words

Feel with it

2011-10-22T01:40:00.000-07:00

Every single Buddhist practice has as it's purpose to end grasping. Grasping, clinging or attachment, it's all the same in terms of the result. Suffering.

When we try to sit and simply watch our minds, all manner of discursive thinking arises in the forms of mental imagery, emotions, feels. From a Sutric perspective, these arise on the basis of a consciousness, such as visual consciousness, seeing something, generating attraction or aversion and the show is on the road again.

For those of us who are beginners, it can seem discouraging to see all this busy racing mental activity. We shouldn't be discouraged as it's actually a sign of progress. It might just be the progress of for the first time in our lives we are sitting and not trying to "do" anything. So rather than generating all this activity, we are simply being exposed to it for the first time ever. Over time as we become more stable and experienced in our practice, discursive thinking and so on naturally lessens and our minds become more flexible, relaxed and at ease both on, and more crucially, off the meditation cushion.

"At first a yogi feels his mind
Is tumbling like a waterfall;
In mid-course, like the Ganges
It flows on slow and gentle;
In the end, it is a great
Vast ocean, where the Lights
Of Son and Mother merge in one." The Song of Mahamudra Tilopa

Similarly, when people practice meditation involving visualisation of deities of varying complexity, not having clarity of the object of meditation, not getting the full picture as well as the same discursive thoughts as above, can be discouraging. Two pieces of advice I found very helpful in dealing with this are as follows:

Bokar Rinpoche describes deity meditation as a child sitting in a pile of toys. The child pics up one or two toys at a time and doesn't play with them all at the same time.

Jamgon Kongtrul talks about murkiness of visualisation in Creation and completion. He reminds us that whether clear or murky, the basis of the meditation is the same in both cases.

So if we have the confidence, something which comes with time and experience, we relax more, and the deity, mandala or whatever becomes clearer with more of the details on show. Conversely, if we become uptight and neurotic about "doing it wrong" or not getting the whole picture, we will just make things harder for ourselves.

We have to be honest in relation to our capacity whilst not becoming despondent or demotivated. Consistent, yet relaxed, effort might be one way of doing this.

Suicide of a friend, Tibet in flames, and why I didn't hate Anders Breivik.

2011-10-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

So many people have been kind to me in this life.

My parents gave me life, love and every material support they could, even if this meant having to do without themselves. My mother always encouraged me to be forgiving to people, and my father always was an example of integrity whilst having his own demons to deal with. According to my main Lama, they were the perfect parents. Despite this, through the force of my own karmic tendencies, I failed to really appreciate what the have done for me, and apply what they taught me.

Then later many wonderful school teachers helped me despite being in a system which was, and still is far from ideal. This happened on a more profound level at university where my worldview was shaken and I encountered the sublime Dharma.

After taking refuge, the threshold of all three vehicles, much happened very quickly. In the twelve years since I have received teachings and empowerments from Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, who is Guru Rinpoche in person, Gyalwa Karmapa, Choje Akong Rinpoche, Kyabgon Situ Rinpoche, wandering Yogi Mingyur Rinpoche, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Drupon Rinpoche (Khenpo Lhabu), Choje Lama Phuntsok, The Dalai Lama, Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche, Choje Dulmo Rinpoche, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Lama Yonten, Sakya Trinzin Rinpoche, Chokling Rinpoche, Choeki Nyima Rinpoche and the peerless monk yogi Lama Karma Sangye, who is like a modern day Gampopa.

In various ways, and to different yet equally important extents, they have shown me how to practice the path to Buddhahood, and happiness. The kindest of them, who I'm closest to have called me on my own bullshit in skillful ways.

Due to karmic habitual tendencies, my own practice is an intellectual game severely mixed with mundane or worldly concerns. This is very sad, however I hope and aspire that the connections made or seeds sown will ripen in the future and I will then be able to benefit others, as this is the purpose of practicing the BuddhaDharma.

Recently a friend killed himself, due to depression. Many years ago I had similar thoughts, but the instructions of a certain Lama helped me not only overcome the wish to die, but transform these feelings into rocket fuel for practice. Ironically, around the same time, my now dead friend gave me something of value. He simply listened and laughed with me, a simple, but important act of compassion and kindness.

Generally samsaric happiness is like honey on a razor blade in that it's very short lived and contains the seeds of immense future suffering, thus laughter and the generosity of listening were at the time of great benefit to me.

Recently many young monks have burned themselves to death. Like my friend, the are doing so because they feel they have no other option. My friend felt he had no other option for dealing with his own pain, the monks feel they have no other way of being heard. Both cases are a terrible loss of lives that have so much potential.

This summer Anders Breivik, someone I shared a school with, staged the biggest massacre in Norway since WW2. Three people from a small community I lived in died and someone I once worked with lost his son.

Norway being a place of high living standards, low crime and somewhere people feel safe, had a range of reactions to this. I'm not judging anyone for how the reacted, but am simply offering my own experience of the event.

Brievik acted under the influence of negative emotions of hatred and ignorance, possibly also others such as jealousy and greed. From my own experience I know that having these emotions is a best unpleasant and at worst a taste of hell. On this basis I could feel no anger or hatred towards him, simply concern for his future lives. If I had compassion I would offer an aspiration like Bodhisattva Shantideva did "Whatever suffering is in store for the world, may it ripen in me".

As samsaric beings we experience the full range of the negative emoions on an ongoing daily basis. If we develop mindfulness and awareness we will come face to face with these in a very direct, and at first, frightening way. They are not stronger than before, but we are not used to seing them so clearly so the seem more vivid or real. However if we become used to seeing where the come from and go to. Like waves in a lake, they come from the water of the lake and go back there. In other words, they have the same nature as the lake.

Negative emotions are the same in that they arise and dissolve in our minds. If we look at our minds we see that we can't acually find anything solid or permanent. Mind has no colour, shape, smell or texture. Ones emotions, good or bad, and actions do not define a person. We have to distinguish between actor and action.

Whatever arises in our mind, good or bad, if we learn to let it come and go, we develop a basic stability that means we are better able to deal with whatever comes up. Forgiveness is also easier and to some extent spontaneous, and eventually all experience is spontaneously liberated on the spot and all grasping and clinging is abandoned.

The above is the ramblings of an idiot, who despite having been given the Dharma which liberates in one lifetime on a plate, insist on circling in samsara. As such don't take too much from it. If it helps you great, if it offends, I apologise.

I went outside the valley.

2011-09-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Whichever way you try to turn and play with words and ideas, the Buddha taught that the most important thing is to tame our own minds before we can really be of benefit to others. Nowadays, and for hundreds of years, there have been people who have pretended to have fully integrated worldly life with their practice. Sure in some cases this is possible, but the genuine cases of this are probably a percentage of a percentage of a percentage.

With this in mind, all the Lamas who have impressed and benefited me most have without exception been those who have spent, and continue to spend, a lot of time in retreat.

At this point I should clarify what I mean by 'benefiting' me, and what blessing really means. It means those who have given me Dharma practice advice and instructions that have helped me, not someone doing some exotic ritual or said things which have given me fuzzy warm, but ultimately ego-driven, happy feelings.

I've stayed in retreat a little bit recently. Following the example of Mingyur Rinpoche, and due to practical considerations, I didn't stay in one place, but went to three different holy sites. There is no point in talking about what happened as I am not really a practitioner and as such have no helpful experience or insights to share.

The main thing this retreat did was to reaffirm what previous retreats and my general experience over the last few years has led me to feel. Basically all worldly activity is at best a waste of time, and in general a guaranteed way of generating future unbearable suffering.

Dhagpo Lha-Je, Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima and Jamgon Kongtrul both pointed out with unmistakable clarity that Dharma practiced wrongly, in retreat or otherwise, is either a waste of time or further cause of samsara with all that entails.

For whatever reasons a great number of Karma Kagyu and Nyingma Lamas, as well as various lay people have been extremely supportive of my studies and practice. My main teacher has previously given me food shelter and teachings and free retreat accommodation. A Nyingma Lama of considerable standing has on two occasions hinted at sponsoring me to stay in indefinite, or life, retreat. This is pretty much the dream as far as I am concerned.

So why am I not doing this? I could say something about cultural differences, concerns about my ageing parents or any number of other varying valid excuses and reasons, but ultimately it comes down to my own motivation and mind.

Every month, week, hour and minute I've spent in retreat has been polluted by some level of involvement with the eight worldly concerns. And on the rare occasions when they have been somehow subdued, the issue of ignoring impermanence has been an issue.

At the end of August when I was heading up to a Guru Rinpoche spot to start this so-called retreat, I found myself thinking about what I wanted to do after retreat. This is nothing short of insanity and the thought patterns of a thief of Dharma. Then through the blessing of my Lama the thought arose that I would die in retreat. After this, whenever thoughts of post-retreat activity arose, I would simply recall this idea of dying in retreat so there would be nothing to plan for. I was also encouraged by remembering the King of Yogis, Jetsun Milarepa, having talked about dying in retreat as being the greatest blessing.

The first morning I was awoken by big black rats all over the shack I was staying in. The one jumping on my chest was the main alarm clock. I wanted to leave, but remembering what my Lama had said years ago when I was in closed retreat about using difficulties and whatever arises as the path, I stayed with my rodent friends for a week. Being someone who pretends to have taken Chod and Lo-jong as my main practices this sort of made sense. Also in this holy spot I met an old yogi Lama who has spent around 50 years in retreat, this is what is meant by "making life meaningful" as it says in the Ngondro text of the 8th Karmapa. This kind old yogi Lama also offered me a lot of encouragement saying my practice was going well and in the right direction. Despite his and others similar words I can't help but feel that my future births will be in some lower realm.

The next two spots were less secluded so there was more external noise and an earthquake. The latter we were warned about in advance by one of the crowning ornaments of the Karma Khamtsang, so nobody was hurt. It's the second time I've had an earthquake experience in relation to retreat so I found it a helpful reminder of impermanence and uncertainty as well as a nice opportunity to see how my own reaction to these things are. Due to the kindness of one of my Lamas I was unmoved by the event and carried on pretending to practice. The only personal negativity that came from this event for me was certain people who have very distorted views of me requesting prayers and so forth. This is another sign that we are really living at the end of the Buddhas Doctrine where anyone who pretends to practice is taken seriously.

Despite the clusterfuck of my own neurotic mind and excessive grasping, the last month or so have proved beyond doubt that if I can I should do as much retreat as possible. But really there is no difference between retreat and going for a walk in the park. If you make it practice then there is benefit.

Practicing Dharma doesn't mean wearing special clothes or taking part in cultist rituals, talking about how much you love some old Tibetan guy with a weird hat. Practicing Dharma means checking your own thoughts and emotions, and applying the Buddhas teachings in accordance with your own experience. Even a complete beginner with zero renunciation like myself has seen benefits from doing this. Things will come up and make you disproportionately elated, angry, horny, greedy or whatever, but if you have the awareness to notice this as it's arising, then you can apply the relevant antidotes or trans formative techniques.

I prostrate to Mother Machig, Perfection of Wisdom.
In this dark age, hold all beings, particularly those of strong negativity, in your compassion.
Bless us that we may cut all clinging at the very root.

2011-09-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest yogi lamas I have ever met, the one I would come closest to describing as my root Guru, once said that when we really practice we start to feel a sense of gratitude all the time. At the time I said this I sort of knew what he meant and he was saying it in response to something I'd said.

Last week when I was in retreat, I had this sense of gratitude in an almost overwhelming way. I sat down to eat my morning porridge cooked on a camping stove. As I was chanting the short offering verse and taking the first spoonful, I was reminded of how many people have been kind and generous for me to be in this position. As the first spoonful went down, I felt an immense sense of being loved, but in a non-referential way. May all beings suffering from low self-esteem or feeling unloved have this same sensation and may it grow stable until they are strong enough to care for others more effectively.

Well established communities.

2011-07-20T02:03:00.000-07:00

In order for the Dharma to really become established, and accessible to the people who want it, in the West, a few things are hugely important. Whilst the personal and 'social' factors that need to be in place are closely linked, the personal factors, such as faith and diligence, have been covered much better than I am able to elsewhere, so I will instead just look at the social or group factors.

Whilst the Dharma is ultimately something we practice on our own, on the path it is hugely helpful to have support of other practitioners. Some interpretations of the Sangha Jewel cover this idea. There are three main types of community which I feel are essential for the Dharma to become entrenched in the West.

Firstly there is the need for a strong monastic ordained Sangha. This is important for the preservation of the lineages and teachings, and despite the protestations of pseudo-Dzogchenpas, the Buddha said it was essential too.

For these monastic communities to exist there needs to be consistent support from the lay community. It is unlikely, and unwise, to think that a few wealthy sponsors will keep the monastics fed and clothed. However there is so little support for Western monastics at the moment that this is an area where a cultural shift is definitely needed. As individuals I think the best thing we can do is get in the habit of offering Dhana to monastics, whilst encouraging others to do the same, whilst crucially doing it in a way which will be sustainable. Setting up long terms funds might be an idea.

Secondly there also needs to be sustainable support for those wishing to do long retreats, the traditional 3 years and longer. This should also be done for monastics and lay practitioners.

Thirdly Dharma centres need support in a non-sectarian and unbiased way. Whilst sectarianism is the poison which spoils practice, it's also very sadly commonplace. There are historic precedents for this in Asia, but in the West I think it's generally something that comes about mostly as a result of people being new to Dharma and thus not knowing what they are doing. It's really important that teachers stamp down hard on sectarianism early on so it doesn't have a chance to take root.

Fourthly there also needs to be support for translation projects and the training of translators. I'm in the early stages of the latter and have been fortunate to have support for the time being at least. However most people are not so lucky and there is a chance that some potentially fantastic translators are not developing their potential due to lack of support and thus opportunities. Translators on one level should be invisible, that is they should simply be a tool by which a teaching is transmitted, however it seems that in the West they are so invisible that people simply expect them to manifest at Dharma centres when needed. This isn't sustainable long term.

The above are all things which are doable on a social level, however if we all start developing the habits of supporting the above individually, and raising the topics in conversations with our Dharma brothers and sisters, then hopefully good ideas will develop into good habits and then spread.

Mixing poison with nectar.

2011-07-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

According to the peerless Dhagpo Lha-Je, Dharma practice practiced wrongly can cause us to be re-born in the lower realms. Practiced wrongly means Dharma mixed with the eight worldly, or mundane, concerns.

Generally speaking, Dharma is very very new in the West. As such, support for monastics, centres and training of translators is pretty limited. I am probably in a percent of a percent that actually has some support. As such, it's essential I really use this opportunity purely, without being dragged down by peripheral conditions and surroundings.

If we engage in Dharma practice with impure motivation, expecting praise or similar, we are not really engaging correctly. Unless of course we managed to transform the poisonous intentions into something positive.

2011-07-03T00:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I translated a Dharma teaching in public for the first time. I went very well and it seems everyone benefitted in some way.

Karmapa

2011-06-26T01:27:00.000-07:00

Protector of sentient beings, Lord Dusum Khyenpa, Gyalwa Karmapa.
Please bless being like me so we can turn our minds away from mundane samsaric bullshit, and instead focus a hundred percent on developing kindness, wisdom and compassion.
May you remain for kalpas, until the samsaric ocean runs dry!

Under the influence

2011-06-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

Whether we like it or not, our environment and surroundings have an impact on how we think, speak and act. Very few of us have the stability of mind not to be influenced to some extent.

This does not mean that we can abdicate responsibility for our actions by means of blaming external conditions.

The Buddha taught various methods for subduing our minds and one way of helping to do this is to, if possible utilise our environment in the most conducive way to Dharma practice.

Environment doesn't simply mean the physical surroundings, but also who we associate with. If we are primarily surrounded by people who are engaging in negative actions, there is a distinct possibility we will also engage in those actions. Conversely if we are surrounded by kind people engaged in positive actions, then evcentually we will also see our own minds naturally turning to virtue,

Happy Saga Dawa

2011-06-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

I wish you a happy Saga Dawa, filled with joy and the accomplishment of virtue, should you wish to dedicate this virtue to the Buddhahood of all sentiend beings without bias, then this would be excellent.

Wishing people happiness and taking part in whatever virtuous acts on Saga Dawa is a very good and excellent thing. If we wish other happiness, ultimate and relative, and engage in virtuous activities everyday, not just on special days, then this is even better.

Precious Bodhicitta Mind, may it fill the sky without limit.
Precious Bodhcitta Mind, may it bring immesurable joy to sentient beings.
Precious Bodhicitta Mind, may it be realised right now, on this very seat.

2011-06-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

Years ago someone told me in conversation that we need to stay withing our own moral universes in order to be happy.

I sort of agree, but would say that once our physical and verbal actions are in accord with our mind, we are on course for some level of contentment.

Lunchtime

2011-05-30T00:11:00.000-07:00

After eating lunch I was sitting just contently relaxing. Then I see a fly in the bowl going after the left-overs. Flies have awful lives, they have to eat shit to live their short lives whilst constantly being scorned and chased away by people and cows alike. Worse, they have no understanding that they are already endowed with all the qualities of unlimted love, compassion and equanimity.

The fly carried on eating mired in the leftovers, whilst I carried on mired in the confusion of samsaric mind.

I love you Kathmandu, I really do.

2011-05-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

If one has grown up in the relative convenience and comfort of any Western city, living here could potentially be difficult. Over the past year I have met several Westerners who have been driven to their wits end by "things not being like at home". I have also had some of those moments, although possibly less so due to having spent a fair bit of my life living a semi nomadic existence, much of it in Asia.

There are many sites that people will cite as the crowning jewel in Kathmandu, Swayambhu, Patan, the Boudhanath Stupa or the Himalayas towering behind Shivapuri on a clear day. These are all amazing places, and some of them have such spiritual value for me personally that I cannot put it into words.

Despite all this, what I actually love about Kathmandu is the people. Yes the same people who daily try to rip me off whenever I buy something or try to organise something.

Life here, and in the Himalayas in general, is fucking hard. In a different way it is also hard if you are a banker in London. Whatever we do, ultimately samsara has the nature of being self-prepetuating in the sense that we have to generate negative karma simply to survive. In some cases this means robbing people on the street, in some cases it means working for a corporation which is polluting the planet whilst using mercenaries to clear the pesky little brown people away from where you are mining.

So why do we do all this? We do this because we are habitually conditioned to follow our negative emotions.

Whether it's a policeman pushing you back at a protest, a fake sadhu wanting money, a banker refusing you a loan in a particularly annoying way, there is no objective reason to get angry with them. When someone acts like an asshole they are not choosing to be like this. Applying this to our own lives, we see how we are anything but happy when we are angry, jealous or greedy etc. Then seeing how we are unhappy at those times, we can instead take an attitude of empathetic patience thinking "I know why you are being such a prick" instead of looking for the most effective way to get one over on the person in question.

Some people are just nice

2011-05-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

So not only do I have financial support to continue studying.

Now I have free classes, however my teachers in those classes are not just random people, both are Loppons, one of them has also done 4 year retreat.

Currently doing "37 Practices of a Bodhisattva" and next week either "Mind-training" or a Ngondro commentary.

I've never done anything for anyone else, yet I get everything handed to me on a plate with a kind smile. Hopefully I will be able to use all this for some good one day.

One Buddhist response to Osama being killed

2011-05-03T04:03:00.000-07:00

If one accepts the doctrine of cause and effect, or karma, then whenever someone does something we label negative can be understood to have come about through a number of factors, and we should also understand that the action will bring future suffering on the actor. Generally the consequences of actions are said to be "bigger" than the act itself, although factors like intensity of intent, and so forth, make a big difference.

If we see someone engaging in something truly horrific and we understand that they are sowing the seeds of their own future torment, then compassion will be naturally present, unless we are psychopaths.

In a situation where someone has harmed us, or those we love, then seeing the perpetrator somehow suffering can bring about a very very limited short term sense of "justice" or similar nonsense. This is natural for deluded beings with attachment and aversion.

There does however seem to be a bit of a gap between a spritiually immature sense of justice and rejoicing in someone elses suffering. Karma is constantly generated and by rejoicing in the suffering of others we are simply setting ourselves up for future suffering.

Rejoicing in the suffering of others, whilst calling it justice, is effectively the same as getting blind drunk to forget your job/marriage or whatever is falling apart. Short term there might be a slight sense of relief, but long term it's just adding to the overall pain.

As Shantideva points out, when someone harms us out of anger and so forth, not only should we try to react with compassion and wisdom, but also use the situation for practice. Without people acting negatively towards us, there is no way we can develop patience.

In the most of the mind training mauals those who harm us are referred varyingly to as "objects of compassion" or "wish-fulfilling jewels" to revered as great teachers.

So a guy who was linked to the killings of thousands of people, directly and indirectly, got killed. Impermanence is reality and we are all going to die soon, what is the point in rejoicing at the death of another being simply for their involvement in killing? Is it going to bring anyone back or somehow stop more killing? No. Are the people currently celebrating this also celebrating the death of every butcher or factory farm owner?

Osama, as far as I know, was a human being who acted under the influence of the negative emotions, thus perpetuating his own suffering in cyclic existence. My own experience of the negative emotions themselves, and acting under their influence, is one of unhappiness. This is something I don't wish on others and wish them to be free from.

When we are beginning the Mahayana path, it's taught that we should make XBOXHUGE aspirations. This means, at least mentally, to take on the suffering of all sentient beings as experienced now, as well as that which is to come from their negative karma.

When the King of Yogis was poisioned he made aspirations that the negative karma the Geshe who poisoned him would ripen in himself alone. This was done out of love, and an understanding of the whole situation, not as part of a messianic piece of spiritual onanism.

When we talk about compassion in a Buddhist context it covers quite a lot of ground. Initially, it means things like wanting the obvious pain beings experience, and the causes of it, to be removed. Later this is expanded to the more subtle, or all-pervasive suffering. When one understands, or even better has some realisation of, Buddhanature, then it all becomes a bit more painful. According to the Buddhanature doctrine, all beings are at all times perfectly enlightened Buddhas and they simply fail to see this as a result of temporary veils. This is tragic beyond compare.

Precious Root Guru, inseperable from the Buddha of the Three Times, Karmapa.
Bless me that upon seeing others engage in negative actions, I may there and then take on the suffering inherent in it, whilst seeing it's empty nature clearly.

Disappointment and failure

2011-04-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

When we talk about suffering in samsara, it's generally divided into three aspects; The Suffering of Suffering, The Suffering of Impermanence and All Pervasive Suffering.

The Suffering of Suffering is stuff like putting your foot on a spike, or generally any physical or mental experience or sensation we label as painful.

The Suffering of Impermanence would include things like bereavements, loosing something you value, receiving a huge tax bill or other unexpected burden. It's basically loosing that which you label as nice, pleasant or a cause of happiness and meeting the opposite.

All Pervasive Suffering is something much more subtle. I believe this is really what the First Noble Truth is referring to. In the Tibetan tradition this suffering is described as being felt more intensely by realised beings than by the rest of us. The difference is said to be like that of feeling a hair in ones eye versus feeling it the palm of ones hand.

The difference between realised beings and us in this case is critical.

Why?

Because most of the time we have no idea how much we are actually suffering. When it comes to samsaric suffering, at least temporarily, ignorance is indeed bliss.

No matter how traumatic the break-up of our seemingly perfect relationship, the fear at being diagnosed with cancer, the sense of loss and confusion at finding out our only child was killed before we even met them or even the pain of the lower realms, none of these are fully the understanding that we are suffering. This isn't in any way meant to be-little the the suffering mentioned by the way, rather to illustrate that whatever the obvious or explicit suffering, it's merely symptomatic of something much bigger. In other words, it's just the tip of the samsaric iceberg.

If we look more closely at our suffering, ideally from a less emotionally involved point of view, we find that it is all rooted in a sense of wanting something, or hoping to get something, which brings with it the fear of not getting this "something".

This lack of contentment and constant, admittedly subtle, search or craving is rooted in dualistic clinging to our ego-self, which is nothing more than an idea. This idea is strong and powerful enough to create the experience of hell, however it's not solid and ultimately not "real".

As long as we have clinging to self, or actually ANY sense of dualistic conceptuality, there will be suffering that comes from grasping.

Intellectually understanding that there is no grasper and objects to be grasped is fine, but until we realise it through direct experience we will still continue to suffering. And whilst we are still unaware of how much we are suffering right now, not to mention the future suffering we are storing up through our actions, we will gladly continue to lick the delicious and seemingly endless honey from the razor blade, only stopping when we cut ourselves on it.

