Checklist: Do You have a 'Precious' Human Life

Although I have won these freedoms, I am poor in Dharma, 

which is their essence.

Although I have entered the Dharma, 

I waste time doing other things.

Bless me and foolish beings like me

That we may attain the very essence 

of the freedoms and advantages. 

~Patrul Rinpoche

This life of ours presents us with great opportunity, but it is how we use that opportunity that determines whether it is meaningful.  The Buddha called a human life 'precious' only when it was endowed with all aspects of the freedoms and advantages.  As long as those freedoms and advantages are incomplete no amount of knoweldge or talent will make it meaningful.

Eight Freedoms

___   Freedom from birth in a hell realm where beings have no opportunity to 

         practice the Dharma because they are constantly tormented by intense suffering.

___   Freedom from birth in the hungry ghost realm where beings have no opportunity

         to practice the Dharma because they experience overwhelming hunger and thirst.  

___   Freedom from birth in the animal realm where beings have no opportunity to 

         practice the Dharma because they suffer slavery and continuous attacks and abuse.

___   Freedom from birth in the god realms where beings have no opportunity to 

         practice the Dharma because they spend their time in blank mental states.

___   Freedom from being born in foreign countries where the teachings of the Buddha are unknown.

___   Freedom from wrong views where there is no opportunity to practice the Dharma 

         because their minds are so influenced by mistaken beliefs.

___   Freedom from birth in a dark kalpa where beings never hear of the Dharma and cannot 

         distinguish good actions from bad.  

___   Free from being born with incomplete faculties that prevents beings from properly 

         learning, comprehending and practicing the teachings.  

Five Individual Advantages

___   The advantage of support.  You were born with a human body.

___   The advantage of place.  You were born in a region where the Dharma can be heard.  

___   The advantage of sense faculties.  You are free from disabilities that serve as a hindrance

         to hearing and practicing the Dharma.  

___   The advantage of intention.  You wish to do positive actions and are free from a conflicting 

         lifestyle immersed in negativity.

___   The advantage of faith.  You have the ability to turn your mind to the Dharma.  

Five Circumstantial Advantages

___   The advantage of a teacher.  A Buddha has appeared in this world.

___   The advantage of the teaching.   The Buddha turned the Wheel of Dharma. 

___   The advantage of time.  The teaching has remained until the present period. 

___   The advantage of your own good fortune.  You can take up the Dharma.

___   The advantage of extraordinary compassion.  You have met a Spiritual Friend you can 

         teach you what the Dharma is really about.  

Eight Intrusive Circumstances that leave no freedom to practice

___   Strong negative emotions.  If anger, desire, jealousy and other negative emotions are 

         too strong they dominate the mind and leave no opportunity for practice.

___   Very ignorant being.  Those who lack the slightest glimmer of intelligence are unable 

         to understand a single word of the teachings or its meaning.  

___   Dominated by negative influences.  Those who take imposters as their spiritual friends 

         suffer from wrong views and practice in a perverted manner.

___   Excessive laziness.  Those who lack even a trace of diligence will never accomplish 

         anything because they are so ensnared in their own indolence and procrastination.

___   A backlog of negative actions.  Those who practice the Dharma but do not develop any 

         positive qualities because of a long history of negative actions and end up losing

         confidence in the teachings without realizing that it is all due to their past actions. 

___   Slaves who have lost their autonomy and have no time to practice.

___   Fear for this present life's dangers and resources.  Those who practice the Dharma but

         without conviction give themselves up to old habits and non-Dharma activities.

___   A hypocritical practitioner who tries to win possessions, services and prestige.  In the

         midst of others they assume the guise of a practitioner but in their own minds they are

         only interested in this life and the eight worldly concerns.  

Eight Incompatible Propensities that leave no freedom to practice

___   Being tightly bound to your wealth, commitments, pleasures, family and so forth 

         such that there is no time to practice.

___   Those who lack any respect or have a depraved character. 

___   Those who have no regard for lower rebirths, the sufferings experienced in samsara and

         has no determination to strive for freedom and thus no reason to practice.  

