Valid cognition.

How do we know what is true?

Valid cognition or pramana is a whole branch of study in traditional Buddhist training. Broadly speaking, there are two types of valid cognition: inferential and direct perception.

Inferential valid cognition is based on reason and logic. We can come to an authentic understanding of phenomena through reason and logic. You can study a system like the human body, understand how it works, all of its parts and pieces, and develop a lot of confidence in that understanding based on examination and analysis.

Direct perception (DP) is presented as four categories, but for our purposes understanding two is sufficient: sensory direct perception and yogic direct perception. Sensory DP is valid cognition based on one's sensory experience. You can learn about the differences between cabernet and pinot noir by reading and studying (inferential valid cognition), but this understanding is quite inferior to actually tasting the wine and discovering the differences based on your own experience. Notice however, that sensory and inferential valid cognition can actually serve to deepen and refine your understanding by mutually supporting each other.

Yogic DP is a non-conceptual valid cognition that directly perceives the true nature of phenomena. This type of valid cognition is reserved for practitioners in a deep meditative state that is free from conceptual elaboration or emotional turbulence. This awareness has a lucid clarity and is completely calm. It is with this lucid awareness that we can explore the inner landscape of the mind or the play of dependent origination. Because such a mind is free from limiting perceptions or biased reference points, it is considered the highest form of valid cognition.

As a practitioner traveling on the path of meditation, it is important to understand the significance of these two forms of valid cognition. Logic and reasoning have their place in your practice, as Ju Mipham describes "giving rise to the approximate ultimate." But this is not to be confused for the actual ultimate reality, which is solely the domain of yogic direct perception.

Trying to find your self?

Have you ever lost your car keys? You know they are somewhere, but everywhere you look you don't find them. The act of not finding your keys perpetuates the cycle of looking, until eventually, hopefully, you find your keys.

What about when we look for a self?

When you look for the self as an independent, truly existing identity, you don't find it. The self is dependent and conditioned by the world around us. Keep looking.

When you look for the self as an agent or actor, you don't find it. Every intention and choice is predicated on something else, there is no agent who functions autonomously independent of the environment or situations. Keep looking.

When you look for the self as the experiencer or witness behind the continuum of your life, you don't find it. The subjective experiencer must experience some thing, so by its very nature experience is compounded and dependent. Keep looking.

When you look for the self as the awareness that knows oneself, you don't find it. Awareness isn't a thing, there is no location, no essential beingness, nothing to hold onto. Self-knowing awareness doesn't find a self, what it finds is selflessness. There is no ground of awareness, awareness is empty yet luminous cognizance.

Search for the self until you don't find it. When you don't find the self, you discover selflessness.  Stabilize that experience of finding empty but luminous cognizance, which opens the door to the path of meditation.

.   .   .   .   .

Still time to register for the Meditation Workshop this weekend.

Hope to see you on the cushion!

How does wisdom lead to love?

The fundamental truth that the Buddha discovered upon his enlightenment was the truth of dependent origination. Everything is born of causes and conditions, and being dependently arisen they are empty of their own inherent existence.

The Buddha's insight into emptiness, or non-self, is critical to properly understanding dependent origination. We all acknowledge the causal nature of reality, causes produce effects. Out of our own confusion about the way things exist, we believe things we experience to be truly established and to exist from their own side. Conceiving of a truly existing self and truly existing phenomena, we get caught up in a web of rigid beliefs and perceptions.

Perceiving the world as existing in a very fixed way, we react very strongly to our experience. Our emotional responses to the world become very strong and often take control of our thoughts and actions. Instead of responding to our situation with intention and mindfulness, we act out unconscious behaviors based on past conditioning.

The Buddha explained this cycle of reactivity as the cause of suffering. The fundamental cause is ignorance, or believing in a fixed identity. To eliminate that ignorance he taught dependent origination and the teachings on emptiness.

A common question, and a good question, is how does this insight into dependent origination lead to the practice of love and compassion?