To directly experience, and consequently realise, the reality of suffering, we have to contemplate and meditate on it, not just listen to Dharma talks about it or believe in it because the person we've labelled our teacher says it's there. Listening comes first, but is followed by contemplating and meditating.

According to the general Mahayana, and consequently the Vajrayana, all beings are at all times Buddha. Not a single one of us has ever been seperate from enlightenment, however due to the ignorance of dualistic clinging, this reality seems very far away. We are like someone who thinks they can't leave their house because they've lost the key.

Essence of Dharmadhatu, Glorious Karmapa,
Bless me and others mired in the swamp of ego-fixation that we may come to know even the very fixation itself as nothing other than the Four Bodies.

The kindness of strangers, and friends.

2011-04-06T03:55:00.001-07:00

So it appears through the generosity, and kindness, of some good friends that I have the funding to stay another year. May all those practicing Dharma have as generous support as this. And may I become a good translator so that I'm actually able to put into practice something that benefits others.

The rain of blessings of uncertainty.

2011-04-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

So classes will be drawing to a class in a few months and it's by no means certain that I will get the funding needed to stay a second year, which I need in order to become fluent and thus a decent translator. Ordinarily this would be a source of anything ranging from annoyance to misery, however it's not. In this life NOTHING is certain, we have no idea whether we will live or die today and on a sublter level impermanence is a constant fact. Relaxing in this fact, and thus accepting it, is far better than being traumatised by it.

Mothers Day

2011-04-03T02:28:00.000-07:00

It's mothers day, so I thought I'd post the beautiful prayer by the Lord Protector of beings, the third Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. May all be auspicious!

REPAYING THE KINDNESS OF MY MOTHER

by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje

OM MANI PADME HUM
I prostrate to the Noble Master Chenrezig!

OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH*

There is nothing to be said more profound than this:

Dear mother, you protected me lovingly when I was small
You taught me with love and told me sweet words
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

You fed me from your mouth and wiped my feces away with your hand
You picked me up on your lap again and again -
My kind mother wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

The end of birth is surely death
Even powerful humans don't have the slightest power to remain [forever]
When departing alone, [only] the sacred dharma will [be of] benefit -
[My kind mothers] wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

The end of collecting is surely loss
Even the greediest person will be unable to take anything along
When departing alone, only the sacred dharma will [be of] benefit -
[My kind mothers] wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

Mother, when you are going to depart alone from here
I pray that you, I, and Chenrezig will meet!
My kind mother wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

I pay homage to lama and protector Manjushri!
Wherever in the three realms the six kinds of beings are born,
their birth is of four kinds:
Except for miraculous birth, a body is formed in dependence on
a father and a mother.
Due to karmic forces, you conceived and carried me for nine months
and ten days -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When the life force impelled my embryo to come out
You suffered the bone-wracking pain of contractions -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When I was born your body became covered with blood, lymph, pus,
and milk -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When my skin and bones were feeble and not fully formed
You picked me up with gentle hands -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When I had pus in my eyes or other organs
You licked it off with your soft tongue -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

Even when my specks of feces came into your mouth
You were not disgusted -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

You always held me tight, like in the gentle warmth of your belly -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When sleep rendered us unconscious at night
I would interrupt your sleep many times -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

You took me on your lap and cuddled me -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

You cheered me up and made me so happy -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

Whenever I was wriggling and crying, you tirelessly gave me your
breast to suck -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When my eyes were tightly closed by sleep
You swiftly protected me from heat and cold -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When I crawled on all fours like an animal
You taught me how to walk on my feet -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When I was three years old
You kept an eye on me wherever I went -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When I was five years old
You showed me how to dress myself properly -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

When I was ten years old
You taught me how to understand and decide things -
My kind mothers wandering in the three samsaric realms, oh no!
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

Your mind was one-pointedly focused [on my welfare] -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

[Throughout,] you were always calm and fair -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

You gave your permission when it was time for me to leave -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

[Because of your love] I became independent after I had left you -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

If sudden disasters were to carry you off -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

And you would end up in some unknown place -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

May our minds become ultimately inseparable -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

Dear mother, do not be angry when I say this:
My thoughts go to you again and again
And your kind acts make me weep -
My kind mothers wandering in the three pitiful samsaric realms
May I guide you on Chenrezig's path. OM MANI PADME HUM HRIH

Mother, when it is time for your mind to leave this body
May you be born in a supremely blissful state and
Having been born there, may you attain the heart of enlightenment
Having attained that, may you act for the benefit of all beings

Words of vast and deep meaning break my heart.
Vajradhara in the pure realm of Akanishta,
And Pema Jungne in Ngayab Ling,
Please let the ability to repay the kindness of my mothers
Awaken in me, Palden Karmapa of the Snowy Regions.

Meditation is like taking a shit.

2011-03-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

In general laziness is something that is seen as negative. Both religious and secular, political and economic, ideologies have condemned it as bad. Sloth was one of the seven deadly sins and both Capitalism and Communism have used violence to discourage it.

Laziness just means not doing something or at least procrastinating about it.

Everything we do in this life is generally utterly pointless. We can accumulate all manner of material things, build a great reputation and surround ourselves with people we love and who love us back, but ultimately and in a short period of time this will all be nothing.

Generally in Dharma practice we use impermanence as encouragement to practice and as a gateway to understanding.

I could list all manner of reasons why I left closed retreat, however the main issue was really that I set goals, lists of things to achieve and the good old dual trap of hope and fear.

There is a story about one of the Buddhas disciples having problems with meditation. The Buddha helped him by asking him about his pre-monastic career as a musician and how he would tune his guitar or whatever. When he answered "not too tight, not too loose", the Buddha said this was also how he should meditate.

So in terms of our overall practice it's essential to thing of impermanence and the other thoughts that turn our minds to renunciation and the longing for freedom.

So how does this all related to laziness?

If we practice with a sense of wanting or needing to achieve something, we will fall into a trap. Yet at the same time we have to practice.

We have to eat, sleep and shit. These happen with minimal planning and effort. Similarly, if we are just persistent with meditation and make it part of our everyday life, it will come naturally over time and we will benefit greatly without too much drama and bullshit.

I'm not a meditator or practitioner, but on the occasions when I have played at doing retreat, it all seems to have gone better when I've taken a very relaxed approach. Sure having structure and doing sessions is helpful, but sometimes doing nothing is also good.

I could elaborate, but it seems contradictory and the way we elaborate all the time is already a major cause of suffering.

Dalai Lama Skateboard drama

2011-03-18T20:51:00.001-07:00

I'm an ex-skater and an ex-monk. I was way better at the former than the latter.

This post on a generally awesome blog has generated a fair bit of online drama.
http://fullcontactenlightenment.com/2011/03/dalai-lama-skateboard/

I think one of the main issues around this is the classic Western "stick up ass" syndrome. It's something I've seen in the West, India and Nepal. Both amongst lay people and monastics. I've yet to see it in the yogic or ngakpa communities though. Rather than go too much into the "debate" about the actual deck I've reposted some thoughts on anal-stick removal.

Regarding the deck, let's not bring Buddhism down to a level where authoritarian bullshit ruins the spread of the Dharma. Anyone with a basic grasp of Medieval Indian and Tibetan history will know how that tends to work out.

Or in the words of the bellend who posts at http://www.thereformedbuddhist.com/

"RELIGION - Your key to feeling superior to other people...because BUDDHISM is clear on this."

One of the most common issues with Western Buddhists, both those who 'convert' and those born into it is a strong tendency to take the Dharma, and more worryingly themselves, way too fucking seriously. See previous entries for examples of me doing exactly this.

Taking shit too seriously is a guaranteed way to become tense. When various authentic teachers talk about "practicing like your hair is on fire", or as my teacher told me in retreat "practice like you are fighting for your very life", they mean this in the sense of practicing consistently and genuinely, NOT becoming uptight, humourless and puritanical. The Tibetan word "brtson-’grus" (Sanskrit Virya) is variously translated as "effort," "vigor," "diligence," "zeal," or "energy.", however the best explanations of it I've heard have also imply a sense of joy, or joyous effort.

A few years ago Gyalwa Karmapa gave a teaching to a group of Westerners and people from Taiwan, in other words classic "stick up ass" people. He was teaching how to do Vajrasattva practice, and he explicity stated that Vajrasattva was smiling because people are practicing the Dharma. Similar sentiments are expressed in numerous commentaries.

Even myself as someone who barely knows the real meaning of taking refuge, can attest to the importance of relaxing and not posturing in relation to practice. We start where we are, and if that means laughing at jokes about the Holocaust then we do that. Pretending to be "nice" is self-deceit and hypocrisy and won't benefit ourselves, let alone the limitless beings we are pretending to want to lead to liberation.

In A Brilliant Sun, Patrul Rinpoches commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara, he explicitly talks about "the courage of resting when tired". Laughter and a general sense of lightheartedness go a very long way to making practicing our mind relax which is essential for meditation.

Point Two: Nobody gives a shit about your Scout badges, so don't show them off.

Having done three year retreat, having your picture taken with the Dalai Lama, wearing Ngakpa shawls, being fluent in Tibetan/Pali/Sanskrit/Clingon or having a letter saying you are a Tulku, Lama or whatever does not make you special. To quote one particularly pretentious asshole:

You're not your lineage. You're not how many empowerments you've received.
You're not the Lama you claim to have. You're not the contents of your book collection.
You're not your fucking mala. You're the all-singing, all-dancing, intellectually speculating, orientalist asshole of the world.

If you have encountered authentic teachers and Dharma, this is fucking awesome and you are extremely lucky. If you have done this and are actually putting this to use and practicing, I prostrate to you and aspire to be like you one day. When master Kagyu troll Trungpa spoke of "spiritual materialism" he was referring to how it's very easy to fuck up and let practice build and maintain ego, rather than destroy it, but in this case it's much more coarse than that.

Sitting around telling people how close you are to whichever awesome Lama, which empowerments you've received, how long you've spent in retreat and similar is just a Dharma themed pissing contest. You will probably benefit beings and your practice more by posting pictures of your cock on the internet along with your phone number. You never know, that consort you've been looking for might contact you.

On the puritanical front, meat, or rather non-meat eating springs to mind. If you don't then great, there are far more reasons to avoid meat, according to all three vehicles, than to eat it, but preaching about it and feeling superior about it probably destroys the benefits accrued from it. Also if you do eat meat, don't be a faggot and make a big thing out of sayihg mantras, or pretending to do Powa when eating it. Seriously that is embarrassing. The same goes for drinking etc.

Point three: You are still in the material, so called real world.

Western Buddhism is generally a white middle class hobby, much in the same way a lot of left-wing political activism is. In the context of Vajrayana, there has also been some historical precedent for this, both before and after it left India.

Being in a position of privilege where you can actually help people, but not doing so due to general laziness of procrastination, lacking renunciation and/or compassion or the very common situation of laziness of self-deprecation, can only really be remedied by ourselves, by watching our own minds, being mindful of whatever shit is going on and dealing with it accordingly. Claiming to be practicing compassion, in a conventional sense, not anything as profound as Bodhicitta, whilst sitting around watching the world burn and very real people suffer, seems grotesquely hypocritical. You have some capacity to help others right now, even if it's just making an unhappy stranger smile in the street.

Point four: It's ok to fail.

The word practice means just that, it's something you do and as your experience grows, hopefully something you become better at. Hopefully Western Buddhists will become better at practicing the Dharma, rather than being good at being Tibetan, Thai, Japanese or whatever nationality they relate to via their particular school of Buddhism.

We're not going to be perfect right away, for example, whilst Tibet produced some amazing practitioners, through most of Tibetan history from the first transmissions up to an including the present day, most Tibetans know fuck all about Buddhism, especially Vajrayana. All we can do is do our best and practice diligently without becoming uptight assholes or despondent because we're not having auspicious dreams/seeing deities or whatever.

The Buddha taught suffering and it's cessation. Most of us have no idea how much we are actually suffering, or how much future suffering we are setting ourselves up for, however if we have some appreciation for the notion of kindness, maybe we can also extend that to ourselves and walk our respective paths with a sense of joy and ease.

Point 4: Stop chasing Ghosts.

In a meditative sense this could mean stop clinging to the past. More broadly it means not being so involved in everything, including a conceptualised idea of our practice. Obsessing over numbers of prostrations, recitations or whatever is unlikely to help you or anyone else. This is one of the few things I can attest to from personal experience. In the words of someone with a slightly lesser beard than mine:

Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just 'cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you're never gonna fucking talk to.

The Buddhist cliche of living in the "now", being present and all that other mindful and awareness stuff is for your own good, right now. Whether you are barely interested in the Dharma or you are practicing the most profound practices of the Vajrayana, this is something that brings immediate fruits.

Point 5: Fuck your snowflake mentality.

Buddha taught 84,000 methods for overcoming the suffering or cyclic existence, however most of us don't have a clue how much we are suffering. Every time we suffer, or rather become aware of suffering, bring attention to the fact that this is the living reality of everyone. You are not special and insisting you are won't help others and with some tragic irony will only prolong and fuel your own pain.

Point 6: Your teacher doesn't give a shit about your drama.

There are thousands of people who have a sincere interest in the Dharma, but do not have a teacher. Yet morons who get access to the greatest living teachers have a tendency to insist on wasting everyones time with irrelevant questions about their relationships and minutae of their personal lives. This is a pretty natural consequence of samsaric mind, so getting angry at these people, people like me, is pointless.

Point 7: You are your own Final Boss of all this.

Whichever vehicle you are practicing, ultimately you are responsible for yourself, your actions and your practice. In the Vajrayana and some other approaches, the teacher is essential, but this doesn't mean an abdication of responsibility. People are very good at showing all manner of outward signs of Guru devotion, but how good are they at investigating the qualifications of the teacher? Being famous doesn't make someone a qualified teacher btw.

Point 8: Make sure the stick doesn't return to your ass.

So you've been practicing for a number of years, received the highest empowerments, done several long retreats and been given some titles. Why still so uptight and angry? This reminds me so much of the stories of Patrul Rinpoches students who did Ngondro 100 times or more. No matter how good people tell you you are, if you take shit too seriously you are still mired in the eight worldy Dharmas and need to maintain the foundation, if it was there to begin with.

I might as well ask here.

2011-03-09T04:18:00.000-08:00

As there seems to be more than two people browsing here now I might ask for some help or pointers from you.

I'm looking for a PhD supervisor based in Norway who would be interested in supervising a project that is half translation and half research.

Also funding ideas.

Simplicity

2011-02-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we really make things far more complicated than they need to be. This also happens in relation to our practice.

Vajrayana can seem pretty complicated with all the deities visualised, music and so forth. This might discourage some people, but it needn't. The word practice implies a process of doing something and, hopefully, becoming more familiar with it. So when starting a new practice that seems difficult and elaborate, don't be discouraged, just take it at your own pace and soon it will flow without effort.

This is pre-retreat advice to myself.

Karmapa raids and house arrest.

2011-01-31T05:22:00.000-08:00

The recent harrasment of Gyalwa Karmapa has led to a lot of speculation surrounding the way the events have been handled by Indian media, the motives of Himachal Police and politicians. And of course there are the usual conspiracy theories about the Shamar camp being behind it all.

Some of Karmapas supporters, including a couple of high profile ones, seem to be using this series of seemingly unfortunate events for their own political gain. This is a highly dangerous game to be playing. History shows that trying to manipulate the Karmapas for political gain doesn't tend to work out as intended.

Following in a similar vein, looking to point fingers of blame for the resent events, and in fact the previous Karmapa "issue", is a pretty gross act of hypocrisy. Any negativity or obstacles around the Karmapa is the result of our own karma and messy samaya. As such maybe it would be a good time to look at our own motivation and perhaps do a bit more Vajrasattva?

As supposed Vajrayanists surely this is an opportunity for using difficulties to practice? Mishap linage and all that?

Everytime I've spoken to him, he has always made me really look at my own motives, both hidden and overt, and this is what I am doing now. Despite not being a particularly decent practitioner or even human being, this is a very helpful exercise.

Longer term there is also a possibility that all this will actually lead to greater freedom of movement for Gyalwa Karmapa as well as futher resolution of certain other issues.

Birthday card from myself

2011-01-27T00:51:00.000-08:00

Birth is the beginning of death and just another round in samsara so not really anything to celebrate. Obviously a precious human birth with the freedoms and riches, tl;dr the opportunity to practice Dharma is somewhat different.

But really how much use have you made of this opportunity?

First you were born to two of the kindest people on the planet, yet you repaid them by firstly by causing your mother tremendous physical pain during pregnancy and birth. Both your parents suffered a great deal of emotional pain and worry even before you were born, yet this did not stop them doing everything to prepare for your arrival, both by altering their diets so you would be as healthy as possible and making the house ready. In the process not only did they make great sacrifices on your behalf, but they also generated negative karma for themselves in the process, yet you show zero appreciation for this?

Once you were born you were entirely reliant on them for food and so on, yet all you did was cry, deprive them of sleep through noise or physically waking them up. Yet they still loved you more than themselves and gave you everything.

Throughout your life you met many different people and had many different experiences, yet all the time you were only concerned with your own happiness and gratification, in the process you accumulated karma that will no-doubt send you to the lower realms yet again. Still you insist on generating more of this. Why are you so attached to suffering?

Then after wasting just over two decades of your life you somehow miraculously encountered the holy Dharma. You received the vows of refuge, which are the source of all good qualities and happiness in this and future lives, from Padmasambhava taking the form of a Yogi Bhikkshu who treated you as his son, yet you have entirely failed to emulate even a fraction of the qualities of a sub-atomic particle in his body.

They say the blessing of taking refuge is immense and within a year you had been face to face with numerous realised beings such as the Dalai Lama and the Protector of beings, Gyalwa Karmapa. You received initiations, oral instructions and vows to liberate all sentient beings without exception. How much have you done with any of this other than effect a poor charicature of a practitioner?

Then generous strangers and and the kindness of your main teacher combined to let you assume to robes of a monk and enter closed retreat. In retreat your accomplishments were quite something. Not only did you disturb serious yogis, but you also caused all manner of headaches for the caretaker.

After generating this chaos, you left almost as soon as you had arrived because you wanted to put your penis inside some woman. Once again, your teacher was patient and forgiving and not only let you continue your scamlike practice, he also gave this woman refuge and instructions which lead to Buddhahood.

You then spent six years living with this woman, who generally supported you in every way, including sending you on yearly retreats whilst you did nothing other than really treat her like a piece of meat, yet you lecture others on how badly they maintain their root samayas?

Having then exhausted the shared karma which had brought you together, you then went to live in the holy land of India. Here over qualified Khenpos and Tulkus of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions gave up their free time to instruct you personally, yet you did nothing but hold them in contempt and try to deceive them with clever words to disguise your laziness. The teachings and empowerments you recieved you display as ornaments in your ongoing game of playing at Vajrayana. Even if you are oblivious to the lower realms which await you, at least stop being an obstacle to others practice and instead consider helping them and encouraging them.

Coming back you then wasted the opportunity at more academic study of Dharma by driking and chasing women. Having access to volumes of Dharma texts, you instead chose to read things which would make you sound clever, at least in your own mind.

When all this was done, you again through the kindness of your parents teachers, got the opportunity to study, this time in the land where the Buddha was born. Before going everyone encouraged you, including Gyalwa Karmapa and your main teachers. On arrival you were more or less placed in the lap of some of the greatest living teachers, yet once again you are failing to grasp the opportunity in your hands.

All being said, you have now for three and a half decades done nothing but cause harm to sentient beings and generate the causes for your own future suffering. Let me be more specific and give an example. Some years ago you took a vow not to eat meat in this life, oddly considering your lack of discipline and resolve you have actually kept this vow. This would be good if it wasn't for you turning this into another ego-display piece, and worse using it to make others feel bad for eating meat whilst you feel superior. You do this, yet feel no shame?

Everyday you have the best food, a nice room, teaching opportunities in two monasteries of good lineage, friends who are supportive, yet you do nothing but complain and waste time.

Through the blessing of your Gurus and some accidental past merit, you have access to many teachers as well as the connections and language skills to make the most of them. If you are not going to do so, will you at least help those who are sincere in their search and practice of Dharma?

Everything good you have experienced in this life has been through the kindness of others, please appreciate this at some point and make what little is left of your life meaningful.

This afternoon, an excellent Yogi Loppon is again giving up his free time to instruct you individually in a genuinely profound practice, yet you are sitting there thinking of excuses so you can go drinking instead. People would kill to have a percent of the opportunities you have, make something of them before it's too late!

All the pleasures you are chasing are as reliable as mist on the mountainside, they are like ghosts that will only lead you to the lower realms again. Stop taking yourself so seriously, remove the stick from your ass and actually do something for others. Writing self-indulgent, faux pious crap like the above is helping nobody. However should you even for a few minutes sincerely make an effort to wish to make your life for the benefit of others there will be some value it, and your life will become meaningful.

Box fresh mind

2011-01-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

A number of years ago my teacher told me that "mind is essentially always fresh". I'm paraphrasing, but the point is that if we make an effort to be mindful, live in the present and be aware, even the most mundane experience is experienced as new fresh and somewhat miraculous.

no words

2011-01-23T01:33:00.000-08:00

All the good shit is going to end too!

2011-01-20T02:26:00.001-08:00

When talking about impermanence, there is often a tendency to talk about mortality and change in a somewhat physical sense. Being aware of the unique, fleeting and brief, opportunity for Dharma practice, and even Buddhahood, that a human life provides us with is essential, however sometimes it seems the more subtle and equally essential stuff is overlooked.

Faith is essential for practicing Dharma. This might piss some of the "Buddhism isn't a religion" crowd off, but life isn't always how we want it. Faith is a mental state/experience.

Most of the traditional Tibetan practice commentaries classify faith in the following ways; clear faith, aspiring faith, trusting faith and irreversible faith.

Renunciation is also essential. Again a mental state, attitude or experience.

Devotion is another of these and for those of us pretending to be practicing the Vajrayana path, it is as essential as the above.

Compassion, essential for all vehicles, but particularly Mahayana, whether in the form of Vajrayana or sutric forms, is yet another mental state, attitude or experience.

All of these are mostly non-physical, although they can manifest physically in the form of tears etc, however they are primarily experienced as mental events.

Bearing in mind how important they are, it's worth cherishing, nurturing and valuing them whilst we have them for they too are impermanent and as reliable as a chocolate tea-pot.

We are often able to let go of loved ones, fun and pleasant experiences, possessions and so forth by having some understanding of impermanence, however how aware of the transience and unreliability of our mental experiences are we?

For those with some mental stability and good karmic propensities for faith and so forth this is probably less of an issue. However for people like me who barely understand the concept of renunciation on an intellectual, and thus superficial, level, it's a bit more problematic. In my own case, I basically have right now to use the limited faith I have as going on my actions in this life, it's unlikely it will arise in the future, even if I happen to be born human, which again is unlikely.

Whatever we experience mentally seems to be transient at a much quicker rate than the physical experiences of transience we have. This difference is somewhat false and irrelevant, however on a meditational level it's useful to be aware of. However distracted, excited or drowsy we feel, however unclear our visualisation, none of this is solid or fixed, so getting too involved in it or being discouraged or overtly enthused by it is pointless and probably counter productive. I realise it's unhelpful to view meditation as "productive", but I couldn't think of another word.

In his awesome "Creation and Completion", effectively a how2yidam commentary, Jamgon Kongtrul points out that both clear and foggy visualisation have the same basis. If we remember this, we are less likely to get discouraged and say "fuck this bullshit" and walk away from practice during the rare moments when we are actually inspired to do it.

2011-01-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

Next week sees my birthday. Birth is the beginning of death, death is the beginning of birth. Both entail inevitable suffering, as well as plenty of ways of generating future suffering.

How to practice Buddhism without being a retard Redux

2011-01-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

I've combined the two part rant about uptightness and excessive seriousness into one post for convenience. It's sort of a satire of Lojong.

Point One: Remove the stick from your ass.

One of the most common issues with Western Buddhists, both those who 'convert' and those born into it is a strong tendency to take the Dharma, and more worryingly themselves, way too fucking seriously. See previous entries for examples of me doing exactly this.

Taking shit too seriously is a guaranteed way to become tense. When various authentic teachers talk about "practicing like your hair is on fire", or as my teacher told me in retreat "practice like you are fighting for your very life", they mean this in the sense of practicing consistently and genuinely, NOT becoming uptight, humourless and puritanical. The Tibetan word "brtson-’grus" (Sanskrit Virya) is variously translated as "effort," "vigor," "diligence," "zeal," or "energy.", however the best explanations of it I've heard have also imply a sense of joy, or joyous effort.