___   Those who have no confidence in the teacher or the Dharma and thus no entry point 

         to the path of liberation.

___   Those who take pleasure in negative actions and fail to control their thoughts, words and

         deeds.  

___   Those who have no regard for spiritual values and experience no enthusiasm for Dharma.

___   Those who break their vows and commitment to developing bodhicitta.

___   Those who break their commitments with the spiritual friend and sangha destroy any

         prospect of accomplishments. 

Do you have the eight freedoms and ten advantages?  Are you really free from lower rebirths, even in this present life?  Are you free from the sixteen factors that leave no room in your life to practice Dharma?  Use this checklist to remind yourself of what you have gained in this life and if you find that aspects are missing strive diligently until they are complete. 

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!

 

A perfect day.

Each morning I wake up knowing today I have the opportuntity to be generous.
Generous with my time, my energy.  Generous in thought, word and deed.
I will have the opportunity to be receptive, available and present for those around me.
I will have the opportunity to make today meaningful, but I will face a lot of challenges.

I know I will have to rely on discipline today, 
Without a mindful awareness I will quickly succumb to distraction and idleness.
It will take discipline to hold me back from firing off a smart rebuke.
It will take discipline to remain in equipoise when it is much easier to turn my back and walk away.
Discipline will keep me aligned with my intention, but it's not going to be enough by itself.

I know I will need patience today.
Patience to sit with irritation and discomfort.
Patience so that I don't get caught up in purposeless arguments.
Patience so that I can remain open enough to continue, when it is easier to shut down.
Patience will allow me to continue to hold that space and to dance with resistance I am facing.
Patience will be a dear friend, supporting me in my efforts.

Diligence will allow me to carry through in my efforts.
Without it I will certainly succumb to laziness and distraction.
With it I will joyously persevere in my work, adversity and problems only fueling my fire.
Diligence is like a great steed, carrying me to my destination regardless of temporary circumstances.

All of this will rely on a singular focus-
To eliminate my own negativity and cultivate virtue so that I can fully bring benefit to the world around me.
With this single intention, meditation will allow me to work with resistance directly, loosening its shackles and the power of its influence.
Meditation will bring me clarity, stability and an appreciation of the illusory nature of all experience.
Meditation will give me freedom- freedom to move, freedom to act, freedom to decide.

All of this shall be accompanied by wisdom.
Wisdom that knows that this ground I stand on is not my own, that I am not its sole creator.
Wisdom that knows that this opportunity is a dance based on connection, a vast web in which our own neurosis will gladly play itself out if we let it.
I could dance and consume and have flashes of every emotional and mental state throughout my day, that could be my experience, and likely will.
I can see that, experience that, even live that.
But that is not my intention.

My intention is to use this day to bring benefit to myself and others, and so I practice carrying everything else onto the path.

Whatever I experience today will be the perfect opportunity to bring that practice to completion.

Freedom AND Opportunity.

Secure these two first.

Freedom.
Freedom for negative circumstances.
Freedom from negative mental states.
Freedom from ignorance.
Freedom from endless distraction.
Freedom from heavy burdens and debts.
Freedom from conflict.
Freedom.

Opportunity.
Resources.
Access.
Connections.
Knowledge.
Opportunity.

Freedom without resources and you are stuck.  Resources without freedom and they are wasted.  Cultivate both.  When making decisions, keep these two in mind.

A Rediscovery

Our culture values hard work.  If you want something, we go get it.  We push, train, finagle, leap, struggle, persist and pick ourselves up again and again until our aims are accomplished.  That is what we do, that is who we are.  

We do this to gain what we do not have, or to protect what we have so that we do not lose it.  

We work hard to get a new degree, a promotion, a new house or the latest gadget.  We push through the day to day resistance so that we have freedom and resources to do other things.  We persist so that we can give our kids and loved ones a future and opportunity that we ourselves did not have.  We struggle to protect them against states of loss and fear, in all its various forms.  We do it all to protect ourselves from fear and uncertainty, from poverty and loss. 

We want happiness, peace of mind, confidence and clarity.  We want to feel love and share it.  More so, we don't want to feel anxious or discontentment.  We don't want to feel like we are wasting our lives in meaningless work. 

