The 4 Noble Truths

By Lisa Maliga

This is the basic view of the Four Noble Truths that all schools of Buddhism follow. Rather than just list them, each will be given a solid description.

After Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi Tree, he was ready to teach what he had learned. To five disciples he gave his first teaching, that of the Four Noble Truths. They are referred to as truths since that is the understanding and realization that Buddha taught.

Noble Truth # 1 - The Truth of Suffering:

There are two types of suffering. The internal suffering of all sentient beings, the definition of which encompasses humans, animals and insects, and the external or environmental sufferings. All those living in samsara (the endless cycle of rebirths that we endure until we attain enlightenment) are subject to suffering.

Most people have delusions and are therefore subject to more suffering than those without. People and all types of animals have the nature of suffering as they both experience and are the experiencer of suffering.

True Suffering is either internal or external.

Internally, there is the suffering of change: as the waves of the ocean change, and as the clouds in the sky are fleeting, so too do feelings of happiness switch to those of despair. When one has dependence upon internal and external causes, the change is swift. If you're hungry and have no money to buy food, you only get hungrier therefore your misery increases. If you buy a new car, you're happy. If that new car gets stolen you're unhappy. All of existence is seen as suffering since unhappiness and happiness are of the same nature. Within the ocean of cyclic existence from human life to animal life and all our lifecycles whatever the realm [samsara] we continuously suffer.

Pervasive suffering: This is the suffering we experience on every level.

There is also the suffering of birth: Due to our delusions and karmic action we've taken birth into the realm of samsara countless times, always enduring great suffering. This will continue endlessly unless we learn to eliminate the root of delusion and karma (action). Those who don't believe in the future do so as they're convinced by delusion that there is no future and no future lives. We can prepare ourselves for future lives by putting effort into eliminating delusion and negative karmic actions.

Sickness is another suffering. The body is fragile, constantly coming into contact with sufferings great and small. Something as simple as a head cold can discourage us. Temperature changes bother us. A person is surrounded by illness, whether he/she is currently sick, or by others who often are in worse shape.

Aging: The nature of the body changes, giving way to decay. Even if young and healthy now, how will you look in 50 years? Aging causes each person various degrees of suffering.

Death: Like taxes, this is inevitable. The mind is separated from the body at death. There is a fear of death which increases the suffering. Through meditation we can overcome death, as we aren't attached to the body. The well-trained mind is a fearless mind. The 4 sufferings of birth, sickness, aging and death are frequently referred to in Buddhist texts.

External suffering encompasses 6 categories. All existence consists of 6 realms which are used to teach people how to meditate on suffering. By meditating on these unhappy realms, a person wishes to leave cyclic existence and achieve the mind of renunciation. The 6 realms are named after the citizens of the realms.

In the desire realm of the gods, there is battle against the demi-gods and there is a huge amount of desire and jealousy which brings with it great mental suffering. Gods with more merit lord it over the gods with lesser merit. Although the gods have the enjoyments of plentiful food, booze and girlfriends/boyfriends, they return to lower realms when their karma is depleted. Upon their death they experience great pain and are ignored by the other gods. Even the gods in the formless realms suffer upon their deaths as they know they have to return to the lower realms.

Demi-gods don't have it quite as good as the gods and are always the losers in the perpetual battles that are fought. Most of their lives in this realm are spent fighting.

Humans suffer from being born, aging, illness, death and having to part with what/whom they are close to. They are constantly undergoing obstacles when they want to achieve a goal like earning more money or trying to establish a relationship with someone who ignores them. Humans often have to encounter horrible situations such as war, famine, and plague.

Animals suffer from ignorance, as they're unable to speak our language. Animals are at the mercy of the weather, hunger and thirst. Sadly, animals are often captured and put into a zoo or displayed in a circus. In the wild, they are hunted by poachers, or as food by other people and animals.

Hungry ghosts live in a realm in which their grotesque forms consist of long, narrow necks, weak limbs and huge, protruding bellies. Their residence is a vast, empty desert where they constantly search for food and drink and find nothing.

Although many people don't believe in hell, Tibetan Buddhism teaches students that there are several levels, including 8 levels of fiery hells and 8 levels of freezing hells. There are also a few neighboring hells that consist of fiery ash, swamps made of waste matter and a molten lava river.

To experience the suffering of samsara is something you must do in order to understand the sufferings of other beings, regardless of their realm.