A few years ago Gyalwa Karmapa gave a teaching to a group of Westerners and people from Taiwan, in other words classic "stick up ass" people. He was teaching how to do Vajrasattva practice, and he explicity stated that Vajrasattva was smiling because people are practicing the Dharma. Similar sentiments are expressed in numerous commentaries.

Even myself as someone who barely knows the real meaning of taking refuge, can attest to the importance of relaxing and not posturing in relation to practice. We start where we are, and if that means laughing at jokes about the Holocaust then we do that. Pretending to be "nice" is self-deceit and hypocrisy and won't benefit ourselves, let alone the limitless beings we are pretending to want to lead to liberation.

In A Brilliant Sun, Patrul Rinpoches commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara, he explicitly talks about "the courage of resting when tired". Laughter and a general sense of lightheartedness go a very long way to making practicing our mind relax which is essential for meditation.

Point Two: Nobody gives a shit about your Scout badges, so don't show them off.

Having done three year retreat, having your picture taken with the Dalai Lama, wearing Ngakpa shawls, being fluent in Tibetan/Pali/Sanskrit/Clingon or having a letter saying you are a Tulku, Lama or whatever does not make you special. To quote one particularly pretentious asshole:

You're not your lineage. You're not how many empowerments you've received.
You're not the Lama you claim to have. You're not the contents of your book collection.
You're not your fucking mala. You're the all-singing, all-dancing, intellectually speculating, orientalist asshole of the world.

If you have encountered authentic teachers and Dharma, this is fucking awesome and you are extremely lucky. If you have done this and are actually putting this to use and practicing, I prostrate to you and aspire to be like you one day. When master Kagyu troll Trungpa spoke of "spiritual materialism" he was referring to how it's very easy to fuck up and let practice build and maintain ego, rather than destroy it, but in this case it's much more coarse than that.

Sitting around telling people how close you are to whichever awesome Lama, which empowerments you've received, how long you've spent in retreat and similar is just a Dharma themed pissing contest. You will probably benefit beings and your practice more by posting pictures of your cock on the internet along with your phone number. You never know, that consort you've been looking for might contact you.

On the puritanical front, meat, or rather non-meat eating springs to mind. If you don't then great, there are far more reasons to avoid meat, according to all three vehicles, than to eat it, but preaching about it and feeling superior about it probably destroys the benefits accrued from it. Also if you do eat meat, don't be a faggot and make a big thing out of sayihg mantras, or pretending to do Powa when eating it. Seriously that is embarrassing. The same goes for drinking etc.

Point three: You are still in the material, so called real world.

Western Buddhism is generally a white middle class hobby, much in the same way a lot of left-wing political activism is. In the context of Vajrayana, there has also been some historical precedent for this, both before and after it left India.

Being in a position of privilege where you can actually help people, but not doing so due to general laziness of procrastination, lacking renunciation and/or compassion or the very common situation of laziness of self-deprecation, can only really be remedied by ourselves, by watching our own minds, being mindful of whatever shit is going on and dealing with it accordingly. Claiming to be practicing compassion, in a conventional sense, not anything as profound as Bodhicitta, whilst sitting around watching the world burn and very real people suffer, seems grotesquely hypocritical. You have some capacity to help others right now, even if it's just making an unhappy stranger smile in the street.

Point four: It's ok to fail.

The word practice means just that, it's something you do and as your experience grows, hopefully something you become better at. Hopefully Western Buddhists will become better at practicing the Dharma, rather than being good at being Tibetan, Thai, Japanese or whatever nationality they relate to via their particular school of Buddhism.

We're not going to be perfect right away, for example, whilst Tibet produced some amazing practitioners, through most of Tibetan history from the first transmissions up to an including the present day, most Tibetans know fuck all about Buddhism, especially Vajrayana. All we can do is do our best and practice diligently without becoming uptight assholes or despondent because we're not having auspicious dreams/seeing deities or whatever.

The Buddha taught suffering and it's cessation. Most of us have no idea how much we are actually suffering, or how much future suffering we are setting ourselves up for, however if we have some appreciation for the notion of kindness, maybe we can also extend that to ourselves and walk our respective paths with a sense of joy and ease.

Point five: Stop chasing Ghosts.

In a meditative sense this could mean stop clinging to the past. More broadly it means not being so involved in everything, including a conceptualised idea of our practice. Obsessing over numbers of prostrations, recitations or whatever is unlikely to help you or anyone else. This is one of the few things I can attest to from personal experience. In the words of someone with a slightly lesser beard than mine:

Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just 'cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you're never gonna fucking talk to.

The Buddhist cliche of living in the "now", being present and all that other mindful and awareness stuff is for your own good, right now. Whether you are barely interested in the Dharma or you are practicing the most profound practices of the Vajrayana, this is something that brings immediate fruits.

Point six: Fuck your snowflake mentality.

Buddha taught 84,000 methods for overcoming the suffering or cyclic existence, however most of us don't have a clue how much we are suffering. Every time we suffer, or rather become aware of suffering, bring attention to the fact that this is the living reality of everyone. You are not special and insisting you are won't help others and with some tragic irony will only prolong and fuel your own pain.

Point seven: Your teacher doesn't give a shit about your drama.

There are thousands of people who have a sincere interest in the Dharma, but do not have a teacher. Yet morons who get access to the greatest living teachers have a tendency to insist on wasting everyones time with irrelevant questions about their relationships and minutae of their personal lives. This is a pretty natural consequence of samsaric mind, so getting angry at these people, people like me, is pointless.

Point eight: You are your own Final Boss of all this.

Whichever vehicle you are practicing, ultimately you are responsible for yourself, your actions and your practice. In the Vajrayana and some other approaches, the teacher is essential, but this doesn't mean an abdication of responsibility. People are very good at showing all manner of outward signs of Guru devotion, but how good are they at investigating the qualifications of the teacher? Being famous doesn't make someone a qualified teacher btw.

Point nine: Make sure the stick doesn't return to your ass.

So you've been practicing for a number of years, received the highest empowerments, done several long retreats and been given some titles. Why still so uptight and angry? This reminds me so much of the stories of Patrul Rinpoches students who did Ngondro 100 times or more. No matter how good people tell you you are, if you take shit too seriously you are still mired in the eight worldy Dharmas and need to maintain the foundation, if it was there to begin with.

Lack of anonymity is ego identity.

2011-01-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

Buddhism, as opposed to Dharma, has been used to construct and bolster bullshit like national identity and nationalism. It still does this in some cases, most ironically with the whole Free Tibet crowd.

In the West, where Buddhism is mostly a white middle-class ego accessory, or in the case of "serious", by their own definition, practitioners, a hobby involving various rituals, buying ethnic shit and doing stuff we don't really understand.

When it comes to the online world this seems to be magnified somewhat. Opinions are given gravitas on the basis of who said it, rather than what was said. This is very sad and seems adharmic in some way.

Lack of anonymity is ego identity. Ego identity is yet another fetter to tie us to samsaric suffering, the degree of which we are mostly blissfully ignorant of.

The role of the Guru in Vajrayana

2011-01-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

DISCLAIMER:
This is more or less my MA dissertation from a few years ago. It's in no way going to help anyone with actual Dharma practice, nor am I posting it to enter into any sort of discussion, academic or otherwise. I had problems with the footnotes so they might be in a weird order. The pretentious poetry was not part of the original submission.

When looking at almost any aspect of Tibetan Vajrayana1, the figure of the Guru seems omnipresent. In the popular imagination, the Tantric Guru (bla ma), has an easily recognisable cultural icon on par with prayer flags and the yeti. This is due to Tibetan society being so closely linked with the Tibetan interpretation of Vajrayana. What constitutes an authentic Guru in Vajrayana, and how this has developed both in India and Tibet, is quite a considerable question, or rather series of questions. With the Tibetan diaspora and the subsequent rapid geographic spread of Tibetan Vajrayana, this issue might also have contemporary relevance outside its traditional geo-cultural sphere. This paper aims at exploring those questions with the focus primarily being on the actual role of the Guru, both in a cultural and more pastoral context, although it is difficult to completely separate these two. Examples from several lineages are used in an attempt to give as comprehensive an overview as possible and a deliberate effort has been made to look at both old translation (rnying ma) and new translation (gsar ma) schools.

The Tibetan traditions generally attempt to legitimise and validate themselves by referencing back to their Indian forebears, particularly when it comes to the transmission of Tantric initiations (dbang), where the transmission between a live teacher and student is essential. This referencing back to India is not limited to the tracing of Tantric initiation lineages, but also manifests in the commentarial written tradition, where for example Jamgon Kongtrul extensively references The Fifty Stanzas on Guru Devotion by Asvaghosa, when writing about the student-teacher relationship (Kongtrul 1999: 44). Thus looking at the Indian pre-cursors is essential to any investigation of the role of Guru in Tibetan Vajrayana.

From Indian Tantric Guru to Tibetan Lama.

Vajrayana Buddhism emerged and developed during turbulent times in medieval India. This may well have influenced the diversity of both ritual practice and teachings styles, a trend of diversity which continued into Tibet.

Davidson describes medieval Indian Vajrayana as “the most politically involved of Buddhist forms” (Davidson, 2002: 114). This is a fair description when one considers the royal patronage which supported the vast monastic institutions such as Nalanda and the importance of Vajrayana, and other rituals, in the life of the royal court. It’s worth noting that some Buddhist rituals, not only those which were explicitly tantric, may have developed specifically as a means of ensuring royal patronage and protection in competition with the Brahmanical tradition, a theory which is put forward by Professor Bronkhorst in Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India.

The influence of royal patronage on Buddhism in general, but specifically on Vajrayana Buddhism is non-disputable. Even today Vajrayana liturgies for rituals such as Mandala offerings use the language and imagery of a Medieval Indian court, mostly that of the Pala dynasty. The Mandala offered, whether physically present or visualised in meditation, contains the symbols of a Chakravartin2. These symbols, also known as the seven possessions, are explicitly royal symbols recognisable as attributes of earthly rulers, with the wheel representing the law, both secular and Dharmic, wish fulfilling jewel representing royal wealth and so on (Kongtrul, 1977: 96-105). The other symbols known as the eight auspicious symbols, representative of the Buddha, and the eight auspicious objects3, representative of events of the Buddha’s life, are presented together with the seven possessions of a Chakravartin consolidating the link between spiritual and secular rule and authority.

Similarly, the link between Vajrayana and the royal courts is played out in the Abhisheka rituals of tantric empowerment or consecration as the ritual itself tends to be very similar to a royal consecration or enthronement. Depending on how elaborate a particular empowerment is done, it could look like a direct replica of a coronation ritual. However at this point it’s crucial to note that tantric empowerments are quite varied affairs and seem to have been so at various points in history. For example Abhayakaragupta describes a fairly elaborate empowerment (Skorupski, 2009: 21-32), which has overt royal overtones. In contrast to this Davidson describes the use of an empowerment visualisation as a “purificatory baptism” in which the coronation paradigm is completely absent (Davidson, 2002: 124). As the ritual described by Davidson precedes Abhayakaragupta by at least four hundred years, it is clear that both the elaboration of rituals and their royal, or other, paradigms are something that is dynamic and constantly changing depending on numerous factors. This process of development and change can be noted further when one looks at the Tibetan tradition, particularly the emergence and development of the hidden treasure (gter ma) tradition of Padmasambhava. In the Tibetan tradition there are at least five types of empowerment, described by Stephan Beyer as “transmission of lineage and authority”, which range from the fairly conventional “lineage of initiation, textual transmission and instruction” to the more esoteric in origin such as the hidden treasure tradition (Beyer, 1978: 399).

Whichever type of Vajrayana empowerment or transmission one looks at is obvious that the performance of these rituals was a key part of the Guru in India and something which was transmitted to Tibet. However the extent to which Indian Tantric Gurus served as a model for the development of the tradition goes somewhat beyond simply this function and it is also worth looking at the reported behaviour of Indian Gurus who later became revered in Tibet. Here again there are links to politics and royal patronage in the form Devaraja, effectively a cult of divine kingship where the king is seen as either a direct incarnation, or at least representative, of a particular divinity (Davidson, 2002: 129-130).

King Indrabhuti is probably the most important Indian Buddhist example of this phenomenon. Compared to previous Buddhist rulers he is accredited with more than simply being an ‘ideal’ ruler and protector of Buddhism, such as Ashoka. Taranatha4 elevates Indrabhuti to the status of Vajrapani, one of the three principal Bodhisattvas of the Tibetan pantheon. It is important to note that the way this story is presented emphasises the tantric concept of enlightenment in one lifetime. In the case of Indrabhuti, this is illustrated by a worldly ruler becoming the incarnation of the deity responsible for the tantras (Ray, 2001: 116-122). Here the notion of divine kingship is expanded upon greatly from simply being one of patronage of the Buddhist teachings, to actually being the authority on them. This is highly problematic particularly as there is the obvious issue of political power and religious power being mixed. The potentially lethal mix of politics and religion is something which Taranatha himself will have been aware of , and is something that historically has been an issue in Tibet. This potent mix of politics and religion embodied in one person is something that was very much taken up in Tibet, firstly with the importation of the Devaraja idea. The king Songtsän Gampo was considered an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara (spyan ras gzigs), whilst his wives were incarnations of Tara (sgrol ma).

In somewhat of a contrast to the royal and monastic “establishment Vajrayana” is the Siddha tradition, a tradition which was to have a profound effect on the spread and development of Vajrayana in Tibet. The Siddha tradition is important when looking at the concept of the Vajrayana Guru as it gave rise to a vast amount of literature and provides an alternative to the courtly establishment Vajrayana, which still maintained links to “kings and courts” (Davidson 2002: 171). The Siddha tradition contains a lot of explicit clues as to why Guru-devotion became as heavily emphasised as it did in Vajrayana generally, and particularly how it developed in Tibet. The centrality of the Guru in Siddha hagiography is pointed out in Ray’s description of them:

The siddhas were men and women who, in their pretantric lives, often found themselves in situations of great distress, dislocation and suffering. For them as Gautama Buddha, ordinary life held no hope of relief and no ultimate promise of satisfaction. Typically, they encountered a guru who accepted them as disciples and admitted them into Vajrayana practice through the Abhisheka, or initiation liturgy. Subsequently, they spent many years practicing intensively. Sometimes their practice was carried out in cremation grounds or in solitary retreat.

(Ray, 2000: 85)

In the many popular hagiographies of the Siddhas, the moment where they meet their Guru is portrayed as the most crucial and pivotal point in their spiritual careers. Both Tilopa and his disciple Naropa are seen as being somewhat stuck in their practice until they meet their Gurus. In both cases they are also seen to leave establishment Vajrayana in favour of practicing as unattached yogis. In the case of Naropa a more overt challenge to establishment Vajrayana can be seen as he is generally presented as having held a high and prestigious position at Nalanda, rather than as a middling monk who turns to tantra. Naropa is also presented as having undergone a twelve year apprenticeship of hardship before being granted any instruction from Tilopa. These include things like stealing food from people who subsequently beat him up (Konchog, 1990: 55-89). Renouncing privilege in favour of a potentially harder, yet more fruitful spiritual path is a common theme in the Siddha tradition, and obviously mirrors the traditional life story of the Buddha.

Padmasambhava, or Guru Rinpoche, is an example of a Siddha who involuntarily leaves royal life for the charnel grounds. Of all the Indian Siddhas he is probably the most important in terms of serving as an archetype which shaped the later Tibetan developments. The widespread popular fame and appeal of Padmasambhava as well as his connection with the hidden treasure tradition makes separating the myth from reality. The account of his life according to Yeshe Tsogyal (ye shes mtsho rgyal) is a pretty standard presentation of his life. In her account he is made to leave royal life and the kingdom after accidentally killing the son of an influential minster. He then meditates in charnel grounds before going off to receive teachings and empowerments in order to emphasise the importance of having a teacher5.

Master Padma reflected, “Although I am a self-appeared Nirmanakaya, to show future generations the necessity of a master, I must act as if seeking all the outer and inner teachings of Secret Mantra from the learned and accomplished masters of India.”

(Yeshe Tsogyal, 1993: 41)

King Trisong Deutsen (khri srong lde btsan) then invites Padmasambhava to Tibet in order to establish Buddhism there. This is due to local gods causing problems during the construction of Samye temple. The portrayal of Padmasambhava as an exorcist is very important as exorcism of various types, such as Chod, later became one of the most important functions of the Lama, especially in the Nyingma (rnying ma) tradition, which will be looked at in more detail later on. The Indian ideas of Devaraja and royal patronage are also imported, or solidified at this point with the king being seen as an incarnation of Manjushri ('jam dpal). Whilst a lot of Indian ideas about the role of the Guru generally and the relationship between royal patrons and their religious beneficiaries are laid out in this story (Yeshe Tsogyal, 1993: 55-75), it is important to remember that this text is from the hidden treasure tradition which will raise obvious questions about authenticity. However that Padmasambhava, or rather a legacy attributed to him, had a massive influence on how Vajrayana developed in Tibet is not in dispute. In fact so popular is the cult of Padmasambhava in Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan that he is often described as a second Buddha.

Padmasambhava iconography is varied due to him being presented in a variety of forms, however the most common is the form known as the “Lotus Born” (pad ma byung gnas). As with any Vajrayana iconography, every detail is charged with symbolism. The symbolism of the clothing is of particular relevance in this case, with the white inner robe represents the tantric vows, the red monastic robes representing the Vinaya vows and the royal blue representing the Bodhisattva vows.

Siddha figures who travelled from India to Tibet propagating Buddhism hold an important place in the Tibetan Vajrayana Guru-pantheon not only for having supposedly brought Buddhism to Tibet and for providing an archetype of sorts for the development of an indigenous Siddha culture, but also as they legitimise the Tibetan Lamas and the institutions which developed around them. As mentioned in the introduction, this is something which has wider implications with the spread of Vajrayana in the wake of the Tibetan diaspora. Tibetan Tulku lineages and teaching lineages of specific practices always emphasise the importance of lineage going back to India.

What are your credentials?

Considering the emphasis on the importance of a Guru in the context of Vajrayana Buddhism, it is logical to assume that a similar level of importance and attention is given to what makes a person qualified as a Guru and the process by which a practitioner determines the authenticity of a potential Guru. Due to the variety of lineages and overall decentralised nature of Vajrayana, this could potentially be an area for widespread abuse and corruption and it is fair to say that this has and does happen. In an attempt to safeguard against false teachers simply citing names of their teachers and lineage, various ideas have developed. We will not look at how the student-teacher relationship is established and entered into.

To understand the at times seemingly overemphasised importance of the Guru in Vajrayana we need to understand the concept of ‘byin rlabs’. This word has no direct English equivalent, but has been translated as blessing, grace, consecration, inspiration, stream of empowering energy and flowing blessings. One of the most influential meditation teachers of the 20th Century, Kalu Rinpoche, likened ‘byin labs’ to a powerful electric current flowing to the practitioner from the Buddha, via the Guru and lineage (Kalu Rinpoche, 1995: 21). There is some implication of this blessing or empowering energy flowing in a wavelike fashion. However it is interpreted it is clear that it is seen as something ongoing and not simply a one off event received during a formal empowerment ritual (dbang). In fact requesting ‘byin labs’ is a common part of all Yidam meditation liturgical texts, and it is also often found in other prayers too, as it is seen as really being what powers the spiritual progress and realisation of the practitioner.

In spite of the formality, etiquette and seemingly cultic devotion sometimes presented in Vajrayana, it is crucial to note that the reception of ‘byin labs’ is not a purely passive experience on the part of the practitioner either. To benefit from the ‘byin labs’ the practitioner must obviously have confidence in the practice itself. Whilst one would assume this to be present to the point of being the reason for seeking out a Guru, it is important to note that there are numerous less spiritual reasons why someone might go through this process which we shall explore later.

In addition to confidence in the efficacy of Vajrayana, the practitioner must have an understanding of, or at least the potential to understand the pure view (dag snag). This pure view is basically the development and maintenance of the attitude of seeing oneself, and others, as the deity which one has been initiated into with the external world being the corresponding Mandala (dkyil khor) and external sounds as the corresponding mantra. All of this is done within the view of emptiness (stong pa nyid) as simply replacing the mundane world with a ‘divine’ world and leaving it at that would not be liberation. According to Padmasambhava:

During post-meditation, you realise everything to be empty, without self-nature. Free from attachment to or fascination for the experience of emptiness, you will naturally progress beyond meditation and post-meditation and be free from holding a conceptual focus or conceiving of attributes, just as clouds and mist spontaneously clear in the vast expanse of the sky.

(Padmasambhava, 1999: 144)

Devotion to the Guru is also something which the practitioner must maintain as an indispensible part of the view, which makes serving as an object of practitioners devotion one of the main functions of a Vajrayana Guru. This devotion to the Guru is an integral part of the keeping of samaya (dam tshig). Samaya can refer to specific samaya vows that come with initiation into different deities and levels of tantra and as a general term for tantric sacraments (Davidson, 2002: 198). Whilst some tantric texts claim that there are over ten million samayas to be kept (Kalu Rinpoche, 1995: 59), it is more commonly asserted that there are fourteen root downfalls which the practitioner must guard themselves against. In Tibet it appears that the traditionally most emphasised aspect of samaya is the relationship the practitioner has with their Guru, with seeing the Guru as inseparable from the Buddha (Gampopa, 1998: 74).

Before entering into a formal student-teacher relationship it is crucial that the aspiring yogi knows what they are letting themselves in for. The same could be said for the Lama in question, although having gone through the process one would assume they are very aware of the risks. Reflecting this, most of the writings on the student-teacher relationship focus on what qualifies someone as a Guru, how to examine them and how to follow them. That being said, there is general consensus on the importance of both student and teacher examining each other before as samaya works two ways, with the severest consequences for all parties involved. Padmasambhava states as follows:

When the master neglects examining the disciple, he forms Dharmic links with unworthy people. The disciple who fails to examine the master forms a Dharmic link of no substance. Even practicing will yield no result, when lacking the blessings of the Dharma. The master and the disciple who do not keep the samayas are like calves yoked together falling into an abyss. Reaping the reward of the hells, there will be no chance for liberation. Masters and disciples, do not act like this but examine each other.

(Yeshe Tsogyal, 1993: 183)

When it comes to examining and following the Guru, there exists extensive advice in the Tibetan commentarial tradition. We will now examine some examples of these, firstly Gampopa6(sgam po pa) . Whilst Gampopa is in many ways most famous for being a student of the Yogi Milarepa (mi la ras pa), it is important to remember that he came from a very strong Kadam (bka' gdams pa) monastic, and somewhat Sutric, background which is apparent in his text The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Gampopa lists four types of Guru; ordinary, Bodhisattva, Nirmanakaya and Sambhogakaya, although he goes on to state that the ‘ordinary’ is the most useful for most people (Gampopa, 1998: 72). Moral conduct and knowledge of Buddhist teachings according to the Mahayana as well as realisation, compassion and kindness are the main criteria of a teacher according to Gampopa:

The spiritual master can dispel doubt because he has profound discriminating awareness. His words are acceptable because his action is pure virtue. He explains the primary characteristics of afflicting emotions and of their purification.

(Gampopa, 1998: 73)

He then goes on to describe how the practitioner should approach the relationship, using the traditional medical analogy of seeing themselves as the patient, the practice as the medicine and the Guru as the doctor. There is also the view that actually practicing the teachings is the best form of service to ones Guru, which shows a way of thinking which might hint at the place in the popular imagination his followers would come to occupy7(Gampopa, 1998: 73-75).

The 19th century Dzogchen (rdzogs pa chen po) master, Patrul Rinpoche (dpal sprul rin po che) devotes a chapter of his Words of My Perfect Teacher, to the process of examining and following a Guru. His description is much more detailed than Gampopa’s which is interesting as the text is really a commentary on the preliminaries of the Longchen Nyingthig (klong chen snying thig), whereas Gampopa’s text is effectively a prototype of the gradual path literature (lam rim) which one might expect to be more detailed than a practice commentary.

