Buddha Speaks

Four-Product Proposal from Srijana

1. Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master.

36 chapters of authentic advice on a wide range of modern issues, direct from the Master.
2. Buddha Speaks, Illustrated Quotes for Children and Adults.
36 pages of authentic quotes offer an opportunity to have a conversation around everyday
thought-provoking questions.
3. Buddha Speaks, Oracle cards.
54 colorful cards to inspire, challenge, and guide your day.
4. Buddha Speaks, Weekly Oracle Planner.
52 uplifting quotes, one for every week of the year, with colorful illustrations.

Srijana / Jane Barthelemy

FiveSeasonsMedicine.com
jane@fiveseasonsmedicine.com
Paro, Bhutan, 975-1796-7830.
 Buddha Speaks Four Products
Proposal Contents
1. Overview of “Buddha Speaks” Four Products . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2. Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master . . . . . . 5

Book Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sample Chapters
1. Finding Your Highest Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Build your ABC Root System for a Transformational Life . . . 16
3. The Five Auspicious Dreams and their Meaning . . . . . . . 21
4. Reaching Out, Buddhism In Action . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5. Sex and Celibacy on the Buddhist Path . . . . . . . . . . 34
6. Plenty of Reasons To Be Angry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Target Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Marketing the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Comparative Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

3. Three Products of Authentic Buddha Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

How I Select & Translate Quotes from Original Texts . . . . . . . . 52
How Are My Buddha Quotes Unique in the World? . . . . . . . . . 54
1. My quotes are authentic, not made-up . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2. My quotes are accurate translations of the Buddha’s actual words 55
3. My quotes include females. They’re not sexist or male-oriented . 55
4. My quotes use modern idioms, not ancient metaphors . . . . . 55
5. My quotes are easy to understand in modern English . . . . . 56
6. My quotes are neutral, not condescending or judgmental . . . 56
7. My translation work screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8. Sample translations from Pali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Target Market for Buddha Speaks Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Marketing the Buddha Speaks Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

4. Buddha Speaks, Illustrated Quotes for Children & Adults . . . . . . 62

Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Sample Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Comparative Children’s Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

5. Buddha Speaks Oracle Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Sample Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Comparative Oracle Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

6. Buddha Speaks, Weekly Oracle Planner Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 79

Sample Calendar Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

7. About Srijana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

2
Overview of “Buddha Speaks” Four Products
What did the Buddha really say?
Although the Buddha lived two thousand five hundred years ago, his words still touch us deeply
today. What advice does the Master have for the world right now? "Buddha Speaks" is a series of
four products offering timeless teachings for humans on any path. Integrating all religious faiths,
Buddhist lineages, divergent translations, and centuries of interpretations, these words are authentic,
unique, and timely, because they come directly from the Master himself.

My Mission for “Buddha Speaks” is to delve deeply into ancient truths to extract the inspiration
and wisdom we need to transform ourselves in this critical, tumultuous period. The series is
designed to be the essence of wisdom for challenging times.

“Buddha Speaks” shows readers how to:

• Reprogram your brain chemistry to harmonize the subconscious and conscious mind.
• Change your energy awareness to create a new reality in every present moment.
• Master meditation and breathing, to tune into energies beyond our material world.
• Use Buddhist teachings to “upgrade” body, mind, and spirit to almost superhuman levels.
• Release old habits, beliefs, and biological fate to manifest your true evolution.
• Learn to observe your mind, to dissolve old programming and self-defeating thoughts.
• Develop the ability to face your dark side, to clear past Karma, and change your destiny.

Four products in the Buddha Speaks series:

1. "Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master" is a collection of 36

chapters channeled with the Buddha. He offers highly relevant and astonishing advice
for modern times, on a wide range of issues including trust, anger, sexuality, diet, and
how to stimulate positive change in the world. 62,000 words.

I call this the “Buddha Speaks” Series. Three other products, consist of authentic quotes by the
Buddha, never published before, all new translations from Pali, Tibetan, and Chinese texts,
carefully adapted into plain English.

2. "Buddha Speaks Illustrated Quotes for Children & Adults" A book of 36 illustrated
quotes direct from original texts in Pali and Tibetan. It offers a fresh perspective on the
Buddha’s words, and a unique opportunity for children and adults to have a conversation
around everyday thought-provoking questions.

3. "Buddha Speaks Oracle Cards" A set of 54 beautiful cards offering a modern take on
the Buddha’s words to inspire and challenge readers. Attractive illustrations promote
crystal clear understanding of his original meaning.

4. "Buddha Speaks Weekly Oracle Planner” is a 52-page journal of inspiring quotes,

one for each week of the year, with colorful images.

3
How “Buddha Speaks” began.
As an avid collector of Buddhist texts, I've always been curious about this extraordinary man who
changed the world. I visited the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini, Nepal. I explored the palace where
he was born and sat in the shade of his mother's Bodhi tree. The park was buzzing with visitors
from every country and Buddhist sect of Buddhism, a rainbow of colorful robes and smiles.

Everybody was speaking English, the unifying world language, and the entire park was filled with a
lovely uplifting quality of refinement and joy. Suddenly I noticed that my aches and pains were
gone, there was no stress in my body, and I was actually completely happy. Not tired or hungry or
having any nagging feeling whatsoever in my mind. What a surprise!

I was amazed at the lavish Lumbini park, with 32 ornate temples, each representing a different
country or Buddhist sect. Billions of dollars have recently been invested there by international
banks, creating a veritable "Disney World" for Buddhists all over the world.

On returning home, the sublime, buoyant energy of Lumbini park stayed with me. I came back more
determined than ever to discover for myself the magic of the Buddha's true words. Reading the
original passages from the Pali Canon, I feel I’m listening to wisdom of a wise and trusted friend. I
am deeply touched, filled with tranquility and hope. I simply fell in love with the root meaning of
each verse. This has grown into a passion to share the Buddha's intention to uplift people’s lives.

50 years background as a Buddhist

I live in Bhutan, married to a Buddhist Lama. I have been steeped in Buddhist meditation for nearly
50 years. My multiple language skills offer an ability to express advanced concepts in simple words.

How I prepare "Buddha Speaks" quotes in meditation

First I assemble the best 15 translations of a passage from Pali, Tibetan or Chinese, with the help of
my husband Lama D. who speaks Tibetan, Hindi, Nepali, and Dzongkha. I meditate on the
Buddha’s intention to find the best way to express his words in English. My new translations are
original, succinct, easy to understand, and contemporary. The quotes are non-religious, apolitical,
compatible to all traditions, representing no ideology.

Authentic sources of Buddhist texts

The Buddha’s exact words are believed to be preserved in the Pali Canon, the Tibetan Kangyur, and
the Chinese Sutra of Forty-two Chapters. The Pali Canon contains over 10,000 passages codified by
the Buddha’s followers shortly after his passing. Vastly larger than the Bible, it was preserved by
Buddhist monks who memorized the Buddha's words and chanted them for centuries. The Tibetan
Kangyur is an important text, believed to be an exhaustive collection of the Buddha’s words.

Roughly 1,000 years after the Buddha’s passing, the entire canon was written by Sri Lankan monks
onto palm leaves in the Pali language, a relative of Sanskrit. Thanks to centuries of dedicated monks
and highly skilled language scholars in modern times, now for the first time we are able to go
directly to the source texts to understand the Buddha's true intention in plain English.

I created the “Buddha Speaks” series because I would like readers to always be able to feel that
peaceful sense of total inner well-being that I felt at the birthplace of the Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal.

4
 Buddha Speaks
Channeled Conversations with the Master

5
Book Concept
Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master
This book consists of 36 chapters channeled with the Buddha. It offers highly relevant and
astonishing advice for modern times, on a wide range of issues including trust, anger, celibacy, diet,
and how to stimulate positive change in the world. He touches on common sense solutions for how
to deal with pain, illness; and how to see through our own reactions in everyday situations.

In this channeled book, the Buddha’s words are strikingly clear, intimate, and contemporary.
They offer a refreshing perspective for everyone, regardless of religious faith or cultural beliefs.
The Buddha was a powerful advocate for harmony and peace who altered the course of history.
But unfortunately everything we know about him is hearsay, based on complex translations and re-
interpretations. How deeply rewarding it feels to hear directly from the Master himself!

A few of the chapters:

• How to turn powerful emotions into positive good.
• Reaching out in the world, Buddhism in action
• Sex and celibacy on a Buddhist path
• The cause of stress, and how to remove it.
• Ice cream meditation. How to dissolve any desire.

How the Book Began

A few weeks after my visit to Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini, Nepal, I received instructions from
my guides to write a channeled book by the Buddha. My first reaction was that it would be utterly
impossible. However they reassured me that I could do it and encouraged me to try.

Every day for three months I went into trance and asked the Buddha to come into me to tell me
what to write. Using a dictation app, I began to speak. The first channeling sessions were quite
disorganized, wandering from topic to topic - relevant, but completely unstructured. I asked him to
choose subjects most helpful for modern readers. Every day he began to give me a chapter topic and
the main points. I was always surprised at the topics. Sometimes I would receive two or three topics
a day, inviting me to think about them before we put them down. Soon we were recording a chapter
every other day. He sometimes asked me to make revisions. Although many of his points will
surprise modern Buddhist practitioners, he approved every chapter, every sentence, and every word.

Fortunately, my life here in Bhutan is very quiet. The mountains are alive. The forest trees are my
friends. The water and air are pristine and pleasant. This gives me encouragement. Every morning
in my meditation, the Buddha would give me the topics and guidelines for the day, and I would
begin to work. After he approved the main points, I would go into trance, invite him into my body
and speak into a dictation app. Occasionally he did not agree with a word choice or phrase, so I
would offer alternatives until he approved the exact meaning. Sometimes he accepted my words,
and sometimes he changed everything. I polished each chapter until he approved it. That is how we
worked. When all 36 chapters were finished, he told me the book was complete.

6
List of Chapters
Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master

Part One – Not a Religion, Buddhism Is the Laws of Nature

Chapter 1. About My Life
Chapter 2. My Five Auspicious Dreams and Their Meaning
Chapter 3. The Four Noble Truths
Chapter 4. The Middle Path of Avoiding Extremes
Chapter 5. The Eightfold Path in a Nutshell
Chapter 6. Dependent Co-Arising, the Web of Cause and Effect
Chapter 7. Build Your ABC Root System for a Transformational Life
Chapter 8. Ten Lower Habits to Dissolve
Chapter 9. Heart Opening to Loving Kindness Meditation
Chapter 10. Come as You Are, Here and Now
Chapter 11. Crossing the Ocean of Samsara
Chapter 12. Will Buddhism Make You Rich?

Part Two – Embracing the Messiness of Life

Chapter 13. What Do You Value Most?
Chapter 14. Ice Cream Meditation
Chapter 15. Rebirth Is a Fact of Life
Chapter 16. A Monk’s Diet and Daily Habits
Chapter 17. Sex and Celibacy in the Buddhist Path
Chapter 18. Be an Island in an Ocean of Extremes
Chapter 19. Plenty of Reasons to be Angry
Chapter 20. Meditation to Dissolve Anger
Chapter 21. Emptiness—Nothing, Something, Everything
Chapter 22. Emptiness Meditation
Chapter 23. To Heal the Body, Heal the Mind
Chapter 24. Alternate Nostril Breathing to Calm the Mind

7
Part Three – You Are Your Own Teacher
Chapter 25. What Can You Trust?
Chapter 26. Reaching Out, Buddhism in Action
Chapter 27. Use the Power of Emotions for Your Growth
Chapter 28. How to Transform Suffering into Happiness
Chapter 29. Meditation for Releasing Grief
Chapter 30. Think You Know? How False Concepts Block You
Chapter 31. Finding Your Highest Path
Chapter 32. Train Your Mind to Conquer Distraction
Chapter 33. Breath, Chakras, and the Spiritual Body
Chapter 34. Harness the Power of Words
Chapter 35. An Ignorant Mind Kills the Heart
Chapter 36. Choose Your Own Fate or Be Controlled by Others

8
Sample Chapters
Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master

1. Finding Your Highest Path

Better than ruling the Earth,

Better than going to Heaven,
Better than ruling the Universe,
Is to attain supreme inner knowledge.

Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 178

Your Daily Practice Is Simply to Listen

The energy of each day is different. For this reason it is important to spend some time every day,

even if it's just five minutes, being quiet and listening to the day. The way to do that is to just sit and

breathe. If you have a specific practice or meditation you can do that; however, if you just sit and

breathe and ask to hear all that energy of the day, you will find it. Just tune into your body. How

does your body feel? You can speak into a recorder, you can make a diary of how you feel and that

is good, because the world is how you perceive it. All the world is basically what you receive

through your senses, so how you feel in your body and your mind on a given day is very relevant.

Your senses were given to you for a reason. You may as well use them. Learn how to interpret

them. Learn how to train them. Learn how to see through them and integrate them into a clearer

picture.

It is very important for you to spend a few minutes, even if it's only five minutes a day,

quieting and relaxing your body and your mind. This allows an integration to take place, and your

senses soften into greater clarity. That integrated awareness includes all your senses and maybe

9
your sixth sense as well, which is your true intelligence. Find it every day. Find that true

intelligence every day, even for a moment.

Make an intention or a wish every day for something that you wish to improve about

yourself. And then take another step to find a strategy for accomplishing it. This can take just a very

few minutes. You will find that your life's direction becomes clearer, and your actions will become

more efficient and more successful.

Live Every Moment for the Benefit of All

Many people reach a certain age in life when they suddenly realize that they have not accomplished

anything. Whether or not that is true, that is how they feel. And this is very unfortunate. Some

people say, “I gave it all up for my husband or my wife and my children and now I have nothing.”

However, this is a very foolish attitude. There is no moment in your life when you are prohibited

from making a wish or having a long-term plan, or making an intention to be a better person. You

are a fool if you give up your own well-being for the well-being of someone else. Because all

10
actions that have value in the universe benefit the ALL. They benefit everyone, so your actions can

always incorporate a wish to benefit the all. You can be a busy mother, a busy father, a busy office

worker, a busy employee, a busy street sweeper, or a busy corporate executive and always be

thinking of benefiting the all, which of course includes you. You will find that if you practice in this

simple way, living every moment for the benefit of the all, something will happen in your life that

may turn out to be very exciting. And a few years later, you will be in a completely different place,

a better place, and have much more fun.

However, if you have the attitude that you are downtrodden, taken advantage of, or you are

angry about anything, then you effectively block your ability to infuse your thoughts, your life, your

actions, and your future with positive energy. So, the extent to which you allow anger or distress to

enter your thoughts you block your path and that of everyone around you. There is no excuse for

living a useless life. For example, say you were an inmate in a jail imprisoned for a heinous act.

What path of action do you take to be free? You have to think about this, and if you're in jail you

have time. Forget anger. Forget revenge. Forget getting even. Forget criticism. Forget contempt.

Forget feeling sorry for yourself. Forget fear. Forget sadness. Instead of wasting your energy on

these thoughts and feelings, use your positive energy to consider your options. They may be very

limited, but you do have options. You can train your mind to be non-reactive to others. You can

expand your physical capacity by doing good exercise movements to raise the level of your

functioning. You can work on clearing your mental capacity by reading inspiring books. If you have

access to the Internet, then YouTube and the Internet can become your university. Your options are

never limited except by your own imagination.

We are all, in a sense, living in a jail with somewhat limited options. We are all imprisoned

to a certain extent. Perhaps you must accept that prison. Then accept it. But do not create an

11
imaginary self-inflicted prison because of your own restricted mind and limited imagination.

Do Something Strange and Wonderful

One way to find your highest path is to look around you and see what excites you. If something

inspires you, follow it. That's a hint. If something just stresses you, study that reaction in yourself.

Learn what you love and what you do not love. Always be on the lookout for something wonderful,

and then make it part of your experience. You can't do everything, of course, so you're going to

have to choose. Choose something practical. Like something that balances body, mind, spirit,

money, and something that your family hopefully doesn't disapprove of. Just be practical. So, these

are the general guidelines. Over time, if you cultivate the art of looking for excuses to feel joy and

practice observing the life around you, your life will grow, and it will become infinitely more

interesting and rewarding. Notice what you do well and what you do not do well. Work on

improving the things that you do very poorly. But especially work on the things that you do very

well, because maybe that is where you have some special talent. Find your special talent. It may be

very strange and that is wonderful—yes, the stranger the better. Because this world is getting

stranger and stranger, so it is okay to be strange. Just try to be wonderful at the same time so that

you don't pull people down around you.

A Good Teacher Helps You Reach Your Goal Efficiently

I once knew a teacher whose students received detailed instructions every day for a daily practice

that took somewhere between three and four hours. The problem with his school was that all of his

students felt guilty as they could not spend three or four hours doing it. So, they were always

playing catch-up and feeling guilty and dissatisfied with themselves that they couldn't do it. This is

a mistake on the part of a teacher. Some people truly have limited time to spend improving

themselves. Therefore, it behooves them to be very efficient. The responsibility of a teacher is to

give a student the most direct path toward improvement. It should be simple. Direct. Efficient. To

12
make people guilty, with a complex practice that they are unable to do, is counterproductive and

damaging to the spirit.

Keep Focused on Your Priorities

The capacity for some people to be distracted is infinite. And your capacity to be distracted is also

infinite. There an infinite number of things that may wish to distract you. Your job is to choose the

things you wish to focus on, just like you quickly sort the mail. You look at the return address, you

know what's important to you so you can move through it easily. I see that distraction is probably

the worst problem in your modern society. Focus on your priorities, on what brings you joy and

brings joy to the people around you. Keep it simple. When something comes and asks for your

attention, the answer is usually no because you may have your plans. But it's also important to be

flexible and to develop a sense of X-ray vision for something that could be important. Or it may be

a thread of something that could lead to something important, so this is a fine line, a tight rope to

walk. Because with every focus or mis-focus of your mind you could lose everything like walking a

tight rope. So, you use your mind like a finely trained laser peering into every particular situation in

a matter of seconds, you choose whether you want to give it one second or five seconds. This is not

an aggressive or difficult way of living. It is simply a practical way, and you can learn to do it in an

utterly relaxed state.

The fact is that the universe is inviting—demanding of you, a higher level of functioning.

And this feels impossible. But it is not impossible, it is possible. The only way for you to succeed is

to pare down the number of distractions and the number of things you're trying to do that are

unimportant. So again, the things you've been taught and the things you have come to believe to be

necessary are all open to question. You can question them one at a time and discard them one at a

time, keeping only the high value thoughts. This applies to every part of your life. It applies to your

choice of where to go to college, whether to go out to the movies, whether you should say hello to a

13
friend on the street or instead, just give them a wink and a smile. Every moment of your energy is

yours to use, and you are free to spend it as you wish. These are your moment to moment choices.

A big trap is trying to fulfill other people’s expectations. Your family wants the best for you

and may want you to do something because they love you. You may need to have a heart-to-heart

with them and explain that you would like to try something different for a little while; ask them to

give you a little bit of rope and see how it goes. Try to gather the support of family and the people

you love around you, because God knows we need friends.

Keep Your Toolkit Handy

Some of your greatest challenges happen when you let everything go because you’re tired. And

that's OK too. Discover a few things that can be your back-up tools. For example, assemble your

“toolkit” of simple actions, things, places, foods, thoughts, exercises, books, or people that nourish

you deeply in a quiet way so that you can keep your body mind and spirit functioning on a high

level. Live in such a way that you have a toolkit handy to keep yourself on a high level, that keep

you breathing, and keep your blood flowing in a positive way, even if you don't know exactly where

you're going, so that you maintain a high level of equilibrium and balance. The skills you develop

will benefit everyone around you.

When we let things go, we suffer, because it may take us a day, two days, a week, a month,

a year, or a lifetime to recover that loss. So, you must develop sensitivity to the energy of the

moment and event you're in and learn to recognize where it fits in the spectrum of importance in

your life. For example, a period of anger can ruin a day, a week, a month, a year, a lifetime. How

long does it take you to surrender, to dissolve your anger? Because in your state of wrath, you

cannot even respond to the person or situation that may or may not have caused that anger. You

may perceive that they caused it, but you could be wrong. The only question is how long does it

take you to digest that anger and move beyond it, to lift yourself into a state of being where you can

14
truly respect yourself? Perhaps the most valuable thing that you have in life is your own self-

respect.

In conclusion, finding your highest path will happen for you one day at a time, one moment

at a time. Listen quietly every morning with an intention to improve something. Work for the

benefit of all, and you’ll also win. Focus on your goals and pare down distractions with the mind of

a warrior. Challenge your assumptions, and question other people’s wishes for you. Forget

emotional reactions and keep your toolkit of tricks handy to maintain an optimum level of skill and

self-respect in body, mind, and spirit. Above all, allow your creative imagination to be vast. And in

your path, I wish you well.

15
2. Build Your ABC Root System for a Transformational Life

A wise person is like the earth,

Patient, unmoved by anger,
Calm and clear as a deep lake.
For someone so grounded,
The goal of freedom is assured.
Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 95

Today I would like to talk about how to build a strong foundation for a spiritual life. In the modern

world, many people are focused on accomplishment. How much did I get done today? Did I finish

everything on my to-do list? You are all climbing mountains, and this is wonderful. However, if you

wish to open your life to true transformation, you need to have a root system that will feed and

support the plant you wish to grow. The root system of a tree is underground, and although we can’t

see the roots, this is where so much activity takes place. Therefore, we must nourish the plant’s

foundation.

How can you build a foundation for a life of transformation, for a spiritual life? Just like a

plant. You start with the root system. The bigger the plant, the bigger the root system. Sometimes it

needs to be transplanted into a healthier, energetic environment. Yes, you are like a plant.

Sometimes you need to be transplanted to a new home, or a new country, or start a new relationship

to help you expand your root system. Rooting in new soil brings challenges, and if your attitude is

to enjoy being transplanted, it will be much easier for you.

This life is an opportunity for you to heal and erase all your misunderstandings and human

foibles. Your guides are always helping you, and you have free will at all times. You can take a

quantum leap forward. Or you can go slow and resist the lessons. You can rebel and go backwards.

16
If you really mess up, they will take you out, and bring you to an etheric nursery school for the

troubled. There, they give you kind healings of love with great patience. On the other hand, if you

are moving along very well on your path, they will send you the top brass, the very best guides to

lead you and cheer you on. Your job is to do whatever is necessary. Whatever it takes. Be at ease

and go at your own pace.

Sometimes the etheric guides have to move a few big pieces in your foundation in order to

rearrange your circumstances and allow you to move to the next step. That is why it is so important

to trust the process. You must be dedicated and be willing to do what’s necessary, to accept a little

discomfort while these big pieces find their new places. It’s helpful to find a teacher to assist and

encourage you through these foundational shifts, like little deaths and rebirths. So that you can see

the light at the end of the tunnel and keep going.

A – Ask

What is the most important element of a foundation for a spiritual life? I will tell you. It is the purity

and strength of your wish. It’s as easy as ABC. The first step is to ask. Ask for what you want and

make your wish as pure and deeply intense as possible. To do that, you must feel your wish in your

heart, and feel it in every cell of your body. You can speak your wish out loud, or you can say it

silently in your mind.

When you feel frustrated with your accomplishments, or your lack thereof; if you feel blocks

or barriers in your life, just think of your life as a river. It is normal for a river to flow fast in some

areas and slowly in others, or to get stagnant in areas where garbage builds up and there is a lack of

flow in the river. The tool with which you can dredge that river is your wish. The keyword is to ask.

Ask for what you really want. Ask in your heart and in every cell of your being until you feel the

wish explode inside you. Ask so deeply that your river flows again, and the inertia breaks up. Your

17
job is to keep that river flowing all the time by removing any blocks in the flow of your energy.

Sometimes this will require time and patience.

This is the critical point at which most people give up because they are making an effort but

don’t see results right away. It’s as if you are slowly filling a sacred container with tiny golden

drops of your wish, but you don’t see or feel any results for a while. This is not the time to quit.