When the Buddha taught the four noble truths, his instruction for the truth of suffering was that suffering was to be understood. When we understand dependent origination and emptiness, we understand our nature and the nature of reality. When this understanding is no longer conditioned by emotional reactivity, we develop acceptance and tolerance for the way things are.

Understanding the truth of the human condition leads to acceptance and openness. Acceptance and openness lead to kindness and love for others. When our minds are no longer conditioned by strong negative emotions, we find that even in difficult situations we can extend kindness and respect to others.

This potential is always available to us. Wisdom into our true nature greatly benefits us and frees our minds, but it also benefits others and the communities in which we work and live.

Wisdom reveals our shared humanity and practicing this opens our hearts and minds to living with more understanding and acceptance. These are values that our communities need. The world is a better place when we act with kindness.

May I be a guard for those who need protection,
A guide for those on the path,
A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood.
May I be a lamp in the darkness,
A resting place for the weary,
A healing medicine for all who are sick
A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles.
And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
May I bring sustenance and awakening,
Enduring like the earth and sky
Until all beings are freed from sorrow
And all are awakened.

 - Shantideva, from the Way of the Bodhisattva

Changing the human predicament.

Fully understand dukkha. 

The human condition is inherently complex. The very nature of our life is one of constant change and dissatisfaction. We are all subject to aging, sickness and death, to loss of loved ones and to parting with what we desire. Stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, among others, all ornament this life in various ways and at various times.

Understanding the human predicament is the first step on the path. The Buddha encourages us to look at the truth of dukkha. It is a truth, not a deception or a false proclamation. Look at the truth of your own human predicament.

The original aim of the Buddha was to deeply explore this human predicament, and then to move towards an alteration of our very being. We cannot escape the human condition, but we can dramatically alter the way in which we live in the world.

The Buddha taught that by letting go of the arising of attachment, aversion and ignorance, we could actualize the state of cessation. Actualizing that state cultivates qualities like selflessness, equanimity, loving presence, and impartial compassion. Living with these traits is fundamentally different than our everyday experience of worrying, self-focus and impulsiveness. Who we are and our posture in the world shapes all of our interactions and relationships. Our actions are quite different when they are informed by compassion and equanimity, than when we are being ruled by selfish intentions and impulsiveness.

This is the challenge. We cannot escape the human condition, but by looking closely at the human predicament we can change ourselves and the world around us. We can choose to let go of reactivity, and become more familiar with our genuine nature of being.

Letter to a young practitioner.

Dear friend,

It is a great joy and pleasure to see you so eagerly engage in the practice and the curiosity with which you inquire about the path. I implore you to never temper this curiosity and to always ask questions of your teachers and other Dharma practitioners whom you hold in high regard.

I have little advice to offer save this- search inside yourself. Everyone around you is looking outwards, building up their image and their status. Our culture revolves around gain and loss. Our culture orients us towards what is easy, and it is clear to me that the path ahead of you is difficult, but that is all the more reason for you to travel it. You must learn to set aside everyday concerns and look within. Dig deep into your own thoughts, feelings and perceptions. Yearn to understand the human condition. Everything in you is played out in the world around you. What you struggle with is what we all struggle with.

There is something that burns in you. Something you must know. Something you must resolve and figure out. Use that, don't deny its necessity. Your urgency will carry you far on the path, use it to fuel your study and practice. Don't waste it on meaningless activity or distracted impulses. Accept the fact that you are called to the practice, with all of the responsibility and heaviness that it requires.

If you think that you do not have what you need, that your situation is too rough or that it is not the right time; question yourself, not your life. The practitioner uses all situations as the practice, all obstacles as the path. From where you stand, there is no map. You can only take one step forward and look for guides along the way. The Buddha himself said that all he can do is open the door, you must walk through.

You must know how much your example inspires us. Your effort and dedication will always give your fellow practitioners and teachers much joy. But also know that you will often feel alone on the path. Padampa Sangye told his student Machig Lapdron, that in the deepest and darkest of places you must find the Buddha within. You must follow that example.

