Dr Dosti Regmi Blog

  Essence of Ashtavakra Gita Ashtavakra Gita is a dialog between Sage Ashtavakra and his student - King Janaka. It is an advanced Vedantic text best studied after learning the principal Upanishads. King Janaka, being a great Jnani himself, instantly grasps the teachings and the latter section of Ashtavakra Gita becomes a discussion between peers. There is a story in the Mahabharata that mentions Ashtavakra and Janaka. Sage Kahola was reciting the Vedas when his unborn son Ashtavakra, still in his mother's womb, corrected his father eight times. In anger, Sage Kahola cursed his son to be born deformed in eight places, so he was born with a crooked body (Ashtavakra literally means eight crooked). This story illustrates the fact that while Ashtavakra's body may have been crooked, his words were direct and straight to the point. The language of the Upanishads is imprecise and leaves room for multiple interpretations by different Vedantic schools. Ashtavakra Gita is clear and pr...

  Four Divine Dwellings (Brahma-viharas) Loving-kindness ( metta ) Compassion ( karuna ) Sympathetic joy ( mudita ) Equanimity ( upekkha ) They are also known as abodes of Brahma, excellent or sublime attitudes, boundless states, and divine states. These positive virtues called brahma viharas inherent in the human mind which can give rise to positive emotional health, happiness, rewarding social relationships, and contribute to spiritual development. Loving kindness ( metta ) In the Pali language the word “mitta” means friend. Here, it becomes “metta” meaning friendliness, good will, amity or loving kindness.  “May I be happy May I be peaceful May I be free from suffering” “May you be happy May you be peaceful May you be free from suffering” “May all beings be happy May all beings be peaceful May all beings be free from suffering” A meditator practising loving kindness meditation should be on guard against two enemies, lust described as “near enemy” and ill-will described as “...

The Buddha attained enlightenment at the age of 35 on the full moon day of May under a Bodhi tree at a place called Bodh Gaya through His own effort without the help of any teacher.  Gautama Buddha then decided to teach the path of liberation that He had discovered to others to help them attain enlightenment through their own effort and escape from human suffering and the cycle of birth and death ( samsara ).  His first sermon, the Dhammachakkappavattana sutta meant ‘turning of the Wheel of the Truth’. In this sermon, the Buddha expounded on the Middle Path to liberation that He had discovered, avoidance of the two extremes of self-indulgence in sensual pleasures and self-mortification, and disclosed the four Noble Truths.  The first Noble Truth is like a physician's diagnosis of a disease. The second Noble Truth is like the physician’s discovery of the cause of the disease, etiology. The third Noble Truth is like the assurance of the physician that there is a cure for th...

उनको  स्पर्शले मलाई सर्वाङ्ग छोएपछि, उनको  न्यानोले मेरो मन नौनी झैं पग्लिएपछि, उनको सबै प्याला मै माथि रित्तिएपछि, हामी एउटा गहिरो मौनमा प्रबिस्ट भएका छौँ। हाम्रो खबर कसैलाई लिनु छ भने, बसन्तका हरिया पलुवालाई सोध्नू। फक्रेका फुललाई सोध्नू। बिहानीको शितको बुँदलाई सोध्नू। घामको रक्तिम सिउँदो लगाएको, नवयोवना हिमालको तरुण वयलाई सोध्नू। Painting: The abduction of Psyche  by  William-Adolphe Bouguereau , 1895.

  Everything is impermanent. The most permanent thing in your life is you. Love yourself. Be happy

The first and the last words of the Buddha: First words: Having become a Perfectly Enlightened One, after 6 long years of wandering and searching, on the full moon day of Baisakha under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gayā, at the age of sweet 35  (I am also around that age. Honestly I am at my sweet 36),  Buddha’s first words were the following:   “ Anekajāti saṁsāraṁ  , Sandhāvissaṁ anibbisaṁ  Gahakārakaṁ gavesanto,  Dukkhā jāti punappunaṁ ” “Through many a birth in samsara h ave I wandered in vain s eeking the builder of this house of life, r epeated birth is indeed suffering” “Gahakāraka dittho si,  Puna gehaṁ na kāhasi,  Sabbā te phāsukā bhaggā,   Gahakūtaṁ visañkhita,   Visañkhāragataṁ cittaṁ,  Tanhānaṁ khāyaṁ ajjhagā” “O house-builder you are seen, y ou will not build this house again, f or your rafters are broken a nd your ridgepole shattered.  My mind has reached the unconditioned.  I have attained the annihilati...

