Doing Work that Matters.

There have been many teachers in my life, but the one that has had the most profound impact on my life and my mind is my root teacher, Younge Khachab Rinpoche.

I met Rinpoche in 2004 in Madison, WI where I studied closely with him and engaged in numerous meditation retreats under his guidance.  That period of my life left an indelible imprint on my mind and transformed my life in such a way that it is still beyond my comprehension. 

When I moved to Seattle in 2006 Rinpoche gave me the responsibility of connecting with others, introducing them to meditation and sharing these profound, practical teachings and their significance in daily life.  That has been a challenge that I have had to reconcile with my practice, make it part of my practice.  Looking back it forced me to go deeper and drew out the implications of my practice beyond the confines of my meditation seat. 

Rinpoche often asks me, "How is your job?" and "How is your practice?"

It turns out that how you answer both of these questions says a lot about your practice.

If you think your practice is good but you are consistently overwhelmed and discouraged by your daily life and work, then you haven't figured out how to integrate your practice. 

We have a lot of modern day examples of people who have made a great impact in the world, people like the Dalai Lama, Pema Chodron and Lama Surya Das.  They have integrated their practice with their life, acting with generosity, love and compassion.  Making an impact.  But you don't need to be a monk, nun or lama.

That is not the only way. 

A couple years ago I asked Rinpoche, "What if I sell everything I own, quit my job and go move to a small retreat house in Nepal or India?"

His response, "That is a good idea, but you need to work for another twenty years."

The message- there is no escape.  Even if we manage to escape, it only perpetuates the cycle, lifetime after lifetime.  What you need to do is liberate the mind, not free it into some sort of fantasy, but actually free it.  To do that, you need to integrate your practice and your life.

Your life is your spiritual practice, the result is the path.

You need to do the hard work of connecting with others, benefitting them through kindness,  generosity and doing work that matters.

Get Started.

The story of Siddhartha's life is about becoming Buddha, being Buddha.

It is a story on how to live a life of wisdom, generosity, love and compassion.  It is about embodying a spiritual practice that integrates all aspects of your life and starts right where you are. 

It is about traversing the Mahayana path, a path of great wealth and wisdom.  It is a path that does not separate your day-to-day life and your spiritual practice.  Your life is your spiritual practice, the result is the path.

It is a path that has been traveled by men and women of all trades-
artists, scientists, physicians, educators and entrepreneurs, the rich and the poor-
it is the path of the bodhisattvas, the mahasiddhas.

Its lifeblood are the blessings that descend from an authentic, uninterrupted practice lineage.  These blessings take the form of realization and wisdom as they pass from each generation to the next through continued guidance, clarification and support.

Siddhearta's story is about living a life of value and purpose, for yourself and for others.

It is your story.

You are Siddhearta.

Your path.  Your practice.
Clarify your practice.  Let your practice clarify you.

If you are looking for practical methods, meditation instruction or simply want to learn more about these profound and practical teachings, contact me at siddhearta@gmail.com. 

Thank you for reading this blog and I look forward to our next discussion.

Gregory 

Let Your Practice have Character.

If your practice is to simply recite the words or to do what everyone else is doing, then it is fake.  It has no depth, no character.

Let your practice take on a life of its own.  Let it be spontaneous, quirky, weird.  Let it be you.

Then as your practice develops and unfolds, you will develop and unfold.  As your practice becomes more pure and uncontrived, you will become more pure and uncontrived.  As your practice generates qualities of tolerance, love and compassion, so will you. 

If you put the work into your practice, it will change you. 

Why Siddhearta?

The Sanskrit name Siddhartha has two root words: siddha-artha.
'Siddha' means to accomplish, fulfill or establish.
'Artha' means purpose, aims or meaning.

So Siddhartha means 'to accomplish your purpose','to establish meaning', or 'fulfill your aims'.

Siddhartha Gautama was a young prince born in northern India around 600BC. There are many accounts of his biography, and I encourage you to read them all, but this is a new way of looking at the story of a particular young prince's path to awakening.

Siddhartha grew up in a sheltered palace.  His father embellished him with the best education and training of the day, not to mention satisfying his every need and comfort.  His destiny was clear- stay here in the castle, everything will be provided for you and someday you will take over this throne and lead the people.

The story usually goes that Siddhartha managed to escape his father's heavy hand and ventured out into the streets.  There he was confronted by disease, suffering, and a dying old man.  The customary account is that Siddhartha was so moved by these encounters that he decided to flee the castle and embark on the spiritual path.

But what else was going on in Siddhartha's head?  Was he really satisfied living life in the castle?  Did all of the material wealth and indulgence really bring fulfillment?  Had he had enough of all of the excess and distraction?  What was it in his life that made him want to leave the castle in the first place?

Regardless, Siddhartha escaped the castle.

India at that time was a spiritual hotspot.  Many traditions were thriving and Siddhartha had access to some of the best teachers of the day.  He first practiced extensively with Alara Kalama, became his foremost disciple and was requested by that teacher to be his heir.  Undoubtedly he would have experienced peaceful meditative states, mental states of bliss and clarity.  He would have known single-pointed concentration and the quiescence of a deep samadhi.  He would have been lauded for his achievements and honored by the community. 

