LAGOS

A Fisherman’s Tale

Once when I was fishing I fell overboard when hauling on a line  - I was  terrified as I bobbed slowly to the surface of the freezing numbing cold water in my heavy clothes and boots which I couldn’t seem to kick off.

When I surfaced I saw my tiny boat upside down in the waves and knew I had no chance of turning it over. My major muscles were already going into agonizing spasms of cramp and I knew that I was almost certainly going to be dead in about three - maybe four minutes.  All fishermen know the deal even if they don’t much like to talk about it.

I was in hell.  Every limb and portion of me wracked with pain and fear.  I was also choking on brine and vomiting uncontrollably. I started to trip out a bit, felt like I was melting or something - weird shit was happening and I knew I was dying. The glimpse of strange bliss disappeared and I felt the worst feelings I had ever known.

And then - a hand grabbed my back and hauled me into a small boat.

When I came round I was wrapped in blankets - and he was rubbing my feet. When he saw my groggy eye open he laughed heartily and passed me a bottle of cognac - “You’re some fuckin’ lucky - boy!” he laughed and soon I was laughing with him.

Lagos and I became inseparable buddies from that day on -  I owed him my life!  My very life!  But every time I tried to thank him he just took the piss and pretended it was all a great joke.

I would have cut my arm off for that man and loved him more dearly - with more warmth and fullness than I have ever loved another person in this world.

Naturally I regarded his nautical skills as almost supernaturally advanced and hero-worshipped him as a type of ideal man, hiding his many fine qualities under a bluff and blokey front. If I ever introduced him to people as “The Man Who Saved My Life” then he would always call me “Mr Flotsam” or some such thing.  Always avoiding praise and meeting any kind of flattery with his rich and original sense of humor.

Once I was out in my boat alone - without Lagos for once and I’d grabbed a local newspaper along with a few snacks and shoved them into a carrier-bag for the journey.  It was a beautiful sea so once I was out past Tater Du a bit I just sat and drifted, watching the ganets, or ’bomb-birds’ - as my daughter likes to call them.

I had a couple of bananas and a drink of juice and settled down to read the local paper - the notoriously dull Penwithershins Gazette.  

Local Man Leigh Goss Taken Into Custody On Heroin - Prostitution And Human-Trafficking Charges After Assault On Two Women -

Mr Goss (44) a fisherman from New Lynsmouth, will appear before Trewrew Magistrates on Monday following the discovery of several teenaged refugees at his remote country home in Trewither.  Almost an ounce of heroin was also removed along with several sets of shackles. Two women had to be hospitalized following the incident which eventually resulted in armed police surrounding the house.  More details will be released after the initial Hearing at Trewrew Court of Justice.

I looked at the waves so dark and cold, pulling me  down again.  My stomach cramped up like I’d been punched and I vomited over the picture of Lagos.

My head was spinning as again I stared into the dark boiling waves - Oh God!  What now!  What now?

RIGPA FREE SPEECH UNION

RIGPA FREE SPEECH UNION

Sometimes it can be hard to think clearly - I know it-s not just me because I-ve heard others say the same- There is an inner-censor that must be assasinated if we are to be honest people - Of course - we-ll look a bit strange if we do kill this internalized spectre of bourgeois consciousness and truly speak out - It-ll make the rest of the world look rather constipated - but hey - they-ll catch on eventually! 
Rigpa refers to something at the centre of nature that cannot be claimed by any human hand or word - what people are arguing over is not Rigpa but rather the Buddhist organization of the same name - I think it-s good that we all remember that as I am sure we all do constantly -
When you go to a bad restaurant do you give up food -
If you get a bad lover do you give up on love -
Even if a fucking parrot blurted out the teachings it would not alter their validity -
Better to learn from the beak of a song-bird but a parrot will do if you-re in a fix -
Sadly a VAMPYRE BAT will not do - It-s not wise to give them your ear -

For people getting over the confusion of finding out that their spiritual teacher is not what he seems I have opened up the RIGPA FREE SPEECH UNION - This is for people who have been fleeced or otherwise by the artist formerly known as Sogyal Rinpoche - a man who has used and abused the bodies of countless women and also fucked with the spiritual progress of countless thousands of sincere seekers after the deepest truths of this life - Anyone who thinks a true Lama can act in such a monstrous and vampyrish manner and still be a valid source of the truth is - I cordially suggest - mistaken -
For those of you who are dumb enough to believe that I will burn in a specific infernal realm known as Vajra Hell for calling my old teacher a bastard - well grow up - Isn-t that kind of bullshit the reason most of us strayed from the Christianity of our forefathers in the first place ~

