User:Nobody60/Amitabha oracle

--->Topic:Theology and philosophy and Topic:Buddhist studies‏‎

'''In a playful way, we learn the main principles of Pure Land Buddhism. Basically, the Amitabha oracle is a game which helps us toward positive principles of life and strategies of wisdom.''' This is a learning resource. We can discuss it on the discussion page.

Amitabha (Japanese: Amida) is a Buddha figure of light and love. He lives in a paradise and changes the world into paradise. He takes you to paradise consciousness (enlightenment consciousness) and to paradise after death. The Amitabha oracle consists of 80 single oracle statements. They can be found via a random generator. Simply enter numbers 1 to 80 and click on generate. Than you get your oracle number. Read this number in the Amitabha oracle. You can also read through the oracle until you find what resonates with you, what speaks to your soul at that given moment.

Amitabha Buddhism is a great treasure. It can help a lot of people in the western world. But in order for that to be the case, Amitabha Buddhism has to fit into western culture. The people in the west mostly think scientifically and non-dogmatically. A western Amitabha Buddhism should only know two dogmas: the truth and love.

Think about your life
'''1. Find your way. “My way of wisdom is… Unwisdom is.. Forward. Success."'''

We can visualize Buddha Amitabha as an enlightened master and ask him for help along our way in life. It’s good to use the mantras “Namu Amida Butsu”(Japanese), “Namo Amitabha Buddha” (Sanskrit), “nammo asida fat” (Vietnamese) or simply “Om Buddha Amitabha” when doing so. We can also visualize ourselves as Buddha Amitabha and think “I am a Buddha of light. I send all beings light. May all beings be happy. May the world be happy.”

The mantra (his name) of Buddha Amitabha can be spoken and used creatively by each person in his or her own inventive way. Which words help you? What takes you into the light and into love? Think today: “ I am a master of life. I master my own life. Om Buddha Amitabha. I ask for guidance along my way.” Amitabha speaks to you through your own voice of wisdom. What is right for you at this time?

Buddha Amitabha is the basis of the Amitabha Buddhism. He is a Buddha of light and all-encompassing love. As Buddha of light he lives in a state of enlightenment. Enlightenment is inner peace, happiness and all-encompassing love. Enlightenment is the highest happiness. Enlightenment is the deeper meaning of life. Many people in the west lack inner peace, happiness and love. The Buddha Amitabha shows a way through which people can find all of these values in their life, to realize and develop them.

Wikipedia: Pure Land Buddhism, also referred to as Amidism from the japanese term Amida, is a broad branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism and one of the most widely practiced traditions of Buddhism in East Asia. Pure Land is a tradition of Buddhist teachings that are focused on Amitābha Buddha. Pure Land oriented practices and concepts are found within basic Mahāyāna Buddhist cosmology, and form an important component of the Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions of China, Japan, Korea,Vietnam, and Tibet. In Japanese Buddhism, Pure Land teachings developed into independent institutional sects, as can be seen in the Jōdo-shū and Jōdo Shinshū schools. The invoking of Amitabha has its roots in the great pure land sutra in which Amitabha waits to go to nirvana until all beings have been saved.

Rainbow
'''2. Great happiness is coming to you. Forwardǃ Optimismǃ'''

The core value of Buddhism is: ”Life is suffering. There is a way to overcome the suffering. That is the eightfold path of recognition, choice, a wise life, wise words, wise actions, consistent striving, consistent awareness of thoughts and regular meditation. The way to overcome suffering is to become a Buddha. The way to overcome suffering is to live in an enlightened existence."

Some joy in life can be helpful, but focus should be on living spiritually, in unity, in all-encompassing love and meditating often. One should work on inner happiness and be positive to all people. Attachment to outer enjoyment leads to suffering. Refusing to accept unpleasant situations leads to suffering. The wise are happy from within. They live apart from the world and so hold onto their spiritual energy and inner happiness.

Buddhism can be seen as a type of mental training to achieve inner peace, strength and happiness. The two central techniques are thought training and meditation. Negative thoughts lead to negative feelings. A person can make him or herself very unhappy with his or her thoughts. A person who thinks positive is sick 90% less often than a person who thinks negatively. A person who thinks positively is happier and more successful and has better relationships and a better life. Those who teach themselves to think positively benefit greatly.

Positive thinking has to be supplemented through the way of meditation. Meditation consists of sitting and resting as well as walking or doing other physical exercise. This way the mind becomes calm and the body healthy. Those who practice positive thinking and meditation can reach enlightenment. Then we reach a higher level of consciousness which enables us to recognize the positive in the world, to recognize our world as a paradise, to get a paradise feeling of life. This is the center of Amitabha Buddhism.

What is your goal?
'''3. Plan your life like a winner. Live as a winner. What is your goal? What is your way to reach the goal? Move forward. Success.'''

There are many different spiritual paths. The Amitabha Buddhism is a way of Mahayana. We strive toward enlightenment. We take the path of all-encompassing love. We practice techniques that do us good personally. We let Buddha Amitabha (our inner voice of wisdom) lead us and help us. Everyone can be saved. Everyone can reach enlightenment. But techniques and methods vary. Basically the best way is to pray daily to an enlightened Master (Buddha Amitabha), to do a spiritual practice (yoga, meditation, reading), and to live in all-encompassing love (to do god deeds). Through this method, optimal spiritual growth can take place.

Western Amitabha Buddhism

How do we practice western Amitabha Buddhism? Non-dogmatically. You sense what does you good and what brings you forward spiritually. At best you live according to a daily plan with spiritual exercises. The intervals of the exercises should be such that you spend the day in peace, happiness and love. One starts with a call to Buddha Amitabha in the morning and all of the enlightened masters (Buddhas and Bodhisattvas). One asks for guidance and help. Then you orient yourself based on the voice of inner wisdom and go with feeling for what is right at the right moment. You pay attention to feelings and thoughts. You think positive, act positive, and have a positive feeling as a result. In the evening you pray to Buddha Amitabha before falling asleep so that one day you wake up in paradise.

We don’t know if the Buddha Amitabha existed historically. There are three possibilities. We can believe in his existence, or we can see ourselves as Buddhas of light, or we can rely on enlightened masters who have been proven to exist. We can go by the line of Amitabha masters. (Buddha, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, T'an-luan, Tao-ch'o, Shan-tao, Genshin, Honen, Shinran). For me, all of the enlightened masters of love are Buddha Amitabha altogether. They all comprise him.

I pray to the enlightened masters who I think have the highest spiritual abilities (omni-presence, all-knowningness, all-powerfulness). That is for example Jesus Christ, Buddha, Nagarjuna, Shan-tao, Honen, the Dalai Lama, Sathya Sai Baba, Anandamayi Ma, Amritanandamayi and Mother Meera. I have experienced a lot of miracles and energy transfers from my masters. In this way, I practice the unity of all religions.

The Chinese lucky cat
'''4. The Chinese lucky cat blesses you. Proceed with optimism.'''

Genza (1842-1930) is a well-known saint of Shin Buddhism. He lived as a simple farmer, was married and had several children. Despite some difficult turns of fate, he remained happy and positive. He was thankful for everything that came his way. He saw it as help along his spiritual way. He loved to help others and do nice things for them. Because he overcame his ego, he couldn’t tell the difference between what was his and what belonged to others. Once he wanted to put fertilizer on his field, then he noticed his neighbor’s field needed it more, so he fertilized his neighbor’s field.

Enlightenment means healing. Genza was almost never sick. But one day, he slid by the river as he was carrying a load of hay and broke his arm. He praised Buddha Amitabha. Other people wondered at this. Genza explained: “just one arm is broken. I can’t change that. But I still have a second arm. This means I can continue to work. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Through his inner happiness he found himself in another dimension where he could barely feel his suffering. Even when his son and wife died, he remained in a permanent state of happiness. People visited Genza a lot. When they were close by him, they could feel his positive energy. Those who even slightly touched Genza felt the blessing of Buddha Amitabha. One day, Genza was invited to visit by a distant village. As he arrived, people asked him to talk about his enlightenment. Genza explained that there wasn’t anything special to it. “Things are the way they are. That is all.”

He lived in existence, unity and love. He was often asked if he didn’t get frustrated. He told them he didn’t really possess the ability to get aggravated. The aggravation was completely gone, and there was only peace and joy left. His favorite activity was to massage people and tell them about Buddha Amitabha and his paradise. One day he was invited to a temple. He massaged the priests’ feet and transferred enlightenment energy to them. He said “now you can perceive your mission well.” Then he left.

His advice to other people was: “If you are having difficulties, take counsel from Nembutsu.” We should pray to Buddha Amitabha and follow the voice of inner wisdom. Genza reached enlightenment as he loaded his oxen. Then he realized that Buddha Amitabha carries us through life and all we have to do is to trust our lives to Amitabha. We are then always protected and lead. Genza was modest and humble. He never forgot that he was a simple person, a poor person, a nobody. He saw himself in a state of inaction and let the light of Amitabha work through him. He didn’t live through his own power, but through the universe’s power and for this reason always had enough energy.

Develop your inner happiness
'''5. Consider which spiritual exercises you need to succeed today. Practice the Amitabha-Meditation.''' Amitabha-Meditation

We sit cross-legged with the back straight and the stomach relaxed. We awaken strength, peace and happiness within through visualization, mantra and meditation.

1. Image = We concentrate on a picture or a statue and mentally repeat the mantra ”Amitabha”. We look at the head, the upper body, the arms, the hands, the lower body, the legs and the lotus of Amitabha. We use the mantra to connect with the respective body parts, identify with our role model and become a Buddha of light. We mentally repeat the mantra until we can visualize each respective body part and can sense Amitabha within us.

2. Light = We make big circles with the arms and visualize the whole cosmos around us full of light. We mentally repeat: ”I live in the light.” We feel the light within us and around us. We massage our bodies. We repeat the mantra ”Light” until we are in the light.

3. Sending light = We move a hand and send light to all beings. Mentally we state: “I send light to.... May all people be happy. May the world be happy.”

4. Balance = We move the feet and the toes. We think: ”I take things as they are in my life.”

5. Positivity = We circle with the shoulders and turn with the spine from right to left. “My positive thought is today... (I am a winner. My winner way is....)”

6. Prayer hands (palms of the hands together in front of the chest) = ”Om Buddha Amitabha. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.”

7. Mantra = We place our hands on our laps like Buddha Amitabha and mentally repeat the mantra ”Om” and bring the mind to rest. We can connect the mantra with the inhalation and exhalation.

8. Meditation = We stay for a while in a state of meditation. We relax. We go optimistic our way.

The Way of Love
'''6. Doing good deeds brings you into the light. What is your good deed of the day?'''

“Give the heart the higher priority, the practice the lower one.” (Saying of the Hijiri, the Buddhist Saint, from a book by Gerhard Marcel Martin, page 171)

Comment = Love is more important than the speaking of the mantra of Buddha Amitabha. The Indian Yogi Satha Sai Baba explained: “Helping hands are more holy than praying lips.” In Mahayana Buddhism we put other people before ourselves. We concentrate on helping other beings along the spiritual path. We wish for all beings to be happy. We wish for all beings to be saved (to reach enlightenment). We do what is possible. We live as Bodhisattvas along the path of all-encompassing love. We don’t neglect our spiritual practice that should bring us to enlightenment. We live in balance with love and meditation. But love always comes first.

''“Those who take the way of Shan-tao should practice the Amitabha mantra. They should also take every opportunity to do something good for others, whenever the chance appears.”''(quoted from Buddhism Krass, page 197)

Comment = Shan-tao is one of the Chinese patriarches from the pure land Buddhism. He taught followers to concentrate on the practice of Nembutsu. He also represented the way of unconditional love. Amitabha is a Buddha of love. If we want to land in his energy, we should practice unconditional love as well. The big question is how to combine the path of love with the path of the name mantra.

When we call on the Buddha Amitabha, then we connect with his energy. His energy flows into us with the repeating of the mantra and enlightens us. The Amitabha mantra is one way to fill ourselves with light every day. It can be helpful to do additional exercises like meditating while sitting or walking. It can be helpful to spread exercises throughout the day so that we are constantly in a inner cleansing and growth process. The great breakthrough into unity concsiousness and enlightenment takes place along the way of love. Along the Amitabha way we live concentrated to be a Bodhisattva. We can find our own personal mission of love. If we look close enough, every life has enough opportunity to do good. We can give someone a positive word. We can help someone who to find his path of inner happiness. We can send all beings light every day and so evolve ourselves into a Buddha of light.

Inner Peace
'''7. Even in a restless world one can maintain inner peace. What is your way of calm? Succeed.'''

''"Balance when experiencing difficulty." (freely quoted from Buddhism Krass, page 33).'' Comment: one can see Buddhism as a mental training to reach inner peace, strength and happiness. The two central techniques are thought work and meditation. Negative thoughts lead to negative feelings. A person who thinks positive is happier.

Accept things as they are. A person can only try to flow positively with things. Become nothing, become subordinate to the will of life, let go of false wishes. The wise are happy within themselves. They live apart from the outer world. A wise person is happy with the little things. This way, he or she can always be in peace and happiness.

Positive in Five Minutes

1. The problem: describe your situation and your problem. What is your situation? What is the problem? What is the basis for the problem?

2. What feelings are in you at the moment? Rage, fear, addiction, longing, sadness? Which feelings are the strongest? Where are the feelings located in your body, where do you perceive them?

3. The thoughts: which thoughts are connected with your feelings? Why are you sad, afraid, enraged or in a state of longing? Consider all of your burdening thoughts. (My thoughts are…)

4. Contemplation: what solves your problem? Think about your problem until you have found a solution. That could be an outer or an inner solution. Consider various solutions. Gather all of the information you need. Consider and make a clear decision.

5.. Put it into practice: put your decision into full force. Follow your positive plan for life. Avoid pointless grumbling. Don’t doubt, simply realize. Go your way, succeed and be satisfied with yourself. Begin each day with a positive resolution or prayer.

Forgiveness
'''8. Who would you like to forgive today? (Your partner, your parents, your child, your life, yourself?) “I forgive…”''' Woman: Forgiveness is for saints. It should be enough that I forgive myself. What others have done, let them deal with.

Nils: It’s not enough. In this way, you remain hardened, you block the happiness energy. You burden all of your future relationships. It is important to fully forgive, even if it is sometimes difficult. Forgiveness is for saints and non-saints alike so that they can be whole and healthy. Those who would like to find peace, should learn to forgive. Woman: To forgive another person means to make myself bigger than I really am. Nils: Those who forgive don’t make themselves bigger, rather they let go of a piece of their ego. They go beyond the eternal ego conflicts between people and rise above to a level of love, peace and light.

Gratitude
'''9. What are your thankful for? “I am thankful for…”'''

The Amitabha Buddhism is a spiritual teaching which arose in the first and second century. Basically, the image of the Buddha Amitabha is a myth. According to what has been written about Amitabha, he was a king who vowed to help all people find the way to enlightenment, once he himself had reach enlightenment. Through meditation, he realized his promise and lead those who had trust in him after death to find a realm free of suffering. According to fiction, Buddha Shakyamuni confirmed the Amitabha way. With confidence, the great Indian philosopher Nagarjuna tought the Amitabha way. Nagarjuna is the first enlightened master we can put our trust in. Further enlightened masters who tought the Amitabha way were Vasubandhu, Tan-luan, Shan-tao, Honen and Shinran Shonin, and particularly the Tibetan masters Padmasambhava, Longchenpa and Patrul Rinpoche. In Shin-Buddhism are the seven patriarchs: Nagarjuna, Indien, (150–250); Vasubandhu, Indien, (ca. 4th century); Tan-luan, China, (476–542); Tao-cho, China, (562–645); Shan-tao, China, (613–681); Genshin, Japan, (942–1017); Honen, Japan, (1133–1212).

For me, the Buddha Amitabha is a symbol for a fully enlightened master, who helps all beings along the way to enlightenment. He developed a simple way to enlightenment so that many people can succeed to this end. This method consists of connecting daily with an enlightened master (Buddha Amitabha) by speaking his name. We can also use an oracle or read a text to connect with our enlightened master (Buddha Amitabha). We should make an effort to be good people. Then the enlightened masters will lead us in our lives and bring us to paradise after death.

When we call on Buddha Amitabha, we get help from the spiritual world with certainty. According to Amritanandamayi, there are great enlightened beings in the cosmos (completely enlightened souls). These beings have a cosmic consciousness. They feel one with the cosmos and the light, and as one among each other. According to Amma, during prayer, one of these higher beings always feels spoken to and reacts. It doesn’t matter which name a person uses. It doesn’t matter if a person calls to Allah, God, Jesus, Krishna or Buddha Amitabha. It only matters that one wants help from the cosmos.

Prayer to Amitabha

”Om Buddha Amitabha. Om all enlightened masters. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way. I see the suffering in the world. I see the hunger, war, egoism, the lack of love. I am the Buddha of light. I live in the light. I walk the path of light. I send light to all beings. May all people be happy. May the world be happy .”

Nirvana
'''10. Come to rest. Let go of all goals. Awaken your inner happiness. Live in attachment-free existence.'''

What helps you to let go of your ego today? Let go of your desires. Live without desire. Take things simply as they are. Live consciously in the unity of the cosmos. Everything will come and go as it will. Everything is right as it is. Live in a state of non-exertion and let life flow on its own. Just do what is right to do.

Wikipedia: "Nirvana or Nibbana (Pali) is a Buddhist key term for the exit from the cycle of rebirth (reincarnation) through awakening (Bodhi). The word “extinguishing” is the end of all of the false personal images of existence related factors such as self-addictions, greed and attachments (Upadana). Nirvana is reached by letting go of all attachments. Nirvana is not necessarily something connected to death, rather something that can also be reached during life (a state of Arhat). Nirvana is described by the historical Buddha in the Suttapitaka as the highest happiness.”

How do we bring the term Nirvana into Amitabha Buddhism. Shinran found a good way to do just that. Amitabha is an enlightened master. An enlightened person has various characteristics. We can concentrate on the fact that Amitabha is a Buddha. We visualize ourselves in his form. We practice the characteristics wisdom, self-discipline, all-encompassing love, enlightened existence and inner happiness.

An enlightened Buddha lives in Nirvana. Nirvana is a consciousness dimension of emptiness and unity. An enlightened person has dissolved the ego and lives in a consciousness of the unity of all things. One can describe it also as a life in light. We can concentrate on emptiness (becoming nothing), unity (nature, cosmos, unlimited consciousness) or light (the happiness energy within us and around us). Shinran defined Buddha Amitabha as Nirvana. He thought Nembutsu (Namu Amida Butsu) and concentrated on Nirvana all the while, and so he landed in enlightenment consciousness.

Spiritual exercises
'''11. With which spiritual exercises can you awaken your inner happiness? Practice yoga, walking (physical exercise), positive thinking and meditation (time to rest and recover). And so your day will be a success.'''

Yoga with positive thinking

1. Walking = We walk in place, moving the arms like a steam engine while turning around and visualizing light and thinking “I go my way.”

2. Windmill = We stand with the legs apart, bend over and move back and forth and think “my goal is...”

3. Frog = We bend over from standing with the upper body in front. We support ourselves with the hands to jump up and move the behind into a squat and then up again to be standing in a forward bend. The head goes from being up to going back to the earth. We practice the frog several times and think: ”I have strength and perseverance.”

4. Arm and leg lift = We lay on the belly and lift the left arm and the right leg stretched out. We lower them back down and then life the right arm and the left leg. This is repeated several times. We think to ourselves: “I accept things as they are.”

5. Upper body lifts = We lay on the belly, supporting the hands on the side and move the upper body up and down. This is a simplified form of pushups as the lower body remains on the ground. While breathing in and out we think “I let go of my false wishes.” What would you like to let go of today?