But he chose to leave.  There was something that was missing.  Why was he dissatisfied with the practice?  Why was he not fulfilled, his aims not met?

He then studied under the guidance of another prominent teacher of the era, becoming his foremost disciple and requested to be his heir.  Undoubtedly he would have experienced exalted meditative states of peace, clarity and non-conceptuality.  He would have known first-hand the many benefits of meditation and had much insight into the nature of reality.  

But he chose to leave.  There was something that was missing.  Why was he dissatisfied with the practice?  Why was he not fulfilled, his aims not met?

He then set out with a group of five close friends who were all excellent practitioners.  These guys worked hard.  They pushed themselves to the limit.  They underwent extreme physical challenges.  They tried every possible diet, eating only the purest of foods and water.  They stayed in mountain locales and jungles, alongside sacred rivers and under sacred trees.  If enlightenment was to be gained through hard work, these guys worked the hardest.

But enlightenment was not achieved.  

Siddhartha's body collapsed along a riverbank.  His practice had not yielded its intended result, his aims unfulfilled.  

Then a young girl appeared, maybe by chance, maybe by the intervention of the gods as legend has it.  She gave the weary and weakened Siddhartha a gift of some milk and rice pudding.  They nourished his body, nourished his mind.  That gift gave him strength, the strength to continue his practice.  

At that moment it is hard to say what Siddhartha was thinking.  All the effort he had put in, all the striving for the goal.  He had tried every possible method, manipulated every possible condition.  Still, there was something missing.  Why was he dissatisfied with the practice?  Why was he not fulfilled, his aims not met?

He then sat down under a pipal tree and vowed that he would not get up from his seat until he gained awakening.  He vowed that he would not change anything, would not rely on any external conditions whatsoever.

Siddhartha took his seat in the unchanging way of abiding and faced his negative thoughts and emotions.  Without wavering from his meditation, negative thoughts and emotions were freed in their own place, thus he continued to rest naturally.  

Siddhartha took his seat in the unchanging way of abiding and faced his hopes and fears.  Without wavering from his meditation, his hopes and fears were freed in their own place, thus he continued to rest naturally.  

Siddhartha took his seat in the unchanging way of abiding and faced his negative deeds.  Without wavering from his meditation, his negative deeds were freed in their own place, thus he continued to rest naturally.  

Siddhartha took his seat in the unchanging way of abiding and faced his doubt.  Without wavering from his meditation, his doubt was freed in its own place, thus he continued to rest naturally.  

Siddhartha took his seat in the unchanging way of abiding and faced his perception in an intrinsically real self.  Without wavering from his meditation, his perception of an intrinsically real self was freed in its own place, thus he continued to rest naturally.  

There he sat.  Not holding onto anything whatsoever he was naturally freed in his own condition.  Not grasping at anything that arose in his experience, reality was freed just as it is.  

Resting in that unchanging way of abiding, his mind was conquered.  His delusions tamed.  His doubt pacified.  He discovered in his heart a vast openness, a profound peace and radiant warmth.  From that sense of inner fulfillment generosity, love and kindness naturally blossomed into the world.  He shared his heart with the world and brought untold benefit to generation upon generation.

His aims were met, he looked no further. 

So Siddhearta is about conquering your own mind.  When you are weak and wearied, the generosity of others will give you the strength to proceed.  When they themselves are tired, your generosity will bring them a place to rest.

External conditions will not fulfill your aims.

If you are able to discover in your heart a vast openness, a profound peace and radiant warmth- then generosity, love and kindness will naturally blossom and spread your art in whatever form it may take.

Now go take your seat.  

Stepping Forward

You have your practice.

And I respect that.  I honor that. 

That is a living transmission between you and your teacher.  Go deeper.

But what happens when you bring your practice off the cushion, out of the studio and into the world.  What happens to your practice when no one around you cares about your meditation experience or how long you can hold half moon while controlling your heart rate. 

Real-time is messy.  It is unpredictable and you are out there all by yourself. 

Do you long to get back on the cushion, hit the next yoga class or seek to enjoy a week-long, peaceful retreat?    

Then you aren't actually doing the practice.  You are escaping and hiding from fear and emotion when it matters most.  You are letting the resistance win. 

Your practice will teach you how to stand.  If you leave it at that then it is all about you.  Be brave enough to walk.  To step forward into the opening with discipline, patience and generosity. 

You might just learn how to dance. 

Checklist: Do You have a 'Precious' Human Life

Although I have won these freedoms, I am poor in Dharma, 

which is their essence.

Although I have entered the Dharma, 

I waste time doing other things.

Bless me and foolish beings like me

That we may attain the very essence 

of the freedoms and advantages. 

~Patrul Rinpoche

This life of ours presents us with great opportunity, but it is how we use that opportunity that determines whether it is meaningful.  The Buddha called a human life 'precious' only when it was endowed with all aspects of the freedoms and advantages.  As long as those freedoms and advantages are incomplete no amount of knoweldge or talent will make it meaningful.

Eight Freedoms

___   Freedom from birth in a hell realm where beings have no opportunity to 

         practice the Dharma because they are constantly tormented by intense suffering.

___   Freedom from birth in the hungry ghost realm where beings have no opportunity

         to practice the Dharma because they experience overwhelming hunger and thirst.  

