to turn into a three-dimensional mandala, and the gleaming copper light of the cylinder and the flying prayer flags interweave in the void, building a three-dimensional mandala connecting the earthly world and the other side.

At dusk, the body temperature of the last pilgrim still remains on the surface of the prayer wheel. The moonlight dyes the bronze into indigo, and the still prayer wheel is like the amber of time, while the 100,000 recitations of the six-syllable mantra inside are still flowing silently. When the wind blows, the copper bells on the eaves echo with the sound of the prayer wheels in the distance, weaving a never-ending symphony of reincarnation under the starry sky of the plateau.

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9 months ago | [YT] | 28

Living in Tibet

Holy Mt Kailash is a sacred mountain peak in Pulan County, Ali area of Tibet Autonomous Region, China, with an altitude of about 6,638 meters. It is regarded as a supreme spiritual holy place by many religions such as Tibetan Buddhism, Bon religion, Hinduism, and Jainism, especially in Tibetan culture with far-reaching significance. ---

Nature and religious characteristics of Gang Rinpoche**

1. **Unique natural form** The mountain body of Kailash is in the shape of a perfect pyramid, covered with snow all year round, and the four walls are symmetrical, like a giant mandala carved. Its peak is surrounded by clouds and mist all year round, and is considered to be a sacred place that mortals cannot reach.

2. **The Center of the Universe of Multi-religion** - **Tibetan Buddhism**: It is regarded as the residence of "Vajra Victory" (the Buddhist tantra), which symbolizes the center of the universe (Sumeri Mountain). - **

Bon religion**: Bon religion originated in the Gangdis Mountains, and Kailash is respected as the "Nine-layer Central Holy mountain ", which is the core of the worship of the Bon religion. **Hindu**: It is considered to be the place of practice of Shiva God (SHIVA), and it is the residence of one of the three main gods of Hinduism. - ** Jain **: Respected as "Ashtapoda" (the land of the first saint in the universe).

-Core significance to Tibetans**

1. ** Zhuanshan: A journey of purification of the soul** ** Zhuanshan (ཁོར་བ།, khor, khor BA) ** is a ritual that revolves around Kailash on foot. The whole journey is about 52 kilometers (the route outside the route). Believers believe that turning mountains can eliminate eternal karma, accumulate merits, and even gain liberation. - **

The special meaning of turning the mountain in the year of the horse**: Tibetan Buddhism believes that the year of the horse is the year when Sakyamuni was born or the Vajra of Victory came. The merits and virtues of a circle of time to turn the mountain are equivalent to 13 times that of ordinary years, so every year of the horse (once every 12 years), the number of pilgrims has surged.

2. ** Symbol of culture and identity** - Kailash is a sacred mountain mentioned many times in the Tibetan epic "The Legend of King Gesar", which symbolizes courage and sacred mission. - The image of Tibetan art, thangka and literature is common, and it has become an important symbol of national cultural identity.

3. ** Harmony of Ecology and Faith** Tibetans regard Kailash as an inviolable divine residence, forming a strict natural protection tradition. The surrounding lakes (such as Mabe Yongcuo) and rivers (such as the Shiquan River and the Xiangquan River) are regarded as holy places.

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9 months ago | [YT] | 79

Living in Tibet

The Tibetan people's prostration (called "ཅེ་ཆུང་" or "prostration" in Tibetan) is an extremely important practice in Tibetan Buddhism:

Religious belief: accumulate merit and eliminate karma
- Tibetan Buddhism believes that prostration is a physical and mental practice that integrates the three karmas of body, speech and mind. Through the physical prostration, believers express their piety to the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, thereby accumulating merit and eliminating past sins.
- Each prostration is accompanied by silent recitation of Buddhist scriptures or the six-syllable mantra ("Om Mani Padme Hum")

Purify the mind: break obsession and pursue liberation
- During the prostration, believers need to put aside worldly arrogance and obsession and prostrate themselves on the ground in a humble manner. This extreme physical practice symbolizes breaking the obsession with the self and gradually achieving purity and peace of mind.
- Through repeated ascetic practices, believers hope to escape the suffering of samsara and eventually achieve enlightenment and liberation ("Nirvana" or "becoming a Buddha" in Tibetan Buddhism).

