Buddhism

Buddhism. It's presumptuous for me or anyone to talk about Buddhism cause it's so vast, it's so complete, and there are so many aspects of it. So without being presumptuous, I'll talk about Buddhism.

I'm an enlightened teacher, my name is Rama. I've been teaching Buddhism for lots of incarnations, and I teach it in this incarnation. But none of us really teach Buddhism. Buddhism is a way of life. It's yoga and we practice it. People can watch us practice it. They can learn how to practice it by watching, by observing, by listening, by becoming sensitive. But I think it's something that life teaches us. We are teachers, we are necessary, but life is the real teacher and always remember that.

Buddhism is the enlightenment cycle, and there are different types of it. Principally there is short path and long path Buddhism. The long path is more of the religious aspect, that is to say, the church aspect, the practice of reading sutras, healthy ways of living, things like that - a certain amount of prayer, a little meditation. The esoteric aspect of Buddhism, which is short path Buddhism, is meditation. And I am a teacher of Zen and Vajrayana Buddhism primarily, which are the two short path, primary short path forms of Buddhism.

The short path of Buddhism, which is kundalini yoga, involves the release of the kundalini energy through the chakras or energy centers to create very rapid enlightenment. It is also taught with empowerments from a teacher, someone who is enlightened, who has experienced parinirvana and gone through the gradated stations and stages of enlightenment and has the siddhas and powers necessary to utilize in the teaching process. It's a very complicated process.

The short path, of course, is the silly path. It's the path with the smiles, because you have to be funny or you won't last long. It's about releasing energy. It's about being enthusiastic, overcoming all fears, doubts, worries, anxieties - basically being perfect all the time and knowing that you're not. That's Buddhism, the short path. The colophon is getting shorter all the time. So please put on a smile and a sense of humor if you're going to continue listening.

Buddhism is the enlightenment cycle, as I said before. It's about becoming enlightened. The essential premise of Buddhism is that there is enlightenment, there is nirvana. Beyond this world, beyond all worlds, there is something radiant, perfect and eternal. It creates these worlds and all aggregate formations. At the same time, it is beyond them. We call it nirvana. We could call it anything you wanted to - God, the Tao, Brahma, whatever you prefer, God - the names don't matter. It's that eternal reality which nothing can describe. It's beyond words.

Buddhism - yoga - is a practice. It's a way of yoking or joining your mind to that eternal reality and at the same time viewing this world and all worlds as particles of that reality. Buddhism is about living a very grounded, happy, fun life, being energized and being good at everything you do, and getting better constantly. It's about utilizing the full power of your mind, body and spirit - your emotions, everything - to enjoy life, to experience its multifaceted sides.