___   Freedom from birth in the animal realm where beings have no opportunity to 

         practice the Dharma because they suffer slavery and continuous attacks and abuse.

___   Freedom from birth in the god realms where beings have no opportunity to 

         practice the Dharma because they spend their time in blank mental states.

___   Freedom from being born in foreign countries where the teachings of the Buddha are unknown.

___   Freedom from wrong views where there is no opportunity to practice the Dharma 

         because their minds are so influenced by mistaken beliefs.

___   Freedom from birth in a dark kalpa where beings never hear of the Dharma and cannot 

         distinguish good actions from bad.  

___   Free from being born with incomplete faculties that prevents beings from properly 

         learning, comprehending and practicing the teachings.  

Five Individual Advantages

___   The advantage of support.  You were born with a human body.

___   The advantage of place.  You were born in a region where the Dharma can be heard.  

___   The advantage of sense faculties.  You are free from disabilities that serve as a hindrance

         to hearing and practicing the Dharma.  

___   The advantage of intention.  You wish to do positive actions and are free from a conflicting 

         lifestyle immersed in negativity.

___   The advantage of faith.  You have the ability to turn your mind to the Dharma.  

Five Circumstantial Advantages

___   The advantage of a teacher.  A Buddha has appeared in this world.

___   The advantage of the teaching.   The Buddha turned the Wheel of Dharma. 

___   The advantage of time.  The teaching has remained until the present period. 

___   The advantage of your own good fortune.  You can take up the Dharma.

___   The advantage of extraordinary compassion.  You have met a Spiritual Friend you can 

         teach you what the Dharma is really about.  

Eight Intrusive Circumstances that leave no freedom to practice

___   Strong negative emotions.  If anger, desire, jealousy and other negative emotions are 

         too strong they dominate the mind and leave no opportunity for practice.

___   Very ignorant being.  Those who lack the slightest glimmer of intelligence are unable 

         to understand a single word of the teachings or its meaning.  

___   Dominated by negative influences.  Those who take imposters as their spiritual friends 

         suffer from wrong views and practice in a perverted manner.

___   Excessive laziness.  Those who lack even a trace of diligence will never accomplish 

         anything because they are so ensnared in their own indolence and procrastination.

___   A backlog of negative actions.  Those who practice the Dharma but do not develop any 

         positive qualities because of a long history of negative actions and end up losing

         confidence in the teachings without realizing that it is all due to their past actions. 

___   Slaves who have lost their autonomy and have no time to practice.

___   Fear for this present life's dangers and resources.  Those who practice the Dharma but

         without conviction give themselves up to old habits and non-Dharma activities.

___   A hypocritical practitioner who tries to win possessions, services and prestige.  In the

         midst of others they assume the guise of a practitioner but in their own minds they are

         only interested in this life and the eight worldly concerns.  

Eight Incompatible Propensities that leave no freedom to practice

___   Being tightly bound to your wealth, commitments, pleasures, family and so forth 

         such that there is no time to practice.

___   Those who lack any respect or have a depraved character. 

___   Those who have no regard for lower rebirths, the sufferings experienced in samsara and

         has no determination to strive for freedom and thus no reason to practice.  

___   Those who have no confidence in the teacher or the Dharma and thus no entry point 

         to the path of liberation.

___   Those who take pleasure in negative actions and fail to control their thoughts, words and

         deeds.  

___   Those who have no regard for spiritual values and experience no enthusiasm for Dharma.

___   Those who break their vows and commitment to developing bodhicitta.

___   Those who break their commitments with the spiritual friend and sangha destroy any

         prospect of accomplishments. 

Do you have the eight freedoms and ten advantages?  Are you really free from lower rebirths, even in this present life?  Are you free from the sixteen factors that leave no room in your life to practice Dharma?  Use this checklist to remind yourself of what you have gained in this life and if you find that aspects are missing strive diligently until they are complete. 

The Battleground

Let's cut the crap.

Engaging in your own spiritual practice is not easy.

We are led to believe that meditation and the practice of the path engender an unceasing stream of bliss and clarity.  We are coaxed to a nice Zen-like state with beautiful photos of monks and nuns in states of serenity.  We read poetic aphorisms that lull us into a state of wishy washy fascination and self-aggrandizement.  

We hide too much.  

Your spiritual practice will be a war zone.  You will fight.  You will shed tears.  You will be afraid to move forward but step anyways.  Fear will rise in waves and storms of thoughts and emotions will bring you ceaseless torment.  

But you will stop shifting the blame.  

You will stop pretending.  Stop projecting and waging bets you cannot win.  

If you don't turn your eyes from the battlefield it will reveal truths to you.  Truths that are at first hard to see, hard to bear. 

Sit strong.  Sit in openness.  Sit in fearlessness.  Sit in honesty.  

Every storm passes to give rise to a crisp, calm, pristine sky- which you never experience if you don't weather the storm. 

Confession

Confession is a very important practice while you are traveling the path.  It forms one of the branches within the Seven Branch Prayer that is part of the accumulation of merit or positive potential that keeps us moving forward on the path. 

