Honor.

Not much is sacred anymore.

Everyone appreciates values such as self-reliance, independence, hard work and kindness. We all value honesty, integrity and optimism, whether it is in our homes, at work or in our communities. As young adults we start to explore our values, what impact they have on our lives and which values we want to live by. Our values shift and change over time, depending on the shape of our lives and the relationships that we forge.

I was fortunate to encounter the Dharma when I was in my early twenties. During my formative years as an adult, I experienced and explored values such as honor, reverence and humility. I had the privilege of sitting at the feet of great spiritual teachers; teachers like my own root teacher Younge Khachab Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama, Kusum Lingpa and Lama Tharchin. I practiced a tradition that had a long lineage of reverence towards teachers like the Karmapa, Patrul Rinpoche, Longchen Rabjam, Padmasambhava and all the way back to the Buddha himself. I was able to explore what it meant to be humble in the presence of these teachers, but also recognize a powerful sense of self-worth and innate potential. 

Nowadays, everyone has the right to say what they want. Everyone can choose to have a voice. Everyone can choose to lay out a vision. No one wants to exclude anyone. No one is wrong. There is no authority to be found, authority is seen as anti-egalitarian.

When we don't honor anything then nothing is sacred. Without any sacred values in our life, there is no authority to be found. Without authority, we end up with chaos, indecisiveness, and a lack of action. Without honor, traditions wither and die, movements stagnate, and communities suffer.

Honor gives rise to other values. It gives birth to authentic reverence and humility, which themselves rely on values like integrity, determination, self-respect and service.

I'm glad to have honor as one of my core values. What, or who, do you honor?

Reverence.

Buddhanature awakens a certain reverence in us.

It is always present, but also inaccessible in our experience. We catch glimpses of it, moments when the clouds dissipate revealing our spacious, clear and peaceful natural condition.

Most of the time we are overwhelmed by everyday concerns. Our minds are busy, distracted. We may have a vague intention to bring benefit to others, but we do not know how to make this intention fully manifest.

Fighting against our own thoughts and emotions, we are unable to enjoy our natural condition.
Caught up in hope and fear, our natural fulfillment escapes us.
Collapsing into our own perspective and situation, we are unable to bring benefit to others.

The basis, our buddhanature, is always present.
The result, our buddhanature fully manifest, seems entirely remote.

With reverence in mind, we prostrate to the embodiment of the Three Jewels, the nature of our own body, speech and mind. Paying homage to our unborn natural condition, we open the doorway to actualizing our natural state.

Namo Manjushri. I prostrate to the glorious, youthful awakened body.
Namo Sushri. I prostrate to the excellent qualities of awakened speech.
Namo Uttamshri. I prostrate to the supreme awakened mind.
Soha. So it is.   

Two attitudes.

A practitioner needs two attitudes in their efforts to be generous, to make an impact and to benefit others- humility and confidence. 

Humility.

The humble practitioner says, "I can do more." 

"I can do better."

Contrast that with the person who thinks what they have done is enough, that they have nothing more to do. 

The humble practitioner pays reverence to great teachers, profound teachings, generous acts and all those who are striving to make a difference.  The act of paying reverence is a display of humility.

Contrast that with the person who bows to no one, respects nothing even as their equal.  

Confidence.

The confident practitioner says, "I can do this."

"I can achieve that."

A humble practitioner who is endowed with confidence can do anything.  And they likely will.