Give yourself the gift of your practice.

"What am I going to get out of this?"

My Qiqong teacher Kim Ivy was posed this question recently. The beginner wants to have a glimpse of the promised result. They want to know that what they are doing is going to be of benefit. Most likely, they want to get rid of the fear of being a beginner and feeling awkward about what they are doing. Most of us feel enough insecurity and uncertainty as it is, why put ourselves in situations that expose our insecurities?

You might practice yoga, qiqong, meditation or any other form of the internal arts. Each of these benefits our body and mind, improves our health and prolongs our longevity. Each of these encourages a sense of well being, and that might be all that you need to get out of them.

My experience has been that our bodies and mind as largely a mystery to us. You notice this most when you are sick or endure an injury, the question of "How do I get better?" becomes paramount. Even in otherwise healthy states we still experience weird sensations in our bodies, our minds run scripts we can't seem to shake, and we feel a sense of dissatisfaction and unease. Sit still for a moment in meditation and you might notice just how uncomfortable you are in your own body- shifting your leg, scratching an itch, straightening your neck.

We often feel at odds against ourselves.

The curious thing about practices like yoga, qiqong and meditation is that they train you to look at your experience. They teach you, slowly, to not react to what is coming up in your experience. They expose imbalances and resistance, teaching you how to correct and find balance. Interestingly enough, you learn not to fight your body and mind, but how to work with your body and mind.

Over time, we learn to be friends with ourselves. We learn to be comfortable in our own skin. Being more accepting of ourselves, we can be more present and available for others. Instead of protecting ourselves and hiding our insecurities, we learn to stand with dignity in openness and vulnerability. Like a child learning to walk and falling often, we can learn to walk through the world with this type of posture. Of course we too will fall, and that is why we always come back to our practice.

Learning to check in with yourself, to look into the great mystery of our body and mind, and to gain some understanding of the complexity of this human life- this is one of the greatest gifts that we can give ourselves.

It is also one of the greatest gifts that we can share with the world.

Get comfortable with not knowing what you are going to get out of this. Give yourself the gift of showing up and simply devoting yourself to the practice of self-discovery.

You might be surprised at what you find.

Instructions for practice.

All of the Buddha’s teachings can be understood as instructions for practice. As practitioners, it is our work that reveals the truth of the teachings. Put them to the test, contemplate them, digest them, resolve your uncertainty and doubt, follow your curiosity.

We all have an opportunity to be more present in the world, to contribute from a place of abundance and to bring about tremendous benefit and change. To actually do that isn’t easy, so we must follow a path and commit to a life of practice.

Step by step, we learn to work with the hesitation and fear, we learn to open up, to be more vulnerable and understanding, and to recognize the gifts that we can share with the world- gifts of kindness, generosity and compassion.

Living truly.

Most of us wander in and out of states of despair, trying to discover who we are and our place in the world. We search for meaning and purpose, we yearn for a sense of connection and we hope for a day when we will figure it all out.

To live fully, we must awaken to who we are in an authentic way. We must learn to recognize and live with genuine presence.

The issue isn't that we have lost our sense of purpose in the world. The issue is that we have forgotten the connection between our presence and the world around us. When we have lost our center, no amount of work and effort will rebuild that connection. When we are grounded in that center, everything that we do moves from a place of presence and intention.

Presence is the missing link. When we learn to embody genuine presence, we learn what it means to live truly.

What do you need to do?

What do you need to do to be of benefit to others?

Learn more?
Master a craft?
A better position?

Those are all things you can do.  Get started.

What about being less busy, less distracted?
Dealing with your own hesitation or fear?
Being more available or attentive?
Being present?
More understanding?

All things you can work on.  Get started.

What if you are feeling inadequate?
What if you are not good enough?

Then you need to learn to sit with yourself.  Be patient and listen.

Once you can do that for yourself, you can do it for others.  