Confession within the context of the Buddha's teachings is not the same as asking for forgiveness.  From a Buddhist perspective the act of confession is an acknowledgement and a claiming of responsibility for our own wrong doing.  Their is no concept of sin within the Buddhist tradition, only the inevitable principle of cause and effect, or karma. 

Confession itself is a kind of awakening.  Before, amidst all of our confusion and ignorance we were completely unaware of the harm we were bringing to ourselves and others.  Through the act of confession we can see our own errors and how we brought our self to this state of despair.  It brings us back in control of our mind and reality.  

The Buddha taught that we are not victims of reality or conspiracy, but rather that we are victims of our own confusion.  The act of confession separates us from our confused mind, isolating for the first time our true tormentor. 

It is the guise of thinking that we are perfect and without mistake that binds us to ceaseless torment and strife.  When we remove the mask and reveal our true face, then we have something.  We have a place to start.  If we are willing to press on, move forward, then all of our guilt and self-hatred falls away because it is not who we are but what we were holding onto.  

Now we can forge the path anew.  Sure we will have many missteps along the way but we are climbing out of the abyss.  By relying on this method of confession we can ensure that our confusion will not persist, that the light of wisdom will always shine through the darkness of our confusion.  

There are four powers to rely on in the act of confession:
1. Regretting our negative actions, obscurations and habitual tendencies
2. Relying on the positive support of authentic Dharma
3. Engaging in positive actions and behaviors that act as an antidote
4. The resolve to not commit those actions in the future

By relying on these four powers you really can let go of that burden you have been carrying around.  When you combine these techniques with the other branches of the Seven Branch Prayer then you have a very powerful method of training.   

Lose the Map

Our spirituality is often a story that we tell ourselves about how we and the world exist.  It calms our fears when we are challenged and disheartened, it gives us hope in times of pain and sorrow.  If our spirituality is a map then we think we have found a good one.  In fact, it is quite comforting that we have this trustworthy map. 

Buddhism has a very well documented map.  The Buddhist map to enlightenment has layer upon layer of detail.  The cartography of this path is unparalleled, giving both the general overlay of the land as well as 3D views.  It is the Google Earth of spiritual maps. 

In its vastness and profound detail we can be lulled into a content torpor, our ego intoxicated by the intricacies of such a supreme vehicle.  We can feel secure going about our habitual mode of existence because we carry this map around, at any moment justifying our location with astute logic and reasoning.  Not only that, but we can describe in quite detail places in which we have never been, never seen with our own eyes. 

The real challenge with actually traveling the path to enlightenment is that at some point you need to throw out the map.  The only common trait among the numerous Buddhas and enlightened masters that have gone before us is that they made their own map based on integrating the teachings with their own mind.  Every situation was different.  There was different terrain, different obstacles and different cultural conditions. 

You can't follow someone else's map to gain awakening.  You need to make your life the map, each and every step. 

So toss out that map you have been hanging onto.  Look around, what is the lay of the land?  Where are you at this very moment? 

Keep your senses open, your mind calm.  Always walk with mindfulness and discipline.  Arm yourself with patience and all the grit you can muster.

Enjoy your hike!

ps. If you need help packing your bags we can help you with that one, the rest is up to you.

Karma

The third preliminary is the contemplation on karma.  Karma means action, or cause and effect.  For the purpose of this contemplation it is necessary to give up any preconceptions based on pop culture's notion of good and bad karma for it does not encompass the Buddha's intent when he gave these teachings.  The key point of karma is summarized very well in the Essence of Dependent Origination dharani:

om ye dharma hetu prabhava hetun tesam tathagato hayavadat tesam ca yo nirodha evam vadi maha shramana soha
All phenomena arise from causes and those causes have been taught by the Tathagata,
Their cessation too has been proclaimed by the great practitioner of virtue.

There are several implications to consider when contemplating karma.  The first is that the world is shaped by our intentions.  We find in Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosa:

The variety of the world arises from action.
[Action] is intention and that which is produced through intention.
Intention is mental action-
It gives rise to two types of action, physical and verbal action.

 And also in the Dhammapada: 

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.
Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it.
Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.
Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.

Right now we are the culmination of all of our past thoughts, actions, choices and habitual tendencies.  The thoughts, actions and choices that we make today will determine who and where we are in the future.  

Often we hear the following, "What are you gonna do, that's life."  I think we have all said that at one time or another, but if you think about that statement within the context of karma it is filled with ignorance.  A lot of the time we have this notion that life happens to us, rather than we who are responsible for creating our reality.  It is a matter of determining whether we are an active participant or a passive observer.  

Think of this in terms of worldly pursuits- our education, health, career and family.  How does this implication- that the world is shaped by our intentions- play out in these settings?  Are we active participants or passive observers?  

Think of this in terms of our spiritual growth.  Our religion is not simply some organization that we belong to,  it is an expression of our spirituality whether we acknowledge it or not.  I think this is the intent when the Buddha said the following:

I can show you the door, but you must walk through it. 

The second implication is that actions never fail to produce an effect.  In the span of a day we have numerous thoughts, choices and actions.  It is easy (easy for me at least) to write off the little things as 'This doesn't matter', or 'just this one time'.  But just as a birds shadow may not be readily apparent as it soars through the sky only to return again when it lands, every act we engage in influences the course of our life.  A great saying by Lao Tzu:

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. 

