Say yes.

What do a barista, a stranger on the bus, a teacher, a lawyer and a designer all have in common?

They can all be practicing virtue.

They can be patient, generous, compassionate and kind. They can act fairly, justly, without bias or discrimination. They can share insight and experience, share tidbits of wisdom and joy.

When we interact with those whose path is one of all-embracing virtue, we encounter a certain honesty and truthfulness. It feels right, genuine.

They often have a freedom and joy about them. They exhibit a natural grace and ease, a sense of lightheartedness.

As they move through the world, every encounter is one of mutual sharing and exchange. There is a directness free from the baggage of strong emotions, projections or bias. They interact with others in a way that the chains of confusion are broken and the cycle of anger is interrupted, even if only for a moment.

So how do we carry that virtue into our lives?

Say yes to whatever is coming up.

You could be faced with a problem that you would rather not deal with. Opportunities could present themselves, do you take them or not? A stranger might ask you something, or maybe a friend. You will have to interact with someone you really don't like that much.

Don't push it away. Don't get overly excited and enraptured by it. Say yes, acknowledge it, and see where it leads.

Be willing to interact with things as they are.

Some things play themselves out, unravel and wither away. Some evolve and open up into something else altogether.

The play of interdependence is beyond the mind. We can't say for certain what will happen. Our own decisions, connections and propensities create a world that is uniquely our own. It can be challenging to carry that experience into the world around us to effect change, make a difference or to benefit others.

Simply engaging in the formless practice of all-embracing virtue,
we can meet with the world and our experience as it is,
and bring about benefit in ways that we could have never imagined.

That is how all-embracing virtue creates inconceivable benefit. 

Concealed.

You are a baker.
An accountant.
A nurse or a barista.
You're a neighbor.  A friend.
You're the girl down the street. The guy with the hat.

The ordinariness of your appearance conceals your practice.

But inside, you train your mind.
You practice compassion.
You cut through bias and judgement.
You are patient, generous, and kind.
You care for others.

Your lived practice is extraordinary.

No one will ever know the impact of your practice on the lives of others.  Maybe not even you.
Yet you forge ahead for their benefit.

Our world needs more people like you.  

The struggling artist.

An artist is someone who is generous, open and vulnerable.  Their medium is connection.  The result of their work is that they have impacted another life, brought about a benefit or change.

We all have to work with what is coming up.  Something is always coming up.

The artist is able to cut through the resistance and willing to care enough to make an impact.

The rest of us get caught up in the resistance, entangled in struggle and strife, dissatisfied in our search for meaning. 

We're struggling artists.

The difference?  How you relate to what is coming up in your life. 

Where do I start?

Integrating your practice can be hard. 

You try to be generous, patient and kind.
You try to sit with resistance and discomfort.
You try to dance with anger, attachment and ignorance, to not get swept away by their momentum.
You try to look deeply, to make connections and draw out implications.

You try to do those things, but where do you start?

We start with our family and loved ones.  We start with our friends, our sangha and our community.  We start in our workplace and in our home.

Then, as we cut through our own confusion, we stop fighting with our families.
Then, as we cut through our own negative emotions, we stop struggling at work.
Then, as we loosen our attachment  to me and mine, our community expands and is more peaceful.
Then, as we realize how much wealth we really have- a wealth of confidence, joy and a good heart-
then we can truly share our generosity, love and kindness.

And we continue our practice.

An assignment: Emanations.

How many roles do you play in your life?

Father, mother, sister, brother, spouse.
Student, teacher, mentor, apprentice.
Leader, counselor, manager, employee.
Friend, enemy, stranger.
You in an empty house, you in a room of strangers, you at a party with friends.

Which one is you?

Could you be each aspect of you with generosity, love and kindness?
Could each aspect of you be patient, insightful and understanding?
Which aspect of you cannot be helpful?
Which aspect of you can allow forgiveness?
Which aspect of you gives rise to anger and jealousy?

Now the real question:
Can each aspect of you act for the benefit of others?
Could each emanation fulfill your own aims and the aims of others?

Skip the regalia.

Skip the romance.
Skip the awards and honors.
Skip the pretentiousness.
Skip being right and thinking your done.