There are a few teachings with which you must make your constant companion. When all seems lost and you feel that you are reaching about in the darkness, they will be like beacons of light on the horizon calling you forth. They are the Dharmachakrapravatana on the four noble truths, Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva, and Garab Dorje's Three Words that Strike the Essential Point. Rely on them always and let them inspire you and be a source of rest and abundance. Let these teachings infuse your mind and shape your practice. Learn from them what seems relevant now, but return again and again as they will never stop revealing themselves in your practice. They will naturally give rise to devotion for the lineage and deepen your contemplation.

Be attentive to that which rises up in you. Learn to be comfortable with yourself. Find peace and joy in solitude. When you can sit for hours and not do anything, you have made friends with yourself in a way that few among us can appreciate. The practice never gets easier, you simply learn to be more comfortable with the truth of suffering. As you learn to more fully understand the human condition, you learn to be less reactive and you will find that you don't have to respond to every little impulse. You will learn to rest in openness, to be more receptive and to embrace the vulnerability of what it means to be human. In that space, where we can see clearly without getting caught by the hook of attachment or aversion, reification or denial, there is an opportunity that we will see the truth of cessation and recognize our true nature. Cessation isn't extinction, it isn't a nothingness. What ceases is our false self, our confused notion of who we are. What is revealed is our true nature, what the Buddha called the tathagatagarbha, the buddha heart. This is a legacy available to you, something you have the opportunity to carry forward into your life.

Be patient with yourself. Fight the urge to expect a quick result. The result is the path, and the journey ahead is long. What you want you cannot give birth to now, you must live it. It must live through you. Each experience, each impression gives it shape and form. The practice creates the form of your life. As you sit with the inexpressible, that which is just beyond the reach of your mind, you will give birth to clarity. Recognize the freedom in that arising. Everything is arising. That is the way the practitioner moves through the world.

When you are lost for meaning and purpose, wondering what is the point, know that there is purpose in carrying something. Carry the practice into every nook and cranny of your life. The practice will give your life meaning and from it you will engender a much broader scope of the world and your place in it. Let it inform your intentions, your actions and your livelihood. Carry this as a special gift to yourself, and should you dare, and of course you must, share your time, energy and heart with others.

Faithfully yours, and with much confidence in you as you set out on this journey.

Gregory Scott Patenaude

Dukkha is more than suffering.

Life is suffering. The truth of suffering.

You've heard these statements of the Buddha about the nature of this life. Over the past one hundred years, much of the Buddha's teachings have made their way into Western thought and culture. Knowing that all of the Buddha's teachings revolve around the four noble truths, we should be sure to come to a correct understanding about what he meant when he laid out his foundational teachings.

In his first sermon, the Buddha taught:

Now this, bhikkhus, is the noble truth of dukkha: birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, illness is dukkha, death is dukkha; union with what is displeasing is dukkha; separation from what is pleasing is dukkha; not to get what one wants is dukkha; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are dukkha.

 It is easy to see how the early translators of the dharma may have chosen suffering or pain as a substitute for the Sanskrit term dukkha. It makes sense, birth is painful, aging is suffering, not getting what you want is painful. Those translations offer insight into what the Buddha was trying to convey.

But words are limited in their meaning.

The Buddha first states that birth, aging, illness and death are all dukkha. Every stage of human life is dukkha. The human condition is subject to pain and suffering, discomfort and unease.

The Buddha then says that uniting with what is displeasing is dukkha. It is unsatisfying, frustrating, miserable.

Next we find that separation from what is pleasing is dukkha. It is grief, sadness, distress.

The Buddha goes on to say that not getting what one wants is dukkha. It is despair, disappointing, upsetting.

Finally, the Buddha states that the five aggregates, or all conditioned phenomena, are dukkha. There is a basic unsatisfactoriness that pervades all forms of the human condition, which is subject to change, impermanent and without any lasting substance. That which changes, is impermanent and without lasting substance is incapable of satisfying us.