Noble Truth # 2 - The Origins of Suffering:

This is the suffering of all sentient beings in relation to their environment. In Buddhism, nothing is believed to be true until it's been experienced. The teachings are true as the teachers have experienced them and have recognized this themselves. Imagine that you visit a psychic and are told that in one year you'll win a lottery. Nice thought, highly unlikely, you'd think. But it really happens and then that remark from a psychic becomes true. When Buddha taught the 4 Noble Truths to his students, only after they practiced them did they occur.
Karma:

Every action that we do is karma, from the smallest to the largest.

Karma of the body, speech and mind can also be referred to as physical, mental and verbal action.

Further, there are virtuous, non-virtuous and neutral actions.

The 10 non-virtuous actions are: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct which comprise the 3 non-virtuous actions of the body.

Lying, divisive talk, swearing, and gossip are the 4 non-virtuous actions of speech.

Engaging one's mind in objects of attachment; thinking thoughts of harming others, and wrong views such as self-cherishing [in which we value ourselves above all others] are the 3 non-virtuous actions of mind.

To engage in virtuous actions, you reverse every negative into a positive. Instead of stealing, you abandon stealing and thoughts about stealing. Naturally this applies to all of the actions.

Delusion:

Delusion is ignorance. It's the mind grasping at non-reality. Or a dark, dull mind. The 6 root delusions are:

Ignorance - the deluded mind which hides the mind from seizing the nature of the object clearly.

Hatred - the deluded mind that hates oneself and/or others.

Attachment - the deluded mind that prizes oneself too highly along with being too attached to others and/or material objects

Pride - the pride of the deluded mind seeing oneself as better than others.

Deluded doubt - the doubt which develops negative emotions within us.

Deluded view -Due to ignorance and attachment, a person cultivates a view that is false.

There are 4 characteristics of full karma for any action. Intention, preparation, performance and, finality. For example, if a person were to commit a robbery, they would have to hatch the plot, prepare for the robbery, steal from whatever source they've selected, and get home safely with all the money.

Positive, Negative & Mixed Actions:

These 3 actions, also referred to as white, black and mixed, produce various results. All positive karma is virtuous as all negative karma is non-virtuous. Mixed karma can go either way, depending upon the circumstances.

Propelling & Completing Karma:

To propel is to throw and that's what each birth seems like""being thrown into a family and later having to fend for oneself. If the actions one has done in the past are negative, rebirth into hell, hungry ghost and animal realms is the result. For positive past actions, the realms of the gods, demi-gods and humans are where someone is sent.

Completing karma is what one achieves in each lifetime. If a person is born into the human realm with numerous physical ailments, that negative completing karma is being realized. The same holds true for those born into great wealth and fame.

Noble Truth # 3 - The Cessation of Suffering:

Since our causes for problems can be eliminated, we learn to be free of suffering. This is achieved when we realize that the way we're taught to see things, whether oneself, others, or any type of phenomena, existing from ourselves. Overcoming delusional thinking, we are then free of the 4 sufferings, [birth, sickness, aging and death] as those are generated within a mind that's unclear of the truth.

The 4 characteristics of true cessations are: Cessation, peace, benefit and pleasure, a result of the first two and definite emergence.

Noble Truth #4 - The Truth of the Path:

There are 4 True Paths which are attained once we overcome the need to be attached and have everything pretend to be permanent. A basic example would be this: How many people have chosen a permanent job over a temporary job and been fired or quit within six months? Where's the permanence in that? On a more sublime level, if we understand impermanence fully then we achieve liberation. The second path is that objects/ideas/feelings, etc. are pleasurable. Actually, they are only misery in disguise.

The third path is to rid ourselves of wrong view and comprehend emptiness. Our Compositional factors [aggregates] aren't different from our selves. Our self doesn't exist independently. We come to the final path when we understand there is no self, there is selflessness.

Read more about the 4 Noble Truths! As always, the Dalai Lama has a great way of explaining dharma!

The Four Noble Truths - paperback edition

Self Induced Hauntings: Can We Create The Boogeyman???

By Ryan Harshbarger

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him. Eleanor Roosevelt

“Times are tough these days.” With the economy crisis and people losing their jobs, homes and families being forced to live below their normal means of survival. It's no wonder that so many claims of paranormal activity have began to surface. Stress has became any everyday emotion for most of us that have been affected by these rough times. Can this cause us to create a buffet for spirits to feed on? If you are familiar with poltergeist activity then you might concur with this possibility. Stressful homes are a playground so to speak for those on the other side. Due to all the residual energy that is left behind by families that are undergoing changes that they are normally not accustomed to can build up, and cause the sightings of shadow people and many other forms of the unknown to make its presence known. If you have any familiarity with how energy works and how it flows then you can understand that stressful homes can in fact become saturated with malevolent spirits.

