What holds Buddhas back?

A fundamental principle in the Buddha's teachings is that all beings have buddhanature. This buddhanature is the nature of our own mind, and though it is always fully evident it often goes unrecognized. Instead of embracing the path of becoming buddhas, or being buddha (which really means the path of waking up, or being awake), we find ourselves entangled in the mess of life with all of our problems. As the Buddha says:

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

If the tathagatagarbha, or buddhanature, is our fundamental nature of mind, why does it go unrecognized and why we do lack fulfillment?

There are four obscuring factors that keep us entangled in the afflictions: cognitive obscurations, emotional obscurations, habitual tendencies and karma. The work of the path of waking up and actualizing our buddhanature is to untie these ropes and release ourselves from bondage. The path of liberation is the path of freeing ourselves from these shackles and actualizing the resultant state, which is our innate buddhanature and natural awakened mind.

Cognitive obscurations are obscuring factors of our understanding and view of who we are and the nature of the world around us. All of us have bias, views we hold to as true, and cultural associations that go unquestioned. The work of untying the knots of cognitive obscurations is to shine a light on the way we actually think and perceive the world around us and our place in it. 

Emotional obscurations are the five primary negative emotions: attachment, aversion, confusion, jealousy, and arrogance. Each of these emotions overwhelms our minds and is centered on me and mine. It is not that these emotions are inherently bad or can't be used for good, but that in the presence of these emotions we often go blind and function solely out of reactive, self-centered impulses. The work of untying the knots of emotional obscurations is to find space amidst the emotions, so that we can work and respond to the energy that is coming up rather than becoming overwhelmed by that energy and reacting impulsively. 

Habitual tendencies are subtle and hard to break. So much of our conditioning comes from our childhood and from our culture, so much so that we don't usually know why we do the things we do or care about the things we think we care about. Habitual tendencies are hard to break because they are the rails or ski tracks that our day to day life is built around. It is so hard to break out of the tracks, and even if we manage to escape for a moment, it is also very easy to slip back in. The work of untying the knots of habitual tendencies is to introduce a fresh fall of snow powder over the terrain, and then do the hard work of charting a new course through the fresh powder. 

Karma is our actions and the results of our actions. Karma is also hard to untie because we cannot undo the past. All of our past actions have led us to the present moment, and that is what we have to work with. The good news is that all of our current actions are creating the moments of our future, and so we can give our future self the gift of good actions that we can later enjoy. As long as we operate in this world we always have karmic conditioning and karmic relationships. Karma doesn't need to be a binding force, as we learn to work with karma on the path you can start to recognize how everything is naturally free in its own place, even if things aren't quite the way you would have liked them to be. The present is the only moment you have to work with, so work with it. 

As we loosen the shackles of these four binding forces, gradually our own true nature becomes more and more evident. Much like gold is slowly extracted and refined from its ore, so too our awakened mind is gradually revealed and made fully evident. 

Stuck.

Many of us feel stuck in our life or in our situation. Day after day we travel on well-worn tracks of habitual routines. Changing directions or charting a new course seems like a remote possibility.

Most of our days we are simply going through the motions, moving from one task to the next. We have to get from point A to point B and we hustle to get there on time. Along the way we are bombarded with news and information, consuming a never ending stream of entertainment. The effort to remain present and aware can be daunting, as our minds are habituated to following after the shiniest and most colorful objects.

When those very same wandering and distracted hearts and minds catch a moment of presence, a world of possibility opens up. Our world opens up to wonder and awe, and we enjoy a greater sense of well-being. In those moments, we may realize that we don't need to recreate our life anew, but that we can meaningfully participate in and create this very life as it continues to unfold before us.

The challenge then, is how to we catch those moments of presence? What signs or indications can we rely on?

Notice when you are feeling stuck. Notice when you are hiding, or scared, or hesitating. Notice when you are anxious or stressed. Those are the signs to look for on the road. When you see the signs, look for the Buddha within.

"Go to the places that scare you. 

In haunted places, seek the Buddha within yourself."

Padampa Sangye's advice to Machig Labdron

Metaphor for the nature of mind.

A glass of water.

What are the qualities of a glass of pure water?

Transparent, clear, refreshing, healthy, reflective surface.

The pure water represents the nature of our own mind, with its qualities of being pure, transparent, calm and clear.  A state of natural peace and health.  A pristine state of self-reflexive awareness. The Buddha referred to this as the tathagatagarbha, or buddha heart. The water represents our natural condition.  

