RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

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Noah D, modified 1 Year ago at 4/7/22 11:18 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/7/22 11:18 AM

Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 1211 Join Date: 9/1/16 Recent Posts
The Pointing Out Way organiziation just released this email:

Dear students

Daniel P. Brown, PhD, passed away in our apartment in San Francisco on 4/4/22.

Through good fortune, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and his wife Tsering have lit 108 butter lamps, and we are also having the traditional prayers done for the three days that Dan's body will remain at home.

Ceremonies may be regional and online, and we will make sure people will have a place to offer something.

Due to Dan's accelerating Parkinson's, we have plans in place for the teachings to continue. You will see updates posted on our website and announced through our mailing list.

Dan died in my arms. I felt his last breath. He was so brave. No pain medicine, no pain, just twelve days of dying. He had wonderful care thanks to my Bay Area friends and family.

I ask you to come up with an example of a special experience or moment (photo, memory, or story) with Dan and how that impacted your life, and present it briefly at our online celebration.

With much love,
Gretchen

Dan Brown's 1 week retreats on Mahamudra & Dzogchen have helped many awaken, in the sense that we discuss on dharma overground.  There are several old DhO threads where folks discuss these retreats.  Dan was known for his single-minded focus on awakening & using the most efficient means to get there.  While I was not a direct student, I did take 2 of the level 1 retreats that he designed, with a senior student.  I also had the pleasure of meeting Dan briefly at one of his Wednesday night groups meetings near Boston.  

Here is a podcast where Michael Taft interviews Dan Brown on his map of awakening - https://deconstructingyourself.com/awakening-and-the-path-of-liberation-with-dan-brown.html
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Dhamma_no_drama Dhamma_no_drama, modified 1 Year ago at 4/7/22 12:27 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/7/22 12:27 PM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 27 Join Date: 2/26/19 Recent Posts
I had the honor to participate in what I believe was the last Level 1 course Dan taught.
It was a powerful experience and I will be forever grateful to him for sharing the Mahamudra teachings in such a clear and direct way.

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Linda ”Polly Ester” Ö, modified 1 Year ago at 4/11/22 1:20 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/11/22 1:20 PM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 7134 Join Date: 12/8/18 Recent Posts
This is so sad. It's good to hear that it was a good death, though. I haven't personally had any contacts with Dan Brown but I know several people who have studied with him and they have all spoken very well of him, including my teacher Michael Taft. He seems to have been a great teacher and person and very awake. 
Oskar M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 4:43 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 4:43 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 266 Join Date: 3/22/21 Recent Posts
The people in Pointing out the Great Way have teachers to keep up the work and more in training luckily. Daniel Brown was one of the most hardcore teachers out there of our time, almost the only one out of thousands of western dharma teachers who actually talked about achiving buddhahood  and encouraged with statistics on where his students was in that regard. A true heavyweight of pragmatic dharma. Also his love was so obvious, not many teachers who posses this kind of boddhicitta. 