Your practice is about showing up,
its about what you do when faced with problems and adversity,
and how you deal with opportunity available to you. 

Inconceivable virtue.

Practice patience in such a way that you never give up the practice of helping others.

This is not easy.

You will be tired.  You will hit a wall.  You will be frustrated and drawn out.  You will be skinned and quartered.  You will give your eyes and ears, your blood and tears.  You will give your heart.  

And you will persist.  Your practice will carry you forward free from harm.  Such a practice is inconceivable.

And it is possible. 

A world of difference.

The person seeking there own freedom and happiness is constantly at odds with the world around them.  Karma and dependent origination serve as a burden, a constant reminder of entrapment in this unceasing wheel of life.  Fear exists at every corner, constant threats are always presenting themselves and our own well being is always in a precarious position.

For the person seeking the freedom and happiness of others, everything in the world around them is an opportunity.  Karma and dependent origination reveal a deep connection with the world and all beings.  This connection allows for responsiveness- impact and growth.  There is a natural freedom and ease, because this thing that is happening, this struggle, this problem, this seeming end- it's not permanent nor lasting. 

Yes, karma and dependent origination reveal a wheel that just keeps going. 

But so do we. 

Songs of the Mahasiddhas

 Join the Venerable Younge Khachab Rinpoche as he returns to Seattle with teachings on the Songs of the Mahasiddhas. The Mahasiddhas were a diverse group of practitioners who were practical, committed, creative and engaged with their world. They shared their awakening through songs of realization and instruction. Khachab Rinpoche will give an explanation of these instructions so that we can follow  the footsteps of these great practitioners.

Register online at:

YoungeDrodulLing.org/Event_Seattle.shtml

 August 2 & 3, 2014

10-12pm and 2-5pm

515 N 64th St
Seattle, WA

(near Greenlake)

$150 pre-registration

If you wish to attend, but cannot afford the full amount, please contact us in advance to discuss work study options 

and what amount you can afford to pay. A limited number of these partial scholarships will be awarded based on need.

Younge KhachabRinpoche VII is the Younge family lineage holder and a true nonsectarian scholar and Dzogchen yogi. He is known for his accessibility, youthful humor and brilliant discourse.

For additional information or questions, please email siddhearta@gmail.com.

Breakthrough

The reason that it is hard to assimilate your practice with the entirety of your life is that there is no manual.  

Monks had a manual.  We will plug you into the monastery for your education and training, send you off on a three year retreat and you come out a Lama.  Rank high in your class and we will give you some extra titles.  A recognized reincarnate master?  We’ll put you on the fast track from the beginning.   Go through this process and you are considered worthy of enlightenment, qualified to share your wisdom and compassion with others.   

You, not so lucky. 

You don’t have a manual and everything seems to suggest that it's not in the cards for you.

Artist? In your dreams.
Builder? Your kidding right?
Doctor? You wish.
Entrepreneur? Sorry, can't win this project.
Graphic Designer? Yeah right.
Homeless? Not a chance.
Paralegal? Too bad.
Physicist? Afraid not.
Teacher? Get real.
Need we even mention those who are sick and suffering?

Do you really think this is the case?   

The great mahasiddhas of the past didn’t think so.  They rejected the notion that liberation was only for a chosen few, that your circumstances restricted your practice.  Their ordinary life was the foundation and principle nourishment for their realization.  They were practical, committed, creative and engaged with their world.

I challenge you to follow in their footsteps.

We are all waiting for you to unlock the wisdom of your life and situation, to prove that it can be done. 

What would your life look like if this were possible?  What would our communities look like? 

Lineage.

Lineage is a legacy available to you,
one that you can contribute to. 

Your practice is your opportunity, it is the doorway.  By entering it you contribute to your legacy and the legacy of the lineage.

You're not the first, and hopefully you are not the last.  

Liberation is not somewhere else.

We have the concept that our freedom is somewhere else.
We need to change that social conditioning.
Don't change the conditions, change your perception.
Your job is yoga, expressed through your trade.
Your work is your art.
Take your practice to human interactions.
Be open and responsive. 

The working class.

The working class is a precious life.
The ultra rich are like the god realms,
they think they already have liberation.  
We have opportunity,
but also see its elusiveness.
Take it and transform it into the path of liberation.