So we work hard. 

We are used to looking outside of ourselves to acquire the things we want and to protect ourselves.  We are used to putting in a lot of effort in order to accomplish our goals, to accomplish what we don't have.  What other option do we have?

The Buddha said:

Ordinary beings are truly buddhas,
but this fact is obscured by adventitious distortions.
Once these are removed, truly there is buddhahood.

The nature of our own mind already has the qualities of peace, clarity, natural warmth and fullness.  
Being like the sky, it is boundless and unstained.  It is pure and completely open and accommodating.
Being like the sun, it has natural clarity and warmth.  Love and kindness effortlessly radiate.
Being like the moon, it dispels all darkness and is wondrous, profound peace and calm.  
Being like the earth, it is stable and firm, the source of confidence and walking with dignity.
Being like the water, it is refreshing, soothing and reinvigorating.
Being like the wind, it is the source of all movement and change, and yet there is nothing to hold onto.
Being like fire, it is luminous and warm, providing comfort and warmth.  
Being like space, it is unchanging and all-pervasive, the source from which everything arises. 

So we only need to work hard to recognize the nature of our own mind and to remove the distortions.  What are those distortions?  Confused thoughts and emotions, negative habits and mental states.  They are doubt, fear, uncertainty.  Most definitely we need to remove the ignorance of our own self-grasping, attachment and aversion.  The good news is that none of those distortions are permanent, they are but clouds that temporarily obscure the sun and the expanse of the clear, spacious sky.  

So continue to work hard but do it skillfully, knowing that which is to be eliminated and that which is to be rediscovered, our intrinsic awakened mind, our own buddhanature.  

Shantideva on How to Live a Good Life

Dear reader: I am trying a new long format post once a month. If you would like to see more of this type of post please let me know. I will still be posting shorter posts but wanted to try something new as well. Thanks for reading!

“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. ”

 

Shantideva (c. 685- 763) was an eighth century Indian master who wrote the Way of the Bodhisattva (Skt. Bodhicaryavatara), the treasured guide to generating the awakened mind for the sake of all beings. Shantideva was generous to all and cared tenderly for the poor, sick and destitute. He was a monk who upheld the monastic vows and contemplated the vast range of the Buddha’s teachings, condensing them into various digests, such as the Digest of All Disciplines (Skt. Shikshasamucchaya).

Though he had boundless qualities and realization, other monks believed that he was frittering away his time in distraction and meaningless activity. They would call him Bhusuku (bhuj means ‘eating’, sup means ‘sleeping’, and kutim gata means ‘walking around’) as an estimation of what they thought he did all the time. Many of the other monks thought that he was wasting his precious human life caught up in worldly activities and trivial pursuits. In an effort to make Shantideva look foolish, they invited a large congregation to listen to him expound the scriptures, during which time Shantideva expounded the Bodhicaryavatara on how to engage in the practice of the bodhisattva. It is said that when Shantideva was teaching the ninth chapter on wisdom that he began rising higher and higher into the sky, so he is often portrayed in thangkas as floating above his meditation seat.

We too find ourselves caught up in trivial pursuits and busy activity. We wander through life in search of purpose and meaning, struggling to reconcile the meaningless activities of our normal day to day with the path of liberation. How do we make this life meaningful? What does it mean to live a good life? These are questions that Shantideva resolves with his complete and unmistaken presentation of the practice of the bodhisattva.

In the first chapter, the Excellence of Bodhicitta, Shantideva writes:

To those who go in bliss, the dharmakaya they possess, and all their heirs,
To all those worthy of respect, I reverently bow.
According to the scriptures, I shall now in brief describe
The practice of the bodhisattva discipline.

Shantideva pays reverence to those who go in bliss, the Sugatas. ‘Sugata’ means one who goes well or beautifully, or one who has gone perfectly without turning back. A Sugata is one who has lived life well, a life of meaning and purpose. What do these Sugatas possess? The dharmakaya. The dharmakaya is the ‘body of truth’, one of the three bodies or kayas of the Buddhas. Dharmakaya is the body of realization that is the true nature of the mind. As Longchenpa writes in his Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind:

The spotless dharmakaya, luminous and clear, is the buddha nature of all beings.