I worked a case where a family was being troubled by apparitions appearing in the hallways and electrical devices acting strangely. As I began to investigate the recent changes within the home that could be the catalyst of this haunting. I learned that the husband had recently been laid off and the wife recently became another statistic with her business going under. I was curious about how close these occurrences began after these unfortunate events, and the wife informed me “not until the home went into foreclosure.” Later that night after learning this terrible addition to an already tragic shift I began to notice a sense of heaviness as well and some shadowy figures manifesting in the main hallway. I noticed as well that upon entering the home that the upkeep was less than standard “as far as cleanliness goes,” this is another level to the building blocks of a haunting that I have learned over my years in the field. I was always taught that the cleanliness of our home is a reflection of ourselves. I see it as, “if a home is tidy and neat than the person is usually chipper and happy,” but “if a home is crowded, dusty and dirty than that person is usually unhappy and depressed.” “To summarize the analogy a home's upkeep is a reflection of our own emotions.”

The same philosophy applies to individuals that are dealing with health issues. They seem to be more susceptible to run-ins with the paranormal as well. Stress is an emotion that opens a lot of doors that not always can be explained by science. So here is a question to ponder, “can a person that suffers from mental illness be haunted?” “Where does the mental illness end and the hauntings begin?”

If we shut ourselves off from society and trap ourselves in our own worlds we are basically becoming the perfect target. Many reclusive and troubled individuals claim to experience paranormal activity. The sad part is that many professionals deem them as merely undergoing “psychological disorders” such as bi-polar schizophrenia or under the influence of some sort of illegal drugs. What if their claims were actually legit? What if the traumatic experiences that the subject has experienced did actually open them up to some sort of unknown realm? I know the skeptics will probably say “they need professional help” and in some cases that very well may be true. Trauma, depression, death and negative emotions are a gateway to experiences that may not be as simple as black and white. We unfortunately live in a time currently that is full of all sorts of heavy emotions and many people are experiencing hauntings so we are left with many unanswered questions. I too have been an example of this theory. In moments where stress levels have been high and my health was below par I have freaked myself out and have seen things creeping in the shadows. I want to open this article up to the readers and see what kind of different thoughts you the reader have. I personally believe that moments of despair are the roots that bloom into ghostly trees.

Okay, so think about all the times that you have experienced something unexplainable and ask yourselves “what were your emotions at that current time?” Did you recently lose someone? Were you in a bad mood?

 Have you ever been on a ghost hunt with your team, and at a location that you are unfamiliar with?  Were you given info about that certain place you suddenly started to experience? The human mind can easily be manipulated subconsciously especially in moments of weakness. There is a test you can try for yourselves the next time you're hunting with your team members take two separate locations 1) a home or whatever that has absolutely no paranormal claims at all and 2) a home you get, that in-fact has a plethora of ghouls lurking, and don't tell the lucky candidates which is which just the stories and see what happens. I can guarantee you that no matter what story you tell you will have all sorts of personal experiences in the location that isn't even haunted.......... Try It I Dare You!!!!!!!!

I am one of those skeptics that believes. I am just skeptical of most evidence that is presented to the public. No one has yet to provide any substantial evidence to conclude that ghost even exist to the scientific community. I have seen things, heard things and experienced many things that I cannot explain. I know that there is more to life than what we see and understand but I think that too many teams are getting a little carried away with what they are claiming as actual evidence. So we need to start taking more time to examine what we present, and use our brains to analyze instead of convincing ourselves that we have captured the undead with security cameras and fluctuations in the natural EMF.

Believe me I cannot wait to see a piece that stumps everyone, I would cherish that moment forever: Until then I am convinced that most claims can be explained by folklore and imagination.....

We can convince ourselves of many things, as a child I would scream because I used to think my G.I Joe's were creating a conspiracy to murder me in my sleep. Atmospheres that are unique and or a bit creepy always hold tales of some kind of mystery. If we can separate ourselves from that human flaw of creating the boogeyman in every dark corner, and injected a bit more logic and question the scary stories perhaps one day we can better understand the unknown. We are all products of our own surroundings and like the client's that are under stress or the man who is ill. We have to ask ourselves can we create these hauntings and are they the real kind????  

Forensic Interviews and Paranormal Investigations

By Martha Hazzard Decker

Do you have any medical issues? Do you have any mental problems? Do you drink or do drugs? Sounds like booking questions at the local jail or doctor’s office, right? No, these are some of the questions asked by some paranormal investigators while conducting interviews of potential clients. Some of those investigators were a part of law enforcement and detectives at one time or another. Some may still be in the law enforcement field. This is something that has been discussed within the paranormal community.