And also the Buddha:

You will not be punished for your anger,

You will be punished by your anger.

The third implication is that the eight worldly concerns lead us astray.  The eight worldly concerns are getting caught up in happiness and suffering, praise or blame, fame or shame, and gain or loss.    Like a fish on a hook, we latch onto these concerns and through the process of cause and effect we are caught in an unending cycle of negative mental states.  

The fourth implication is that of generating merit.  Merit is a concept that isn't understood or appreciated in the West.  Merit really refers to a positive potential of mind.  It is a mind that, when adequately prepared and cultivated, is able to withstand significant hardship, loss, pain and suffering.  We often do not think of our mind in this manner, but it is equivalent to always carrying a trump card so that no matter what cards you are dealt in life you can still play the game. 

When we understand karma and its intimacy with our present and future state, then we can embrace the larger scope.  It is we who are responsible for our own happiness and suffering and our effect on the world around us.  Our intentions, choices and actions create the world around us each and every day.  Karma is not something you believe in, it doesn't matter if you believe or not.  Cause and effect do not operate on moral imperatives, it is we who punish ourselves. 

Having embraced the larger scope we come to a decisive experience of karma.  As long as we rely on conditioned phenomena we are subject to karma.  As long as we rely on mind and mental factors we will never move beyond suffering, because we will continue to plant seeds that will indefinitely ripen.  We need to come to a direct experience of the unconditioned nature of mind, only then is it possible to break free from the cage of karma, habitual patterns and afflictive emotions.  

It is vital that we come to a decisive experience of karma by studying, contemplating and meditating on the teachings. 

 

Precious Human Life

This week a few of my vajra brothers and sisters have begun a year long contemplation on Mind Training, or Lojong in Tibetan.  The benefit of the mind training teachings is that they are very simple and precise. You can read the whole text or a portion of the text and then actually practice it. There is a directness to the teachings that each time you read it, there is something that cuts through misconceptions or internal struggles we are having. These teachings represent the simplicity of the Mahayana tradition.

First, train in the preliminaries.

The first preliminary is the contemplation on this precious human life.  The key point is that we need to take advantage of this precious human life endowed with freedom and opportunity.  

There are several implications to consider regarding this precious human life.  The first is the rarity of obtaining a precious human life.  By some strange chance we have stumbled upon this situation, much like a blind person stumbling upon a treasure.  If we do not use this great opportunity now, when will we have the chance again in the future?  

Take a look at the people around you.  People are extremely busy, many of them over stressed with work, chasing after momentary illusions for entertainment and satisfaction.  Many people in this world have opportunity- the presence of favorable conditions.  More and more people are coming to have freedom- the absence of negative conditions.  But it is extremely rare that a person has both opportunity and freedom.

We can look at our own life to see the rarity of having both opportunity and freedom.  How many times have we had extra time on our hands but we have lacked either the resources or the physical health to actually use that time effectively?  How many times have we had an abundance of resources and energy, but no time to actually meditate or enjoy the simple things in life?  How often have we wasted away days, nights and weekends caught up in worry, anger or scheming; no freedom from negative mental states to actually cultivate positive qualities. 

The second implication is that this life has great purpose.  We have somehow stumbled upon this great treasure, so we must put it to good use or like a fool we will squander it and return empty handed.  

When we understand both the rarity of this precious human life and its great purpose, then we can embrace a larger scope.   The Buddha taught that all beings have buddhanature, the inherent potential to attain awakening.  In the Sutra of the Great Parinirvana:

For example, just as butter permeates milk, likewise buddhanature pervades all beings.

In the Uttaratantra-shastra:

If buddhanature were not present, there would be no remorse over suffering;

There would be no longing for peace, nor striving and devotion towards its aim.  

When we are able to acknowledge our own capacity to achieve awakening, complete and utter enlightenment, it is like a seed taking root in our heart.  As that seed blossoms and grows stronger through the conduct of compassion and loving kindness, it spreads its branches out to shelter beings suffering from the heat of the afflictions.  As it reaches maturation it yields a cool ambrosia fruit that quenches the thirst of beings, establishing them in bliss and contentment. 

Recognizing this innate quality in ourselves, we see the great purpose that this life can accomplish.  It is with this recognition that we generate aspirational bodhicitta, or the aspiration to attain awakening for the sake of all sentient beings.  Just as Shantideva says in the Way of the Bodhisattva:

May I be a guard for those who are protectorless, 

A guide for those who journey on the road.

For those who wish to cross the water, 

May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.

May I be an isle for those who yearn for land, 

A lamp for those who long for light;

For all who need a resting place, a bed;

For those who need a servant, may I be their slave.

May I be the wishing jewel, the vase of wealth,

A word of power and supreme healing,

May I be the tree of miracles,

For every being the abundant cow.

Just like the eart and space itself,

And all the mighty elements,

For boundless multitudes of beings

May I always be the ground of life, the source of varied sustenance.

Thus for everything that lives,

As far as the limits of the sky,

May I be constantly their source of livelihood

Until they pass beyond all sorrow.

It is with such an aspiration that we embrace the larger scope of this precious human life.  We cannot afford to waste more time, we must use such a rare opportunity at this very moment.

