Buddhism in a nutshell.

How do you orient to your practice? 

A lot of times we think of our practice as being one part of our day, like when we are meditating or doing yoga.  Practice in that sense is rather isolated and we can struggle with how to bring that practice into the rest of our day. 

Buddhist's tend to think of their practice in terms of view, meditation and conduct.

View.

Your view is how you see the world.  What is your relationship to the world?  How do you understand yourself and the world around you?  How does your perception influence your experience?  Is your view based on the truth or is it based on assumptions and bias?

Meditation.

Meditation is based on the view.  We stabilize our understanding and experience of the view.  We familiarize ourselves to seeing clearly and eliminate distortion in our lens.  We cultivate mental states that are beneficial like compassion, and learn to let go of mental states like anger and anxiety that bring us suffering.

Conduct.

Conduct is how we bring the view that we have cultivated in meditation into the world.  What posture do these teachings embody?  How do we walk through our day?  How does our view and meditation benefit our family and community?  What does your view look like in action?

Using this triad of view, meditation and conduct, you can develop a complete practice that includes all aspects of your life.  You can clarify your view through study, contemplation and seeking out teachings.  You can deepen your practice of meditation by receiving further instruction or going on meditation retreats.  You can share the fruits of your practice in the communities in which you live and work. 

Clarify your view.
Deepen your meditation.
Share the fruit.

That's the practice of the Buddha's teachings in a nutshell. 

Buddhism 101.

Meditation is in the news a lot today.  We hear a lot about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation on our health and its impact on our mind.  This has lead a lot of curious people to look deeper into the meditative traditions, of which Buddhism is a major contributor. 

My intention with this blog is not to convert people to Buddhism or spread the Buddha's teachings.  If you have an affinity for these teachings I think that you will naturally pursue your interest and follow your heart wherever it leads you.  I write to share my experience of a practice tradition, in hopes that it will inspire those of you who are interested in starting your own practice and connect with those of you who already have a strong practice.

A lot of people who are interested in meditation ask me about Buddhism.  If you happen to be one of those people here are some good places to start reading:

The Four Noble Truths which is the first discourse the Buddha gave after his enlightenment. 

Practice Essentials which form the basis for any Buddhist practitioner. 

Impermanence and its impact on our life. 

Karma and the importance of our choices. 

Liberation and what is truly beneficial. 

The Buddha, and his story. 

Refuge and the important role of a teacher in our practice. 

Compassion, the essence of the practice. 

Our best tool, meditation.

Wisdom and realization.   

The importance of the Sangha, or community of practitioners. 

Generosity and doing work that matters. 

The importance of starting.

Get started. 

A myth.

There is a myth that goes around the Buddhist world that liberation is somewhere else.  That it is fantastic and beautiful.  That it is perfect. 

That myth harms our practice, because we see our present circumstances as something to be rejected.  This is a mistake because we need to use our present circumstances, they are the fuel for our awakening.  If we reject them as unfit then our practice isn't based on our reality but on a myth.

What can we transform if we don't use our present circumstances?  What else is there to liberate?

We need to experience the truth of suffering in order to realize its cessation.  As difficult as it can be to acknowledge the truth of suffering, it is the start of our path.

Then real awakening is possible.  Buddhahood becomes possible.  

Seattle Meditation Workshop

Meditation Workshop

 

Join us for a practice intensive.  Receive meditation instruction, ask questions,

engage in discussion with other practitioners.  Clarify your practice. 

Come sit with us.

Sunday June 7, 2015

10am-12pm 

Embrace the Moon 

1716 NW Market St

Seattle, WA  98107

Suggested donation $10

Please contact for more information.

Contact Greg Patenaude at siddhearta@gmail.com for more details. 

Stupas and the farmer.