The section on examining the teacher gives lots of examples to illustrate the points being made and stresses the importance of the potential teacher having purely kept pratimoksa8, Bodhisattva and samaya vows, being learned in sutras, tantras and shastras as well as ritual practices. Unsurprisingly he also names impartial love and compassion as essential qualities for any teacher to have, which should be such that “he loves each one like his only child” (Patrul Rinpoche, 1994: 138). Interestingly he devotes almost as much time to describing the types of teachers which should be avoided, something which Gampopa does not even mention. It would be naive to assume that this difference in approach means that there were no charlatan teachers around at the time of Gampopa, but eight hundred years later they were commonplace. Patrul Rinpoche is associated with the mid 19th century non-sectarian (ris med) movement of Eastern Tibet, which partly developed as a response to growing suspicion between schools, and it is possible that a climate of suspicion would provide more opportunities to fraudulent teachers. Despite the lengthy coverage of the dangers of false teachers, Patrul Rinpoche concludes his advice on examining a potential teacher by extolling the virtues and ultimate benefits of following a genuine teacher, even if it is something that happens unintentionally;

Such a teacher is equal to all the Buddhas in his compassion and his blessings, Those who make a positive connection with him will attain Buddhahood in a single lifetime. Even those who make a negative connection with him will eventually be led out of samsara.

(Patrul Rinpoche, 1994: 143)

After this he continues with a section on how to follow a Guru, which is amply illustrated with stories of how past practitioners followed their Gurus. Despite Tibet having a considerable amount of home grown examples by the time of Patrul Rinpoche, he still uses Indian examples of student-teacher relationships, such as Naropa and Tilopa. The native examples he uses are not from his lineage, which indicates his appreciation for the non-sectarian approach.

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye (jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas) was a contemporary of Patrul Rinpoche and is also generally regarded as one of, if not the main, founders of the non-sectarian movement9. A prolific writer, he wrote extensively on what qualifies someone as a Guru and the overall process of mutual examination between a prospective student and teacher. He follows a classification of types of teacher in the same way as Gampopa, also quoting Gampopa, but goes into considerably more detail in terms of what qualifies someone in terms of pratimoksa, Bodhisattva and Tantric vows. Interestingly he emphasises the importance of meditation in considerable detail, which again is typical of the non-sectarian approach (Kongtrul, 1999: 38-50). Like Patrul Rinpoche, he also warns of the dangers of following false teachers.

These, and other, descriptions are all well and good; however there are certain potential problems that need to be noted. Firstly the economic situation of the individual and the geography of Tibet could have combined to create situations where the practitioner did not have access to a wide range of potential Gurus or indeed the advice as to how to examine them. The Tibetan social role of the Guru, which will be discussed later, along with cultural norms that developed, would possibly create situations where the requisite level of access, let alone the opportunity to ask questions, might well have been impossible. Even if someone was a monk of some standing, the bureaucracy and political climate of a particular monastery could restrict the freedom of movement of individual monks. Ironically the lives of the writers we looked at above to some extent bear this out. Gampopa for example was former doctor who came to monastic life after the death of his wife and children (Mackenzie Stuart, 1995: 21-25). His late arrival into the monastic system and his previous career as a doctor could imply that he had the financial freedom to study and practice rather than becoming part of the machinery of running the monastery. Whatever the exact circumstances, he also left the monastery to seek further instruction from Milarepa and whilst this move is normally portrayed as something that happens as a result of him having gone as far as he can within the system, it is not unlikely that an element of frustration at the system also motivated his move. Patrul Rinpoche also seems to have shunned institutional life, preferring instead to move from place to place, emulating the Siddha lifestyle. Kongtrul was also somewhat unhappy about aspects of institutional monasticism, such as the overt reliance on titles. Whilst he had warned about false teachers previously, his autobiography is far more candid and seemingly pessimistic when reflecting on the decline of monastic and tantric discipline:

The causes of all these situations is said to be the four ways in which moral failings occur – that is, due to ignorance, lack of respect, heedlessness, and a plethora of afflictive emotions. First, as for ignorance, if most of those who are given the titles of a lama or tulku nowadays haven’t the slightest clue about the three levels of ordination – about what constitutes the guidelines to be observed or the various degrees of infractions, transgressions, or violations that can be incurred – how can we expect the rank and file monks to know? Second, although someone might not have a deeply held lack of respect for the training, without any knowledge there can be no real respect; and those who, worse still, deliberately flout their ordination are committing and egregious mistake. Third, it is necessary to cultivate heedfulness, mindfulness, and alertness, for if one is able to do so, one’s physical, verbal and mental behaviour falls under the sway of heedlessness. Fourth, people born in these times of spiritual degeneration10 are subject to afflictive emotions that are growing steadily more powerful, so people for the most part are under the sway of one or another of the three emotional poisons11. Due to such flaws, I myself am constantly plagued by the nagging dread that there is no destiny for me, but some lower state of rebirth.

(Kongtrul, 2003: 253)

His apparent disillusionment with the monastic establishment and its inherent corruption caused by politics and sectarianism may very well have come about as a result of his experiences when joining Palpung12 (dpal spungs) monastery. Kongtrul had received ordination at Sechen (zhe chen), a Nyingma monastery, he was forced to re-take ordination at Palpung due to it being a Karma Kagyu monastery. Whilst this would obviously have made him painfully aware of the politics and sectarianism within the institutional system, his later being ‘recognised’ as an incarnate lama for purely political reasons will have further consolidated his distrust for the established order of things (Kongtrul, 1994: 31-34). Considering he was originally born into a raised in a Bon family before converting to Buddhism, it is obvious that these experiences must have been extremely painful for him, whilst at the same time serving as encouragement for him to attempt to pursue a more ‘pure’ spiritual life in retreat, although his fame and renown somewhat interfered with this as he felt “things truly have not turned out as I planned” (Kongtrul, 2003: 276).

Bearing in mind the Indian Siddha tradition and other factors, it is clear that corruption in monastic institutions is not something new which developed in Tibet, however the ‘institutionalisation’ of lineages of incarnate Gurus in the form of the tulku system will have tied less than spiritual matters to the role of the Guru on a more personal basis and certainly consolidated these issues. This is hardly surprising if one takes the view held by Taranatha and others that Vajrayana developed as a “strictly nonmonastic tradition” (Ray, 2000: 86).

The post examination role of the Guru.

Once a practitioner has examined a potential Guru and entering into a student-teacher relationship is seen as feasible, and indeed desirable, by both parties, the process of empowerment and practice can begin in earnest. As mentioned previously, tantric empowerments with a royal paradigm developed in India. This approach was transmitted to Tibet where it developed further. In general, Tibetan Vajrayana empowerments can be divided into three parts: the actual empowerment ritual (dbang), the reading transmission (lung) for the practice liturgy of the deity to be practiced, and the meditation instructions (tri), this is what to visualise and when, depending on the specific practice involved, this would include both the development (bskyed rim) and completion (rdzogs rim) stages. How elaborate the actual empowerment is will vary, but it will always include vase empowerment, secret empowerment, knowledge-wisdom empowerment and speech empowerment. The role of the Guru here is to effectively give the practitioner permission and ability, through the power of ‘byin rlabs’, to meditate on himself as the deity with the view of understanding the union of appearance and emptiness, the permission and ability to meditate on the union of sound and emptiness through receiving and reciting the mantra of the deity and also to meditate on the union of emptiness and compassion through the mind of the deity being given (Bokar Rinpoche, 1991: 50-51). Depending on the lineage13 and nature of the empowerment being given the practitioner might have to first complete Ngondro (sngon 'gro), the Tantric so-called preliminary or foundation practices, which act as preparation for advanced conventional Vajrayana as well as for Dzogchen (rdzogs pa chen po) and Mahamudra (phyag rgya chen po). In general Ngondro begins with the practitioner contemplating the Four Ordinary Foundations (blo do nam shi), which are precious human birth, impermanence, karma and the suffering of conditioned existence or samsara ('khor ba), common to all schools of Buddhism. The purpose of these is to engender renunciation with conditioned existence, which in a Vajrayana context will be essential for sincere practice. After these come the Four Extraordinary Foundations consisting of taking of refuge and engendering Bodhicitta 100,000 times whilst performing prostrations, followed by purificatory meditation on Vajrasattva (rdo rje sems pas), merit generating Mandala offering and finally Guru Yoga (bla ma'i rnal 'byor ), which are also done 100.000 times each. The role of the Guru and the ‘meditational’ relationship between the Guru and the practitioner varies slightly between these practices. Throughout all of these practices, the Guru plays an important role. As the Guru is the primary object of devotion in Vajrayana, he or she will be visualised in the form of the central deity14 in the refuge tree visualisation during prostrations whilst taking refuge. Similarly, Vajrasattva is identified with the Guru and during the Mandala offering, the Guru is part of the field of merit to which the practitioner offers the Mandala. During these practices the Guru is predominantly seen as an external source of help, although at the end of each session the Guru is visualised as dissolving into the practitioner, as ultimately, according to Vajrayana theory, all sentient beings are inseparable from their own inherent Buddha nature, and the Guru is simply showing them this. It’s important here to point out that these practices are far from something that only belongs to Ngondro, for example the Mandala offering will be part of any empowerment or teaching as it is the only thing which is “worthy enough to be given to a master who bestows an initiation, a priceless gift whose price is therefore infinite” (Beyer, 1978: 168).

The Guru Yoga practice by its very nature is much more explicitly linked to the student-teacher relationship. The purpose of this practice is to increase devotion which is supposed to facilitate the receipt of blessing ‘byin labs’ as well as helping to maintain the samaya. According to Vajrayana theory this practice is also where the practitioner receives the four empowerments, which are seen a pre-requisite for realising the four bodies of a Buddha15. Not only is devotion on the part of the practitioner seen as essential for reception of the Guru’s blessing, it is also the gateway to the realisation of Dzogchen (rdzogs pa chen po) and Mahamudra (phyag rgya chen po).

Devotion is the most suitable state of mind and emotion to open ourselves completely. It is an emotion which is very pure, very clear, open, awake and strong. It is not confused, disconnected or disturbed. If we can create or rekindle our devotion, it is the state of mind which is the most suitable for meditation. Many masters achieved true realisation through devotion, because when you feel devotion, your mind is completely open, ripe and ready for the realisation of your true nature. When you are in a state of devotion, you cannot be angry, jealous or proud. You are totally without any of those negative emotions, therefore you are in the right state of mind. Usually the real Mahamudra experience, the real insight or realisation, is always said to come through devotion.

(Ringu Tulku, 2008: 51)

The emphasis on devotion to the Guru in Vajrayana can be summarised as above in the context of meditational practice, but it is important that there are also a myriad of social and cultural factors which come into play. Whilst Vajrayana teachings emphasise the importance of using ones precious human life for practice, the reality is that historically relatively few people had the opportunity to do so. As we have seen from Kongtrul, even monastic life is full of distractions and thus no guarantee of the chance to practice, and it is to some of these distractions we next turn our attention.

The socio-cultural role of the Guru in Tibet.

It has already been pointed out by Bronkhorst and others that Buddhism had acquired a variety of ritual roles relatively early, due to a need to ensure survival in competition for sponsorship with Brahmins and others. The royal paradigm in Indian Vajrayana further proves this point. The role of the Lama in Tibet not only inherited many of these rituals and the royal paradigm, they also developed several of their own. Whilst popular opinion, particularly in the West, often seems to want to portray the closeness of Vajrayana Buddhism with Tibetan culture as the result of hundreds of years of Tibetan piety, the reality is somewhat more complicated than that.

Before looking at the political factors which prevented Kongtrul and others from fully giving their time to the practices of Vajrayana mediation, it is worth looking at some of the duties which were taken up by Tibetan Lamas in relation to the laity and worldly affairs. These are those rituals which not directly related to the attainment of Buddhahood, described by Samuel as ‘pragmatic’ and relating to ‘folk religion’ (Samuel, 1993: 176).

Divination known as Mo is one of the most common rituals a Lama may be asked to perform. The way the ritual is performed can vary greatly, but some common methods include the use of a ritual mirror16 (me long), prayer beads and the casting of dice. The exact method used is seemingly unimportant as the whole process relies more on the Lama performing the ritual being able to read the signs which appear through the interdependence of all phenomena (Samuel, 1993: 191). Whilst it would be easy to dismiss this practice as on the periphery of Tibetan religious life, however it is anything but as this type of divination is used before deciding the course of action in all manner of things ranging from business affairs to marriage and other family related matters, as well as for consultation on medical matters, and is one of the most commonly requested activities performed for Lama on behalf of the laity. Mo divination may also be consulted for more seemingly religious reasons such as searching for the re-birth of a tulku, the building of a temple, or when to commence a retreat.

Other more elaborate systems of predicting the future have also formed part of the Lama’s role, including various systems of astrology. Whilst astrology could seemingly be an easy target for criticism from Buddhist purists it’s worth bearing in mind that it is something that has a very strong tradition in Buddhist cultures in general continuing up into modern times to the extent that it can have governments engaging in massive building projects on the basis of astrological advice (Harvey, 1990: 172). When one takes examples such as this and the number of high ranking Lamas involved in astrology it is clear that it is something that functions on more than simply a ‘folk religion’ level. The third Karmapa Ranjung Dorje (rang 'byung rdo rje) composed a text on astrology17 in relation to the Kalachakra (Karma Thinley, 1980, 56), which went on to influence the Tsurluk astrological tradition which developed at Tsurpu (mtshur phu) monastery, and which is still used extensively in the Karma Kagyu tradition.

The most well known form of Tibetan divination is probably that of the use of oracles, with the Nechung (gnas chung) state oracle being the most famous of these. This oracle is the main one consulted by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government, a process which continues in exile (Samuel, 1993: 195). Whilst having pretty obvious shamanic and probable pre-Buddhist roots, the process of the medium being possessed by the deity who is being consulted, slightly resembles the idea of self-identification with a deity in the form of Yidam meditation. As with many pre-Buddhist practices absorbed into Buddhism, there is a legitimising narrative relating to Padmasambhava taming spirit known as Pehar, making it a protector of the Dharma and practitioners (Pearlman, 2002: 94). Some might see an irony in the main protective deity of the Tibetan Government, who are Gelug, having such strong and obvious Nyingma roots in terms of both the narrative and the monk who is subject to being ‘possessed’ by Pehar, although according to Dowman, the Nyingma continued the practice after it had been taken over by the Gelug at the time of the fifth Dalai Lama (Dowman, 1988: 67). Despite the politically lofty position of the Nechung oracle, the consultation of oracles is still very much within the remit of ordinary people using them for answers to non-political questions (Samuel, 1993: 195).

At this point it might be worth mentioning a type empowerment not directly related to meditational practices known as ‘Tsewang’ (tshe dbang), which translates as life or long-life empowerment. These are quite interesting as they are effectively a combination of the ‘folk religion’ practices and the more practice related Vajrayana empowerments. A Tsewang takes a similar form to other empowerments, and are understandably mostly given in relation to deities associated with long life and good health, such as Amitayus18(tshe dpag med) and White Tara (sgrol dkar); however the motivation on the part of the recipients is generally somewhat different from the practitioner requesting empowerment.

The power the master magically transmits to his disciples is the power of long life, and not the power of contemplation; and when a delegation of lay people approach a high lama to request his performance of this ritual – and the life of any high lama is a constant succession of such requests – they have in mind not so much his bestowing of authorisation and capacity for their future practice as the exercise of his magical powers to prolong their lives.

(Beyer, 1978: 375)

Another very commonly requested ritual which somewhat strides the ‘folk religion’ and more official Vajrayana is the severance practice of Chod. The basic premise of Chod is for the practitioner to offer his or her body to “Tantric deities, local gods and demons” (Samuel, 1993: 477), which is intended to aid in the ‘severing’ the ego, and thus nurturing Bodhicitta and the path to enlightenment. In the context of ‘folk religion’ or the Lama performing the practice on request, it is generally done, from the point of view of those requesting it, as a way of dispelling demonic influence, particularly in the context of healing and is also often performed as part of funerary rites. Davidson suggest a possible Zoroastrian influence on Chod (Davidson, 2005: 291); which combined with the overall ‘Shamanic’ appearance of the ritual goes some way to explain why it has not been free of criticism from the monastic establishment. One does wonder how much of the criticism of this practice was simply the result of chauvinism, in the almost exclusively male monastic establishment, manifesting against a seemingly powerful practice derived from a powerful woman. Beyer comments on the deep reverence for Chods founder, Machig Labdron (ma gcig lab-sgron) in the Drukpa (brug pa) Kagyu lineage (Beyer, 1978: 47), however, this reverence is also true in other Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, and the first Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa (du gsum mkhyen pa) spent time with her which indicates he received teachings from her18. In response to establishment criticism and misogyny of this practice it is worth remembering the non-monastic origins of Vajrayana in general and to recall the root samayas, one of which specifically forbids the “Disparaging of women, either by mental attitude of considering women to be lower than men, or by verbalising these opinions” (Kongtrul, 1999: 48). Whatever the origins of Chod, it developed and grew in popularity in such a way that it came to be practiced within all the main lineages and became “loved and respected throughout Tibetan Buddhism as a wisdom Dakini” (Ray, 2000:185). This growth in popularity was probably the result of a combination of the practice being seen as useful for both Vajrayana and ‘folk religion’ purposes. However the practice of Chod or any other Vajrayana meditation for personal reasons, other than what Samuel calls the “Bodhi Orientation” (Samuel, 1993: 223) or enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, is seen as highly negative. Something which Jamgon Kongtrul explains at the start of his Chod commentary:

I bow to the Lama and Prajnaparamita, the Great Mother. That which is known as the Mahamudra of ‘Cutting off the Object’ is the wisdom view of the second turning. By the Mantrayana conduct for training awareness associated with taking the unwanted and trampling the causes of evil; understanding gos and demons as one’s own mind; and knowing the equality of self and others, ego-clinging can instantly be cut. If one does not understand this and hopes to tame demons for the sake of food, fame, or profit, and views one’s own illusory appearance as the enemy, then by counting HUNG HUNG PHAT PHAT one engages in a rough, superficial conduct. Known as the ‘reversal of Chod’, it is a very frightful mistake on this path. From the start, one’s mind should be pointed in an unmistaken direction.

(Kongtrul, 2007: 35-36)

Kongtrul’s criticism of Lamas performing various rituals for the laity for the wrong reasons is by no means unique to him, in fact some of the most celebrated Lamas in Tibetan Vajrayana history have been highly critical of what they would see as practice carried out for the wrong, or worldly, reasons and overall corruption amongst individual Lamas and the established monastic order.

All of the rituals the laity would request Lamas to perform, would be paid for, or sponsored, in the hope of not only gaining the immediate benefits such as good health, but with the longer term hope wish to generate ‘merit’ (bsod nams) or positive karma. In fact, there could be a great deal of competition to sponsor any given ritual, depending on the reputation of the Lama leading it (Mills, 2003: 131). Mills suggests that this competitive element to sponsoring religious events is due to the laity viewing different Lamas as having higher or lower levels of spiritual ‘power’, it should not be discounted that the motivation may just as much be a case of wanting to be seen to sponsor such events, effectively a Tibetan case of ‘keeping up with the Jones’s’. Whatever the motivation, the fact is that performing rituals became, and still is, a source of financial income both for monasteries and individual Lamas. In the example Mills uses to illustrate this point the believed superior power of a particular Lama seems strongly dependent on him being a Tulku, however in many cases being a Tulku or other institutionalised Lama would not always guarantee more sponsors as many of the wandering or hermit type practitioners are believed to be particularly powerful (Samuel, 1993: 288).

In a somewhat beautiful irony, the fiercest critics of money making Lamas have often been those who gained the greatest reputations themselves. Often these critics were not just hermits or wandering practitioners, but also those who followed an unconventional Siddha lifestyle often involving being non-celibate, drinking alcohol and often appearing quite fierce. Amongst these Drukpa Kunley ('brug pa kun legs) is one of the most celebrated, both in Tibet and other Vajrayana countries such as Bhutan. A Mahamudra master, Kunley would often mock the establishment and hypocrisy within it through satirical songs (Dowman, 2000: 53-58), but is also said to have taken more direct action, such as this following incident at Drepung ('bras spungs) monastery:

The next day when the monks had assembled, the Lama brought a donkey by the ear, covered him with a red robe, and sat him down at the end of the line of monks. ‘What is this!’ exclaimed the Moral Guard in wrath.
‘This is my friend with the good voice,’ Kunley told them, kicking the donkey to make it bray. The Guard chased him away with sticks, with the Lama shouting over his shoulder to them. ‘You people care more about chanting than meditation!’.

(Dowman, 2000: 64)

Whilst the above story sounds like a socially extreme act, this sort of Gadfly like activity and attitude became relatively widespread, and continues up to the present20, and in the process gaining the acceptance and often praise of more conventional Lamas such as the Karmapa21 praising Kunley for revealing his desire for a woman in the crowd at a teaching he is giving (Dowman, 2000: 75-76).

Samuel places Milarepa and Tangtong Gyalpo (thang stong rgyal po) in the same category of Tibetan Siddha as Kunley (Samuel, 1993: 303); however it’s important that whilst they may both have been unconventional in their own ways, they didn’t achieve similar ‘notoriety’ as they are perhaps more often remembered for their extreme asceticism and bridge building respectively.

Patrul Rinpoche was also highly critical of the performance of rituals carried out with less that sincere motivation on the part of the Lamas involved:
Lamas and monks who profit from the offerings of the faithful and the possessions of the dead22 should have as the very soul of their practice something more than an evaluation of the quantity of meat, the thickness of cheese, and the quality of the offerings they are getting. Whether they are sick or already dead, the moment is crucial for those beings. For the latter have no refuge from their suffering. They need to be caught and secured by the love and compassion of the lamas’ Bodhicitta, and the sincere desire to help.

(Patrul Rinpoche, 1994: 274)

The very existence of fierce criticism of the financial orientation of many ‘folk religion’ rituals from a wide range of Lamas at all points in Tibetan Buddhist history suggests that there were indeed many Lamas who were corrupt, however it does not imply that these same critics felt the laity should in any way be denied these rituals even if they themselves were requesting them out of a sense of worldly concern. Motivation is generally seen as key in Buddhist ethics and as such if a ritual is performed in the context of the ‘Bodhi Orientation’ as far as the Lama doing it is concerned, then the motivation of the sponsors is less of an issue as they are at least potentially contributing to their own store of merit.

Politics and religion, an unhappy combination.

As we have seen, individual Lamas could gain a reputation which might make them the object of frequent requests for a wide array of rituals to be performed on the basis of their own perceived prowess. This situation could be complicated considerably if they were associated with a particular monastery or tulku lineage, with all manner of other duties being associated with a particular Lama as a result, and depending on the patronage, location, lineage and other factors, a particular monastery could become very rich with political influence well beyond its physical boundaries. With wealth and power somewhat built into monasteries, the issue of who controls the monastery becomes a potential minefield of intrigue. Both the tulku system and the hereditary succession practiced in Sakya and some Nyingma traditions would theoretically address this issue, however as the dispute over who is the current Karmapa and other disputations over authenticity of tulkus shows, this is not the case. Of these two systems, the tulku system could easily appear to be the most open to manipulation and abuse by those in power, however many tulkus have come from poor families with no political influence. This is something which will have made those in power nervous as Davidson points out:

By the middle of the twelfth century, there eventually developed the understanding that a clan may own and occupy important denomination centres, where the members of other clans could train but where unlikely to become its successors. The legal basis was clear in these cases, for succession was based on blood. Conversely, the idea of unrelated land inheritance was a murky area in Tibetan life, and the occasional presence of non-aristocratic Tibetans (such as Dusum Khyenpa) at the head of monasteries must have made such as possibility rather jarring for traditionalists, who were already feeling assaulted by the rapid shift in institutional life.

(Davidson, 2005: 290)

The unhappy mix of politics and religion, for some, is something that seems to have occurred on a regular and ongoing basis in the history of Tibet. Chinese and Mongolian competition for control over Tibet at various points also affected the roles of various prominent Lamas in various ways. The Gelug domination of Tibet from the seventeenth century until the Chinese invasion was to some extent consolidated by their adaption of the tulku system, in the form of the Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas, as it was a way of bridging the gap between the Siddha type Lama and ‘establishment monasticism’ (Samuel, 1993: 497-498). However as the reign of controversial sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso (tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho) illustrates, this was not always an easy gap to bridge, nor a guarantee of a simple and strife free political life, if such a thing exists. Tsangyang Gyatso was probably killed on the orders of Lhazang Khan for political reasons (Stein, 1972: 85) and his short life before this was one of tension from being somewhat unwillingly involved in a complex political life rather than being able to pursue spiritual matters23, as his own poetry shows:

Pink clouds
Hide frost and hailstorms;
He who is half-monk
Is a hidden enemy of the Dharma.

(Dhondup, 1981: 89)

As well as showing personal unhappiness, Tsangyang Gyatso’s life shows that the tension between the Siddha approach and ‘establishment monasticism’ was not necessarily that easily resolved, and we are again reminded of Vajrayana Buddhism’s non-monastic origins.