We then come to the decisive experience of having obtained a precious human life, bodhicitta in action, or traveling the path to awakening.  Again, in the Way of the Bodhisattva:

Today my life has given fruit.

This human state has now been well assumed.

Today I take my birth in Buddha's line,

And have become the Buddha's child and heir.

In every way, then, I will undertake 

Activities befitting such a rank.

And I will do no act to mar

Or compromise this high and faultless lineage.

For I am like a blind man who has found

A precious gem inside a heap of dust.

For so it is, by some strange chance,

That bodhicitta has been born in me.

This is the supreme draft of immortality

That slays the Lord of Death, the slaughterer of beings, 

The rich unfailing treasure mine

To heal the poverty of wanderers.

It is the sovereign remedy

That perfectly allays all maladies.

It is the tree that gives relief

To those who wander wearily the pathways of existence.

It is the universal bridge that saves

All wandering beings from the states of loss,

The rising moon of the enlightened mind

That soothes the sorrows born of the afflictions.

It is the mighty sun that utterly dispels

The misty ignorance of wandering beings,

The creamy butter, rich and full,

That's churned from milk of holy teachings.

Living beings!  Wayfarer's upon life's paths,

Who wish to taste the riches of contentment,

Here before you is the supreme bliss.

Here, O ceaseless travelers, is your fulfillment!

Again and again contemplate the meaning of this precious human life.  We are extremely fortunate, but we cannot remain idle, the days, weeks and months move too fast.  Now is the time to act!

 

Restless?

When we sit down to meditate, the first thing we often notice is movement.

Thoughts stirring, our uneven breath, the awkwardness of our body and its sensations.  Comfort and ease seem a long way off. 

Our days are filled with motion, perpetually bombarded with information and stimuli.  Where amongst this infinite display of appearances and possibilities are we to find a moment of rest?

The Buddha taught that the mind rides the breath like a rider on a horse.  The horse is blind and requires the rider to control it, leading it in the right direction.  The rider has no legs of its own, it relies upon the horse for its movement. 

The breath here is synonymous with energy or wind as it is described in the yogic traditions.  If the breath is erratic or uneven, so too is our mind.  If the breath is calm and subtle, so too is our mind. 

We can verify this in our own experience.  Examine your mind when you are feeling anxious.  You will probably find that your heart is racing, your breath has become more shallow and constricted, you feel shaky and uneasy.  Your energy or wind match your mind.  Your mind rides the wind, helplessly carried off into barren lands it would prefer not go. 

The good news is it doesn't have to follow the wind.  If you can control the winds, you control the mind.  When the winds are calm, the mind is calm. 

So how do you control the winds? 

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition has developed a system of breath exercises called Tsa Lung.  Tsa means channels, and lung means wind.  The channels are the highways upon which these winds travel, so they are the meridians upon which chi flow or the nerves upon which our body communicates with itself and its environment.

A preliminary practice for Tsa Lung is the Nine Round Breath that we practice at the beginning of meditation.  The nine round breath balances our winds, stabilizing our energy and facilitating a calm, clear mind.

Even Western medicine with its heretical view of Eastern medicine has verified some of these findings.  Research has shown alternate nostril breathing to effect the central nervous system, with right nostril breathing stimulating the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and left nostril breathing stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).

But the best research is to watch your own mind.  What is the quality of your mind when you have lots of energy?  When you are anxious?  When you are relaxed?     

Watch your mind. 

Here is a question for you, does mind lead the wind or does wind lead the mind?  Sit for awhile, try to verify your answer from your own experience.  The prize is invaluable.

Digging Up the Roots

Previously we have discussed dependent origination and how we get entrapped in the cycle of conditioned existence.  It may seem hard to determine how we can apply these teachings to our life, what their usefulness is to us right now and especially how to apply them at times when we are caught up in the cycle. 

There are two points at which we can attack this cycle, 1) fixation and 2) ignorance.  There is some debate about this within different Buddhist schools, but we can say that if we cut through fixation then we can indeed be free from suffering because we cut through the rest of the process of birth, aging, sickness and death.  Now, this is not to be equated with being a Buddha, because even though we may be free from suffering, we still have the conceptual veils which obscure our vision, we still have duality, subject and object. 

There was the question, what would life be like without any fixation, is that even possible to conceive of?  Indeed, that is difficult to conceive of, but we should contrast fixation with enjoyment.  We can conceive of a situation where we enjoy in something without being fixated on it.  Normally, in our process of enjoyment we reinforce our fixation, further craving to have that experience again and again.  But it is indeed possible to enjoy whatever it is that manifests, free from trying to make it better or worse, just enjoying in things as they are.  It is this process of spontaneous enjoyment. The manifestations never stop.  In fact that is part of the nature of the mind- that arising is unceasing- but we don’t need to cling to that, we can spontaneously enjoy whatever manifests.  