Some investigators without any law enforcement background may think these are rude questions to ask a client. While other researchers and investigators, including this author, also have a background in criminal investigations and believe these are normal and important questions to ask, along with a number of other questions such as, what was the weather like or what time does it happen. The eyes of the law enforcement paranormal investigator and the mind work differently than most and can be a handy asset to have on a team.

While some investigators may take the client at their word and go into the investigation to find the proof to support the client’s claims, former law enforcement paranormal investigators go into the investigation with a different view. They may not be complete skeptics, but they will take what the client claims and look for concrete causes for the claims. As former police officer TL Jones  has said, “Until I see it with my own eyes,” she is not gong to believe it really happened. It’s not that she is saying the client isn’t truthful; it’s that they may believe something to be other than what it really is in reality. Jones wants to be there when the EVP is captured to know without a doubt that the recorder wasn’t manipulated. Other researchers say the same thing. Jones now writes paranormal mystery novels and has been on several radio shows discussing not just her books but the police angle to investigations.

There are several books written that can be applied to paranormal investigations which were written for law enforcement. Author Katherine Ramsland Ph.D. has been to at least one paranormal conference to discuss paranormal investigations and how to conduct them much like you would at a crime scene. In fact, she took the same presentation used to train police and converted it to be applied in the paranormal realm. She is a forensic psychologist and author. One of her books is Ghost: Investigating the Other Side. She has the same philosophy about investigating a scene. Leave no stone unturned and check every where for information.

Ramsland mentions in an interview on another website that she has encountered frauds while they were trying to give her a paranormal experience. She is not the only one to encounter frauds and some of the frauds can be the clients. One researcher spoke to this author about an investigation where a client wanted the group to find activity at their location. They did something that would be good for all groups to do before an investigation. They researched the property to check on the history of the location. What was discovered was that the old looking house was a new house built to look old and the property never had a building on it prior to the current building. Nothing had been recorded that had ever happened on the property. Investigators went to the location to conduct their investigation with an open mind being aware that there was nothing associated with the building. What they found during the investigation was that the owners had rigged some special effects to make it seem as if the place was indeed full of paranormal activity. The owners wanted the place to be “declared” as haunted so they could market it as a haunted place, hoping to profit with all the notoriety of having a haunted venue. This then brings into question another thought voiced by other investigators, “What makes a place truly haunted?” Responses to this in the comment section may help others decide on what to pay for or not pay for when it comes to visiting haunted locations.

One group that incorporates common police investigative tactics with the paranormal is Missouri Ghost Hunters Society. Brian Lile has 20 years of law enforcement in his background. They use common forensic techniques such as evidence collection, investigative photography and interviewing, according to their webpage. All of this can be used by any paranormal investigator. You can even put together a forensic kit for the paranormal investigation. This helps in debunking and verifying claims.  This would include items such as measuring tape or rulers, temperature or thermometer, fingerprint dust, luminal for detecting blood or lack of, camera, recorder and so on. There are a number of online stores that sell forensic equipment. CrimeTech is such a site. They sell just about anything you can think of to obtain evidence.

Processes used by police detectives can help paranormal investigators to understand what is real, mistaken and subjective. An example could be the one of a social worker and a detective visiting the same house at the same time. During the visit numerous people come and go after a brief visit. The social worker may sit their and think this family seems to have quite the support group while the detective sits there and thinks, “dope house.”  There is an interesting article about Paranormal Activity and the FBI: how to avoid common investigative pitfalls recently published. Officers often operate on “gut” feelings during their career. This may even help keep them safe. Their senses are tuned into what’s happening around them more than the average person. This can be learned as can crime scene investigations. Many local colleges will have police academies or criminal justice classes. This means there will be basic crime scene textbooks that can be purchased. A lot can be learned from those. Then there are online sites such as Calibre Press or Police One where a lot of online investigative information can be gleaned without purchasing anything.

The main focus of this article is to be open minded when going into an investigation without a predisposition that it is or isn’t as the client claims. By keeping an open mind and unbiased opinion investigators will be more open to any evidence that does present instead of immediately dismissing something that may become important at a later date. Be sure to get a full interview from the family that includes medical history, interview neighbors without telling them what’s going on next door, obtain the names of collaterals who may be witnesses or have been told about incidents and interview them. Work toward cooborating the client’s statements. Ask about criminal history, research the history if the building and property. Check old newspaper articles. The library and local paper can be a great source of information. Check with the county to see who has owned the property if the current owner doesn’t have that information available. Try to contact former owners and interview them. The list can go on and on but the information obtained can lead to a really great investigation.

