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!

Ngondro begins

So yesterday I started prostrations. I had done a little math, and figured that if I did close to 2000 a week, I'd be done in a year. I figured I could spend half my practice time doing the prostrations, and the rest reflecting on other things Rinpoche gave me to mull over. No biggie huh?

Well, I didn't take into account a learning curve.  Not that I expected much of one with altering my practice time for a physical activity as well as sitting activities.  The learning curve I failed to account for was that of my  oblique muscles,  triceps,  delts, and even my traps and sternocleidomastoid. No, I didn't make that up.
I only did 30 today before I decided to give it a rest before I hurt something. That means I won't be hitting 100 a day until my muscles learn to respond to this. So maybe every other day or so, for a few weeks. 

One thing I thought was interesting occurred during my interview with Rinpoche. I asked if there was anything I needed to know, basically, how do we start this practice? He surprised me by asking if I was a Buddhist. I was stunned for a second, because I took refuge with him. Had he forgotten? So I said "No. I'm not a Buddhist. I am a Buddha."  He smiled a big smile and we got on with it from there.

I've stated this point  before in a previous point, and it was reinforced to me when Rinpoche asked that question. It isn't necessarily enough to think of yourself as a Buddhist. one can be a Buddhist philosophically, but not actually. You need to see yourself as  you really are:  you are a Buddha. 

In future posts I'll share some of my insights on the Refuge Prayer and Generation of Bodhichitta. Until then,

Tashi Deleg! 

Perfect Buddhas

You're on. No, I mean, that's your cue, you're on. Yes, you, you're the Perfect Buddha, go on! Get out there....

Thogme wrote the following words as an introduction to his 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. Thogme lived long after Shakyamuni did, so what does he mean by pluralizing the word Buddha? Well, in case you haven't guessed, repeat after me: Without me, there is no Buddha.

"The perfect Buddhas, source of benefit and happiness, arise from accomplishing the genuine dharma...."

If you are a human being, you are as much a Buddha as Lord Shakyamuni is. Simply put. Not because of anything you have or have not done, but by what is actually inside you. The idea of Buddhism isn't to mold or shape what's inside you into something new. The idea is to uncover what is already there. All of the mental fabrications of ego, and what reality is need to be stripped away. You are already a Perfect Buddha. Everyone is. The other notion to dispel is becoming Shayamuni. You are a unique blend of the 5 wisdoms, the elements, and karmic reflection. You are unlike anyone else. So you become in this perfecting process the Buddha that you are. That's what Buddhist individuality is, as differing from individuality, which is the structure of the ego, and, as it turns out, is what stands in the way of your individuality. So, how to get from where we are to being Perfect Buddha.

Ha! You know me too well! That's right, practice, practice, practice. Buddhas arise from accomplishing genuine dharma. Which points to several things. One, dharma isn't something you believe. If you aren't doing it, you aren't getting it. Genuine dharma is a set of practices, and a whole lot of mistakes along the way.There will be moral downfalls, there will be corrections, and just in the beginning, as you learn to focus and after what seems like less than a second, your mind is off and running. Well, that happens for a long time. Don't be discouraged. Hammering on yourself is an expression of the ego. When you sit down to practice, body like mountain (stretch first!), breath like a breeze (soft and unforced), and mind like sky. Ah, that last part. Sometimes it feels like 30 MPOH winds and clouds, and other times like a storm. But you know what? The presence of the clouds and turbulence does not alter the nature of the sky, and if you fly high enough, you'll break through the storms into open sky. Clouds can exist in the upper atmosphere, but not storms very often. The sky is always the sky. So let the clouds pass through. Be aware of them, and that's all.

"Arise" and "accomplishing" are not past tense verbs. Thogme was at least writing about his own time, and without knowing a lick of Tibetan, I am willing to bet these are future tense as well. Which is of course the point of Buddhism. The basic idea that we are all the same, born with the same innate Buddha nature, is at the core of equanimity, one of the four aspects of bodhichitta. So even today, perfect Buddhas are arising, because they are accomplishing the dharma.

And whsat is it we accomplish? Genuine Dharma. There are a couple of points here that need to be made. First, there are plenty of phony baloneys peddling fake dharma. The sexual tantra of the west is a good example of a split off that has gained traction in a small community. They focus on something out of context, and then of course what you end up with isn't enlightenment, but rather a strengthened ego and delusion. Which is why lineage is presented the way it is in Buddhism. So if I were to start teaching, I would present myself as just another link in the chain of Kilung Rinpoche, who had Dilgo Khyntse as a teacher, and Dilgo had Khenpo Thugba, and the historical linkage affirms the teachings back to their origination with Padmasambhava. Fake teachers can't, sometimes won't, present a verifiable lineage. 

You might say to me though that a real teacher is hard to find.  Ah yes, I agree. It took me several years before I found a living teacher to investigate. I started the basics with Pema Chodron's books, and moved a tad slowly from there. A meditation center in town provided some teachers, as the center was non-sectarian and sought various lineage and branch teachers. It did however start pointing me in a direction. And you don't need one at your finger tips. My first teacher I have only seen a handful of times. However, it is worth the effort to perhaps travel out of your way a bit to see one. 

