As I have entered into a new relationship with a teacher, I felt I should come up to speed on things. He was too apparently, as I got a packet in the mail that details what he likes to see his students practicing, and when. Of course, that is all adjustable based on the students personal interviews with Rinpoche.
So I bought a few books, checked some out of the library, and was boning up on the basics. One of those basics was regarding tonglen, which is a part of my Chenrezig accumulation given to my by my Kagyu teacher. However, I was never taught anything about tonglen, I've just read a few things, and that was years ago. So I was encouraged to read Sogyal Rinpoche's instructions in The Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying.
Indeed, it was very helpful. One of the aspects I liked about it was that it starts with the environment you are in. The other aspect that was helpful, and that I ran across in Surya Das's book, Awakening The Buddha Within, is that you don't start off with the population of the world. You start smaller. So here's how I translated that.
Since for me it is a part of a practice of compassion, I decided to narrow it down a little and give it some focus, as the practice instructions are rather broad and vague. Nothing beat's a statement like "all sentient beings!" And to help with my counting, I decided I'd go once around the mala, and then do some tonglen, dedicating the merit. First time around, I dedicate to the sangha and my teacher. Second time around, I dedicate to my bride and sons. Third time around, our extended family, particularly ones in our "news" if you will. Fourth time around is for the community I serve as a firefighter, which is roughly 66 square miles. That subdivides into my wife's work community and mine, as well as members of the fire district. The fifth time around is for me, dedicating the merit each time around.
I've modified this somewhat. I am concerned with myself first because that's where the practice is for now. So in my mindfulness of the sufferings of the people I am breathing in and out for, I ask myself what I can do in my relationships with these people, how I can end their sufferings. That's the first modification. The second modification is that every day I do my Chenrezig mantras. I have conveniently broken it down into 5 times around tha mala which gets me focused on myself and then concentric circles that ripple out from me as it were in ever enlarging circles. There happens to be 5 days in the week. So on Monday, I focus my thoughts on the members of the sangha, and our teacher. On Tuesday, I focus on my family. Wednesday is the extended family, Thursday is the community, and Friday is for me, my relationship to myself and wanting to see changes in my own life. Saturday and Sunday are fair game. Lately, I have given time to praying for those in Haiti.
Then in one of those texts I was reading, Dilgo Khentse's Heart Of Compassion, I read a little more about tonglen. I would encourage you to read it. It's in the section of the book that covers verses 10-14 of Thogme's 37 Practices. There Khyentse lays out steps to tonglen similar to Sogyal's steps. He then adds some differences, to be done "sometimes," in offering yourself in giving and taking for beings in the six realms, and other beings in other situations. Those I have added to my weekend "fair game."
This practice will defintely alter any one who does it. It challenges the dualistic conception of friend/enemy. That isn't very comfortable, but limited compassion is just religiosity, and not compassion at all. According to Buddha, we all share the same nature. And, all beings have at one point in time, been our mother. So regardless of their current postion in our friend/enemy paradigm, we need to see them as they really are, not as our mental conceptions have them.
Another experience I've had with this practice is a much broader understanding of reality. The experiences of karma that people endure, the being s of the six realms, how precious our human existence is, and how all these things are affected by the simple practice of meditation. To have heard the dharma, and practice it is, given the odds in this universe, is rather quite rare. Doing so, meaning practicing honestly, has a huge affect on the life of sentient beings. However...
in another of Dilgo Khyentse's books, Enlightened Courage, he encourages practitioners to not reach too far too fast in tonglen. That's why he says "sometimes" in Heart Of Compassion. It's very important to make sure your meditation practice is stable before moving on into higher experiences. I've been in the place where I wasn't quite stable. Man, it is a trip, and mine was uncomfortable and confusing. Of course, once I learned what was going on, I thought, well, I can handle that. Sort of like taking hallucinogenic drugs. I expected hallucinations. So when they happened, I could say, "oh, a hallucination. Cool." However, not all experiences are so cool. So stick with the stability thing. It'll make your practice all that more effective and beneficial. Start your tonglen with those closest to you. Stay there for a while. Then move out into a bigger ring. Include co-workers and friends. Stay there for a while. The add another ring, and so on. Buddhism isn't a sprint. It's similar to many other things: practice, patient practice, makes perfect.