This is the time to wish more, to make your wish clear and expand it until that sacred container is

filled to the brim and starts to overflow. This is the kind of strong foundation you need. If you’re

going to build a real spiritual life, you will need a solid foundation. This is why many people need a

teacher or a very wise and supportive environment in order to help them on their path. Your key is

to ask. Ask for your spirit guides to help you. Ask and listen for their guidance. Ask for Buddha’s

help. Ask for what you need.

B – Be Still

The second step in building your foundation is to be still. We are used to thinking about doing and

accomplishing. However, that’s putting the cart before the horse. Until you have found and

cultivated a deep quiet that feeds your roots with joy, your outer work will exhaust you and deplete

all your energy. It is essential to feel this joy every day. Otherwise, you will be blown here and

there in every direction by powerful winds that will uproot your tree.

Listen to the stillness. The Universal Source of energy is a huge spiral vortex. It’s the same

kind of vortex as in every atom and every cell of your body, a spinning helix of universal power.

Your goal is to be so still that you embody the unity of the infinite spinning Source of Light, the

Universal vortex of energy within the tiny atoms, electrons, and cells of your body. The universe is

inside you and outside you. Your job is to find this Divine unity. Then your stress is finished, and

you are free.

18
 So, how can we be still and find this infinite joy and quiet every day? Listen to the stillness.

Knowing how to be still means you have a practice that helps you to find that pure joy every

day and reminds you why you are here. When you’re armed and rooted in this awareness, carrying

out your goals is much simpler. It’s like riding your raft down the river. You don’t have to swim or

thrash around in the deep water all by yourself. You don’t have the stress of thinking you are alone,

because you have summoned the deepest powers within yourself and outside yourself to partner

with you to help you reach your goals.

Many people think meditation is this or that. There are myriad meditation methods. It is your

job to find a practice that brings you to a still point every day, that fills you with joy and confidence.

A method that reassures you and opens the portals of nourishment to come into your life like never

before.

C – Carry It Out

The third step in realizing your transformation is to carry it out in your life. If you are truly in tune

with your first two foundations—to ask and to be still—then carrying out your life’s work is like the

icing on the cake. All the effort was in the first two steps. Now you can sail forth smoothly. This is

the step where many people fall down, however, because we are told things like, “No pain, no

19
gain.” And some people lead us to believe we have to make a huge effort. On one level, this is true.

But the effort invested in steps one and two will propel you forward.

Some people get stuck in this step because they are so busy trying to DO everything, to

make it happen, that they forget to relax and allow the momentum to work for them. In steps one

and two, you made your wish and you found your stillness. Now your job is to live a quiet and

disciplined life as you gently navigate your raft down the river. You will need to prioritize in order

to accomplish your most important goals. Maybe you want to be beautiful, or you want to have the

perfect body. You want to meet your friends every day, or you want to go to yoga class three times

a week, or you want to eat those wonderful snacks, or you want to be in love, you want to finish

your bucket list. You want many things and that is fine. But my guess is that you may have to make

some sacrifices in order to arrive at your spiritual destination. Your destination is freedom. Freedom

from stress and from the repetition of the same patterns, like in the movie Groundhog Day—

repeating your patterns lifetime after lifetime.

In order to reach your freedom, you will need to live a simple, disciplined life. There are a

few techniques for this, including using your brilliant mind to simplify every single thing in your

life, to reduce distractions and manage stress. Another important technique is to keep the vertical

channels and energy vortexes in your body open from the top of your head all the way down to your

root, and to feel the breath circulating freely in between. It is helpful for most people to keep a fairly

regular schedule in order to be kind to the body. That means regular meals, clean food, clean air,

healthy movement, aerobic activity, regular bedtime, and some discipline in your daily life. A

simple lifestyle also means you don’t push yourself to exhaustion but take a break when it is

appropriate. This means you care for your body, your best feedback mechanism, and your only

vehicle in this life.

20
 In conclusion, to connect deeply to a transformational life is as simple as ABC. Ask, Be still,

and then Carry out your work in the world. In other words, build your foundation. If you fall down

from time to time, have a compassion for yourself. Just pick yourself up and keep going. I am here,

in this dimension, waiting for you to ask for my help. I invite you to ask. Use my wisdom to make

your path easier. And in your path, I wish you well.

3. My Five Auspicious Dreams and Their Meaning

Let go of the past,

Let go of the future,
Let go of the present moment,
You’ll go with a free heart
Beyond birth and death.

Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 348

The night before my enlightenment I had five very lucid dreams. They were so clear that it was

almost as if I was not dreaming. I recalled them perfectly. These dreams reassured me and gave me

the confirmation, the courage, and the inspiration to deepen my wish and strengthen my resolve to

21
complete my transformation—the seemingly impossible task of moving my awareness to the other

side and taking a quantum jump to be free forever from the chain of life and death and rebirth.

Dream #1

In the first dream, I was lying on the earth with my head resting on the Himalayas. My right hand

was in the eastern ocean and my left hand was to the west, on both sides of India. My feet were in

the ocean to the south. It was a comfortable and reassuring dream. It showed me, much to my

surprise, that perhaps I was to be more than the king I had been born to be, that I would be a kind of

a king of the earth. And that I would be comfortable and supported by the forces around me, that, in

a sense, the powers of nature had my back. I would be very powerful, able to help many people, but

the power would come from Nature, without effort or violence. I felt comfortable in my entire body,

and especially in my heart, resting on my home kingdom. I felt a kinship with the generosity of the

earth, as if my body was part of the earth and the nourishment was coming from the earth through

me, without necessarily being my own energy. Hence, I was invited to play a role that was given to

me without my having to reach outwardly for it. To be a king of that large area at that time was

surprising to me, and an auspicious sign of great support from the universe. In the dream, I felt

relaxed, and that the energy would be big enough and strong enough to carry me in my role as a

king of kings, without really being a king.

Dream #2

In the second dream, I felt a tree growing out of my belly. We called this tree a ksirika, a kind of

date palm. It sprouted out of my navel area and grew very tall up to the heavens. Yes, it felt as if the

nourishment of the earth and the sun within me had come together to produce a living plant

representing my good works. Again, this dream showed me that my body was full of rich energy

from the earth, that my pure wish could give rise to life, and that the vitality in my spiritual body

was strong and sufficient enough to offer great nourishment to other beings.

22
Dream #3

In the third dream, I saw white larvae with dark-colored heads crawling from my feet up my legs to

my knees. They were gentle and I was not frightened. I was a little surprised. I have always seen

insect larvae as something very sacred that can utterly transform at a special time in its life. It is a

young larva at one point, and goes into a quiet, sleeping period, and then it comes out completely

transformed. We romanticize the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. However,

remember that this transformation happens in every single species of insect. That is how I saw this

dream. That these things crawled up my feet as a sign of respect, and they could nourish themselves

with a rarefied energy and wisdom in order to complete their own transformation. These were not

earthworms. They were more like caterpillars. They were dry and white with horizontal bands

around them, and they had many little hooked feet. They were friendly creatures, and they looked a

little bit like monk worms, all wrapped up in white robes with their faces out. I am smiling as I say

this. But that’s what I saw.

Dream #4

In the fourth dream, four birds of different colors flew from the four cardinal directions, and they

came to sit at my feet. They turned white in color and just sat there, as if they knew why they were

there and were ready to listen to something. I took this as a very auspicious sign that the wisdom of

the bird kingdom also had come to pay its respect, putting on the white robes of a monk and even

listening at my feet. I saw this as acceptance and respect by the upper kingdoms of the air and the

heavens, from all the cardinal directions. And an affirmation of the power of peace. Yes, I saw this

as signifying that many different types and colors of people would come from all corners of the

earth to pay their respects, to listen, to participate, to support, to wear the robes, to transform their

lives. It showed me that all types of people from every walk of life could be part of the school of

Buddhism.

23
Dream #5

The fifth dream was the strangest of all. I was walking on a mountain of shit—yes, of human

excrement and filth and stinky garbage, and we all know these things get quite ripe in the warm

weather. So, there I was, standing and walking on a mountain of stinky shit and rotting stuff. But

my sandals and my body were clean. They didn’t get dirty. I felt virtuous and blessed, and I actually

felt empowered to be incredibly happy. I was just walking there, almost floating, totally undisturbed

by the stink. I was in a sense rising above my own personal garbage, my own humanity, and the

physical filth that all humans share as bodies in this earthly life. I was blessed and protected by

grace from any type of filth. I knew that I would be able to live in the physical world without being

dragged down by it. I could live in a human body without suffering. Thus this dream signified to me

that I could be free of the earthly realm, while living IN the earthly realm. I could be IN it and be

ABOVE it at the same time.

That is how I interpreted my five dreams. When I woke up, I was deeply moved to realize

how clear these dreams were, how potent in their meaning. It gave me great joy. And it gave me

that little ounce of energy to make the big jump to achieve my freedom. You could compare it to a

great Olympic athlete who has been training their whole life to win a gold medal. Something

wonderful happens to them the night before the athletic event that gives them hope. Just that little

nugget of encouragement might be enough to give them an extra ounce of energy to beat the world

record or beat their own record by a half-second less and win a gold medal.

I did not discuss my personal interpretations of these dreams in my time. Commentaries on

my dreams were added by other teachers after I passed on. However, I do not criticize or disagree

with their interpretations. Many great Bhikkhus came after me and have brought so much to this

ever-evolving Buddhist practice and lineage.

24
 So, these five dreams were a big inspiration for me on the last leg of my journey, for taking

the final leap into infinity. It was like I had broken the sound barrier and dissolved all the lower

tendencies in myself. And I was able to help break the barrier for so many people who came after

me, making it possible for them to achieve true transformation as a human being, to remove all

stress and transform into something much more than a human being, more like a superhuman, while

still living in a human body. Some people refer to Buddhism as a religion, but it’s actually more of a

science. It’s about aligning yourself in the physical realm to cosmic quantum energy.

This transformational miracle is available to every single person. I am describing it in simple

words so that you can find your own path. Deepen your internal wish, gather your strength and

courage, and find the inspiration you’ll need to take you over the edge for a permanent shift into a

stress-free life. That was my goal: a stress-less existence, freedom from the merry-go-round, the

exhausting cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. To embody universal truth is the culmination of any

true transformational practice.

I invite you to explore your deepest wish. What do you desire more than anything else in the

world? What is so important that you might even be willing to die in order to achieve it? Because

that was the level of my wish and my commitment. You will need an infinite wish, plus the

discipline, inner virtue, and all the self-observation tools I’m giving you.

And in your path, I wish you well.

25
 4. Reaching Out, Buddhism in Action

Beat anger by loving kindness,

Beat wrongdoing by goodness,
Beat selfishness by generosity,
Beat a liar by speaking the truth.

Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 223

Reaching out into the world, sometimes called “Buddhism in Action”, is one of the very most

challenging paths in which to devote yourself. I know you see many things in the world you would

like to change. However, I suggest caution for several reasons. One is that reaching into the world

will challenge your Buddhist practice so deeply that it is almost impossible to avoid getting sucked

into conflict. Because of this, I consider Buddhism in Action to be one of the most advanced areas

of the practice, appropriate only for those who are firmly and indelibly rooted and supported in their

Buddhist skills. The second reason for caution is that present conflicts in the world are very old,

with a complex history. In a sense, they have a life of their own, with threads that connect them.

Centuries-old karmic patterns link people and situations which are most likely beyond anyone’s

capacity to change or even understand. If it is your true and highest destiny to be one of those

world-changing Buddhists, then please be assured that you are a very special breed. However, since

I know you want to change the world, I will give you nine points to consider about applying

Buddhism in Action in your life.

1. First you must know—Who are you? What is your highest purpose?

On the Buddhist path, your goal is ultimate freedom and Nirvana. This is an accelerated path that is

26
very demanding and profound. It requires all of your energy. In a sense, to even consider extending

yourself into the world is a contradiction. You have chosen a path to leave the physical world, yet

you want to make it perfect for others? How is this possible? These stumbling blocks are the

reasons why Buddhism has not yet been widely used to relieve social suffering or confront

oppression.