Whilst it could be tempting to describe the politicisation of the Lamas role as purely a centralised Gelug phenomenon, this would be hugely naive and inaccurate. The second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (karma pak shi), spent time at the court of Kublai Khan and engaged in various activities outside the strictly religious sphere, such as encouraging the release of prisoners. However, to avoid potentially stirring sectarian rivalries, he avoided promoting his own Karma Kagyu school over others and also encouraged non-Buddhists to keep their religious commitments (Thinley, 1980: 50). Despite trying to avoid conflict of any kind, court intrigue and rivalry between the Kublai Khan and his brother Mongka Khan led to unhappy circumstances:

The new Khan’s soldiers detained Karma Pakshi and subjected him to various indignities and tortures24 such as burning, poisoning and being thrown off a cliff, but in the face of this brutal treatment he manifested the compassion of Avalokiteshvara and the natural freedom of a mahasiddha. Karma Pakshi’s realisation of the unborn and undying nature of mind mean that his captors were unable to harm him. Eventually he expressed great pity for their confusion.

(Thinley, 1980: 51)

Political activity and involvement by Lamas obviously could be said to have some precedent in relation to the royal paradigm and India, but it is also worth remembering that the Tibetan dynasties were somewhat legitimised by what Ray calls “heavenly origin of the first Tibetan kings” (Ray, 2000: 365). Whatever the origins of a particular lineage, the potential for political involvement seems to have been, and still is, something which could take up a Lamas attention and time. However, the motivation for a particular Lama to engage in political activity is hugely variable. Lamas who were responsible for large numbers of monasteries and monks would have clear economic and practical reasons for political involvement to maintain these institutions, and thereby continuing the influence of these institutions. Whilst it could look like involvement in politics is motivated by either practical need, or even outright desire for wealth, it is also possible that there could be more philosophical reasons behind it. The closing of the Jonang monasteries is sometimes portrayed as the result of ‘heresy’ (Samuel, 1993: 403-404) and sometimes as purely a political event resulting from war that had “nothing to do with sectarianism” (Mullin, 2001: 207).

Conclusion.

The role and activity of the Vajrayana Guru is one that has been extremely varied since its inception in medieval India, through its transmission to Tibet, and through its subsequent development in Tibet. This variety is the result of the non-centralised non-monastic origins of Vajrayana and the continued transmission and practice of it outside centralised monastic structures. However the institutionalisation of Vajrayana in India, and particularly in Tibet, probably helped Vajrayana Buddhism spread as widely as it did. The flexibility within lineages, such as the Shangpa Kagyu (shangs pa bka' brgyud), has meant that lineages have survived within the monastic establishment without having their own institutions. Similarly, decentralisation has also ensured the survival and spread of practices that became practiced across lineages, such as Chod. Tsangyang Gyatso is probably an extreme example, but a good one to illustrate that despite the tulku system generally favouring centralisation it was by no means a guarantee of any given Lama following the wishes, political or otherwise, of those around them.

In relation to the types of ritual activities that go with the role of Lama, there is as we have seen a great deal of variety in motivations and reasons for requesting them as well as for performing them. Considering the plethora of non-meditational practices performed by Buddhist monks in Indian courts it is not surprising that this is something that has continued into Tibet and beyond. To really say whether performing a particular ritual should really come within the remit of a Lama is truly impossible as the relationship between them and the laity has evolved over time and depends on a number of factors. If one takes the view that Vajrayana practice is an extension of Mahayana Buddhism, then one can say that as long as the ritual in some ways is done with compassionate, or Bodhi, motivation with the view of somehow improving the spiritual lives, both current and future, of those requesting them, then they are somewhat authentic or in accordance with Dharma. However, at this point it is important to remember that Buddhism started out as, and essentially is, a path of renunciation. The lifestyles and behaviour of people such as Milarepa, Jamgon Kongtrul and Patrul Rinpoche serve as a reminder of this. As such it is clear that the foundational part of the role of the Lama should be to follow this whilst encouraging and helping other to do the same. Patrul Rinpoche talks of this in terms of the ‘skilful means’ approach of a Lama who is fully enlightened still carrying out purification practices and studying (Patrul Rinpoche, 1994: 263). To summarise the religio-cultural role of the Lama we can say that it is to practice Vajrayana Buddhist rituals, give teachings and empowerments according to the needs and abilities of his students and to act as an example for how to practice.

The socio-political role of the Lama is somewhat more complicated as it depends to a great extent on the political influence of a particular lineage and other factors. This side of things is also something which we can see changing. Historically the Dalai Lamas have been Tibet’s political rulers, however in exile the current Dalai Lama has instigated extensive reforms of the Tibetan political system encouraging a form of representative democracy. Similarly the 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Thinley Dorje (orgyan ‘phrin las rdo rje) has been radically active in ecological issues, including the strict banning of meat in all Karma Kagyu monasteries25 and sending out detailed guidelines for how monastic communities can cut carbon emissions and general waste. He has also been involved in championing the re-institution of full ordination for nuns within the Tibetan tradition.

One can say that the role of the Guru in Vajrayana Buddhism has always been a diverse one which has changed and interacted with the circumstances in which it has found itself. This ability and willingness to change and adapt is perhaps such an obvious feature of Buddhism that it can be easily missed. It is the simple understanding and acceptance that all things, including Buddhism itself, are impermanent and subject to change.

1. For the sake of simplicity, the term Vajrayana will be used throughout this paper and also covers the terms Mantrayana.
2. (khor los sgyur ba'i rgyal po) A universal monarch associated with spiritual kingship.
3. The Eight Auspicious symbols representative of the Buddha are: A parasol representing the Buddha’s head, fish representing Buddha’s eyes, vase representing Buddha’s throat, lotus representing Buddha’s tongue, white conch representing Buddha’s speech, knot of interdependence representing Buddha’s mind, victory banner representing the form of the Buddha and the wheel representing the teaching of the Buddha. (Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, 2004: 56-57). The Eight Auspicious objects relating events in the life of the Buddha are: A mirror, vermillion dye, and white conch, medicine from an elephants brain, durva grass, bilva fruit, yoghurt and white mustard seed. (Kongtrul, 1977: 114)
3. Taranatha was an exponent of the Jonang school, which was persecuted by the Gelug, with Taranatha’s monastery being taken over, admittedly long after his death.
4. This dramatic acting out of finding a teacher is something which later became institutionalised in the tulku (sprul ku) system of finding Nirmanakaya teachers, where the training and education of the young tulku is seen as simply a display of skilful means intended to inspire and benefit others, rather than a necessity for the tulku themselves.
5. Gampopa (1079-1153) was a student of Milarepa (mi la ras pa). Four of the Kagyu schools, Karma Kagyu, Barom Kagyu, Tsalpa and Phagdru are traced back to him.
6. The Kagyu lineage is often referred to as ‘the practice lineage’ due to the emphasis on mediation and retreat over academic study.
7. Vows relating to personal liberation, these can be lay or monastic.
8. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po) is generally seen as a co-founder.
9. There are lots of references to this idea of the teachings of the Buddha declining in Buddhism generally, but particularly in Tibetan Vajrayana. The secret treasure tradition (gter ma) for example always presents itself as somewhat of a response to this.
10. Ignorance, hatred and desire.
11. This monastery, seat of the Situ incarnation lineage, was visited by Patrul Rinpoche.
12. Generally one ‘complete’ Ngondro is required for Anuttarayoga (bla na med pa'i rgyud), however it is somewhat dangerous to make sweeping statements about this firstly due to the pragmatic approach of Buddhism in general. For example the Sakya (sa skya) approach is to give Anuttarayoga empowerment before the completion of Ngondro as part of the Lamdre (lam ‘bras) approach. Secondly, Ngondro not simply a one off practice, in fact some people complete it several times in their lives (Kongtrul, 1977: 22).
13. Nyingma lineages have Guru Rinpoche, Kagyu and Sakya Lineages have Vajradhara (rdo rje ‘chang) as the central figure, whilst the Gelug have Tsongkhapa (tsong kha pa).
14. Nirmanakaya (sprul sku), Sambhogakaya (longs spyod rdzogs pa'i sku), Dharmakaya (chos sku) and Svabhavikakaya (ngo bo nyid sku).
15. I’ve used the term ‘ritual mirror’ as this type of mirror is commonly used in the purificatory rites of many empowerments and Sadhana practices. The mirror is also symbolic or the mind in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen approaches.
16. The Compendium on Astrology (rtsis kun bsdus pa).
17. The Sambhogakaya aspect of Amitabha ('od dpag med), due to Amitabha being seen as the Dharmakaya of Padmasambhava, Nyingma and Kagyu tsewang are generally given in the context of Amitayus.
18. Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa also is said to have meditated heavily on the female deity Vajrayogini (rdo rje rnal ’byor ma), who is central to Karma Kagyu practice (Thinley, 1980: 41-44).
20. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche is often said to have acted in very unconventional ways (Samuel, 1993: 348).
21. It doesn’t say which Karmapa, but it was probably the 7th Karmapa, Chodrak Gyatso (chos grags rgya mtsho).
22. This refers to the custom of using the belongings of the dead for making offerings and sponsoring religious practice for their benefit.
23. Whilst Tsangyang Gyatso refused to take full ordination, much of his poetry has strong religious themes.
24. Karma Kagyu oral legend claims Karma Pakshi was hung by his beard and took a vow never to have a beard again. Succeeding Karmapas have all been clean shaven.
25. This event took place on 3/01/07 at the Kagyu Monlam in Bodhgaya. A transcript is available from www.shabkar.org

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Buddha of the three times, Dusum Khenpa, bless me and those like me who are wandering in the wilderness of samsara that we may meet our spiritual guides face to face in this life and without delay.
Bless us that any frustration and confusion felt at not haveing access to authentic teachers may lead to renunciation and compassion rather than the following of false guides.

LOLITROLLU

2011-01-11T03:34:00.000-08:00

For a number of years I've been fascinated by the similarities between certain types of trolling and the more unusual teachings methods employed by various Buddhist teachers, mostly it would seem, in the Vajrayana and Zen traditions. I'm not going to write more about it at this point, but just felt like referencing it as the lama I'm trying to translate for this week sort of trolled me pretty hard today by reminding me of some things my main teacher had said a few years ago. This was all good, but more to handle than I had expected today.

Watching

2011-01-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

The BuddhaDharma is rich in methods, but in essence it's really about watching our minds, however most of the time we seem more pre-occupied with watching the external world, in particular other people. We watch others intently enough to start judging them as good or bad, both of which are our own projections. If I put as much effort into watching my own mind as I do others, I would have some realisation by now.

Investigate the teacher as well?

2011-01-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

A combination of lack of internet access (Nepali loadshedding FTW!), pretending to study and general cynicism mean it's pretty rare for me to ever see anything online that makes an impact or impress me. This week was an excpetion however, and of all places it came from Facebook.

In a Facebook status update, already commented on here Kalu Rinpoche, a yangsi (an incarnation), of one of the most important Lamas of the last century, basically challenged the importance and relevance of titles. With the arrival in Kathmandu of an infamous fake self-decalred yangsi this week, I don't really want to make this into another one of my ill-informed rants about the tulku system, but rather against titles in a Dharma context in general.

People have since forever been using titles, this isn't going to change, not even an online petition has the power to stop this. This is actually something that happened a few years back btw.

It's not really the titles themselves which are problematic, but rather the ammount of gravitas that people put into them. As such there would be no issue of fake Lamas if people were a bit more reserved in the ammount of faith and trust they put into someone just because he or she has a title that sounds impressive. By titles here, I even include things like being "a student of such and such", not just titles like Lama, Rinpoche, Tulku, Khenpo etc.

This excessive ammount of faith in a titles is probably rooted in most of us not really investigating teachers properly. This was, and to some extent is, an issue in the Tibetan community as most people would simply deferr their spiritual careers to whomever was the family or geographically local Lama. This is something I've seen regularly in my own home.

In the West it seems more of an emotive issue, whichever Lama gives off "good vibes" or in some cases, makes our ego feels good, is quickly elevated to the role of Root Guru. There are huge issues with most uses of this term, but I won't go into it here.

The Buddha encouraged us to investigate his teachings "like gold" and Padmasambhava encouraged us to pay attention to karma "like dust". Both these imply not rushing headlong into something, or someone, just because it seems nice and convenient. This is applicable to all sorts of things from what toilet paper we buy, right up to receiving empowerments, however if we are going to be, in my case pretending, practicing in the Vajrayana, then the teacher is the foundation of this and as such must be genuine. Genuine doesn't mean famous, telling us what we want to hear or any number of other superficial traps.

The qualities and qualifications of a genuine teacher are found in numerous traditional texts and commentaries, and thus are easily available. Similarly the "hardships" undertaken to find a genuine teacher, and then developing a working relationship with him or her, are pretty limited compared with what most of the world goes through daily simiply to survive.

I am Jacks total lack of ............

2011-01-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

It's a tragic irony that whilst I'm happy to spend time throwing myself on the floor, pretending to be mindful, offering my body as food for demons or making offerings of an infinite number of universes, I still feel ok to walk around the Stupa ignoring the beggars and putting more attentiveness on which women I want to fuck than on the actual circumabulation itself.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

I hope the new year brings you happiness and it's causes as well as intense renunciation followed by unbearable compassion.

So this is xmas

2010-12-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

Having mum and dad visiting me in Boudha has been even more amazing than I could have imagined. It's been logistically tricky with mum in a wheelchair, but she managed the stairs at Swayambhu and a fair bit at Namo Buddha, so she is obviously healing well.

Dad seems to have enjoyed helping out at the Rokpa soup kitchen which he had previously supported financially. I think actually being there in person and feeding people made it all more "real" for him, both in terms of understanding how a lot of people have it here, and seeing donations to a charity actually hitting their target. Visiting Thrangu branch monastery with him was also quite moving.

Tomorrow we are staying around Boudha, just with some local visits and lunch and dinner with friends. Thursday might be a trip to Patan.

Christmas Eve we are doing nothing much and Xmas day we are having lunch with my Tibetan family.

They go back on Sunday and I then have a week off before we start back in Shedra, however the first week back is only two hours of oral translation per day, although I will probably have some more language exchange with my Khenpo friend from Sakya college. I would have liked to do retreat for a few days, but have been told to relax a bit, and after the last seven months feel like I need it.

2010-12-06T01:32:00.000-08:00

It's exam week, so everything has a sense of winding down. Next week we only have two hours a day of translation training/practice, although I might have to miss a day or so for practice reasons.

I've also met a Khenpo from Sakya College who is here for a few months and we are doing language, which so far seems to be the most fun and effective way to improve my colloquial Tibetan.

This week will also see the 900th anniversary of Dumsum Khyenpa, the First Gyalwang Karmapa. I'm not sure what is happening here in Boudha, but will try to do something meaningful.

Virtual Karma

2010-12-03T03:28:00.000-08:00

Most of my internet use here is keeping in touch with people back home, or wherever in the world they are. With things like Facebook, I'm noting this becoming increasingly general and less personal than individual e-mails.

Whilst this at first appears to be time saving it's not. Finding out what people I barely have any sort of relationship with on Facebook, or getting distracted by links posted takes up far more time than sending individual and in depth e-mails to close friends and family.

Facebook is also horribly tied into all sorts of crap I don't like, like personal data sharing, targeted marketing as well as potentially being used to spy on people.

Similarly this blog has developed from being somewhere I wanted to share ideas into a narcissistic platform rather than anything of value.

Much in the same way I've gleamed hours of fun from subverting various websites from their intended use, it now seems a lot of my own online habits are showing at similar development.

Stop chasing ghosts.

2010-11-25T03:16:00.000-08:00

As the response to this little gem was colourful to say the least, I though I'd continue with another few points.

Point 4: Stop chasing Ghosts.

In a meditative sense this could mean stop clinging to the past. More broadly it means not being so involved in everything, including a conceptualised idea of our practice. Obsessing over numbers of prostrations, recitations or whatever is unlikely to help you or anyone else. This is one of the few things I can attest to from personal experience. In the words of someone with a slightly lesser beard than mine:

Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just 'cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you're never gonna fucking talk to.

The Buddhist cliche of living in the "now", being present and all that other mindful and awareness stuff is for your own good, right now. Whether you are barely interested in the Dharma or you are practicing the most profound practices of the Vajrayana, this is something that brings immediate fruits.

Point 5: Fuck your snowflake mentality.

Buddha taught 84,000 methods for overcoming the suffering or cyclic existence, however most of us don't have a clue how much we are suffering. Every time we suffer, or rather become aware of suffering, bring attention to the fact that this is the living reality of everyone. You are not special and insisting you are won't help others and with some tragic irony will only prolong and fuel your own pain.

Point 6: Your teacher doesn't give a shit about your drama.

There are thousands of people who have a sincere interest in the Dharma, but do not have a teacher. Yet morons who get access to the greatest living teachers have a tendency to insist on wasting everyones time with irrelevant questions about their relationships and minutae of their personal lives. This is a pretty natural consequence of samsaric mind, so getting angry at these people, people like me, is pointless.

Point 7: You are your own Final Boss of all this.

Whichever vehicle you are practicing, ultimately you are responsible for yourself, your actions and your practice. In the Vajrayana and some other approaches, the teacher is essential, but this doesn't mean an abdication of responsibility. People are very good at showing all manner of outward signs of Guru devotion, but how good are they at investigating the qualifications of the teacher? Being famous doesn't make someone a qualified teacher btw.

Point 8: Make sure the stick doesn't return to your ass.

So you've been practicing for a number of years, received the highest empowerments, done several long retreats and been given some titles. Why still so uptight and angry? This reminds me so much of the stories of Patrul Rinpoches students who did Ngondro 100 times or more. No matter how good people tell you you are, if you take shit too seriously you are still mired in the eight worldy Dharmas and need to maintain the foundation, if it was there to begin with.

How to practice Buddhism without being a fucking retard

2010-11-20T00:40:00.000-08:00

Point One: Remove the stick from your ass.

One of the most common issues with Western Buddhists, both those who 'convert' and those born into it is a strong tendency to take the Dharma, and more worryingly themselves, way too fucking seriously. See previous entries for examples of me doing exactly this.

Taking shit too seriously is a guaranteed way to become tense. When various authentic teachers talk about "practicing like your hair is on fire", or as my teacher told me in retreat "practice like you are fighting for your very life", they mean this in the sense of practicing consistently and genuinely, NOT becoming uptight, humourless and puritanical. The Tibetan word "brtson-’grus" (Sanskrit Virya) is variously translated as "effort," "vigor," "diligence," "zeal," or "energy.", however the best explanations of it I've heard have also imply a sense of joy, or joyous effort.

A few years ago Gyalwa Karmapa gave a teaching to a group of Westerners and people from Taiwan, in other words classic "stick up ass" people. He was teaching how to do Vajrasattva practice, and he explicity stated that Vajrasattva was smiling because people are practicing the Dharma. Similar sentiments are expressed in numerous commentaries.

Even myself as someone who barely knows the real meaning of taking refuge, can attest to the importance of relaxing and not posturing in relation to practice. We start where we are, and if that means laughing at jokes about the Holocaust then we do that. Pretending to be "nice" is self-deceit and hypocrisy and won't benefit ourselves, let alone the limitless beings we are pretending to want to lead to liberation.

In A Brilliant Sun, Patrul Rinpoches commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara, he explicitly talks about "the courage of resting when tired". Laughter and a general sense of lightheartedness go a very long way to making practicing our mind relax which is essential for meditation.

Point Two: Nobody gives a shit about your Scout badges, so don't show them off.

Having done three year retreat, having your picture taken with the Dalai Lama, wearing Ngakpa shawls, being fluent in Tibetan/Pali/Sanskrit/Clingon or having a letter saying you are a Tulku, Lama or whatever does not make you special. To quote one particularly pretentious asshole:

You're not your lineage. You're not how many empowerments you've received.
You're not the Lama you claim to have. You're not the contents of your book collection.
You're not your fucking mala. You're the all-singing, all-dancing, intellectually speculating, orientalist asshole of the world.

If you have encountered authentic teachers and Dharma, this is fucking awesome and you are extremely lucky. If you have done this and are actually putting this to use and practicing, I prostrate to you and aspire to be like you one day. When master Kagyu troll Trungpa spoke of "spiritual materialism" he was referring to how it's very easy to fuck up and let practice build and maintain ego, rather than destroy it, but in this case it's much more coarse than that.

Sitting around telling people how close you are to whichever awesome Lama, which empowerments you've received, how long you've spent in retreat and similar is just a Dharma themed pissing contest. You will probably benefit beings and your practice more by posting pictures of your cock on the internet along with your phone number. You never know, that consort you've been looking for might contact you.

On the puritanical front, meat, or rather non-meat eating springs to mind. If you don't then great, there are far more reasons to avoid meat, according to all three vehicles, than to eat it, but preaching about it and feeling superior about it probably destroys the benefits accrued from it. The same goes for drinking etc.

Point three: You are still in the material, so called real world.

Western Buddhism is generally a white middle class hobby, much in the same way a lot of left-wing political activism is. In the context of Vajrayana, there has also been some historical precedent for this, both before and after it left India.

Being in a position of privilege where you can actually help people, but not doing so due to general laziness of procrastination, lacking renunciation and/or compassion or the very common situation of laziness of self-deprecation, can only really be remedied by ourselves, by watching our own minds, being mindful of whatever shit is going on and dealing with it accordingly. Claiming to be practicing compassion, in a conventional sense, not anything as profound as Bodhicitta, whilst sitting around watching the world burn and very real people suffer, seems grotesquely hypocritical. You have some capacity to help others right now, even if it's just making an unhappy stranger smile in the street.

Point four: It's ok to fail.

The word practice means just that, it's something you do and as your experience grows, hopefully something you become better at. Hopefully Western Buddhists will become better at practicing the Dharma, rather than being good at being Tibetan, Thai, Japanese or whatever nationality they relate to via their particular school of Buddhism.

We're not going to be perfect right away, for example, whilst Tibet produced some amazing practitioners, through most of Tibetan history from the first transmissions up to an including the present day, most Tibetans know fuck all about Buddhism, especially Vajrayana. All we can do is do our best and practice diligently without becoming uptight assholes or despondent because we're not having auspicious dreams/seeing deities or whatever.

The Buddha taught suffering and it's cessation. Most of us have no idea how much we are actually suffering, or how much future suffering we are setting ourselves up for, however if we have some appreciation for the notion of kindness, maybe we can also extend that to ourselves and walk our respective paths with a sense of joy and easy.

The above was intended as a mostly satirical take on the traditional Lojong mind training of the followers of Atisha and as a troll directed at Western Buddhists who take themselves too seriously, such as me, however should any of it be of use to anyone or make them smile, then this is good. If it offends then my troll has been successful. Anyway I'm off to post a facebook status about how awesome my Dzogchen practice is and post pics of me on a night out drinking in a brothel with the Tulku of Drukpa Kunley.

2010-11-15T03:33:00.000-08:00

When the great and the good discuss the state of the Dharma in the West, there is at times mention of the massive lack of material support, for ordained persons, retreat centres, monasteries, printing of texts etc. Then there are the more personalised issues around the watering down of key points of Buddhist doctrine, such as karma, re-birth and assorted philosophical tenets. The latter of which have been the subject of Buddhist debate for millenia.

One thing which does seem to escape attention, even in the blogosphere, is that people get angry and are actually experiencing the kleshas. No matter how many times you've paid for the title Lama or met the Dalai Lama, you are still a human being experiencing all the same poisonous shit as everyone else. Being fluent in Sanskrit, having received Dzogchen teachings or tantrically fucking someone from Lithang doesn't change this.

True, you may have access to the most effective methods for dealing with these emotions, but it's not an overnight thing, and denying them and pretending they are not there isn't sincere.

This post isn't in any way related to being in Nepal, but rather a pre-lude to a satirical commentary on the Lojong I may or may not write.

2010-11-09T22:25:00.000-08:00

There are many seemingly basic points which are overlooked in our practice. Particularly hope and fear, or rather not being concerned with them, during whichever sitting practice. In my limited experience, and from talking to others, it seems hope and fear come up a lot in relation to Yidam/Deity meditation. Then once the hope and/or fear are there, it becomes harder to do the actual practice and we potentially enter a destructive cycle and become uptight.

It doesn't have to be like this. If we relax, the whole thing will be more beneficial. When we are having problems visualising, we can simply relax for a bit before going back to the actual practice.

Worrying about the visualisation being unclear or somehow not complete is also pointless as Jamgon Kongtrul points out "the murky/unclear visualisation is also mind".

