Entering the stream.

The journey of self-awakening and discovery takes many forms. The way of the bodhisattva is that of the great vehicle, with the intention to awaken for the benefit of all beings. It is the intention of bodhicitta that makes this a superior vehicle, because the scope of the practice is greater than traveling the path for your own benefit.

Until you take the bodhisattva vow, you traverse the common stages of the path, known as the four stages to enlightenment. These four stages are the stream-enterer, once returner, non-returner, and arhat. These stages can be traversed either as an upasaka, or lay person, or as a monk/nun.

Stream-enterer

The stream-enterer is said to have 'opened their dharma eye', meaning they have an intuitive grasp of the dharma and unshakeable confidence in the Three Jewels. The stream-enterer has abandoned the first three of the ten fetters that bind oneself to the repetitive existence of samsara.

The first fetter is the belief in a permanent identity, what we would call a soul or self. The stream-enterer has given rise to the wisdom of selflessnes, or anatman.

The second fetter is doubt or skepticism about the Buddha and his teachings. The stream-enterer has gained experience and knows first hand the benefit of practicing the teachings.

The third fetter is attachment to rituals or rites. The fixation here is that something outside of ourselves is going to save us, some ritual, some event. The stream-enterer knows that it is their own effort that will enable them to traverse the path and experience liberation.

The stream-enterer is said to have no more than seven rebirths before they achieve the state of cessation.

Once-returner

The once-returner is the second stage to enlightenment. The once-returner is so called because they will only have one more rebirth before they attain the state of cessation. The once-returner has abandoned the first three fetters and has significantly weakened the three poisons of attachment, aversion and ignorance. Through their practice they have gained familiarity with letting go of the arising of the three poisons, thus having a glimpse of the state of cessation in their own practice. In regard to the fetters, the fourth fetter is attachment and the fifth fetter is aversion or malice.

Non-returner

The non-returner is the third stage of enlightenment. The non-returner has taken their last human birth, and is destined to attain the state of cessation in the intermediate state after death. The non-returner has completely abandoned attachment and aversion, but has not completely eliminated ignorance and the higher fetters of meditative equipoise.

Arhat

The arhat is the fourth and final stage of enlightenment. The arhat has actualized the state of cessation and has severed the cycle of repetitive existence. To actualize the state of cessation the arhat has abandoned the five higher fetters, which are fixation to meditative experiences of the form realms, fixation to experiences of the formless realms, arrogance, excitement and ignorance.

The form and formless meditative absorptions, or dhyanas, are absorptions in the state of samadhi that lack the liberating aspect of insight into the true nature. The Buddha actually learned the eight dhyanas from his Jain teacher Ramaputta after he had set out on his own journey of awakening. The Buddha saw through his own experience that these absorptions lacked the liberating aspect. As skilled experts in meditation, we need to recognize when we are falling into these meditative states and strive to uproot our fixation.

After one has let go of the fetters of fixating on meditative experience, one can fall prey to arrogance and pride due to one's 'accomplishment'. This is the slippery slope of spiritual materialism and is sure to trip us up on the path.

Excitement is the ninth fetter, for at this point one can become elated or overjoyed with the prospects that lie just ahead. This excitement can lead to restlessness and agitation and further delay complete fulfillment.

The last fetter to be abandoned is ignorance, confusion about who we are and the nature of the world around us. It is the root of samsara, the last tether to be undone.

I hope you can recognize the connection of these four stages of enlightenment with the way we move through the four noble truths in our practice. If you understand how these are connected and develop then the journey ahead becomes clear.

Fully understand dukkha.
Let go of the arising of the three poisons.
Actualize the state of cessation.
Practice the path.

Buddha heart.

Noble child, all beings, though they find themselves with all sorts of afflictions,
Have a tathagata-garbha that is eternally unsullied, 

and that is replete with virtues no different from my own.

Tathagatagarbha Sutra

All beings are natural Buddhas, concealed in a shell of afflictions.  When that shell is broken, their buddhahood is revealed. 

What is the shell?  It is our negative emotions, our bias and distorted lens. It is our habitual tendencies and conditioned actions. It is our innate self-grasping and fixation on identity, self and other, better and worse, pure and impure.

It's a thick shell.

The shell is adventitious, without a single iota of permanence. Yet we continuously reinforce it, wrapping ourselves up layer after layer. We don't choose the shell, because the shell is based on confusion. Confusion perpetuates itself in an endless cycle of becoming.

The escape is to recognize the tathagata-garbha directly.  Tathagata means one who has gone to suchness, the direct realization of the nature of the mind.  Garbha means heart, womb, essence or nature.  We often see tathagata-garbha translated as buddhanature or essence of enlightenment, but we could also translate it as buddha heart, or the womb of those thus gone. This buddha heart is the nature of our own mind, eternally unsullied and replete with all the virtues of a Buddha.  

We can recognize our own buddha heart, and when we do the shell loosens and the qualities of buddhahood become naturally present.