What happens if we put a handful of dirt in the water? Now what qualities do we notice? The glass is mucky, cloudy, obscured, disgusting, impure.

The dirt represents all of our thoughts, emotions, beliefs, habitual patterns and conditioning. We really identify with the dirt. Do we even notice the originally pure water?

How many of us are busy and have to stay on top of many responsibilities? Me too. Start stirring the glass. 

Normally we spend most of our days stirring that glass up, cycling through various mental states and emotional responses.  Our habits and actions keep churning up that dirt in the glass, the dirt swirling and obscuring the qualities of the water.   

But what happens if we let the water rest.  Just set it down and let it rest. At first it continues to swirl for a little bit, right? As we let it sit for five or ten minutes, naturally the dirt starts to settle.  The natural qualities of the water reveal themselves without any effort.

The dirt doesn't go away. Actually the handful of dirt occupies very little of the glass once it settles out. In the beginning, the dirt occupies almost all of our identity, but once we learn to recognize our natural condition then we become less preoccupied with our own thoughts and feelings. They no longer overwhelm us, since we know how to work with them.

What this metaphor reveals to us is that we simply need to learn how to bring the mind to rest. As we learn to rest naturally, thoughts, sights and sounds settle into their own place.

Rest naturally and emotions and fears disappear revealing insight and clarity.
Rest naturally and our habits and karmic conditioning lose their impetus.
Rest naturally and the qualities of the nature of mind reveal themselves.
Rest naturally and our intrinsic buddhanature becomes evident.
Rest naturally, and there is nothing more to do.    

Confusion and dishonesty.

Bad habits.  Poor choices.  Careless deeds. 

Confusion permeates so much of what we think, say and do.  We often find ourselves acting out of impulse, our behavior not driven by intention as much as it is driven by what we did yesterday and the day before. 

Amidst all of this confusion we find moments when discerning wisdom dawns.  We have moments when we can see clearly.  There are times we find ourselves in a gap between the clouds.  We are able to see our shortcomings, see where we have strayed, see what we could have done better. 

There are moments when the truth reveals itself.

In that moment, we have an opportunity to be honest with ourselves.  We have a moment of clarity to reflect, to examine and to change.  Our own discerning wisdom creates a gap in which we can leave behind confused habit patterns and neurotic behavior.

But often in that moment we lie to ourselves.

We shift the blame.  We minimize the damage to our self-image.  We protect ourselves from failure, from being wrong.  We do our best to avoid the irritation of whatever our wisdom is revealing to us.

We preserve our dignity out of dishonesty.  And the wheel of confusion turns...

What are you?

You have a physical appearance, but you are not your appearance.
You have feelings, but you are not your feelings.
You have thoughts and ideas, but you are not your thoughts and ideas.
You have perceptions, but you are not your perceptions.
You have experiences, but you are not your experiences.
You have habits, but you are not your habits.
You have preferences, but you are not your preferences. 
You have consciousness, but you are not your consciousness.
You have an 'I', but you are not your 'I'.

So what are you?

We bind ourselves when we get caught up in appearances.  But we are not those appearances.

We are naturally liberated.  Natural Buddhas.  

I choose happiness.

I choose happiness.

But it's not that simple, is it?

Despite our best intentions, we have all these negative emotions to deal with.

Despite our best effort, we have all these bad habits that reinforce and influence our actions.

Even when we think we have all the information needed to make a good decision,
we suffer from short sighted vision and biased perception.

We really want to choose happiness, but we cannot do that until we clear our heads, learn to control our emotions and start to see more clearly.

Treading Water.

Why does it always feel like we are treading water?  And juggling at the same time.

There is so much to do in a day-
work, special projects, manage your house, your family, all the commitments and appointments,
all the email, Facebook, Twitter trends and news to follow-
our day is so full of stuff to do that we rarely find any rest.

If we do find rest, or deliberately take it, sometimes we feel like we are sinking and giving up the ground that we fought so hard to gain.  Any progress that we had made is given back and we feel the need to work harder just to get caught up. 

If we are constantly flailing our arms and legs just to keep our head above water, when are we ever going to find the time for our own practice?  When are you going to find the time to share generously, to make an impact and to do something meaningful? 

To train on the path means that we change all of this.  It is not changing what you do but how you do it. 

You can learn a better technique.
You can change your habits.
You can be stronger.  Improve your endurance.
You might even be able to find a way out altogether. 

Go Back, and Learn.

Step back for a moment, from where you are, what you know.