The Metaphysical Scientist

The easiest way to attack fixation is in our meditation, or own personal laboratory.  When we meditate we want to have an open, expansive mind.  We want to have control over our mind so that we can work with situations in our life.  Normally we grasp at all the appearances of mind, whatever it is that is arising- thoughts, feelings, sights, sounds- we always make these subtle investments into them, like adding pennies to your saving account.  It doesn’t seem like they are adding up much, but by fixating on those appearances of the mind, we are never going to be able to recognize and rest in the nature of the mind.  We are instead stuck in this process of taking births, again and again.  I want to make a little disclaimer here about the nature of the mind.  You are never going to ‘see’ the nature of mind, you are never going to be able to say ‘Aha, this is it.’  In fact, you can examine in the context of this discussion what proclaiming ‘this is it’ would imply.  The nature of the mind can only be experienced, we can talk about chocolate all day, but until you taste it you don’t really know it. 

In our meditation, we can discuss two methods so far, 1) resting in the natural state and 2) riding or watching the breath.  Both of these methods can be used to attack fixation, in the first it is non-referential and without an object which is much more difficult at the beginning.  Right now we have this mind that has this tendency to fixate on things, this monkey mind that is constantly jumping from object to object, never sitting still.  So we can use skillful means, we can intentionally choose an object like the breath to fixate on.  When meditating on the breath, if we are distracted and fixate on something else like our thoughts, the moment we recognize that distraction we cut through our fixation and bring it back to the breath.  It is through this process that we tame the mind and develop a strong meditation, continually cutting through fixation.  But we also want to practice resting in the natural state, which is without any particular object.  

 

Using this technique, we are still having thoughts, feelings, sights and sounds arising, but we are not grasping at them.  We are letting our mind rest naturally- an open, expansive mind- in which we are aware of appearances but not fixating on them.  Simply by shining the light of our awareness, or illuminating appearances as they arise, they naturally subside on their own.  This method is more difficult, but we want to get started on it, laying the foundation for this type of meditation.  If we always use an object for our meditation, eventually, we are going to need to cut through that object. 

 

That is fixation, the second place we can attack the cycle is at ignorance, the root.  This is much more difficult and takes a lot of studying, contemplation and meditation before the wisdom of non-duality can arise.  When we are meditating in the natural state, any time that we are correcting or fixing our meditation we are in fact moving away from our true, authentic condition.  In fact, if we continue this type of subtle fixation we will never find genuine lasting freedom.  Our tendency is to always create something anew, this addiction to taking births that we talked about before.  If we think about how we treat addicts, the first thing is awareness or to recognize that there is a problem.  Most of us are completely unaware we even have a problem, we just go on investing in conditioned existence and turning that wheel.  There is a key instruction from the masters of the past and present- Let it be, as it is.  This exemplifies what we have been talking about, letting whatever it is that is manifesting be just as it is.  

 

Buddhas, or awakened beings, always recognize and abide in the authentic condition, the true nature of mind in which there is no duality.  Before we talked about dependent origination and this vast web of interconnectedness.  That is the vision of Buddhas, they see that everything, all beings and all environments are this vast web.  They abide in spontaneous fulfillment, fulfilling their own benefit and the benefit of others at the same time.  

There is a common example used to describe this, we can compare the awakened mind to the orb of the sun.  The sun (from its own side) is always fully manifest, completely radiant and utterly lucid.  The sun shines impartially, radiating light in all directions, not preferring some areas over others.  The warmth that radiates from the sun is like the love and compassion that naturally radiates from awakened mind, instantly and effortlessly accomplishing their own and others wishes.

The Renaissance

This time the art won't stand in galleries.
It won't be sculptures portraying feminine beauty,
Nor frescos that celebrate the triumph of man.
It will not be found in melodies of memories past,
Nor in written words of far off enchantment.

Art is the gift of our humanity that changes people's lives.
It is a rediscovery of the ground of being.
It is exemplified by personal interactions that bring benefit to others.

This is the new Artist.
She has a simple discipline.
Fearless patience.
Acts with joyous perseverance.
And with a calm and clear mind,
She simultaneously accomplishes her own and others wishes.

Generosity as Art

Give gifts that don't have a limit,

Gifts of humanity that affect change

And bring about the welfare of others.

From these gifts infinite qualities arise,

Give freely and openly,

And come to experience boundless inner wealth!

Four Noble Truths

The first teaching that the Buddha gave after attaining complete and perfect awakening was on the Four Noble Truths.  The importance of this teaching is that the Buddha laid a framework for all the rest of his teachings, so that at any point a practitioner on the path knows how to relate the teachings back to their own life and experience. 

First is the truth of suffering, that no matter where we look in the world suffering is always just around the corner, even if we have gained enormous wealth, fame or power.  

Second is the truth of origin, it is because we invest in conditioned existence that this is the case.  It is because we invest in things outside of ourselves, things that are of a temporary nature, that happiness continues to evade us.  

Third is the truth of cessation, that it is indeed possible to find lasting happiness, a genuine inner peace and confidence in one’s own nature.  

Fourth is the truth of the path, that by learning, contemplating and putting these teachings into practice we can indeed arrive at that state.  

We can compare this to the metaphor of a sick person.  If someone is sick, they go to a doctor to get a diagnosis.  The doctor says ‘this is the cause of your sickness, and it is possible to be free from this sickness but you need to take this medicine’.

A New Beginning

We are endowed with this precious human existence,

and have met with the Dharma.

The world and inhabitants

are impermanent, like a water bubble.

At death, only my dharma practice

will be of any benefit.