Shantideva describes in great detail in this present work how to actually practice this, how we can bring together all the teachings of the Buddha into an easy to understand and practical guide so that we too may possess this body of truth.

Next, Shantideva pays reverence to all the heirs and those worthy of respect, namely the community of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, but mainly those bodhisattvas who are already practicing this path. Those worthy of respect includes everyone in the Sangha, the Dharma community of teachers, students and those supporting the activity of the Sangha.

Shantideva clearly states his purpose for sharing this work: to describe the practice of the bodhisattvas according to scripture. This isn’t something that he made up. This isn’t a path based on his own conjecture or pretense. This path of the bodhisattvas is in accord with the scriptures of the Buddha. Dharmakirti writes in his Pramanavarttika:

The teachings of Buddha we may trust.
For since he is exempt from fault,
There is in him no cause for lies.
Know therefore that the scriptures are exempt from error.

This practice of the bodhisattvas that Shantideva sets out to describe is threefold in nature. It consists of doing no harm to others, cultivating a wealth of virtue, and working to benefit others. Shantideva sets out to describe this practice in a way that is easy to understand and practical to everyday life.
In the second verse of chapter one, Shantideva continues:

Here I shall say nothing that has not been said before,
And in the art of prosody I have no skill.
I therefore have no thought that this might be of benefit to others;
I wrote it only to habituate my mind.

Shantideva starts by taking a humble attitude, saying that he wrote this work only to meditate upon and habituate his own mind. He isn’t worried about the result of his generosity, his is simply engaging in the practice of doing the work and engaging in the path. We too should emulate this behavior of engaging in study, contemplation and meditation so that we can habituate our own mind to the practice of the bodhisattvas. Through this practice of reflecting and contemplating the practice of the bodhisattvas we give rise to enthusiasm and strengthen our yearning and confident faith in the bodhisattvas activity. Shantideva writes that with a joyful and enthusiastic mind he is more able to meditate upon and cultivate bodhicitta, the awakened mind:

My faith will thus strengthen for a little while,
That I might grow accustomed to this virtuous way.
But others who now chance upon my words
May profit also, equal to myself in fortune.

Khenpo Kunzang Pelden, one of Patrul Rinpoche’s foremost students and spiritual son wrote in his detailed commentary to Shantideva’s work, The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech:

When these four features are present (the homage, promise to complete the work, humility, and enthusiasm), everything one embarks upon will be brought to a worthwhile fulfillment.

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. Humility and reverence rely on values like integrity, determination, self-respect and service. Our minds infused with humility and reverence we naturally form a commitment to the work, recognizing our own innate potential and responsibility. With enthusiasm we seek to take full advantage of this life of freedom and opportunity that is so hard to find. As Shantideva writes:

So hard to find the ease and wealth
Whereby the aims of beings may be gained.
If now I fail to turn it to my profit,
How could such a chance be mind again?

When searching for consummate meaning in our lives, time and time again we go outside ourselves, always asking ourselves what we should do now. Should we travel, go out for dinner, meet new friends, find a better job, volunteer? We either seek out escape in a spa, vacation or lazy Sunday; or we seek out illusion in food, fun, goals and experiences. None of these have satisfied our thirst. If we fail to apply ourselves to the practice now, when should we find this opportunity again? For too long we have wandered after trivial pursuits and kept ourselves nice and busy. We have been living in a situation where we have been confused about what we should do and what we should avoid. When a moment such as this arises, where we recognize our potential and purpose, we should seize that opportunity. Shantideva continues:

Just as on a dark night black with clouds,
The sudden lightening glares and all is clearly shown,
Likewise, rarely, through the Buddha’s power,
Virtuous thoughts rise, brief and transient, in the world.
Virtue thus, is weak; and always
Evil is of great and overwhelming strength.
Except for perfect bodhicitta,
What other virtue is there that can lay it low?