Issue 50 – Para-Celebrities Go Off the Deep End!

By Kirby Robinson

Now that Halloween has gone it's time to refocus our attention on those crazy, wacky and [usually] fake para-celebs. They keep on proving that Lindsay Lohan has nothing on them when it comes to acting like a fool.

"RON TEBO & KIRBY ROBINSON DOMESTIC TERRORISTS" CLAIMS SANDRA SPARKS & CHIP COFFEY

One of our sources deep inside the CCC [CHIP COFFEY CLAN] has shared with us that a few weeks ago Sandra Lynn Sparks, with the okay of Chip Coffey, [she never does anything without his okay] contacted both the FBI and HOMELAND SECURITY about us. Why? She claimed that our posting on the Psychic Kids Facebook page warning people about predators [names will be named next week] made us domestic terrorists. Time and money would be better spent by both agencies not on real terror threats from within and outside this nation but going after both Ron and myself. After both agencies respective reps fell to the floor laughing [as we have been told all law enforcement reps did when Sandra contacted them], they told Sandra to seek help with any mental issues she might be dealing with.

Is this not sad? If you dare speak out against such fakes as Michelle Griffin, Chip Coffey and Chris Fleming they go to such lengths and their egos are so big they think the world revolves around them.

None of these actions will stop us from reporting the story, nor will it cause us to fear them. In the weeks to come we will be digging deeper into their deceptions, exposing more and more of their lies.

HAUNTED HUMAN SKULL IN ZAK BAGAN'S BASEMENT!

http://www.tmz.com/2011/10/31/ghost-hunters-zak-bagans-human-skull-haunted/?fb_ref=.Tq6HaZgtfVw.like&fb_source=profile_multiline

Guess Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures needs some PR or was feeling a little low. We have many issues with this story.

1 Notice that Zak contacted TMZ about this story, and not the other way around. Why TMZ and not a paranormal news outlet? Is Zak is trying to stir up some PR for his show and his new book?

2 No proof is offered about his claims.

3 It just can't be a priest coming to his home -- it has to be a bishop.

The thing that really upsets me when you read such false claims is that it damages the credibility of those who are really suffering and who need real help.

GREAT QUESTIONS DESERVE A RESPONSE

Over the weekend this was posted on my Facebook page.

Patricia Deshane

Hi Kirby,
Thank you for accepting my friend request. I discovered you when I was checking out the case
on Jennifer Arnold (still reading up on it). I'm a bit leery on listening to the EVP's. I've heard that even making copies of recordings of demonic evp's could result in them following you home or making their way into your life (this was said at a lecture given by an infamous couple who made a living doing paranormal work), so even though I would like to hear the evp's, I'm erring on the side of caution. Do you have any thought's on this? Enjoyed looking at your photo's, especially the  visit's to the graves. Thank you for sharing those. Looking forward to listening to the prerecorded show coming up on Sat. night.

In Love and Light,
Patricia D

You are right in being very careful when it comes to EVP'S [as yet no one knows where they come from. Are they of ghosts, etc.]. Demons love to pass themselves off as ghosts so here is what happens when it comes to EVP'S.

You record an EVP of a ghost [demon] and it makes you happy and excited in a sense you embrace it, thus the demon has gotten a casual invitation into your life. You then take it home or download it onto your PC it now is inside the walls of your home. Again, a casual invitation into your life. To clarify, casual invitations don't carry the same weight as formal invitations, but they allow the demon to be around you so you might try to strike up a further interaction with this ghost/demon. This means you two draw closer to each other allowing its claws to get deeper into you and your life.

It's a cycle that is so easily missed. The best thing to do is not start it but the temptation is so great almost every paranormal group has them and every time people go out on an investigation they record them. It's best to say a personal prayer of protection prior to and after listening to them.

Now there will be those that will call me an alarmist in these cases, but it's better to be safe then haunted.

DO YOU HAVE THE GUTS & TALENT FOR MY WEDNESDAY BLOG?

EYE ON THE PARANORMAL has expanded and we are now posting great articles many times a week in our quest to become a full time news source for the paranormal community. I've decided to move my Wednesday blog to a new blog we are launching soon.

So if you have the guts to take over my spot can do it every week. If you have writing ability along with a thick skin, please contact me ASAP. We'd like to get the new blog going so you can count on us for not only news but views no one has the guts to share. Contact me at freeallspirits@live.com and we can get things set up.

NEW RADIO APPEARANCE

Sunday, November 6 at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/unknownpg 9-11 PM EST.

