Illusory Advice: Gender becomes irrelevant

"It is not necessary to adopt a male stance to be reassured that one is regarded as male, or a female stance to be reassured that one is regarded as female. Discovering the internal qualities of femaleness for men and maleness for women overcomes the tendency to polarise experience and ignore one’s inner nature. Once the nonduality of inner and outer is experienced, gender becomes irrelevant."

p25, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.
Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Total immersion

The purpose of apprenticeship is to taste a unique depth of experience and involvement in a Vajrayana tradition without taking lifelong commitments. You can leap, but with the lifebelt of your probationary apprentice status.

You cannot know whether you are going to really like a cake unless you taste it. If you look at it and feel uncertain, or smell it and think that it doesn’t seem so good, but never actually taste it – you will never know what it tastes like. Vajrayana has to be tasted. So we would encourage you to use the probationary period to taste Vajrayana through this Lineage as thoroughly as possible. Taste with an open heart and an open mind.

p22, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Pure... impure?

"Tantra begins with the experience of emptiness – the pregnant space from which form arises. Form is simply that which arises – and does not need to be viewed in terms of pure or impure. Human bodies are as they are and are available for appreciation. Samsara is not a separate existence to nirvana. They are the same experience – it is view that changes."

p21, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Are animals enlightened?

Q: Are animals more enlightened than us? They don’t seem to separate themselves from reality and so I wondered therefore whether they exist in a nondual state, reacting instantly with events as they occur?

A: The directness of interaction with their environment that you perceive in animals is instinctive rather than realised. It may be useful to draw a distinction here between living in the physical form of an animal and living in the animal-realm. Having a physical animal form does not necessarily mean that such a being always dwells in the animal-realm. We have met horses—for example—who certainly possess a sense of humour, which would usually be regarded as a human characteristic. We have heard of animals and birds who create and manipulate tools, and of others who display acts of selflessness and kindness. Such characteristics might suggest that these animals may in fact dwell in the human-realm – at least in part.

p10, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Carping about the animal realm

"Confusion sometimes arises through thinking that teachings on the animal-realm of the six realms 11 refer specifically to the animals we see in the world, and because of the assumption that all human-looking beings live in the human-realm. There can also be a tendency to romanticise animals, as somehow innately spiritual. Animals can display human-realm characteristics of discrimination and humour, whilst humans can display animal-realm mentality of being humourless, trapped in a particular view, lacking awareness of others. Teachings on the realms of being are helpful in enabling you to become aware of your mind-set in any moment."

p18, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Drinking with awareness

"Alcohol can open our ability to be receptive and decrease our tendency to prejudice and preconception. Alcohol can loosen the restraints of our conventional view. The essence of the practice is to drink with awareness. Awareness can be maintained even when one is experiencing the effect of becoming slightly tipsy. The amount of alcohol that can be drunk while retaining awareness will depend on the physical capacity and practice experience of the individual."

p17, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Illusory Advice: Real or unreal?

Dewi Sant, Cardiff City Hall, 2013, Ngakma Nor’dzin

"Faith is not an issue in Buddhism. Buddhism demands the development of confidence based on gradual experience built up over time. You are quite new to practice so give things time to ferment. Keep your practice simple and light and your meditation sessions short.

Gradually your confidence will grow and you will know whether your experiences are real in that they are beneficial and moving you towards being a kinder and happier person. If the spiritual experiences you describe are making you happier, and a nicer person to be around, then this is the true test of the validity of your experience."

p15, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Addiction

Dee, 2012, Ngakma Nor’dzin

"Smoking adversely affects the rTsa-lung and hinders the arising of the benefits of meditation.

We follow our own teacher’s guidance on this, just as they have followed the guidance of Kyabjé Düd’jom Rinpoche – Jig’drèl Yeshé Dorje. Please read his text on smoking. It is not that we regard people who smoke as ‘bad people’ – it is simply an unhelpful addiction from the point of view of practice and health. A Buddhist is one who attempts to maintain awareness rather than hiding from facts – such as the fact that smoking can kill you. Every ‘sincerely practising Buddhist’ will want to make the most of their human life to gain realisation – and will therefore not smoke.