Later in his first discourse, the Buddha taught that dukkha was to be fully understood. What are we to understand? Is it enough to understand that life is suffering?

We need to understand the human condition in its entirety. The central tenet of the Buddha's teachings is that we need to understand our own pain and suffering, but also the myriad ways in which we fall into states of loss and sadness, dissatisfaction and despair. We need to fully understand how all things change, how the very nature of this life and this world is that it is impermanent and without any lasting substance.

Dukkha includes understanding suffering, but it is much more than suffering. It is understanding the human condition, and all that it entails.

Finally, we should take a look at what is meant by 'understand'. Is it to be known, acknowledged or perceived?

It is not enough to know the words or even the meaning. To fully understand dukkha we have to be aware of dukkha, acknowledge it, feel it and sit with it. We need to see it and listen to it. We need to fight the urge to wallow in it, push it away or pretend it isn't there. Then we might understand the truth of dukkha.

Reclaiming liberty.

Liberty is a state of being free from oppressive restrictions over your way of life and having the power to pursue your own interests. 

Liberty is one of our society's core values, but do we enjoy it?

Are our own hearts and minds free from oppressive restrictions? What's holding us back? What is getting in the way of our ability to chart our own course and pursue our own happiness?

Our society is struggling with a mental health crisis. Opioid addiction is running rampant throughout the nation. Our communities are polarized, subject to extreme views and divisive actions. We are all busy, overworked and struggling to find meaning and purpose in our lives. Our attention is literally consumed by the vast amount of news and information barraging us each and every day.

Is this liberty? Is this what we stand for and aspire to?

We all aspire to have a healthy mind and an open heart. We want to embody sacred human values, we want to have composure, presence and a joyful mind. We want to feel a sense of balance and ease in our life. We also want to be prepared for action, ready to act when called on.

Being in a state of presence and preparedness, that is what it means to have a firm hold on liberty.

A life of liberty is lived in the pursuit of truth and serving humanity. It is a life centered on practice. Just as a soldier trains to be ready to fight, so too we all must train to be ready to act for the benefit of others. Training is our job. It's not easy. It's not always fun. It is our work, the most important work worth doing. We train to be present and ready, even if the battle never comes.

The challenge that we are faced with is to see the gap. Is there a gap between where we are and what we aspire to be? What are we striving for? What does doing it right look like? Does failure mean we lost or that we have room to improve? Where are you getting stuck- emotionally, physically, spiritually or mentally?

Change is possible. We can leave behind our small self. We can leave behind the self caged in the confines of its own limited self-talk. We can recognize our birth right, our innate potential, and follow that which is authentic and genuine.

The first step on this path of reclaiming our liberty starts with self-awareness. For too long we have been not listening, not seeing, not acknowledging and not understanding. We have been blinded by our indifference to our own oppressive restrictions. Self-awareness starts with seeing who we are, what do we value and how exactly do our actions align with those values?

Self-awareness leads to composure, to self-worth and to confidence. Self-awareness illuminates the nature of who we are and gives us a ground to stand on as we learn to adopt a posture of compassion.

With self-awareness we are able to manage our own thoughts and emotions. We are able to navigate the tension between how we feel and how we act. We can accept ourselves, which means we can start to accept others. We start to grow and change, and things start to make more sense.

This change won't happen overnight. It will ebb and flow, but through practice it will become more stable. A life centered on practice always moves through periods of learning, growth and change.

And this is enough. The challenge is to bring all situations onto the path. To be present and ready, to have the power to choose and the power to act.

This is how we reclaim our liberty.

No shortcuts.

There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going. 

Beverly Sills

The path to living a life of purpose and meaning often seems long and difficult. Many of us can see and feel the truth that is in our hearts, but the reality of our present situation obscures that truth and prevents us from fully enjoying it. We have this perpetual question that hangs out in our heads,  lingering in our life, waiting to for the right answer.