6. Pelvis twists = While lying on the belly we twist the pelvis back and forth. The head is on the hands. Think “I am sad because…” What is your reason for sadness?

7. Foot movements = We lay on the belly and move the feet gently and mentally say:” I forgive… (I forgive my partner/parents that he/she/they… I forgive God that my life is so difficult. I forgive myself that …)”. Who would you like to forgive today? Think the words until a feeling of mourning, letting go and of forgiveness arises.

8. Bicycle = We lay down on the back and lift the head and move with the arms and legs in a bicycle type motion. Think while doing this: “I take the positive path.”

9. Candle = We lift the legs up to the sky while lying on the back and visualize the sun and move the feet while mentally repeating the mantra “Light” until the light of the sun flows into us.

10. Meditation seat = We roll out of the candle pose into the meditation seat (cross-legged pose). We place the hands in the lap. The back is straight and the belly relaxed. We move one hand in a blessing and send all people light. We surround them with light and think: “I send light to… May all people be happy. May the world be happy.” We stop all thoughts for a moment and relax afterwards.

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Self-reflection
'''12. We think about the purpose of life. What are your goals? What is your way?'''

The meaning of life is among the basic questions of philosophy. Religion sees the meaning of life in God, enlightenment and the ascent to heaven after death. Western TV is based around values like consumption, carrier, love and material success. Many people believe in love, but it fails in reality. Is there a way to lasting happiness, inner peace and all-encompassing love? Observe life, find wisdom and your way.

1. Go to your calm place, the place deep within. That is where you find your “I am”, which is responsible for your purpose in life. If you lose your connection to this inner peace, then you lose your deeper purpose in life and you wind up chasing pointless things to fill this whole. From inner calm positivity arises. You can suddenly recognize the way to a positive life.

2. It’s best to be happy in and of yourself and to anchor yourself in inner happiness and to work for a happy world. The highest fulfillment in life is the double path of love for God (enlightenment, inner happiness), and love for fellow beings (to do good for others). That is the essence of Christianity, Buddhism, Yoga and the philosophy of happiness (Epicur, Socrates). Find your personal way. Observe your abilities, your life situation and the world around you. Then you will know what you have to do.

3. Make your perspective a positive one. Think positive. Recognize the chances and opportunities in your life. Use them. What are your abilities? What chances has life given you? A purposeful life arises out of positive thoughts and goals. You experience life as full of meaning when you have a positive goal.

4. Live according to a clever plan. A lifetime isn’t forever. Make the most of your time. What is the way to a fulfilled life? Define your goals. Find the right way to realize those goals. What are your goals? What is your way to success?

5. Life should be fun, too. Put as many elements of joy into your life needed to make your way as positive as possible. Find things you’re enthusiastic about.

Ego-resolution
'''13. Take things as they are. Let go of false wishes.'''

What do you need to accept today? Which thoughts bring you inner peace? Live in a sense of unity, of enlightened being, in the light. Concentrate on the essence of all. Find your personal practice that will take you to the center of your being.

Basically the way of inner happiness consists of health and thought work. Health exercises are sports or any type of physical exercise such as walking, jogging, bike riding, yoga and meditation. Healthy eating and avoiding harmful substances are a part of practicing a healthy lifestyle.

Thought work means to avoid negative thoughts and to facilitate positive thoughts. Negative thoughts lead to inner tension, damage the health and generates bad social relationships. Negative feelings are mostly feelings of fear and rage and those connected to addiction. Positive thoughts cause positive feelings and lead to constructive behavior. We get positive thoughts through contemplation, self-reflection, positive resolve, and reading positive books. It is important to constantly pay attention to one’s own thoughts, feelings and the positive building blocks in life (love, peace, truth, strength, happiness.) It is important with every mental teaching, that we remain in contact with the self, the inner truth, and love. A mental teaching gives us orientation. For the correct application in one’s own personal situation, everyone is personally responsible. What helps you? What brings you forward? What serves toward building a happy world?

The simplest method pertaining to a mental happiness practice is reading a spiritual book daily. We don’t need to read the entire book at a time. Just a page, a short chapter, and one meditation daily is enough to keep us focused on the path of happiness. For a lot of people, pulling an oracle card daily helps to maintain a positive perspective on life, and that only requires a minute. Everyone has a minute. If we practice our oracle wisely, it strengthens us along our way in life. Consider your daily happiness practice. What is your spiritual path? Which exercises and meditation do you want to practice regularly?

The daily spiritual ritual
'''14. Find your daily spiritual ritual. Keep your inner peace through your spiritual exercises (mantra, prayer, oracle, meditation).''' In order to make quick progress spiritually and to come to the light, you should do several spiritual exercises spread out throughout the day. You can start with a prayer in the morning (ritual of light), then go for a walk (while walking, mentally repeat the Nembutsu) or do yoga, read a spiritual text int the internet, and in the evening meditate. Zen Master Yongming once said: ''“with Zen (meditation and walking) without prayer (Nembutsu) nine out of ten people lose their spiritual way. If death comes, they wouldn’t go to paradise. With daily prayer without zen, they will come to Pure Land. With both, zen and the way of Amitabha Buddhism, one reaches enlightenment in the next life at the latest. It is as if you unite the power of the tiger with that of a buffalo.”''

Ritual of Light

We can do a little ritual of light every day, to awaken the light in us and fil lus with light. A ritual consists of connecting and visualizing, mantra and mudra. a) Prayer gesture = We place the palms of the hands together in front of the heart chakra and visualize the Buddha Amitabha in front of us or over us. Then we mentally repeat the mantra: “Namu Amida Butsu (or Om Buddha Amitabha). Om all enlightened masters. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.” We imagine that we are connected with Buddha Amitabha (all enlightened masters of Amitabha Buddhism) and that their energy flows into us with the mantra.

b) Meditation gesture = We lay the hands together on the lap and visualize ourselves as Buddha Amitabha and think the mantra ”I am a Buddha of light. I live in the light. I go the way of light.” We feel that we are filled with light and are in light. We reach a state of calm, peace, love, strength and happiness. In order to strengthen the effect, we can walk on the earth with our feet (grounding).

c) Blessing gesture = We move one hand in a blessing in front of the heart chakra. We can also move two blessing hands (one hand points upward, the other downward) and then back in front of the belly and let them change position several times. We send light to someone while mentally affirming this “I send light to… May all beings be happy. May the world be happy.”

d) Meditation = The back is straight and the stomach relaxed. The hands are on the lap or on the legs. Stop all of your thoughts. Bring your mind to rest with a short meditation. You can think the Amitabha mantra some times (Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha...). Concentrate on your body. Purify yourself with the mantra. Bring your thoughts to rest with the mantra. Let your thoughts come and go as they want. Relax and stay calm.

e) Positive sentence = What do you need now? What positive sentence gives you strength to be successful in your day? Forward. Be victorious.

Happiness
'''15.  The way of inner happiness consists of three steps. If we live relaxed, then our energy will turn inwards. We use spiritual exercises (yoga, meditation, contemplation) to activate kundalini energy. If we send all beings light, we arrive in love and unity consciousness. Proceed. Succeed.'''

''“Don’t pause in places where others have already built their huts. Two Hijiris shouldn’t share their space with one another. They would disturb one another. Strive for paradise with the mind that is focused on the goal.” (Quoted from Budhism krass, pages 34,41 and 144).''

Why is a lot of solitude important along the spiritual way? In Tibetan Buddhism, it is said that one is already half way to enlightenment when one lives as a solitary yogi. Swami Sivananda taught “the first half of the way is achieved by a solitary life. The second is achived through spiritual practice. One enters the gate via all-encompassing love.” The optimal way to achieve enlightenment occurs in connection with a lot of solitude, effective, spiritual exercises and to live as a karma yogi (Bodhisattva, helper of all beings).

The Indian saint Anandamayi Ma cleansed her body and her mind with mantras, physical exercise and godly yoda. She visualized herself as various Gods, mentally repeated mantras, and activated the kundalini energy. As body and mind were sufficiently freed of energy blockages, then her energy began to flow intensely. In Christianity it is said “blessed are those that are pure of heart, for they will see God.”

After a phase of purification and the activation of kundalini energy, Anandamayi Ma spent three years alone meditating. The solitude cleansed her further and she reached lasting enlightenment. From this point on, she lived as a spiritual master, travelled through India and helped others along the way of unconditional love. Through the path of unconditional love, she further realized her Buddha- nature.

These three steps of solitude, practice and love are also the way of the Hijiri. They live away from the world as hermits or wondering preachers. Their spiritual exercise is deity yoga. The concentrate on the Buddha Amitabha, think their mantras and awaken the spiritual energy within. They mostly live as Bodhisattvas, as spiritual helpers of all beings. They do good deeds in their way and in light of their personal abilities to do so. They do this by sending others the light, love and wisdom of the Buddha Amitabha.

When we mentally connect with the Buddha Amitabha, then his energy flows into us. We can also seeing that through prayer and visualization Kundalini energy is activated within us. If we see ourselves as Buddhas of light, and send all beings light and also ask for guidance from Buddha Amitabha, then we also reach the light. We realize the first step to enlightenment. The second step is to live in solitude away from the actions of the world. The solitude cleanses us through kundalini energy achieved via mantras. From a certain point when living in solitude, the spiritual energy increases greatly. We become Buddhas of light more and more. We are happy and experience our world as a paradise.

Healing
'''16. Healing. Success.'''

There once was a farmer in Indian who had a huge goiter on his throat. It hurt and looked ugly. The farmer was desperate. He asked a lot of doctors, but no one could help him. In desperation, he went to a sacred place where an enlightened master lived. The farmer was called Kukcipa. The name of the enlightened master was Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna is the name of the founder of Mahayana Buddhism, which connects the way of inner happiness with the way of unconditional love (karma yoga).

Nagarjuna instructed Kukcipa to meditate on his goiter every day. He should do yoga exercises to loosen the tension in his throat chakra. He should surround himself with light and wish all people in the world healing. He should repeat the mantra “light” until his mind came to rest. He should stay alone for awhile. Kukcipa practiced yoga for many years. First the pain in his throat got worse and worse. Before healing, often a phase of energizing occurs. Then the pain stopped, the goiter disappeared and Kukcipa was healed. He was healed externally and internally. He got a healthy body and a healed soal.

Healing Meditation

1. Sun = We sit relaxed or lay down. We visualize a beautiful sun over us and lift both hands up to the head and think the mantra ”sun”. We let the light of the sun flow over us and massage it into the body.

2. Earth = We visualize ourselves under the globe, rub our hands over the earth and think “I send light to the entire world. May the entire world be happy.”

3. Healing massage = We consider which body part needs healing. We let light flow in, massage the area in circles and mentally repeat the word ”light” as a mantra. Through the light massage we dissolve tension and enable self-healing. We can imagine the light as a color that we feel helps us. We think the name of the color as a mantra. We can heal various body parts one after the other this way.

4. Cosmos = We visualize a cosmos full of stars around us, make big circles with the arms and think: ”Om cosmos. I accept the suffering in my life. I take the path of health and healing.”

5. Buddha of healing = We visualize over us or above us a Buddha of healing. We rub our hands over the heart chakra and think : “Om Buddha of healing. Om inner wisdom. I ask for guidance and help along my way.”

6. Healing question = We concentrate on a body part that needs healing or a personal problem. We think about what the way of healing is. What does your inner wisdom say? Which helpful thoughts come to you? We think as long as we need to until the solution is found. If we don’t hear an answer, we are either blocked (we don’t want to see the tre cause of the problem) or we could have poor contact with the inner voice. The best way is to slowly let it come to you by contemplating.

7. Our fellow human beings = We move our hand in a blessing over the heart chakra and think “I send light to (person). May all people who have the same problem as I have be healed.” We feel connected with others.

8. Relaxation. Forward with optimism.

Power
'''17. Awaken your inner strength with spiritual exercises. The power is with you. Success.'''

Meditation for inner strength

1. Movement = We make grimaces with the face, move the head, the shoulders, the arms, the hands, the legs and the feet. We turn back and forth, moving from the spine.

2. Inner organs = We visualize our brain and think the mantra ”brain” several times. We mentally repeat the mantra as long as we need to do have the feeling the brain is charged with healing energy. We do the same with all of our other inner organs. “lungs, stomach, intestines, bladder, feet, butt, kidneys, liver, solar plexus, heart.” At the end we sense all of our organs at once and mentally repeat “all inner organs.”

3. Bones = We visualize our bones and think the name until the relative skeletal area is energized: “skull, spine, rib cage, pelvis, feet, arms, hands, whole skeleton.”

4. Sun = We imagine a sun ball in our stomach. We repeat the mantra “sun” and light shines into the entire body. We massage light into our entire body and mentally repeat the mantra “sun”. 5. Stars = The sunlight gets stronger and fills the entire cosmos around us with light. We make big circles with the arms, see the entire cosmos full of stars and think the mantra ”stars”.

6. Pump breathing = We lay a hand on the stomach and practice breath of fire. At the same time we think the mantra ”om”. We breath at an increased speed with the stomach muscles and fill the entire body with prana and light.

7. Interchanging breathing = We close the right nostril with the thumb and breathe with breath of fire through the left nostril and think the mantra ”om” in the body. We close the left nostril with the pointer finger and breath with breath of fire through the right nostil and think “om” in the body. We switch between the left and right nostril back and forth until a feeling of inner calm and harmony occurs.

8. Buddha = We visualize ourselves as Buddha and think: “I am a Buddha of peace. I live in peace. I go the way of peace.”

9. Happy world = We move a hand and send all beings light. We think: ”I send light to... May all peoples be happy. May the world be happy.”

10. Master = We rub the palms of the hands in front of the heart chakra and think: ”Om Buddha Amitabha. Om all enlightened masters. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.”

The spiritual role model
'''18. Look for an inspiring role model for your spiritual way. It doesn’t matter which you chose. It is important that the role model symbolizes enlightenment energy for you. Connect with your role model through meditation, a text (oracle), or through a mantra. Imagine a big sun in front of your crown chakra. In that sun, a Buddha sits. The Buddha is you. The Buddha sees the suffering of the earth and sends light to all beings. Move your hand in a blessing and think: “I send light to... May all people be happy. May the world happy”. Succeed on your spiritual way. Forward.'''

"Kyoshin broke off his priest carrier, made a pilgrimage through Japan, stopped somewhere, married, worked and concentrated on his spiritual way. He was anchored in the essence and was otherwise open with life. He flowed with things the way they developed. On the outside he lived simply, and on the inside he was concentrated on paradise. He spoke the Amitabha prayer as if nothing else existed" (Buddhism krass, page 163).

Comment = Kyoshin connected the material life with the spiritual way. He lived in the world, but on the inside in solitude, so he could preserve his energy. He didn’t lose himself in worldly enjoyment. He lived everything and didn’t get attached to anything. Normally worldly life leads to the loss of inner happiness energy. We use ourselves up in works stress. We lose ourselves to worldly attachments and addictions. We forget to practice spiritually and thus lose our true selves. We don’t live in light during life, and thus don’t come to light after death.

How can it succeed to come to enlightenment while living in the world? Buddha said that is hardly possible. For that reason he retreated from the worldly life and became a hermit. However, we can also grow spiritually with a life out in the world. We need to live so that we preserve our spiritual energy. A simple, modest life with a lot of peace and quiet has its advantages. Kyoshin lived as a simple farmer. He repeated his mantra and kept his mind on light. He rejected nothing and became attached to nothing. He used all the occurances of his life as opportunities to grow. He let go of his ego while suffering and practiced a balanced mentality. He enjoyed life, without losing himself in it. He stayed anchored in life.

He let Buddha Amitabha lead him on his way and so reached enlightenment. He lived daily in connection with Buddha (the enlightened masters, God) and heard the voice of his inner wisdom through which Buddha Amitabha lead him. So he could be transformed through the wisdom and energy of Buddha Amitabha. That is the secret of the way of prayer. We don’t need to be hermits. With the power of Buddha Amitabha (the enlightened masters, God) we can also lead a life in the world and come to enlightenment.

Relax
'''19. Avoid excessive stress in your life. Make time to relax. Meditate daily.'''

A woman wrote to Nils that she was very happy that she found Yoga. In the previous years, she had had a lot of stress at work and in life in general. For that reason, she had lost a lot of positivity and joy in life. Through yoga, she was able to get rid of some of this stress. She was then happy in her life again. She only felt stressed occasionally after this. She was happy about her life again. She was very grateful to Nils for this.

Yoga gave her the ability to differentiate between important and not important things. She could therefore concentrate on what is important in life and let go of unnecessary things and save a lot of energy. She practiced positive thinking daily and therefore was mainly in a state of positivity, full of joy in life. However, if she didn’t do yoga for a few days and didn’t practice positive thinking during that time, her good energy disappeared again quickly. She decided to be consistent about her practice. Through the course of time, her positive feelings became stronger. However, she also became more sensitive to negative energies. But she had a way to deal with this. She had found a way to overcome difficulties of all types. She asked her self: ”how would the Dalai Lama see the situation?” And then the correct way to deal with the situation came to her. The woman described a typical problem along the spiritual way: the positive energy increases, but so does the sensitivity to negative energy.

There are different ways to deal with negative energy. One can try to avoid negative situations and energy as much as possible. One can give up contact to negative people, or reduce that contact. One can think positive thoughts during contact with negative people, or use mantras to maintain inner balance. One can also do spiritual exercises after the contact to build oneself up again to a more positive place. It is good to ask the enlightened masters for help and guidance every day, and to use a clever and positive strategy to get through the day. It helps to take lots of little breaks for relaxation and positive perspective. At work, it’s important to not let the stress get to you and to get things done at your own pace. Those who act from a place of calm, save a lot of energy and can stay positive longer. Sometimes it’s important though, to work less. That is what the above described woman did after a few years and felt really good about it.

Be yourself
'''20. Those who live their own lives, live relaxed and happy. Be yourself. Live from the essence of your being. Anchor yourself in wisdom, and follow your inner impulses. Ask yourself “What do I feel like doing? What do I need now?”'''

''Ren-amidabutsu had a dream that the god of the Hachiman shrine appeared. ”The incarnation into the Pure Land doesn’t depend on having spoken the Nembutsu at least once, nor it depends on being said several times, it depends on the heart.” (Buddhism krass)''

Comment = Whether one reaches paradise depends on how seriously one practices. Praying isn’t enough. One has to feel connected with Amitabha. One should practice so that the heart opens more and more. One should look for a way creatively that keeps the spiritual practice lively. Most people do their spiritual practice as an outer ritual without really taking part on the inside.

The Pure Land is already there, we just don’t see it. There are many ways to come to the Pure Land (paradise). We can reach it during meditation. We can also practice positive thinking and concentrate on what is good in our life. We can also make our own lives nice. The outer affects the inner, and the inner world affects the outer world. We should feel out what is the correct way to come to paradise consciousness at any given moment.

I am going on a walk in nature and eat something nice. While walking I mentally repeat the mantra “Amitabha” and cleanse my mind that way. At some point inner happiness will come, and my world will change into a paradise. When I eat something good, I visualize it and thus concentrate my energy into my stomach and activate my consciousness of happiness. I usually eat some cookies and drink some hot chocolate. If you are creative along the spiritual way and combine it with enjoyment, then the heart will become happy and the spiritual practice becomes a way into the light.

Yoga for Beginners
'''21. Your way is difficult, but you will win. You have a good sense of the correct way to go. Stay in contact with your inner wisdom. What are your goals? What are your obstacles? Which way can you reach your goals? The cosmos make today a gift of victory. You will win. Proceed with optimsm. Success.'''

Yoga for Beginners

Yoga is a gift. It keeps the body fit, strengthens the muscles, dissolves tension in the inner organs, activates life energy and makes the mind positive. Do your exercises so that they are good for you. I’ve considered how beginners best can start with yoga. It has attracted a cult following worldwide. It is simple and at the same time effective. The American WikiHow has already over 380.000 clicks. You can see the single exercises here.