Some Buddhist lineages have a concept of the Boddhisattva, a person who attains

awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings, or who has attained Buddhahood but stays in the

earthly realm to assist others in moving beyond suffering. When skillfully applied, Buddhism in

Action can help you deepen your practice, refine your understanding of effective means, and test

your capacity for detachment. It is an opportunity for serious practitioners to carry the wisdom of

the Dharma and your insights from meditation, into real-world situations. You can bring

compassion, a peaceful heart, and practical solutions to issues in the world. But doing this by

yourself is very difficult. To remember who you are, and what is your highest purpose will be easier

if your Buddhism in Action project also includes your group of dedicated practitioners.

2. Observe the struggles.

Buddhists have an unusual capacity for empathy and compassion. It is important to be personally

aware of the suffering of others in order to take on this responsibility. Learn to listen carefully, to

see from every point of view. Most social struggles are fueled by ignorance, greed, hatred, fear, and

illusion. As a Buddhist, you must move beyond these distortions. Otherwise, you will create lasting

trauma for those involved, and you will ultimately fail.

Yes, struggles are fueled by greed and all the lower habits however, more often it is simply

due to a form of ignorance arising from a naïve relationship to the realities and consequences of our

actions. Struggles come from a lack of awareness about these interrelationships and the potential

27
results of your actions. Hence, compassion for all participants is necessary. With mindfulness, we

must look closely at uncomfortable social issues. This is difficult for all, especially those in

privileged positions. The powerful are often more trapped than the oppressed. Both oppressed and

oppressor have difficulty practicing mindfulness. Only after skilled and detached observing will the

possibility of action present itself to you. Using your mindfulness practice, you have an opportunity

to learn what to do and what not to do.

3. Practice and teach the Loving Kindness Meditation.

The loving kindness meditation is a powerful tool to help people at all levels maintain an open mind

and avoid slipping into polarized emotional patterns.

Start the meditation by cultivating kindness toward yourself; then give kindness to those

whom you love; then to people that you do not necessarily know; and finally, to your enemies, the

most challenging group to embrace with compassion.

28
4. Take practical, skillful action without any anger or sense of opposition.

Skillful action means you speak mindfully and kindly, fostering friendship and avoiding animosity.

It means you practice kindness in all your actions. You practice diligent integrity, supporting people

and organizations that clearly demonstrate a wish to create a better world for all.

Practical, efficient action also applies to times when it is better to do nothing. To wait. You

should act only when you see a good possibility of success. The secret to success is to find the

appropriate action at the optimum time, like a perfect key that fits the lock of a particular situation

to unravel disharmony and bring a positive resolution.

A consummate sense of timing is essential. You must act only when appropriate for you and

the situation. You must know how to do nothing, how to be patient, how to ride the wave, and how

to be ready to act when it is time, and then act swiftly. This means that you observe and know when

a situation has reached critical mass before acting. Be aware that the pendulum or movement in a

cycle can swing radically in either direction, allowing an awake strategist to seize the moment. As

usual, your primary effort is to maintain your own clarity and your root grounding in the Dharma.

With proper timing, it is possible to build a grassroots effort without polarizing people. You

can bring people together, avoiding the centuries old game of divide-and-conquer. If you are able to

effect change, it will be through compassionate dialogue, with respect for all people and all points

of view, and by allowing free will.

Practical, peaceful solutions are always present. For example, you could divest yourself of

organizations that demonstrate a lack of integrity. Or you could request the withdrawal of subsidies

from undeserving organizations. You could suggest halting dangerous methods of extracting

resources from the earth, or applying toxic substances, as this causes stress in the natural world.

Buddhists protect all living beings. However, we do not participate in polarized ideologies or

divisive arguments. Proactively, you could encourage investment in harmonious energy methods.

29
You could ask for a plan for a particular group, or for the earth. You can always be hopeful, using

prayer and visualization.

5. To assist mankind requires detachment.

Being a Bodhisattva in service to mankind means reaching out from a state of detached wisdom.

That’s easy to say, but what does detachment mean? Buddhist detachment means your mind is free,

unencumbered by emotion, and open to discover, yet at the same time you are deeply immersed and

committed to all of life. Only then can your actions bring fruit. The challenges that you encounter

while reaching into the world can deepen your inner practice. Intelligent, skillful actions come from

your higher insight, not from your assumptions. Use your detached mental clarity to speak the truth.

Demonstrate your objectivity to point out fallacies, partial truths, and limited superficial thinking.

Do not be drawn into choosing sides when both sides may be in error. Buddhism is essentially an

apolitical practice. Therefore, you should focus on the core issues of the moment, not on the parties,

the divisions, or the ideology.

30
6. Never lower your expectations. Be patient.

Keep your standards high. Remember your highest desire for happiness and freedom, bringing the

smaller desires into harmony with it by following the Four Noble Truths. If removal of suffering is

your goal, make it long-lasting by releasing the deepest core tensions in a situation and bringing

enlightened harmony to each individual involved. Do not sacrifice the integrity of your own practice

for the sake of someone else’s perceived benefit, no matter how great it may seem. Focus on the

highest good for all.

Be patient and realistic in your expectations. Do not expect too much too fast. Complex

societal issues have deep and ancient roots beyond most people’s ability to comprehend, let alone to

untangle. Ask for guidance and listen. This is not about you or your desires. Remember that

spiritual transformation happens at its own pace, one person at a time. Fostering individual

awakening in the ranks can eventually bring about a change in a group, and in all of mankind.

7. Use courageous confrontation, crazy wisdom.

Be fearless to speak the truth no matter what the odds or temptations. Speak the truth humbly. Be

open to facing conflict at the proper time and place. Remember that freedom will never be

voluntarily given by an oppressor. In most cases, it must be demanded by the oppressed. Even a

well-timed confrontation will feel too slow for those oppressed; yet, it will feel too sudden and

poorly timed to the oppressor.

There is a karmic element to every oppression on both sides. Yes, it is a positive goal to

ensure all beings an opportunity to improve their social status and their karma. The oppressed

deserve support. It is difficult enough for them to work through their own internal challenges,

without adding insult to injury by being constantly pushed down by their environment.

Be courageous and creative in your tactics. Learn from the Buddhist “crazy wisdom”

tradition. Unconventional, outrageous, and unpredictable behavior can spark insight. “Holy

31
madmen” are spiritual adepts known for their enlightened perspective and uninhibited wisdom.

They see the rest of the world as utterly mad and inebriated with bewildering thoughts and

emotions. Holy madmen are, however, hardly mad. At the core of their maverick expression is

superior spiritual awareness with the realization of the impermanence of all things. Having

transcended societal norms, these highly awakened individuals make strategic use of their madness

in joyful actions and teachings. Take inspiration from historical movers and changers such as

Padmasambhava, Drukpa Kunley, and the Zen poet Han-shan.

8. Be an Example.

Perhaps the most powerful thing you can offer Buddhism in Action is to be a good example. Be a

guide toward mindfulness, a freethinker. Be unbound by ideology, dogma, and even Buddhist

concepts. Teach the Dharma. You are not tied by prejudice, ignorance, or any organizational

affiliation. Set an example by living simply and sharing resources mindfully, keeping only those

few possessions that bring harmony and benefit to all.

Go ahead, live your radically different path while you share it with others. Allow them to

see it and be inspired. Be a symbol of clarity and equanimity. People will appreciate your path of

possibility, awakening, compassionate service, and discernment. You can reassure others of the

value of their lives, letting them know they are far more than a consumer or slave. The new path for

the earth is to teach the interdependency of all things and to respect natural harmony.

Set an example by practicing daily prayer for change and visualizing positive resolution.

Demonstrate your effort to be free of false or polarizing concepts. Show respect for your body, and

the bodies of others, to promote health, happiness, and loving relationships. Be an example of

humility, fully aware that your understanding is limited. When you do not know something, just say

so.

32
9. Inspire others.

If you do nothing else, inspire others to be their best. Focus your mind on what is wonderful and

refreshing in each situation. Use every opportunity, every possible moment, to plant seeds of joy,

peace, and understanding in yourself and others.

The essence of peaceful, permanent change is Love. Out of love comes your willingness to

act selflessly to search for strategies and techniques; this will occur to you naturally in a higher state

of mind. Help others see that peaceful action born of an awareness of suffering, nurtured by love,

can lead to win-win solutions for all of humanity.

Know that reaching out into the world with Buddhism in Action will challenge every bone in your

body. So please proceed with caution. And in your path, I wish you well.

33
 5. Sex and Celibacy on the Buddhist Path

Those who focus on balancing

Pure and impure in the body and senses,

Who are faithful and hardworking,

Can never be overwhelmed by illusion,

Like stormy winds can never move

A mountain of rock.

Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 8

I don't have to tell you that sexuality is one of the most powerful energies that we experience in

our earthly lives. Sexuality has threads that extend into all dimensions and layers of the body, mind,

and spirit. And it is an area of great confusion for humans. There are many approaches to it, and

various lineages and practices deal with sex in different ways. In my schools, we had very strict

rules for the monks about associating with females, and about regulating their feelings of sexual

desire. Any infraction was deemed necessary to confess to the proper authority, and this was

somewhat effective to keep the monks from distraction.

Strict Rules of Sexual Conduct

Sex is not a good thing for monks in training. As you know, in the different stages of life, sexuality

can be very, very distracting. The training endeavors to focus the life force in a very different

direction, towards an enlightened goal of personal freedom. Think about it like this: Water is a

powerful universal element that can nourish and cleanse. Water naturally flows down. All rivers

34
flow in a downward direction toward the ocean. Water circulates, seeps, flows, and gets into

everything, and so does sexuality. However in spiritual training, we are diverting the river to go

upward! Yes, in the opposite direction, against all those rising teenage hormonal tendencies. And

this takes a great deal of focused energy. Think about it. To reverse the direction of the flow of the

river or life force, requires total concentration of the body, mind, and spirit. Altering its direction

upward toward spiritual freedom changes a person’s destiny, in which they are no longer subject to

Samsara, the usual timeline of repeated lives. This is why celibacy was a strict rule for the monks. I

required them to be celibate, and I set the example.

Your human life is a result of sexual activity. Your existence represents an intimate link in a long

chain of lives, destinies, actions, reactions, memories, and Karma going back countless generations.

Sexuality between people creates deep bonding, threads of connection, responsibilities, and

especially it creates children. Engaging in sex is a bit like stepping into a messy cesspool that sets in

motion chains of sticky relationships and human Karma that accumulates over time. To engage in

pure sexual activity without bringing along the web of world confusion requires the very highest

level of skill and Buddhist clarity. This is another reason we required celibacy for those choosing a

spiritual path.

Higher Consciousness and Sexuality

For an advanced spiritual practitioner, however, at a certain point sex is no longer a distraction.

It can be an energetic benefit if done with great respect and awareness. The pure practice of

integrating your physical body, energy body, and emotions on a higher plane, and being one

hundred present in the moment with a beloved who is doing the same, can be so illuminating and

arousing on every level of being that it can lift your spirit into another level of functioning in human

35
existence. Sex is designed to serve your evolution, to integrate higher wisdom within the whole

being.

Most humans living in your time are in kindergarten with regard to sex. The true power of sex is

so magnificent that it can free and unify the body, mind, and spirit on a very high level. When

engaged with a high level of consciousness, sex can smooth out the rough areas, clear the nooks and

crannies, and release deep tensions that have been held for eons. Conscious sex can enliven the

body-mind-spirit in such a way that it vitalizes the meridians, nadis, the energy channels and points

in the body, to benefit your life. It will definitely help if you can keep your body in the best

condition, your thoughts clean, and your focus clear and harmonious. To cultivate the power of sex

for spiritual growth has nothing to do with your sexual position, how many times you orgasm,

whether you ejaculate or not. It has only to do with your integrated focus and union with the

Oneness, and being present in the moment, just like every other activity you engage in. Take it easy

and practice at your own pace, if you so desire.