Take a beginner's lesson in mathematics or programming at the Khan Academy.  Learn the proper technique used to row a boat.  Look up words you already know in the dictionary.

When you approach things you 'already know' with a beginner's mind, you discover all kinds of insight.  You see new connections.  You discover nuance, precision. 

The simplicity is refreshing.  The deliberateness humbling. 

What happens when we use this same mindset to approach our own anger, jealousy or fear?  Our preferences and perceptions?

If we deconstruct impatience, what does it look like?

What are the building blocks of anxiety and stress, is what we already know about them true?

Give yourself a chance to be a beginner again, with your self.

You may give rise to insight and understanding.  You may even feel refreshed. 

Powerboat

Ours is a culture of achievement.  We wrap ourselves in a nice cocoon of materialism, image and identity.  These form the basis for how we interact with the world around us.

Our habit is to control.  We strive to get where we are going as quickly as possible.  In this sense we all want to travel the quick path, the powerboat that carries us to the far shore with the wind in our hair.  We trust that the boat has everything we need to get us where we want to go.  Oh, and we want to look good doing it.

Our habits form over long periods of time as a coping mechanism to deal with the world.  We have a lot of learned behaviors, some good, some bad; but we should examine our habits and determine if they actually bring our intended result.

Does control, materialism and achievement fulfill our aims?  Are you satisfied?

How does a sailboat travel to its destination?  What story does that tell?

The Charnel Ground

Photo courtesy of Himalayan Arts

The charnel ground is a very evocative image used by Buddhist practitioners.  

It is disgusting, filled with disease and pestilence.  It is strewn with carnage and lifeless, wandering souls.  

Your emotions and senses run rampant in a charnel ground.  The only way to survive is to stay on high alert.  The charnel ground would love to claim you as its next victim, to bend your will and seize your heart.  Your head might be the next one hanging at the gates as a symbol of its conquest, left to rot and grow old as a reminder for those that might come near.  

Some practitioners actually choose to practice their sadhana in this environment.  Of course they could retreat to peaceful forest groves, alpine meadows or glacial peaks, but they choose the charnel ground.  For these yogins, the very fabric of their day to day life is the path of liberation.  They look to first hand experience to transform their own obstacles and poisons, constantly battling the gods and demons of their own hopes and fears.  It is a direct encounter with wisdom, through insight transmuting poison into a healing nectar that pacifies their own and others ails. 

We all live in a charnel ground of our own thoughts and emotions, hopes and fears.  Our habit since beginningless time is to turn and run, to seek out better conditions and a supportive environment.  And this works, for a little while.  Then we start to meet more resistance and the charnel ground gates start to creak open, beckoning you. 

The nice thing about the charnel ground is that you always know where you stand.  If you are struggling to reconcile your internal conflicts, fighting against yourself and your environment, then you still have more work to do.  If you are able to transform all situations into insight and can use this to bring about the welfare of beings, then I think you have found your calling.  

Either way, better get to work.

Airports

Everyone who goes to the airport knows exactly where they are going. They already have a ticket in their hand. 

Most people in the airport have a single objective- to get to their gate so they don't miss their trip.  They rush through security, grab a water and some snacks, maybe take a short bathroom break, but then it is to the gate where they often lobby for the best position in line for a seat they already have. 

Because everyone knows where they are going we shouldn't be surprised that people mostly ignore each other.  Tunnel vision and head phones are the norm.  Give me an iPad or a book and I can sit in the airport for hours. 

The thing is, a lot of magic happens in the airport.  People are leaving their loved ones, joining up with them again.  Kids on their first flight are pulling their mini luggage bags, new parents are trying really hard to make this work.  People are setting out on new adventures, embarking on new ideas, new lives or simply going home to see their grandparents, hopefully not for the last time. 

Most of us miss out on the magic that takes place in the airport because we are so busy doing our own thing.  We miss countless opportunities and interactions because we aren't willing to stop what we are doing and to look at what is happening right around us.  We might be able to lend a helping hand, step out of someone's way or share in a friendly conversation.  We might experience laughter and joy, maybe even hold back a few tears at all the love and happiness that surrounds us. 

In our own life, we are constantly being propelled by our past actions and thoughts, our physical, social and cultural conditioning.  Most of us hold tickets to places we don't even want to go.  Too often we rush to our destination not realizing that there are so many sacred moments to be enjoyed right where we are. 

Open your eyes to those around you, open your ears to what they need.  Open your mouth to share kindness, open your heart to witness love.

When you are no longer propelled to your destination, you might be surprised what opportunities present themselves.  You will also be fortunate enough to enjoy them.  