And, it will make your tonglen practice stable as well. In the end, it is what we want. A stable meditation practice that opens our hearts like a lotus, so we can help others end their cycle of vicious suffering. And if you have a teacher, by all means consult with them. Your spiritual friend will be a huge benfit to your practice. Living words are definitely so much better than the ink or digital kind!
I respectfully submit these words for your consideration. May they benefit all.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Some Thoughts On Virtue
In the Morning Service, a part of my Kagyu pre-ngondro practices, there is a section with the following lines:
"Action done is never without result.
But action not done is never met.
Development is part of all action.
The results of virtue and evil
are happiness and suffering,
inevitably ripening for the doer...
So, if I am not to achieve my own destruction,
I should as a matter of principle believe in
action and result."
I have in the past spent much time developing ways in which I can become more virtuous. During one period of my life, my little scheme was based on being more godly. I had a plan you see. The cult of christianity teaches that you have God in only after you invite him. Buddhism teaches that you are born with Buddha nature. For both of them, the idea is to realize that nature. A lot of where virtue comes from, that character we want, is based on choices.
For the moment I will tell you that some times making a choice is difficult. Habituations that lead to addictions can make choosing difficult. Inevitably we all run up against that choice though. Do I or do I not proceed with this action? This is what is called the development mentioned above, which we can return to later.
Making a choice requires a bit of ability in looking inward. Many choices, lets say those of addictive nature, are based on senses. Making pain go away, or the rush of the hunt, or the actual buzz of the action itself. All followed by the cycle of addiction. The beginning is being aware that you have a choice. Let's use a popular example, and that is sex. Now, in our American standards, and judeo-christian mythology, we have adhered to a centuries old model of marriage that has a failure rate of 50%. One might think it's time to reconsider the model. But that is where we are. So we consider infidelity from that viewpoint of marriage. Do I or do I not choose to flirt, the real beginning, with this person. You're sitting there having coffee, and you know that it's a conversation based on what is going on, nothing on the personal level. To broach the personal level is where flirting begins. "Gee, you look pretty good for your age." That introduces the male/female difference, the gender/attraction dimension into the conversation. You make the choice to make the comment. Why? Ah, the big question.
What do you stand to gain from this course of action. See it? Action. Action brings result. You make the comment, the other party deflects it, you're either embarrassed or hurt, and the potential of friendship or functional community relationship is thwarted because you were trying to fulfill a need for yourself that in reality, that other person can't fill anyway. And a whole new set of perspectives is set in motion, and that's part of the complexity of karma.
On the other hand, you choose to not make the comment. That sets into motion a lot of other karmic results. You've realized that the consequences of making the comment are not favorable, so you keep thoughts and words to yourself, enjoy the coffee break, and go about your life. What you've just done is transformed a little samsara into nirvana. And a lot of little transformations in time add up to big changes. It's the result of constant practice, just like playing an instrument. A lot of mistakes at first, but learning what you are doing wrong, being gentle on yourself, and in time it begins to fall into place. What it boils down to is, is my behavior a response to attention, or reaction?
If it's a reaction, what is being served? Probing that will provide interesting materials, and as the lojong teachings encourage us, "Work with the greatest defilements first." This is a great place to do tonglen for oneself, and Sogyal Rinpoche has a great section about it in his book, The Tibetan Book of Living And Dying. Not only will this help us in outward manifestations, it cuts to even the subtler forms of our habituations, right to where we can catch the thoughts as they occur, and then allow the mind to relax. All said though, the living in reaction mode is living in samsara mode. It's a lack of attention. And the prescription for that is a sitting meditation practice, where we learn the art of paying attention.
Paying attention gives us the choice of honest virtuous action, and the resultant karmic train. The Merit 109, rolling down the Karma Line. Action born of attention is joyous upon meeting, and once we gain stability in that, then just like the samsaric reaction mode was our nature, then the nirvana attention mode will be our nature, and ultimately we will discover, our true nature. One we can rest and relax in. A nature that has a lot of happy meetings of results along the way, one of happiness, and one of virtue.
Nirvana is just a choice away.
"Action done is never without result.
But action not done is never met.
Development is part of all action.
The results of virtue and evil
are happiness and suffering,
inevitably ripening for the doer...
So, if I am not to achieve my own destruction,
I should as a matter of principle believe in
action and result."