In 2008 I was on pilgrimage in Nepal and India with my teacher Younge Khachab Rinpoche.  During that trip we visited many Buddhist holy sites and practiced meditation at many of the sites.  When you are in Nepal and India, one of the first things you notice is that spirituality and its symbols pervades the culture and people's daily lives.  In the early morning, people make offerings and prayers at shrines and do circumambulations around stupas such as Boudhanath and Swayambhunath.  Prayer wheels and miniature stupas are found throughout the city, elderly can often be found sitting together reciting mantras and meditation is regularly seen and engaged in by monks and lay persons alike.

One of the sites that we visited was Pharping, a small town just south of Kathmandu, Nepal.  Pharping is famous as being the location where Padmasambhava gained enlightenment before traveling to Tibet to spread the Buddha's teachings across the Tibetan plateau.  We spent the day meditating in the Tara temple at the base of the mountain and then in the Asura cave which is where Padmasambhava carried out his practice.

As we were walking down, there was a smaller sized stupa on the right towards the bottom of the hill, and off in the distance was a much larger stupa on the top of the hill.  It was a really beautiful.  The open countryside with a mountainous backdrop, stupas dotting the landscape signifying places of practice and the awakened mind.

I asked Rinpoche, "Rinpoche, do you think it is important to build more stupas in the U.S. so people can be inspired by places of practice like they are here?"  At that time, there was a farmer plowing his field just across the road.  Rinpoche responded, "I think we need more people like that farmer who are trying to make good, healthy food". 

I still often contemplate this.

Refuge.

སྐྱབས་སུ་མཆི་
Tibetan: Chab-su Chi
English: Go for refuge.

The Tibetan skyabs (Chab) means refuge, protection, help.
Su means in or to.
mChi means to go.

All of us go for refuge in something.  Often it is a power outside of us- a god, an idea, an authority.  In the West, refuge often takes the form of money, power, success and status.  We put our hopes in them and put in a lot of effort thinking that when we get there they will provide for us.  If you look closely at the decisions you make, short term and long term, you will gain some insight into where you are putting your refuge.

A Buddhist is someone who puts there refuge in the Three Jewels- the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.  The Buddha is the teacher, the Dharma the teaching, and the Sangha is the supporting community.  Khachab Rinpoche emphasizes that of the Three Jewels, the most important is the Dharma, the teaching.

Dharma is our entryway.  When we practice the Dharma, we gain our own experience.  As we deepen our experience we gain confidence in the teaching and in our practice.  Confidence and understanding in our practice give way to realization and actual benefit.  As we witness this benefit and realization in ourselves, we begin to trust and respect the teacher and the community that supports the teaching.

Our practice of the Dharma leads to us taking refuge.  Refuge is based on experience, not blind faith.  You can believe that the Dharma will benefit you, but until you have truly practiced your place of refuge can easily shift and change.  One day you are a eager practitioner of the Buddha's teachings, the next you are following a fad diet and a new business scheme. Where is your refuge?

Refuge is actually extremely profound to contemplate on a day to day basis.
If you have a bad day at work, where is your refuge?  Is it your practice?  Or is it a glass of wine, a movie or the weekend?
If you get in an argument with your partner, where is your refuge?  Is it your practice?  Or is it a food binge, a cigarette or a pedal to the metal car ride?
If you encounter sickness, fear and doubt, where is your refuge?  Is it your practice? Or is someone going to come save you, bail you out, take away your problems?

Most of our bad habits are due to a mistaken refuge based on neurosis and negative emotions.  

Taking refuge in the Three Jewels and in your practice seems extremely heavy.  It is a lot of responsibility, but would you want anything else?

Do you want something else?

Why don't I remember my past life?

Reincarnation is not a dogmatic Buddhist belief.  You do not have to believe in reincarnation to be Buddhist or practice the Buddha's teachings.  What you should do is analyze yourself, study the scriptures and come to your own understanding through study, reflection and meditation.

To understand reincarnation and rebirth you need to understand consciousness and what it is that is being reborn.  This is actually very difficult to do, because even though we all know we have a mind, we really have a very limited understanding about how it actually works.