1. We lay on the back and relax.

2. We raise the stretched right leg and hold it in the air. Then we lift the left leg.

3. We raise both legs and the head. We hold the position as long as possible and breathe into the belly.

4. We go into shoulder stand, lift the behind and stretch the legs up to the sky. The hands support the back. We move our feet and relax in the candle pose.

5. We lay down and twist the spine a few times. We move the pelvis to the right and the head to the left, then the other way around. We twist the spine as far as possible.

6. We lay on the belly and lift the right leg stretched out. We hold it and breathe relaxed into the belly. Then we lift the left leg and hold it in the air.

7. We move the head back and bring the feet as close as possible to the back of the head. The upper thighs are in the air and the hands support the position next to the body. We hold the cobra pose, breathe relaxed into the belly and move the feet.

8. We place the head on the hands, move our feet and relax while lying on the belly.

9. We sit cross-legged, or kneeling, or on a chair. The back is straight and the belly relaxed. We mentally repeat the mantra ”Amitabha”. We think it so fast that all of the thoughts come to rest. Then we move the hand in a blessing and think : “I send light to (name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy.”

10. We lay down so that we are comfortable. We tension the muscles of the legs and feet. We relax. We tension the muscles of the arms and the hands. We relax. Then we tighten the muscles of the head and face, and then relax. We tighten the muscles of the entire body, then we relax. We relax completely for a few minutes. We go about our life happily.

Overcome your fear
'''22. Overcome your fear. What are you afraid of? Proceed. Success.'''

There once was a man who lived in fear. He didn’t like his fear. He wanted to overcome it. For that reason, he went to an enlightened master and asked him for advice. The master recommended the man to live as a yogi and to use spiritual exercises to overcome his neurotic fears. The man moved into a hut in the big forest. In the forest there were tigers and snakes and jackals. The yogi was afraid of all of these animals. For that reason, he read in his books what a yogi should do about such a situation. Tip one: Look closely at ever fear. Those who look closely at their fear can recognize the negative thoughts and dissolve the fear with a positive thought. Tip two: let go of the ego. Accept things you cannot change. Let go of false wishes. Flow positively though all suffering. Those who sacrifice themselves into the center of their fears, will dissolve their fears. Fears are just constructions of the thoughts that are in connection to an overdriven need to reject experiences in life. Those who can get over their own will in difficult situations, can relax more and go about their way. Tip three: ask the great masters for help, contemplate deeply and go your way with perseverance and wisdom. Those who take such action can trust life and will be protected by their inner voice.

The yogi considered his problem closely. Jackals only howl, but don’t do anything to people. Snakes only bite when they feel attacked. If a yogi is careful and moves slowly, the snake won’t do anything. Tigers do eat people, but not that often. Such a tiger should be avoided. And if that isn’t possible, you sacrifice the ego and accept things as they are. Then you practice further in the next life. One has to be able to let go of life as well, if the situation requires. The yogi grappled with his fearful thoughts. He went his way with courage and perseverance. One day he was enlightened and his fear disappeared. Then he was happy.

Difficulties
'''23. Difficulties are challenges for a spiritual person. You grow through them to enlightenment. Master your life. Success.'''

The song from the grass roof hermitage of Sekito Kisen Zenji (old Zen Master)

I built a grass hut with nothing of value in it.

After eating, I relax and am happy to take a nap. When the hut was ready, the weeds began to grow. Now I live in it and it is surrounded by green plants.

The person in the hut lives relaxed

Isn’t affected from inner, outer, or other circumstances.

Where worldly people live, he doesn’t;

What worldly people love, he doesn’t.

Although the hut is small,

It contains the entire cosmos.

Within nine square meters, the old man enlightened all forms.

A Bodhisattva lives in trust and all-encompassing love.

Firmily established in persistence-

Nothing can exceed this.

A lit window under green pine-

A jade palace cannot compare.

Simply sit with a roof over the head.

And everything is calm.

This old hermit doesn’t strive toward wisdom any longer.

He doesn’t work toward salvation any longer.

Who wants to make his hut nice to attract guests?

Let yourself be enlightened on the inside,

Then simply go home.

The incomprehensible source cannot be conceived.

Meet the old master,

then trust his instructions,

bind grass bushels to build a hut

And don’t give up.

Relax completely.

Open your hands and be natural.

If you want to meet the immortal in this hut

Don’t turn away from this.

Little bird
'''24. Many little problems. Stay in the light. Flow positively with the things. Search for the great happiness on the inside and not on the outside. Stay on the way of peace (go slowly). Be a Buddha of peace. Go through difficult situations in state of calm. Keep your emotions small and maintain your inner balance this way. Go forward. Success.'''

Amita Walking Meditation

In five minutes we can activate our inner strength and bring ourselves into the light. You can do this in your room, on the way to work, shopping or in free nature. You can walk everywhere. You just need to do it. It is simple. 1. While walking, concentrate on the earth and the soles of the feet. Feel your feet and the earth. Think in the feet the mantra A-Mi-Ta-Bha. That is four steps per mantra repeating, then start again. Activate your feet chakra and awaken the strength in you.

2. Concentrate on your body and think the Mantra A-Mi-Ta-Bha in your body. Fill your body with energy, strength and happiness.

3. While walking, make the three gestures and think the corresponding mantra. a) Prayer gesture (hands together in front of the heart chakra) = ”Om Buddha Amitabha. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.”

b) Meditation gesture (hands together in front of the belly) = “I am a Buddha of light. I live in the light. I go the way of light.”

c) Blessing (hand moves back and forth, sending all beings light) = ”I send light to…(name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy."

4. Rest in a state of calm while walking. Bring your thoughts to a state of calm.

5. Go positively through life.

Compassion
'''25. See the suffering in the world. Look at your opportunities. Help where it is possible for you. Live in main focus as a Bodhisattva (Buddha of Love). So you overcome your own suffering. What is your way of compassion? Success. Move a hand and send all people lightː "I send light to ... May all people be happy. May the word be happy."'''

Avalokiteshvara means “the lord, who sees the world.” What this means is those who hear the complaints of the suffering beings on earth. The Goddess Tara is considered his radiance. The female form of this in China is Guanyin and in Japan it is called Kannon. According to the legends, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara wanted to help other beings to salvation. He gave an oath that he never betrayed. Whether Gods, people, animals or demons, he was everywhere and supported others in freeing them from suffering. As he looked as his work, he saw that countless suffering beings followed him. He doubted the fulfillment of his oath and exploded into a thousand pieces. Thanks to the supernatural abilities of Buddha Amitabha, Avolokiteshvara was put together again. This time he gave him a thousand arms in which every hand had an eye, and eleven heads. He wanted Avalokiteshvara to be able to better serve all beings. Many masters, among them the Dalai Lama, are seen as the embodiment of Avalokiteshvara. The mantra to call on him is Om mani padme hum.

Celebration
'''26. Celebrate your blessed life. Why are you blessed? What is your deed of joy for the day?'''

Discussion in in a Buddhist forum

Cravin:  What holidays are celebrated in Amitabha Buddhism?

Benkei: The ”Amida-Buddhism" doesn’t exist, in fact. In Japan, there are four school whose main Buddha is Amida and their practice is concentrated on this, but these schools still belong to general Buddhism and the same holidays are celebrated as in other Buddhist traditions, for which Amida is just one of many Buddhas. Also here in many larger cities in the west, Buddhist holidays are celebrated, such as Vesakh in May.

Nils: If we want to practice Amitabha Buddhism in the west, we should celebrate the western holidays, not the Japanese holidays. There are three big western holidays: Christmas, New Year’s and Easter. These holidays can be celebrated in the context of Buddhism. Christmas is Amitabha’s festival of light. We give gifts out of joy. On the first of January we go to a temple, as it is traditional to do in Japan. If there aren’t any temples near us, we can celebrate the temple fest in front of the house altar or in an internet group.

The theme of Easter is death and reincarnation. We concentrate on Amitabha’s paradise and celebrate a paradise party. We celebrate looking forward to our future life in paradise. Otherwise, we can also celebrate the birthday of Buddha and our own birthday as the birthday of a future Buddha.

Emotions
'''27. What are your negative characteristics? (For example, fear, depression, rage, addiction, unwisdom). Overcome them. Which positive thoughts help you?'''

Rage is overcome through thoughts of love and forgiveness. If we fall into grief, there are a lot of good things we can do to come out of it. With fear, it helps to look closely. Then you find a way out of the fear. Unwisdom is to lose oneself in outer happiness tied to relationships, carrier, consumption. If we are too drawn to outer things, we lose our inner peace. If we are plagued by negative thoughts, then we can concentrate on the opposite. Find a thought that you can overcome the unwisdom with.

What can we do to grow in inner happiness and to stay in this state? We can live away from civilization. We can keep worldly energy from invading our energy field. Or we can just let it flow through us. We can let these thoughts and feelings run through us and then they come to rest on their own. We let the rage, sadness, fear and pain go through us until everything comes to rest.

We can also use the worldly energies to grow. Observing the suffering in the world can lead us to keep from being attached to the world. The suffering can lead us to develop balance, wisdom and empathy. We can be wise about dealing with difficulties in that we avoid them and use spiritual techniques to rise above them.

In the right amount, material happiness can help us grow in inner happiness and support us on our spiritual way. We should learn to experience worldly enjoyment with wisdm. We should look closely at what we need. We should find the right balance. One should essentially live modestly on the outside, and rich on the inside. But when suffering a lot on the outside, we can hold the suffering in balance by enjoying a lot on the outside world, too.

We develop inner happiness through a quiet life and spiritual exercises. Through the course of time, a cloud of spiritual energy develops around us. We can learn to keep this cloud. There are a lot of techniques we can use such as solitude, positive thinking, kundalini yoga, mantras (Om Buddha of light) and meditation. If we take the path of all-encompassing love (to live as a Bodhisattva) and don’t act from the ego (wanting to get something), we stabilize the energy field and our heart energy. It is important to live in the correct balance between solitude and love. The spiritual path has to be sensitive, creative, and wise. Then we become Buddhas of light.

Single-mindedness
'''28. Concentrate on your positive goal. Those who want to reach large goals have to sacrifice for it. They have to give up something and live with self-discipline. “My goals are… My way is… My sacrifice is…” Proceed with strength. Success.'''

Temple Meditation

All thoughts slowly come to rest. We feel the peace within us. We relax. We see the picture of a beautiful island with our inner eyes. It is surrounded by a beautiful sea. The water splashes gently against the sand. In the middle of the island there is a mountain. It has great, spicy smelling vines growing on it. At the top of the mountain there is a temple. It is the temple of your inner wisdom. You take the path from the beach to the temple. How does the temple look? You walk through the door. Inside, the temple is dark and very calm. In the middle there is a lotus throne with the Buddha Amitabha. It is the embodiment of your inner wisdom. You can now ask the Buddha Amitabha a question.

Ask your question. Meditate on the question until you see the path clearly. Listen to your answer. Find your way of victory. What does your inner wisdom say? Think about your life. Which experiences have you had in your life? How is your situation at the moment? How do you imagine your future? What is your goal? What it is your plan? What is your way to live a wise life? Think about your goals, your mission and your way. What does Amitabha say? Let the answer come to you. Formulate a positive sentence. Think the answer as a mantra repeatedly.

Stop all of your thoughts for a minute. Stay in the meditation for a few minutes. Thoughts and feelings can come and go as they wish. Perhaps you would like to contemplate something further? Maybe a good thought comes to you. Come out of the meditation when the time is right. Stick to your path of truth and wisdom. Go into your future with optimism. Success.

Contemplate your situation
'''29. Contemplate your situation. Take things as they are. Find a flexible way through the chaos. Success.'''

The founder of Tibetan Buddhism is Padmasambhava. He taught a mixture of Buddhism and Yoga (Hatha Yoga, karma yoga, mantra yoga, tantra yoga and guru yoga). He explained: “practice so that you feel good. If a doubt appears on your way, pray to the enlightened masters. Then think about it and follow the voice of your inner wisdom. That is the voice of the enlightened masters. If you proceed in this way, you will be successful on the spiritual way.”

Today, there are three main forms of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) and many sub-forms (for example Amitabha Buddhism and Zen Buddhism). The Theravada Buddhism is concentrated around the original teachings of Buddha. The main point is one’s own enlightenment. The main goal is to become a saint (Arhat) and to live in Nirvana( unity). The Mahayana Buddhism is the way of all-encompassing Love. The main goal is not one’s own enlightenment, rather the happiness of all beings. A Mahayana Buddhist sees himself as a part of other beings. He or she wants to take all other beings with him or her on the path of enlightenment. He wishes for a happy world and a happy cosmos. The idea in Mahayana is to live as Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva works for his or her own enlightenment and the enlightenment of all beings. Once a Bodhisattva has reached enlightenment he sacrifices his dissolving into Paranirwana after death until all other beings have been saved.

The Vajrayana (diamond vehicle) is known as Tibetan Buddhism in the west. It is connected to the philosophical basis of the Mahayana. In addition, physical exercise, visualization, mantras, special meditations and consecrations (energy transfer). With Vajrayana, we find the strongest combination of Buddhism and Hinduism. Many spiritual techniques of Vajrayana come from Hinduism and were more or less altered as they became a part of Buddhism. This is especially true for Role model yoga (deities), yoga techniques (hatha yoga, mantra yoga, karma yoga, tantra yoga) and the honoring of the enlightened masters (guru yoga).

Transformation
'''30. Transformation. Build up inner strength through your spiritual exercises. Proceed with optimism.'''

Nāgārjuna(c. 150 – c. 250 CE) is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers after Gautama Buddha. He is the first enlightened buddhist who mentioned the Amitabha mantra as a good technique to reach enlightenment. Nagarjuna practised kundalini yoga and therefore is often shown with the kundalini snake. If we look closely at Amitabha Buddhism, it is a simple form of kundalini yoga. We visualize ourselves as a Buddha and thus awaken the enlightenment energy in us. We visualize our world as a paradise and transform us into an enlightenment consciousness (unity consciousness).

Kundalini yoga has many techniques. If a person has strong energy, then sometimes just a simple gesture activates the kundalini energy. We can hold our hand over the earth or in front of the heart chakra. We can lay the hands on the legs, or in the lap. We can also hold the hands to the sky and thus activate the crown chakra. Kundalini yoga means that the spiritual energy collects in the middle energy channel. Then great strength, peace and joy and an enlightenment consciousness appear.

Good karma
'''31. Happiness awaits you. You can face the future with optimism. Forwards!!'''

Those who practice spiritually grow in light. Those who do good in the world and for others will one day have a good life. That is the rule of karma.

The Five Great Questions

1. Does enlightenment really exist? This question can clearly be answered with a yes. Many people have experienced enlightenment. Many people bear witness to the fact that enlightenment exists. Enlightenment is the deeper point of life. Enlightenment is inner peace, all-encompassing love, great strength and immeasurable happiness. Enlightenment cannot be described, but it is better to be enlightened than un-enlightened.

2. Is there a way to get to enlightenment? Buddha described one way. The wise yogi Patanjali showed one way. Jesus showed another way. There are many ways to enlightenment. Many people have gone one of these ways consistently and reached their goal. The only variant is the amount of time and the way of practice. Basically it is best to take the path of spiritual practice (yoga, meditation, walking) in conjunction with the path of all-encompassing love (doing good, sending all beings light) and the daily connecting with an enlightened master. That is the most sure-fire way. Without an enlightened master we can get lost on the spiritual way. Without spiritual exercises there can be no inner cleansing. Without all-encompassing-love we cannot come to unity consciousness.

3. Is there life after death? All of the religions of the world assume there is life after death. Many people have travelled to the other side with their spirit and visited deceased relatives. Clairvoyants can see the other side. Many people have had near death experiences. They step out of the body after an accident, a meditation or an operation. They come face to face with the dimension of light. They meet deceased relatives and enlightened beings who help them from the other side. Atheists claim this is just the imagination. This idea can be refuted in that many people have observed their body from above. They can report things which can be verified which could not have been seen otherwise in their state of physical unconsciousness.. With Pam Reynolds, it happened that she had ear plugs in and her eyes were covered during a brain operation. She was unconscious. Brain waves were not measured. The part of the brain responsible for thinking was not active. Despite all of this she saw things which happened during the operation and could report them later and this information was verified. There is a lot of indication for life after death.

4. Are there enlightened masters who can hel pus along the spiritual way? Yes. An enlightened person lives in a higher dimension of energy and can use this energy to act. Completely enlightened people have omni-presence, all-knowingness of the future and past, and all-powerfullness (they can help everywhere). Enlightened masters can give us strength, peace, knowledge, love and light. They can send us spiritual energy and dissolve energy blockages.

5. What is your way? This is something you have to find out for yourself.

Shan-tao
'''32. After success. Great praise. You have worked enough. Take a break. Rest and recover. Let go of your big goals. Relax. Enjoy life.'''

Master Shan-tao

Shan-tao (613-681) was an influential writer for the Pure Land school of Buddhism, prominent in China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. His writings had a strong influence on later Pure Land masters including Hōnen and Shinran in Japan. In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, he is considered the Fifth Patriarch. Shan-tao was one of the first to propose that salvation through Amitabha Buddha could be achieved simply through his name. The practice known as the nianfo as a way of singular devotion to Amitabha Buddha was all that was needed. Shan-tao often used imagery such as the "Light and Name of Amitabha" which "embraces" all beings.

In one of his more famous writings, Shan-tao spoke at great length about how simply saying the name of Amitabha Buddha was sufficient for salvation. "Only repeat the name of Amitabha with all your heart. Whether walking or standing, sitting or lying, never cease the practice of it even for a moment. This is the very work which unfailingly issues in salvation, for it is in accordance with the Original Vow of that Buddha." At the end of the 8th century, lived a beggar monk named Kang. Kang had great knowledge of the Amitabha way. He knew a simple way into paradise that everyone can use. One day, a bright energy ray came from an inscription in a temple. A short time later, old Kang had a vision of the deceased Amitabha master Shan-tao who spoke out of nowhere ”Shao Kang, go according to Yanzhou. The people need you and your wisdom of paradise yoga. If you act according to my example, you will reach paradise after your death.”

Shan Tao was a Chinese Amitabha master who lived in China 200 years before Kang was born. Shan Tao had reached enlightenment and could see all people from the light world who thought of him and were involved with the teachings of Buddha Amitabha. He could especially send helpful thoughts through his books, pictures and name figures (Chinese letters). He could thus connect with old Kang. Old Kang walked to the city Yanzhou as he was encouraged to do in his dream. Kang radiated more light the older he got. People came to see him. When he died, he promised to take everyone to paradise who visualized him as an enlightened master.

Honen Shonin
'''33. What is your way of truth? “Wise is…Unwise is…” Consistently go your way. You are blessed. You will succeed.'''

Honen Shonin was born in 1133 as the son of an official in service of the emperor in Japan. At the age of 8 he became a monk in a Buddhist temple. At the age of 41 he had a breakthrough. He read a text from Shan-tao about the Buddha Amitabha. He recognized the deeper meaning. Honen explained: ”the followers of the school of the Pure Land must become the fools they are.” If we let go of our pride, forget all of our knowledge and just repeat the Amitabha mantra, then we will become those we originally were. As Honen repeated the name of Amitabha, the student Shoshin-bo opened the door and saw light coming from Honen. It spread out throughout the entire room. The master was like the sun that shines over the mountains in the evening. Light shone from his eyes. As Shoshin-bo wanted to leave the room unnoticed, Honen spoke to him: ”I hope you will be like me soon.”