I have in the past spent much time developing ways in which I can become more virtuous. During one period of my life, my little scheme was based on being more godly. I had a plan you see. The cult of christianity teaches that you have God in only after you invite him. Buddhism teaches that you are born with Buddha nature. For both of them, the idea is to realize that nature. A lot of where virtue comes from, that character we want, is based on choices.
For the moment I will tell you that some times making a choice is difficult. Habituations that lead to addictions can make choosing difficult. Inevitably we all run up against that choice though. Do I or do I not proceed with this action? This is what is called the development mentioned above, which we can return to later.
Making a choice requires a bit of ability in looking inward. Many choices, lets say those of addictive nature, are based on senses. Making pain go away, or the rush of the hunt, or the actual buzz of the action itself. All followed by the cycle of addiction. The beginning is being aware that you have a choice. Let's use a popular example, and that is sex. Now, in our American standards, and judeo-christian mythology, we have adhered to a centuries old model of marriage that has a failure rate of 50%. One might think it's time to reconsider the model. But that is where we are. So we consider infidelity from that viewpoint of marriage. Do I or do I not choose to flirt, the real beginning, with this person. You're sitting there having coffee, and you know that it's a conversation based on what is going on, nothing on the personal level. To broach the personal level is where flirting begins. "Gee, you look pretty good for your age." That introduces the male/female difference, the gender/attraction dimension into the conversation. You make the choice to make the comment. Why? Ah, the big question.
What do you stand to gain from this course of action. See it? Action. Action brings result. You make the comment, the other party deflects it, you're either embarrassed or hurt, and the potential of friendship or functional community relationship is thwarted because you were trying to fulfill a need for yourself that in reality, that other person can't fill anyway. And a whole new set of perspectives is set in motion, and that's part of the complexity of karma.
On the other hand, you choose to not make the comment. That sets into motion a lot of other karmic results. You've realized that the consequences of making the comment are not favorable, so you keep thoughts and words to yourself, enjoy the coffee break, and go about your life. What you've just done is transformed a little samsara into nirvana. And a lot of little transformations in time add up to big changes. It's the result of constant practice, just like playing an instrument. A lot of mistakes at first, but learning what you are doing wrong, being gentle on yourself, and in time it begins to fall into place. What it boils down to is, is my behavior a response to attention, or reaction?
If it's a reaction, what is being served? Probing that will provide interesting materials, and as the lojong teachings encourage us, "Work with the greatest defilements first." This is a great place to do tonglen for oneself, and Sogyal Rinpoche has a great section about it in his book, The Tibetan Book of Living And Dying. Not only will this help us in outward manifestations, it cuts to even the subtler forms of our habituations, right to where we can catch the thoughts as they occur, and then allow the mind to relax. All said though, the living in reaction mode is living in samsara mode. It's a lack of attention. And the prescription for that is a sitting meditation practice, where we learn the art of paying attention.
Paying attention gives us the choice of honest virtuous action, and the resultant karmic train. The Merit 109, rolling down the Karma Line. Action born of attention is joyous upon meeting, and once we gain stability in that, then just like the samsaric reaction mode was our nature, then the nirvana attention mode will be our nature, and ultimately we will discover, our true nature. One we can rest and relax in. A nature that has a lot of happy meetings of results along the way, one of happiness, and one of virtue.
Nirvana is just a choice away.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Knower, not Believer.
I am struck by a couple of things this morning. One is an article by Sheila Samples about the religious right. Nothing really new in it that I didn't already know. In fact, it's a subject I watch closely, because it may well have an impact on whether or not I can practice Buddhism. In an all Christian America, it wouldn't be guaranteed, like the Constitution guarantees I can. And in our last election cycle, one presidential candidate suggested less Constitution, and more Bible. However, I have discovered that in paying attention to this subject, I have changed somewhat negatively.
Another thing that has struck me is, well, me. I am changing. Partly that is due to having become connected to a teacher that has active involvement in his students, and has definite teaching plans and goals. Friday I got in the mail my copy of the Pema Kilaya Teaching Program. So I jumped into it, and I found several portions of the practice I was missing, and some I was already doing in my rather custom made practice. And like the lit head I am, I gravitated to the back, to see the "suggested reading" list, if there was one.
He he he, there was.