Celibacy in My Life

I was celibate for long periods of time in my life. I was married at the age of sixteen and

enjoyed sexual relations with my wife until I left home at twenty-nine. I remained celibate for many

years. After my enlightenment, I was celibate for another eight years. Later on, I had three partners

with whom I shared sexual relations. They were not nuns in the order, but very advanced

practitioners and close female friends with whom I chose to have a release and sharing on a very

high level. I was discreet, and my caretaker Ananda knew about it. He was my trusted confidant.

These three sexual liaisons served my highest path and lasted for many years until I was about sixty

years old.

36
 I am not saying that sex is acceptable for advanced Buddhist practitioners. I am not suggesting

that you have multiple sexual partners. Not at all. Every spiritual lineage has its prescribed way

of dealing with sexual energy. There are different stages to your physical and spiritual

development, and every person's path is unique. Therefore, you must find the lineage and

approach to sex that is most beneficial for you and those close to you.

Loving Kindness and Integrity

Many spiritual leaders have claimed to be celibate but were engaging in sex with their students

in secret. This shameful, two-faced cover-up does a terrible disservice to the teacher’s spiritual

integrity and to the well-being of any organization that believes him to be celibate. All actions

rooted in selfish desire and arrogance inevitably make a mark in the universe and have a negative

result.

One reason sex is viewed with such great suspicion is because it is a strong desire, a powerful

force of attraction, and people tend to overstep the bounds of integrity. So we have traditions here in

India where there are very strict rules about sex, and you have Victorian morality in the West. There

are many beliefs about limiting sexual activities, and this is sometimes helpful for people in

kindergarten. However, it also creates great confusion. Perhaps as your society moves through the

calendar of the eons, humans will learn to better cultivate and use the power of their sexuality.

So, for practical considerations, I encourage you to enjoy sex with great care and integrity. Just

try to focus on sharing, touching, and on being totally present in the moment with your partner,

giving and receiving pleasure. The body was built to enjoy. It may surprise you to know that the

orgasm is not limited to the sexual organs. You can have an orgasm in any internal organ, and in the

cells of your body. An orgasm is just a vortex of utter joy, and the whole body is conscious. If you

weren't so wrapped up in distractions and things you've been told about sex, you might have

37
experienced that already. You can do it this very moment. Just close your eyes and bring joy into

your body with your breath. You can experience some kind of an orgasm relatively quickly in few

minutes, with or without a partner. But this is not widely practiced. Most people focus on the sexual

organs, and that is fine.

Cosmic Joy in Body, Mind, and Spirit

The highest experience of joy in your world is a complete and total union and harmony in

body, mind, and spirit. How can it be otherwise? You can experience great joy in many ways.

You can feel joy when someone you truly respect recognizes you and pays you an honest

compliment. You can experience great joy in tasting delicious food prepared with love. You feel

it going into your every cell to nourish you and bring joy. When you are on a path to freedom,

you naturally seek those sweet spots of happy harmony. Where do you feel this joy? You feel it

in your heart, you feel it in your body, your mind, and your organs. It is a penetrating joy that

spreads and touches everything in your past, present, future, and your true destiny.

We search for sources of joy in our environment. We look for places where we have previously

experienced joy in order to feel it again. We find joy in relationships, in music, in water, in food,

in beauty and truth. In the deepest sense, this is simply a desire for wholeness and unity with the

source. The source of all is the oneness, the root and the infinite power of unity. This is why

people pursue a spiritual life.

It is natural to desire to feel great joy in the body. You want to experience integrated joy that

permeates every part of you. That includes the mind, the spirit, and the body. As I have said,

every part of the body, mind, and spirit can experience so much joy that it is a kind of orgasm.

Like a vibration, an explosion, it feels like a release and a confirmation on all levels. The body

is designed to procreate with joy. Some people experience the greatest joy in their lives in that

38
sexual act. And this is wonderful. But what if you could experience that joy, that ecstatic union

of oneness in body, mind, and spirit, without exchanging fluids with another person?

Yes, you can find it through different visualizations and by focusing the mind, because the mind

is the source of all. In your exploration of joy in the body, I encourage you to find the highest

ways to unify your very being on all levels. How much joy can you stand? Will you explode?

Will you die? To find your highest truth, you must be willing to face dissolution and death.

These are the existential questions that I had to answer in my deepest meditation before

enlightenment to discover the keys to freedom that I give you in this book.

In teaching the monks, I tried to shield them from the obvious distractions of physical sex in

order to allow them to open new neural pathways to the divine. This is a very important part of

the path, and that is why celibacy in the monks was absolutely required. In my personal

experience, I did explore that gray area of sexual joy and cosmic joy with another person. This

is a very advanced practice that is mostly unknown in your time, so I caution you against

pursuing sex as a spiritual path. My experiences were divinely inspired with highly evolved

practitioner partners. They involved mental focus, visualization, deep sharing, and did not

include ejaculation or sexual exchange in a physical sense.

I say with a smile that there's a long line of thousands of unborn children up there in the

cosmos waiting and looking for a joyful sexual union that is respectful and clean, with a

beautiful orgasm, so they can slip into an earthly life with you. Sex can be a portal for creating a

new life, and this can be a wonderful thing. Use sex as an opportunity to practice higher

awareness and unity with the oneness from which you came. Abandon yourself to the pleasure.

Make love with kindness and integrity. As you discover the joy of sharing sex and being one

hundred percent in the moment with your beloved, please be mindful. Do it with great

consciousness.

39
 Promiscuous sex is to be avoided. That’s also because it takes time and patience to develop

an intimate understanding of another’s body and inner special qualities to really be present in

the moment with a beloved. Promiscuity tends to be superficial sex. And at all times, keep in

mind that any sexual act that is selfish or doesn't hold the other partner in safety and respect is

just another ego-centric, inconsiderate, and self-centered act that will bring a result that you

won’t like. Remember, every action is recorded in the universe. It exists in perpetuity and never

fades away. So, use your sexual energy wisely for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The purpose of any higher practice is to “upgrade” a human being, essentially to break the

almost inevitable fate of Samsara, or to repeat lifetime after lifetime of suffering. The discipline

to limit sexual activity effectively closes-off a part of the natural destiny to procreate, which re-

directs the body liquids and energies in a different direction. This serves the overarching goal of

my teachings. Buddhism offers a practical pathway to lift people out of the biological heritage

they are born into, in order to embody the flowering of something almost superhuman, to realize

higher evolution.

I invite you to pursue that ultimate, overwhelming experience of joy in every part of your

life and every step of your path toward freedom. Pure infinite joy is your guide, as it balances

and nourishes your body, mind, and spirit in all dimensions of time and space. And in your path,

I wish you well.

40
 6. Plenty of Reasons to Be Angry

My friends, anger is the one thing to give up,

And you will be assured of freedom
From the cycle of birth and death.
Those enraged with anger
End up in a grueling existence.
Those with insight let it go,
Never to return to this world again.

Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Itivuttaka #4

What is Anger?

Anger is an emotional reaction in which a person feels limited, held down, imprisoned, or held

hostage in a way that prevents them from being or doing as they wish. We think of anger as

41
negative. However, anger is very often a healthy response. Its powerful energy demands a change,

and when used wisely, anger can be channeled into a positive transformation or outcome.

Think of a situation in which you became angry. Normally it may require some time for you

to be aware of an injustice or to fully experience the reaction to being held down. For most people,

it takes time for anger to develop. However, once it does, anger has a burning quality that is very

difficult to quell.

In the Buddhist view, we consider anger to be an emotion that distorts perception. Like all

emotions, anger alters your ability to see clearly. This makes rational action difficult. Once you

have become possessed by the emotion of anger, your perceptions will be unreliable. Therefore,

anger is to be carefully observed and avoided, as it often leads us to react in ways that cause

unhappiness.

Why is it better not to react with anger? When you are free from an emotional reaction, you

are able to clearly perceive an injustice. You are more aware and balanced and can respond to the

situation carefully and correct it more easily.

Some situations can cause anger to arise within minutes. This type of anger is much easier to

resolve and remove because it has not yet become a pattern. Other types of situations create anger

over a long period of time. For instance, when someone has been discriminated against as a lower

caste or considered inferior, someone who has been treated unfairly or experienced true injustice for

years, deep anger can begin to burn within their being. The anger can create deep trauma, which, if

not resolved, will go with them to the grave, only to be dealt with in future lives. The fact is that

many people are carrying anger from past lives. It subtly seeps into your current awareness and

affects your perceptions, coloring them, and leads you to react in certain habitual ways that do not

serve you.

42
Anger Can Make You Sick

Our discussion on anger would be incomplete if we did not mention that holding onto anger can

make you sick. It can make you so sick that you can die. The worst thing you can do with anger is

to repress it, pretending you don't mind when something or someone upset you—as if you’re above

it all. Even worse is to whitewash your anger and try to fool yourself and others by pretending to be

extra happy in spite of it.

Frequently, we are completely unaware of deep anger that has been held for a long time.

This creates a terrible burden and chronic stress in the body. For example, I know a man whose

young infant daughter was abused sexually by a family member. He became so angry that he left

the family business and moved out of town. As a result, he became the first person in his family to

get an education. He became a respected teacher. When he retired, he dedicated his life to helping

hundreds of poor families. He used his anger to uplift his life and make himself a better person.

People loved him, and his immediate family benefitted from his effort. The only problem was that

this man did not know how to release his anger toward the family member that had committed the

offense, and the anger was so deep that he suffered greatly, carrying this unspoken trauma his whole

life. He ultimately died from a disease related to anger because he didn’t know how to release it.

Therefore, you must dissolve your anger. You always have a choice. You can give up your

anger, or you can cling to the anger by refusing to release it. You can add fuel to the fire by thinking

about it, talking about it, or acting on it. These options only make anger burn hotter, and can lead

you to a hellish, cursed existence that you don't want to have in this life or in the future. If you insist

upon holding your anger, it is very difficult to make progress in any other area of your life.

Associating with angry people can also make you angry. If your goal is to be a complete human

being, someone who is happy and content, then I advise you not to associate with extremely

emotional people, and especially not with angry people.

43
 We have a tendency to want to bring another person to justice. An eye for an eye. We feel

they should suffer the way we did. If another person makes a mistake, notice it, see it with clarity. It

is not necessary for you to judge or bring them to justice or seek revenge. Every action has a record

in the universe, and a person cannot escape the consequences of their actions. That person is

responsible for all of their actions in perpetuity. You are only responsible for releasing your anger

completely. I know you may want to try to remedy the situation, and that may be possible, but it

must be done from a state of pure clarity.

In the West, you have a concept of forgiveness, and this is wonderful. In the East, we have

words that mean to have patience, to endure, to apologize; but these words are not exactly the same

as forgiveness. I’m sorry to say that forgiveness either means that you have successfully dissolved

the anger completely, which is wonderful, or you have stifled and stuffed it down even deeper.

Denial is not an effective remedy for anger. It can make you sick.

Your anger has nothing to do with another person. Your anger belongs to you, and it is your

responsibility to heal it. Yes, your anger may have an object, such as a person. But this is an illusion

in your imagination. Because if you look more deeply, you may see that this person merely

represents a situation that has been making its way toward you for some time. Therefore, I suggest

you not be attached to the object of your anger. Just accept it as your anger. More often than not,

your anger has only an indirect relationship to that person or situation.

Anger Can Be Beneficial

44
One beneficial side to anger is that it can touch you deeply and thus allow you to summon your

inner resources for positive good. If something touches you so deeply that you become angry, it is a

wonderful opportunity for you to use that powerful energy for a beneficial outcome. It can help you

to make an effort to change your life so that you are transformed and become a better person. The

more times you transform the energy of anger, the less often you will experience it.

Method to Transform Anger

Yes, there are many reasons to be angry in this world. And you may believe that harnessing the

burning power of this anger is beneficial for you and others. However, if you think that directing the

anger energy toward other people will bring good into the world, you are terribly mistaken. All you

will do is magnify and amplify the amount of anger in the world. And I know that is not your

objective.

You must first find a place of balance in yourself from which you can rationally, without

emotional distortion, digest the factors you wish to confront. You must create equanimity and

respect for others and draw together the power of the universe within you. You must harness the

power in me and all the other guides and forces. Then, you will truly have the most powerful team.