Honen was considered the incarnation of the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta (Japanese Daiseishi). Mahasthamaprapta and the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara are both the companions of Buddha Amitabha. They stand to the left and right of him. Sometimes they look the same. Sometimes Mahasthamaprapta can be recognized due to his blue color. In Chinese Buddhism, both are mostly portrayed as women. Avalokiteshvara is the Bodhisattva of empathy. He helps all beings with his wisdom and love. Mahasthamaprapta is the Bodhisattva of strength. With him, wisdom and strength are combined. Those who call on him receive strength and wisdom during difficult times. Mahasthamaprapta gives us perseverance along our spiritual way. He makes us into winners. We find our way to victory intuitively and get enough strength to reach our goal.

Once, as Honen spoke the Nembutsu, Mahasthamaprapta appeared before him. As his student Shoho-bo painted a picture of him, Honen blessed the image with a quote from the Suramgama-Sutra:” Though not yet awakened, I never let go of Buddha’s name. I took all of them by the hand, trusted the Nebutsu, and lead them to the Pure Land.” Often Honen appeared in dreams to his students. One of them saw Honen surrounded by heavenly musicians. Another heard Buddha Sakyamuni speak in a dream: “the spiritual way of Honen is wonderful. Many will reach paradise.”

Shinran Shonin
'''34. Forwards. You are protected. Those who connect with Buddha Amitabha every day through prayer, oracle or a meditation are lead in their lives. Proceed with trust. Succeed.'''

Shinran Shonin Shinran is the founder of Japanese Amitabha Buddhism (Shin Buddhism). He was born in Japan in 1173. Already in his yong years he became a monk in a very famous monastery. An all-encompassing type of Buddhism was practiced. The monks practiced Zen Buddhism (meditation) in addition to Amitabha Buddhism (role model yoga). Only later did these Buddhist traditions take separate paths.

After twenty years of strict practice the Buddhist monk Shinran found he didn’t make progress along his spiritual path. He didn’t have any positive spiritual experiences. He was blocked due to a strong longing for a sexual relationship. Shinran left the monastery and moved to a solitary place. One day Avalokiteshvara appeared in the form of an enlightened monk. He told Shinran to bring some beauty into his life, find a woman, and then work as a spiritual teacher for the well-being of all people. Shinran searched for a woman and moved with her to a farm. His wife was called Eshin-Ni. They had seven children. Shinran was able to dissolve his spiritual blockage. Shinran lead a modest, simple and natural life. He was a simple saint for simple people. He emphasized the spiritual path of grace, but also referred to the necessity to practice every day. An important topic in Amitabha Buddhism is just how one attains enlightenment. Honen taught balance of belief on a higher power and one’s own spiritual practice, whereas his student Shinran concentrated on the faith in help from Buddha Amitabha. This discussion exists also between Catholic and evangelical Christians. Martin Luther did not manage to come to enlightenment based on his own efforts. So he gave up his life as a monk and married. He prayed to God and hoped for salvation from God. He thought that a person is not able to save himself. This was the same as Shinran.

The Dalai Lama
'''35. Arrange your life so that it is a way into the light. Develop your inner happiness. Go at your own pace to move forward. What do you need to take a positive spiritual way? Give yourself that.'''

The Dalai Lama promised to save all beings. But he does it his way, sauntering through life. He practices a bit, works toward saving the world, teaches wisdom and laughs a lot. He convinces the people in the west because he is a Buddha of joy. His biggest joke is to claim he isn’t enlightened. The Dalai Lama loves to be modest. This way he is loved by everyone. His teachings are simple: “be a good person. If everyone is good, then there will be a good world. It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian, Atheist or Buddhist. The only important thing is to try to be a good person.”

Quotes from the Dalai Lama My philosophy is friendliness. Without a universal sense of brotherliness we would never get through the danger that threatens our original, essential existence. The goal of a spiritual practice is to transform the heart spirit. Happiness comes into being through the taming of the consciousness. Believe in your strength. If you believe in your own power, you will get stronger every day. Difficult times let us develop desiciveness and inner strength.The true being of the spirit is light. Darkness can only appear temporarily. Meet changes with open arms, but don’t lose your ideals. Remember that sometimes silence is the best answer. Share what you know wth others. When people laugh, they are able to think.

The future Buddha
'''36. Start each day by considering the tasks that lie ahead. Then begin the day. Think positive. Work for the happiness of all beings and take sufficient breaks in between. Exercise (go for walks, do yoga), meditate, and eat healthy. If you live like that, you will develop your inner energy and keep your mind positive.'''

The future Buddha

Maitreya is regarded as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva. Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. The event will take place when the Dharma will have been mostly forgotten on Earth.

“A Hijiri knows it is good to be a nothing.” (Buddhism krass, page 51)

Comment = A saint (enlightened person) lives enlightened existence. He or she lives in peace. He or she lives in light and unity consciousness with God and nirvana. He or she is a nothing in terms of worldly goals. Worldly goals bring attachment and block inner happiness. He or she follows spiritual goals. Spiritual goals bring you forward toward enlightenment. Spiritual goals are for the happiness of all beings, the increasing of enlightenment energy and the ascent to higher levels of consciousness. We have to decide being an enlightened or a worldly one. They can look the same from the outside, but on the inside there’s a huge difference. The worldly nothing gets lost in worldly enjoyment, in laziness and inner unhappiness. The spiritual one grows in peace, happiness, strength and love.

It is an art to build up enlightenment energy. It depends on using the correct techniques at the right moment. It depends on finding the right way for everyone. Too much peace and quiet can make you lazy and dull. Too little leads to a loss of energy. Too much outer enjoyment strengthens attachments. A little outer enjoyment facilitates inner happiness. Too much work uses up the energy. Some work gives satisfaction and purpose to life.

There once was a yogi who did his spiritual exercises intensively for twelve years. He dissolved inner tension, freed himself of his energy blockages and was sometimes in states of bliss. But one day, he ceased to make progress on his spiritual path. His master explained that he used up his energy on his spiritual exercises and hindered lasting enlightenment. After that, the yogi lived in solitude as a nothing. He let go of all of his worldly and spiritual goals. Through this he relaxed deep into his psyche so that he landed in a consciousness dimension of unity. He finally found the correct mixture of calm and activity.

Sathya Sai Baba
'''37. After the crisis. A difficult phase has ended. Rest. Build up your positive energy. You have emerged victorious. Go positively into the future. Success.'''

Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba is a Buddha of modern times. He teaches the unity of all religions and the individual way for everyone. He especially taught daily master yoga (Bhakti yoga) as well as prema (love), shanty (peace), sathya (truth), dharma (justice, spiritual practice) and ahimsa (non-violence). His great vision is a golden era on earth.

Nils found his way to Sai Baba in the year 1995. He found a book entitled “Sai Baba, the Saint and Psycho-therapist”, at a bookstore. Nils bought the book, read it, and was excited by it. At the end of August 1997, Sai Baba showed him in a dream how he helped him along the path of purification. Nils saw Sai Baba with a back full of scars. On his back he wore Nils’ bad karma. He took the bad karma from Nils (took away his bad destiny). In a further dream Sai Baba appeared and changed his faces constantly. This meant that a karma yogi should be flexible. The ugly face of Sai Baba impressed Nils most. If a yogi can accept the suffering in his life, he can keep his inner happiness in all types of situations.

In October 2000 Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma appeared in a dream to Nils. Nils saw the three gods in his dream as beautiful statues made of dark green stone, next to one another. Brahma gave Nils wisdom, Vishnu love and Shiva strength. Together they gave him the way of trimurti yoga, the combination of prayer (master yoga), love (karma yoga) and spiritual practice (hatha yoga). In March 2001 Nils had the paradise dream. He saw himself as a successful spiritual master who helped a lot of people through a difficult mountain landscape to come to a paradise village on the other side. Everyone got his own house there. Everyone was allowed to have his own spiritual practise there. Later Ganesha appeared to him as well. Ganesha represented the middle spiritual way where a yogi also is allowed to live worldly enjoyment.

In 2003, Nils kneeled in front of a king in a red robe (representing love). The king sat on a golden throne and had iron armer on (representing strength). The king took his sword and raised it above Nils’ crown chakra. Then Nils woke up. Sai Baba had activated his kundalini energy. He received the strength he needed for his spiritual way from Sai Baba. Two weeks later Sai Baba gave Nils the mission to work for the unity of all religions. Nils saw himself as a speaker at a convention for the unity of all religions. In fact, Nils is now engaged at the World Parliament of the World's Religions.

Mother Meera
'''38. Be gentle with yourself. Be gentle with others. Being gentle is the way to inner happiness.'''

Mother Meera 

Mother Meera, born Kamala Reddy (born 26 December 1960) is believed by her devotees to be an embodiment (Avatar) of the Divine Mother (Shakti or Devi). Born in Chandepalle a small village in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, India, she had her first samādhi, a state of complete spiritual absorption, at the age of six, which lasted for a whole day. In 1974 Mother Meera came to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry, India, of which he was a member. There she first met Westerners and started to give Darshan. In 1979 she was invited by her first devotees to Canada, where she went several times. In 1981 she made her first trip to West Germany, where she settled down a year later. She married a German in 1982. She visits the United States on a regular basis. Mother Meera receives thousands of visitors of all religions for darshan which she conducts in total silence. Her darshan consists of a ritual, where she will touch a person's head, and then look into their eyes. During this process, she reportedly 'unties knots' in the person's subtle system and permeates them with light.

”It isn’t necessary to come to me, I can help everywhere.” (The important thing is to connect to her with a mantra, a prayer, or meditation).

”I accept everyone who comes to me genuinely.”

”You can enjoy material life, but remember it is the divine who bring it to you. “ (Experience joy as a part of the spiritual way).

"Every religion has its cornerstone books. It is helpful to read these books from every religion.” (You can find truth in every religion)

"My work is for the whole world."

"All those who come to me for Darshan get what they need."

"Praying always helps."

Anandamayi Ma
'''39. Go your way with joy. What do you need to feel well? If you balance joy along the spiritual path in the right amount (not too much and not too little), then this can help you to spiritual victory. “ My way of joy is…” Proceed. Succeed.'''

Anandamayi Ma Anandamayi Ma(* 30. April 1896; † 27. August 1982) was a well-known enlightened master from India. She is an example for the new undogmatic western Amitabha Buddhism. Instead of yoga-deities we can work with Buddhist role models. Hatha-Yoga we can practise with a Buddhist philosophy.

Anandamayi Ma taught the unity of all religions. In 1922 her husband told her there can be no deeper progress on the spiritual path without initiation by a guru. So she decorated her room, lit incense and initiated herself. She connected with her inner guru. A mantra suddenly appeared in her mind. She drew the accompanying mandala on the floor and meditated on this mantra.

She did her asanas from her own intuition. She did creative and intuitive hatha yoga. She also did her mental exercises creatively and intuitively. She practiced positive characteristics and the role models she needed at any given moment. Various deities flowed through her mind. She imagined their form, identified with them, thought their names as a mantra and activated her kundalini energy. Then Anandamayi Ma rested for three years after she had filled her body with spiritual energy. She said little, did little, and mostly just sat there. She didn’t need any more exercises. The awakened kundalini energy purified from alone her body, her mind and her soul.

At the end of her Sadhana, she reached a state of great inner happiness which fit her name well. She now just had the wish that all beings should also experience such great joy. She wanted to share enlightenment with the whole world and so worked as a spiritual master for the rest of her life in India.

Anandamayi Ma didn’t hold lectures, but she did answer questions. She mostly addressed her answers to whomever had asked a question. She taught the path of the spiritual hermit as well as a spiritual life within a family. She recommended everyone to meditate 15 minutes daily. The core of her teachings was: ”the highest goal of a person is striving for self-realization. All other obligations are secondary.”

Nils read her book “Matri Lila” (Games of the Divine Mother) in 2001. She described her life and her spiritual experiences. As the little yogi Nils read the sentence “may all people experience this great happiness” he stretched his hand out spontaneously and called: “Here I am! I’m ready! I’d also like to live in great happiness.” That was a joke. After Anandamayi Ma heard him from the other side she sent him a dream full of blessings that night. A little snake bit Nils and so awoke his kundalini energy. Nils got shaktipat from Anandamayi Ma. Enlightment will come by its own at the right time. Light flowed through Nils for three days.

Amritanandamayi
'''40. Help others. The work of a spiritual helper gives you strength to move forward to enlightenment yourself. Keep yourself small and modest. Stay humble and be a servant of all beings. Connect with the enlightened masters every day through prayer or oracle. The enlightened masters will guide you and protect you. Success.'''

Amritanandamayi

Mātā Amṛtānandamayī (born Sudhamani Idamannel; 27 September 1953), better known simply as Amma ("Mother"), is a Hindu spiritual leader and guru, who is revered as a saint by her followers. She travels every year around the world and embraces millions of people. This is her special way to give the people darshan and to bless them with spiritual energy. She also helps people by her books, songs and aid projects. She is a role model for the Western Amitabha Buddhism in terms of universal love for all beings.

According to Amma, there are enlightened beings in the cosmos (completely enlightened souls). When praying, one of them feels spoken to and reacts. It doesn’t matter which name one uses. It could be Allah, God, Jesus, Krishna or Amitabha. The only thing that is important is that one would like help from the cosmos. All enlightened masters have given up their egos and have consciousness of the unity of all things. They are connected to one another through their enlightenment energy. They are beyond the level of religious dogmas and individuals. They help anyone who would like to have help.

Go your own way
'''41. Feel out what is right at the moment. Listen to your inner voice. Follow your own truth and wisdom. Success.'''

Shantideva was a Buddhist yogi who lived 800 AD in India. First he lived as a monk in a monastery. He mostly practiced the art of doing nothing. He cleansed his inner tension by taking the path of solitude, and peace and quiet. He mostly used his time to eat, sleep and take walks. He got the nickname “Bhusuku” (lazy bag) from his fellow monks.

He decided to train his self-discipline and so became a soldier with the palace guard. After twelve years he had enough self-discipline to live as a yogi. He moved into a lonely cave in the mountains and practiced his spiritual daily plan with discipline. One day he managed to break through into the light. From this point on he called himself Shantideva (the God of peace).

From this point on, he took the middle spiritual way where some enjoyment is allowed. His way of enjoyment was to eat some meat. Yogis are usually vegetarians. A visitor accused him over his meat eating. Shantideva explained that even Buddha ate meat when he was invited by other people. He needed to eat meat for inner balance. Meat was a symbol of joy in life for him.

Some yogis drink a little wine every day. Some women need to eat chocolate every day. Nils lays in bed as long as he likes, then goes for walks, eats a cookie with chocolate, surfs in the net, and chats with his friends. He integrates his spiritual exercises into his quiet life. He meditates while lying down, thinks mantras while walking and practices his internet activity in the form of karma yoga. He makes sure he is always on his way of optimal spiritual growth. He connects wisdom, love, quiet, spiritual practice and joy in life in his own way.

Contentment
'''42. Everything is good as it is. Everything is going great. You are on the right way. The Buddhas are very happy with you. Be happy too. What is your reason for being happy?'''

The Tibetan Yogi Longchenpa

Longchenpa (1308-1363) was a nyingma master and the founder of the traditional line of the non-dogmatic Tibetan hatha yoga. He wrote a lot of books. He combined techniques from Padmasambhava into one teaching. He combined hatha yoga (physical exercise), tantra yoga (work with sexual energy), karma yoga (doing good), deity yoga (imagining role models or seeing oneself as a Buddha) and master yoga (daily prayer, reading). Longchenpa emphasized existence (Sat-Chid-Ananda, the perfect balance between doing too much or too little) and the master yoga (regular connected with the enlightened masters). He transferred his teachings in a series of visions to the yogi Jigme Lingpa who lived in the 18th century. One of his students was Patrul Rinpoche who also obtained the knowledge (Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher, Arbor Verlag 2001). Longchenpa lived as a free yogi. As a spiritual master he could do a lot of good things for other people. He was very happy with his life at the time of his death: “it was good to live as a yogi and to quickly come to enlightenment. I was happy to be a spiritual master. I am now happy to go to paradise and to be happy in heaven.”

Longchenpa blessed Nils along with Patrul Rinpoche in a dream with the Tibetan Amitabha Yoga. A large golden serpent came from heaven and bit Nils in his crown chakra. She gave him Kundalini energy. She initiated him to spread the Amitabha Buddhimus in the West. Later on Nils also met in Hamburg a real Tibetan Amitabha Guru, made a training and received an initiation. Nils got the Amitabha blessing from the tibetan masters.

Lifetime
'''43. Use your lifetime well. Realize your true self. Become a Buddha of light. Live in the light. Give all people around you light.'''

“Hold onto the longing to see Buddha before you.” (quote from Buddhism krass, page 186)

Comment = Work on your motivation, otherwise you can lose your spiritual way. How can you motivate yourself to do spiritual exercises every day? Look at your spirituality as a great gift. It is an infinite treasure to have peace, happiness, strength, love and wisdom. It is a great gift to be happy and to live in all-encompassing love. It is a great gift to come to paradise after death.

In today’s world, there is strong worldly energy. It pulls us easily into the material world. A material life means deep dissatisfaction, a lack of love, a lack of inner peace, a lack of inner happiness, a life without perspective. Most people are affected by consumerist television. They live according to values that make themselves and others unhappy. The path of maximum consumption is a mistake. We need to find happiness within and develop it further. We need self-discipline for that so we can do our spiritual exercises. We need to motivate ourselves every day so that we don’t lose our spiritual goal.

First, be clear about your goal. See yourself as a Buddha of light, then you will become a Buddha of light. Think positive, and you will develop a paradise consciousness. Live in the essence, and don’t get caught up in things that are not important. Send light to all beings. Then you will live in love and happiness. The second thing to do is to find your spiritual way. It doesn’t matter which exercises you do. You can visualize yourself as a Buddha. You can connect with enlightened masters. You can think of paradise. You can do a little ritual in front of your house altar every day. You can do kundalini yoga. You can meditate, pray, read, do good or just say the Amitabha mantra. The main thing is that you have a spiritual practice that brings you into the light or keeps you in the light. Make your spiritual way so that you always feel good about it. Take your own pace. Bring enough elements of joy in your life. Listen to music. Read something nice. Eat something good. Meet nice spiritual people. Feel out what you need and what will bring you into light every day. Practice effectively and with infinite perseverance. Then one day you won’t just see a Buddha in front of you. You will be a Buddha who brings all beings into the light. You will live in light and experience your world as paradise. The only condition is that you take little steps into the light daily. Proceed.

Perseverance
'''44. Most people don’t have much perseverance along the spiritual way. They lose the great gift quickly and end up unhappy again one day. Clearly define your spiritual goal: “my goal is… my way to win is…” Proceed with perseverance. Success.'''

“Those who want to jump over a 10 foot wide ditch should jump 15 feet.” (Buddhism krass, page 189)

Comment = The wide river is the transition from this world to the other side. If we want to reach the land of light, we should jump further to be sure to make it. If we don’t jump as far by accident, we are still sure to come to the land of light. If the river is wide, we have to swim, or we need a boat with someone navigating. How quickly we reach the land of light depends on our abilities and our opportunities. We can pray every day, repeat a mantra, take an oracle card, or read in a book from our enlightened masters. We can also try to be good people and do good for others. A good deed creates good karma and reduces bad karma. If it is possible we should live according to a spiritual daily schedule. We should divide the spiritual exercises throughout the day so that a constant purification process can take place. Along this way we have the ability to reach enlightenment in this lifetime. We should feel out which exercises we need. At best we should do some physical exercise, meditate, read, pray and contemplate (daily positive attitude affirmation) and combine these activities with one another. The more we practice, the faster we grow into the light. The most important thing is to pay attention to the effectiveness of the exercises and to be creative in varying them.

The best is to live an essentially spiritual life. We should make inner happiness and all-encompassing love the center of our lives. That means jumping fifteen feet. We jump the ten feet into the land of light and five additional feet for the happiness of all beings. We take as many people with us as possible (all of our friends). That is the way of the Buddha Amitabha. Then we become Buddha Amitabha ourselves. The light of Amitabha flows through us and enlightens everyone around us.