If we find in our hearts and minds that we want to accomplish something good, at that time we should apply ourselves diligently to practice. But what practice? It is bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment that seeks to secure for countless beings immediate benefit and the ultimate supreme joy of perfect awakening. In our practice we strive to free ourselves from our own suffering and discontentment, but also to bring about the welfare and benefit of others. Bodhicitta is the single practice that encompasses all the Buddha’s teachings. We should reflect always on one thing- bodhicitta. Practice one thing- bodhicitta. As Shantideva writes:

Those who wish to crush the many sorrows of existence,
Who wish to quell the pain of living beings,
Who wish to have experience of myriad joys
Should never turn away from bodhicitta.

Those of us who give rise to this jewel-like bodhicitta find new meaning in our life. We assume a new identity, perhaps the truest representation of who we are and what we are here to do in this world. We take our place in the Buddha’s line and are named a “child of the Sugatas.” You become a bodhisattva, a heroic warrior set on the journey to enlightenment. Khenpo Kunpel writes in his commentary, “They are moreover said to be worthy of reverence even by the Buddhas themselves, for the latter have bodhicitta as their master.” As Shantideva writes:

Should bodhicitta come to birth
In those who suffer, chained in prisons of samsara,
In that instant they are called the children of the Blissful One,
Revered by all the world, by gods and humankind.

With bodhicitta as the anchor for our practice, we guard it constantly with mindfulness, vigilant awareness and carefulness without ever letting it go. Everything that we do revolves around this single intention to gain awakening for the benefit of others. Gradually, through effort bodhicitta becomes stable and gives rise to a powerful mind of initiative and resourcefulness to secure the two aims of oneself and others. Through the method aspect of compassion, we fulfill the welfare of others; and through the wisdom aspect we recognize the true nature of our own mind and the true nature of reality. As Maitreya says in his Sutralankara: “It is a mental state endowed with the two aims”.

There are many ways to understand bodhicitta, but in brief we should understand it as bodhicitta in intention and active bodhicitta. As Shantideva writes:

Bodhicitta, the awakened mind,
Is known in brief to have two aspects:
First, aspiring, bodhicitta in intention;Then active bodhicitta, practical engagement.

Bodhicitta in intention is the aspiration to attain enlightenment. It is a wish or intention that focuses on the result. Active bodhicitta is the practical engagement in the activities of a bodhisattva. It is the practice and effort that focuses on the path. Longchenpa says “The commitment to achieve the result of Buddhahood is bodhicitta in intention, while the commitment to the cause is active bodhicitta.” Shantideva writes:

As corresponding to the wish to go
And then to setting out,
The wise should understand respectively
The difference that divides these two.

Just as when we set out on a journey, we must first form an intention, so too in order to engage in the practice of the bodhisattva we must first form the aspiration. Once we set out on the journey, we do not abandon our intention to go there; so in active bodhicitta we also have bodhicitta in intention.
This powerful initiative mind that works for the benefit of beings is the jewel of the mind. Of all thoughts and intentions it is the most sublime and profound. This noble intention of bodhicitta is beyond the conception of even the gods, as Shantideva writes:

If with kindly generosity
One merely has the wish to soothe
The aching heads of other beings,
Such merit knows no bounds.
No need to speak, then, of the wish
To drive way the endless pain
Of each and every living being,
Bringing them unbounded excellence.
Could our father or our mother
Ever have so generous a wish?
Do the very gods, the rishis, even Brahma
Harbor such benevolence as this?
For in the past they never,
Even in their dreams,
Wished something like this even for themselves.
How could they do so for another’s sake?
This aim to work for the benefit of beings,
A benefit that others wish not even for themselves,
This noble, jewel-like state of mind
Arises truly wondrous, never seen before.
The pain-dispelling draft,
This cause of joy for those who wander through the world,
This precious attitude, this jewel of mind-
How shall we calculate its merit?
If the simple thought to be of help to others
Exceeds in worth the worship of the Buddhas,
What need is there to speak of actual deeds
That bring about the weal and benefit of beings?

Whatever happens in our life, whatever our circumstances or past, we must have this intention of bodhicitta. When it has arisen clearly in our minds, we must practice so that it will intensify and gain strength in our lives. It is not enough to simply understand this conceptually, we must take it to heart and practice diligently.