I'm sorry if this feels like the long way, but I assure you, it is the only permanent way.

One example of how to deal with anger is to think loving and positive thoughts about the

person you imagine yourself to be angry with. Remember, your anger has nothing to do with any

other person. It is your own drama. If you have not yet expressed your anger, meaning you are not

yet entangled in a battle, this method can work. First, be aware that your anger exists. Accept the

fact that you are angry. Notice it. Observe yourself planning revenge and retribution. Then play a

game with your mind. Train your mind to think only positive loving thoughts about that other

person. Breathe loving thoughts into that field. Imagine what that person would really like, how you

45
could bring that person joy in a small way. Notice all their fine qualities, and how much you love

them.

Yes, really do a trip on yourself. Every time a feeling of anger enters your mind, turn it into

love. Breathe deeply and feel nothing but love, compassion, and respect for that person. List their

wonderful qualities to help you train your mind to see a new perspective and raise yourself out of

the slime. This is the path. Don’t expect someone else to do this for you. Have patience. It might

take a while for this to work and become a habit. But it is a powerful habit, and good training for

you. With this habit, you can not only dissolve your own anger, you will be able to shift the whole

situation into something extraordinarily positive. This method, however, is not for the weak.

Heal Anger Once and for All

First, be aware of the anger. You must face it straight on, accept that you are angry and upset. You

must feel the burning inside of you and be aware that is it is a kind of sickness, a distortion of your

true clarity and happiness. That’s the first step.

Next, you must wish to be free of the anger. Yes, you must make a wish. Because you will

need help. It is difficult to quell and cool anger that has been burning and festering for a long time.

Then, there is the process of taking it apart surgically. You can talk about it with a friend or advisor.

You can do intense exercise or athletic yoga and burn it out that way.

You must try to keep your mind open to a different way of perceiving or seeing the

situation. It is very helpful to feel compassion for the other party or object of your anger. if you

46
know who or what it is. If you are angry at a person or a situation, then you can quietly make an

effort to understand how this came about, because it may not be evil in nature. It may be an accident

or an unconscious act without any animosity or hatred. It may also be a situation where animosity is

being directed at you by someone who suffers from their own irrational fear or past trauma. Your

anger is yours. Breathe into it and allow it to cool down. This process may take minutes, hours,

days, or weeks.

I cannot give the exact pathway for you. These are some tools you can use. But I will tell

you that the goal in dissolving your anger is simply for your mind to be quiet, like the calm surface

of a beautiful pond. When you wake up in the morning, check in with yourself. If your mind is calm

like a beautiful pond, then you have succeeded. You’ll deserve a big gold star and you should

reward yourself in a way that recognizes and honors your enormous accomplishment. I’m giving

you the tools. Try them and see how they work for you.

In conclusion, angry thoughts, actions, and words can never be taken back. They go into the

permanent fabric of reality and can never be undone. They will always come back to taunt you, to

haunt you, or to haunt someone else. I guarantee it. You can succumb to anger in a mere second.

But notice how long it takes to clear the distortion, lift yourself out of the mud, and re-balance your

nervous system. In one moment, you can lose years of transformational work. When you feel anger,

remember that it is perfectly normal. Have compassion for yourself and do not shoot yourself in the

foot or cause even more suffering by being angry at your anger. That would be stupid. Just take a

breath, and know it is a normal, healthy reaction. The enlightened person looks at it calmly, takes

ten deep breaths, sees the situation from another point of view, and works to change their frame of

mind until they succeed in releasing the anger.

Dissolving your anger is a virtuous and noble task. It helps every sentient being in the

universe. And in your path, I wish you well.

47
Target Market:
Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations
The target market is:
1. All human beings who have hearts.
2. Anyone wishing to reduce stress and be happy.
3. People with an interest in meditation
4. 47 million US baby boomers and seniors, a demographic group that will soon double.
5. People of all ages interested in spiritual awakening.
6. Anyone concerned about social change with integrity.
7. Buddhists of every level interested in hearing directly from the master.
8. Homes for the elderly, Hospice organizations.
9. New age book stores.
10. Fans of my other books.

Google Search Trends is a reliable indicator of increasing interest over time. It shows a stable
and rapidly growing USA market for the following subjects. Log into google and see this link:
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?

48
Marketing: Buddha Speak, Channeled Conversations
I will market this book through social networking, on my websites, spiritual magazines, and through
our Buddhist teaching events. This book will be a textbook for my workshops “Channeling the
Masters”. I will promote the book to people that attend my husband Lama D’s Mindfulness
Buddhism Lecture Tours at Buddhist centers, and through our network of followers.

1. Social Networking articles and campaigns on our Facebook Pages and Facebook group
• https://www.facebook.com/whitetigerbhutan/
• https://www.facebook.com/fiveseasonsmedicine/
• https://www.facebook.com/srijana1080
• https://www.facebook.com/lamadpowerdharma/

2. Web articles and online book sales

• www.FiveSeasonsMedicine.com
• www.BuddhaSpeaks.com – coming soon
• www.WhiteTigerBhutan.com – coming soon
• www.PowerDharma.com – coming soon

3. I will publish articles and buy ad space in top Buddhist and Spiritual magazines.
• Tricycle Magazine | The Buddhist Review,
• Lion's Roar Magazine
• Buddha Weekly Online Magazine
• Buddhism Now Magazine
• Mountain Record Magazine
• Yoga Journal
• Elephant Journal
• Ascent Magazine
• LA Yoga
• Clarity Magazine
• Integral Yoga Magazine
• http://newageebook.com/new-age-book-promotions/

4. Buddhist Fundraising events and Buddhist Center gift shops

5. As a textbook for my Buddhist workshops in Bhutan and Bali with my husband, Lama
Dungtsho.

49
Comparative Titles
Buddha Speaks, Channeled Conversations with the Master
This book is practical advice, something like “Conversations with God” meets “Outwitting the
Devil” by Napoleon Hill. Or “The Celestine Prophecy” meets “Chicken Soup for the Soul”.

1. Channeling with Buddha: Find Enlightenment to Heal Your Life, by Corinne Urakawa,
BalboaPress – Hay House, 2007. (This is a beautiful channeled work. My book is different,
more complex, directed towards a potentially more sophisticated and advanced audience.)

2. The Buddha Speaks: A Book of Guidance from the Buddhist Scriptures,

by Anne Bancroft, Shambala, 2010. Here is the core of the Buddha’s teaching in his own
words, as it was memorized word-for-word by his disciples and written down two hundred
years after his death. (Her book consists of various selections from the Pali canon ancient
texts expertly reframed in modern English. She uses one primary translator: Edward Conze.
She does not disclose the specific passage number she is reframing. My book is different as
it is channeled chapters each on a particular topic. My working title is different: just two
words “Buddha Speaks”.)

3. Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, by Neale Donald Walsch, G. P.

Putnam's Sons, 1996. (His book is actual conversations. My book is channeled chapters on
subjects chosen by the Buddha.)

4. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and
Liberation, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Harmony; 1st Broadway Books, 1999. (His is a beautiful
and lengthy introduction to the core teachings of Buddhism. My book is channeled words
directly from the Buddha.)

5. Touching the Earth: Intimate Conversations with the Buddha, by Thich Nhat Hanh,
Parallax Press, 2004

6. Conversations with Buddha: A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts, by

Joan Duncan Oliver, Watkins Publishing, November 2019. Imagined by one of the world's
leading experts on Buddhism, this fictionalized conversation presents the essential
biography of its famously wise founder, in a relaxed chat with the Buddha.

7. Coffee with The Buddha, by Joan Duncan Oliver, Duncan Baird, 2007. Hardcover 4.2 x
0.8 x 4.8 in. The Way of the Bodhisattva becomes clear as The Buddha speaks here about
suffering and the hardships of life (reminding us that help is always near), impermanence,
reincarnation, karma, desire, morality, mindfulness, compassion, love, and the body.

8. Conversations with the Buddha, by Alexander Duncan, lulu.com, December, 2018. This
is an Intellectual series from public talks given at the Buddha Center in 2014-2015 by Tseten
Thokmey, the Buddhist name of Alexander Duncan. This book examines the 34 suttas of the
Digha Nikaya, the first book of the Sutta Pitaka, comprising the oldest extant introduction to
the teachings of Siddhartha Gotama the Buddha.

50
Comparative Titles, cont.

9. The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure, by James Redfield, Warner Books, 1997

10. Way of The Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives, by Dan Millman, Peaceful
Warrior ePublishing, 2010

11. Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, Joachim Neugroschel (Translator), Penguin Classics;

Deluxe edition, 2002. Siddhartha is a novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual
journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama
Buddha. The book, Hesse's ninth novel, was written in German, published in the U.S. in
1951.

12. Living Buddha, Living Christ: 20th Anniversary Edition, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Riverhead
Books, 2007. "[Thich Nhat Hanh] shows us the connection between personal, inner peace
and peace on earth." --His Holiness The Dalai Lama

13. Thus Speaks Buddha, by GUTUL, SELF, 2019. In this book Buddha speaks directly and
clearly about many of the most challenging questions in Buddhism regarding the Universe
and life. These questions include what the Universe was, is and will be, what reincarnation
or rebirth is, what gets reincarnated, what Karma, "Spirit" or "Seed" is, what emptiness is,
what, Nirvana is. GUTUL is said to be a unified reincarnation of Aristotle, Buddha, Laozi,
Spinoza, Newton, Kant, Marx, and Einstein, the greatest thinkers of human history.
http://www.nerri.org/en/gutul-on-gutul/

14. Buddha Speaks: Messages From An Ascended Master, by Cindy Riggs, CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. Through universal channel Cindy Riggs, the
Buddha speaks enlightening information to assist in the evolution of human consciousness.
This book is a compilation of Buddha’s channeled including exercises for elevating your
vibrational frequency. Multi-dimensionally encoded into his words are compassion and
loving energy, with which you are also blessed as you read, so that you may awaken further
spiritual awareness. CindyRiggs.com

15. The Wisdom of the Buddha: Heart Teachings in His Own Words (Shambhala Pocket
Library), by Anne Bancroft, Shambhala, 2017. "A treasury of teachings, stories, and sayings
in the words of the Buddha himself. In their essence, the Buddha’s teachings are concerned
with a clear-eyed understanding of the reality of our suffering and pointing the way to
freedom from that suffering. Anne Bancroft, 95, is the author of many books on Buddhism:
Zen, Direct Pointing to Reality, Weavers of Wisdom. She lives in England.

16. Deepak Chopra Presents: Buddha - A Story of Enlightenment, Dynamite Entertainment,

2010. A colorful comic-book dramatization of the Buddha’s life. The young man in line for
the throne is trapped in his father's kingdom and yearns for the outside world. Siddhartha
abandons his palace and princely title. Alone and face-to-face with his demons, he becomes
a wandering monk and embarks on a spiritual fast that carries him to the brink of death and
finally an awakening that would rock the world.

51
Three Products of Authentic Buddha Quotes

How I Select & Translate Quotes from Original Texts

I select relevant, short quotes very carefully. Many of the Buddha’s actual words are inappropriate
for modern audiences. His responses were often long, repetitive, complex, and difficult to translate.
The Buddha gave many long lectures, and very few general rules or pronouncements of what to do.

The Sources: My favorite resources for short quotes by the Buddha are found in these texts:

Pali Canon:
1. Dhammapada, 423 Verses in 26 Chapters.
2. Samyutta Nikaya “Connected Discourses” in the Sutta Pitaka
3. Udana, “Inspired Utterances” in the Khuddaka Nikaya
4. Anguttara Nikaya, “Numerical Discourses” In the Sutta Pitaka
5. Majjhima Nikaya, “Collection of Middle-Length Discourses in the Sutta Pitaka
6. Itivuttaka, called "As it was said" in the Khuddaka Nikaya

Tibetan Kangyur
1. Tibetan Degé Kangyur 1, Vinayavastupravrajyavastu
2. Tibetan Kangyur, Toh 95, Lalita¬Vistara
3. Tibetan Kangyur, ༄༅། །ཤེས་(ིན་+ི་པ། , Dasasahasrikaprajñaparamita, The Play in Full

Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, from Chinese: 四十二章經

The Buddha's words parallel those of Jesus Christ

The Buddha lived five hundred years before Christ, yet their messages are similar. Christ said: “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Buddha said: "Consider others as yourself.” The
Buddha said: "Give when you are asked” and Christ said: "Give to anyone who requests it”. Both
Christ and Buddha altered the course of humanity in their time.

