Born From Intention

"All suffering comes from yearning for your own happiness. The perfect Buddhas are born from the intention to benefit others." - Thogme's 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, verse 11.


Let me share with you this idea, particularly because there is some relevant political chatter these days that might confuse this issue. I want to share with you the idea of self preservation as a Buddhist practice and how it fits into today's underlying political talk.

The foundation of this practice is the first phrase of our quote: you yearn, you suffer. I remember once back in my charismatic fundamentalist Christian days, a visiting Pastor told our congregation that everyone in jail is there because they tried to be happy. It took me a bit of reflecting on that one, but I saw that he was correct. In our own twisted way, we often times do something stupid because our motivation is to be happy, but the twisting that fear and ignorance create makes us resort to a rather convoluted solution to achieve that happiness. We rob, we denigrate, we kill. There is a yearning, but the problem comes because we react. We don't take the time to explore the yearning to see what it really is all about.

It is just that reflecting on the fact that much suffering arise from yearning for happiness that we become motivated to alleviate the suffering of others. And it is precisely that which creates many burnt out do gooders. So what is the solution? Putting the horse in front of the cart of course! And in this case the horse is self interest.

I can hear the brakes already. I assure you though, self interest is definitely something that is Buddhist, and it differs from selfishness as well as self loathing and is a necessary step before you actually discover the delusion of what the self is.

Self interest can be found in these same 37 practices that Thogme wrote. Just look at verse 1. "...listen, reflect, and meditate with diligence day and night." Is that not a lone activity that will benefit you primarily? Verse 3 says we should rely on solitude, not volunteering even for the sangha, the food shelf, animal shelter and soup kitchen. Then verse 26 says, "If lack of diligence prevents you from benefiting yourself, then your wish to benefit others is just a joke." I think that pretty much sums it up. There is a certain level of self interest that needs to occur. And then the bug bites....

Along that way surely you will see through your own experience what relieves suffering, and how that could benefit someone close to you. And the mahayana bug will bite you, and a buddha will be born. I say that because I have learned that when one takes meditation seriously, and begins looking deeply at one's life, you usually don't see a bed of roses. Oh no. You see all the shit that makes for suffering. The shit that makes you do the stupid stuff you do with your body, your mouth, and mind. The hurtful words we spew out, the hatred we harbor, hell, even for strangers who simply hold politically different views than us. Anger, jealousy, attachment, pride, all that stuff. We'll see it. Sounds like fun huh? Pema Chodron said, "On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva, the path goes down, not up, as if the mountain pointed toward the earth instead of the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward turbulence and doubt however we can. We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it is. At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down. With us move millions of others, companions in awakening from fear." 


So what does any of this have to do with political rhetoric? Well, there is a lot being said about Ayn Rand these days, and her worship of selfishness as it's called. What Ayn Rand was in some ways referring to was exactly this self interest. That she had no place for altruism is true apparently, and that is where many will  diverge from her. But in the discussions of the day it will be important to make the distinction between self interest, which looks to make sure I get paid a decent wage to take care of family needs, that sort of thing, and selfishness. Selfishness on the other hand regards little the suffering that actions may cause others. And if Chodron is right, that there are millions in fear, then a voice that brings calm will help present the solutions we need in this world, and will help the political rhetoric be more humane and understanding.

Keep those differences between self interest and selfishness in mind. The analogy of a battery at this point is a fair one. A battery needs to be kept charged to be of continual use. Charging is self interest, so that I am a useful tool as long as possible. Let's see to it that we stay charged as a dharma battery. Remember solitude, reflection, and meditation. Be the tool that is useful to others. Maintain your self interest, your diligence to benefit yourself, so that you can benefit others.

That's no joke.

Tashi Deleg!

Jigme Senge

The Body Of Meditation Redux

Have you ever struggled in your meditation? Had troubles with motivation? I know I have. Part of what helped me were several versus, which I have blogged about before, about the Body Of Meditation. Well, I sort of revisited that idea with the idea in mind on the actual description of the seat of meditation, which is sometimes referred to as a lotus moon seat. The meditator  is sitting on a lotus, with a sun behind the body, and a moon, a smaller disc, behind the head.

