Guest guest Posted March 21, 1999 Report Share Posted March 21, 1999 Paravak practice from the Vijnanabhairava: Dharana 18 Verse 41 If one listens with undivided attention to sounds of stringed and other musical instruments which on account of their (uninterrupted) succession are prolonged, (1) he will, at the end, (2) be absorbed in the ether of consciousness (and thus attain the nature of Bhairava). Notes: 1. The resonance of musical notes lasts for a long time and being melodious it attracts the attention of the listener. Even when it stops, it still reverberates in the mind of the listener. The listener becomes greatly engrossed in it. A musical note, if properly produced, appears to arise out of eternity and finally to disappear in it. 2. When the music stops, it still vibrates in the memory. If the yogi does not allow his mind to wander to something else, but concentrate on the echo of the music, he will be absorbed in the source of all sound, viz; paravak and thus acquire the nature of Bhairava. ************* For this practice I use a bell that I acquired last fall from the Gaden Jangste Tibetian order of monks when they came through the area on tour. They were fundraising for a new Buddha Hall. Lots of authentic artifacts at the little table. I asked the head abbott to bless it. He muttered mantra strings over it for a couple minutes and then with a twinkle in his eye, handed it back to me. He smiled sweetly and said, "Now you can practice the Tantra". The bell has a face on the handle. It's alive in it's own strange way. Any instrument that makes a resonating note will work for this practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 1999 Report Share Posted March 22, 1999 Hi Martin, >Paravak practice from the Vijnanabhairava: > >Dharana 18 Verse 41 > >If one listens with undivided attention to sounds of stringed and other >musical instruments which on account of their (uninterrupted) succession >are prolonged, (1) he will, at the end, (2) be absorbed in the ether of >consciousness (and thus attain the nature of Bhairava). > >Notes: > >1. The resonance of musical notes lasts for a long time and being melodious >it attracts the attention of the listener. Even when it stops, it still >reverberates in the mind of the listener. The listener becomes greatly >engrossed in it. A musical note, if properly produced, appears to arise >out of eternity and finally to disappear in it. Thanks for this. Schopenhauer pointed out that music differs from the other arts in that they employ symbols and music does not seem to. How then does music affect us? He said music "moves the will directly." >2. When the music stops, it still vibrates in the memory. If the yogi does >not allow his mind to wander to something else, but concentrate on the echo >of the music, he will be absorbed in the source of all sound, viz; paravak >and thus acquire the nature of Bhairava. When we use music or a single tone in meditation - that is, sound it ourselves, rather than listening to a sound in the ears or head - I suppose that is also concentrating on a memory of music or of a note... it is certainly effective. > >For this practice I use a bell that I acquired last fall from the Gaden >Jangste Tibetian order of monks when they came through the area on tour. >They were fundraising for a new Buddha Hall. Lots of authentic artifacts at >the little table. > >snip<.... It's alive in it's own strange way. I have a Tibetan bowl that I love... I played the bowls in a shop and chose mine by the tone... This one seemed to be for me... (For those who haven't seen/heard the bowls... the bowl is metal and you play it by holding it on one palm and with the other hand you hold a wooden baton and move it round and round the rim of the bowl. The sound is bell-like, but rather than starting loud and dying away, it may remain steady... it may become louder and more penetrating as you become more centered and focussed... as you are more "in tune" with the bowl. If you slip from being centered, the sound will falter... there may be a grating and rasping sound... the baton may even seem to bounce, creating staccato noises... As I continue to play the bowl, I seem to become one with it... playing myself... I am the bowl and the tone...) In September I was at a pagan/Wiccan three-day gathering in the Canadian mountains. In a secluded area among the trees a circular labyrinth - a maze - was laid out in chalk, and you could go there whenever you wanted to walk the labyrinth... There was a ritual drama of death and rebirth... during it we followed the actors across a bridge and along a path through the trees to the labyrinth... the last act took place in the labyrinth, as we stood around the outside of the circle... when the action ended, there was silence for meditation... and a Tibetan bowl began to play... the sound seemed to reverberate in my head... it became much louder than the physical sound could possibly have been... I have no idea how long that went on... Love, Dharma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 1999 Report Share Posted March 22, 1999 Dharma wrote: > As I continue to play the bowl, I seem to become one with it... > playing myself... I