Let's use the analogy of a river.

When you stand at a river's edge, the only part of the river that you really experience is, well, this part.  Right now, right here.  You can look up the river a ways and even down river for a little bit, but really the only river you really 'know' is this segment.

Actually this tiny portion of the river contains a lot of information in it.

Let's scoop up a sample of that water, what is in it?  We have a variety of thoughts, sights, sounds, feelings, sensations, smells and tastes.  All water bubbles.  These come and go in an endless variety.  Wherever you are on the river, you will find water bubbles.

What else is there?  Oh, here is a preference!  That is strange, I wonder where it can from.  When you find something, it is possible to trace it upstream to some source.  Let's say it is a preference for dark chocolate, what was it in your past that created this preference?  Some great experience, maybe a strong dislike of white chocolate led you on a chocolate tasting frenzy and you found a delicious morsel of dark chocolate that to this very day has you searching in local shops for more.

What else?  A memory.  Let's say it is a face.  Where did I meet you, trace and trace and trace and, Yes!  I met you at that one event with my great uncle.

What else?  Here is a belief.  That's weird, where did that come from?  Is it cultural, your family upbringing, religious or political.  Must have a source, let's investigate.

There must be something else here.  Oh, wait.  Here is kindness.  And love.  And humility.  And fear.  Damn, where did those come from?  Where does my sexual orientation come from, my unflagging interest in learning, my desire to build meaningful connections?  Honestly, I don't really know.  I mean I can trace a lot of that back upstream through my life and find certain markers to indicate their presence, but there isn't always a clear source. 

So, the question remains, why don't I remember my past life?

Well, what did you do on June 3, 2014.  No cheating.  No looking at your calendar to check what your schedule was that day, just tell me.  I bet you cannot.  You might be able to reconstruct that date based on a nearby event or since it was close to Memorial Day you might be able to infer an answer with some calculation, but really you have no idea.  No idea what you ate, no idea what you did, no idea if it was a good day or a bad day, no idea at all. Why? Because there is nothing you can hold onto.  It is water through your hands.

Maybe that is what we are supposed to get from all of this, that while we can trace back to events and memories in our past, there is nothing to hold onto. The only way to gain clarity on these matters is to develop a calm and pristine mind, then you might be able to pick up on subtle connections that pervade your past, present and future. 

So that leaves one other question, what does our future hold?

What are you doing with the water right now?  What imprints and traces are you leaving?  How are you influencing its quality and its course?  What are you doing, right now?  This is really the foundation of all the Buddha's teachings on karma and dependent origination.  Everything is contained by simply looking at your mind and your actions. 

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition.

If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

~Padmasambhava

Of course the river analogy fits perfectly with our linear perception of time and space, past and future.  What happens if we use a vast matrix or even space to understand the mind?  Think about it.

A Meditation for the Dying.

Death can be a very difficult time, both for the dying and the grieving.  There can be feelings of helplessness, fear, uncertainty and great sadness and longing.  The Tibetan tradition has a very simple practice to help both the dying and those who are acting as their support.

Begin the meditation by lighting a candle, some incense and recalling the person in your mind's eye.  You may want to use a picture, but better is to simply feel their presence and the presence that they have had in your life. 

With each exhale,
send out your love to them,
radiating out joy and happiness.
With each inhale,
take upon yourself their fear and sadness,
wholeheartedly relieving and supporting them.
Exhale,
uplifting their minds and hearts,
giving them confidence and clarity on the path ahead.
Inhale,
relieving their doubt and uncertainty,
their pain and sorrow.
Exhale.  Give.
Inhale.  Take.
Exhale.
Inhale.

At the conclusion of the practice, make additional prayers or recite mantras and dedicate your practice.

Generally this type of practice is done for seven to forty-nine days after death to ensure and support the transition to the next life, whatever that may be.  It doesn't need to be elaborate, it can be as simple as sitting in a park, calling them to mind and sending them your love.

Exhale.