So this morning I was ruminating on this, and revisited the Supplication To The Kagyu Gurus. As I have mentioned before, it presents meditation in reference to the body: the foot of meditation is, the head of meditation is, and the body of meditation is. And new thoughts began to spring forth.

It probably has more to do with seeing new levels, which tends to be the case in Buddhist experience. Anyway, the image begins at the feet. The lotus is symbolic of renunciation. Being that this is a blog, I'm not a teacher, yet, I'm going to go out on a limb here. Renunciation is vital. In fact, in Words of My Perfect Teacher, there is mention of isolation, which serves to reduce the number of distractions to practicing the dharma. And maybe in Tibet in the centuries past that was a do-able thing. However, if you are like me, it is the 21st century, I am a home maker (meaning married with children and gainfully employed), which means that dropping everything to find a suitable place to isolate would not benefit many people, least of all myself. So how can I renounce, to sit on this pure white lotus unstained from the mud from which it arose, and still exist within the cultural framework I find myself in? Hey, my karma put me here, how do I do this thing?

There are meditation exercises one can do that will enable one to detach from this world to an extent. We might like to completely, but considering all the suffering we would like to eliminate. Ken McLeod's book, Wake Up To Your Life, has some great meditation practices in it to develop detachment, renunciation, and as another translation of the world, revulsion. Partly it has to do with changing our view, which then affects what we value. As we more and more learn to value that which lessens suffering, we will obviously then not value that which creates it, be they philosophical views, or political/economical views. One of those practices is is meditating on equanimity. It's a great practice to find out where your own bias is, as well as the ego. There are many more in his book, which I, and my teacher, recommend.

However, there may be a time needed to actually quit reading the news, books, listening to talk radio, watching TV, and isolating oneself as much as possible, to spend time practicing. It's not unlike building a house. This part is not the foundation, it's getting the dirt ready to take a foundation, as well as the work involved in establishing the drainage, compaction, the stem walls and slabs needed to actually put a building on. The trick here is to not let the ego get caught up in the spiritual trip....

The Sun is behind the body, and it symbolizes emptiness. DANGER WILL ROBINSON: yes, there is some. Emptiness realization, when it starts, can develop a bit of nihilistic feelings. I got them. It was all very depressing for a brief while. And it really means that you have just broken through, or still are, the very surface of what emptiness is. The body of meditation is awareness. And when you bring awareness to the reality that all is empty (eh?), then you are getting somewhere! So what does empty mean? Good question. My answer will be the country bumpkin variety, so if you really want a great precise answer, consult a teacher. Take a table for instance. See, already you have an image in your mind. Take that "table" apart in your mind. Now that you have all the parts on the floor, please pick out for me the part that is called "table." I think you see where this is going. Do the same thing with your arm. With a mountain. With your ego. Your consciousness. Then tell me where inside you that consciousness resides. Oh my! We have conveniently labeled the material and none-such in our lives, and as we can see, there is really no "table." It's a label we give to an amalgamation of parts. And if we look atomically close at every part, what we see is that the whole thing is held together by the electro-magnetic bonds of the atoms, which are really some incredibly small particles that zip around in emptiness!  If we compressed all the empty space out of every atom, we would be small indeed.

What does all this mean?! Argh! Funny you should ask that, because maybe all which you see around you, when viewed from this "empty" perspective, isn't the reality you ascribe to it. Unless you are a material atheist, when you pass on, this "reality" will be no more, so is it really reality? And what does the sun have to do with any of this?! Argh!*#! Harrison, you drive me nuts!

The sun is what is on the other side of the surface. Stay tuned for more.

Who Likes Dis-ease?

So why go through all this? Why prostrations, mantras, visualizations? Seems like a lot of work doesn't it?