Again I'm blogging about school. :/

2010-11-06T02:57:00.000-07:00

Being back from retreat and back in Boudha is actually ok. I'm trying to work out a way of having a year to practice and study Tibetan before going straight into a Phd.

I've decided to carry on with Tibetan family homestay for the entire year rather than move in with Beavis and Butthead, this is due to linguistic, financial and other reasons.

The Thangka I've ordered is now at the ready to paint stage. In other words all the outlines are on the canvas and it looks amazing.

It also seem there will be an influx of visitors from back home which could be fun.

Schools out

2010-10-22T04:14:00.000-07:00

On this auspicious day, we finished Patrul Rinpoche's "Brilliant Sun", a commentary on the Bodhicaryavatara.

2010-10-18T04:05:00.000-07:00

In the Hagekure, imagining being shaken to death by a great earthquake is listed as part of a general meditation on inevitable death. Last night I was awake when I felt two aftershocks from a quake up near the border. I've experienced earthquakes before, but not quite like this. A nice little reminder of what is important.

2010-10-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

I want a clean slate. Ironically that's exactly what we have all the time, but we insist on putting all kinds of crap on it. This isn't something to blame ourselves or anyone for, it's just a bad habit.

2010-10-09T02:56:00.000-07:00

This week we briefly covered generosity with Lama Pema in the class on Patrul Rinpoche's "A Brilliant Sun". There is no way I can really comment on this, but I am noticing how badly misdirected my own attempts at practicing this paramita can be, nto so much in the material sense, but rather in terms of the generosity of "emotional availability" and time when neither are really that important or appropriate.

All the Mahayana perfections need to be practiced in the context of the four thoughts that turn the mind to Dharma, unless genuine renunciation is actually present and they need to be practiced with impartiality, otherwise it's another ego game, and like Gampopa said "Dharma practiced incorrectly can become a further cause of samsara".

2010-10-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

So after roughly two weeks of being sick on and off I've decided to actually take medicine rather than go with the "letting it wear itself out" approach.

This week, and over the weekend, I definitely noticed an improvement in my Tibetan. Due to studying all the time, I'm sort of worried that this blog will just turn into a blog about that, which is annoying as I'm feeling very inspired to write again, but simply don't have the time.

2010-10-01T04:12:00.000-07:00

Despite feeling the most de-motivated I have for a long time this morning, I did some "extra" practice and it helped put me in a more positive mindset. I'm definitely making progress and it seems I will be able to stay here a while longer and continue studying.

Also as well as reminding myself that rejoicing in others happiness equals more happiness for myself, it's also worth remembering that some people are just nice.

2010-09-28T05:14:00.000-07:00

The most frustrating thing about learning any language is the difficulty in accurately assessing your progress. Various people say I'm improving, but then there will be things like the huge variety of how people say things, and I don't just mean in terms of regional differences or shesa, but much more random variations.

This weekend Pema and I went away and spoke Tibetan for roughly 60% of the time, 100% on one evening and she seems to think I'm doing ok, yet she trolls me about my Tibetan all the time.

No concrete answers on how much longer I'll be able to stay/whether or not I can continue to study, but I'm feeling optimistic, plus the chaotic uncertainty is definitely a good antidote to excessive attachments of all sorts.

2010-09-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Received Guru Rinpoche empowerment from HH Sakya Trinzin today. He hit me very hard on the head and later a very clear Buddha head shaped cloud appeared. Good Times.

Going away this weekend. There might also be some interesting news in the next few weeks, but I'll be posting it on facebook as it's something worth sharing with more than two people.

Finally

2010-09-23T00:24:00.000-07:00

Excluding the issues around studying, there have in the last few days emerged news from home which is putting everything I'm doing here in jeopardy, however the real problem is the way other people are being affected.

This should conventionally make me sad, but it feels like my Lamas blessing as it's given me a bit of a kick and a timely reminder of the actual living hell that cyclic existence is. No matter how much honey there is on the razor blade, the razor blade is still there and will always cut us.

Part of the issues are financial, so I will not have as much internet access as before, thus this might be my last blog for a while.

It's also Shakyamuni day, so let's all try to develop some genuine revulsion with samsara and compassion for all who suffer there, rather than writing big words we have zero actual experience of.

2010-09-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

I've blogged about my overall sense of disappointment with the set up here before, so won't bother rehashing it again, sufficing to say I'm having trouble deciding what to do about it all from a samaya perspective as that's really all that matters at this stage.

Despite most aspects of the course being disappointing in how they are set up and varying levels of un-professionalism, I am enjoying most of it despite it being very obvious that there will be no real benefit to completing the course.

Outside school things are the same as ever, I have some awesome friends here, an am seeing someone who isn't excessively needy or high maintenance, but given the choice I'd rather be in retreat.

About twelve years ago I obsessively wanted to be a monk, I still do at times, then when I looked at why I wanted to be one, and why I at one time did take vows, my motivation seemed somewhat mixed and confused.

With retreat it's a similar thing. Retreat is simply doing practice, admittedly in conditions which are in some ways better than those in the 'normal' world, however it's still doing the same thing.

I've gone off on a tangent.

2010-09-20T00:29:00.001-07:00

Grant your blessing so that my mind may become one with the Dharma.
Grant your blessing so that the Dharma may go along the path.
Grant your blessing so that the Dharma may clarify confusion.
Grant your blessing so that confusion may dawn as wisdom. - Gampopa.

2010-09-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

In this life I have never benefited a single living being, however I've benefited myself in a very short term way which will be the cause of my own future torment countless times.

Being deluded, the above doesn't fill me with fear. I am actually convinced being aware of it is a great leap forward.

2010-09-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

On the study front I sort of feel I'm going backwards rather than forwards. See my previous post on perseverance for an explanation as to why I don't really give a fuck.

In other news, well nothing much dramatic. One of the nicest human beings I've ever met left this week, but every meeting is the beginning of separation.

After morning practice and breakfast I went to the stupa to do sang offering. After I'd placed the burning stuff into the fire, it "simmered" until I'd consecrated it, said some prayers and dedicated any merit. At this point it burst into a blazing intense fire with white smoke billowing everywhere. I took this as a good omen, following a similar experience a few years ago in India.

Sick

2010-09-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Buddha of the Three Times Gyalwa Karmapa, Precious Root and lineage Lamas, hold me and all beings without exception in your compassion.

May the sickness experienced in my head purify the sickness of ego and pride in all beings.

May the sickness experienced in my throat purify the sickness of negative speech in all beings.

May the sickness in my chest purify the sickness of hatred in all beings.

May the sickness in my stomach purify the sickness of greed in all beings.

May the aches in my muscles purify the complacency with samsara in myself and all beings.

May the sickness of ego-clinging, not seeing mind for itself and the false taking of appearances as real, be immediately healed in all beings.

Whatever roots of virtue I may accidentally have generated, may they be the cause of unsurpassed Buddhahood, already inherent, in all beings throughout space.

Why I am not a Buddhist

2010-09-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

One of the things which tends to make me rage hard in relation to Western Buddhists in general, is the idea that you can get stoned and do meditation that has any value whatsoever. You can't, it really is that black and white.

Rather than going off on one of my usual judgemental fundamentalist rants, which are purely based on my own limited intellectual understanding of Dharma, rather than wisdom born in meditation, I'm taking the above issue of contradictory attachment and applying it to myself.

My main obstacle to practice is, and has always been women. Yet I convince myself that it's possible to combine some sort of relationship with genuine practice. In my case, I think this level of self-deceit is pretty astronomical. I could of course try to explain that desire, be it for emotional or physical intimacy is simply a manifestation of mind and thus empty of inherent existence and so on. This however would be an act of stupidity on par with the "monk" I met in a Thamel nightclub who said experiencing what he was there was helping him overcome dualistic attachment, or some other moronic statement based on something read in a book on Dzogchen or similar.

Facts. I gave up being a monk and retreat to enter into a relationship which was more negative than positive. It helped fuel my own clinging and attachments as well as encourage them in others. Nothing positive came from it apart from two women eventually taking refuge in a probably superficial way. In hindsight, there was no other reason for disrobing and leaving retreat than attachment to concepts.

Similarly, when I lived in Dharamsala, lots of practice opportunities were wasted because of my attachment to a woman. At this point there was no negativity generated by disrobing or similar, but there was the usual furthering of delusion and possibly some samaya issues, but those are a permanent fixture.

In summary, when I am in retreat, on vows or otherwise not overwhelmed (over dramatic much?), my practice is steady and some revulsion with samsara arises.

So avoiding women seems like the sensible thing to do?

When I asked Gyalwa Karmapa about taking proper ordination, he said think about it after four years retreat. Think about it, not do it.

When I asked another Lama, whom I consider my main teacher, whether or not I should give up women he said no.

Then more recently various Nyingma Lamas have been similarly unhelpful, in one case trolling me by suggesting I'd achieve rainbow body in this life.

The issue isn't really anything to do with whether or not I put my cock inside someone or not, or whether I wear funny clothes and shave my head. It's about how much I allow myself to become attached to the ideas themselves.

The whole essence of the BuddhaDharma is to watch ones mind, and root out attachments, both coarse and subtle. This is something I entirely fail to do, thus I am not a Buddhist in anything other than name. Names and titles mean nothing other than an extension of ego.

2010-09-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

Last night I did a quick Dorsem before bed, this was after the aily teachings on "Words of my perfect teacher" which Sonam is teaching at Lama Wangdu's monastery every evening. Before this I'd spent some time practicing colloquial with Pema, although I admit wanting to spent time with her is not entirely motivated by wanting to learn Tibetan.

I had extensive dreams last night, possibly due to the thunderstorms. They were mostly involving various monks I know and the Buddha of the Three Times, Gyalwa Karmapa. During this mornings prostrations and Dorsem it really felt like he and my other Lamas were there.

Tsondru

2010-09-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

A combination of living in a country which has been ruined by communist retards, being ignored by my Lama, various samaya issues, my own attachments and feeling bad about having invested my inheritance in a course which doesn't seem to be that effective in terms of actually making me competent at Tibetan, let alone as a translator, has left a somewhat bitter taste in my generally overactive mouth.

Unsolicited advice from well meaning people have added to the overall sense of "things not going as planned" and I'm borderline homesick for the first time in my life. The latter is probably more due to the general sense of isolation I'm feeling rather than wanting to be in Europe. On the flipside, Patrul Rinpoche, and others, always point out that loneliness leads to concentration. This does to some extent seem to be true, however the real benefits for me personally from the current situation is a reminder of the importance of seeing things through. When I was 18 I nearly killed myself just to "serve" in a military unit that was seen as somewhat prestigious. What then of determination when it's vaguely Dharma related?

Practicing Dharma involves some hardships, but these are minimal when compared with what most of the world does daily simply to survive in the destructive capitalist hell we have created, as Shantideva points out. He didn't mention the capitalist part though.

With the right determination there is nothing that is impossible. About ten years ago I was having a hard time with various things and went into retreat. My Lama said I would benefit greatly from the retreat. Upon completion, I felt like I could walk through a mountain. It is all a matter of being certain about ones own motivation. Once that is clear, everything else is secondary.

There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. By doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to all things.

Hagakure.

2010-09-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

So translator training proper has started. It's more fun that the language only stuff, intense, but interesting.

Over the weekend I went out, which is unusual for me these days. The highlight of this was being threatened with having my eyes gouged out and having a bottle of Gurkha beer smashed into my face, this was unfortunate, partly as the aforementioned beer is a shitty chemical fare, rather than anything decent. It was nice to have this opportunity to sit through this whole experience without reaction how I would have done 12 years ago.

Over the last two days the shit has sort of hit the fan on a personal level in relation to my so-called practice and a few other things, combining this with various things not working so well, or at all, in school this has led to me experiencing something approximating stress. After the experiences of pretending to be in retreat, it's nice to have this stuff all coming up.

I don't want to be here and experience this shit, but I am and that's the whole point of practice. Dealing with reality, not some form of escapist fantasy.

The influx of new people hasn't brought with it the high numbers of orientalist weirdoes I had hope would come to irritate me, however I seem to be doing quite well on my own.

The Stupa

2010-08-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

At the Northern side I prostrate to Master of Oddiyana, Peerless Longchen Ramjab and others of the old schools. May your direct link to the state of knowing remain forever, benefiting beings through the teachings on the Great Perfection and the blessing of the natural state.

At the Eastern side I prostrate to the Buddha of the three times, Gyalwa Karmapa, Dhagpo Lhaje and others of the father-son lineage. May your pristine teachings on Buddhahood in one life remain forever, benefiting beings through the path of joyous effortless effort and the blessing of the natural state.

At the Southern side I prostrate to the Glorious Drakpa Gyaltsen, Jamyang Khyentse and others of the Sakya school. May your mastery of tantra remain forever, benefiting beings through The Hundred Sadhanas and the stainless teachings of the six Ornaments of the land of snow.

At the Western side I prostrate to the Manjushri emanation Lord Tsongkhapa, Tsangyang Gyatso and others of the virtuous ones. May your admantine intellect remain forever, benefiting beings through The Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path and Yamantaka.

Having completed a circuit I pray all samaya breakers, including myself, connect with genuine lineages, develop sincere devotion and compassion, liberating concepts instantly and in this very instant realise Buddhahood for the sake of beings to the ends of space.

Deity Meditation

2010-08-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

Sadhana practice is one of the most common and important forms of Tantric Buddhist ritual practice. It was practiced at the height of Tantric Buddhism in India and is practiced in all schools contemporary of Tantric Buddhism, Tibetan Vajrayana, Korean Milgyo and Japanese Shingon. A Sadhana is a ritualised meditation on a chosen deity, or ishta-deva (yi dam); its mantra and the liturgy that goes with it. Whilst there is a great variety of Sadhanas practiced, depending on factors such as lineage and classification of Tantra, they all are fairly similar in terms of contents and method. This paper aims to explore how Sadhana is practiced in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. The basic premise of Tantric deity meditation is that it is a method for transforming ones ordinary perception of reality and ultimately experience and understand the nature of reality, or become enlightened. Here it is useful to briefly mention a couple of doctrines which are essential to understanding Vajrayana practices.

Emptiness and Buddha Nature

Mahayana, and consequently Vajrayana, Prajnaparamita or perfection of wisdom literature, such as the Heart Sutra, The Diamond Cutter Sutra and other texts expound the teachings on emptiness or Shunyata (stong pa nyid). The teachings on emptiness were codified and propagated by scholars such as Nagarjuna and others in the Madhyamika (u ma) philosophical school. A necessarily simplified explanation of Emptiness is that all phenomena are ‘empty’ of inherent independent existence and as such only exist in interdependence on other factors and phenomena. This emptiness is not a simple nihilistic absence of anything whatsoever as clearly phenomena do exist on a conventional or relative level according to our everyday sensory experience. This everyday experience of the world could be said to have its basis in conceptual and dualistic intelligence. With this conceptual and dualistic approach to the world comes suffering in all its forms. Once ultimate reality is understood on a deep level, rather than a purely intellectual one, suffering ceases. The enlightenment of the Buddha is simply understanding things how they actually are, rather than how they appear, whilst at the same time not being separate from it.

This ultimate non-differentiation between Buddha and seemingly unenlightened beings is essential to Vajrayana, as it gives a doctrinal basis for Buddha Nature.

The Buddha has said that all beings possess the essence of Buddhahood because the buddhajnana has always been present in all beings, the immaculate nature is non-dual and the Buddha-potential is named after its result. Asanga

Buddha Nature is the belief and doctrine that all sentient beings have the potential to become Buddha. So key to Vajrayana practice is this doctrine, that Gampopa entirely devotes the first chapter of the Jewel Ornament of Liberation to it, describing it as the ‘Primary cause’ of enlightenment. Considering the importance of Asanga in the Karma Kagyu (karma bka' brgyud), it is interesting to note that he quotes from a number of Sutras to support his argument, but does not quote Asanga in this chapter. The potential to become enlightened as espoused by the doctrine of Buddha Nature is understood somewhat differently depending on the tradition, where many Mahayanist would see the path to enlightenment as being a very long process, whereas Vajrayanists believe enlightenment can be realised in a single lifetime through the utilisation of methods such as deity Sadhana practice.

The theory behind deity meditation in Vajrayana is that the yogi can access his true nature, thus understanding the nature of reality and be freed from the dualistic ignorance which keeps him in conditioned existence or samsara ('khor ba).

Misunderstanding this reality, we wander endlessly in the cycle of existence. The disciple must be introduced to the realisation of the true nature of his or her mind by a competent master, and then must meditate. When the disciple effectively reaches this recognition, the waves of the mind are reabsorbed in the immensity of primordial awareness. It is realisation of Mahamudra (phyag rgya chen po) or Maha-Ati (rdzogs pa chen po), the union of intelligence and emptiness, to which the phase of completion leads. Kalu Rinpoche

It is very important to note that the level of ‘reality’ accredited to Yidams varies depending on the practitioners level of experience and understanding. The Vajrayana pantheon serves as a focus for hope and devotion for thousands, few of whom are likely to have the time and resources to engage in the meditational approach that a yogi will take. The cross-cultural devotion to Avalokiteshvara (spyan ras gzigs), the Buddha of compassion, across the parts of Asia where Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism are practiced is testament to this. Avalokiteshvara is found in many forms, including two armed, four armed, eight armed and thousand armed. In Vajrayana countries this deity is seen as male, whilst in parts of China and Japan it is more commonly depicted as female and is known as Guan Yin or Kannon. Devotees of the Dalai Lamas and Karmapas view them as incarnations of Avalokiteshvara.

Preparation for Sadhana

Before the yogi can engage in the Sadhana fully there are a number of factors that have to be in place. Firstly, he needs to have a Guru (bla ma) who can initiate and instruct him, and secondly he may have to complete various preliminary practices known as Ngondro (sngon 'gro), although some of the practices of the Ngondro, such as Vajrasattva (rdo rje sems pas) and Guru Yoga (bla ma'i rnal 'byor) are no different from the Yidam deity meditation that shall be discussed in detail later. Ngondro varies slightly between the different lineages of Tibetan Vajrayana, but generally consists of performing 100,000 prostrations with taking refuge and generating Bodhicitta, 100,000 Vajrasattva 100 syllable mantras, 100,000 Mandala offerings and 100,000 Guru Yoga.

Whilst the teacher is important to varying degrees in most schools of Buddhism, in Vajrayana Buddhism he is a key figure, without whom practice is impossible for the yogi. In Vajrayana the Guru is seen as a Buddha.

Although in their realization they are Buddhas, in their actions they are attuned to how we are. With their skilful means they accept us as disciples, introduce us to the supreme authentic Dharma, open our eyes to what we should do and what we should not do, and unerringly point out the best path to liberation and omniscience. In truth, they are no different from the Buddha himself; but compared to the Buddha their kindness in caring for us is even greater. Always try, therefore, to follow your teacher in the right way, with the three kinds of faith Patrul Rinpoche

The reason for the centrality of the Guru in Vajrayana lies in the difficult concept of the transference of ‘chinlap’ (byin rlabs), which is varyingly translated as grace, empowering energy, inspiration or blessing. It is difficult not only due to the lack of a perfect translation, but also because it is something which is difficult to study academically as an outsider to a tradition. Kalu Rinpoche compares it to electric power in that it flows from the Buddha, through the lineage of transmission to the yogi. Consequentially the Yidam is seen as inseparable from the Guru, in fact the Sadhana liturgical text used for this paper sees the deity addressed as Lama.

Assuming the Guru has this ‘empowering energy’, the yogi has to have certain corresponding qualities for the transference to work. There exists a great deal of writing, both Tibetan and Indian on the requirements of both Tantric Gurus and their disciples, Jamgon Kongtrul devotes several chapters of his encyclopaedic Treasury of Knowledge to exploring these qualities as well as how the yogi should follow his Guru as well as how the process of finding a suitable Guru should be undertaken, similarly Patrul Rinpoche has a whole chapter on the topic in Words of My Perfect Teacher. Ashvaghosa’s Fifty Stanzas of Guru-Devotion is a more condensed and poetic description, which Jamgon Kongtrul extensively quotes from and comments on. In brief, the qualities required of the Guru are summed up as being honest, compassionate and loving towards all sentient beings, having a tamed mind and being knowledgeable about the tantras, sutras and shastras. Kongtrul also talks about the different types of Guru in terms of whether or not they are a layperson or ordained to novice level (dge tshul) or have full ordination (dge slong), where he concludes by saying that a fully ordained Guru is best, unless he or she is someone who has reached the first bodhisattva Bhumis as the realisation that goes with this supersedes any issues of which vows they have as ‘support’.

The aspiring yogi must have certain qualities which Jamgon Kongtrul lists as: devotion, ability to understand the ‘profound view’ or pure view (dag snang), confidence or faith in Tantric practice and the ability to keep pure samaya (dam tshig). It is generally accepted that keeping a pure view of the Guru is essential to the maintenance of samaya, and that samaya is established once a connection is made between a Guru and a yogi. As Tantric commitments and samaya are seen as extremely serious business, it is important that the Guru and prospective disciple examine each other very closely rather than immediately rushing into a relationship which could be detrimental to both of them. Patrul Rinpoche quotes Padmasambhava:

Not to examine the teacher, is like drinking poison. Not to examine the disciple is like leaping from a precipice.

Once the basis for a proper Guru disciple relationship has been established, the Guru can then empower the yogi to practice. According to Stephan Beyer there are five types of “transmission of lineage and authority”, ranging from the more fantastical “revelatory” and the hidden treasure (gter ma) tradition of Padmasambhava to the more commonplace “lineage of initiation, textual transmission and instruction”. When discussing Sadhana in a general sense it is most expedient to focus on the latter, although there are many Sadhana practices that come from the hidden treasure tradition of the Nyingma lineage.

Vajrayana empowerments have three parts: the actual empowerment ritual (dbang), the reading transmission of the liturgical Sadhana text (lung) and the actual meditation instructions (tri) for the deity. The empowerment ritual itself can be more or less elaborate, but always contains the vase empowerment, secret empowerment, knowledge-wisdom empowerment and speech empowerment. Irrespective of how elaborate the initiation ritual itself is, it can be summed up as giving the aspiring yogi the permission and ability to meditate on himself as the deity in order to understand the union of appearance and emptiness, the permission and ability to meditate on the union of sound and emptiness through receiving and reciting the mantra of the deity and also to meditate on the union of emptiness and compassion through the mind of the deity being given. In order for the empowerment ritual to be successful, the Guru must be motivated by love and compassion, as well as having some experiential meditational accomplishment of both the development (bskyed rim) and completion (rdzogs rim) stages of the deity of whom the empowerment that is being given. The aspiring yogi must also trust the specific ritual and the Guru, and the symbolic ritual objects must be in place. Refuge and Bodhisattva vows are also included in all empowerments. After being initiated and receiving instructions the yogi is then ready to start practicing the Sadhana of the particular deity in question.

Structure of a Sadhana.

The ritualised structure of most Sadhana practices is pretty similar, so for the sake of simplicity I will illustrate by primarily focusing only on one relatively common Sadhana, All-Pervading Benefit of Beings, The Meditation and Recitation of the Great Compassionate One. This is a short Avaloketishvara (spyan ras gzigs) Sadhana by the ‘renaissance man’ figure of Tangtong Gyalpo9 (thang stong rgyal po), which is practiced across Kagyu, Nyingma and Shakya (sa skya) lineages. It belongs to the Kriya class of Tantra.

Like all Vajrayana rituals the Sadhana starts with taking Refuge and generating Bodhicitta (byang chub kyi sems). Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels, is what makes this meditation specifically Buddhist, whilst the generation of Bodhicitta is what marks it as a Mahayana practice. Vajrayana Buddhism has Mahayana philosophy and ethics as its foundation, the techniques and practices described in the Tantras are what make it different from other the other Mahayana traditions.

Depending on time and the elaborateness of the ritual, after this there may be inserted various other prayers of aspiration such as the Four Immeasurables (tshans pa'i gnas bzi) or various lineage prayers, either to the general lineage of the yogi or the lineage of transmission of the particular practice. There may also be offering prayers or some sort of Mandala offering. However in this particular Sadhana there is not. During this part of the Sadhana the deity, in this case Avaloketishvara, is visualised as appearing in space in front and above the yogi, thus the deity is supplicated for Refuge as well as being an object of offering.