Books not only suggested, but carefully looked over and recommended by our teacher. And to my surprise, we already own several of them. Further, a couple of them I was interested in are at the library! The upshot of all this is that I am immersing myself in, not what I believe, but what I practice. Let me explain the difference, and in so doing hopefully tie things together.
Lately at work, I have trying not to use the word "believe," especially relative to spiritual matters. I prefer to use the word "know." My reason for that is that I practice, and what does practicing give you? It gives you direct, first hand knowledge. I practice poetry, and in so doing learn what it means to write. I sit down at the drums, and I practice, usually on weekends when no one is home. I learn rhythms, as well as hearing the music of the different drums. When I sat down at my bosses drum set the other night, I got to learn the music his drums made, because he had different skins, maybe tighter than mine, different cymbals; you get the picture. Because I practice though, I can at least sit down and know how to approach the kit I am sitting at without changing too much of it's set-up. Highly personal stuff you see.
The same goes for Buddhism. We don't call what we do a belief system. We call it a practice. Why? Because that is what we are supposed to do for one, and secondly, the Buddha said to check it out. Don't believe, do it. See if it's real. Prove the words, don't just believe them. But wait you say. How about reincarnation? How can you know that? I can surely believe it because my teacher says it's a reality. I can believe his experience. And one day I will get to know it, as death will happen to us all. And there are practices such as phowa and shitro for that as well. But any teacher knows that you don't give an aspiring drummer lessons on advanced jazz rhythms when he barely can knock out some of the basic rhythms, or run a set of flams around the set alternating which stick is up. There is a beginning to everything. So I don't necessarily need to practice for reincarnation yet. It may well be that in learning these other practices, I will indeed come to know reincarnation rather intimately.
So I have taken my Teaching Program and started at the beginning. I've already mentioned that Rinpoche has started a meditation class that will run for 11 months. And he started at the very beginning, the Seven Point Posture of Vairochana. The Teaching Program goes into other practices, things to study, retreat suggestions, and otheractivities that seemed to favor developing compassion. The text suggestion contains at least one on Love and Compassion. Which means that I will be opening my heart, as the lotus opens in the great muddy of the Mekong Delta, or the Ganges. And not just to family, and friends, and snagha members. Practicng compassion and love goes way beyond that. The Bodhisattva vow is relative to all sentient beings. Including those of the religious right who see fit to make sure I can't practice that love and compassion. If I only love those that love me, I am a cracked cymbal, and out of tune drum. One form of the Bodhisattva vow states, "So may I become sustenance in every way for sentient beings to the limit of space until all have attained nirvana." To me that sums up quite well the notion that all are free to discover sustenance from me.
It does sound a bit insane, doesn't it? But it isn't really new. Buddha taught it, allegedly Jesus did. "Love your enemies." It isn't a sentiment we simply nod to though. As Buddhists, we practice the practices we do which will prepare us for those moments in real life when we will have opportunity to allow our heart to be open, potentially wounded and/or a source of sustenance. It will happen. The whole point of practice is to get to know something, and just knowing it on the cushion isn't enough, as any version of the Bodhisattva vow will reveal. That becomes a belief then. Being able to respond to suffering with compassion and wisdom is a goal of our sitting, and those needs are out among those who are suffering, rarely are they there with us on the cushion.
I have to be as open to any "believer" bent by hatred and dogma as I am to any sangha or family member. It might not be as hard as it seems. I can say that because as I practice, as I study, reflect, and meditate, I begin to see that my heart being open has no limit. It is like when I sit down and play, and pretty soon half the people upstairs drift down to hear who's playing, and they all ask what band I'm in (I'm not)(yet), and where I learned to play. I learned to play because I sat down and grabbed the sticks, and put the stick to the skins. After years of doing that, I decided to get lessons so I could learn what I didn't know, which is a lot. And now I have two teachers, both of whom teach me something, and then leave me alone.
To practice, practice, practice. To go beyond my fear and gain experience. To go beyond believing to knowing. From Grasshopper to Master. To haved an open mind, and an open heart, which is the best medicine for those who aren't.
Another thing that has struck me is, well, me. I am changing. Partly that is due to having become connected to a teacher that has active involvement in his students, and has definite teaching plans and goals. Friday I got in the mail my copy of the Pema Kilaya Teaching Program. So I jumped into it, and I found several portions of the practice I was missing, and some I was already doing in my rather custom made practice. And like the lit head I am, I gravitated to the back, to see the "suggested reading" list, if there was one.