If your perseverence isn’t very good, then you should consciously train yourself. This is how I attained perseverance. If you are a mental person, then you can train your perseverance with a clear goal and a clear way. Find the exercises that you can do every day without overwhelming yourself. Formulate your spiritual goal so that it gives you strength for your daily way. This is how winners live, and I hope you also would like to be a winner.

The chaos of life
'''45. The mistress of going with the flow of life. Difficult situations change. Dance with the chaos. Use a spiritual technique for each situation (reading, exercising, meditation, contemplation, yoga, positive thinking). Activate your inner happiness. You will win. Success.''' "In the middle of the night the young princess complains of her fate and sings in front of the temple: 'let things of this world be as they may. Please bring me to paradise.' "(quoted from Buddhism krass, page 139)

Comment = We don’t know what her difficult fate was. Possible she was forced to marry a man she didn’t love. Or her husband died in a war. She lived in a difficult situation which she couldn’t change. Her whole life seemed to be over. She didn’t expect anymore happiness in her outer life. She had to create happiness in herself. Salvation should only occur through a change in her consciousness.

We could interpret the text in that she looked for happiness on the other side. She hoped to come to paradise after death. This thought could give her some comfort. It could give her the strength to get through her difficult life. It could get her to concentrate on her spiritual way so that she would come to a paradise-consciousness in her life. Paradise is a state of consciousness. We can reach this state of consciousness with Buddha Amitabha’s help on the other side. It is even better to reach this state in this lifetime. It is still better to reach a state of enlightenment in this lifetime.

The first step is to accept things in life as they are. We have to find our inner peace. We have to relax so that our inner happiness can develop. We have to empty ourselves of things from the outside world so that Buddha Amitabha can enlighten us with his light. We can meditate daily to come to a quiet place. We can do a moving meditation while walking and let go of outer things with each step and develop our inner happiness.

The second step is to develop paradise consciousness. We can find a positive thought that helps us accept our life. We can concentrate on the positive in our life. What is positive in your life? What makes you happy? What are you thankful for? Which thoughts help you to see your world as a paradise? “My paradise thoughts are…(I live in the essence. I live in peace, love, wisdom and happiness).”

It is helpful to not take outer circumstances too seriously. The important thing is that we live spiritually. It is important to live from the essence. The essence in life is inner, not outer happiness. It is important to change ourselves into a Buddha and to change our world into a paradise. What brings you into light today? It could be a deed of joy, love or spiritual practice.

New beginning
'''46. New beginning. What is starting now? Success. Proceed with optimism.'''

Happiness research

1. Activity makes you happy = Happy people have positive goals and positive tasks. Active people have 15% more satisfaction in life than more passive people. The happiness researcher Ed Diener explained: “happy people set goals again and again.” 2. Exercise makes you happy = Regular physical activity keeps the body healthy and makes the mind happy. A daily walk raises happiness by 12̤%. David Niven affirms: ”people who stay fit with sports are healthier, more positive and more successful.”

3. Doing good for others makes you happy = Those who do something good for others are 24% happier than those who live just for themselves. John A. Schindler wrote: “live as a giving person. Those who give are happier than those who take. Those who give to others will find beauty in the world.”

4. Rest makes you happy = The center of a healthy and happy life is to live in the right balance of rest and activity. In addition to time for work, physical fitness, spending time with others, we should take time to rest and relax. We should get enough sleep. Scientific research finds that more relaxed people are more positive and are happier. Every hour of sleep we miss, the positive attitude is decreased by 8% the next day. Where the right balance of rest and activity lies, varies individually. Everyone needs to figure out the balance for themselves. We have to try out how much sleep we need, how much time to relax we need and which speed we should take to go through life. 5. Positive thinking makes you happy = Those who think positively double their chances at happiness. Those who want to be happy should practice thinking positive. “What is the outlook for today? How can I get through the day in a positive way? What will make me a winner on all levels?”

6. Too much TV makes you unhappy. = Scientific research has confirmed: “every hour of TV lowers general satisfaction with life by 5%.” TV makes people focus on material things. It awakens wishes. It strengthens aggression. It creates fear. Those who want to grow in inner happiness need to get rid of the TV or learn to use it in a positive way. The way of positive TV watching consists of three steps: a) Choose your TV programs consciously. Avoid negative films and prefer positive ones. b) Find the right amount of TV. Children should watch 1 hour at most. c) After watching TV, do spiritual exercises.

7. Spend time with friends = Find a positive circle of friends. Women who regularly talk to other women have 55% less worries. Women with cancer who meet with a group every week survived twice as much as those without such a group. In the western world there is a trend toward being alone. There are a lot of singles and lonely people. People with friends are happier. Overcome loneliness. Build positive groups to do Amitabha Buddhism (reading, oracle, meditation, talking, party).

8. Bring joy into your life. = Those who bring elements of joy into their lives daily increase their happiness by 20%.

9. Humor = Those who have a sense of humor are happier by 33%. We should bring humor into our lives. We shouldn’t take things too seriously. We should learn to laugh at ourselves. Those who can laugh at themselves go lighter through life. It is good to watch funny movies, books and to be with happy people. 10. Trust in the self = Happy people believe in themselves. They believe in their goals, their wisdom and their strength. They see themselves as winners. They believe they will be winners in life. May we all be winners along the path of happiness.

Goddess Yoga
'''47. Take the path of inner happiness and all-encompassing love. Become a Goddess of light. Go forward with self- trust. Success.'''

Goddess Yoga

With goddess yoga, we can quickly come to a life of strength, relaxed mindset, wisdom and love. It is important to maintain contact with the self. We should never just go through the motions. We should use mental pictures and mantras. We should be creative and playful and find our own form of deity yoga.

1. Goddess of Strength = Turn yourself into a goddess of strength. Whatever you take on, you achieve. Yo are a winner. Raise your fists high, shake them, and think the word strength until you feel the Goddess of strength within you.

2. Goddess of Calmness = Sacrifice your ego. Put your hands in your lap. Rub your feet in circles to the right and to the left over the earth and visualize the earth under you and think: ”I let og of my false wishes. I accept suffering in my life. I flow positively with life.“ What do you need to let go of or accept today?

3.The Goddess of Wisdom = What is your thought of wisdom today? Stretch out your pointer finger next to your head and think: “My way of wisdom is… Unwisdom is…”

4. Goddess of Fulfillment = Recognize yourself as a goddess of abundance. Rub your hands in circles on your belly and think the mantra: “The abundance in my life is... I am thankful for…”

5. Goddess of Love = See yourself as a mother to all beings. Consider all of the beings on earth your children. Identify with them. Wish them happiness. You are now a Goddess with giving hands. Bring your hands next to the pelvis, open them in front of you, move them back and forth, visualize all of the beings on earth and send them light: “I send light to all. May all beings on earth be happy.”

A wise life
'''48. Take good care of yourself. Establish a good basis for your life. Centering yourself in spirituality. Create you your daily spiritual practice by which you can live positively (meditation, reading, oracle, self-reflection). Enshrine yourself in the values of wisdom, peace, love, happiness and self-discipline. Give yourself everything you need to feel well. If you take good care of yourself and live spiritually, you will grow in inner happiness. Success.'''

The flower king

There once was a king in India who wanted to live as a yogi. He wanted to develop inner happiness. He wanted to come to enlightenment, to live in light and to go to paradise after death. The king knew that the goal of spiritual self-realization is difficult to achieve. He was ready to practice consistent spiritually. But what he didn’t want to do was to live alone for a long time. He needed a partner to be happy. He already had a wife, and his queen loved him and he loved her. The king couldn’t bring himself to separate from her over a long period of time.

The king went to an enlightened master and asked him for advice. The master explained: “to grow quickly in the light you need a lot of quiet time and solitude. You have to live away from civilization. But you can take your wife with you. If you both practice spiritually, then you can both walk the path to enlightenment.”

So the king took his wife with him to his yoga hut. They prayed to their enlightened master everyday that he should lead them on their spiritual path. They practiced yoga and meditation together sometimes and sometimes alone. They saw themselves as karma yogis (Bodhisattvas) who work for the happiness of all beings. They enjoyed their life together. There were a lot of flowers of joy in their lives. For this reason, they were called the flower king and the flower queen.

The Master
'''49. Live as a spiritual master (mother or father of all beings). Give spiritual wisdom in a way that your children (students, followers, friends, relatives) can understand it. Be a spiritual mother or father to your people. You are good. See yourself as strong, clever and successful. Success!'''

''Genshin meditated for seven days alone in the great shrin of Ise. The last night, a goddess spoke to him and said “teach the people to speak the name of Buddha Amitabha.” Genshin gave up his priest carrier, became a forest monk and taught the way of the Amitabha mantra. (freely quoted from Buddhism krass, page 25)''

Comment = Genshin (942-1017) is the first follower of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan. In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, he is considered the sixth patriarch. He had a vision of a goddess who gave him the mission to spread Amitabha Buddhism in Japan. Genshin emphasized visual meditation techniques. He influenced the Japanese culture in his impressive description of Buddhist hell kingdoms. My interpretation of hell is a state of consciousness that can be experienced on earth. One can experience this as depression, aggression, grief, fear and addiction. Amitabha can save every person from this realm of suffering if they connect to him through his name or image. There is a way to light for everyone. Often, suffering in life brings us the fastest to the light. Suffering forces us to do our spiritual exercises consistently in order to overcome the suffering. One needs to see into the heart of the problem to find the cause of suffering. Then we can develop helpful thoughts and deeds. We can also overcome depression with a lot of physical exercise and positive thinking. We can get rid of our rage through the way of love and forgiveness. We can concentrate on the good points of life when we are sad. We can go to the center of our fear and find a way out. We can overcome addiction with wisdom and self-discipline.

The paradise apple
'''50. There once was a sufi master who gave his students an apple with a bad spot and told them: ”this is the paradise apple.” The students concentrated on the bad part and were unhappy. The master saw the whole apple and lived in light. Recognize your world as a paradise and be happy. Everything is fine. Be happy. Go your way happily.'''

The magic word

There are thoughts in everyone which hinder enlightenment and inner happiness. What is your magic word today? Think your enlightenment word as a mantra and go positively through your day.

1. Standing = We imagine a shower above us. We think the mantra “water” and massage “water” (light, energy) from the head to the toes. We rub tension and stress away. We energize ourselves with positive energy. It is as if we are really under a shower and cleaning ourselves.

2. Bending = We bend over and rub the holy water on the floor around us. We imagine that the floor is charged with positive energy. We draw a circle of healing in a healing color around us. What is your color of healing today (orange, violet, green, brown, pink)? We mentally repeat the name of our healing color as a mantra.

3. Friend = We walk in place and visualize a friend. We say something positive to him? Imagine the sentence really is heard by our friend. Repeat the sentence as a mantra. What does the person say to you?

4. Enemy = We imagine an enemy in front of us. Who do you see as an enemy today? Who is your emotional opponent today? What do you say to this person? Which thoughts help you to achieve inner and outer peace. You can try to understand your opponent. You can develop empathy or wish that things improve. What is your thought of wisdom and love?

5. A sentence for yourself = Examine our own mind. Is there a thought that keeps you from peace, happiness and a life of love? What are your thoughts? Which positive sentences can overcome this? Find your central negative thoughts and overcome them with oppropriate opposite thoughts. We are usually hindered by thoughts relating to a lack of self-discipline, peace (ego sacrifice, acceptance, modesty), wisdom (living from the essence), love (loving all beings), unity (visualizing the self at one with the world) and positivity. “The sentence for myself is…”

Suffering
'''51. Accept the suffering in your life. Awaken your inner happiness through spiritual exercises (yoga, meditation, positive thinking.) Find out what works for you. Transform suffering into light and succeed!'''

“Honen had a slightly cynical distrust of the world.” (Buddhism krass, page 69)

Comment = From the perspective of an enlightened person, life is suffering. An enlightened person lives in another dimension. He or she lives in a cloud of happiness energy, and is happy on the inside. If worldly energies enter, then there are disturbances. Fear, rage and sadness are disturbances. Rejecting of suffering is a disturbance. Attachment to worldly enjoyment is also a disturbance. Addiction can take us out of inner happiness. Honen knew that worldly energy usually brings suffering. He was therefore skeptical of worldly happiness. I interpret the statement that he wasn’t skeptic, but realistic. He had a correct assessment of worldly energy. He knew that great happiness is to be found in enlightenment and that one needs to be distanced from worldly energy.

Ritual to Overcome Suffering

If I am especially affected by a problem, I do a ritual to overcome suffering. First I take an oracle card. What does the oracle say about my problem? Which helpful thoughts are in me? When reading the oracle and thinking about the text, I am already on a positive way. It makes me feel better knowing there is a positive strategy for every situation. The positive sentences of the oracle strengthen the positive in me. Contemplating it leads me to constructive consideration of the problem. I realize I can do something. I am not a helpless victim. I am a winner. I can solve the problem.

After taking an oracle card, I read a few pages from a spiritual book. I consider which book I need at the moment. Which book gives me strength? Which book strengthens my positive energy? After reading I go for a walk. I move my anger out of my body. I practice mantras (repeating positive sentences) and do a five minute meditation where I stop my thoughts. Then I think about the problem. Most of the time I calm down after 30 minutes, then I see things clearly again.

After going for a walk I do some yoga and meditate while lying down. I put on some nice music and lie down until my mind has come to rest. Then I get up, eat something good and consider what I need. Then I give myself that. It is helpful to do something creative. We can paint, make music or express our feelings anyway we choose. We can do something good for someone else to bring more energy of love to ourself and others.

With bigger problems I often do several rounds of reading, walking, doing good, enjoying myself and meditating. Most of the time I reach the point where I find peace. Then I am gentle with myself. If a problem hasn’t been solved in one day then I stop my thoughts on the topic. I forbid myself from contemplating the issue. I avoid worrying and harmful thoughts that only lead to stress. I take time each day to work on the problem. Overcoming suffering is a creative process. One has to feel out what one needs. What is the best way to find inner peace and inner happiness at the moment? People are all different and need different strategies.

Thankfulness
'''52. Thankfulness. What are you thankful for today?'''

Poem About Gratitude

What would I be without the goal of inner happiness?

What would I be without Buddha?

I wouldn’t know the way of peace. I couldn’t live in attachment-free being.

What would I be without my enlightened masters,

Without their teachings and their books?

I would desperately make mistakes in life

Looking for meaning and happiness.

Without the knowledge of enlightenment

I would be lost.

I am endlessly thankful to my masters,

who gave me their wisdom.

Concentrate on the essentials
'''53. Live from the esence. Find the right balance of material things and concentrate on the way of inner happiness. Keep your material wishes small. Search for happiness within yourself and not in others. Be your own island. Success!'''

Bhadda and Kassapa

Bhadda and Kassapa were two followers of Buddha. They were married. They had a harmonious and happy marriage. As they got older, they both wished to reach spiritual self-realization. They gave up their material existence and became pilgrims. They visited a lot of holy places and attained great spiritual knowledge. One day they realized that each needed to go his or her own way to reach enlightenment.

Bhadda became a nun. A community with other women was the right spiritual way for her. Along this path, she achieved her goal after a few years. She worked as an enlightened master for the other nuns. She thought of her husband in love and thankfulness for the years they had together.

Kassapa chose the way of a yogi. He moved into the mountains in solitude, built a hut and followed his spiritual plan strictly. He didn’t have any more longing for contact with other people. He didn’t need other people and for this reason perhaps was chosen to be Buddha’s follower after death. Kassapa practiced the path of attention. He paid constant attention to his thoughts and kept his body still. His way was a lot like zen Buddhism. Kassapa is therefore seen as the first zen master. Zen is a Japanese form of Buddhism that is based around strict meditation while sitting or walking.

Master your thoughts
'''54. You are a winner. With strength you master your thoughts and feelings. You overcome all of your worldly wishes and false longing. You overcome your rage, your fear and your sadness. You dissolve tension and false ways of thinking. Proceed. Success.'''

There once was a king who wanted to realize his inner happiness. A priest explained to him that a five fold renunciation was necessary. The king had a lot of wisdom and a strong will. He was ready to sacrifice if it meant he would thus reach his goal. First, the king gave up his kingdom. He moved to a distant forest and lived as a yogi. The second thing was sexuality. He lived without a relationship in order to concentrate his energy into spiritual exercises. That was the biggest sacrifice for him. The third thing was renouncing his thoughts. He meditated a lot and lived in peace and quiet. The fourth thing was his consciousness of himself. He let go of his ego, and went through emptiness and reached light. It is unpleasant to destroy the ego, but happiness is not far off from that. Those who know that can easily part with there egos. The king enjoyed enlightenment for a time. Then he thought of the suffering of others. They didn’t know the way of inner happiness. They needed an enlightened helper who could direct them on the way of inner peace, love and happiness. The king therefore gave up the happiness of solitutde and went back to his kingdom and his wife. He lived as a hatha yogi, using exercise and meditation for inner strength and as a karma yogi of great love.

Dancer with life
'''55. Dancing wisely with life. Optimism. Success! Everything is going fine.'''

Difficulties. There is some suffering in your life. Go through the situation with flexibility. Follow your inner wisdom. Stabilize your mind with yoga, meditation and positive thinking. Stop your negative thoughts. Think the mantra “Om Buddha Amitabha. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.”

The death is the highest master

There once was a king’s son who was very clever. He learnt things from all of the wise men and women of his land. Once there was nothing more they could teach him, his father sent him out into the wide world. In all of the lands of the earth the king’s son sought out the great teachers and stayed with them until he had obtained their knowledge as well. After some years, he knew everything. He returned to his father, to take over leadership of the land.

Before he was crowned king, he asked all of the people of the land to come forward if they knew something he didn’t know. Powerfully an old man raised his hand. He looked very pale. His body was skin and bones. He said: ”I am death. I can teach you the highest of all knowledge.” The king’s son follow Death to a far off hut in the mountains. Death sat on his thrown and bid the young man to sit at his feet. For three years, the prince sat at the feet of his master silently. They didn’t speak a word. The mind of the king’s son became quieter and calmer. He forgot all of his knowledge.

Over the course of time, a strong spiritual energy arose. It changed the king’s son. His ego disappeared, and bliss flowed through him. He now lived in a great cloud of enlightenment energy. When he transferred this energy to other people, they were healed. If he lay his hand on his own body, he could create health and happiness immediately.

As an enlightened king, he reigned wisely and fairly. He stayed humble because he knew that Death was a greater master than he was. As his time was over, he stood at Death’s door. Death said: “you have put your life to good use. You have developed your inner happiness well, and you have done good for many people. The light now waits for you. Go into the light.”

Yoga on a Chair
'''56. Which spiritual exercises do you need to get through the day? Save yourself with yoga, positive thinking and meditation. You can be a winner if you do the right exercises at the right time. Success!'''

With spiritual exercises one can activate the kundalini energy (the energy of enlightenment). Spiritual exercises are reading, walking, thought work, yoga, meditation and doing good. The most important exercises you can find here in this oracle. You can put yourself into a state of strength, relaxation, positivity and happiness. You live in the light and flow through all of your problems. Your spiritual exercises give you so much strength that you are able to take on all of your life’s tasks well.

Yoga on a Chair

Chair yoga is a simple yoga method which is appropriate for beginners, too. You can relax at home and fill yourself with great energy. We do the exercises so that they do us good and are fun. It only takes five to ten minutes. Here are the exercises with images and a video.

1. Reach your arms up to the sky. You can clasp your hangs together and face the sky. Stretch in a way that feels good. Relax.

2. Massage your body from your head to your toes. Visualize a sun in the sky over your head. Think the mantra ”light” while massaging. 3. Bend over with the upper body in front of you, stretch the hands to the earth and visualize the earth beneath you. Think the word “earth”.The head faces the earth. Straighten yourself up, stretch your hands to the sky and visualize the sky and heaven above you. Think “sky”. Move yourself actively up and down in this way and think “heaven” or “earth” the whole while. This way you will dissolve tension from the belly.