BISHOP LONG ON SUNDAY NIGHTS

Join Bishop Long on Sundays from 8 to 10 pm on http://www.usocc.org/USOCC/USOCC_Radio.html for his show Sacred Division. My segment is at 9 PM and is called SAY WHAT? I talk about things within the paranormal community that has caught my eye and raised my dander.

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/eyeonparanormal

A CALL TO ACTION! If you have a website, forum or blog you can set up an Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link and sell the Kindle version of "Paranormal Reality: Investigating Paranormal State" and "Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light" and earn money. You can also sell other books and products that Amazon offers. Here's the Amazon Associates Affiliate Program link.

Mount Kailash: The Holy Mountain

By Lisa Maliga

Mount Kailash, Tibet

A single circumnambulation around Mount Kailish wipes away the sins of a lifetime. Revered by Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Bons, this remote Tibetan mountain attracts scores of pilgrims.

High on the remote western Tibetan plateau, in the northernmost region of the Himalayas, sits Mount Kailash, the holy mountain. The Tibetan people have named it Kang Rinpoche, or Snow Jewel, and the Indians refer to it as Mount Meru. Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain pilgrims from the world over go to this holy mountain to circumambulate rather than scale the 22,028-foot high peak. In fact, climbing Mount Kailash is forbidden. The only person to have ever been atop the sacred mountain was Milarepa, a 11th century Tibetan Buddhist yogi.

Mount Kailash is commonly referred to as the center of the universe in Eastern religious texts from India to Japan. Rooted in the seventh hell and bursting through the highest heaven, it is also believed to be the World Pillar. Hopi Indians recognize Kailash as being at the opposite side of their Black Mesa, thus it's a cosmic backbone.

Hindus who walk around the 32-mile circumference of Mount Kailash use the term parikrama. They believe that Lord Shiva, one of their three main gods, resides atop what they call Mount Meru. Tibetans refer to the clockwise circumambulation as a kora. Both words mean the same thing: pilgrimage. Doing a walk around the mountain can wipe away a lifetime's worth of sins, or negative karma as is the term in Eastern religions. "He who performs the Parikrama, the ritual circumambulation of the holy mountain, with a perfectly devoted and concentrated mind goes through a full cycle of life and death" Lama Anagarika Govinda, 'The Way of the White Clouds.'

The Jains who refer to Kailash as Mount Ashtapada believe the founder of their faith, Rishabanatha, resides atop the mountain. And the Bons [or Bonpos], the religion which predates Buddhism in Tibet, maintain that the entire mystical region and the Nine-Story Swastika Mountain is the seat of all power. When viewed from the south face, a swastika can be seen. Unlike the Jains, Buddhists or Hindus, the Bons make counterclockwise circumambulations. "According to Bonpo accounts, 18 enlightened teachers will appear in this eon and Tonpa Shenrab, the founder of the Bon religion, is the enlightened teacher of this age. He is said to have been born in the mythical land of Olmo Lung Ring, whose location remains something of a mystery. The land is traditionally described as dominated by Mount Yung-drung Gu-tzeg (Edifice of Nine Swastikas), which many identify as Mount Kailash in western Tibet. Due to the sacredness of Olmo Lung Ring and the mountain, both the counter-clockwise swastika and the number nine are of great significance in the Bon religion." From "˜The Office of Tibet'

Devout Tibetan Buddhists will do full length prostrations, a feat which takes several weeks, around Mount Kailash, increasing the amount of purification they will receive. Many pilgrims do a complete round of the mountain in one day, an accomplishment made more difficult by the 15,000-foot high altitude. Pilgrimages are by their very nature meant to be arduous, and as the Ngari region of Mount Kailash has no airports or train stations nearby, people arrive at their spiritual destination by foot, horseback, yak or jeep. Tarchen is a small settlement near the south face of the mountain; the place where most pilgrimages begin.

Those unwilling or unable to make the kora around the mountain can hire someone who will, thereby splitting the accumulated merit 50/50. This doesn't allow either the person who sponsors the kora or the one who actually makes the journey to attain instant enlightenment. For those who make the kora, aside from enduring highly changeable weather conditions, there are four prostration points in which to pay physical homage. Many pilgrims make sure they visit the three monasteries located along the path. Near the top of the kora is the Shiwa Tsal, named after the famed cremation grounds in India. Pieces of clothing, a lock of hair or a drop of blood are left there as an offering, signifying the pilgrim's understanding of death and rebirth. At the highest point of the circuit, just over 18,000 feet, is Dolma La Pass, meaning 'She Who Helps Cross.' [The Sanskrit name for the female Buddha is Tara]. This refers to the crossing over to liberation as well as being able to complete the pilgrimage circuit around Kailash. The great boulder of Tara is swathed with long, colorful strings of prayer flags which send out messages of peace with each flap they make in this windy region.