If a potential apprentice felt it unreasonable to be asked to let go of such a mundane addiction in order to embrace the practice of Vajrayana, it is unlikely that they would follow our advice with regard to letting go of their addiction to neurosis. It is unlikely that we would be the right teachers and Lineage for such a person."

p12, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Please grant me siddhis

Weather Vane, 2015, Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin

"Awakening cannot be handed to you – the cause has to be created through your own effort. Through discovering the qualities of Padmasambhava by practising Dorje Tsig-dün, you can aspire to liberate the siddhis of Padmasambhava in yourself."

p11, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Ritual

"You could totally immerse yourself in ritual and see what happens ... or you could start to notice the rituals with which you are continually surrounded: the hello/goodbye ritual; the would-you-like-to-come-up-for-a-coffee ritual; the what-to-wear ritual for going to work, a party, a ball, or playing football; the walking-towards-someone-in-a-corridor ritual; and so on. Once you start to notice the rituals of your everyday life, those which surround entering the dimension of the yidam may not seem so exotic and obscure."

p10, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Why am I doing this?

Crow, 2015, Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin

"It is a common experience in solitary retreat, that everything becomes stripped bare. One can experience moments of: ‘Why on earth am I mumbling these words in a foreign language, getting up so early, and sitting on my own with aching knees and a stiff back?’ – or something to that effect. At such times shi-nè can be a great strength and support, because of its directness. The practice of shi-nè has its own logic that can be experienced directly. If other practices, such as mantra accumulation, feel less accessible at the moment, it is fine to concentrate on shi-nè."

p9, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Loving Kindness

"You need to be aware that practising loving kindness on your meditation cushion, and leaving that space with a warm glow in your heart,does not necessarily mean that your anger will arise any less vigorously or immediately should you encounter an irritating stimulus. Shi-nè is ultimately more effective in cutting conditioning at the root. Through allowing spaciousness to develop in the mind, you are less at the mercy of your neuroses."

p8, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: Practice is all that can be offered

"You may have heard us say that if all our apprentices decided to leave and no one ever came to our sitting group, we would simply carry on practising and making ourselves available for people. All you can offer people is your practice. You can express your own feelings of appreciation for, and commitment to, your practice and Lineage, and hold a wish for others to experience the benefits you have found – but then you have to let it go and leave it up to them.

p7, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice: From Sutra to Tantra

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, 2015, Ngakma Nor’dzin

"Tantra can seem rather decadent or dangerous from the perspective of Sutra. Sutra moves towards emptiness and so personality is irrelevant. Everything is calmed down. Tantra however begins with the experience of emptiness and conjures with form. Personality and the richness of life is embraced as the material with which the nonduality of emptiness and form can be discovered."

p6, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Illusory Advice by Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin

Illusory Advice is an anthology of lively email discussions between two Western-born Buddhist teachers and their students. The questions and replies cover a wide range of topics—to which the Buddhist view is applied with directness, subtlety, and humour—such as: family life; interpersonal difficulties; and, the student-teacher relationship.

Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin are a married teaching-couple of the Aro gTér Lineage of the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. They are ordained representatives of the ancient non-monastic tradition of Vajrayana, in which every-day life circumstances and individual-personality are embraced as the path of transformation.

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Please see the Aro Books worldwide website for more information about Illusory Advice.

Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.

Reviews and Ratings and Favourite Quotations.

Everyone who does anything for Aro Books worldwide is a volunteer.  Sometimes we are busy elsewhere and can't give the books the attention that they deserve. Sometimes it's all we can do to get to the point where we hit the 'publish' button and we don't have time for a fanfare of publicity.

I've been catching up with some of the background tasks that go along with the publishing process - making Legal Deposits to the various national libraries, registering the ISBNs with Nielsen's and so forth.

I think that I'm just about caught up with the immediate background work.  There's always more that can be done by way of publicity, but at least the essentials are there.

I should now be able to get back to making a little more fuss about our books - and start with some of the most recent publications over the next few days.

Meanwhile, all out books are listed on the Aro Books worldwide website. For each book I've added a list of the most popular places where they can be bought.  Could I ask a favour?  If you have bought any of our books could you leave a review and rating for it at one or more of the sites where it can be bought? If you have any favourite quotations from any of the books, could you send them to me at arobooksworldwide@gmail.com ?

Thank you very much.

'ö-Dzin