Vows and compassion: praying for the welfare of all beings
- Many believers will make vows when they kowtow, not only for themselves, but also for the welfare of all beings. For example, some people will pray for the safety of their families and for the happiness of all beings, which reflects the spirit of compassion in Buddhism to benefit all beings.
- The act of long-distance pilgrimage (such as kowtow to the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa) is also seen as an ultimate test of faith, showing absolute devotion to the Buddha.

Cultural tradition: connection with nature
- In Tibetan culture, kowtow is not only a religious act, but also a cultural heritage. In this way, believers establish a connection with the beliefs of their ancestors and the sacred land.
- The pilgrimage route often passes through high-altitude snow-capped mountains and wilderness. Believers practice in a harsh natural environment, which reflects the Tibetans' awe of the power of nature and the concept of harmonious coexistence.

The Tibetans who kowtow deeply explore the meaning of life and the laws of the universe at the spiritual level. Behind this behavior lies the devotion to Buddhism, the transcendence of suffering, and the yearning for eternity.

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9 months ago | [YT] | 51

Living in Tibet

The book breaks down death into three stages: **physical extinction, transformation of consciousness, and transition to the bardo**, and emphasizes that through practice, one can "recognize the bright light" at the time of death to achieve liberation. The following is a detailed explanation of the death process:

---

### **I. External and internal decomposition of death**
1. **External decomposition: the five elements dissolve**
Tibetan Buddhism believes that the human body is composed of five elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. At death, these elements will disintegrate layer by layer from coarse to fine:
- **"Earth" merges into "Water"**: the body loses its mobility, muscles relax, sensory functions decline, and consciousness begins to blur.
- **"Water" merges into "Fire"**: body fluids gradually dry up, body temperature drops, and breathing becomes short.
- **"Fire" merges into "Wind"**: body temperature disappears completely, the digestive system stops functioning, and there is no response to external stimuli.
- **"Wind" merges into "Space"**: breathing stops, the heart stops beating, and modern medicine determines it as "clinical death". At this time, the consciousness leaves the body and enters the "bardo of dying".

2. **Internal decomposition: the dissipation of consciousness and emotions**
After the death of the body, the consciousness enters a more subtle level:
- **White-red light appears**: In the consciousness, the "father's sperm" (white energy) and the "mother's blood" (red energy) meet. If you can maintain awareness at this time, you can recognize the essence of "bright light" (that is, the emptiness of mind) and achieve liberation.
- **The "eighty fundamental delusions" dissolve**: Emotions such as greed, anger, and ignorance gradually disintegrate, and the consciousness enters a state of no thoughts. This is the key moment of enlightenment. If you fail to grasp it, you will fall into reincarnation.

---

### **Second, the journey of consciousness in the bardo stage**
1. **Bardo of dying (from the moment of death to the consciousness leaving the body)**
The dying person needs to maintain mindfulness with the help of relatives and friends to avoid being pulled by fear or obsession. At this time, chanting Buddhist teachings or mantras in the ear can help them settle their mind.

2. **Dharmata Bardo (3-4 days to 49 days after death)**
After the consciousness leaves the body, it will experience three kinds of "clear light" manifestations:
- **"Fundamental Clear Light"**: Absolute emptiness at the moment of death. If you practice diligently before death, you can be liberated at this stage.
- **"Dharmata Clear Light"**: In the following 7 days, the original wisdom of the peaceful and wrathful deities will appear one after another. If the consciousness is still attached to the self, it will produce terrifying illusions due to karmic projection.
- **"Karma Clear Light"**: Karma dominates consciousness, and the dying person is pulled by good and evil karma and enters the projection state of the six realms of reincarnation.

3. **Rebirth Bardo (before reincarnation)**
If you are not liberated in the first two stages, the consciousness will look for an opportunity to reincarnate according to karma. The book emphasizes the need to actively choose a pure reincarnation direction by visualizing the guru or the deity.

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### **Three, practice of spiritual practice and end-of-life care**
1. **Preparation before death**
- **Visualization and meditation**: Through the practice of "Phowa" (consciousness transfer method), train to control consciousness at the time of death.
- **Let go of obsession**: Reduce attachment to property and emotions, and cultivate renunciation and compassion.

2. **Helping with chanting at the end of life**
- Avoid crying in the ears of the deceased or touching their body to avoid disturbing their consciousness.
- Continue chanting scriptures (such as "Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo") to remind the deceased to stay in awareness.

3. **Posthumous salvation**
During the 49-day bardo period, accumulate merits through rituals, offering lights, and releasing animals to help the deceased reduce their karma and lead them to a good path.

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9 months ago | [YT] | 6