am the bowl and the tone...) Wonderful. Then it seems as if there is no difference between you playing the bowl or the bowl playing you. Life is a bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 1999 Report Share Posted March 22, 1999 Sun, 21 Mar 1999 18:05:43 -0500 hyper (HMT) Paravak practice Paravak practice from the Vijnanabhairava: Dharana 18 Verse 41 If one listens with undivided attention to sounds of stringed and other musical instruments which on account of their (uninterrupted) succession are prolonged, (1) he will, at the end, (2) be absorbed in the ether of consciousness (and thus attain the nature of Bhairava). ________ Would such undivided attention upon other things bring absorbtion in the ether of consciousness? Is there any object or subject which, given undivided attention, would not serve as portal to ether of consciousness? In other words, it sounds as though a method or technique is being described, and that it could be applied to points of focus other than a kind of music. Although the sound of the stringed instrument or the bell would apparently be a most natural vehicle, unless depth of attention is present, not much good will come of it. Attention itself, the ability to give undivided attention is more important than the object of the attention. That's clear to me. So let me ask: What if a person tries to listen with undivided attention and is having a hard time focusing attention? Is it appropriate to seek guidance? Is it natural to feel inferior if one finds application of undivided attention a most challenging affair? Thank you. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 1999 Report Share Posted March 22, 1999 > "Jerry M. Katz" <umbada > > Sun, 21 Mar 1999 18:05:43 -0500 > hyper (HMT) > Paravak practice > > Paravak practice from the Vijnanabhairava: > > Dharana 18 Verse 41 > > If one listens with undivided attention to sounds of stringed and other > musical instruments which on account of their (uninterrupted) > succession are prolonged, (1) he will, at the end, (2) be absorbed in > the ether of consciousness (and thus attain the nature of Bhairava). > > ________ > > Would such undivided attention upon other things bring absorbtion in the > ether of consciousness? Is there any object or subject which, given > undivided attention, would not serve as portal to ether of > consciousness? Right, it is the undivided attention that matters and not the object of attention. I focused attention spontaneously on the sensation, accompanying the flow of prana through the nadis. Soon this proved to be a valuable compass, as the various "nasties" from the unconscious could already be sensed before they actually arose. > In other words, it sounds as though a method or technique is being > described, and that it could be applied to points of focus other than a > kind of music. Although the sound of the stringed instrument or the bell > would apparently be a most natural vehicle, unless depth of attention is > present, not much good will come of it. A requirement for a useful vehicle would be independence from outer conditions. > Attention itself, the ability to give undivided attention is more > important than the object of the attention. That's clear to me. > > So let me ask: What if a person tries to listen with undivided attention > and is having a hard time focusing attention? Is it appropriate to seek > guidance? Is it natural to feel inferior if one finds application of > undivided attention a most challenging affair? > > Thank you. > > Jerry As long as undivided attention isn't spontaneous and unwavering, one has to find something that will make focusing attention easier. It is not something to be learned; one has to find the "switch". For my father it was the collection of stamps. I wonder if feeling inferior is natural at all - can't remember any incidence of it. Only being familiar with undivided attention - whether designing and constructing receivers at age 12 or focusing on pranic currents, there is no difference. Apparently, one can be born with the switch of undivided attention in "on"position. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 1999 Report Share Posted March 22, 1999 Message: 10 Sun, 21 Mar 1999 18:05:43 -0500 hyper (HMT) Paravak practice << A musical note, if properly produced, appears to arise out of eternity and finally to disappear in it. >> I just know of your name "hyper", greetings, I love the sentence you wrote, it's properly produced, to appear out of eternity, to me, to disappear in it. I don't know the meaning of "Paravak", but it seams that this practice may apply to more than sound, but i.e. like to words also on this medium of e-mail's. I have another question, i try to ask myself with every manifestation i experience, as much as the sound (or manifestation) can be properly produced, to appear to arise out of eternity and finally to disappear in it. In the same way, is not the senses, (i.e. ear. eye, mind, etc...) cannot be made to properly "listen", to all sound (or manifestation), so it appears out of eternity to disappear in it? Enjoy, Antoine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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