52
Buddha did not consider himself a religious figure.
He was never worshipped as a God or the son of God. The Buddha is seen as a highly evolved man
who found the way and showed it to others. The Buddha was born into a royal family and a culture
that already had an established tradition of asceticism, meditation, and chanting. Many other
Buddhas (awakened ones) had come before him. He refined the ancient practices in himself and
infused the tradition with potent clarity that still endures today.

This is a manuscript of the Buddha’s words from the Pali Canon written on a palm leaf about two
thousand years ago. Pali was an oral dialect related to Sanskrit, spoken in some parts of India at the
time the Buddha lived. Other texts I use are from Tibetan Kangyur prayer pages, translated by the
team at 84000.co of the Khyentse Foundation.

Imagine the difficulty to decipher and translate these words faithfully after they've disintegrated for
two thousand years! To read the ancient script and reframe the Buddha’s meaning in English
requires an almost incomprehensible level of patience, scholarship and linguistic ability. I read
many translations and infuse them with modern words. I’m grateful to these fine translators.

53
Buddha Speaks Quotes:
How Are My Buddha Quotes Unique in the World?
I’ve put a fresh, modern twist on the serious scriptures, to make people smile. The Buddha spoke
common-sense clarity that still uplifts millions of lives. Yet his precise meaning can become twisted
or austere in the challenges of translating. I want my quotes to sparkle with his true intention.

1. My quotes are authentic, not made-up.

Most people are completely unaware that over half of the Buddha quotes we hear are most likely
made-up. Some are partly made-up. There are thousands of phony quotes. If a Buddha quote
doesn’t mention the specific passage number, then it is very likely invented. The overall effect of
spurious quotes is to dilute the purity and precision of the Buddha’s true message. It adds nonsense
to the already burdensome confusion in the common mind.

Examples of made-up Buddha quotes:

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”

Often attributed to Sylvia Boorstein or M. Kathleen Casey. Goodreads attributes it to Haruki

Murakami. A 1976 book “Suffering is Optional” is by Haimowitz. “Misery is optional,” is from
“The Search For Serenity” (1959) by Presnall. Not a Buddha quote.

“You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.”

This is from “The Voice of the Silence”. This 1889 book by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky contains
fragments from a sacred book found during her studies in Asia, stating: “Thou canst not travel on
the Path before thou hast become that Path itself.” It’s not from the Buddha.

“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the
way, and not starting.”

This quote may have been first printed in the book “Healing of the Planet Earth” by Alan Cohen,
published in 1987, in which it is attributed to the Buddha. Later it appeared in Network World, a
magazine from January 16, 1989. Similar to the Lao Tzu Quote: “The journey of a thousand miles
begins with one step.”

“You only lose what you cling to.”

Some say this quote originated on Twitter. It’s found on countless websites such as James Ure’s
The Buddhist Blog. I find no evidence it is authentic.

Literally thousands of made-up Buddha quotes are in the mainstream. This dilutes the Buddha’s
refined intentions. It clouds our understanding and our ability to connect with a pure source.

54
 2. My quotes are accurate translations of the Buddha’s actual words.
The first Pali translators were from Victorian England, and sexual misunderstandings are common.

A typical mistranslation is the Pali word Lobha लोभ, which is synonymous to Sanskrit Rāga राग.

Lobha and Rāga refer to a specific Buddhist concept that doesn’t translate directly into English.
It means “a character affliction or poison, any form of selfish greed, sensuality, lust, passion,
excitement, desire or attachment to a sensory object."

Lobha and Raga include but are not limited to sexual lust. Many translators have used the word
"Lust" meaning sexual desire. This is a mistranslation. More accurate word choices are greed,
selfish desire, or sensory attachment.

Example of Mistranslation, Dhammapada # 13:

"Even as rain doth penetrate a house that’s badly thatched, likewise lust doth penetrate the
Bhikkhu's mind uncultivated."

My quote of the same passage uses the words selfish desires:

"Just like rain leaks into a poorly-roofed house, selfish desires seep into a poorly trained mind."

3. My quotes include females. They are not sexist or male-oriented.

Example: This male-oriented translation excludes females: Dhammapada #2:

"All phenomena are forerun by what we have thought. All that we are is founded on our
thoughts and formed of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought happiness
will pursue him like his own shadow that never leaves him."

My quote of the same passage includes females:

“Everything comes from your thoughts, led and controlled by the mind. Speak or act with a
calm mind, happiness and well-being follow, like an unwavering shadow wherever you go.”

4. My quotes use modern idioms, not ancient metaphors.

Example of confusing translation, Dhammapada #92:

"Arahats do not hoard (anything); when taking food they reflect well over it (i.e., in
accordance with the three parinnas). They have as their object liberation from existence,
that is, Nibbana which is Void and Signless. Their destination, like the course of birds in the
air, cannot be traced."

My quote of the same passage uses a familiar idiom "vanish into thin air" for greater clarity:

55
 “A wise one doesn’t accumulate things, having a higher destination of freedom, taking food
judiciously, traveling a road indiscernible to others, like a bird’s tracks vanish into thin air.”

5. My quotes are easy to understand in modern English.

Example: Too wordy translation of Dhammapada #19:

“Though he say much that’s proper, yet the man is wanton if his actions ill accord. Like a
foolhardy cowherd counting kine of other men”

My quote of the same passage uses modern expressions that are easy to understand:

"Say good words, but don’t act them out, you’ll never get the benefits, like claiming someone
else’s work as your own."

6. My quotes are neutral, not condescending or judgmental

Example: Condescending translation of Dhammapada #141:

"Not naked wont, not matted hair, not dirt, not fasting, not the bare ground as a bed, not
dusty smear, nor squatting on the calves can cleanse the ignorant mortal, victim to
selfishness and doubt."

My quote of the same passage is not judgmental:

“Going nude with dreadlocks, fasting, sleeping on bare ground, smearing your face with
mud, and twisting the body like a pretzel can never purify you, if you haven’t faced your own
fears.”

56
 7. My translation work screen

I work with the best English translations from Pali, a few from Tibetan and Chinese. I adapt them
by comparing the best 15 or so translations of the original text. Existing translations are often literal,
academic words with vastly different meanings among themselves. Thus they’re hard to understand.

When I juxtapose the translations side-by-side on my computer screen, it is possible to integrate a

new and unique translation that’s more true to the Buddha’s original meaning. I meditate and ask to
receive direction that is faithful to his original intention and easy for readers to understand.

My translations from Pali and Chinese texts are unique. They can be copyrighted without legally
infringing on other works. Tibetan translations are by the Khyentse Foundation at 84000.co,
Translating the Words of the Buddha. I’d like to give them full credit for all Tibetan translations.

Computer Work Screen

See above how I prepare translations. This is a screenshot of my translation screen for the Buddha
quote from Dhammapada #33. I meditate on the Buddha’s true intention. Then I integrate meanings
from the various translations. Observe that my translation in the red box is unique from all others.

57
 8. Sample translations from Pali

In translating, I meditate to try to render the Buddha’s precise idea in simple modern English.
By comparing several literal translations, I attempt to create something that is unique, relevant to
our times, and 100% faithful to the Buddha’s intention. Below are three sample verses. Three
widely divergent translations are on the left side. My simple English adaptation is on the right.

58
Target Market: Buddha Speaks Quotes
(Children’s Book, Oracle Cards, Weekly Planner)
Our primary market is to people of all ages interested in Spiritual Awakening, Mindfulness,
Mindfulness Children, and Inspirational Oracle Cards. Spiritually oriented parents and grandparents
are a top market, along with English-speaking Buddhists in the US and world-wide. Millennials and
young people of all ages are a top market for Oracle Cards and Weekly Planner.

Google Search Trends show a stable and rapidly growing USA market for the following topics. Log
into Google and see this link: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?

59
Target Market: Buddha Speaks Quotes, cont.

1. Nearly 5 million English-speaking Buddhists in the world are the top target audience for
Buddha quotes cards and books. They are primarily located in these countries:

2. Millions of English-speaking non-Buddhists interested in spiritual awakening are a top

audience. English is the default language of the world. These quotes are apolitical, non-
denominational, compatible to all traditions, representing no ideology.

3. A target market is to the 600 million Buddhists in the world, representing 8% of the total
world population. (However, many are non-English speakers, and many are poor.)

Marketing the Buddha Speaks Quotes

I plan to market these products to attendees and followers of our Mindfulness Buddhism retreats
and tours in Bhutan and Bali with my husband, Lama Dungtsho. We will feature the products on
our websites, blogs and Facebook groups. We will offer them to our web subscribers, and to tourists
with our travel company, White Tiger Tours. We will promote the products as a book tour together
with my husband's Buddhism lectures, to create an international network of followers through links:

1. I will teach workshops with these books and do channelings of the Master for Retreats.

2. I will publish articles and market the Buddha products on our websites:
www.FiveSeasonsMedicine.com
www.BuddhaSpeaks.com – coming soon
www.WhiteTigerBhutan.com – coming soon
www.PowerDharma.com – coming soon

3. I will post articles and campaigns on our Facebook Pages and Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/whitetigerbhutan/
https://www.facebook.com/fiveseasonsmedicine/
https://www.facebook.com/srijana1080
https://www.facebook.com/lamadpowerdharma/

60
 4. I will publish articles and buy ad space in top Buddhist and Spiritual magazines.
• Tricycle Magazine | The Buddhist Review,
• Lion's Roar Magazine
• Buddha Weekly Online Magazine
• Buddhism Now Magazine
• Mountain Record Magazine
• Yoga Journal
• Elephant Journal
• Ascent Magazine
• LA Yoga
• Clarity Magazine
• Integral Yoga Magazine

5. I will offer these products to international and travel book distributors, including
• WHSmith International Stores
• Chung Hwa Book Stores
• Hudson Booksellers
• Anderson News
• Greenleaf Book Group
• Parivatti Books

6. I will contact, visit personally, and offer the books to top Buddhist tourist destinations:
• Lumbini, Nepal, birthplace of the Buddha, with almost 1 million visitors per year. The
Chinese government recently invested $3 billion through the APECF in conjunction with
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to attract tourists to
Lumbini. It's becoming an Asian "Disney World" for Buddhists.
• Gal Vihara, Sri Lanka, Famous Buddhist Temple and UNESCO World Heritage Site,
with over 2 million visitors per year.
• Wat Pho, Thailand's largest temple with 3.6 million visitors per year.
• Angkor Wat, Cambodia the world’s largest religious structure, with over 1 million
visitors per year.
• Bodh Gaya, Bihar, Site of the Buddha’s enlightenment in Northeastern, India, with 4
million visitors per year including 2.5 million that come from foreign countries.

61
 Buddha Speaks,
Illustrated Quotes for Children & Adults

"Buddha Speaks Illustrated Quotes for Children and Adults” offers a rare opportunity for children
and adults to have a conversation. Designed to empower and to build common-sense awareness, the
quotes stimulate hearts and minds on everyday questions. 36 quotes, each with a unique illustration,
offer a thought-provoking nugget to invite a dialogue and a deep dive into practical life lessons
about behavior, values, how to react, how not to react, how to find balance. (Ages 5 – 12)

The quotes are illustrated so that the complexity of the message will be clear for the adult, who can
unravel it for the child. Notes in the back of the book help you get started. The messages are
practical, non-religious, and compatible with any tradition. Attractive images bring clarity to the
Buddha’s original meaning for easy understanding of advanced concepts in simple words.

We will need an illustrator. These pictures are my provisional suggestions for images.