He wasn-t even practicing Dharma most of the time!  The silly fucker was watching TV and eating rare pork like a slob while some poor lady sucked his oojamiflip - - - If you don-t believe me ask the several thousand witnesses -

Enough of this non-inspiration - go to the RIGPA FREE SPEECH UNION on you-know-where and start the practice of one hundred thousand syllables of free speech - followed by another hundred thousand etc etc

RIGPA FREE SPEECH UNION is international and is a zone of uncensored free speech for the benefit of former and current students of Sogyal Aka Rinpoche who are coming to terms with his history You do not need to register but can if you wish - and if you don-t like what I have said then you must please excuse my marignorance - Trashy Delay Babies!

A Challenge To A Wise Lama

I-m inviting World-famous Tibetan Lama Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche to debate me on the policy of ZERO-TOLERANCE OF ABUSE IN BUDDHISM as I think we all need to be clear that true Buddhism will never turn a blind eye to abuse under any name or in any form whatsoever - Surely authentic Buddhism should neither be deaf to the cries of the world - from whatever source they come - My own view is that the best deterrent for institutional abuse is to shine a searingly bright light into the heart of that institution whilst sounding a siren to wake the town and tell the people -
Institutions - be they prisons or monasteries - be they police-departments or job-centres - schools - armies - mental-hospitals or trading companies - tend to be hierarchical in structure and thus require submission of a portion of sovereign autonomy from constituent members - these structures are often arranged like concentric rings of power or tiers of a wedding-cake - The point is that some people - like me - believe that your own conscience should be the boss - the Guvnor - and even the most respected opinion can only resonate with our own - not impose or dominate it!  As usual I have said too much - so here is the letter:

Open Letter to Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche – 8^th January 2018

Dear Rinpoche                               

I have offered to the Three Jewels the policy of ZERO-TOLERANCE OF ABUSE IN BUDDHISM and would be so delighted to receive at least a verbal endorsement of this idea from a real Tibetan Lama –

I would like to invite you to debate me on youtube for at least one hour of unedited free and open discussion of the above offering and its connotations –

I understand that Rinpoche is an unusually busy man and it may be some time before you find the appropriate hour to do this but as I recently discovered that you were visiting my country it seemed timely to extend the invitation -

When you are able to make this meeting I recommend it be in a secular space so free speech can prevail without causing possible offence to anyone-s beliefs –

My view is that for the Buddha-Dharma to flourish in the West and in the World generally it-s representatives will need to conduct themselves in a manner that inspires trust and respect – When the teacher is advertising teachings to the general public my view is that the teacher-s morality must be seen to be at least as good as those he or she is going to teach and possibly even a little bit better -  Given a stark choice between Enlightenment and Human Rights most people I know will tell me exactly where I can put my Enlightenment –

It would make me very happy to see the Buddha-Dharma flourish in new countries like Britain but I know these people and when it comes to teachers - school or religion – we have high standards –

The more Buddhism spreads in the modern world the more attention is focusing on the teachers - the Lamas and Gurus who are spreading this extraordinary message – Some of them have already achieved a status approaching that of a minor pop-star (in worldly eyes) and obviously H H The Dalai Lama is a massive super-star by any definition in this world –

Whilst some of the less critical Buddhists are unwilling to hear tales of abuse within Buddhism I can assure you that the more public Buddhism becomes as its success spreads – then countless secular media people are going to be looking for ways to attack the Dharma – Are we going to hand them a box of weapons –

If abuse continues within Buddhism the media will root it out – they have barely given it any attention so far in history because journalists follow leads – so far there have not been many – In the future we might even see Buddhist-Journalists who make it their life-s work to root out abuse and throw it on the table before the eyes of the world – Personally I would respect a journalist like that –

I look forward to your response Rinpoche

Kind regards – Jeremy Schanche – Penwith - Kernow – Britain – The West

Well this is how naive I am - I was looking for a nice photo of a Tibetan Snow Lion to put on this blog as I thought it would go well - Just a few seconds ago I discovered that the snow lion is a mythical or celestial animal - not to be found within Animalia!  I heard about them years ago and  I always thought these beasts were real - and I also prided myself on knowing a lot about Tibet!  Hmmm - Perhaps I-m just an ignorant pig and nothing more -
Well - don-t panic anyone!  We-ll just have to make do with a picture of a real animal from my country - Palores Kernouac Yw - Pyrocorax pyrocorax - The Cornish Chough - Note how generations of being used down tin-mines has led to the visible evolution of a pick-axe bill -

Feileacan

Almost certainly the best thing to do is KEEP CALM AND PANIC