Sacred sunday interview: He touches on so many topic that I see almost no western teachers dare talk about. 31 students have stable/access sangye, says with right instruction it can take 6-8 years, and 2 (!!!) years, with extra practices. CLEARLY STATING THAT BUDDHAHOOD IS THE POINT OF ALL OF THIS!!!!!! That we want buddhas in the west, it just is so good, no wiggling, no uncertainty, no watering down the point of meditation practice. 
Deep bows and respect, may your work flourish. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swudgvmBbk
George S, modified 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 10:15 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 10:15 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 2722 Join Date: 2/26/19 Recent Posts
The world needs more buddhas like it needs more unicorns emoticon
Oskar M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 10:37 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 10:37 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 266 Join Date: 3/22/21 Recent Posts
This comment pisses me off George its so clueless you have no idea, you wanna elaborate a little in case I missunderstood something. 
Yes, the world need more Buddhas, of course it does. 
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Linda ”Polly Ester” Ö, modified 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 11:40 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 11:40 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 7134 Join Date: 12/8/18 Recent Posts
George, please don't turn an obituary thread into a tounge-in-cheak debate. People are grieving. 
George S, modified 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 12:44 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 12:44 PM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 2722 Join Date: 2/26/19 Recent Posts
Sorry, it was an insensitive comment.
Oskar M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 1:23 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/23/22 1:23 PM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 266 Join Date: 3/22/21 Recent Posts
The comment is not insensitive; it is straight stupid. If I am to be honest, Daniel Brown was one of the only ones alive that stated this mere fact of what.dharma.is.meant.for.namely.buddhahood. There IS no other point than that, and this is what liberation means, period.
As far as I know no one else except my own teacher, who people usually make fun of, makes this crystal clear in todays dharma scene, its a fucking joke! This should say something about what state the dharma of these times. The fact that people 1) dont't believe it fine, but 2) making mockery of it in a forum filled with sincere seekers, and in your case having some sort of authority and interest in these things, you piss all over this, and dig the ditch deeper. This is actuall limbo within dharma culture, meaning NOT LIBERATION, and it ridicolus and very very sad. Feel I want to rip this place into pieces, its so stupid. 
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Brodie M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 9:07 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 9:07 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Post: 1 Join Date: 4/24/22 Recent Posts
I just listened to the BATGP interview!!! This is a great loss to humanity! So sad to hear Daniel P Brown died emoticon

Daniel P Brown's web site Pointing Out The Great Way Foundation just talked about the end of their relationship and the $935,000 he received for the translation project???

@oskar do you have the link to the next generation of teachers??
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Chris M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 9:25 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 9:25 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 5116 Join Date: 1/26/13 Recent Posts
As far as I know no one else except my own teacher, who people usually make fun of, makes this crystal clear in todays dharma scene, its a fucking joke! 

Oskar, to add to the fund of what you know - this very website is dedicated to the proposition that everyone can awaken. That's one of the original tenets of pragmatic Buddhism. 
Oskar M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 10:09 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 10:05 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 266 Join Date: 3/22/21 Recent Posts
Chris I am aware of that, and thats brilliant.
There are differences though in what people mean, talking about stream entry or anatta is still not talking about achieving buddhahood (this probably should be a different thread btw). I know George have had proper realizations, as well as many many others, but still... Daniel Brown puts the bar even higher, to the top, and that is what I am trying to emphasise that I don't really see others do. 
Joking this aside then as a fairytale, is then contradicting the purpose of this forum. You should put the bar higher. 
Oskar M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 10:42 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 10:42 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 266 Join Date: 3/22/21 Recent Posts
Brodie. 
I was told which teacher was going to keep the main advanced courses, and then that many more was in training. It was private messaging with someone close to Daniel and very brief, so not sure if its ok to go into details. But mainly there are many more programs comming, and that the current person to lead the advanced programs was very competent and that they are training many more. You can find info about all the senoir teachers on their website, I think many had been there for almost 20 years training with Daniel Brown. 

I have the impression from Daniel talks, that the lineage has strong roots to traditional practitioners, and that there is good co-operation for it all to be transmitted properly to the west, so let hope it will keep flourishing emoticon 
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Chris M, modified 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 2:41 PM
Created 1 Year ago at 4/24/22 2:41 PM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 5116 Join Date: 1/26/13 Recent Posts
Ah, finally, someone who knows where my bar should be!

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Calvin Sykes, modified 1 Year ago at 1/10/23 7:47 AM
Created 1 Year ago at 12/14/22 9:30 AM

RE: Dr. Daniel P Brown Has Died

Posts: 3 Join Date: 12/14/22 Recent Posts
It was a privilege to be a part of what might have been Dan's final Level 1 course. It was profound, and I'll be eternally thankful to him for the straightforwardness with which he presented the Mahamudra teachings.

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