He he he, there was.
Books not only suggested, but carefully looked over and recommended by our teacher. And to my surprise, we already own several of them. Further, a couple of them I was interested in are at the library! The upshot of all this is that I am immersing myself in, not what I believe, but what I practice. Let me explain the difference, and in so doing hopefully tie things together.
Lately at work, I have trying not to use the word "believe," especially relative to spiritual matters. I prefer to use the word "know." My reason for that is that I practice, and what does practicing give you? It gives you direct, first hand knowledge. I practice poetry, and in so doing learn what it means to write. I sit down at the drums, and I practice, usually on weekends when no one is home. I learn rhythms, as well as hearing the music of the different drums. When I sat down at my bosses drum set the other night, I got to learn the music his drums made, because he had different skins, maybe tighter than mine, different cymbals; you get the picture. Because I practice though, I can at least sit down and know how to approach the kit I am sitting at without changing too much of it's set-up. Highly personal stuff you see.
The same goes for Buddhism. We don't call what we do a belief system. We call it a practice. Why? Because that is what we are supposed to do for one, and secondly, the Buddha said to check it out. Don't believe, do it. See if it's real. Prove the words, don't just believe them. But wait you say. How about reincarnation? How can you know that? I can surely believe it because my teacher says it's a reality. I can believe his experience. And one day I will get to know it, as death will happen to us all. And there are practices such as phowa and shitro for that as well. But any teacher knows that you don't give an aspiring drummer lessons on advanced jazz rhythms when he barely can knock out some of the basic rhythms, or run a set of flams around the set alternating which stick is up. There is a beginning to everything. So I don't necessarily need to practice for reincarnation yet. It may well be that in learning these other practices, I will indeed come to know reincarnation rather intimately.
So I have taken my Teaching Program and started at the beginning. I've already mentioned that Rinpoche has started a meditation class that will run for 11 months. And he started at the very beginning, the Seven Point Posture of Vairochana. The Teaching Program goes into other practices, things to study, retreat suggestions, and otheractivities that seemed to favor developing compassion. The text suggestion contains at least one on Love and Compassion. Which means that I will be opening my heart, as the lotus opens in the great muddy of the Mekong Delta, or the Ganges. And not just to family, and friends, and snagha members. Practicng compassion and love goes way beyond that. The Bodhisattva vow is relative to all sentient beings. Including those of the religious right who see fit to make sure I can't practice that love and compassion. If I only love those that love me, I am a cracked cymbal, and out of tune drum. One form of the Bodhisattva vow states, "So may I become sustenance in every way for sentient beings to the limit of space until all have attained nirvana." To me that sums up quite well the notion that all are free to discover sustenance from me.
It does sound a bit insane, doesn't it? But it isn't really new. Buddha taught it, allegedly Jesus did. "Love your enemies." It isn't a sentiment we simply nod to though. As Buddhists, we practice the practices we do which will prepare us for those moments in real life when we will have opportunity to allow our heart to be open, potentially wounded and/or a source of sustenance. It will happen. The whole point of practice is to get to know something, and just knowing it on the cushion isn't enough, as any version of the Bodhisattva vow will reveal. That becomes a belief then. Being able to respond to suffering with compassion and wisdom is a goal of our sitting, and those needs are out among those who are suffering, rarely are they there with us on the cushion.
I have to be as open to any "believer" bent by hatred and dogma as I am to any sangha or family member. It might not be as hard as it seems. I can say that because as I practice, as I study, reflect, and meditate, I begin to see that my heart being open has no limit. It is like when I sit down and play, and pretty soon half the people upstairs drift down to hear who's playing, and they all ask what band I'm in (I'm not)(yet), and where I learned to play. I learned to play because I sat down and grabbed the sticks, and put the stick to the skins. After years of doing that, I decided to get lessons so I could learn what I didn't know, which is a lot. And now I have two teachers, both of whom teach me something, and then leave me alone.
To practice, practice, practice. To go beyond my fear and gain experience. To go beyond believing to knowing. From Grasshopper to Master. To haved an open mind, and an open heart, which is the best medicine for those who aren't.
Friday, November 27, 2009
New Member of Pema Kilaya.