Mount Kailash is also the source of four major rivers: the Indus, the Brahmaputra, the Karnali and the Sutleg. The comparison to the Indian legend of Mount Meru from whose summit flows four great rivers that irrigate all of Asia is hard to miss.

Eighteen miles southeast of Kailash is the circular, turquoise Lake Manasarovar, or Tso Rinpoche, [Precious Lake], a 64-mile circuit, which is rarely completed except by the most devout. Bathing in the lake, or even dousing one's head with the holy water, is said to be of enormous spiritual benefit to those who can brave the icy water which many claim contain miraculous powers. Hindus are told that complete immersion into the lake ensures they be reborn as a god. Tibetans, on the other hand, avoid bathing in the lake so as not to make it dirty. This is a freshwater lake, three miles above sea level. There is a saltwater lake, separated by a narrow peninsula, named Raksas Tal, or devil's lake. Pilgrims don't bathe or circumambulate this crescent moon-shaped body of water, but do pay their respect by glancing in its direction.

Five monasteries have been rebuilt on the shores of Lake Manasarovar since 1981before the Chinese invasion in 1959 there were eight. Fatigued pilgrims are allowed to stay in the monasteries. Fewer than 500 Indian nationals are allowed to make the pilgrimage per year due to the Chinese and Indian governments. Most of the Indians allowed in are selected via a lottery and the ability to pay their own way is evident in the fact that the majority of them are middle-aged businessmen from large cities.

Before the Cultural Revolution, pilgrims were selected by their bountiful faith. They traveled on foot or horseback. Some of them made the journey by doing the full-length prostrations along the way, an endeavor which could last for years, depending upon the distance and the weather conditions. Few pilgrims were armed, making them prey to thieves. But even under such extreme conditions, they were unafraid of death; dying during a pilgrimage pretty much guaranteed them a lot of good karma points. Pilgrimages require a degree of flexibility that most people aren't required to possess in a world with guaranteed insurance benefits and retirement plans. To make a spiritual journey is to rid oneself of habits and to open the heart, making the pilgrim ego less and pure; then allowing this transformation to reach out and positively affect others.

"There is no place more powerful for practice, more blessed, or more marvelous than this; May all pilgrims and practitioners be welcome!" Milarepa, Tibetan Buddhist yogi [circa 1052 - 1136]

Halloween Ghosts

By Kirby Robinson

Due to the fact that Ryan Harshbarger is unable to post a blog today, I'm making this a fun celebration of Halloween. I went looking for some ghostly photos to share with you.

If anyone wants some evidence that ghosts really exist, I now have irrefutable proof. I ran into this fun loving ghost over the summer at a mausoleum. Please notice that ghosts do the same things we do—they talk on phone, drink water, and like to read books. 

 

Ghost drinking water

Ghost on the phone

Ghost reading Paranormal Teachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light

Happy Halloween! :)

 ParanormalTeachings: The Best of Shedding Some Light

Fraud or Fake

By Martha Hazzard Decker

Author’s note – this author lost her voice and was unable to speak directly to anyone this week. This piece is done from previous research and memory of conversations. Some of the opinions may be those of the author after talking to numerous people.

There has been much discussion amongst the paranormal community about fakers and fraud. Teams have been sued by other teams or team members. Then there are those teams touting the why can’t we all be friends and share with each other while lambasting other teams and individuals in the same breath. This article is not about getting along, although that might be nice. It’s about the fact that it might be a good thing to be somewhat skeptical when talking to an individual about possible activity in their home, public place or business.

Anyone interested in what the paranormal community is saying about this just has to Google paranormal frauds and they will come up with nearly 6,000,000 results in seconds. There are individuals calling themselves doctors. In many states all you have to do is use the word doctor and have others believe you are just that to commit a felony. Others may hold themselves to be inventors of equipment that can be applied to the paranormal field. That is until the true scientists and researchers within the paranormal realm begin asking too many questions. That’s when some of these individuals tend to fade away. There are a few sites to check every now and then such as SciFake to keep up with possible allegations of “things may not be as they seem.” There is an interesting article Burden of Proof that discusses where the burden lies, with the skeptic or the believers. While this may not cover fakers and fraud, it does apply to this as well. In fact, there are a lot of good article on About.com regarding almost everything paranormal.