But there is no answer.

Your practice, call it spiritual practice, is to resolve this question in your life.

Can you get comfortable sitting with a question for which there is no answer?

How long are you willing to work on resolving this question in your heart and mind?

How hard will you work?

How much are you willing to sacrifice?

As with many things in life, your effort creates value. The more effort you put into your practice, the more meaning and purpose you will find. Mastery does not come easy, there are no shortcuts to a life of purpose and meaning. There is no hack, no app, no trick. Just effort.

If you want to live a life of purpose and meaning, you're going to have to do the work. Not work for work's sake, but the work of being more human and resolving the question of how to do that in your own life.

Acknowledging our pain.

The first sermon that the Buddha gave upon his awakening was the teaching on the Four Noble Truths- the truth of suffering, its origin, cessation, and the path to eliminate suffering.

The path to awakening starts with acknowledging our pain and dissatisfaction.

Truth seems elusive these days. Everyone has their own version of the truth and there seems to be little accountability for upholding that which is true. What is truth and why is it significant?

Truth is that which is authentic and non-deceptive. To be a seeker of truth means that one pursues that which is authentic and to remember what it is that is important in life.

The truth of suffering wakes us up to what is important. The truth of suffering is a call to attention, a wake up call. By acknowledging the truth of suffering, we can discover a truth that we can live with and recall that which is meaningful. The outer drama of our suffering can awaken us from the sleep of ignorance, discovering our purpose and recalling what it is that is important and meaningful in our life.

Our symptoms, looking back, can reveal what it is that we have to do.

By denying or rejecting the truth of our own suffering, we close ourselves off to insight into our own condition. Rather than fixing our situation, we require and strive for everything else to be fixed. We fall prey to the preoccupations of our small self, trapped in a world of self-indulgence and a repetitive cycle of lies about who we are or who we pretend to be.

The opposite of living your inner truths isn't living falsely, it is living a lie. We deceive ourselves.

To awaken from the path of self-deception, first we must acknowledge the truth of our own suffering.

Questions to my self.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, 

 that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, 

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Such a simple statement, it seems as though we couldn't go astray with those words as our compass. And yet we have. We do. We have since that statement was committed to paper.

When we contemplate these rights, we might start to think about deeper questions like who are we? what do we stand for? what makes our life meaningful?

So much of the rhetoric that we see and hear is the shouting of the false self. It is the cries of the self-righteous, the small disconnected self that occupies a small world, the self that divides and exploits. The mind is a powerful thing, it has the potential to create change. Ignorance has an effect, and it is not pretty.

It is important to examine the self. The Buddha taught the examination of self as the foundation for understanding not only ourselves, but also the world around us.

The Buddha taught that the self was an aggregate. It was a heap of consciousness, a body, perceptions, feelings and mental formations. Each of those aggregates was furthermore composed of smaller aggregates. There is no autonomous self, it is connected, a network of parts and pieces that makes what we perceive as a whole.

The self arises from causes and conditions. It is not a single entity, self-manifest and self-created. We are created from our parents, communities, social and spiritual backgrounds. There is no independent self, we are connected, a network of causes and conditions that enable us to occupy a moment in space and time.

The false self feels isolated, lonely, rejected and powerless. The true self is connected, dependent, bigger than you, malleable, changing, dynamic. The false self builds walls, the true self embraces its diversity.

It is important to examine the self, who are we? Who are the we that hold these truths to be self-evident?

Of course the true self is also no self. Everything is connected as it were. When we realize this simple truth, that we are all connected, then there is a potential that we can respect and fulfill those inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Exaggeration and denial.

Accumulating merit and wisdom free from the 

extremes of exaggeration or denial is the supreme path.

Karmapa Rangjung Dorje

Taking our own life and circumstances as the path is not easy. We face a lot of uncertainty and doubt. There are lots of maps but none of them fit your coordinates.  We have problems and obstacles, friends and enemies. Some of these problems are big, some are small. Sometimes we have genuine insight, other times just fanciful ideas.   