Siddhearta.

Go.

Be Kind.

Be Loving.

Be Generous.

Siddhearta.

Photo courtesy Himalayan Art.

Static.

We are not very familiar anymore with static on the radio, but do you remember those days of dialing into a radio station? You would get close, close enough to hear the lyrics, but just off enough that you kept tweaking the dial. 

Then you would hit it.

The vibrance of the music would shoot through the speakers, its clarity would lift your soul.  Its energy enliven your mind.  Oh, how those hips would start to groove and that music would move you.

You would dance.

Today most of our days are filled with static.  The endless distraction, consumption and activity.  The static of our job, our situation, our chosen social network.  We are all supposed to be somewhere or something but where we are at is not it.  Most days we can barely even discern the lyrics, there definitely ain't no music coming through.

Every once in awhile though, we tune in.  We hear something that we connect with.  It moves us.

If that music stirs your heart, picks you out of your funk, makes you feel a little jive-  Follow it.  Let it move you and create the conditions for it to keep playing in your life.  Go deeper. 

Then you might find your music.  Your rhythm.

Share your music with the world.  Be Generous.  Be Loving.  Be Kind.  Let it lift the weak and enliven the weary.   Let it infuse your work, your life and your day.

It's good to be dancing again.  

Practice Essentials

Do no harm. 
Refrain from actions, words or opinions that rub others the wrong way.  All beings everywhere experience fear and states of suffering and loss, don't put salt on an open wound.

Cultivate a wealth of virtue.
Actively practice generosity, love and kindness.  Rejoice in others happiness.  Earnestly strive to develop discipline, patience and relentless perseverance.

Tame this mind of ours.
Abandon grasping and fixation, these lie at the root of all our problems.  Do not lend yourself to compulsive activity and distraction.  Pour your efforts into gaining insight into the nature of your own mind and the nature of reality- that is the path to liberation.  

What's Your Mark.

A marksman knows exactly where her mark is.  

She knows when she has hit it, and when she has not.  

She will exert significant effort and a substantial amount of time to mastering her skills, cultivating the correct temperament and poise so that she can willfully hit her mark.  She learns how to handle external distractions and how to work with her own internal thoughts and emotions.  She knows how to adapt when the conditions change, how to stand in varied terrain.  

When she hits her mark, she is not lost in emotion and feelings of achievement.  Her's is the quest for mastery, for knowing directly and having the confidence that comes with that knowing.  The mark simply allows her to get there.  

What's your mark?

Dividends

The more time you invest in your practice- the greater your 'share of holding'- the greater the dividend you receive.  These dividends come in the form of blessings, inner wealth that can be reinvested and shared with others.

As your share of holding increases from a small portion of your life to a greater portion, you can expect to see a return on your investment in every aspect of your life- your job, your interactions with others, your good times and bad.  All the ordinary and mundane aspects of your life can become a source of great wealth and fulfillment when they are transformed by your practice.

There are no contradictions in terms of your practice.

The amount of wealth you have and the dividends you receive are commensurate with the share of your practice.  

Asset Protection

It is wise to guard your assets.  Only a fool would waste away his wealth on trivial pursuits and shiny diversions. 

So how do we protect our inner wealth and our most valuable asset- our mind?

Commit your most valuable resource to your practice over an extended period of time.

Your most valuable resource is your time.  We waste a lot of it and that is to be expected.  But if you invest small increments of time over a long period you end up with a lot of growth.  There is not only the protection of your inner wealth and mind, but also the development and an accumulation of great potential. 

Just like investing with money, trying to time the market and invest at the 'right time' most often leads to you missing the opportunity for real growth and development all together. 

Who's the Muse?

What is the source?  Where does it come from?  How do you do it?

The answer to those questions depends on the artist and their art.  If your art is the practice of bodhicitta- the wish to bring about the benefit of others through generosity, love and kindness, then your muse is reality.  It is the interactions that take place, the conversations that unfold, the stories that are shaped like the convergence of the wind and leaves.

It is random and unpredictable, but if your mind is open and receptive you will be surprised at what you can hear.

You'll discover an unending stream that continuously unfolds, presenting you with opportunities to give gifts that matter, to practice your art.