That would be me. As of Nov. 22, Kilung Jigme Rinpoche accepted my formal request to be a part of the sangha. More about it here. Currently the Rinpoche lives here on Whidbey Island, at Yeshe Long House, and is going to spend the next month revisiting the sangha and it's organization and how he can best serve it. He has also begun an 11 month teaching program on the 7 meditations, which I have previously mentioned. The web site will get new attention, as Rinpoche swings into a new chapter of his dharma activities on earth, in which the members of the Ha Ha Ho Ho Sangha very unofiicial but fun name) on Whidbey Island, and of Pema Kilaya will be directly involved.
I believe this is what they call a ground floor opportunity....
I believe this is what they call a ground floor opportunity....
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Taking Refuge in Samsara
It's what happens with almost every choice.
" Please grant me blessings to realize there is no satisfaction in enjoying samsaric pleasures, and that their shortcoming is, they cannot be trusted; may I strive intently for the bliss of liberation. Bless me to cultivate this wish." - from A Short Meditation on the Graduated Path to Enlightenment, from Katleen McDonald's book, How To Meditate.
This is one of the four thoughts that turn the mind to dharma: samsara. Just what is samsara though? Samsara literally means cycles of existence, and it refers to the imprisonment in the cycle of rebirth because one is imprisoned by the three unwholesome roots of ignorance of one's true nature, desires or passions, and hatred. I have heard them as ignorance, passion and anger. A great way to remember them is by IPA, which is also an acronym for a currently popular beer style, India Pale Ale. Both samsara and nirvana are in the mind. So samsaric pleasures are those that we pursue because we want the feeling it gives us.
But this is far more than hedonism. This is about trusting. We trust in pleasures, be they physical or emotional, because we believe that we will get something out of it. It is our source of security. If we feel safe, we believe we are. If we feel happy, we believe we have joy. Yet in the state of samsara, those pleasure do little more than add negative karma because they don't eliminate the three negative roots, they reinforce them.
And that's what struck me the other day as I was reciting this verse while driving. We trust our samsaric pleasures because we expect something in return. We drink alcohol because we expect the buzz. It happens. Somewhere though we cross the line, and oops! The result turns into a hangover after the buzz. The question is, why did we want the buzz? What was ity signifying to us? A reward? Relaxation from emotional stress? The gloat of ego because it's a $50 bottle and we can afford it or have the discimination to taste it's subtleties? All of those are samsaric choices, and so it goes for all the choices we make.
Until we learn to make better choices that are for our benefit. Let me give you an example. The other day I was talking with a local colleague, and we were discussing the candidates for a local political office. One was a merchant in our town, and as we talked I expressed the opinion that I didn't feel this person would be a viable candidate. Rumors of the negative sort swirl around that person, and I wished their business well, but thought they should make the business a solid go before jumping into the political arena. My colleague on the other hand wished that person's business to fail. My colleague made the choice to state the words based on his feelings about this person. It gave him some sort of glee, or hope that this person they disliked would fail, and that would make them happy. Sometimes we judge ourselves better by the failures of others. But are we? However, the point is that all sorts of little pleasures occur in this line of thinking, and the Buddha's teachings are that we as practitioners wish for every one to achieve happiness.
Not for their demise, and not for us to elevate our ego's because we can now deem the other person a failure. Everyone around us are trying to be happy. They too are stuck in samsara, and are reaping the results of karma, and so may not know what circumstances they are actually in (ignorance). As we practitioners continue to study the dharma, we learn how to become aware of the ignorance and the remedy for it. And that applies to the passions and hatred/anger as well. We learn to deal with the habituations we develop in our minds and our thinking patterns.
What happens along the way is what closes out this little saying. We experience the bliss of liberation from the samsaric cycle. The bliss that cannot be altered, because bliss is part of the natural state we all have that we have buried, that we exchange for the momentary false hopes of samsara and pleasures that can't be trusted. We can enjoy them, as it taught, but we misplace our trust then. A better choice is to place our trust in what is unchangeable, which cannot be taken away.