Upcoming Course: Essence of the Path

 

Essence of the Path: The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma

 

July 10-31, 2016

 

Join us for a 4 week workshop on the Essence of the Path: the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. This student-led course is part of a series of teachings given by Younge Khachab Rinpoche to his students, which presents the entire Buddhist path from the point of view of practice. This course will present the foundational teachings of the First Turning, lay the groundwork for the view and practice of the common vehicle, and allow you to understand how these teachings are connected to the Mahayana and Vajrayana vehicles. Rinpoche encourages all students to take this course, whether they are new to the Dharma or experienced practitioners who have insight and understanding to share with the group.

The course will take place using Canvas, a web platform created for learning. Within a couple days of registering you will be sent an invitation to the course. Log in and check out the course syllabus, the online materials and recommended materials. Take a look at the weekly assignments and the course schedule. Check in on the discussion page and introduce yourself. Each week on Sunday at 6pm CST we will be having a Zoom video conference to discuss the material, allow people to ask questions and go over practice essentials.

Required Materials: Essence of the Path: The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma by Younge Khachab Rinpoche (available for download on course page)

REGISTER NOW

Leading the next generation.

Encourage curiosity and questions.  Create a sense of wonder and awe.

Build connections.  Start dialogue.  Promote conversation.  Give them resources. 

Send them on their way in search of an answer. Ask them to share their findings.

Challenge them to go deeper, see connections, draw out implications.

Ask them to contribute.  What do they see?  What questions do they still have?

Keep going. 

Who's next?

Dancing Partners

It's tempting when you go dancing to only dance to the songs you like and the people who dance like you.  It feels safer to dance with those who have the same tempo and those who make you look good.

The problem with this sort of dancing is that you spend most of your time waiting.  Waiting for the right song to play, waiting for your partner to be free, waiting for the right time to start.  You want to dance, but you never actually get around to dancing.

Start dancing with those who are bad dancers.  Be patient.  Slow down your tempo and adjust your posture.  Cut them some slack and give them time to catch up.  Listen to what they need and guide them with tiny steps and repetition.  You actually learn a lot about your own dancing when you teach others to dance.

Start dancing when it is not your song.  Explore a new tempo, a new style.  Feel the music and the beat, listen closely and let it guide you.  Trust your instincts, your intuition.  Dance on the edge of unknowing and fear.  Dance on the edge of 'you might look stupid'.  Watch what others are doing, adapt and adjust.  Make it your own.  You're still dancing.

Start dancers with others who are so much better than you.  Be awed by their grace and poise.  Mimic their moves.  Embody their grooves.  You might not have that much style and definitely don't have their grace, but let them lift you.  Be inspired.  Want to leap higher and with some extra pizzazz.  Now you know it is possible, keep dancing.

When every song and every partner presents themselves as an opportunity to dance, your practice has reached its consummation.  Now you are practicing the art of dance, so just keep on dancing.

Then you just need to learn how to bring those skills off the dance floor.  Dance in the streets, dance at work.  Dance with anger, dance with love.  

You could probably figure this out on your own.

Given the time, the discipline and the effort, you can learn and master anything.  You can start with curiosity, learn, study, read and reflect.  You could make mistakes, false starts and follow dead end paths.  You could make outlines, throw them out, rewrite them, correct them and then go back to what you read and try to see if it all matches up.

You could do all of those things, and in the end you might succeed.  You definitely would make progress and learn something.

Or you could consult an expert.

The expert could direct your efforts and attention to what is most worthwhile.  She could give you a foundation of knowledge and understanding so that you can easily build a fortress of knowledge and experience.  She would let you make mistakes, and then point out through your own experience how to improve.

Do this.  Don't do that.  

She will teach you how to connect the dots, draw out the implications.  When you are focused on the what and how, she slips in the why.  When your focus is narrow, she gives you the big picture.  When doubt and uncertainty creep in, she makes the unreasonable seem reasonable.  

You still need to put in the time, discipline and effort.  You still need to make mistakes, go back and learn, reflect and contemplate.  But you don't need to do it all by yourself.

Find yourself a good mentor.  Ask questions.  Listen.  And do the work. 

The best experts start out as amateurs. 

You need silence.

Anytime you learn something new,
you need to focus,
isolate the mind and your intention.
You need silence.