The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, read by Pannobhasa

This is a reading of one of my favorite Buddhist texts, and my absolute favorite Tibetan Buddhist text. It is attributed to Padmasambhava, who is considered to be a great patriarch of Tibetan Buddhism. There is minimal commentary to this one because it's a real mind-blower and I don't want to water it down with my own verbiage. Also, instead of simply posting a video of me sitting here reading, I experimented with my rudimentary video editing skills and used some video footage of my last formal meditation under the pavilion at Kusalakari monastery, back when I was still a monk (like back around April of 2021).

*URL Links*
Discord server (mainly for traditionalist Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on request
Cash App: $pannobhasa

[cottondavis]

We should all be ultra-grateful for your smooth delivery of this astoundingly transcendent, inherent, WISDOM...HAIL TO THE LOTUS JEWEL IN THE CENTER OF CONSCIOUSNESS !!! Cotton D.

[Samphappalapa-]

You would be the first recommendation I get when I searched the name of the book.
🙏

[john_air]

that background video has some vibe gooing this alone was super meditative thank you

[FRED-gxqk]

WOW THIS WAS A SURPRISE I started in Tibetan Ideology !

[jeremyc]

So what is the Dhamma of the Buddha? In Anguttara Nikaya Sutta 4.180 the Buddha said that if any monk claims that “This is Dhamma, this is Vinaya, this is the Master’s teaching”, his words should neither be accepted nor rejected. Instead, they should be compared to the Suttas (discourses) and Vinaya of the Buddha. Only when they agree with Suttas and Vinaya can they be said to be the teaching of the Buddha. If not, they should be rejected.


From the above we see clearly that the Dhamma refers only to the discourses (Suttas) of the Buddha, not of any other Teacher. Hence it is that we take refuge only with the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. The Buddha foresaw this danger when he proclaimed in Anguttara Nikaya Sutta 5.88 that a monk who has long gone forth, well known, famous, with a large following of laypersons and monastics, learned in the scriptures, even such a monk can have wrong views. Thus in Digha Nikaya Sutta 16, the Buddha said “Be a lamp unto yourselves, be a refuge unto yourselves, with no other refuge; take the Dhamma as your lamp, take the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other refuge”. Hence the Buddha advises us to depend on our own efforts and on the teaching of the Buddha only.


In Samyutta Nikaya Sutta 20.7, the Buddha also predicted that in the future the monks will not listen to, study, or master, the discourses of the Buddha. Instead they prefer to listen to, study, and master the discourses of disciples (i.e. later monks), thus causing the disappearance of the Buddha’s Dhamma. This is a clear advice from the Buddha that we should only listen to, study, and master the Suttas, not any other books/teachings.


Instead of the Suttas themselves, many prefer to study other books or listen to others’ teachings, which may be inconsistent with the Suttas. The resulting damage is twofold: 1) The Suttas will disappear, and 2) People will gain wrong understanding of the Dhamma. --Venerable Dhammavuddho--

That said I would add: "The Dhamma is presented in many different ways, one should not tenaciously adhere to one particular presentation, then argue and quarrel with others who base themselves on other presentations. What is true can be re-stated in many ways, from many different perspectives. There is no absolutist way of presenting the Dhamma that must be dogmatically adhered to." (Based on MN 59) --Karunadasa--

[krielsavino]

That was a good one! Is Tibetan Buddhism Mahayana? Just curious I wouldn't mind anyway.

[jagsingh]

People call out Dalia Lama to openly apologize to souls of slaves slayed by his serfdom.
Tibetans love China government as it destroyed his serfdom and brought human rights.

How brutal was Dalai Lama's serfdom?

They made Thangka or paintings on human skin, from LIVING slave girl's skin;
Skull drum of Tibetan Buddhism, made from skulls of LIVING slave boy and girl;
Skullcup, made from LIVING slave's skull;
Skin scripture of Tibetan Buddhism, made from LIVING slave girl;
Leg flute/trumpet/horn, made from legs of young LIVING slave girl;
Bone prayer wheel of Tibetan Buddhism, made from LIVING slave's bones.
Bone beads necklace or wrist lace, made from LIVING slave's bones;
Bone walking stick, made from LIVING slave's leg.

[fire.smok]

tldr: blah blah blah everything is in the mind bro blah blah blah [insert random shrieking SAMAYAAA GYAAA noises] blah blah blah everything is a void bro blah blah blah something something Kali Yuga. End