4. Move your head forward in a nodding motion. Concentrate on your body and send light to the front over your breastbone and to the back over the spine to the feet. Mentally repeat the mantra “light”.

5. Move your shoulders up and down however you like. Release tension in the shoulders and the neck. Circle the shoulders forward and back.

6. Twist the spine to the left and to the right. Concentrate on the spine and mentally repeat the mantra “spine”.

7. Breathe deep into the belly and fill yourself with breath energy (prana). You can also breathe from the pelvis or the souls of the feet. Find out what brings you to a state of calm most effectively.

8. Move the feet around however you want. Release tension from the feet. Mentally count from 1 to 20 in the feet.

9. Move the hand in a blessing and think: ”I send light to (name). May all beings be happy. May there be a happy world.”

10. Meditate and bring your thoughts to rest. The back is straight and the belly relaxed. What is the best way to position your hands for the meditation. Relax. Come back.

The middle road
'''57. Take the middle road to success. Practice without too much strain and not too relaxed. Proceed with wisdom, self-discipline and joy. What is your deed of joy?'''

“If doubts appear along your spiritual path, sit down in the meditation position.” (Freely quoted from Buddhism krass, page 179)

Comment = Doubts are normal on the spiritual path. Doubts tell us that we should think about something. We release our doubts along the spiritual path in that we gather information and contemplate thoroughly. Then we find our path of truth and wisdom. As spirituality deals with an inward journey we should proceed with sense. If our good sense and feelings are in harmony then we have found the right way. Otherwise we need to rethink the situation. Doubts can also appear when tension and energy blockages release. If our psyche changes, that can make us uncertain. The feelings defend against inner change. We can get through such change with spiritual exercises. We stay on track until the doubts disappear on their own. We can recognize such doubts as appearing without a good reason. Often inner unrest, muscle twitching, heat and cold feelings are associated with such tension processes.

A third type of doubt can arise when we have contact with worldly things. We meet materialistic people, watch worldly films on TV or take on worldly energy from the internet. Worldly energies are actual energies that affect our energy system and our consciousness. They are oppositional to spiritual energies and therefore can cause confusion. For such cases, Honen recommends doing spiritual exercises, to purify the self on the inside and to bring in good energies. If the person is in a state of inner happiness then all doubts disappear along the spiritual path.

We connect with the Buddha of light, let the Amitbaha Mantra bring in light and send all other beings light. We wish happiness to all other beings. We wish for a happy world. This way we come to enlightenment consciousness and overcome worldly addiction, rage and ego energy. We activate our kundalini energy with the Nembutsu and bring ourselves to inner happiness and spend time meditatively in the light. We repeat the mantra (Namu Amida Butsu, Om Buddha Amitabha) while supporting it with a visualization of Buddha or paradise, through a yoga position (meditation seat, asana, mudra). All of the worldly energies will come to rest after awhile, the enlightenment energy flows and the hermit is once more in a state of peace and happiness.

Love
'''58. Amitabha loves you and gave his life for you. He lives to take you to happiness. Feel loved. Love yourself and send love to all other beings. Go through the day with love.'''

What can you do to feel loved? Be aware that Buddha Amitabha (your enlightened master) really exists. He has the ability of omni-presence and can see you when you think of him or connect with him mentally. Visualize his image. Mentally repeat his name. Honor him with a little ritual (puja). Speak to him with your inner voice and through this oracle. Tell him your worries and your joys. Then you can also sense the love from Amitabha. Make your life lovely. Put flowers on a table. Eat something good. Talk to some nice people or write a friendly email. Help all beings along the spiritual path. Bring light into the world and the love will come to you.

Kyobutsu-bo said: “My daily existence may be poor, but my heart is rich.” (Buddhism krass, page 154)

Comment = Our spiritual goal raises us above our daily life. If we strive for enlightenment, then we have a deeper meaning in life. If we have paradise in mind and do our spiritual exercises every day, then our world changes into a paradise more and more. We develop our inner happiness. Our inner happiness affects the psyche in a positive way. Our mind is more focused on good things automatically.

We go through rain and sunshine in a good mood. We live from the essence. The essence is our spiritual goal and daily spiritual practice and the love to our fellow beings. We just need a little mantra to re-focus on the essence and to benefit from living a spiritual life. “I am a Buddha of light. I live in light. I take the path of light. I send all beings light. May all beings be happy. May there be a happy world. Om Buddha Amitabha in heaven. Om all enlightened masters. I ask you for guidance and help along my way.”

Find your ritual to bring yourself into light everyday. Repeat a mantra morning, afternoon and evening. Visualize your spiritual role model. Set up a little altar. Put a statue on it. Hang a picture on the wall. Place a picture of Buddha, Jesus, Amitabha or your master on the computer. Make as many exercises in a day (yoga, meditation, reading, prayer, oracle) so that you are constantly living from the essence and that you stay in light. Live with a lifted heart.

Strength
'''59. Proceed with strength and perseverance. The force is with you. Success.''' Self-discipline can be trained and improved. Concentrate on your positive goals. How can you reach your goals? Make a good plan and put it into effect every day. After a few weeks your mind will get used to it. Then following it will get easier. You can take the path of a positive life over a longer period of time. That’s how winners live! Be a winner! Amitabha gives all people the strength to win if they really want to achieve their goals. Connect with Buddha Amitabha and your victory is certain. Proceed with strength.

''It may seem that the speaking of the Amitabha mantra is like pouring water onto a stone. But a steady stream of droplets carve stone. The mantra will dissolve your energy blockages and bring you into the light. It will be a great beneft for you. Proceed with patience and perseverance. (Freely quoted from Buddhism krass, page 32. )''

Comment = What are your spiritual goals? Which path leads you to the achieving of your goals. Amitabha Buddhism means leading a disciplined life. We shouldn’t demand too little or too much of ourselves. We should do our spiritual practice in a way that is appropriate for each of us. We should do exercises every day that will allow us to grow in life. We should live a spiritual life. Then victory is certain. One day we will win.

We will know that our efforts have paid off. We will have huge benefits for a relatively small amount of effort. Enlightenment is an immeasurable benefit. To live in light is an immeasurably good thing. All-encompasing love is a gift. Every journey starts with a single step. The first step is to make a clear desciion. What is your descion today?

Make a clear decision and put it into action. That is how winners live. Become a winner. Go get your victory. Never give up and you will reach your goal. “My spiritual goal is… My way to victory is… My deed today is…”

Mahamoggallana

Mahamoggallana (Moggallana the Great) was one of Buddha’s main students. As a youth, he was strong and wild. He did a lot to annoy other people. One day he heard of spiritual self-realization. This goal was much bigger than all of his youthful fun. This was something he was greatly fascinated by. Moggallana left his home city and went looking for spiritual self-realization. He travelled around India for twenty years. He met a lot of spiritual masters and studied with them. He practiced a lot of spiritual techniques. But he still didn’t find the way of effective practice. Despite the search and all of his efforts he didn’t reach enlightenment. Disappointed, he headed home. Nearby his hometown he met Buddha. Buddha gave him knowledge of effective spiritual practice. After that Moggallana became a yogi and moved into a distance hut. He practiced meditation while sitting and walking intensively. Just before he reached spiritual breakthrough, he was overcome by a state of laziness and a lack of desire to go on.

Buddha gave him seven tips for spiritual practice: 1. Follow your daily plan consistently, even if you are tired. After awhile, the tiredness will go away. 2. If the tiredness doesn’t go away, think about your spiritual goals and the journey. 3. Rub yourself down with cold water. 4. Read a spiritual book. 5. Do some physical exercise (yoga, walking). 6. Maybe you really are tired. If that is the case, take a break. Get enough rest. 7. Connect mentally with your master and ask for guidance and help.

With these seven techniques, Moggallana attained a light in life permanently. He was victorious due to his wisdom and perseverence. Nils expanded the tips with three further ideas: 8. Live for the goal of a happy world. Send light to all beings every day and think :”I send light to (name). May the whole world be happy. “ This way you come to the energy of all-encompassing love and awaken your powers of enlightenment. 9. Listen to beautiful music or watch a lovely video on the internet. Awaken your joy in life. 10. Build as many elements of joy into your life as you can so that you can go positively on the spiritual journey.

Winner
'''60. You have won or you will win. A great success. A great victory. The Buddhas are cheering you on. What is your great victory today? Celebrate the day. Be happy about your victory. Enjoy your success.'''

''”Whenever the Nembutsu entered Horen’s heart, he reached the land of the blessed. When praying he became obsorbed into it. He often forgot to eat. After a few years he became thinner and thinner on the outside and happier and happier on the inside.” (Quoted from Buddhism krass, page 75)''

Comment = When we do spiritual exercises like mantra yoga and meditation and awaken the kundalini energy in us, then we reach a state of bliss. During the course of years we will be happier and happier. We live in happiness. We should still take care of our body. Health is important. It allows us to live long, to practice spiritually and to work for a happy world.

The Five Building Blocks of Health

The five most important building blocks of health are healthy nourishment, to avoid harmful substances, regular exercise, enough rest and positive thinking. We can integrate this easily into our daily lives if we want to. The five building blocks of health give us a long, healthy and happy life. If we live according to these rules, we can avoid most illness. If we get sick anyway, we’ll get healthy again faster.

1. Eat healthy. It is recommended to eat very little or no meat and that the diet comprise half raw fruits and vegetables.

2. Avoid harmful substances. Drugs, smoking and alcohol cause illness and shorten one’s life.

3. Get enough exercise. Once or twice a day a half an hour to one hour of cardio-exercise keeps the body strong ang healthy. If you can’t do anything else, a half an hour on a treadmill or dynamic yoga is ok, and if you don’t have any time otherwise, exercise an hour on the weekend.

4. Relax. Stress is bad for the health. Stress should be worked out through rest, yoga or meditation. It is important to have the right amount of activity and rest in life to facilitate inner happiness.

5. Think positive. Avoid stressful thoughts. Positive thoughts lead to positive feelings and a happy life. Motivate yourself with positive sentences and images. Read positive books and have a positive task or hobby. Have a positive way of dealing with other people.

''Quote from Welt online (May 2011): “Those who eat healthy can hope to live 20 years longer”, says the nutrition scientist Michael Ristow (from Jena, Germany). Quote from Focus online (2008): ”Four simple rules for behavior lengthen life by 14 years: don’t smoke, do exercise, drink only a little alcohol and eat fruits and vegetables. That was reported by British researchers who followed the fate of 20, 000 participants over the age of 45 starting in 1993. The study is the largest experiment relating to nutrition and health that has ever been done. The experiment EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) comprises ten European countries.”''

Rightness
'''61.  Proceed on the narrow path of what is right. Success.'''

Use a lot of inner sense to go through the day. Stick to the narrow path that balances between doing too much and not doing enough. Avoid too much activity, but avoid laziness. Don’t use up all your energy. Proceed slowly. Take a lot of breaks. Be a Buddha of peace and calm. Stop action if you notice you are using up your energy. If you start to feel uneasy and you feel like you can’t go on, take a breake. Meditate, practice yoga, take a walk, relax while lying down or sitting. Feel out exactly how long the break should be. When do you feel better? When do you start feel like doing something again? Then act again. Feel it out the entire day so you know when to take a break and when it is time for activity. Feel out just how intense your activity should be.

Laotse

Laotse lived 1600 BC. His greatest fear was to do too much. Those who do too much, lose their inner happiness. They lose their inner energy to outer activity. Their energy decreases over the years. That is the way to go from inner happiness to inner unhappiness. Most people in the western world live like that. They work too much, think too much, and talk too much. They don’t live in a state of peace and quiet. In old China, people were just as unwise. Even Laotse. He was the leader of the Emperor’s library. He lived only for his career. He used himself up doing too much. The difference between him and other people was he knew exactly what happened. As the leader of the library he had read the texts of the Chinese wisemen. The wisemen recommended a life of peace and calm and inner happiness. They warned of a life of too much activity and outer happiness.

Laotse recognized that he had done exactly what he as a wise person should not have done. He was so shaken by his foolishness that he changed his life dramatically. He took on the motto: ”the wise live by inner fulfillment and not outer appearances.” He sacrificed his carrier and began a life of solitude as a yogi. He wrote a book with the name “Tao te king” where he taught the art of doing little. What does it mean to do nothing? Simply put, it is the principle of a relaxed life. You live in a state of balance between activity and relaxation. You live in the right rhythm of work and rest. At a deeper level, doing little is the most important way to enlightenment. One does so little that the energy turns inward and the tension releases. One can say that you become healthy through peace and quiet. Peace and quiet is the main way to heal inner tension.

Peace and quiet alone leads to laziness, however. Then the inner energy does nothing and healing cannot take place. The great secret is the right amount of rest and activity. The line between the two is thin, and only each individual can decide for him or herself with wisdom and inner sense where this line is drawn. If the border between activity and inactivity is kept and balance maintained, then it means optimal spiritual growth. One does spiritual exercises for a few hours and the body releases tension on its own. Mostly, enlightenment takes place on its own.

This is a difficult path to take. Most people want to follow their neurotic tendencies. Most people are either too lazy or too active. They are either lazy bones or workaholocis. The wise have to fight both tendencies. The way to optimal spiritual growth is a constant effort to fight one’s own neurotic tendencies. Releasing tension means to dissolve inner resistance, often. At best one develops a daily plan with optimal balance between rest and activity and sticks to the plan using inner sense to find what is most effective at the moment.

Enjoy your life
'''62. Enjoy your life. Put as many elements of joy into your life as possible so you can go your spiritual way positively. What is your deed of joy today? Some enjoyment (eating or drinking), some company (conversation, internet forums), some comfort (to take your own pace doing whatever you are doing), some beauty (music, flowers), or to do what you feel like at the moment? “My way of joy is…”'''

Hakuin Ekaku

Hakuin is one of the most well-known masters of Japanese Zen. Zen Buddhism first arose in China in the 5th century fom the line of Mahayana Buddhism, mostly influenced by Taoism (the way of nature and spontaneity). Hakuin lived from 1685 to 1768 in Japan. His father was a Samurai and his mother was a follower of the Buddhist paradise teachings (of Buddha Amitabha). As a child Hakuin was very wild. He liked to catch birds. One day he heard of hell. He didn’t kill no other bird. He decided to become a monk. At the age of 15 he entered a Buddhist monastery. Hakuin stayed in the monastery for nine years. He was disappointed because he failed to make progress. So he began to wonder around. He visited various spiritual teachers. A master advised him to think of the term “nothingness”. This lead Hakuin to let go of his attachment to outer things. Hakuin broke through to enlightenment. He lived in the unity of cosmos, and inner happiness.

Suddenly, though, pride arose in him. Pride is a neurotic state of inner tension. It blocks progress to a greater enlightenment. Then Hakuin met an old hermit who called him a “pathetic devil’s child in a dark hellhole.” That convinced him, and he stayed with the hermit. The old hermit trained him strictly and destroyed his ego completely. Hakuin reached the realm of lasting enlightenment. He realized though, he still had a lot to learn and practice. Over the years he became a kind and modest spiritual master.

All Zen Buddhists praise daily:

The number of beings is infinite; I praise, to deliver them.

Greed, hate and ignorance appear without end; I praise, to overcome these.

The gates of Dharma are countless; I praise to walk through all of them. The way of Buddha is incomparable; I praise to realize him.”

Empathy
'''63.  Take the path of empathy. Proceed. Success.'''

Live as a helper of others. (Bodhisattva). Thus you will overcome your problems and develop your inner happiness. Move your hand in a blessing and send all beings light: “I send light to (name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy.“ What is your deed today for the happiness of all beings?

Tibetan Master Atisha

Atisha was a Tibetan master of all-encompassing love. He was born in India in 980. He was first a professor of a monastery university before he started to search for the quickest way to self- realization. He made pilgrimages from master to master and tried their techniques. The Master Rahula brought him mentally to his great breakthrough: “Every form of self-absorption hinders you from becoming completely enlightened. Even if you were to meditate decades in a solitary cave and attain great spiritual powers, pride would stop you from reaching enlightenment. It blocks you from becoming one with the cosmos. You have to see the concept of “I” as an error of thought. You have to overcome this. You go from ego consciousness to cosmic consciousness. Then you think in terms of the cosmos, and attain strength, love, happiness, peace and enlightenment.”

That convinced Atisha. But how should he achieve that? He didn’t have an effective enough technique to overcome his ego consciousness. This technique he learnt from Master Serlingpa. He learnt the art of changing identities called Tonglen in Tibetan Buddhism. He identified himself with other people. He connected with their suffering and their happiness. Atisha lived as a yogi for 12 years and then went as a spiritual master to Tibet in order to gave the people there the way of all-encompassing love.

Tonglen can be practiced various ways. The Tibetan method is extreme. You take on all suffering from other people and give them all your happiness. I practise this path in a milder form. In my experience it is enough to see the suffering in the world, to develop empathy and to help others in terms of your abilities. Those who live in peace and rest on the outside and as Bodhisattvas (helpers) on the inside grow in their inner happiness. One day they live completely in light, peace, happiness and love.

The poor
'''64. Concentrate on other people who don’t have things as good as you do. Give to the poor. Help your fellow man spiritually and materially. Success.'''

Save the weak and small spiritually who especially need your help. Give to charity organizations. Support organizations that work for peace, environmental protection and the good of all. But be careful as you do so, and research the background of these organizations. Some of them make more profit out of greed than they give to others. Make sure you find a cause that speaks to your heart, then research it to make sure it is honest. A good idea is to give directly into your community, in your own region or country to those suffering and in need. The whole world is in need of help, you have opportunities everywhere. Start small, right at home.

''The socially engaged wandering hermit Shunjo moved away from the world and made a retreat to the temple on the mountain Koya. The mountain Koya was a special spiritual center for Buddhist wondering monks. They sang and danced and prayed the Nembutsu (Amitabha Mantra). This still survived in the energy of the temple and is available to those who visit the temple, it helps them on their journey to the light. The wandering hermit Shunjo heard “Namu Amida Butsu” out of the calm in the night from the inner part of the temple, as clear as could be. He was overcome by joy, sadness and happiness. (freely quoted from Buddhism krass, page 26 f)''

Comment = Shunjo was rewarded for his spirital practice and unconditional love. He received the Darshan from master Kukai. He broke through to enlightenment. He had finally had an enlightenment experience. He knew the goal and the journey. He would not lose his way again. One day he would come to lasting enlightenment and reach paradise. He would become a Buddha of light, and live in light. He would be able to help people along their spiritual way with his energy when they connected with him.

Generally it is enought to think of Buddha Amitabha or another enlightened master every day and say the Amitabha mantra. Then we will be guided in our lives and ascend to paradise one day. Sometimes it is helpful to practice intensively. Then we can live in solitude away from the world for days, weeks or months to meditate and do spiritual exercises such as kundalini yoga, mantras, walking, dancing, singing, reading, praying. That could be alone or with other spiritual people. A retreat can lead to spiritual breakthrough. It can help us to make a lot of progress.

I recommend everyone to get a Darshan from an enlightened master at least once in their lives. A great inner healing takes place and enlightenment energy is transferred. The darshan from an enlightened master is a big step that can help you on your journey. It is a blessing. A darshan consists of seeing, hearing and touching. These three things can be taken literally. You should be able to see an enlightened master, to hear him or her, and to touch him or her. Jesus touched a sick person and the sick person was healed. Essential, in my view, is to be touched on the inside. We should find a spiritual role model who moves us. Then an inner transformation can take place. Then we open to the energy of the master and receive.