"So that they may be at ease in the luminous expanse of the true nature of their own minds...."

That they may be at ease. The obvious implication? Sentient beings are dis-eased. A state of abnormality exists that is disturbing their normal functioning. And that can extend to many levels actually. For now though, let's just say that as humans, we aren't at ease. We have road rage, political rage as is evidenced by the rhetoric that has boiled over to the shootings in Arizona recently, the Progressive Hunter, and lets not forget this story with this result, and then there is the level of physical diseases in this country. For now let's skip over the state of health care in America. Let's instead look at what we often joke about: medicines. Ads for medicines. And they are getting more popular. When I was a kid, all I ever saw were the over-the-counter medication commercials. However, what we joke about is the fact that somewhere in the ad we hear about the side effects of medications. Sounds like job security for the doctors, and so we get on an attitude about doctors. 

And do we fear terrorists? Some folk do, thought the number of Muslims in this country is roughly two per cent. Some folk fear immigrants, as they drive their foreign car fueled with foreign fossil fuels to work while drinking foreign coffee, wearing clothes made in Indonesia or China, just like the desk they sit at while they listen to their foreign made phone or iPod, at least until lunch where they enjoy a salad that is mostly ingredients picked by those very same immigrants they fear. And the solution. Build a wall! That'll stop the dis-ease....

And what about the economy? How about those that are unemployed, and those that have mortgages nearing foreclosure or underwater, coupled with the fact that precious little is being done to rectify any of these problems. Home values diminishing, retirement accounts diminishing, what savings?! Relax.... If we just continue doing what we are doing, which means making sure wages are low and jobs are outsourced, then everything will be all right. Unemployed need not apply, however. And let's not forget that several sports teams need new stadiums, so make sure that, as Roger Goodell would tell us, they get the financial help they need. The millionaire players and billionaire owners need help. Meanwhile, as the military budget remains sacred, heating assistance, medicare/aid, food stamps and other assistance programs will be cut, yet we will borrow billions to give tax breaks to the top 2%. Even though you may not know where your next meal is coming from, or heat, relax. 


And much of all that tension that exists in this world is created and remains right between our ears, as it were. Rather daunting huh? "So that they may be at ease."


What we have available to us, in all this darkness, is an unbelievable amount of light. "..in the luminous expanse...." Wow! This is a great picture. Imagine turning on a light in space, that reveals all these planets. Sort of like being able to see all these stars, and nebulee, and planets, as they appear in deep space photos. And the expanse is, well, a  lot like space. Limitless. Your mind is not limited to your brain size. And in a time and place of darkness that needs solutions, what better than the luminous expanses of humans to converge on the matters? Oh yes.


Buddhism as we all know posits, by experience, that this is our true nature as humans. None of this yibbity yabbety that we are nothing, flawed, evil, broken, blah blah blah. All that weird shit that emanates from us is really skewed goodness. Anger is spazzed out mirror-like wisdom. Greed is discriminating wisdom gone south. Pride is a back turned on the wisdom of equality. And all those wisdoms and more reside within us. We're sort of mummified in layers and layers of old decrepit dirty rags that filter these wisdoms until they come out as klesha. The weird shit. "So that they may be at ease in the true nature of their own minds."

Whose mind? Here's a trick. It's one of those characteristics that separates a true spiritual friend (lama, guru, teacher) from a fake. The true friend helps you discover your own mind, not his. As one progresses along the meditation path, the friend then begins to advise your practice, not you to copy his or hers, but to discover your own innate natural mind. Your enlightened nature. It's like a personal prescription, and won't work for anyone else. It's what is called "custom built." Really though, can it be any other way and remain true?


So what makes all this effort worth it is so that others can experience their own true mind. When we ponder the dis-ease that is so prevalent, it makes the effort easier. There is of course the extra benefit in that you will experience the true nature of your own mind as well. If your head was on fire, how much effort would you exert to put it out?


Tashi Deleg!