It is easy to fall into exaggeration or denial on the path. Exaggeration and denial prevent progress on the path, they keep us stuck and we don't learn the lesson that we need to learn.  

Exaggeration is self-importance, fixation on how special our experience is, how special we are. Even small acts of kindness become elevated to acts of praise.  

Denial is a refusal to acknowledge your reality. You pretend like it didn't happen, don't participate, refuse to face. Denial binds us. It prevents us from gaining authentic experience. We never gain the wisdom of direct experience if we don't acknowledge how we really feel or act. Instead we promulgate concepts and stories about what could have been or should have been.  

The supreme path free from exaggeration or denial is simple, humble, and straight forward. It is not deceptive, to ourselves or others. It is genuine and authentic, pragmatic and meaningful.

Recognizing the downfalls of exaggeration and denial, the path can really clarify our own confusion and neurosis. We directly encounter our own confusion, and have the opportunity to let it go. 

Liberation becomes possible when we are honest with ourselves.      

 

 

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.
  

Complexity, simplified.

There are three aspects to a simple spiritual practice:

A spiritual friend.
A mind of faith, diligence and wisdom.
Art.

Your spiritual friend doesn't need to be a guru.  They should be someone who inspires you, someone you trust.  They are compassionate and kind, with a gentle heart and an open mind.  They don't need to have a fancy title, but they should be someone you admire and hold in esteem. 

A mind of faith is one that has an admiration for, longing towards, and trust in what is authentic and true.  With this as our compass, we diligently, day after day, month after month, devote ourselves to our practice.  The result of this pursuit what what is authentic and true is wisdom.  Seeing things as they are, we make connections, see implications.  We gain certainty and eliminate doubts. 

Our practice must be shared, so art completes the practice.  Generosity as art, sharing kind words and deeds.  We extend our love and respect to others.  We listen, hear their pain, understand their problems.  Dignity is a gift worth sharing for those who long for it. 

These three aspects form the bedrock for a strong spiritual practice.  They simplify the complexity of the path.  

Feeling stuck.

Disbelief is a refusal or unwillingness to accept something as true. 

Disbelief is categorized as one of the fifty-one negative mental states in the Abhidharmakosa. It is a negative mental state because disbelief supports torpor.  It engenders laziness or lethargy.  It supports feeling stagnant or stuck, not knowing what to do.

Many of us are faced with times of uncertainty.  Part of that uncertainty is an unwillingness to accept our current situation, a refusal to look at what is actually going on.  That unwillingness to accept our reality makes us feel stuck and powerless, but it is not actually the situation that makes us powerless but our orientation to it.

Our mental state- one of unwillingness or refusal to acknowledge what is going on- prevents us from actually acting.  It prevents us from moving forward, from taking a step.  It holds us back because in order to dance we need to have a partner, and I refuse to dance with this one.

So getting unstuck is an act of faith.  Not because we need to believe the reality of our situation, but because we can still seek out what is authentic and true despite the gravity of the current circumstances.  

Our biggest challenge is determining which holds more weight in our lives, faith or disbelief. Without faith we are sure to be stuck in troubled waters indeed.

I still have faith.

Faith. It's a bit of a touchy word in our culture. It has a lot of baggage. We often look down on faith as a sort of weakness or oddity.

But what is faith?

Mipham Rinpoche says that faith is an admiration for, longing towards, and trust in what is authentic and true. It is a support for determination.

What does faith mean to you?

You could have blind faith. You could believe in a blue cow that grants all of your wishes.  You could have great admiration and trust in that cow.  You could really strive to make sure that it was happy so that he would send down his bounty. (him or a her?)  

That would be a true determination of faith based on your perception of what was authentic and true. I think that this is the type of faith that many of us are wary of, simply because it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't hold up to the facts, to reality. It bears no semblance to our experience and everything else that we hold to be true.  