Your Practice

All teachings are instructions for practice.

Atisha

In our pursuit of happiness we are all practicing something.  

Central to all of the Buddha's teachings is the notion that all teachings are instructions for our own spiritual practice.   Every day we engage in actions of our body, speech and mind that seek to bring about our own welfare, our own happiness and peace of mind. 

If you understand the principles of cause and effect, or karma, then you also understand that we continually shape our experience and reality each and every moment.  But are we really sowing the seeds of our happiness or are we sowing seeds for our own suffering and discontent?  Are we planting seeds that bear their fruit one time or are we planting seeds that bring a bountiful crop year after year? 

Are you practicing generosity, patience and integrity? 


What about the practice of love, compassion, joy and equanimity?  

Do you find yourself unexpectedly practicing anger, attachment, jealousy or arrogance?

Would you like to be practicing for peace, contentment, mindfulness but instead find yourself practicing anxiety, stress and delusion?

If your life is your practice then what are you practicing?  Are you experiencing the desired result?  

Sorry if this seems rather heavy, but it is.  

What is your practice? 

For Rent: Artist's Studio

Do you need more space in your life to perform your art?

Every artist needs a space to work.  A space for bringing intentions to life, working out problems and exploring new possibilities. 

For the bodhisattva, that space is their meditation seat.  Their meditation practice is their laboratory, their seat to explore the mind and train in removing habitual tendencies, negative emotions and obscurations to omniscience.  

This royal seat creates openness and flexibility in the mind.  It engenders an unbiased and uncontrived platform upon which their creative display can manifest itself as loving kindness, compassion and generosity.  

Here are the keys to developing your own space:

1. Set aside a time of day that you want to meditate.  For most people this is going to be either first thing in the morning or before bed.  I have tried both times and for me usually the evenings work better because I often succumb to snoozing my alarm. 

2. Start small.  Meditate for 5 minutes a day.  Start with opening prayers or a motivational quote.  When you have been meditating for five minutes a day you will notice a natural momentum building that keeps you on the seat longer and longer.  No rush, just take the time to sit mindfully each day.  

3. Watch your breath.  Breathe naturally.  Just watch the inhale and exhale of the breath.  Be mindful as you inhale and exhale.  Don't expect anything, don't judge.  The meditation is simply to be aware of the breath and always come back to the breath when you realize you are distracted.  

4. Dedicate your practice.  Don't be the sole benefactor.   Dedicating your practice removes the boundaries to your meditation seat and allows the practice to ripen throughout your daily life.  This is where we plant the seeds of generosity, compassion and kindness, and with dedication those seeds ripen in unimaginable ways. 

Suffering

The fourth preliminary is the contemplation on suffering.  The key point is that there is no place within the realm of samsara, or conditioned existence, that is free from suffering. 

There are several implications to consider when contemplating suffering.  First is the truth of suffering.  The first teaching that the Buddha gave upon attaining enlightenment was on the Four Noble Truths- the truth of suffering, truth of the origin, truth of cessation and truth of the path.  Within the truth of suffering there are three types of suffering that the Buddha mentioned- the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change and all-prevasive suffering.  

We are all very familiar with the suffering of suffering.  This is the gross level of suffering that we experience throughout our lives- physical pain and loss, the diversity of negative mental states, and the never ending cycle of aging, sickness and death. 

The suffering of change is a little more subtle.  It is the suffering that is associated with periods of happiness or pleasure.  This type of suffering refers to the tendency of the good times in our life to revert to suffering.  The common metaphor to portray this type of suffering is that of licking a razor blade with honey on it, it tastes so sweet but we do not realize that we are cutting our tongue because the blade is so sharp.  We all have examples of this type of suffering in our own life- the new job that turns out to be a bad work environment, a spoiled relationship, a hangover after a fun night with friends.  What distinguishes whether or not these positive experiences we have in life revert to suffering?  Is it the object or event itself?  Or is it our own mind, hopes and expectations? 

All-pervasive suffering is the most subtle level of suffering.  It refers to the latent potential for suffering to manifest in our life because of our own ignorance, ignorance of the true nature of reality and our true nature.  It is because we misconstrue phenomena with identity, fixating on characteristics and investing them with meaning that is not inherent to them that we experience an endless round of suffering.  It is by getting caught up in the twelve links of dependent origination that we continually experience the all-pervasive nature of suffering.