62
Contents
Buddha Speaks, Illustrated Quotes for Children & Adults

63
Contents, cont.
Buddha Speaks, Illustrated Quotes for Children & Adults

64
Sample pages, Illustrated Quotes for Children & Adults

Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada #2

65
Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 49

66
Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada #376

67
Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 1

68
Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 42

69
Pali Canon, Khuddaka Nikaya, Dhammapada # 120

70
Comparative Titles
Buddha Speaks, Illustrated Quotes for Children & Adults
My book is something like “Illustrated Alice in Wonderland” meets “Aesop’s Fables”. Or like
Thich Nhat Hahn’s “Is Nothing Something?” meets Jamie Lee Curtis “Tell Me Again About the
Night I Was Born”. Although there are many Buddha stories for children, I have not found any
based on Buddha quotes. Not a single one. Here are some wonderful Buddha stories for children:

1. The Yeti and the Jolly Lama: A Tale of Friendship, by Surya Das, Sounds True, 2019.
How can we soothe the savage beasts of fear, aggression, and intolerance? We do it together
with an authentic teaching tale from the high Himalayas.

2. Buddha at Bedtime: Tales of Love and Wisdom for You to Read with Your Child to
Enchant, Enlighten and Inspire Paperback, by Dharmachari Nagaraja, Duncan Baird, 2008.
# 1 Best Seller in Amazon’s Children’s Buddhist books.

3. The Buddha's Apprentice at Bedtime: Tales of Compassion and Kindness to Read with
Your Child - to Delight and Inspire, by Dharmachari Nagaraja, Watkins Publishing, 2013

4. The Calm Buddha at Bedtime: Tales of Wisdom, Compassion and Mindfulness to Read
with Your Child, by Dharmachari Nagaraja, Watkins Publishing, 2017

5. Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents), by Eline
Snel, Shambhala, 2013. Simple mindfulness practices to help your child (ages 5-12).

6. Master of Mindfulness: How to Be Your Own Superhero in Times of Stress, by Laurie

Grossman, Instant Help, 2016

7. Is Nothing Something? Kids' Questions and Zen Answers About Life, Death, Family,
Friendship, and Everything in Between, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Blossom, 2014
8. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh answers heartfelt, difficult, and funny questions from children.

9. Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents (The Little Light
of Mine Series) by Sarah Conover, Eastern Washington Univ Press, 2001

10. Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime,
Anywhere, by Kira Willey, Rodale Kids, 2017

11. Bunny Buddhism: Hopping Along the Path to Enlightenment by Krista Lester,
TarcherPerigee, 2014

12. Little Sid: The Tiny Prince Who Became Buddha, Hardcover, by Ian Lendler,
Macmillan, 2018

71
 Buddha Speaks Oracle Cards

A unique collection of 54 oracle cards with Buddha quotes direct from the Master to inspire and
guide your day. These cards hold the pure, uplifting, wisdom of the Buddha. They are non-religious,
compatible with any faith or ideology. Use the cards as a traditional divination or make your own
rules. Do the oracle for yourself or a friend. Here’s how I use my Buddha Speaks Oracle Cards:

1. Keep the cards in a clean, sacred place. Hold the deck and ask a question. It can be as simple
as “What does the day hold?” or “What should I be aware of in this situation?”
2. There are many ways to shuffle and choose cards. I shuffle the deck until a card sticks out in
an obvious way. Pick one card, or several.
3. I like to draw out several cards at once and lay them face down. Turning them over one by
one, listen for any intuitive messages about how each card relates to your question. If you
don’t get an idea immediately when looking at a card, sit quietly for a minute or two and see
what comes into your awareness.
4. Notice the picture, as the images on the cards hold as much meaning as the words.
5. Use your intuition to see how each card contributes in a specific, unique way to your
question or life’s path. Then hold this simple, uplifting thought throughout your day.

72
Sample Cards, Buddha Speaks Oracle Cards

73
74
75
76
77
Comparative Titles
Buddha Speaks Oracle Cards
My oracle cards are unique in the world. I find no other Buddha quote cards. These cards are
something like Esther Hicks “Ask And It Is Given Cards” meets the “Wild Unknown Tarot”.
Or Brian Weiss “Healing Mind & Spirit Cards” meets Ursula Le Guin’s fictional “Tao Te Ching
Oracle in Pictures”. Perhaps no one has integrated the huge wealth of original texts or knows how
to publish them authentically. However there are many non-Buddhist collections of oracle cards:

1. Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way, by Ursula
K Le Guin. I owe a nod of gratitude to Ursula Le Guin for inspiring me to follow in her
footsteps. Her brilliant rendering of this classic uses modern concepts, contemporary idioms,
and even titles, adding to our enjoyment and clear grasp of its illusive meanings.

2. The Buddha Speaks: A Book of Guidance from the Buddhist Scriptures,

by Anne Bancroft, Shambala, 2010. (This is a book of quotes from the Pali canon ancient
texts expertly reframed in modern English. Anne Bancroft is a respected Buddhist scholar.
She uses one primary translator: Edward Conze. She does not disclose the specific passage
number. My oracle cards are different. I use many translations and meditate to reframe the
precise meaning. I disclose the exact original passage number for easy reference to original
texts. My working title is just two words “Buddha Speaks”)

3. Ask And It Is Given Cards: A 60-Card Deck plus Dear Friends card, by Esther Hicks, Hay
House, 2006. These beautiful cards capture the essence of the book Ask and It Is Given.

4. The Language of Letting Go Cards– Box set, by Melody Beattie, Hay House, 2005.
Melody Beattie, the best-selling author of The Language of Letting Go, brings you 50 cards
to help remind you that each day you can ask for and accept healing energy.

5. Healing Mind & Spirit Cards (Large Card Decks), by Brian Weiss, Hay House, 2002.
Bestselling author of Many Lives, Many Masters, 50 cards to heal body, mind, and soul.

6. Power Thought Cards: A 64 Card Deck (Box Set) Cards, by Louise Hay, Hay House,
1999. A Deck of 64 Affirmation Cards to Help You Find Your Inner Strength. Packaged in a
beautiful gift box, this deck of 64 cards contains 128 unique illustrations.

7. I Can Do It Cards (Beautiful Card Deck) Cards, by Louise Hay, Hay House, 2002. Louise
L. Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life, brings you 60 affirmation cards.

8. Everyday Positive Thinking, by Louise Hay, Hay House, 2004. Each day randomly open
this book to a couple of positive thoughts, and your outlook becomes a whole lot brighter!

9. The Power of Now Meditation Deck: 50 Inspiration Cards, by Eckhart Tolle, New World
Library, 2003. World-renowned spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle conveys simple wisdom.

10. A New Earth Inspiration Deck: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose Cards, by Eckhart
Tolle, New World Library 2008. Eckhart Tolle distills the wisdom of his book A New Earth.

78
 Buddha Speaks, Weekly Oracle Planner
Each page of the 52-week planner contains a unique, thought-provoking Buddha quote with a
beautiful image, to stimulate tranquility and inspire reflection from a fresh perspective.

I confess I’m a fanatic about my calendar. If I can’t find a page that calms me for the whole
week, I’m afraid I’ll be engulfed in total confusion. How lovely it will be to experience this tranquil
state of being every week when I open the book!

I find no comparative titles for the Buddha Speaks Weekly Oracle Planner.

79
Sample Pages, Buddha Speaks Weekly Oracle Planner

80
81
82
About Srijana
Srijana, aka Jane Barthelemy, is a medical intuitive,
channel, artist, author, and Buddhist practitioner of
almost 50 years. The name Srijana means “She who is
deeply inventive, creative, and independent, who serves
and assists all of humankind.”

Srijana grew up in a non-traditional family of teachers,

scientists, world travelers, artists, and independent
thinkers, her father a professor of biology, her mother a
sculptor, art teacher. Srijana studied music, and
languages, receiving her BS in Opera and Russian, and
her MBA from Indiana University. She began her
spiritual journey in 1972 under the guidance of Swami
Rudrananda, known as Rudi. The first American-born
Swami, Rudrananda was a brilliant renegade master who
integrated many Himalayan traditions into a highly potent practice for modern times. Jane
continued Buddhist studies with Tibetan Lama Tshering Wangdu Rinpoche, a lineage holder of the
Longchen Nyingthig, Shije, and Chöd traditions.

Jane’s profound curiosity about almost everything has led her through a life of surprising change.
Her careers include MBA and CFO of the original Rudi’s Bakery, opera primadonna in Italian
theaters, jewelry designer and owner of Marco Polo Designs - a Venetian glass jewelry company,
Paleo chef, Taichi instructor, intuitive healer, English Foreign Language teacher, and author.

Each chapter of her life was punctuated by some kind of critical event in which everything had to
change including health, career, relationships, lifestyle, and place of residence. Several life-
threatening illnesses prompted her to study energy medicine and led to major lifestyle changes.

Severe intolerances to industrial foods led her to change her diet and write two successful books:
Paleo Desserts 2012, and Good Morning Paleo 2014, published by Da Capo Press / Hachette
Books. Jane’s comprehensive food blog janeshealthykitchen.com recently won the prestigious CV
Magazine award for the Most Innovative Healthy Food and Lifestyle Blog in North America.

While living in Italy and performing as an opera primadonna, Srijana began to cultivate the
powerful collective energy of the audiences in theaters. Over time this led her to be aware of what
she calls the "World Mind". She began to tune into that universal field every day in her meditation
practice, to listen for energy changes and respond accordingly.

She discovered her intuitive abilities and became certified in multiple energy medicine healing
modalities including BodyTalk, EFT, Body Code, Accunect, NLP, Reiki, and Craniosacral Therapy.
She began to channel ancient therapies, introducing Kodaishin Japanese Extraordinary Meridian
therapy, Past Life Clearings, and Advanced Bio-Energetics to clear imbalances in body, mind, and
spirit. She considers the human body to be a highly tuned listening device linking the functions of
the skin, pineal, connective tissue, nervous system, and energy body into a system that receives and
transmits our experience of reality. She created a healing website: fiveseasonsmedicine.com, where

83
she offers distance healing sessions, articles, philosophical discussions, health wisdom, and a
weekly travel blog: fiveseasonsmedicine.com/blog/.

Srijana is a lover of Nature and dedicated Buddhist practitioner for nearly 50 years. She teaches
Taichi and Qigong in the tradition of Master Lam Kam Chueng in London. On a 2017 medical
service healing trip to the Himalayas with a group of American doctors, she met her future husband,
Lama Dungtsho of Bhutan. Srijana fell in love with Bhutan, its pristine waters, clean air, unsullied
lifestyle, and kind-hearted Buddhist traditions. In Bhutan she has taught English creative writing,
Taichi, and Health Sciences in the Yoezerling Higher Secondary School. She writes books, articles,
and offers healing sessions via Zoom. Srijana helped found a family travel company, White Tiger
Bhutan Tours. Currently Lama Dungtsho and Srijana are now creating a variety of transformational
tours and retreats in Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and Bali. They reside in Bhutan and Bali.

Srijana Websites and Contact info:

Email: janebar108@live.com, jane@fiveseasonsmedicine.com

Travel blog: fiveseasonsmedicine.com/blog/
Food Website: JanesHealthyKitchen.com, 6,100 subscribers
Healing Website: FiveSeasonsMedicine.com 300 subscribers
White Tiger Tour Company: www.WhiteTigerBhutan.com
Coming soon: www.BuddhaSpeaks.com
Coming soon: Srijana and Lama Dungtsho, Retreats in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and Bali:
www.PowerDharma.com
Website coming soon: www.Srijana.bt

Srijana’s Bhutan mobile: +975-1796-7830

Facebook pages:
facebook.com/srijana1080
facebook.com/jane.Barthelemy
facebook.com/whitetigerbhutan/
facebook.com/JanesHealthyKitchen/
facebook.com/PaleoDesserts/
facebook.com/Lama.Dungtsho
facebook.com/Lama D

84
About Srijana, photos

85
86
87
88
89
Announcing Upcoming Retreats and Tours in Bhutan, Nepal, Bali, and Tibet.

Building a network of followers. Hosted by our travel company, White Tiger Tours.

90