At death, there is no freedom,

and the winds of karma take their course.

Therefore I shall devote myself

to abandoning negative acts

and cultivating positive ones.

All the illusions of samsara

entrap my mind with the three poisons.

Realizing the faults of conditioned existence,

may I practice renunciation and strive for enlightenment.

When we think about the motivation to meditate and pursue spiritual growth, what is it precisely that motivates us?  Obviously we want to be free from suffering- pain, anxiety, stress- much less anger, jealousy, and the collection of afflicted emotions.  Of course we want happiness- peace of mind, contentment, inner well-being, a sense of purpose and a long, healthy life.  The thing is, we don’t really know the causes of happiness, much less the causes of suffering. 

Where have we gone astray?

If we look at the current model, the American Dream as it were, we are told and often made to believe that if you get a good education, a good job, make some money, buy some stuff, fall in love, buy a house, start a family, be successful and eventually- if everything goes just right- you will be happy.  Now of course, we don’t need to look very far to see that this is not the case.  We have lots of very successful people- doctors, lawyers, business executives, celebrities- who have the outer trappings of happiness, but they also have a lot of inner distress.  They constantly need to maintain their image, wealth, protect against dissenters, people suing you, the list goes on.  It is a flawed model, I am not saying that those things are bad, we need a good education, good job, personal responsibility, but we need to recognize that those things can only be a support for happiness, the means and not the end. 

That is the gross level, on a more subtle level we all think, ‘I can be better, I can do better, I can do more.’  But this thinking creates a split in us, our current self versus some future ‘better’ self.  We think that if we can just do this or that, then we can be happy.  The problem is that as soon as we make that split we never have the chance to get there.  There is a math problem that children do in school, a rabbit is chasing a carrot and each time he cuts the distance between himself and the carrot in half.  The paradox is that the rabbit can never actually get to zero, he can never actually get the carrot because there is always some distance separating them, no matter how small. 

So the main problem with all of this is that we continuously place our refuge outside of us.  I want to use the term refuge because it gives the feeling of safety, protection, a place free from suffering.  The mistake that we make is that by placing our refuge outside of us, we instantly take away our power and give it to something else, someone else or even some future version of our self.  We may not recognize it, but we make ourselves deficient by placing our refuge outside, made to believe that we are lacking something. 

The reason that this is the case is that we continue to invest in conditioned existence.  Conditioned here means that it depends on causes and conditions, just as a tree depends on good soil, sunlight, and adequate water to grow properly.  But, by investing in conditioned existence, we are investing in things that are going to change, things which by their very nature are impermanent- children die young, couples separate, jobs are lost, disasters occur, problems happen.  If we put our happiness, contentment, and peace of mind outside of us, then when bad things happen we have no place to go, no solid ground on which to stand.  We have no inner refuge, so everything around us seems fixed and concrete.  It is kind of like running on a treadmill.  At first we aren’t doing too bad, first half-mile, mile.  But then our legs start getting tired, we are a little out of breath, but we keep pushing through- two miles- everything hurts, keep pushing.  Eventually, whenever you stop, three miles, ten miles, a hundred miles, you have given all that effort, time and energy- but you are in the exact same place you started.  This is exactly what we have done since beginningless time, we have exuded a lot of effort, accomplished a lot of goals, spent a lot of time, but still we have this inner discontent, this questioning, doubting, anxiousness. 

Natural Liberation

In Tibetan, there is this term, rangdrol.  Rang means self or natural, drol means liberation, so we have self-liberation or naturally liberated.  That is what we want.  The metaphor commonly used to describe this is two-fold.  The first is like meeting an old friend, as soon as you see them you recognize them.  There is no doubt, no uncertainty, as soon as you see your own true face you recognize it.  Still there is a little split here, your ‘better’ true self and you, but at least here you have an inner refuge, you know that it is there. 

The second metaphor is like a snake uncoiling from its resting place, it doesn’t tie itself in knots.  We can’t do the same, try coiling up an extension cord and then pull it apart- I guarantee that you will have lots of knots and lots of frustration.  But snakes don’t have this problem, they can be coiled up and then easily just slither away, naturally liberated. 

So instead of investing in conditioned existence, we want to invest in unconditioned existence.  What does that mean?  We want to invest in the nature of phenomena, and on a personal level the nature of the mind.  Just as water is wet, fire is hot- there is not some water that is more wet, or some water that has a better or worse wetness- it is just wet.  So too, we have the mind and the nature of the mind.  That nature is fully evident, fully manifest, never better or worse and not to be improved upon.  So we need to recognize and abide in the nature of the mind, make that our refuge.  That inner refuge, the nature of the mind, is unchanging, just as the wetness of water is unchanging. 

Then whenever we encounter suffering, stress, hardship, we have that inner refuge.  If we have that inner conviction then we can continue to remain open, reflexive and work with the situation at hand, rather than closing down and shutting out the world around us.  No matter what we do in life, good or bad, everything becomes an expression of our energy.  We become like a painting, a beautiful form or maybe even a weird distorted sculpture that doesn’t really make any sense, it doesn’t matter, because our life is an expression of our energy and the world that we create around us. 

So that is why we meditate, we need to understand the mind and we need to recognize the nature of mind, abide in the nature of mind.