It is a wish to cultivate. Not just a wish, but something we work on, be aware of. It is not unlike cultivating soil to grow plants. If we start becoming aware of the choices we make and why, we have begun that process. To cultivate means we need to turn the soil, and eliminate weeds, and plant seeds. Then water may need to be addeed, or compost, and weeds removed on a regualr basis. These are the actions of discipline, of studying, reflecting, meditating. Aside from the meditating, windshield time is a great time for practicing. My commute is usually about 10 miles. And I still get a lot of practicing in. All through the day I can cultivate, and lately I have returned to the habit of reading dharma before I go to sleep. Then I get up, and every morning I recite the very verse I opend this post with. And it's having effects of the choices I make.
So what would you like to trust? A temporary buzz, or permanent bliss?
" Please grant me blessings to realize there is no satisfaction in enjoying samsaric pleasures, and that their shortcoming is, they cannot be trusted; may I strive intently for the bliss of liberation. Bless me to cultivate this wish." - from A Short Meditation on the Graduated Path to Enlightenment, from Katleen McDonald's book, How To Meditate.
This is one of the four thoughts that turn the mind to dharma: samsara. Just what is samsara though? Samsara literally means cycles of existence, and it refers to the imprisonment in the cycle of rebirth because one is imprisoned by the three unwholesome roots of ignorance of one's true nature, desires or passions, and hatred. I have heard them as ignorance, passion and anger. A great way to remember them is by IPA, which is also an acronym for a currently popular beer style, India Pale Ale. Both samsara and nirvana are in the mind. So samsaric pleasures are those that we pursue because we want the feeling it gives us.
But this is far more than hedonism. This is about trusting. We trust in pleasures, be they physical or emotional, because we believe that we will get something out of it. It is our source of security. If we feel safe, we believe we are. If we feel happy, we believe we have joy. Yet in the state of samsara, those pleasure do little more than add negative karma because they don't eliminate the three negative roots, they reinforce them.
And that's what struck me the other day as I was reciting this verse while driving. We trust our samsaric pleasures because we expect something in return. We drink alcohol because we expect the buzz. It happens. Somewhere though we cross the line, and oops! The result turns into a hangover after the buzz. The question is, why did we want the buzz? What was ity signifying to us? A reward? Relaxation from emotional stress? The gloat of ego because it's a $50 bottle and we can afford it or have the discimination to taste it's subtleties? All of those are samsaric choices, and so it goes for all the choices we make.
Until we learn to make better choices that are for our benefit. Let me give you an example. The other day I was talking with a local colleague, and we were discussing the candidates for a local political office. One was a merchant in our town, and as we talked I expressed the opinion that I didn't feel this person would be a viable candidate. Rumors of the negative sort swirl around that person, and I wished their business well, but thought they should make the business a solid go before jumping into the political arena. My colleague on the other hand wished that person's business to fail. My colleague made the choice to state the words based on his feelings about this person. It gave him some sort of glee, or hope that this person they disliked would fail, and that would make them happy. Sometimes we judge ourselves better by the failures of others. But are we? However, the point is that all sorts of little pleasures occur in this line of thinking, and the Buddha's teachings are that we as practitioners wish for every one to achieve happiness.
Not for their demise, and not for us to elevate our ego's because we can now deem the other person a failure. Everyone around us are trying to be happy. They too are stuck in samsara, and are reaping the results of karma, and so may not know what circumstances they are actually in (ignorance). As we practitioners continue to study the dharma, we learn how to become aware of the ignorance and the remedy for it. And that applies to the passions and hatred/anger as well. We learn to deal with the habituations we develop in our minds and our thinking patterns.
What happens along the way is what closes out this little saying. We experience the bliss of liberation from the samsaric cycle. The bliss that cannot be altered, because bliss is part of the natural state we all have that we have buried, that we exchange for the momentary false hopes of samsara and pleasures that can't be trusted. We can enjoy them, as it taught, but we misplace our trust then. A better choice is to place our trust in what is unchangeable, which cannot be taken away.
It is a wish to cultivate. Not just a wish, but something we work on, be aware of. It is not unlike cultivating soil to grow plants. If we start becoming aware of the choices we make and why, we have begun that process. To cultivate means we need to turn the soil, and eliminate weeds, and plant seeds. Then water may need to be addeed, or compost, and weeds removed on a regualr basis. These are the actions of discipline, of studying, reflecting, meditating. Aside from the meditating, windshield time is a great time for practicing. My commute is usually about 10 miles. And I still get a lot of practicing in. All through the day I can cultivate, and lately I have returned to the habit of reading dharma before I go to sleep. Then I get up, and every morning I recite the very verse I opend this post with. And it's having effects of the choices I make.