So if you are one that acts out of reason and logic, does faith play no role in your life?  Can you have faith and still rely on science and philosophy? 

Yes.  An emphatic yes. 

We can have great admiration for what is true and authentic based on reason and logic.  In fact, reason and logic can reaffirm our faith, deepen it. 

We can generate great longing for searching out and discovering what is authentic and true based on reason and logic. We can be scientists and skeptics, philosophers and debaters and still have faith.  The act of searching and analyzing and dissecting can be facets of our faith.

And we can trust in the reason and logic that we have used to come to our conclusions, and to look deeper still. 

The search for what is authentic and true demands faith.  It requires it, because faith supports determination and we need to be determined in our quest for what is authentic and true in order to reach our destination.

I am a man of faith.  Are you?

The world is deceitful.

Not the world actually, just our perception of it.

We think things are going to work out.
We believe things are going to go our way.
We hope that our lot will continue to grow.
We trust that things will get better. 

All the while we neglect the truth of suffering.  Dissatisfaction runs deep, it is all-pervasive.  We know that things are impermanent.  We know that all conditioned things are going to let us down.  We know that we never get anywhere when we are caught up in praise or blame, gain or loss. 

We know things things to be true, yet we continue to hope things are somehow going to work out in the end. 

Contemplate the truth of suffering.  Really, honestly think about it.  The only way out is to eliminate our own ignorance, bias and confusion.  No one is going to do this for us.  It is we who deceive ourselves.

That doesn't mean give up.  Not at all.  It means that we shouldn't be surprised when we encounter the truth of suffering.  It means that this fight is not over, it will never be over.  

It will never be over.  And we vow to continue to take rebirth here until all beings are liberated from the cycle of suffering. 

That is the promise.  That is what we are doing here. 

I am not surprised.  Now it is time to get back to work. 

The truth of suffering.

We see suffering as many things in our life. 

We see it as heartbreak and loss.  We experience it as pain and regret.  We feel it as we age, our bodies failing us in ways we never thought they would.

Suffering takes many forms in our life, appearing as many different faces and in all places.  It goes by many names, but there is one that we seldom acknowledge.

Truth.

There is a truth to our suffering, something that we can learn from it if we are willing.  To learn the truth of suffering we must be honest with ourselves and our situation. 

Our ego is wrapped up in our own suffering and the stories that we tell about ourselves.  We perpetuate our suffering because it is part of our identity, its part of who we are.  Acknowledging our suffering requires that we set aside the story of ego, the story of how important we are or how great our life is.  It requires that we look truly at all the pain and ugliness, that we see our true face free from the mask of deceit. 

Which is painful. 

The truth of our suffering is all around us, it pervades our life.  We fail to acknowledge its truth because it makes us feel weak and vulnerable.  The ego hates to feel weak and vulnerable.  In response to this our ego throws up walls and barriers, acts out in passion and aggression to try to gain control of the world around it.  We build ourselves up in an attempt to overthrow our own suffering, all the while sowing seeds for a never ending harvest.

The first step that we take on the path is one of truth.  Honesty to ourselves.  We are suffering.  I am suffering.  When we take this step, we are treading the path of the noble ones who have went before us. 

Acknowledging our own suffering, we can start to see the suffering of those all around us.  We see their suffering reflected in our own life, we see how our story is shared with theirs.  The truth of suffering grants us the gift of gratefulness. 

Suffering that gives rise to gratefulness is a gift, a gift that we can learn to share.   

Wandering.

We don't wander because we are lost.
We wander because we are searching.

For connection.
For meaning, love, something human.

We search for something we don't have, or don't recognize.  So we roam about, different groups, settings, countries.  We wander in search of connection.

The root of wandering lies in loneliness.  The root of loneliness, love. 

Hold on a moment.

You can also wander out of curiosity.

In search of truth, knowledge, certainty.

Uncertainty propels us forward, keeps us searching on the path.

So why do we wander in and out of various mental states throughout the day, is it because of curiosity or love?

 

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...

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.