Once beings’ minds have thoroughly matured,
However, whenever, and for whomever,
There can be action that ensures benefit,
It manifests at just that time and in just that way.

Ornament of Clear Realization

There are emanations through artistry, through conscious rebirth, 

and as expressions of sublime enlightenment.
The nirmanakaya of buddhahood

is the supreme skillful means of total freedom.  

Ornament of the Sutras

One last demon to overcome.

 I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere in any literature, but it is something worth noting.

There are twelve deeds of a Buddha.  The first nine consist of a Buddha taking birth and then embarking on the path to awakening, culminating in a fierce battle with their own demons.  

The tenth deed is to gain complete awakening.

The eleventh is turning the Wheel of Dharma, or teaching.

The twelfth is passing away into parinirvana.

The scriptures recount that upon the Buddha gaining complete and utter enlightenment he rested in equipoise for seven days.  Afterwards, he hesitated to teach, thinking that their would be no way to communicate his realization and no one to understand the truth he had realized. 

For a moment, the Buddha was faced with uncertainty about the work he was about to do, the work that he needed to do as a Buddha. 

For a moment, the Buddha entertained the thought of holding back, of not sharing the boundless joy that he had realized first hand.

That was the last trick that Mara had left to play.  It was a subtle trick, playing into the Buddha's human nature, but it was the only move he had left.  The Buddha was already free, his mind liberated, but there was an opportunity to prevent him from being generous.

But the Buddha did not bite that hook. 

It is said that the Buddha sat for seven weeks in samadhi after his enlightenment to formulate his teachings.  The rest of his life was spent sharing generously.

The last demon to overcome on the path is the resistance that we are all faced with to hold back. 

What is the work that you came here to do?  What is holding you back?

Mara.

བདུད་
Tibetan: dud
English: Mara or demon

The story of the Buddha's quest for complete awakening and fulfillment reaches its climax under the Bodhi tree. It is here that Siddhartha Gautama formed a firm resolve not to get up from his seat until he was enlightened.

When Siddhartha took his seat and entered into meditative absorption he entered into battle with Mara, who was trying to prevent and derail his quest.  Mythologically, Mara is a powerful demonic god, but metaphorically anything that exerts a negative influence and creates obstacles and problems on our spiritual path is considered a demon, or Mara. 

As a practitioner, Mara symbolizes our own self-cherishing and our preoccupation with the eight worldly concerns.  These are what we enter into battle with on our own path.  As these powerful armies rise up against us, we must sit firmly and not waver in our practice.  We must remain unhooked by these clever and mischievous demons.

We get hooked by hoping for pleasure and fearing pain.
Our minds ensnared by hoping for fame and fearing disgrace.
We become trapped hoping for praise and fearing criticism and blame.
We are totally caught up in hoping for gain and fearing loss.

All of these are the self-cherishing habit of ego, caught up in hope and fear, attachment and aversion.  These are what keep us stuck in the cycle of samsara. 

Waking up from ignorance and delusion isn't easy.  The path isn't easy.  At some point you need to turn and face your fear.  You need to learn how to work with these demons, see how they hook us.  We need to understand how they how they shade our perception and influence our decisions and actions.

These demons are not real.  They are intense, but they are not real.  Knowing that we can start to work with them. 

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.  

Bodhisattva.

བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་
Tibetan: Jangchub Sempa
English: Bodhisattva

The Tibetan byang chub (pronounced Jangchub) means enlightened or awakened.
byang means to clear away, purify or awaken (notice the action to as opposed to the Tibetan sangs).
chub means totally or perfectly.

The Tibetan sems means mind, dpa' means heroic, courageous, or warrior.

Sempa is a courageous mind.  Courageous because it seeks enlightenment.  It seeks to purify, clear away and awaken.  Heroic because she is willing to bear the hardship of pushing through resistance, breaking through fear and doubt, and persevering amidst uncertainty.

Why?

Because they have something to share and they are sick of holding back, sick of consuming.  They are tired of hiding.  Disillusioned with indulging themselves with the mundane affairs of this world.

So they commit.  They decide.  They act.  They do it for themselves, and they do it for others.  They do it for themselves so that they can actually do it for others.

When their practice is perfected, they become Buddhas, fulfilling their own aims and benefiting others simultaneously.

Heir to the Buddhas.

Should bodhicitta come to birth

In those who suffer, chained in the prison of samsara,

In an instant they are called the children of the Sugatas,

Revered by all the world, by gods and humankind.

~Shantideva

I know your situation is tough.  

I know the burden is heavy and the chances seem slim.  

The moment you say, "Enough is enough, I am very fortunate and I must act on it."  

The moment you take your stand, 

not only for your own benefit, but for the benefit of all beings, 

at that moment you become an heir to the Buddhas.  

You become their child and their master, 

for even the Buddhas are awed by those who give rise to bodhicitta.

Run in the rain.

Don't worry about achievement.
Don't worry about the result.
Don't worry about enlightenment.

Practice so that you can run in the rain, and enjoy it.

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?