Heal yourself before healing others.

There is this story that I like from the Snow Lion's Turquoise Mane. The story is about this interaction that takes place between Gampopa and his teacher Milarepa.  

Gampopa founded the Kagyu tradition in Tibet back in the eleventh century. He was a doctor who lost his wife at a young age and then became a monk. He studied under the Kadampa tradition until he met his root teacher Milarepa. 

Milarepa is the famous yogi of Tibet. He lived up in the mountains wearing only a white cotton cloth, was known for his practice of inner heat or tummo, and that he gained enlightenment in one lifetime. Milarepa was also famous for his songs of awakening or dohas, which have inspired countless practitioners to this day.

One day Gampopa was sitting in his cave meditating all day and Milarepa asked him how long his meditation sessions lasted. Gampopa said he usually sat for six hours at a time.

Milarepa asked him what he experienced during that time. Gampopa responded, 

"Nothing at all- a great void.”

Milarepa exclaimed, "You fool! How can you sit for six hours and experience nothing at all? You are suppressing yourself, resting in an indifferent, neutral state- pleasant as it may be. Give up this so-called practice and begin according to my instruction."

Milarepa then sang a song about genuine practice:

The ultimate view is to observe ones mind, steadfastly and with determination,

Buddhahood cannot be found outside, so contemplate your own mind.

Behold and watch unborn awareness, how can common meditation match it?

The ultimate guru is Buddha-mind within, do no seek it elsewhere.

Recognizing ones true nature as dharmakaya,

Swiftly actualize immanent Buddhahood.

When Gampopa heard this song, he was humbled and immediately said he was going to renounce his monk robes and become a cotton clad ascetic just like Milarepa.

Again, Milarepa chastised him, "You fool, don't copy others! Each one of you must follow your own spiritual path."

Then Milarepa sang a song about the original monastic state-

One of letting go, surrender, simplicity, solitude, and recognizing the truth of selflessness.

At the end, Milarepa said, "Heal yourself, good physician monk, then you will naturally heal others. My teaching is mine, yours must be yours. Do whatever is necessary in order to evoke it from within."

If you were to pick one, which would it be?

Imagine a scenario:

You are an enlightened being. You are compassionate and generous. You bear a strong suit of patience. You have cunning wisdom and insight and the strong aspiration to bring benefit to all beings. You effortlessly fulfill the aims of others, simultaneously fulfilling your own aims. 

All other beings are unenlightened. You live in a world in which everyone is suffering. Everyone else doesn't understand the true nature of reality or their own nature. Your job is to tirelessly try to liberate them from their own confusion. You are the only one who has the vision and wisdom necessary to carry out that task.

Imagine another scenario:

You are unenlightened. You know your own suffering. Anger, attachment, frustration and delusion follow you like a shadow. You try to be generous, but end up holding back. You try to be patient, but end up blowing a fuse. You have insight, sure, but there are many days you just don't know what to do. 

Everyone else is enlightened.  Everyone else is trying to wake you up. Everyone is your teacher, a spiritual friend or a guide on the road. Every interaction is an opportunity, every trial is part of the path. Everyone is in on the game. You are the last to wake up. 

Both of these scenarios are unrealistic, but which one do you think would lead to quicker progress on the path?

The student-teacher relationship is not well understood in the west. There is a lot of cultural baggage and misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up. There is a lot of gross misconduct and deceit that takes place. You should properly analyze the teacher and the teachings. Once you do though, you should try to generate pure vision in regards to the teacher.

It may not be possible to see all beings as enlightened, to appreciate them all as guides on the path. That would be a stretch. But if we could see one person as enlightened and really be impacted by their teachings, then maybe we would be more receptive to other forms of teachers and teachings as well.

Start with one. One is the minimum. Be willing to be receptive, to generate reverence and devotion, to respect and to serve one being.  If you can do it with one, more will appear. 

Who knows, maybe you are the last one to wake up. 

Dharma.

ཆོས་
Tibetan: cho
English: dharma

Dharma is a very common term within the Buddhist tradition.  We often see Dharma, capitalized, to refer to the teachings of the Buddha.  But dharma has a depth of meaning that needs to be appreciated as we learn to carry Dharma onto the path.

Dharma can refer to:
1. The teachings of the Buddha. In this sense Dharma refers to that which is authentic and true.
2. Any phenomena, or anything that is knowable. The reality of things or events.  
3. The reality of one's own life or circumstances as they manifest.

There are many more interpretations of dharma, but these three are critical to understand.  When Gampopa incites us to turn our mind towards the Dharma, he is encouraging us to look deeply into our life and connect with that which is authentic and true, which are the teachings of the Buddha.  

Gampopa next exhorts us to turn dharma into the path. When we first encounter Dharma, we can become very enthusiastic about pursuing the reality of things. We can be fascinated with philosophical arguments and use logic and reasoning to gain a fuller understanding of ourselves and the world around us.  We can really start to know that which is authentic and true, start to have some knowledge and understanding. 

But this type of practice is very academic and conceptual.  It is all up in your head. When we are too focused on the reality of things, we forget to look deeply into our own situation, our own struggles and actions.

Gampopa wants us to turn the reality of our situation, our life, into the path. However our life is unfolding, use that to embody the teachings. 

The Dharma is not something we simply read or study. It is not complex philosophy. It is the reality of our circumstances, right now. How do we use this dharma? How do we work with this life? How do we carry all of the baggage and problems that we have onto a path that is unerring and true? 