From the HRIH, appears noble and supreme Avalokita. He is brilliant white and radiates the five lights. Handsome and smiling, he looks on with eyes of compassion. He has four hands: the first are joined in anjali; the lower two hold a crystal mala and a white lotus. Adorned with ornaments of silk and jewels, he wears an upper garment of deerskin. Amitabha ('od dpag med) crowns his head. His two feet are in the vajra posture. His back rests against a stainless moon. He is the embodiment of all objects of refuge Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

The syllable HRIH is the seed syllable of Avalokiteshvara. When meditating, the yogi will visualise radiating lights from this syllable, which is standing on a lotus and moon. These lights are seen as going in two directions: Firstly the lights go ‘down’ to relieve the suffering of sentient beings in samsara, they do this by taking the suffering and bringing it back to the HRIH. Then the lights go ‘up’ to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas carrying offerings, the lights return then return carrying the blessing of these deities which transforms the HRIH into Avalokiteshvara. The physical features relate to various Buddhist teachings or have other symbolic meaning, in some cases multiple meanings. The four hands correspond to the Four Immeasurables; the joined hands are holding a jewel which is representative of Bodhicitta. The mala represents the drawing of beings towards liberation, whilst the white lotus is symbolic of purity and working in the world without being tainted by it. Sitting in the vajra posture symbolises the union of compassion and emptiness, the deer skin represents the legendary kindness of the deer. Amitabha is visualised on top of Avalokiteshvara as he is his teacher in the traditional mythology of Avaloketishvara.

After this the liturgy contains a short supplication of verbal prostration to Avalokiteshvara. In the fasting ritual of the thousand armed Avalokiteshvara (smyung gnas), physical prostrations are performed whilst chanting this particular supplication prayer.

Next comes the seven branched prayer, various versions of which are found in most Sadhanas, it is also found in all Mahayana Buddhist schools. In this Sadhana text the words are given, but this is not always the case.

The act of homage functions to reduce pride and foster a sense of devotion, whilst offering is intended to generate merit (bsod nams), whilst also being an expression of the Bodhisattva perfection16 of generosity (sbyin pa) and a way of reducing greedy tendencies. Confession, if done sincerely and in conjunction with Four Powers, is believed to reduce the effects of negative karma, or even purify it completely. Rejoicing in the virtues of others is a way of generating merit, habituating oneself to valuing virtue, effectively functioning as mind training. Requesting the teachings generates merit and also serves to express and develop further appreciation for the teachings. Requesting the Buddhas to not enter Nirvana is similar to requesting the teachings and dedicating the merit makes the whole practice a Mahayana practice and aids the development of Bodhicitta. Whilst the above order is generally how the seven branch prayer is performed, the 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje (dbang phyug rdo rje) states that Refuge is occasionally added between making offerings and confession.

After the seven branched prayer there is a supplicatory prayer called, “The supplication of calling with longing”, where the relationship between negative emotions and their corresponding samsaric realm is laid out. This reminds the yogi to be mindful of these emotions, develops renunciation by contemplating the suffering of samsaric existence and develops compassion as each verse ends with a supplication that beings from the realm mentioned be born in the presence of Avalokiteshvara, which can be taken literally or as an aspiration that all beings develop the non-dual compassion embodied in Avaloketishvara. This part of the liturgy concludes with aspirations to carry out the activities of Avaloketishvara, as up until now the visualisation has been of the deity as something external ‘in front’ of the yogi. This changes during what could be considered the main part of the visualisation.

The main visualisation is done according to the description in the first part of the liturgy, however the radical difference is that the yogi is now identifying himself with the deity. The initial stage of the visualisation, with the syllable HRIH transforming is done exactly as before this visualisation is known as the ‘pledge being’ (dam tshig pa), this is a complicated concept, but basically means it’s created purely by the yogi, who after receiving initiation is a holder of a pledge, or samaya (dam tshig), with the deity in question. The yogi then visualises lights emanating from a HRIH in his heart, which summons the wisdom deity (ye she pa) who effectively consecrates the initial visualisation. The visualisation is now seen as more ‘alive’, and at this point the yogi will remain in this state whilst reciting the mantra of the deity, which in this case is the six syllables OM MA NI PAD ME HUNG18. This mantra is then visualised as circling the white HRIH inside the yogi visualised in the form of the deity. Each syllable emits lights which pacify a corresponding negative mental state and realm of existence. The 15th Gyalwa Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje (mkha' khyab rdo rje), lists them in the following way: OM is white, and purifies pride and karma associated with the gods realm. MA is green, and purifies jealousy and karma associated with jealousy. NI is yellow, and is associated with the human realm and purifying desire. PAD is blue, and purifies the karma associated with ignorance and the animal realms. ME is red, and purifies the negative emotion of greed which is associated with the hungry ghosts (yi dags), whilst HUNG is black, and associated with purifying aggression and hatred in the hell realms. All beins are transformed into the deity and all realms are transformed into Sukghavati (bde ba can), the land of bliss. All of this is a rather complicated process of multitasking and simplified versions are encouraged until the yogi is able to carry out the whole process.

This part of the meditation is what is known as the creation stage (bskyed rim). As mentioned this is quite an all encompassing process, however it is essential that the yogi keeps a view of emptiness during the process, as to avoid simply replacing the samsaric ignorance driven reality with another, perhaps seemingly more pleasant one. According to Padmasambhava:

Do not regard the Yidam deity as a form body; it is a Dharmakaya. The meditation on this form body as manifesting from Dharmakaya and appearing with colour, attributes, ornaments, attire, and major and minor marks should be practiced as being visible while devoid of a self-nature. It is just like the reflection of the moon in water. When you attain mental stability by practicing like this, you will have a vision of the deity, receive teachings, and so forth. If you cling to that you will go astray and be caught by Mara. Do not become fascinated or overjoyed by such visions since they are only the manifestations of your mind.

The yogi will do this part of the practice for a certain period of time, which is not specified, although some Sadhanas specify a certain number of mantra recitations for each session. After this the yogi will begin to dissolve the visualisation as part of beginning the completion stage (rdzogs rim). The process of dissolving the deity, much like the creation stage, can be done in a number of ways, but they are either gradual or instant. If it is done gradually, the deity is visualised as melting into the mantra, which melts into the seed syllable, in this case a HRIH, which is then dissolved in stages, until it dissolves into emptiness. Once the visualisation is dissolved, the yogi rests in the natural state into which the Yidam deity has dissolved. According to Vajrayana, this natural state of mind is Mahamudra (phyag rgya chen po) or Dzogchen (rdzogs pa chen po), and is no different from Buddhahood itself. This is effectively a ‘formless’ meditation as there is nothing to cling to and is simply experiencing reality as it is, free from dualistic fixation.

Free from intellectual speculation, it is Mahamudra. Free from extremes, it is the great middle way. Being the totality of everything, it is also called the great perfection (Dzogchen). May I gain conviction that to know this one thing is to understand all. From Rangjung Dorje's "Aspiration of Mahamudra"

Becoming accustomed to, or familiar with this state, is really what Mahamudra and Dzogchen meditation is and as such Yidam deity meditation is an effective way of practicing. How long the yogi rests in this state will depend on his level of experience, although it is probably not very long for most practitioners as any conceptualisation. According to Jamgon Kongtrul this part of the practice lasts while there are no “discursive pursuits of altering, accepting or rejecting”.

For the reasons described above there is no liturgical commentary in the practice text, apart from “rest evenly in your own nature”. The secondary reason for this is that Mahamudra and Dzogchen are not general and open teachings, but are traditionally taught from Guru to disciple only after a proper relationship has been established and trust has been established. As such, the next part of the text concerns keeping pure perception (dag snang) and the pride of the deity, which was developed during the creation phase. These are basically keeping a view of the world as the pure land of the deity, oneself and all beings are the deity and all sound are the mantra. This is not a visualisation, rather an attitude or ‘view’, continuing what has been experienced and learnt during meditation:

During meditation you rest in the inconcrete essence of Dharmata, cognizant but without conceptual thinking. During post-meditation, you realise everything to be empty, without self-nature. Free from attachment to or fascination for the experience of emptiness, you will naturally progress beyond meditation and post-meditation and be free from holding a conceptual focus or conceiving of attributes, just as clouds and mist spontaneously clear in the vast expanse of the sky MahaGuru Padmasambhava

The liturgy then goes into the sealing of the practice with the dedication of merit, which should be done with a continuing understanding of emptiness. After this comes an aspiration prayer for oneself and all others to achieve rebirth in Sukhavati as well as other aspiration prayers for the development and spread of Bodhicitta.

Benefits of this practice

The various commentaries on this practice go into some degree of detail as to the benefits of this practice, and on various other aspects of it. The mantra of Avaloketishvara is ubiquitous anywhere Tibetan Vajrayana is practiced, recited by everyone, painted on rocks, prayer flags and over doors. Bokar Rinpoche points out that Tibetans recite the mantra without having received the initiation and without doing the visualisation, but purely out of “faith and devotion acquired since infancy”. In his commentary, the 15th Gyalwa Karmapa, Khakhyab Dorje, quotes from the "Root Tantra of the Lotus Net":

The Mandala of body that accomplishes meditating on all Buddhas combined is the body of the protector. Through meditating on or even recalling it, the actions of immediate retribution and all obscurations are purified.

His teacher, Jamgon Kongtrul, finishes his commentary on the practice of Avaloketishvara by saying that the benefits of it “cannot be properly conveyed using words” and that it benefits “all those whom it comes into contact (with)”. As if to highlight the importance of impartial compassion, he encourages the sound of the mantra to be shared with animals “from ants upward” and ends by an exhortation for everyone to practice.

Functions of the meditation.

Buddhist meditation can be classified as either calming, or Shamatha (zhi gnas) meditation, which lays the foundations for insight or Vipassana (lhag mthong) meditation. Whilst these can, and are practiced separately in the Tibetan tradition, they are combined within the practice of Yidam deity meditation. During the development stage the details of the appearance of the deity and the mantra serve as a focus for the mind which, with sufficient practice, leads to a gradual calming of the mind. Insight is developed by keeping the visualisation light and non solid as mentioned previously. The union of calm and insight is Mahamudra:

The deity is, therefore, appearance-emptiness. But it is not, on the one hand, appearance and on the other hand, emptiness, sometimes appearance or sometimes emptiness. Being an appearance it does not lose its emptiness; being empty it does not lose its appearance. It is the union of appearance and emptiness, not with the meaning of two things placed side by side, but with the meaning of the two things forming the same indissociable reality. To dwell without distraction in this state of union is the simultaneity of mental calm and superior vision. This is also called Mahamudra and more precisely in this case, the Mahamudra of the deity’s body. Bokar Rinpoche

Earlier it was mentioned how the yogi in post-meditation should keep the view and pride of the deity. This in itself will serve as an exercise in mindfulness as well as further developing devotion and compassion. By doing this it is possible to use “all the circumstances of existence” as part of the yogi’s spiritual practice. When walking the yogi will visualise the deity over his right shoulder so as to transform the walk into a devotional circumambulation, when sitting the deity is visualised seated above his head. When the yogi eats he will imagine the food as an offering to the deity, which he will visualise in his throat, whilst at the same time seeing the food itself as amrita (bdud rtsi). When going to sleep the deity is visualised at the heart emitting light. There are variations on these practices as well as lots of others serving similar functions, the main point is that the “view” is maintained. According to the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje, appearances are like a “mirage” in post-meditation.

Technical points of meditation.

As we have seen, Yidam deity meditation can be extremely complex, and so far this is without the inclusion of additional factors that may be included in particular Sadhana practices, such as playing ritual music, making physical offerings in the forms of torma (gtor ma) offerings. As such there are a few points which are crucially important to note. Meditation is often portrayed as a way to relax, and whilst relaxation and calming are effects of successful meditation, it is also important to relax before meditating. Rather than worrying about whether or not the whole deity is visualised in glorious three dimensional form, the aspiring yogi should relax and take an approach of focussing on specific parts of the deity in turn, rather than trying to see everything at the same time. Bokar Rinpoche advices against approaching the process in a “rigid and too structured way”, suggesting instead that one begins with simply adopting the thought of being the deity, before moving on to specific parts of the visualisation once one feels more confident. This way, the whole process is gradually built up in a relaxed and natural way.

When a little child is seated in the middle of many toys, he does not consider playing with them all at once. He takes one toy and plays with it for awhile, then when he has had enough, he takes another that he in turn puts away to play with a third, and so on. He has many toys but he does not worry about being able to play with them at the same time. He knows they are there, that one toy is enough and when he is bored with it, he can take another. Bokar Rinpoche

Whilst taking a gentle relaxed approach, it is also important that the yogi does not let the mind wander completely, so a typically Buddhist “middle way” approach is generally recommended. Kagyu Lamas often talk of "little and often" when it comes to formal sitting, not just in relation to yidam practice, so it might be a good approach.

Conclusion.

We have seen that Yidam deity meditation is a ritual practice which covers many areas of the yogis training. Yidam meditation allows the yogi to engage in the ‘two accumulations” (tshogs gnyis), the accumulation of conceptual merit by offering the seven branch prayer, and engaging in the Bodhisattva perfections, whilst accumulating non-conceptual wisdom by keeping a view of emptiness both when engaged in the actual visualisation and in the post-meditation. Both relative, and ultimate, Bodhicitta are also developed. Relative Bodhicitta, in the form of dualistic compassion is developed through the recitation of the Bodhicitta prayers, the visualisation of lights liberating the suffering of others and by the dedication of merit, whilst ultimate Bodhicitta is developed by seeing the Yidam deity as the union of appearance and emptiness, as ultimate Bodhicitta is emptiness or the direct experience and understanding of it. The practice simultaneously develops calm and insight, the union of which is considered to be the fruition of Mahamudra or Dzogchen practice. From the Mahamudra point of view, nothing has then been achieved in terms of creating something new, rather what is naturally there has been realised directly and spontaneously as it is, rather than through conventional dualistic mind.

The present mind having been released freely into the state of naturalness, the unmodified spontaneous perfection of whatever arises, there is no attachment towards external and internal phenomena. (In the present mind,) as there are not thoughts of rejecting or accepting, the state of non-duality of the mind remains ceaselessly. As there are no gross thoughts, the wildly roaming mind has been liberated from the thoughts of the desire (realm). As the projecting thoughts have arisen in naturalness, the mind has transcended all diversion to the form and formless realms. Having no apprehension as “this”, the tranquillity has been accomplished spontaneously. As the naturalness (so ma) (of the mind) has arisen spontaneously, the insight has been accomplished spontaneously. As there is no separate and projecting and dwelling, their union has been accomplished spontaneously. As it has been liberated in the instantaneous state itself (or instantaneously in its own state), the wisdom has been accomplished spontaneously. As there is no dwelling, the absorption has been accomplished. As there is no apprehension of liberation-upon-arising (of intrinsic awareness), the primordial wisdom has been accomplished spontaneously. As all the faults are present through the aspect of apprehension, they are liberated in freedom from apprehension and hindrances. As all the virtues arise in the awareness wisdom, they are progressing. It is the mind perfected in its own naturalness, and it is the supreme accomplishment of the Great Seal (Mahamudra), in this very lifetime. Longchenpa

To conclude, the yogi, through the practice of the Yidam deity meditation, simply comes to see himself, and the world as they are. According to Vajrayana Buddhism, ultimately everything is pure, but through dualistic thinking, rooted in a belief in a separate and inherently existent self, things appear and are experienced as impure and painful, as such the Yidam meditation becomes the yogis corrective glasses.

This is a rehash of an acadmic essay I wrote, minus the footnotes and bibliogrpahy. Should any merit have been generated, may all beings benefit from it.

2010-08-23T02:09:00.000-07:00

Retreat was awesome, both in terms of the actual practice and some 'networking'. Nothing more needs to be said. I hope both my readers are well and happy.

2010-08-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Finished and managed to pass summer school. Am off to Namo Buddha in a few hours to spend a week in retreat, then it's back here to have some fun whilst getting ready for the next semester.

Vajrayana foundations

2010-08-11T02:15:00.000-07:00

When beginning any process, whether it is traveling, building a house or making a meal, it is essential that all the necessary factors for successful completion of the process are in place. This is also true in Vajrayana Buddhism. The so called Tantric preliminary practices, or Ngondro (Tib. sngon 'gro), are common to all schools of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. The differences in how they are practiced are relatively minor and primarily focus on factors such as which figures are visualised and liturgies chanted, although there can also be some differences in actual practices performed as part of a ‘complete’ Ngondro. The main focus of this paper is how preliminaries are practiced in the Karma Kagyu (Tib. karma bka' brgyud) and Nyingma (Tib. rnying ma), with only occasional reference made to other lineages. In the case of the Nyingma Ngondro, the main information comes from the Longchen Nyingthig (Tib. klong chen snying thig) lineage. Availability of material and word limit is the reason for focussing on these two lineages.

Ngondro overview

The word Ngondro literally means ‘that which goes before’, however it might be better to view the practices of the Ngondro as foundation practices rather than preliminaries in the sense of something which is simply done and then forgotten about. One does not build a house and neglect the foundations whilst maintaining the other parts of the house. As such there are many practitioners who complete Ngondro multiple times. A complete Ngondro generally consists of the Four Ordinary Foundations, or thoughts which turn the mind to Dharma (Tib. blo do nam shi). These are precious human birth, impermanence, karma and the suffering of conditioned existence or samsara (Tib. 'khor ba). These contemplations are also common to Hinayana and Mahayana schools of Buddhism. Following these are the Four Extraordinary Foundations consisting of taking of refuge and engendering Bodhicitta 100,000 times, followed by meditation on Vajrasattva (Tib. rdo rje sems pas), Mandala offering and Guru Yoga (Tib. bla ma'i rnal 'byor ), which are also done 100.000 times each. With taking refuge 100,000 full prostrations are also performed. The Four Extraordinary Foundations are specific to Vajrayana Buddhism and are seen as the foundations for advanced Tantric practices as well as Mahamudra (Tib. phyag rgya chen po) and Dzogchen (Tib. rdzogs pa chen po). Generally Mahamudra is seen as a Kagyu practice whilst Dzogchen is associated with the Nyingma.

The Four Ordinary Foundations

The first meditation topic concerns the precious human life endowed with every freedom and asset. It is difficult to get and can easily be destroyed, so now is the time to make it meaningful - 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje

The first of the Four Ordinary Foundations is precious human birth. Whilst there are various definitions as to what makes a human birth precious, it is generally seen as such primarily in terms of being an opportunity to engage in spiritual practice. This opportunity presents itself as human birth is generally viewed as having less of the obstacles that other births come with. Gampopa classifies precious human birth into two factors of body and three of mind. The two factors of body are leisure and endowment, whilst the three factors of mind are trust, longing and clarity.

Leisure and endowment effectively mean having the freedom, time and ability to engage in spiritual practice. Human birth entails suffering; however it is not on the scale of the lower realms or with the distractions of the upper realms. Birth in the non-human realms are seen as lacking the freedom to practice for the following reasons: The hell realms, whether hot, cold or ‘miscellaneous’ involve unrelenting constant pain and misery making anything other than suffering impossible. The pretas (Tib. yi dags), or hungry ghosts are similarly in constant pain caused by thirst and hunger as well as exposure to the elements. Animals are constantly busy trying to feed themselves whilst avoiding being eaten or exploited by humans . In brief the lower realms are believed to be too painful as to allow the freedom to anything other than suffer, let alone engage in spiritual practice. Those born in the god realms are too busy indulging in what appears unending pleasure to be interested in spiritual practice whilst the Auras (Tib. lha min) or jealous gods are too busy fighting the god and being jealous of their pleasure.

Gampopa goes on to classify endowment into two groups of five personal qualities and five external qualities of a precious human life. The five personal qualities are being human, being born somewhere with access to Buddhist teachings, having all senses, some sense of morality and some devotion to the Buddhist teachings. The external factors are: the appearance of a Buddha in the world, the Buddha teaching, the teachings continuing, and followers of the teachings being around and there being “love and kind support” from others. Having these qualities and circumstances present is also seen as precious due to the relative rarity of this happening, Gampopa, Patrul Rinpoche, Shantideva and numerous others use the example of the blind turtle to illustrate the statistical chances of precious human birth.

Suppose this whole earth were an ocean and a person threw in a yoke that only had one hole. The yoke would float back and forth in all the four directions. Underneath that ocean, there is a blind tortoise who lives for many thousands of years but who comes up above the surface once every hundred years. It would be very difficult for the tortoise’s head to meet with the yoke’s hole; still it is possible. To be born in a precious human life is much more difficult - From Gampopas "Jewel Ornament of Liberation"

Gampopa the continues to describe the three factors of mind trust, longing and clarity in the following way: Trusting faith is the belief in the law of karma, longing faith is the wish to become Enlightened and clear faith is taking refuge in the Three Jewels.

The practitioner meditates on the precious human life in order to motivate themselves to really use the opportunity to practice whilst they have the chance, before moving on to contemplate impermanence and certain death.

Secondly, the universe and everything that lives therein is impermanent – particularly the lives of beings which are like water-bubbles. The time of death is uncertain and when you die you will become a corpse. Dharma will help you at that time, therefore practice it diligently now. - 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje

Impermanence is one of the key doctrines of Buddhism. In the context of the Four Ordinary Foundations it is essential to understand that impermanence here isn’t a doctrine to be understood intellectually as an abstract concept, or something to be believe in as an article of faith, but rather it is to be experienced and internalised as this will then make the practitioner more able to deal with it as it arises in everyday experience and be less affected by it as well as being mindful that the opportunity to engage in spiritual practice is itself not something to be taken for granted and as such must be prioritised. According to the 9th Gyalwa Karmapa quotes Nagarjuna when explaining how failure to meditate on impermanence will make liberation impossible.

Patrul Rinpoche devotes the second chapter of "Words of my Perfect Teacher" to explaining how to meditate on impermanence. He suggests progressively contemplating the impermanence of the external universe, sentient beings, holy beings the impermanence of those in positions of power. He then moves on to miscellaneous examples of impermanence. The function of this is to remind the practitioner of his own mortality and thus spur him on to practice. Linked from this is a reminder that the uncertainty that comes with impermanence also applies to the moment of death as the causes and circumstances of death are varied. He quotes Aryadeva:

Causes of death are numerous, Causes of life are few, and even they may become causes of death.

The remainder of the chapter is devoted to extolling the benefits of meditation on impermanence. He does this by quoting a number of sources including the King of Yogis Jetsun Milarepa, Gampopa and Buddha Shakyamuni, whilst illustrating the points using examples and language which is highly accessible and clearly intended as a manual for practitioners rather than simply for intellectual study. Patrul Rinpoche states that meditation on impermanence will engender deep renunciation and as such serves as a gateway for spiritual practice. Kongtrul concurs on this describing it as the “root of the entire Dharma”. Gampopa states that the benefits of mediation on impermanence are renunciation, the development of faith as well as something which leads to less attachment and aversion.

Summarising the meditation on impermanence we can say that it is practiced to develop renunciation and to serve as an antidote to procrastination encouraging the practitioner to make use of their precious human birth. On a meditational level, becoming familiar with impermanence leads to being less attached to thoughts, emotions and experiences. It logically follows the meditation on precious human birth and precedes the meditation on karma.

Thirdly, after your death you will have to experience your own karma, having no degree of control over what happens. So give up harmful actions – all your time should be spent in the practice of virtue. Thinking this was, evaluate your life daily. - 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje

The third of the Four Ordinary foundations is the meditation on karma (Tib. las). Karma is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism and one that is very often misunderstood. Whilst acknowledging its centrality and complexity, he sums it up by stating that a negative cause will generate a negative result, whilst a positive cause will generate a positive result. After this he lists actions which lead to Samsaric birth and those which lead to liberation. At the end of his chapter on karma he talks about the primacy of motivation in the formation of karmic results, citing examples of seemingly positive acts which will yield negative results due to their motivation, whilst at the same time warning against committing negative actions even if they are positively motivated, urging the practitioner to avoid judgement of others actions.

In “The Jewel Ornament of Liberation”, Gampopa deals with karma in a similar way to Kongtrul, but goes into greater detail generally, including when talking about the actions which lead to birth in formless realms. The reasons for the greater details are probably due to the Jewel Ornament of Liberation being a somewhat scholarly text dealing which covers topics such as the six Bodhisattva perfections, Buddha nature and the ten Bodhisattva Bhumis or levels (Tib. lam lnga), whereas Kongtrul’s “The Torch of Certainty” is purely a practice guide. It is also worth pointing out that karma is acknowledged to be so profound that only a Buddha fully understands its working as it is said to be “unthinkable”.

The meditation on karma as part of the Four Ordinary foundations is to make the practitioner be mindful of his actions in general, but more specifically to think how karma will affect him even after inevitable death. This is why it comes after the meditation on impermanence and before the meditation on the suffering of samsara.