Then no matter what comes up in our life, whether we experience sickness or disease, harmful situations, problems or obstacles; everything becomes fuel for our practice and we learn to carry obstacles as the path. Shantideva writes:

Even in great trouble, Bodhisattvas
Never bring forth wrong; their virtues naturally increase.

The present times are a call to practice. For bodhisattvas, difficulties and challenges are no hindrance to their Dharma practice. Adversity becomes a means to purify confusion, negative emotions and karma. Asanga has said: “Even when the world is full of evil they turn hardship into the enlightened path.”

Your boots will get muddy. Your socks wet. There will be dirt underneath your fingernails and you might suffer some scratches. Working in the fields means getting dirty.  Your work will be the same.
The bodhisattva knows that their time on this earth is very short.  They know that the road ahead will be long.  Knowing the truth of suffering they plunge into the fields.  Knowing liberation upon arising, they do not fear getting covered in mud.  At the end of the day, they dedicate their work for the benefit of others.  Tomorrow, they rise again.

That is how you practice on the path. This is how you living a meaningful life. A lifelong commitment to practice is how you live a good life.

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

Four thoughts that turn the mind towards genuine practice.

We are very fortunate to have this life,
to have some freedom and opportunity,
to have some leisure and resources.

This life has great potential.

But, it is also momentary.
The days, weeks and years keep moving faster.
This life is like a fragile vessel,
one in which we can cross a great sea,
but must be left behind upon reaching the far shore.

Which is why our actions are important.
Our thoughts and actions can lead us astray, change our course.
Our actions create our world and influence innumerable worlds.
Our situation is not a prison in which we are stuck,
it is an opportunity to liberate ourselves,
an opportunity for awakening. 

But time and time again we get hooked.
We get wrapped up in our problems.
Our minds become ensnared in fear and uncertainty,
giving rise to waves of negative thoughts and emotions.
We are plagued by discontentment and easily slip back into dissatisfaction.

We have the opportunity to care, to be generous and kind.
We have the potential to do something meaningful,
but we need to actually do the work.
We need to actually practice.

And we need to do it today.

A world of difference.

The person seeking there own freedom and happiness is constantly at odds with the world around them.  Karma and dependent origination serve as a burden, a constant reminder of entrapment in this unceasing wheel of life.  Fear exists at every corner, constant threats are always presenting themselves and our own well being is always in a precarious position.

For the person seeking the freedom and happiness of others, everything in the world around them is an opportunity.  Karma and dependent origination reveal a deep connection with the world and all beings.  This connection allows for responsiveness- impact and growth.  There is a natural freedom and ease, because this thing that is happening, this struggle, this problem, this seeming end- it's not permanent nor lasting. 

Yes, karma and dependent origination reveal a wheel that just keeps going. 

But so do we. 

Refuge as a doorway.

Life is full of thresholds that forever change who we are and how we live our life. A doorway is one of the most common symbols of a threshold, for we move from a place in which we are familiar into a place that is unknown to us and beyond our sight. One side of the door is the past and where we have come from, on the other side is the future and what is yet to come. On one side we leave behind the familiar, to discover something else as the mystery unfolds.

Each of us is called to be more deeply present in the world, to participate and contribute to the world around us in some way. That call may come from a random encounter, a problem we are facing, an accident or even a dream. We most notice that call when we are hesitating to step out beyond our comfort zone, second guessing ourselves, or holding back from fear or uncertainty.

That call creates a threshold. It presents a small gap in which we are given an opportunity to be more open, responsive and available. That chance encounter isn't a chance at all, because it is how you are to use your life as the journey of self-discovery.

If we recognize that call, but choose to hold back or give in, then we fall back into our habitual ways and over invest in things outside ourselves, beyond our control.

Answering that call means crossing the threshold and finding ourselves on a sacred journey or pilgrimage to rediscover our own buddha heart. The challenges of the path continually present themselves and we slowly learn to set aside our own fixation and confusion so that we can awaken to our genuine way of being.