But then there are some even worse. They are real criminals and should be charged with a criminal offense. A recent conversation with another investigator centered on a paranormal group that was new and turned out to be not so interested in the paranormal. When they were contacted by individuals with questions or asking for help they would set up an investigation time the same as most groups. They would arrive at the home without plans to do an investigation. When they made contact with the homeowner they had the stipulation that they could not conduct an investigation with the homeowner present. Once the homeowner left, they would steal items from the home. One would think this couldn’t last too long as it would be fairly easy to track them down. That is if they use their real names and so on and if the homeowner is not too embarrassed to make a report. It’s a good idea for the individual contacting a group to be sure and take some time to do their due diligence search on the group and maybe even the founder. Most groups are legitimate and won’t be offended if the caller asks questions or even for references. After all, it is their home and they are asking strangers to come for the evening.

One woman who decided she had demons in her home set out to find the quickest way she could find to get rid of them. She contacted a group near her home and they responded quickly because she has a child in the home. When this group arrived for the interview they were told activity picked up the night she followed some instructions she received. The instructions were to use anointing oil in various places, say certain prayers, write something on a piece of paper and sleep with it under her pillow. Then the first thing she was to do the following morning was to put the paper, along with money, into an envelope so the person receiving it could pray for them and make everything go away. The group advised this was a scam and arranged to conduct an investigation several days later. Before the investigation, the woman called the group and told them she had two men come to the house, but wasn’t able to explain where she found them, and they had come to cleanse her house, telling her not to have the group come over. While the two unknown men were at the residence so was the woman’s daughter. The men started their cleansing and put oils on a variety of places within the home. Then they had the woman in her bedroom and told her to disrobe so they could “cleanse” her. They said this would have applied to her daughter if she was 12, she was 11. The scary part is what might have happened, especially if her daughter had not been present. The woman refused and then the men demanded money for their so called “free” home cleansing. She said she did not have any money and promised to send them some in a few days and they left. The group counseled her about scan artists and the dangers of allowing just anyone into her home. It was such a concern the group tried to get information from her regarding the men. They wanted to report this to police. She didn’t want to give out the information and said she was still sending them the money even though it was a cam because she had promised to do so.

It’s a shame there are individuals out there who are willing to do anything to have their 15 minutes of fame or to just have fun at another person’s expense. This can cause all kinds of problems from a real situation getting worse along with even more distrust of the paranormal community in general. While the paranormal community may not ever get rid of the fakers by working together cohesively they may make a dent and help the scientific community one day accept more of the data.

There are pages on FaceBook like Stop Paranormal Bullying and one Paranormal Fraud Awareness. Both have missions to expose fraud. You can find the same on Twitter. These can be good places to obtain current information about information you may not know regarding current scamming trends. Just like it is important to remember when watching TV paranormal shows that they are for entertainment purposes only. They are not always the best place to learn how to conduct a proper paranormal investigation just like the TV show COPS is not the place to learn how to be a good officer. Individuals who are interested in the paranormal field should try to connect with some good and experienced paranormal researchers, groups or investigators willing to take the time to mentor. By taking the time to do this the experienced will help educate and alleviate some of the misconceptions in the field.  The experienced might consider themselves the village and take it from there, which is better than creating the Paranormal Police.

There are several important things to remember when talking with or locating someone to help you with possible unexplained activity in your home:

• There is no such thing as a guaranteed removal of activity. It’s not like buying that guaranteed used car. The science is not exact.
• The group you call should not charge a penny to help. If they do, beware and call another group.
• Ask how long they have been around and what kind of experience members in the group have with the paranormal. Legitimate groups won’t be offended.
• If an individual used doctor in their name ask where they went to school.
• If a group requires you to leave your home and you don’t want to, don’t. An honest group will probably want you nearby in case they have questions during their investigation. Be suspicious if they say they will only come if you leave.
• Most groups will ask you to sign a release. That’s standard practice. Just remember it is your house and you do not have to have the information released to the public. Most legitimate groups give you the homeowner the choice to decide how much if anything is made public.

Dark Radio aired a show this past Thursday night and discussed Frauds, Fame and Fortune of the Paranormal. You can listen to the show through the archives. Another discussion that could cover pages here would be to discuss what makes a place really haunted when it comes to it being a public location for events. A recent conversation with an investigator was about how a location asked them to come and investigate their location. Prior to the investigation the location was researched to determine if there was any sort of a past that could cause unexplained activity and there was none. The house while brand new was made to appear to be very old. The group went in and was able to determine that they owners had set up the house so it appeared to be active when it was not. This was a good thing and investigators should be prepared to look for scams on the other end. Skeptoid has an article about Paranormal Tourism is it Fun or Fraud. There are many pages covering the same discussion. What do you think?