The second implication is that no matter where we are born in samsara we cannot escape suffering.  It doesn't matter if we are born rich, famous or beautiful.  We cannot get promoted to a job that has no suffering, we cannot move into a bigger house to be free from suffering and we cannot find another partner that is going to be perfect and never cause us pain or sorrow.  If you are not convinced of this then you should waste a day or two of your life to watch reality TV (This will be the last time I ever suggest people watch reality TV). 

The third implication is that it is we who continue to invest in the suffering of samsara.  It is our thoughts, choices and actions that continue to turn that wheel. 

When we understand the truth of suffering and that we cannot escape it as long as we continue to invest in conditioned existence, then we come to embrace the larger scope.  As long as we place our refuge outside of us there is no lasting happiness to be found.  If we place our refuge in people, places or things outside of us we will have no protection, no shelter, we will constantly be reaching out with empty hands hoping that something comes our way. 

We must rely on an authentic refuge, one that is able to free us from this wheel of samsara.  As an outer refuge we rely on the Buddha as the supreme teacher, the Dharma as the supreme teaching, and the Sangha as the supreme support.  As an inner refuge we rely on our own Buddha mind or the capacity to attain liberation, our own experience of the Dharma as the path, and the Sangha as our companions on the journey. 

Having embraced the larger scope we then come to a decisive experience of suffering, which is best summarized by a verse composed by my own root guru, Younge Khachab Rinpoche:

We are endowed with this precious human life,

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.

 

This concludes the contemplation of the preliminary practices.  It is of tremendous value to return to these again and again, for they are the source of much wisdom on the path.  

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!

 

Barefoot Living

You've heard the news,
barefoot running is the hot new trend.
Its benefits are applauded-
Less pain in the feet, better form and more fun.

What if we made the jump to barefoot living?
     Simple.
     Free.
     Open.
     Raw.

What if we simplified all our projects, goals and expectations?
What if we freed all our pains, plans and problems?
What if we opened our hands, hearts and minds?
What if we lived in the present, opened our hearts to tenderness, and enjoyed the rawness of every interaction in the world around us?


It is possible.
Everyone would applaud its benefits-
Life would have less pain, better form and be more fun.


Go ahead.  Take your shoes off.

A Simple Discipline

Commit not a single unwholesome action, 

Cultivate a wealth of good qualities, 

To tame this mind of ours,

This is my doctrine.

Buddha Shakyamuni

Discipline is meant to simplify our life.  It provides direction and rights our course if we go astray.  Discipline is not moral righteousness with its attendants of arrogance and guilt.  Shantideva wrote in his Way of the Bodhisattva that it is we who corrupt ourselves, it is in this sense that we apply the practice of discipline.

Commit not a single unwholesome action

The essence of this practice is simple- do no harm.  The application of this practice is not easy at all.  We should strive to do no harm with our body, speech and mind.  Make effort because it does not come easy.

There is a story of a monk who would use black and white stones to track his actions throughout the day.  For every good action he would put a white stone in his right pocket, for every harmful action he would put a black stone in his left pocket.  At first he found his pockets only full of black stones and everywhere he turned he encountered conflict in the world.  As he applied effort to the practice he began to have a balance of black and white stones, and while he still encountered conflict he was beginning to see how he could act in certain situations.  In the end, he only found white stones in his pockets, his mind was peaceful and there were no threats to be found.


Cultivate a wealth of good qualities

Our mind is an open plain of pure potential in which anything at all can arise.  Cultivate qualities that will bring benefit to you and others.

Develop the mind.  Habituate the mind.  Train the mind.  

The qualities that we can develop are endless, but the qualities that the Buddha taught bring  fulfillment are the four immeasurables and six perfections.  In the battlefield of afflicted emotions within our own mind, the six perfections- generosity, discipline, patience, joyous perseverance, meditative equipoise and wisdom- function like an impenetrable armor and the four immeasurables- love, compassion, joy and equanimity- are the equipment we carry.  It is these qualities that the Victor's before us have cultivated on the path and likewise it is in this way that we should train.

To tame this mind of ours

Cultivate an open, calm and clear mind that is free from afflictive emotions, negative habitual tendencies and cognitive obscurations.  All of the teachings are meant to reveal the naturally liberated state, our own authentic condition, but they need to be applied to our life and our mind.

Where would I possibly find enough leather
With which to cover the surface of the earth?
But just the leather on the soles of my shoes
Is equivalent to covering the earth with it.

Likewise it is not possible for me
To restrain the external course of things.
But should I restrain this mind of mine
What would be the need to restrain all else?

Shantideva