It is advantageous to meet an enlightened master in person. There are so many enlightened people here on earth today. There are also transcended masters who have died, but can help us and see us with their consciousness and their energy. Among these masters there is Jesus, Amitabha, Krishna, Buddha Sakyamuni, Sathya Sai Baba, and also master Kukai.

Transcended masters are most often present in particular places (temples, churches, holy places), in their images, in their texts. We can view their images, read their words and experience their presence in blessed places. We can also make a little altar with a statue or a picture of our spiritual role model. We can develop a person, daily ritual. We can pray, read, sing or meditate by the altar, and this place will develop a strong spiritual energy. It is important that our daily ritual does not simply become something we do thoughtlessly, it has to move us. We should vary it creatively so we remain in contact with our feelings and our enlightened role model.

Happy world
'''65. Live as a bringer of hope. Tell people about the way of a wise life, inner happiness, and all-encompassing love. There is the path of happiness. Everyone can grow in happiness. Every land can become a land of bliss. What is your deed today for a happy world? Success.'''

The world is suffering from hunger, sickness, war and unwisdom. People are screaming for help. At the moment the capitalistic globalization is destroying people’s relationships to one another. The rich become richer and the poor are getting poorer. Over 2 billion people are extremely poor. Extreme poverty means malnourishment, little provision for health, and not enough to live on. More than ten million children die of starvation and avoidable sickness. According to the Human Rights Charter of the UN, enough to eat is a human right.

We should organize the world in a way that nobody must die of hunger, war or poverty. There is enough money in the world to do this. The rich are required to feed the poor. The rich should create jobs for the poor and give them land. The poor should organize themselves to overcome their poverty. Everybody should do what is possible for him.

Happy World

1. We visualize the earth below us and rub the feet on the earth in circles. We mentally repeat the mantraː “May all people be happy. May the world be happy.”

2. We visualize Buddha Amitabha over us in the heavens. We rub the palms of our hands together over our heads and think: ”Om Buddha Amitabha. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.”

3. We rub our hands in front of the heart chakra. We visualize ourselves as a Buddha of light. We think: “I am a Buddha of light. I think positive and I act positive.”

4. We move a hand back and forth in a blessing. We send all people light and think: “I send light to all people. May all people be enlightened. May all people become Buddhas of light.”

5. Lay your hands in your lap, move your toes and think the mantra ”light” for a minute. Concentrate on your body, then on your mind, then on the whole world. Stop all thoughts. Relax. Go positive into your day. Proceed with optimism.

Think positive
'''66. Think positive. Recognize the abundance in your life. Do something nice. Bring so much joy into your life that you have an optimistic outlook.'''

Those who are anchored in spirituality do not need to worry about anything. Everything is fine as it is. The enlightened masters will take care of everything. You are always protected. Stay positive, optimistic and upbeat. Don’t take anything too seriously. Celebrate the day. Eat sweets until you are happy, or doing something else that makes you happy.

Hotei (Budai) was a zen master. He lived during the Tang dynasty in China. People also called him the laughing Buddha or the happy Chinaman. Hotei was a follower of the art of doing little. He enjoyed the happiness of enlightenment. He lived in happiness consciousness (Sat-Chin-Ananda). He liked to laugh, eat sweets and play with children. Hotei always had a sack with him, full of nice things which he liked to give children. He was popular with all of the children. And the adults loved to spend time around him because his energy made them feel good. One day Hotei was asked what enlightenment is. He stretched out his arms into the air, laughed happily and disappeared among the people. He lived in happiness and as a nothing. He followed his spontaneous needs. He rejected being a Zen master or having formal teachers. He was just a happy, fat Buddha. That was enough.

Lauphter Yoga

One minute of laughter is like 45 minutes of meditation. When laughing, the happiness hormones are set free. It refreshes, helps to get rid of fear, tension and inhibition. Laughter can be trained. Everyone can laugh and has a sense of humor. It depends on activating this potential, though. In times when there is less to laugh about, this is exactly when we should do it!

1. Laughter in the body = We lay a han don the head, feel the head and laugh ”hee hee hee hee…” We put a hand on the rib cage :”hahahhaha…” A han don the belly: ”hohoho….” We kick with the feet on the floor: “hoo hoo hoo hoo..”

2. Laughter in the sky = We stretch the hands to the sky and laugh: ”hahahaha…” we move our legs, feet and fingers. We can also massage the laughter into the body.

3. Laughter in all directions = We turn ourselves around and laugh in all directions. We visualize the whole cosmos around us and come to cosmic consciousness.

4. Laughing about life = We concentrate on our lives. What can you laugh about? What occurs to you? Something must be funny. There’s a joke there for sure!! Even if it is the crazy yogi in the laugh video.

5. Laughter without a reason = We laugh without a reason until we are full of laughter. “ha hahahahahah HAHAHAHA HOO HOOO HAHA.” That way we are in a good mood, fast.

6. Om Singing = At the end, we slowly come to rest and sing the mantra ”Om” several times. Then we make large circles with our arms in the air. Then we come to inner peace: “Om Shanti. Om Peace.”

7. Positive sentence = We concentrate on what is positive in life. What is good in your life? What are you happy about? What is positive in your life? “My positive sentence today is..”

8. Send light = Move one hand in a blessing and send all beings light: “I send light to (name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy.”

Joy


'''67.  Bring joy into your life. What do you need to proceed positively on your journey? Do what you feel like to get through the day. What do you need? What do you feel like doing?'''

Tantra Yoga

Tantra yoga teaches the five pleasures sex (maithuna), meat (mamsa), fish (matsya), wine (madya) and mudra (yoga exercises). In the west tantra yoga is interpreted as a spiritual method where sexuality and the enjoyment of meat are allowed. In traditional Indian yoga fish and meat and alcohol are not allowed. Indian yogis are normally vegetarians. Nils doesn’t eat meat. He makes exceptions if he goes out to eat or is invited to someone’s house.

Sex is a controversial topic. There are those who are for sexuality, and those against it, and those who take a middle position. A middle position is if a yogi takes periods of his or her life to meditate and others to live in a relationship. Tantra yoga is the path of healing relationships. Two people can heal one another through tantra yoga. This path is very important for people in the west who are extremely tense on the inside.

Healing occurs when sexual energy is held inside for a longer period of time. Then energy turns inward, releases all tension and both partners are happy and are healed. Through meditative concentration, energy can be sent to the injured or sick areas and thus healed. Normally energy finds the optimal way of healing on its own. Both partners don’t need to do anything except have sex the right way. Two tantra yogis have sex in a way that ejaculation occurs after an hour or more. How this happens, both partners have to find out on their own.

Tantra yoga only takes on a healing aspect if it is practiced in the context of a positive relationship. Tantra yoga should be combined with spirituality, honesty and love. Both partners have to be sensitive with their sexuality in order to come to healing and enlightenment that way. The main source of energy comes from states of peace and quiet, from daily spiritual rituals and all-encompassing love. It is difficult to maintain these three things in the hectic western world. Tantra yoga should be practiced under the guidance of an enlightened master. Spiritual people who live in a relationship should connect with an enlightened master every day. When encountering problems he or she should call on a master and deal from feelings of righteousness and wisdom.

Take yourself as you are
'''68. Accept yourself as you are. Concentrate on the positive. What do you like about yourself? What are your strengths? You are good. Recognize that and win. Success.''' Patrul Rinpoche was an enlightened master of Tibetan Buddhism. He lived from 1808 to 1887 in Tibet. He was a perfectionist in his younger years. He studied with many spiritual masters and tried to live his life as best he could. One day he met the non-dogmatic master Doe Kyentse who threw him to the ground and yelled at him: “you think you are a clover monk. In reality you know nothing. You are nothing, a spiritual ant, an old dog.”

That was too much for Patrul. He was totally shocked and let go og his perfectionism. He took the statement of the master seriously, visualized himself as an old dog and broke through to enlightenment. He gave up his monastery career and wondered through the land. He did what he felt like and lived according to his inner wisdom and love. Those who followed their inner nature live relaxed and can maintain their enlightenment energy. Patrul Rinpoche practiced doing little. Doing little consisted of doing spiritual exercises every day and helping others when they needed it.

Patrul Rinpoche was a follower of the non-dogmatic hatha yogi Padmasambhava and his Tibetan student Longchenpa. He practiced Amitabha meditation as his main teaching. He connected with Buddha Amitabha every day. When he had lived long enough, Patrul Rinpoche sat down outside in the snow, recited the Amitabha mantra and left with his soul through his crown chakra and reached the paradise of Amitabha.

The essence of his teachings isː "Use the time of your life. Develop your inner happiness. Recognize the impermanence of all outer pleasure. Live as a Yogi. Do your spiritual practices. Work as a Bodhisattva for a happy world. Become a Buddha of love and light. Turn your world into the paradise Sukhavati, by unfolding the enlightenment energy within you. Search you a spiritual master, who knows the way to enlightenment. Change your world into a place of grace, by understanding all the phenomena as spiritual exercises. Dedicate your actions to the benefit of all beings. Send all beings light. Live for the happiness of all beings. So you get the energy of light."

Simple needs
'''69.  Define your boundaries. Bring the growth of your worldly wishes to a standstill. Be happy with what you have. Live modestly on the outside and richly on the inside.'''

I was a lawyer for five years. Then I worked as a yoga teacher at the Hamburg Adult Learning School. Then I wrote a lot of texts which I put online. Now I just live day to day, do a lot of spiritual exercises and enjoy life. I let things develop on their own. I took my Bodhisattva oath with the Dalai Lama in 1998. In 1991 I had an initiation into deity yoga (awakening the kundalini with the help of enlightened role models). I stand for tolerance. Those who can work well with the traditional Amitabha Buddhism, should keep going. There are a lot of people in the west who can’t or don’t know how. I am a good example for that. Then one has to find a new way. I found this way myself. It doesn’t have to be the way for everyone. Everyone can find his own spiritual way. It is important though, to have a spiritual way.

The New Year’s Eve Party

In the year 2000, Nils celebrated New Year’s a special way. Fireworks were lit in all directions in Hamburg. The forest was still. The treams reached their branches into the winter sky. Nils considered how he could spend New Year’s eve. To just celebrate with the deer, wild boar and birds didn’t seem like a great idea. And besides, this was a special year. The new era began. He had to do something fitting. Nils decided to go to the Tibetan center in Hamburg. He knew the place from a few events and so knew there would also be a New Year celebration. He got on a moped and rode through the forest. The trip took an hour. Nils used the time for spiritual exercises. He anchored himself, breathed deeply and strongly (breath of fire) and though mantras. He had just discovered a new mantra meditation. It proved to be very effective. As he arrived at the Tibetan center, he laughed like a Buddha. He was in a very good energy state. A cloud of happiness energy gilled the area. But none of the people in the Tibetan center noticed that. A sad bunch received him there. The master of the center had cancelled. Without the master, the people didn’t know what to do with themselves. Ty sat unconsolably in front of the computer, watching boring spiritual videos. There wasn’t any music or lovely candles! The only good thing was a buffet, which the loving women in the center had made. It was mainly intended for their master, who hadn’t shown up. The buffet stood neglected on the side of the big room. The sad Buddhist bunch sat on the other side of the room in front of the video projector, next to which was the throne of the master. There were some fifty people from the spiritual scene in Hamburge. Most of them were between thirty and fifty years old. Assumedly all singles who didn’t have anyone to celebrate with at home. They all sat disappointed in front of the TV. Positive thinking is the art of changing a sad situation into a good one. Nils remembered his cloud of happiness energy that was almost totally dissolved in this sad room. If there isn’t any happiness on the outside, a yogi makes happiness himself. Nils sat on the floor and began to meditate. He used his new mantra to reach a good energy state. Then he sat in the form of a little Buddha in his cloud of happiness energy and felt good.

Suddenly the idea came to him to fill the room with his energy and to bless all those present in the name of his ten masters. Nils connected mentally with his masters and thought their names over a longer period of time. He imagined that the blessing of his masters came into the room, and went to all the people. Then he spread his energy further and blessed the whole world. Through this meditation the happiness of the little yogi grew and grew. Slowly, the atmosphere in the room changed for the better. Nils meditated for an hour. Then he found that the people were sufficiently blessed. He went to the buffet, took a big plate and served himself generously from the pans. A lone yogi can work up a good appetite when he sees good food prepared from perfect women. His own food doesn’t always taste that great. But he is working on it. Nils looked around carefully to see if anyone had something against him eating before midnight. He was hungry now, and not in an hour. He left enough food for the others. Nils saw it as a reward for the blessing he had invoked for the people. In Tibet, the Lamas also get food from the people after their ceremonies. When he had eaten his full, he sat in a corner and continued to meditate. A good yogi can also meditate on a full stomach. The energy in the center got better and better. The people started talking to one another. At midnight they all went out and lit candles. They hugged one another. Bils talked to some people and then drove home to his yogi forest. All in all, he thought it was a successful New Year’s. He thanked his masters that they blessed him with such good celebratory food.

Good future
'''70. Good Karma. Proceed with optimism. Success.''' The life you live now is the result of your karma from the previous lifes. Your future life is determined by the karma you create now. Think well, speak well, and act from goodness and wisdom. If you start out with goodness and wisdom, you will reap good results. Plant flowers of love, wisdom and happiness. Then you will have a good future. Sitting, walking and cognitive work

Inner happiness is achieved in a person when tension in the body and the mind have been dissolved. Buddha developed an easy way to do just that: sitting, walking and contemplation/meditation. If a person practices switching up between sitting and walking, then inner tension can be worked out optimally. If you only sit, the mind becomes lazy and slow. Regular movement keeps the mind clear and the body healthy. It gives the person inner strength and enables the person to take the spiritual path with power. Inner happiness comes from inner rest. If the body is held still, then one can reach a deeper dimension of meditation. Besides sitting and walking, dissolving inner tension through cognitive work plays an important role. A spiritual person should develop thoughts of love, wisdom and self-discipline. He should dissolve attachments and rejections. He or she should calm the thoughts until he or she lives entirely in a state of peace and calm. Hatha Yoga Pradipika says: "When the mind comes to rest, the yogi is in the light."

Nils added to this basic method for working out tension: lying down (kundalini meditating), reading (contemplation), walking (sport, yoga), doing good (karma yoga) and enjoying life (doing something nice). These five activities should be practiced constantly, switching between them at the right intervals for the person who is doing them to be able to effectively get rid of tension. Nils practices two intervals of kundalini meditation. In the first he purifies his energy channels through visualization, mantras and breathing exercises, and also activates his kundalini energy. He practices these techniques until a strong process of tension releasing begins, which continues on its own. Then he stops all his thoughts for a few minutes. His mind comes completely to rest. Finally, he lets all of his thoughts and feelings come and go as they will. That is the phase of resting in meditation. All of the stress related thoughts and feelings come to the surface. If negative feelings (fear, anger, sadness, longing) are blocked, no deeper release process can take place. This point is done incorrectly by a lot of yogis, and so they block their own enlightenment.

At some point while maintaing a state of calm, the energy of a person turns inward. The yogi is then mainly cleansed through his own life energy. He doesn’t need to do many spiritual exercises. He just has to maintain a state of sufficient physical and mental rest. This point where inner energy turns inward has to be found by every yogi. It is difficult to find and difficult to maintain. Life energy can lead one to be overactive or lazy. A yogi has to work on both these points with self-discipline, to prevent them both. An effective yogi life feels like a constant uphill battle against ones own neutoritc impulses. If we can maintain calm and peace, then inner happiness can arise.

According to Swami Shivananda, enlightenment comes into being through rest, practice and love. If a yogi lives alone on a quiet place, then he or she is already half way to enlightenment. The second half is attained through spiritual practice. The great gate to a life in light can be reached with all-embracing love. If a yogi lives mainly for the happiness of others and for the goal of a happy world, then his ego will let go. He or she will reach a consciousness of unity. Peace, love and happiness will thrive in her.

Mourning
'''71. There is a good reason for your sadness. Be gentle with yourself. Let yourself rest. Think about your life and do helpful spiritual exercises (yoga, walking, reading, meditation). Experience your sadness consciously. Let your grief simply be. Do not block it. Forward with optimism. Focus on the positive'''

It’s important that we let ourselves experience our sadness. Sadness releases tension in the body and mind. This tension often cannot be targeted effectively with other exercises. The path of sadness isn’t easy to understand. In our society, sadness and suffering are usually repressed, or we are too sad and lose ourselves in it. Both ways are wrong. The right way is to let sadness be, and to approach it moderately. We should accept the suffering in life, but focus on the positive.

Gotami

Gotami was a student of Buddha. She had a child she really loved. One day, her child died. She walked around crying with her child in her arms. She couldn’t find any inner peace. She couldn’t let go of her wish to have her child back. She turned to Buddha so she could be freed of the torture in her soul. Buddha asked her to bring him a mustard seed. It had to come from a family in the village where no one had died before. Gotami began to search. But she didn’t find a family that hadn’t experienced death. Gotami realized that suffering is a part of life. One can only get over the suffering in life by anchoring the self in inner happiness. One is only freed of suffering when enlightened. That is called moksha (salvation) in yoga. A person freed of suffering is a Jivanmukta, a saved soul. Nils: "Some school friends organized a class reunion a few years ago. They called me and asked if I could come. I found out over the phone that a girl from school named Birgit had a heart attack at age 47 and was in a nursing home. She had worked for an insurance company and had too much stress. The fate of Birgit made me really sad. The goal in yoga is to live a healthy and happy life. That isn't easy to achieve in today’s society. There are a lot of circumstances which hinder happiness. On the other hand, we can do a lot to have a happy life.

Living cleverly means to live healthy. We should take care of the body and the soul. We should think positively, eat healthy and relax enough, and also exercise often. We should try to relieve stress through appropriate exercise. At best we are positive and peaceful like a Buddha. Assumedly, that isn’t what Birgit did. From the point of view of a yogi, she had lived the wrong way. But a yogi can also get sick. Then yoga gets him or her through this time. A yogi lives for his or her spiritual goals and isn’t dependent on outer circumstances. He or she feels supported by the greater point of life and in his or her exercises. A yogi has to die some day. Yoga also helps through death. A yogi goes meditating through death. That way he or she can avoid suffering and ascend into the light.

Equanimity
'''72.  Take things as they are. Let go of your own will. Flow positively with your surroundings. You will be protected. Success.'''

Life is bigger than people. A person has no right to anything. A person is subject to the laws of the cosmos. He or she can only try to be positive in regard to things.

''Kyobutsu-bo said during his last illness, three days before his death: ”stick to the thought, ”Buddha, save me!” Everything else is useless. (quoted from Buddhism krass, page 174)''

Comment = Those who have mantras can get through death and difficult situations. A mantra stabilizes the mind. The mantra “Amitabha” (Namu Amida Butsu) is a good and strong mantra.

Sogyal Rinpoche was born in Tibet, studied in Cambridge and taught in the west since 1974. His specialization is death research. In 1991 he wrote “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying”. In the west there is a lack of clarity over the right way to die. Those who die correctly suffer less than those who don’t know anything about it. Those who die correctly can come to the realm of light after death. In his book about dying, Sogyal Rinpoche described three techniques: meditation, mantra and the connecting with an enlightened master (visualize the master and ask for help). Basically, one should practice the exercises which resonate. The main direction for death is “be free of attachment and repulsion. Keep your mind pure (calm and positive). Connect your mind with the light (enlightenment energy.)”

In the year 2001 Nils saw himself as a little jelly fish which was eaten by a big sea spider. The little jelly fish couldn’t escape the spider and called on God for help. God gave him the mantra “yes”. The little jelly fish said the mantra and went affirmatively through death. Nils noticed how his consciousness disappeared. His life was gone. That was an unpleasant experience. But through the mantra “yes” he could stay positive. He relaxed and kept his positive energy. Suddenly Nils was there again. Everything was light, peaceful and beautiful. The spider was gone. Nils had reached a higher light dimension. Then he awoke from the dream. His happiness feeling was still there. Nils stayed in a state of inner peace, unity and happiness. In the dream Nils learnt that one can get through death with a mantra. One can come to a higher dimension with a mantra. Nils saw this dream as a great gift from his enlightened masters. They wanted to show how one can get through death.