So what would you like to trust? A temporary buzz, or permanent bliss?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
For the month of December Rinpoche will commit himself to shoring up the new directions and forms the sagha will take.
Houston, we have lift off. I'm going for a ride....
Monday, November 23, 2009
Name Change!
But does the rose still smell as sweet?
Ah, Shakespearean alliterations. Think I'll stop now.
But a name change has occurred, as the header reveals. I have a new partner? No, I have a new name. New names are given when one takes refuge with a teacher. It signifies the qualities of the student. This ceremony was different than my first though.
The first time I took refuge was in 2003, and I went through a small ceremony, and repeated a few lines of which I knew nothing. Then I was handed a card with my refuge name: Jangchub Gyaltsen - Victory Banner of Enlightenment. Okay, cool. Enlightenment is what I am after. The whole process was rather low key and almost insignificant, or felt so anyway.
Not so this second time around. Rinpoche taught the three of us essentially what it meant to take refuge, and the relationship of refuge to hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana, culminating in Dzogchen. We repeated the refuge vows after each level. All in all, it summed up taking refuge in the Buddha nature we all have. Then he had us come forward, and he snipped off a bit of hair, and anointed our head with water. I recall the hair represents consciousness, and so he established a link between him and the three of us. Then he had a little bowl, and some folded up pieces of paper, and some that were rolled. The folded pieces had names for the males, and the rolled were for the females. Two of us, one of her. Typically, I fish around for the hidden one, the buried one, the underdog looking one. Not this time. I pick it and give it to Rinpoche, and so we all did.
Turns out I picked the name of Rinpoche: Jigme. Jigme Senga is the name I picked. It means Fearless Lion.
Gulp.
Suppose there might be some challenges around this name now? I'm not certain there is any significance in picking this name. I have formally asked Rinpoche to be my teacher before I took refuge. He is still reviewing my application, and my mind could easily think there is. But this is just a refuge name. I'm not a teacher or anything remotely similar. Just another sentient being on this rock making my way along the path.
Would I mind any significance? I suppose not, because right now it's irrelevant. If a time comes when it is relevant, so be it. I'll attend to my now as fearlessly as I can, and see what happens. In the mean time you'll know why the name on the header changed.
Ah, Shakespearean alliterations. Think I'll stop now.
But a name change has occurred, as the header reveals. I have a new partner? No, I have a new name. New names are given when one takes refuge with a teacher. It signifies the qualities of the student. This ceremony was different than my first though.
The first time I took refuge was in 2003, and I went through a small ceremony, and repeated a few lines of which I knew nothing. Then I was handed a card with my refuge name: Jangchub Gyaltsen - Victory Banner of Enlightenment. Okay, cool. Enlightenment is what I am after. The whole process was rather low key and almost insignificant, or felt so anyway.
Not so this second time around. Rinpoche taught the three of us essentially what it meant to take refuge, and the relationship of refuge to hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana, culminating in Dzogchen. We repeated the refuge vows after each level. All in all, it summed up taking refuge in the Buddha nature we all have. Then he had us come forward, and he snipped off a bit of hair, and anointed our head with water. I recall the hair represents consciousness, and so he established a link between him and the three of us. Then he had a little bowl, and some folded up pieces of paper, and some that were rolled. The folded pieces had names for the males, and the rolled were for the females. Two of us, one of her. Typically, I fish around for the hidden one, the buried one, the underdog looking one. Not this time. I pick it and give it to Rinpoche, and so we all did.
Turns out I picked the name of Rinpoche: Jigme. Jigme Senga is the name I picked. It means Fearless Lion.
Gulp.
Suppose there might be some challenges around this name now? I'm not certain there is any significance in picking this name. I have formally asked Rinpoche to be my teacher before I took refuge. He is still reviewing my application, and my mind could easily think there is. But this is just a refuge name. I'm not a teacher or anything remotely similar. Just another sentient being on this rock making my way along the path.
Would I mind any significance? I suppose not, because right now it's irrelevant. If a time comes when it is relevant, so be it. I'll attend to my now as fearlessly as I can, and see what happens. In the mean time you'll know why the name on the header changed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)