So what else do I want to say about genuine dharma? That your path is your path. You don't need to practice what I practice. Nor how I practice. When I took refuge with Kilung Rinpoche of the Longchen Nyingtik, I brought him my practice manual, and page by page showed him what my daily practice was composed of, which was entirely self manufactured I assure you. He assured me it was good, and as I progressed as a student, he simply added things he thought I was ready for relative to our lineage's practices. I am free to practice all sorts of things as long as I am empowered to do so. And some things require a living empowerment, some don't. So you'll gain much benefit from reciting the Refuge Prayer. And the Bodhichitta Vow. The Four Immeasurables. The Four Thoughts That Turn The Mind To Dharma. The 37 Practices Of A Bodhisattva. Kathleen Turner's book, How To Meditate, has a wealth of material to draw on. Honestly though, I was surprised she had material on Inner Heat in it. That is usually an advanced practice, because not doing it right, or at the right time, can be more harmful than beneficial. Be that as it may, there is a lot of great material in the book from which one can gain much wisdom.


All that to say that Thogme's next sentence says: "that in turn depends on knowing how to practice." If you don't have a living teacher, start requesting one. And be patient you Buddha you. Yes, yes, I'm talking to you.


Repeat after me: Without me, no Buddha.

Analyze This! - Part 2 of Life Sentence

Rather obvious isn't it? The story goes that the photog was at the San Quentin concert, and asked Johnny if he had a message for the Warden. This picture is the answer.

So what does that have to do with analyzing ourselves? Well, it doesn't take a degree is my point. Sometimes it's as simple as the picture, though maybe not so aggressive.

Remember that in part 1 I brought up the notion of giving ourselves to a life sentence of doing this analyzing. Now let's look at what some of that exercise of analyzing might look like.

It all starts during meditation. We learn to see the clouds of thoughts that enter the sky of our mind. Then what? Well, like clouds we let them come and go. But we become aware of them. Or, we learn to be aware of them. Let's consider some words from Patrul Rinpoche's Verses On the 5 Poisons Self Liberated, and some words from the Le'u Dun Ma prayer of Padmasambhava.

So what if you're like me? What if you return to focusing on your breathing after a thought has taken you across the universe several times, or, if like following links on web sites, you wonder just how in the hell did I get here?! That's called fabricating by some. Or there may be something you want, and you start contriving how to get it. Ah, back to the breath.... There's also inviting and chasing after thoughts. These are all activities described in the Le'u Dun Ma. The portion I want to emphasize says this: "Whatever thoughts and emotions of the five poisons arise, don't invite them, don't chase after them, don't let mind fabricate or contrive: simply allowing them to settle in the face of their own arising is the very liberation into the Dharmakaya." The idea here is to learn to gently, gently, bring your focus back to your breath. Yes, you are aware of these things. So let's add a little bit here. Patrul Rinpoche gives some particular advice for each poison.

For anger, Rinpoche tells us to not chase after the object we are angry at. Instead, look at the angry mind. All these poisons are self arising, and therefore self liberated. Beside that, they have a Buddha wisdom expression. Anger is clarity emptiness by nature, which is mirror like wisdom. So okay, on the cushion that's one thing. But later in the day, you snap. Then what? Stop right there. Take one breath and focus on it, and look at the anger, and realize it's mirror like wisdom. Yes, it's a learning moment. Here Rinpoche says recite the six syllable mantra: Om Mani Padme Hung. Just about anything you read about anger will tell you that it destroys a lot of virtue that isn't dedicated. Which is why we learn to tame our minds with an army of loving kindness and compassion.

So let me run down the poisons and their Buddha expressions:

   Anger - Don't chase after - clarity emptiness = mirror-like wisdom
   Pride - Don't cling to - original emptiness = wisdom of equality
   Desire - Don't became attached - bliss emptiness = discriminating wisdom
   Jealousy - Don't obsess - intellect emptiness = all-accomplishing wisdom
   Stupidity - Don't be mistaken about - awareness emptiness - dhamadhatu wisdom

So when these crop up, look at them, recite the mantra, and recall the instructions and beneficial aspect. That's what is meant by analyzing your delusion. As you do it more and more, you'll discover more subtle levels, and as you can see, these are practices that don't require much training, other than what practice you give yourself.

So imagine that you are Johnny Cash, and your delusion is the warden. Analyze this!

Further notes on Life Sentence

"Alas, now as the intermediate state of living arise before me, renouncing laziness, for which there is no time in this life, I must enter the undistracted path of study, reflection, and meditation. Taking perceptual experience and the nature of the mind as the path, I must cultivate actualization of the three Buddha bodies. Having obtaine this precious human body this one time, I do not have the luxury of remaining on a distracted path."

So said Padmasabhava when he wrote what we westerners commonly refer to as the Tibetan Book Of The Dead. It's real title is The Great Liberation Upon Hearing. My point here is what Guru Rinpoche calls laziness, and why it's important to practice. It refers to my last post, as to why we might consider a life sentence for ourselves. Here again we see reference to our precious human birth, which in all of existence, is indeed rare. The laziness that Rinpoche refers to though isn't what us westerners refer to. We think of the couch potatoe that doesn't do the dishes, or laundry, or vacuum. Rinpoche is referring to the person as well that get's up early, and reads the paper before heading into the office for a 10 hour day, and then stops at the gym, gets dinner, comes home and spends a little time with spouse and or kids, throws in a Rotary meeting in the week, and then coaches on the weekends between doing house chores. That's also a lazy person because they are frittering away their human existence, and take no time for their own mind. Damned repsonsible, but still lazy when it comes to the one important thing.

Will that mom or dad take their spouse with them when they die? How about the money and things they have accumulated. The "stuff" George Carlin referred to. Trophies? Friends? Even the body so well cared for at the gym? The children or pets?

At death one is alone. And yet how do we prepare for that moment?

Tashi Deleg!