"Ho! Mesmerized by the sheer variety of perceptions..." Yes, that is what mesmerised is: hypnotized, enthralled, spellbound.

When it comes to generating bodhichitta, this is the opening line of the Longchen Nyingtik version of the prayer. Beings are mesmerized by their own perceptions, and hence fail to see the Dharma.

So what generated this for me you ask? Well, aside from reciting this prayer during my prostrations, I also am reading Patrul Rinpoche's Words of My Perfect Teacher. I am in the very beginning of the book, and there he is covering the four thoughts that turn the mind to Dharma. The first is that of precious human birth. Considering all the advantages and freedoms we practitioners have, (all our faculties, living in a time of the Dharma, having a teacher, a propensity to practice, etc.) , and his list is longer, I got to realizing that there are family members who don't practice Dharma. They are still mesmerized by their own perceptions. And the variety of those!

People develop perceptions throughout their lives. At some point they tackle the metaphysical realities, but essentially  everyone comes up with a perception of reality that to them explains the material/non-material phenomena they experience. Interestingly, they leave room for unanswerables that defy their ordered belief system. They perceive, using the senses and mind, and develop a perspective, which is the important data (filtered) and how it all fits into a meaningful relationship.

And then the unthinkable happens. Their child dies. Then their spouse. Their business fails. Heck, they didn't have the energy after two deaths. And lo and behold, it turns out their spouse was adulterous with their business partner, and they siphoned off all the money. And to top it all off, in all this pain and suffering, the local church they attended decides that the best counsel, after having not attended the funerals, is to tell the victim that they lack faith.

Too much you say? Ha! This sort of thing happens every day to someone. Or a picking of one or two of them. Regardless of the circumstances, everything that they thought was real, what they trusted, turned out to be unreliable because of it's impermanent nature. They were mesmerised, and then caught unawares. So being a bit more current, how about a layoff and a foreclosure? No job, no place to live, and a Congress that decides that certain folk on Unemployment Insurance don't deserve to have their benefits extended. And the church, rather than helping, tells them that the road to prosperity is to continue donating. Never mind that every Sunday there is close to $2 million dollars worth of vehicles in the parking lot.

And consider the variety. Alienism (I made this up I think), Baha'i, Confucianism, Christianity (remember all the  sects among this one, including Scientology), Deism, Druidism, Hinduism, Islam (and it's sects), Judaism, Jainism, Native religions, New Age (I include here Eckanar and the like), Taoism, Sikhism, Wicca, and Zoroastrianism. This planet has an unbelievable smorgasbord of spiritual perspectives, and then there's the atheist/agnostic perspectives as well as schools of philosophy. Oh my.

It can get rather dizzying and daunting to try and figure out the truth, when so many claim to be so. And maybe because it's tiring to do all that looking and investigating we just pick one that either titillates us or appeals to us and we surrender.

All these perspectives are like the reflection of the moon in water: illusory. Unreal, misleading, deceptive, in many ways in fact. We consider many things permanent, and they aren't. Nothing is. This planet, our sun, all the species on this planet, are all impermanent. Death is a huge area where we harbor many illusions, and we strive so hard in the West to avoid old age and death that a multi-billion dollar industry has emerged around maintaining something impermanent. That tells me we are afraid of it. And of course, there are many illusions about what the "self" is. Spirit, soul, body, electro-chemical amalgamation, heart, feelings, thoughts,  mind; again, oh my. The jillions of definitions and perspectives. And it seems quite ironic that with all these different perspectives, that suffering seems to not have lessened on this planet one little bit. We all suffer death. Usually, we suffer the sickness that causes the death. Or the pain of an accident. Or war. And then there is the suffering of abuse, and how we treat one another in relationships.

What is needed is the generation of bodhichitta, which is what this prayer is all about. The last section sums it all up: "I generate the immeasurable love, compassion, joy and equanimity of the Awakened Mind, the heart of bodhichitta."