That is the challenge that we face.  That is the dharma that we earnestly seek out for the rest of our life. Carrying this dharma onto the path, the path can clarify confusion and confusion can dawn as the direct experience of the wisdom of our true nature. And that wisdom will be beyond words.
  

Pure vision.

དག་སྣང་
Tibetan: dak-nang
English: pure vision

Pure vision is a unique aspect of the tantric path and the student-teacher relationship. 

As a westerner we approach the student-teacher relationship with skepticism and doubt.  We tend to be critical of every thought, word and deed.  We are used to bringing judgement into our relationships, setting firm boundaries of what is right and what is wrong.  We are ready to pounce on every minor flaw that we see, confirming our own rightness and position.

The result is that we are not impacted.  We are not changed.  We continue on our righteous way. 

In order to be impacted by teachings, we need to be open minded and receptive.  We need to be present.  It is important that we show up ready, attentive, embodied.

We have to show up with a receptive and strong mind of initiative in order to be impacted.  Our habitual tendencies, negative thoughts and emotions are simply too strong otherwise.  It is too easy for us to slip back into negative feedback loops.  Too easy to fall prey to judgement, skepticism and arrogance. 

Pure vision is the process of entering a teaching with a sense of wonder and awe.  It is a fresh, receptive and curious perspective.  When we sit for a teaching in such a way, we actually hear and receive the teachings. 

Pure vision isn't about creating a make believe experience, it is about seeing things as they truly are for the first time, as they are now. 

Heavy.

Guru.

The word guru has a really negative connotation in the West.  We have a natural distaste for it.  It could be our Judeo-Christian upbringing.  It could be due to the fact that we don't like to put others above us.  It could be a lot of things, but we are missing one important point.

A guru is a spiritual teacher.  Our spiritual teacher.  My spiritual teacher.

That is not a title that comes easily.  It is not and should not be easily given.  Very few deserve this title, regardless of their achievements or renown. 

When we think of spiritual teachers that impact our life, we think of Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi.  These are people that have impacted us as a society and we can receive their wisdom, their truth.  We can digest it and make it our own.  They are spiritual teachers and we could have a strong connection with them, but in most cases it is often a safe connection.  Safe in the sense that we can enjoy their teachings and their message from the privacy of our own comfort zone. We don't need to extend ourselves at all, we don't need to form a connection, we can just stay in our comfort zone. 

The Tibetan word for Guru is Lama.  Lama has a connotation of being heavy, or serious.  Seriously heavy.

Heavy in this sense doesn't mean a burden on one's shoulders.  Heavy means that you can never pay back the impact that your spiritual teacher has had on your life.  You can never pay back the impact they have had on your mind and how they have transformed your path.

We don't worship the guru as an idol.  You shouldn't worship a guru as an idol.  We pay reverence to the spiritual teacher because they have impacted our life and our life is precious.  Their generosity, their kindness, has transformed our being.

We aren't the same because of them.  We will never be the same because of them and their teachings.  We can only work from this point.  We move forward and we hope to repay their kindness.

We become the working basis.  We become the teaching.  Each step.  One by one.  We start out as a likeness of their generosity and kindness, until the likeness becomes inseparable and we become generosity and kindness.

Then there is nothing left to hold onto, nothing left to repay and no one to repay to.  Everything is complete.  Your mind and the guru's mind inseparable.  

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. 

Upcoming Dzogchen Seminar

Join us for a weekend of Dzogchen teachings.

Younge Khachab Rinpoche will be teaching on Longchen Rabjam's famed Choying Dzod, the Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena.  This text is one of Longchenpa's Seven Treasures and perhaps his greatest work.  In it he lays out the practice of trekchod, or cutting through, in a direct way that culminates in a state of timeless freedom.  Rinpoche will provide chapter by chapter commentary and give practical meditation instruction based on these profound teachings.  A rare opportunity to explore Longchenpa's presentation of Dzogchen at the foot of a modern day Dzogchen master.  

Translator: Tenzin Bhuchung

October 24-25, 2015 

10am-12pm and 2-5pm

 

Private Residence

515 N. 64th St

Seattle, WA

$150 Registration
REGISTER NOW

Please contact for work study options.

For questions please contact Greg at siddhearta@gmail.com

  

Younge Khachab Rinpoche

Rinpoche is a renowned Rime scholar and Dzogchen master.  He is the Younge family lineage holder and holds the titles of both Geshe and Khenpo.  His teaching style is direct, warm and engaging, extensive yet practical; he condenses teachings into their essence and takes a personal interest in each of his student's practice.

 

Following in their footsteps.

In the beginning, we give our teacher our attention and interest
by listening, contemplating and deepening our understanding.

In the middle, out of respect and devotion we offer them our support-
investing our time and energy because of the impact their teachings have had on us.

In the end, it is our responsibility to preserve and share the teachings,
so we choose to embody the teachings, to become their working basis.
That is the way of commitment and generosity, the way in which we follow their example.
This is the greatest offering we can make to our teachers. 

Dzogchen Weekend Retreat.

Join us as we welcome the Venerable Younge Khachab Rinpoche back to

Seattle.  Rinpoche will be presenting the Dzogchen teachings according to their view,

meditation and action.   Rinpoche will share these teachings, his experience and their

practical application with keen awareness of 21st century Western life and demands.  This

weekend workshop will provide direct and practical advice on immersing yourself

in meditation and integrating your meditation practice with your daily life.

May 16-17, 2015

Saturday and Sunday 10-12pm and 2-5pm

515 N 64th St 

Seattle, WA 98103

$150 registration

Please contact for work study options. 

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

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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?