This threshold that we are talking about, between presence or giving in to the resistance, is traditionally presented as refuge. Before the doorway of refuge we reified who we are and believed in powers outside of ourselves for our freedom and liberation. Beyond the doorway is a world in which we recognize our innate potential and rely on our own experience and wisdom as the path. On that journey of self-discovery and revelation of our own buddha heart, we will find that we need to rely on teachers who have traveled this path, teachings that we can rely on, and supportive companions who understand the journey that we are on.

Refuge isn't a one-time event. Again and again we are called to cross that threshold, to leave behind our narrow conception of self and strive for awakening. Again and again, we rely on the Dharma to guide us on that journey.

Refuge is the doorway to awakening and marks a significant shift on your journey of self-discovery.

This very lifetime.

The practice traditions of Mahamudra and Dzogchen make a radical claim that we can achieve liberation in this very life. This life, as it is right now, is the ground of your awakening.

Not the life you are waiting to live. Not the life you will have after you go back to school or get a better job. Not the life you'll have once you have your finances figured out, fix your problems, find the right partner or make that move to a new city. Not the life where you have more time, the kids are out of the house, or you can take that extended leave.

This life. The life you have right now, as it is. This is the ground of your awakening.

Can you accept that?

Whatever reason you have for putting off your liberation and freedom for another life or another time, I ask you, I beg you, to call bullshit.

What are you holding onto? What story are you telling yourself? Whatever it is, it's all made up. It seems to be true, but there is a lot more space and opportunity there than you recognize.

Recognize the fear, uncertainty, hope, longing, and storytelling for what it is - bullshit. Recognize when you fall into those cycles and treat them as a call to presence. Right here, right now.

You will never discover freedom and liberation in the future. The ground of awakening is the ever-present unfolding reality, just as it is. 

The Resistance

Our aims clearly set before us, if we fail to act now when shall this opportunity present itself again?

Caught up in my own idle behavior,
hiding in mundane activities and endless distraction,
negative thoughts, emotions and doubt are quick to strike.
My own self-cherishing and confusion prevents me
from doing work that actually benefits myself and others.

My constant fear of loss and the eight worldly concerns perpetually ensnare my mind.  I am like a bird trapped in a building, the door is wide open but I keep wanting to fly higher to get out. 

This then is my primary adversary, the source of all my troubles, suffering and discontent.

These are the ailments that keep me up at night, tormenting my mind with endless anxiety.

All my efforts will be directed at vanquishing this foe.  There are as many methods for accomplishing this as there are beings, but none are as quick and effective as resting in openness free from fixation.

This then shall be my supreme vehicle, my way of abiding.

When I am no longer bound by these veils that entrap my mind, may I come to find a natural freedom and ease and like a bird, soar effortlessly through the sky. 

Do What You Want.

That seems to be the slogan of our day.  It also represents the hallmark of having obtained a life of freedom AND opportunity. 

In the process of doing what we want, we should also have a practice that is worth committing to.  A practice that we show up for and are accountable to, day in and day out, whether we have the time or not.

Our lives are all filled with busyness and distraction, but it is our commitment to our practice that brings us our intended result. 

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.

 

Lifetime after lifetime.

A new job, a new relationship, moving, going back to school.  Change something. 

Discovering our own natural freedom and benefiting others is always just around the next corner.  Fulfillment and peace of mind is always just a couple of changes away. 

Yet we turn a corner and soon are looking for the next one.

We search, longing for a new opportunity, a fresh start, a new birth.

Lifetime after lifetime, we cycle.  Even in this lifetime. 

When do we no longer look to change our circumstances? 

This might be your chance.

Suffering.  Pain.  Death.  Fear.  Anxiety.  Problems.

Don't push them away.  Don't run.

Look deeply at what is presenting itself.  Sit with the irritation and pain.  Relax into it.  Don't hold onto it, but don't push it away.  Just look directly at it. 

This might be your chance.  This might be the moment you gain insight into the nature of the problem.  This might be your opportunity to change.  This might be the moment you experience freedom from whatever is manifesting. 

Don't waver. 

This might be your chance.