Three points to close. First, these qualities of bodhichitta are inherent in it, and they are immeasurable and over time extend to all beings. Which means simply that as I develop my practice, my reaching out with these immeasurables begins with those closest to me, and then to my co-workers and and then to my neighborhood, region, well, I hope you get the picture. The emptiness of Buddhism is precisely that: immeasurable love, compassion, and joy for and towards all. Second, it is because of the suffering of beings in the vicious cycle of samsara that we learn to generate these innate qualities until they are completely revealed. If one reads in The Words Of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, the descriptions of the hells and the other realms, and the fact that it is our decisions that cause us to experience them, you'll get a clear understanding of the suffering of samsara Third, it's all up to you.

Yup. You saw that right. It does not say "The Lama" generates, or Dave, or Val, or Diane, Bruce, Jeanne, or any of the sangha members. It says "I." I take that burden of releasing all transmigrators from the ocean of suffering in which they are drowning. I'm sure that you still remember that this little fire that is growing in you is being fed carefully, and will in time spread to greater numbers of beings. The reason it's critical is because you possess the precious human form. If you look into the 18 benefits of being human, you begin to realize how fortunate one is to not only be human, but to have entered the Dharma, and have a teacher to teach you. It's like the dust on the head of a pin compared to all that on the planet. That's the comparison of how many people with all their faculties have entered the Dharma as to how many beings exist in the suffering of samsara.

I hope my words are beneficial . Tashi Deleg!

Pro(ouch)stra(I have muscles there?!)tions

I did it. I made it through 100, a second time, in my allotted time. Whew. Prostrations aren't going to kill me. I just had to break it down into sets, not unlike I do when working out. 

I noticed a couple things this morn while reciting the Refuge and Bodhichitta  prayers.  In the refuge prayer, the version I am working through states. "I take refuge until enlightenment is fully realized."  Essentially, what is presented is a mandala, and in that mandala, which is mostly an interior mandala to begin with, I take refuge. Which is to say, it is where I place my trust. I am seeking protection, safety, a place to live. All of that I seek is inside me.  I will trust in that until I no longer need to, and that is when I have fully realized, made real in this body, enlightenment. Then I no longer will need to. Up until then though, the elements of the mandala are what I need to continually trust in. I caught a glimpse that along the way of our path, it might be easy to accomplish some things and begin to think we don't need to do that. Or we forget to do that.  "Buddha, dharma, and sangha are in reality, Lama, yidam, and khandro." the Supplication to the Takpo Kagyus states, "Devotion is the head of meditation, as is taught. The guru opens the gate to the treasury of oral instructions." Maintaining that devotion, that trust, allowing it to become the nature of the relationship, is what keeps the stream of living communication open between teacher and student.

I might think I'm something now that I'm doing ngondro, and other students are not.  And despite the fact that prostrations are kicking my yogin tush.  I'm not though. I'm only doing what the teacher told me to do.  As he told me to do it.

The other thought I had occurred during my repetition of the Bodhichitta prayer. There's a line that states, "Beings wander endlessly astray in samsara's vicious cycle."  It means that beings can gravitate from a hell realm to the jealous god realm to the animal realm, to the hungry ghost realm, and somewhere along there their karma might ripen where they become human. Then they can participate in the rape, murder, hunger, disastrous life of being human.  Especially if they live in Africa, an inner city in America, the eastern part of Europe, the Middle East, and some parts of Asia. Consider briefly, if you will, all the tragedies that befall humans on this planet every day, in shockingly large numbers, and ask if that isn't a vicious life? Mind you, I have not been raped, well, that's partly not true, I've never experienced the horror of war, never faced the concept of no food but once in my life, never been without heat or meds I needed, or wondered if I would live out the school day or had to worry about a stray slug from a nearby gang war or drive-by. In other words, despite my own sufferings, I have it pretty easy. On top of that, I have a teacher and I am practicing the dharma so I really have a lot to be thankful for. My life isn't as vicious as it could be. For others, it is, and for them I practice.

I'll leave it at that for now. 

Namaste and tashi deleg!