मलाई आफुभन्दा पछि नपार्नू, म हराउन सक्छु। मलाई आफुभन्दा अगाडि जान पनि नदिनू, म अत्तालिन सक्छु। मलाई तिमी आफू सङ्सङै हिडाउनू, मेरो प्रिय "पल"! तिमी मलाई आफै भित्र समेट्नू।

    Ordinary is extraordinary. The book " How Proust Can Change Your Life" by Alain De Botton shows how  a great novel can be nothing less than life-transforming. It can be a companion  to read  Michel Proust's masterpiece “ In Search of Lost Time” which was published in 1913 is a seven-volume novel with 3444 pages that follows its narrator also named M arcel   as remembers his life from early childhood to imminent death in aristocratic 19th century France. Reading is therapeutic. Proust says while we are reading we are reading ourselves. We habitually match the characters with people from our own life. A piece of literature is alive by the ways in which it parallels our own life. At first, the character’s manners might seem remote and their concerns irrelevant to us but we will soon find points of resonance between their lives and ours and be drawn to them. Reading Proust will also make us less lonely. We find comfort in the experiences we share wit...

These days... I don´t know why. I prefer to slow down.  I prefer to forget than to remember.  I prefer to heal rather than hurt myself. I don't know!  What did I become?  Did I become wise? ;  Or Did I become old?  Happy birthday to me… किन किन अचेल, सुस्ताइरहन मन लाग्छ। सम्झिन भन्दा बिर्सिन मन लाग्छ। चित्त दुखाउन भन्दा बुझाउन मन लाग्छ। थाहा छैन ! के बाट म के भएँ ? ज्ञानी भएँ ? ; कि बुढो भएँ ? ह्याप्पी बर्थडे टु मी।

Stressed? Ask these 6 " C"  questions. Do I need the C haos?  - No! Do I need the  C omplexity?  - No! Do I need the  C hase? - No! Should  I depend on the  C ircumstance? - No! Should I depend on another  C haracter/person ? - No! Should I depend on other  C (s)ubstance? - No! Can I be  C heerful,  C omfortable, and  C alm; away from the chaos, complexity, and chase; without depending on the people, circumstances, and substance? - YES! Picture: The Thinker  ( French:   Le Penseur ), bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin.  

The monk´s secret to happiness.     -Dosti Regmi In a remote mountain monastery nestled amidst mist-covered peaks, there lived a humble monk known for his serenity, tranquility, and joy.  One day, a weary traveler ventured up the winding path to the monastery to ask, "Master, what is the secret of your happiness?" Monk answered, "Its all about choice ! Every morning I ask myself whether I want to be happy or sad. I choose to be happy and stick to it all day long. Simple!"

Satipathana Sutta : The basis of the Mindfulness Meditation, Vipassanna, Introspection and Cognitive Therapy.    -Dosti Regmi Human beings are deep wired for chaos, complexity, chase, and  dissatisfaction because of the dichotomy between the impulsive limbic brain and the reasoning of the neo-cortex. Human being is the only species of animal that regrets the past, is fearful of the future, and is dissatisfied with the present. Our emotional excitements often lead us to dissatisfaction in life which is called suffering (dukkha). Our thinking traps and cognitive distortions make us think in unhelpful ways. Buddha’s teaching is to live intentionally, choosing our own emotions and thoughts wisely. All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner; they have mind as their chief; they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with an evil mind, ‘dukkha’ follows him just as the wheel follows the hoof print of the ox that draws the cart. All mental phenomena have mind as their ...