We can find our own mantra. Which word or which sylables do us good? Amitabha followers can use the mantra ”Amitabha” (Namu Amida Butsu). It is good to use the sylable "om" or the name of an enlightened master. It is important to find a good mantra during life and to work on a strong energetic connection to an enlightened master. (Buddha Amitabha for example). This energetic connection can help us get through difficult life phases. We can get through death with a personal mantra, prayer, visualization or meditation. If a relative dies, we can also pray, meditate or read a spiritual book. We can do a good deed and then dedicate the good karma to our relative.

Little steps
'''73. Little steps forward. Success.'''

Small winners win with small steps and endurance. Connect with Buddha Amitabha every day (or any enlightened master of your choice). Live cleverly, and be wise. Live for the happiness of all beings (as a Bodhisattva). Let the light of Buddha Amitabha flow through you into the world. Don’t act from the ego, rather from the light, from the calm and unity of all beings. Send light to all beings. Let yourself trust life. You will have strength enough for everything, you will grow in the light and your life will be a success.

''"If you remain in your own power, then all your spiritual exercises will become an attachment to yourself. If you trust yourself to the other power, then your actions will become manifestations of the other power." (Freely quoted from Buddhism krass, page 190)''

Comment = Enlightenment can take place through the releasing of the ego. When the ego disappears, consciousness of the unity of all things appears. We then deal from the perspective of unity. Peace, unconditional love, happiness and strength are cultivated in us. How do we come to unity consciousness? As long as we deal from the ego, we strengthen our ego. We block our own enlightenment. Our spiritual practice ceases to bring us forward.

There are three ways to overcome the ego. We can take the path of unconditional love, peace or surrender. Along the path of unconditional love we consider others more important than ourselves. We love everyone and develop unity consciousness. At some point we feel the energetic connection of all beings. We experience that there really isn’t a separate self. Everything belongs together and constitutes one unit. The happiness of everyone is our happiness.

Along the path of peace and quiet, we live so intensely in a state of calm that our energy turns inward, our tension dissolves and we are healed by this energy. The ego is the greatest of inner tension. We heal ourselves from our ego and become saints, who live in the unity of the cosmos. Meditation can be a helpful exercise along this path. A bit of meditation doesn’t achieve much. We have to find a meditative attitude toward life. We have to connect life to meditation and live from the place of calm.

Along the way of surrender we allow ourselves to be lead by enlightened masters, Buddha Amitabha, God, the light, etc. The enlightened masters are connected with our intuition from a higher dimension in the cosmos. If we connect with them every day, then they will lead us through our intuition (inner wisdom, feeling of correctness.) They see our situation and can set themselves into our lives such that our ego releases and we develop a consciousness of enlightenment. We grow through life and our inner work into the light. Joy and suffering arise in correct measure at the right moment. Life gives us everything at the right moment that we need for spiritual growth.

If we look closely, our life is lead by a higher power (Other power). That is mostly difficult to recognize because enlightened masters are mostly unobtrusive. We consider it a coincidence, but it isn’t a coincidence. Sometimes they show us openly their intervention. That occurs through visions, dreams and miracles. They can send us power, surrender, wisdom, happiness and love. We are always protected when we pray daily. Unfortunately, the masters cannot take away all suffering. Help doesn’t come as often as we want, only when it helps us and the world spiritually to grow. But finally everything will be fine.

Buddha of light
'''74. Live as a Buddha of light. Anchor yourself in spirituality (in spiritual exercises, in the Amitabha mantra) and find your way. “My way of wisdom and love is…” Forward. Succeed.'''

”The way of saying the nembutsu (Amitabha mantra) consists of not having a way.” (Buddhism krass, page 166).

Comment = It is enough to mentally connect with Buddha Amitabha (enlightened masters, God, the light and love) every day. Then you are lead. Everything in life develops so that you grow in light. Things happen that need happen for spiritual growth. We can grow in light and live in light.

We grow spiritually in our daily lives. When we are joyful, our body is full of happiness energy. When suffering, we learn to take things with balance. We live for the happiness of all beings. We go as Bodhisattvas along the path of non-conditional love. We send light to all beings and do good where we can. We are there just to flow with life.

It is better to deal wisely than unwisely. We should avoid suffering as much as possible. We should plant the seeds of happiness and love. We should live so that we grow optimally spiritually and reach our spiritual goals. But everything will happen on its own. We don’t have one certain spiritual way. We could take a lot of paths. Our way will develop on its own. We just need to look at our live closely, contemplate with wisdom and then we will know what to do.

We could take the path of a hermit who practices intensively. We can engage ourselves in the world socially. We can have a relationship, a family, work, and grow spiritually. If we wish good things, think and do positive things, then what is good will develop in our lives. Which spiritual exercises we do depend on us. We try out what does us good. We find the spiritual practice that we can do and will bring us forward. That could be a daily prayer, reading a spiritual book, an oracle, a meditation, yoga, or walking. All of the spiritual exercises of the world are open to us.

We are mainly oriented around Buddha Amitabha. We orient ourselves around becoming a Buddha of light and reaching paradise. We find out spontaneously and creatively what helps us toward that end. We live fron enlightened existence, unconditional love, inner peace and inner happiness. What is your joy of day for the day?

The relaxed Goddess
'''75. Go your way. Be natural. Pleasure principle. Do what is right at any given moment.'''

''Honen had overcome sexuality. He never talked about relationships between men and women. He said:”I am not really bothered by problems, because I put poverty as the first priority. (Quote from Buddhism krass, page 152).''

Comment = Similar to how the Hijiri from the 12th century, we find the desert fathers of the 4th century. The founder of the Christian hermits was the Saint Anthony. He was plagued by the demons of fornication for many years, as it is said in his collection of sayings. He overcame them by concentrating on his spiritual goal. Suddenly he was in light and the demons disappeared. The holy Antonius taught the middle way with worldly enjoyment. He said: “if you need a flower in your hut, plant one. If you don’t need one, then leave it.” There are strict askets, and there are more moderate ones. The moderate way allows some worldly pleasure.

Worldly pleasures should be lived so that they help us to reach our spiritual goal. We should bring some joy into life every day, but we should do it in a wise way. If we enjoy too much, then we become attached. Our inner peace goes away. Too little joy on the spiritual way we can fall into sadness. The right amount is a little flower. We should go sparingly with worldly enjoyment so that we don’t overwhelm ourselves. We should go with inner sense to figure out what little flower of joy we need.

Concerning love and sexuality we should hold to what society considers correct. It is important to maintain truth, love and loyalty. On the inside we shouldn’t block our sexual needs. That could block our enlightenment energy. We should deal with sexual energy in a way that is helpful for us and raises our energy level. In Tibetan Buddhism there is the way of tantric visualization which activates kundalini energy. If energy can flow freely then it calms down again after awhile. We reach happy existence. We reach the level of enlightenment where we are free from our sexual needs. But we also feel the energy of other people. We can control them, purify them, and bring all people to light. If you live out worldly wishes too strongly, the mind becomes addicted. A yogi needs to keep attachments as small as possible in order to control them. He or she needs to keep worldly enjoyment in the right amount at the right time, and in principle live in addiction free existence. There are a lot of stories of yogis who struggled with their relationship addictions. The holy Bendict walzed himself into thorn bushes. Buddha could only get the women in his mind to rest through the earthing gesture, he activated thus his root chakra. He stretched one hand to the earth throughout the meditation and sacrificed himself to his spiritual way. Then he let his addictive thoughts die out in his mind. They came to rest after awhile, on their own. And suddenly there was inner happiness. Nils developed a three step way to overcome mental attachment. First he found a helpful positive thought. Then he let his thoughts and feelings come and go as they would. Then inner happiness arose on its own. When the happiness came, the addiction was overcome. Sometimes he also gets through it with sweets and a long walk in the forest.

Calm down
'''76. Calm down. Recover from the stress of your life. Meditate, relax, enjoy yourself.'''

''Zensho-bo said: ”paradise is as certain for a follower of Amitabha as the fact that we all must die one day.” With a faithful heart I trust Amitabha’s oath. We should believe certainly that rebirth into paradise is certain. The contemplation sutra teaches how to visualize Buddha Amitabha and paradise. Honen felt the visualization was unnecessary and concentrated on the name Amitabha. (quoted from Buddhism krass, pages 178, 184, 189, 192).''

Comment = Basically, it is enough to mentally repeat Buddha Amitabha’s name. It is helpful to imagine oneself as a Buddha of light, to imagine paradise and to send light to all beings. In Amitabha Buddhism, there are various ways. The main direction is based on the mantra Amitabha (namu Amida Butsu). Many Amitbaha followers do visualization exercises. Man connect daily to Buddha Amitabha with a prayer or meditation.

Visualization combined with mantra is a technique of kundalini yoga. Through visualization we can awaken happiness energy in us and come quickly to the light. It is also good to connect with gestures and physical exercise (yoga, walking). I developed Amitabha yoga to this end. To reach a consciousness of enlightenment and paradise consciousness, we must go through inner purification (to cleanse us from tension). Most people in the west are so tense that they need physical exercise to be able to deeply meditate, enough so that they can reach enlightenment energy.

Amitabha Yoga

1. Put your hands together in front of your heart and move your feet. Visualize yourself as a Buddha of light. Think: “I am a Buddha of light. I live in light. I walk the path of light.” Massage light into your whole body and think the mantra “light”. Fill yourself with light. Feel how full of light you are. 2. Move a hand in blessing and send light to all beings. Think “I send light to all people. May all people be happy. May the world be happy .”

3. Visualize Buddha Amitabha (or your personal spiritual role modell) over you in the sky. Put your hands together over the crown chakra and mentally say: ”Buddha Amitabha in heaven. Om all enlightened masters. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.”

4. Concentrate on your body, your mind, and the whole world, one after the other. Think the mantra “Amitabha” while concentrating on each area. Purify your body, your mind and the whole world mentally and fill them with the energy of the mantra. Think or speak the mantra long enough so that the body, mind and the world are cleansed and feel energetically filled.

5. Put your hands on your lap or on the legs. Find your calm. Repeat the mantra “Amitabha” mentally. Stop your thoughts. Relax in the meditation. Proceed with optimism on your way.

Self-realization
'''77. Self-realization. Proceed with optimism.'''

The deeper meaning of life is happiness. We are happy when we live according to the law of happiness. Spiritual self-realization is attained through intensive spiritual practice. We come to paradise through the daily connecting with Buddha Amitabha. We become Buddhas of light when we bring light and love into the world.

Siddharta Gautama was an Indian prince who lived 560 to 480 BC. He came from the noble famil Shakya and was called Buddha Shakyamuni in Tibetan Buddhism (the wiseman Shakya). Siddharta Gautama  was married. At the age of 29 he separated from his wife and son and became a yogi. He saw worldly life as pointless and superficial. He meditated for six years all alone and reached enlightenment. After his enlightenment he felt the suffering of the people in the world. The rest of his 45 years he spent as a spiritual teacher travelling throughout India, spreading wisdom and inner happiness.

Sddharta had studied with many masters. In this way, he assumed the unity of all spiritual knowledge. He didn’t want to start his own religion. He just tought the way that worked for him .He was against those who practiced formally and dogmatically. He had done his enlightenment yoga for six years. That wasn’t enough for the breakthrough, but it had cleansed him and prepared him for enlightenment. He achieved enlightenment with a kunalini meditation. He connected with a kundalini experience from his childhood. The visualization of a tree is a technique to activate kundalini energy. A second technique is to concentrate on flowing water. Siddhartha did that too. He meditated under a tree next to a river and observed the flowing water. Buddha’s way was to develop kundalini energy up from the root chakra. Then he looked down. He stretched one hand to the earth. That is enough to activate kundalini energy in spiritually advanced people.

Further, the meditation seat is a helpful way to awaken kundalini energy. In yoga, the meditation sit is the most important and the best exercise. It is said that one must sit that way for twelve years uninterrupted, and then you reach enlightenment. But only if one has purified the body through yoga exercises beforehand, can that be achieved. In my yoga group, I practice kundalini yoga in a gentle way. Those who practice gently have the least problems along the spiritual path.

Spiritual friends
'''78. Find spiritual friends. Search for a fitting group or internet forum, or start a group. The internet is a great way to get into contact with people. Exchange information with other spiritual people. Support others along the spiritual way, and let them help you, too.'''

”If you find it difficult to practice alone, you should practice with others.” (Quoted from Buddhism krass, page 201)

Comment = It is good to have friends. People can support each other along the spiritual journey. The highest law is, according to Buddha: ”be harmonious, monks.” Be positive and constructive with one another. Discuss with one another, but concentrate on what you have in common. Celebrate and laugh together.

The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, Three Refuges, are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in. The Three Jewels are: Buddha (a spiritual role model), Dharma (a teaching, that leads us to enlightenment), and Sangha (the Community of all spiritual people).

When we visualize Buddha as a model, believe in his teachings and see us in a community with all other spiritual people on earth, the Enlightenment energy will be activated. The daily recourse to these three things strengthens us on the spiritual path. We need a spiritual teaching that convinces us. We need a suitable spiritual role model. And we need some spiritual friends or a spiritual group that supports us on our way. If we have these three things and cultivate them, we will not lose our spiritual path. We will one day arrive for sure to enlightenment and live in the light.

There are atheistic Buddhists and Buddhists who believe in a life after death. Life after death is not the ultimate essence of Buddhism. The essence is to want inner peace and happiness. The essence is to strive for enlightenment. We will succeed if we have a good spiritual practice, a good role model and spiritual friends. The paradise of Amitabha is a paradise with friends. We can create this paradise on earth right now, if we want. We practise together with other people and grow together into the light.

Blessing
'''79. What do you want to achieve in your life? What are your goals? What is your way? Forward. Be a winner. The light is with you.'''

Look closely within yourself. You will find your inner truth through the connection with your self. Those who take the path of inner wisdom are in harmony with their higher self. They have the feeling they are on the right track. The Amitabha mantra is like a rocket that will shoot you into the light. The mantra will bring you to happiness at the speed of light. It will make you into a Buddha in seconds. Rokuro is a Japanese term that can be translated as a technical advancement. If you want to reach the light quickly, then you just need to mentall repeat the Amitabha mantra (Namu Amida Butsu) until your mind is cleansed of energy blockages and peace and happiness are felt within you. Connect the mantra with a visualization, a physical exercise and a mantra.

Star Circles

We use the star circles to activate kundalini energy and then we meditate on the light within us.

1. Earth = We visualize a light star. We imagine the earth under our feat and circle the earth with the star. We think the mantra “earth”. We circle the earth with our star until the entire earth is full of light. We can rub the earth with our feet at the same time.

2. Sun = We imagine a beautiful sun over us. We let our star circle the sun un til the light of the sun flows into us and fills our body with light. Then we mentally repeat the mantra “sun”. When the light stops flowing, we rub the earth with our feet.

3. Body = We circle our bodies with the star and think the mantra ”body”. We thus cleanse all tension. We surround ourselves completely with light. We can move the feet or the toes at the same time.

4. In the body = We let the star circle inside the body. We purify every part of the body to release tension and fill the body parts with light. We mentally repeat the mantra “light” all the while. The star circles the head, rib cage, belly, legs and the feet especially.

5. Sending light = We move the hand in a blessing and send light to all beings. “I send light to(name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy." 6. Om peace = We tighten the muscles in the pelves, belly and ribcage. We hold the tension and then relax. We do it again. Then we breathe deeply into the belly. We think “om” while breathing in and “peace” while breathing out. We use the mantra “om-peace” to come to inner peace more and more. The thoughts get calmer and calmer.

7. Meditation = Through the star circles, our energy has turned innward. We open the eyes halfway and concentrate on the energy in us (the light, the chakras or the kundalini channel). This way, the energy of the eyes flows inward and stabilizes the meditation. We stop all thoughts in rest in a calm meditation. Then we come back slowly.

8. Positive sentence = What is your positive sentence today? Proceed with optimism.

Video Star Circles, 10 min.

Paradise
'''80. Live so that you come to paradise. Live a spiritual life. Success. Think positively, act positively. Succeed with a life in the light. Connect with Buddha Amitabha every day. Then your life is blessed.'''

Amitabha Buddhism is a great blessing. It gives us a simple way to grow spiritually. Everyone can take this path. Then everyone will be successful because they live blessed through the Amitabha mantra. With the help of Amitabha and all of the enlightened masters, we are brought to paradise. Then we grow in the light our own way and become a Buddha of light.

Paradise Meditation

Body = We concentrate on the body and calm the mind. We sense the legs and feet. We let light circle our legs and feet. We think the word “light” as a mantra. We let light circulate through our arms and hands. We think “light”. We concentrate on the head, let light circulate around the head and think the mantra “light”. We surround the whole body with light and think “light”. Then we relax.

Energy cloud = We begin our ascent to heaven. First we go into the astral world and become spirits. We visualize a cloud of energy around the body. We are this cloud. We concentrate on the cloud and not the body. Then we let go of the body. We repeat the mantra: “I am a cloud. I am a soul. I am independent of the body.” We repeat the mantra until we feel ourselves as the cloud around the body. Stars = We visualize the cosmos around us full of stars. Our soul can go anywhere it wants. We meditate on the cosmos. We think the mantra “stars”. We make circles with the arms until we feel one with the cosmos. Then we feel good and secure in the order of the cosmos. World of positive souls = We reach the highest astral world, that is beyond the material cosmos. That is the world of the positive souls. We become positive. We consider the positive points in life. We think the mantra: “Positive in my life is…” We count all of the positive things until we become positive of mind. World of happy souls = Above the world of positive souls there is the world of happy souls. (Bodhisattvas). We are now in the paradise of Amitabha. We imagine that all of our wishes have been fulfilled. Which wishes do you have? Become aware of your wishes. Fulfill them or let go of them. Find your point of enough. Don’t go beyond that. Reach satisfaction with yourself and your life. “My way of satisfaction is…”

World of Buddhas = Above the world of happy souls is the world of Buddhas. We visualize ourselves as Buddhas of light or Goddesses of love. We wish for a happy world. We move the hand in a blessing and think: “I send light to.. (count all your people and surround them with light and love). May all people be happy. May the world be happy.”

Great transformation = We continue to move the hand in a blessing. We fill the entire cosmos with love and light. We stream light into the area of suffering. We send light to all suffering beings. We surround them with light and think the mantra: “I send light to..” We think of the problems in our life and send the problems light. We surround them with light and mentally repeat the mantra: “My problems are… I send them light.” We surround the problems with light until we can accept them and integrate them into our lives. We become masters of life, who can stay in the light throughout all life situations.

Seventh heaven = We arrive in the seventh heaven (highest nirvana, formless). We visualize a sun around us full of strong love and happiness energy. We think several times the mantra: “om sun, light, love, peace, happiness.” We fill the soul with light and happiness. We rest in the energy of light, love and happiness.

Enlightened masters = We connect with Buddha Amitabha and all of the enlightened masters (Buddhas and Bodhisattvas). We rub the palms together in front of the heart chakra, visualize Buddha Amitabha in the sun of the seventh heaven and think: ”Om Buddha of light. Om inner wisdom. Please guide and help me on my way.” We feel connected with Buddha Amitabha and all of the enlightened masters. We sense how the energy of the mantra of Buddha Amitabha flows into us and fulfills us.

Come back = We move the feet. We stretch and relax. We are then back on earth and back to our lives. Take the path of wisdom and love. Proceed with optimism.

Videos

 * Buddha Amitabha blessing transmission
 * Buddha Amitabha Song
 * Namo Amitabha Buddha song
 * Mantra Project - Namu Amida Butsu