Siddharameshwar Maharaj is one of the greatest unknown saints of the age who attained the highest abode of Eternal peace. He was born in August 1888 in the small village of Pathri, in the district Sholapur of India. From 1925 until 1936, he taught many disciples (including Nisargadatta Maharaj) and helped dozens attain Self-realisation.

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Shitou Xiqian – known as Sekito Kisen in Japanese – was an 8th century Chinese monk, a student of Huineng and Huineng’s successor, Qingyuan Xingsi (Seigen Gyoshi). He is credited with writing two of the most famous Zen poems in China – the Sandokai and this, the Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage. The beauty of this poem lies in its humanity and its emphasis on the simplicity of practice – the grass roof hermitage is not a grand temple building inhabited by clergy, but a small, modest dwelling that could be constructed by anyone, and meditation itself is a matter of turning the light around to shine within and just returning.

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This is a reading for meditation of the teaching given by Mipham Rinpoche entitled - "The Instruction on Stillness, Occurrence, and Awareness in Mahamudra'  - taken from the text Perfect Clarity. Translated by Eric Pema Kunsang.

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Matrusri Anasuya Devi (born 28 March 1923-1985) was an Indian spiritual guru from Andhra Pradesh. Widely known as Jillellamudi Amma, she is revered by millions of her devotees spread across the globe as an incarnation of the Divine Mother, the supreme deity, Raja Rajeswari Devi. Many miracles and spiritual transformations were witnessed and recorded by people in Amma's presence.

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The Ten Ox Herding Pictures  is a series of short poems and accompanying drawings used in the Zen tradition to describe the stages of a practitioner's progress toward enlightenment, and his or her return to society to enact wisdom and compassion. The Ten Oxherding Pictures which relate back to a Ch'an master in the Sung dynasty China (1126-1279 AD), have spiritual roots in the early Buddhist texts. They provide useful imagery of an illusion to be negated before a seeker of truth can experience enlightenment. The ox symbolizes the mind and the herder symbolizes the seeker.  Translated by Victor Sogen Hori 

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This is a reading of the Buddha's teaching on the four foundations of mindfulness (The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta - Majjhima Nikaya 10: ) intended as a guided meditation. Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (with a few minor alterations).  As stated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, this teaching, "is generally regarded as the canonical Buddhist text with the fullest instructions on the system of meditation unique to the Buddha's own dispensation.

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Excerpts read from the text - Life as Teacher. Vimala Thakar (1921- 2009) was born in Bilaspur District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. She was a great spiritually enlightened revolutionary and activist; mystic, and a notable Indian figure of the 20th Century who boldly forged a radically independent approach to spirituality and the search for truth.

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Atisha was born in the year 982 AD in East Bengal.  He was one of the major figures in the spread of 11th-century Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in Asia and inspired Buddhist thought from Tibet to Sumatra. He is recognised as one of the greatest figures of classical Buddhism. Atisha's chief disciple, Dromtön, was the founder of the Kadam school, one of the New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism, later supplanted by the Gelug tradition in the 14th century, adopting its teachings and absorbing its monasteries.

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This is a reading from the first section of Benner's book, The Impersonal Life. Joseph Sieber Benner (January 3, 1872 – September 24, 1938) was an American author, New Thought writer, member of the Lutheran Church,  and Representative of the Brotherhood of Christ who used the pen name "Anonymous". He was the first to introduce the Knowledge and Teachings of Impersonal Life (also known as the "I AM" Teaching) to the Western world in this, his first book, published in 1914.

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This is a guided meditation on applying the paradigm of the Four Noble Truths as taught by the Buddha. For more information on this topic, I recommend this priceless booklet by Luang Por (Ajahn) Sumedho which you can download for free here: https://amaravati.org/book-authors/ajahn-sumedho/?fpmtp_languages=english

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