One is constantly tormented by the three kinds of suffering. Therefore samsaric places, friends, pleasures and possessions are like a party given by an executioner who will then lead on to the place of execution. Cutting through the snares of attachment, strive for enlightenment with diligence. - 9th Gyalwa Karmpa Wangchuk Dorje.

The suffering of samsara is the final of the Four Ordinary Foundations. Gampopa, Kongtrul and Patrul Rinpoche all list the specific forms of suffering associated with each realm as described previously when discussing the precious human birth. The “three sufferings” mentioned in the above quote are: suffering itself, the suffering of change and what is generally referred to as all pervasive. Suffering itself includes the physical pain involved in birth, sickness, ageing and death as well as the emotional pain that can go with these. Gampopa and Patrul Rinpoche elaborate on these in great detail, whilst Kongtrul is much more concise. The suffering of change is losing that and those one is attached to as well as being faced with that and those whom one finds unpleasant, such as meeting a carjacker and consequently losing one’s car. All pervasive suffering is the sense of not having what we want or being attached to conceptual ideals and then suffering when experienced reality fails to live up to them. Jamgon Kongtrul states that the first two sufferings are rooted in the coming together of the five aggregates and that it is latent in all samsaric existence. Samsara is also described as a state of mind where there is continuous fear and attachment As with the preceding meditations, the practice of meditating on the suffering of samsara is seen has having multiple benefits.

The meditation on the sufferings of samsara is the basis and support for all the good qualities of the path. It turns your mind towards the Dharma. It gives you confidence in the principle of cause and effect in all your actions. And it makes you feel love and compassion for all beings. - Patrul Rinpoche.

The Four Extraordinary Foundations
According to the Ngondro text The Chariot for Travelling the Path to Freedom, after completing the Four Ordinary Foundations one should be a “fit vessel” for taking refuge. Refuge and Bodhicitta, performed with prostrations make up the first of the Four Extraordinary Foundations. In this practice the yogi recites a refuge prayer whilst performing full prostrations in front of a visualised assembly of the sources of refuge. Vajrayana refuge includes the teacher (Tib. bla ma), meditational deities (Tib. yi dam) and Dakinis (Tib. mkha' 'gro ma) as well as the Three Jewels or Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, which are common to all Buddhist schools. The Lama is seen as corresponding to the Buddha in terms of giving the teachings, the Yidam corresponding to the Dharma path one is practicing, and the Dakinis to the Sangha as the spiritual community. Kongtrul refers to these six sources of refuge as the Three Jewels and Three Roots, whilst stating that they are all embodied in the Lama. The purpose of this practice is to prepare the mind for so called advanced practices as well as to purify negative karma.

The visualisation varies depending on the lineage, although there are several similarities. Both the Karma Kagyu and Longchen Nyingthig Ngondro describe the refuge visualisation as a three on an island in a lake with the various lineage gurus seated on the branches and various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas on other branches. Protector deities (Tib. chos skyong) are lined at the front branch. In the centre of the tree is the practitioners own root teacher, visualised in the form of Vajradhara (Tib. rdo rje ‘chang) for Kagyupa practitioners and Padmasambhava (Tib. gu ru rin po che) for Nyingma practitioners. The yogi prostrates to the visualised refuge tree, whilst imagining his parents, and all sentient beings surrounding him. At the same time he chants a refuge prayer with each prostration. Jamgon Kongtrul and Patrul Rinpoche both describe their respective refuge trees in great detail and describe the benefits of refuge. In "The Torch of Certainty" Kongtrul states:

If you practice Taking Refuge continuously and it never leaves your thoughts, you become a Buddhist. Your minor wrong-doings are purified; your major ones decrease. Human and non-human obstacles cannot affect you. Your vows, studies and other wholesome activities become more and more fruitful. If you truly rely on the Precious Ones, you will not be born in the lower realms even if you feel yourself being pushed in that direction.

And Patrul Rinpoche concurs by saying taking refuge is the source of all goodness in samsara and ultimately will lead to Buddhahood. Once the main visualisation and prostrations are done, the practitioner visualises the refuge tree melting into themselves and then rest in the natural state.

After taking refuge comes the engendering of Bodhicitta (Tib. byang chub kyi sems), or the Enlightened attitude. Bodhicitta is an integral part of Mahayana, and consequently Vajrayana, practice and philosophy. Liturgically this is done in the "The Chariot for Travelling the Path to Freedom", by chanting the four immeasurable contemplations; that all beings have happiness and its causes, are separated from suffering and its causes, have happiness untainted by suffering and that they may have unbiased impartiality free from attachment and aversion. In addition to the four immeasurable contemplations, Jamgon Kongtrul also recommends generating Bodhicitta by, practicing the six perfections and reflecting that all being have at some point been ones kind parents, and as such one would not wish to see them suffer, but rather to help them have the freedom of Enlightenment. He also recommends practicing “sending and receiving”:

When you are beset by illness or demons, tormented by gossip or by an upsurge of conflicting emotions, take on the misfortunes of all other sentient beings. Knowing that your former deeds are the cause (of present sorrow), do not be depressed when sorrow strikes, but take up the sorrows of others. When you are happy, use your wealth, influence and merit to perform wholesome acts. Do not sit idly by, but engage your body and speech in wholesome acts such as praying for the happiness of all sentient beings.

I have no personal experience of Bodhcitta, or really even conventional compassion, but can attest to the above being worthwhile generally and in relation to "practice".

Patrul Rinpoche approaches generating Bodhicitta by starting with the four immeasurable contemplations, followed by a classification of the types of Bodhicitta, before moving on to the Bodhisattva perfections. He classifies Bodhicitta by degrees of courage as well as distinguishing between relative and ultimate Bodhicitta. The degrees of courage are that of a king, boatman and a shepherd. The king rules over his subjects, so this type of courage is described as being that which aspires to attain Buddhahood in order to bring others to the same state. The boatman like courage is taking others along on the path to Buddhahood. The shepherd puts the safety of his sheep first and as such this form of arousing Bodhicitta is when one wishes for others to have Buddhahood first.

The benefits of Bodhicitta are universally lauded in the Vajrayana tradition, according to Patrul Rinpoche it represents the “quintessence” of the Buddha’s teaching, Jamgon Kongtrul calls it the “Heart of the entire Dharma” and the previous Kalu Rinpoche stated that a single instant of it purifies aeons worth of negative karma.

After Refuge and Bodhicitta follows the purifying practice of Vajrasattva (Tib. rdo rje sems pa). The purpose of this practice is to purify the “four veils” which obscure our own true nature of mind, which, according to Vajrayana theory, is Enlightenment. Ignorance of one’s own Buddha nature, the dualistic belief in inherently existing self and other, negative emotions and karma.

The fundamental purity of our mind is hindered by veils and faults. Veils refer here to what prevents us from recognising the real nature of our mind. Faults designate negative karma we experience with painful consequences, as if we were beating ourselves. - Kalu Rinpoche.

At this point it is worth commenting on this “fundamental purity of mind” or Buddha nature. An understanding of Buddha nature and faith in it is essential in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. The practice of Vajrasattva highlights the importance of this belief and understanding as the whole practice would be futile without this as a basis. To this end Gampopa devotes the first chapter of “The Jewel Ornament of Liberation” to it. Similarly the peerless protector of beings, the Third Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, in his “Aspiration of Mahamudar”, goes to great lengths throughout this text to point out Buddha nature and Enlightenment as never being separate from ones experience, even in the depths of samsara.

The importance of confidence in one’s own Buddha nature, and the acknowledgement of possible lack of this confidence, is played out in the visualisation of Vajrasattva. The initial visualisation (Tib. dam tshig pa) after being built up is then effectively empowered by invoking the wisdom deity (Tib. ye she pa) who consecrates the initial visualisation giving it power and vitality. The wisdom deity could be seen as the ‘real’ Vajrasattva, although this is a less than ideal explanation and could easily be misinterpreted as theistic. Religion can bee seen as imaginary friends for adults, but in Buddhism we acknowledge them to be imaginary, just like ourselves. To counter this, the yogi should remember to keep the visualisation as transparent rather than solid. Vajrasattva is also seen as being a manifestation of the yogi’s root teacher. In the Longchen Nyingthig Ngondro, Vajrasattva is visualised with a consort, whilst in the Karma Kagyu this is not always the case. Kongtrul acknowledges that both are done in the Karma Kagyu.

Once the visualisation is in place the yogi then chants a liturgy of confession and imagines white elixir pouring from Vajrasattva. If the visualisation is of Vajrasattva without a consort it is seen as flowing into the yogi via his right foot, whereas if it is from Vajrasattva with consort it drips from where they are joined in sexual union. This forms the main part of the practice and is done whilst simultaneous reciting the one hundred syllable mantra of Vajrasattva. Whilst this is taking place the yogi imagines all their negative karma, illness, broken vows and so on are washed out of their lower body by the elixir coming from above. This process of taking on what is positive and eliminating what is negative is done whilst imagining one’s own body to be hollow and light. Once this is done, the six syllable mantra of Vajrasattva is also recited, after which a prayer of confession is recited before the visualisation is dissolved into light which then dissolves into the yogi.

It is emphasised by Jamgon Kongtrul, Patrul Rinpoche and Kalu Rinpoche that Vajrasattva practice, or any other purification practice, must be done in conjunction with the Four Powers. These are the power of regretting past negativity, the power of making the resolve not to commit it again, the power of support, which means taking Refuge and Bodhicitta, and the power of positive action as antidote. Another point of agreement is that the practice of Vajrasattva is beneficial in accordance with the effort put into it by the yogi.

It is said that if you strenuously (practice this meditation and recite this mantra) your minor and moderate misdeeds will be completely purified. Your major misdeeds will not increase but be suppressed and gradually purified. Generally speaking, if you truly believe in (the doctrine of) action and result you will inevitably regret your harmful deeds. Then your confession will be genuine. All this seem to imply that realisation will inevitably follow purification. But those of us who merely mouth the prayers and affect the practices of the monastic life, without true faith or regret, will achieve no more realisation than a tortoise has hair. - Jamgon Kongtrul

So pretending to be engaged in Ngondro whilst consciously engaging in the generation of harmful acts ranging from smoking to genocide seems at best futile.

Having completed the purifying practice of Vajrasattva, the yogi then moves on to the third of the Four Extraordinary Foundations, the Mandala (Tib. dkyil khor) offering. The Mandala is an imagined universe containing anything of value one could offer; the purpose is the accumulation of the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.

In this practice, the aspirant perfects his accumulation of merit by the supremely meritorious act of repeatedly offering the entire universe to the sources of refuge. He perfects his accumulation of transcending awareness (wisdom) by maintaining the understanding that this offering, it’s recipients and the giver himself are not things in themselves but empty. - Jamgon Kongtrul

The accumulation of merit also functions as part of the Bodhisattva training in the six perfections and one a psychological level deals with attachment, which in meditational terms means the ability to let go of thoughts and concepts.

In the visualisation the object of offering is the refuge tree is as in the first of the Four Ordinary Foundations, although here the tree is inside a palace rather than in a lake. Again the central figure is seen as inseparable from the yogi’s root teacher. The Mandala which is offered takes a physical and visualised form, the physical acting as a support for the visualised. In some cases two physical Mandalas are offered, one which is more elaborate and is placed on the shrine (sgrub pa’i), representing the sources of refuge, and a second more simple version (mchod pa’i) which is the one which is offered 100,000 times. The physical and visualised Mandalas represent the traditional universe of Buddhist cosmology, along with the symbols of the seven possessions of a Chakravartin , the eight auspicious symbols and the eight auspicious objects. The visualisation can be even more elaborate, but what it most important is that the yogi really generates a sense of giving everything he can imagine as generosity and non-attachment are the goals of this practice. The practice session finishes with the visualisation of light from the sources of refuge granting the completion of the two accumulations and then dissolving into light which dissolves into the yogi, as with all Vajrayana practice the session is ‘sealed’ with the dedication of merit.

The Mandala offering is obviously a key component to Ngondro practice, but like the other practices it is also something that has a place central place in Vajrayana outside Ngondro, as it is always part on any big ritual such as empowerments, consecrations and other special occasions.

In order to practice true Dharma, it is of great importance first to seek an authentic spiritual friend, a teacher who has all the necessary qualifications. Then you should obey his every instruction, praying to him from the very depths of your heart and considering him to be a real Buddha. - Patrul Rinpoche.

The Final of the Four Extraordinary Foundations is Guru Yoga (Tib. bla ma'i rnal 'byor). The purpose of this practice is for the yogi to receive the blessing of his Guru in order to realise Mahamudra or Dzogchen. The visualisation and ritual here is almost identical in Karma Kagyu and Longchen Nyingthig. First the yogi visualises their root teacher, in the form of Vajradhara or Padmasambhava, surrounded by the various masters of the lineage in front of him in space. Then the seven branch prayer is offered as a succinct method of gathering the two accumulations. The seven branches are prostration, offering, confession, rejoicing in the virtues of others, requesting the teachings, requesting the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to remain and dedication of merit. After this there are more prayers, mantra recitation, after which come the Four Empowerments, which could be described as the primary section of the Guru Yoga. Here the yogi visualises a white syllable OM radiating light from the forehead of the visualised deity, this is absorbed into the forehead of the yogi, purifying obscurations of the body and empowers him to meditate on the development stage ((Tib. bskyed rim) and to realise Nirmanakaya (Tib. sprul ku). The process is then repeated with a red AH at the throat which removes obscurations of speech and enables the yogi to meditate on the subtle channels (Tib. rtsa rlung) as well as to realise the Sambhogakaya (Tib longs spyod rdzogs pa'i sku). The third empowerment takes the form of a blue syllable HUM, radiating from the heart of the deity to the yogi as before which this time purifies the obscurations of mind enabling the yogi to practice “absorptions” (Tib. snyom 'jug) and to realise the Dharmakaya (Tib. chos sku). Finally the all three lights simultaneously radiate into the same parts of the yogi as before, enabling him to practice Mahamudra, the fourth empowerment also makes the yogi a Svabhavikakaya (Tib. ngo bo nyid sku). After receiving the four empowerments the visualisation is dissolved into light which is then absorbed through the top of the yogi’s head. The yogi then rests in this state, before dedicating merit. Kongtrul describes the signs of successful practice as lessening mental attachment to the concerns of this life and glimpses of realisation. It is crucial the yogi tries to keep a sense of unity with the Guru at all times, in between sessions. This is done by doing things like visualising the Guru in the throat when eating and similar activities.

This is all well and good, but utterly pointless if you don't have a Guru. Without a Guru there is no Vajrayana and consequently no Ngondro. So who is a Guru?

Due to the variety of lineages and overall decentralised nature of Vajrayana, this could potentially be an area for widespread abuse and corruption and it is fair to say that this has and does happen. In an attempt to safeguard against false teachers simply citing names of their teachers and lineage, various ideas have developed.

To understand the at times seemingly overemphasised importance of the Guru in Vajrayana we need to understand the concept of ‘byin rlabs’. This word has no direct English equivalent, but has been translated as blessing, grace, consecration, inspiration, stream of empowering energy and flowing blessings. One of the most influential meditation teachers of the 20th Century, Kalu Rinpoche, likened ‘byin labs’ to a powerful electric current flowing to the practitioner from the Buddha, via the Guru and lineage. There is some implication of this blessing or empowering energy flowing in a wavelike fashion. However it is interpreted it is clear that it is seen as something ongoing and not simply a one off event received during a formal empowerment ritual (dbang). In fact requesting ‘byin labs’ is a common part of all Yidam meditation liturgical texts, and it is also often found in other prayers too, as it is seen as really being what powers the spiritual progress and realisation of the practitioner.

In spite of the formality, etiquette and seemingly cultic devotion sometimes presented in Vajrayana, it is crucial to note that the reception of ‘byin labs’ is not a purely passive experience on the part of the practitioner either. To benefit from the ‘byin labs’ the practitioner must obviously have confidence in the practice itself.

Conclusion

The preliminary practices as we have seen are very much interconnected and not something to be completed by the yogi in a linear process, simply to move on to something else. For the yogi these practices become something do be done now and not something to be aspired to at some future point in time.

This very moment is the watershed between the right and wrong direction of your entire existence. This opportunity is like finding something to eat when you have only had one meal in a hundred throughout your whole life. So make use of the Dharma to free yourself while you still can, taking death as your spur at all times. Cut short your plans for this life, and diligently try to practice good and give up evil – even at the risk of your life. Follow an authentic teacher and accept whatever he tells you without hesitation. Give yourself, in body and mind, to the Three Jewels. When happiness comes recognise it as their compassion. When suffering comes, recognise it as the result of your own past actions. Apply yourself to the practices of accumulation and purification with the perfectly pure motivation of Bodhicitta. Ultimately, through immaculate devotion and samaya, unite you mind undissolubly with that of a sublime teacher in an authentic lineage. Capture the stronghold of the absolute in this very life, courageously taking on the responsibility of freeing all beings, our old mothers, from samsara’s dungeon. This includes all the most crucial instructions. - Patrul Rinpoche

The Four Ordinary Foundations set the worldview and motivation for the yogi who, once convinced on more than an intellectual level of the futility of samsaric existence, is the spurred into the practice of the Four Extraordinary Foundations which all to some extent contain each other and which also further detach the yogi from attachment to samsaric illusory existence and thoroughly preparing him for the higher Tantric practices and possibly Enlightenment itself. By practicing Ngondro sincerely, under the blessing of a genuine Guru, all manner of obstacles are overcome and experiences are gained. However, simply going through the motions without paying attention to ones own mind and actions is hypocrisy and pretence. As the Master of Oddiana said:

"My view is like space, but my attention to actions like dust"

I'm recycling old essays as blog posts as someone enjoyed the last one. Footnotes and bibliography are missing and I've added a few comments in places. This is an academic essay and is unlikely to benefit anyone on a practice level.

Bodhicitta in the Tibetan Meditational Tradition.

2010-08-09T02:39:00.000-07:00

Bodhicitta is one of the most talked about subjects in both Mahayana and consequently Vajrayana Buddhism and as such also one of the major differences between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. It is also mentioned increasingly in popular Buddhist media in the West. It is possibly one of the first few ‘technical’ terms those studying Buddhism, academically or personally, will come across. Like the words Buddha, Karma and Nirvana, it is often used with no attempt at translation as understanding is often presupposed.

Despite being often used in both relative and ultimate forms, Bodhicitta is possibly one of the most difficult and important of Buddhist Doctrines to understand. According to Patrul Rinpoche it is the “quintessence” of the Buddha’s teaching.

"This arousing of Bodhicitta is the quintessence of the eighty-four thousand methods taught by the Conqueror. It is the instruction to have which is enough by itself, but to lack which renders anything else futile. It is a panacea the medicine for a hundred ills. All other Dharma paths, such as the two accumulations, the purification of defilements, meditation on deities and recitation of mantras, are simply methods to make this wish-granting gem, Bodhicitta, take birth in the mind. Without Bodhicitta, none of them can lead you to the level of perfect Buddhahood on their own. But once Bodhicitta has been aroused in you, whatever Dharma practices you do will lead to the attainment of perfect Buddhahood. Learn always to use whatever means you can to make even the slightest spark of Bodhicitta arise in you."

Historically the importance of Bodhicitta has been expressed in a variety of ways. Atisha is reported to have cried and placed his hands above his head in reverence when speaking of the teacher from whom he had received Bodhicitta teachings Patrul Rinpoche and Jamgon Kongtrul considered Bodhicitta to be the crystallisation of the Buddha’s teaching. Contemporary Buddhist teachers also place great emphasis on Bodhicitta, Gyalwa Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje and His Holiness the Dalai Lama will regularly praise it and always include it in their teachings. During an empowerment at Gyuto Monastery in October 2000, Gyalwa Karmapa stopped the ritual of the empowerment and gave a spontaneous teaching on Bodhicitta; he has been known to do the same on many other occasions including the annual Kagyu Monlam.

The importance of Bodhicitta is also emphasised in some of the most popular Buddhist texts ranging from the Jataka Tales to the Bodhicaryavatara6, although the emphasis varies. Gampopa describes Bodhicitta as the wish to achieve perfect enlightenment for the welfare of others. The aim of this essay is to give a general overview of Bodhicitta and how it is approached in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, predominantly from a meditational point of view.

Relative Bodhicitta, essential compassion.

Bodhicitta can be said to be relative or ultimate. Relative Bodhicitta can be subdivided into aspiration and action Bodhicitta. Kongtrul is following from Shantideva on this point and he summarises relative Bodhicitta overall as meaning compassion. The difference between aspiration and action Bodhicitta is likened by Shantideva to the difference between a person wishing to travel and a person actually travelling, however in usual Buddhist fashion intention is of paramount importance and a critical precursor to action of any kind.

The cultivation of relative Bodhicitta is essential for fruitful Mahayana and Vajrayana practice and there are several methods. A method common to all four major lineages of Vajrayana Buddhism is to think that all beings have in past lives been ones kind and loving mother and as such we would not wish them to suffer. This is quite logical when one considers the Buddhist cosmological view of time being without beginning and sentient beings being limitless. Using this method one recalls the kindness of one’s mother in this life from pregnancy onwards, thinking how one was utterly reliant on her for survival and later development. The seemingly unconditional love with which she cared for one and the sacrifices she made for us should induce a sense of gratitude and love is generated one then expands this out to other beings, eventually without limit. According to the Nyingma master Dudjom Rinpoche:

"We should understand that the whole of space is pervaded by living beings; there is not one of them that has not been, at one time or another, our father or our mother. We should recognise that they have been out parents and feel gratitude towards them for the love and kindness they have shown us. We should also realise that all these beings, once our mothers, are sinking in the ocean of the sufferings of samsara"

At this point it is worth considering the nature of this compassion. What is it the nature of the suffering beings experience, which the aspiring Bodhisattvas are generating compassion for?

Always Suffering.

Buddhism teaches Dukkha, translated as suffering, pain or unsatisfactoriness as the first of the Four Noble Truths. In the Tibetan tradition the suffering of samsara is generally classified into three categories; the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change and the suffering of all conditioned existence. The suffering of suffering includes physical and mental pain in the form of sickness, ageing and death. The intensity of this type of suffering varies according to individual experience, but is said to be greater in the lower samsaric realms. The suffering of change is being separated from what you find pleasant and encountering that which you find unpleasant. This is a form of suffering experienced even by beings in higher realms, and one which human beings experience constantly in various forms. The third form of suffering is very subtle and known as all-pervasive suffering. It can be described as having everything, yet not being content. According to Gampopa only the spiritually mature with some degree of realisation can really understand this experientially. He likens the difference in how this suffering is experienced by an ordinary person and a spiritually mature person to the difference between feeling a hair in the palm of the hand compared to feeling it in the eye.

Understanding suffering is essential to the development of compassion and Bodhicitta, however simply doing so on an intellectual and abstract level is not sufficient, we have to actually realise it through personal experience, rather than simply accepting it because someone we respect, or want to been seen as respecting says it is thus.

"Compassion must start with seeing our own suffering. If it does not, then seeing the suffering of others will be merely conceptual. It will merely be a matter of having learned about suffering from a book or philosophy. We may intellectually know about the different types of suffering and so forth, but without inward reflection, our understanding will always be a theoretical knowledge that is directed towards the outside. Starting from our own experience of suffering becomes most important for the practice of open and genuine compassion" - Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

Once a practitioner has developed, or experienced, a certain level of compassion, he will then take the Bodhisattva vow and practice the six Bodhisattva perfections. Shantideva and Gampopa both present them in the following order: generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation and wisdom.

A fundamental concept in Buddhism is the doctrine of no self. It logically follows that seeking liberation purely for oneself is not going to lead to anything other than frustration. Analytical meditation and investigation leads to a greater confidence in there being no self and makes it easier to consider the happiness and welfare of others more readily.

Training the Mind.

There are several techniques for further developing compassion through meditation practice; one of the most popular is mind training (Tib. blo-sbyong). This system was brought to Tibet by Atisha (980-1054 CE) and is currently in use by all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is taught relatively openly. This form of mind training can be done through ‘formal’ sitting or in everyday situations. When doing the sitting meditation, the practitioner imagines that they are breathing in all the suffering, negative qualities and negative future experiences of others whilst breathing out all their own happiness and future experiences of happiness, their own positive qualities. In the everyday practice the idea is for the practitioner to mentally take on any negativity she encounters. For example if the practitioner is sick they should imagine the sickness purifying the negativities of others and willingly accept more. In this sense the practice also helps in the development of mindfulness as the practitioner has to constantly look at their own mental experiences and thoughts.

In chapter eight of the Bodhicaryavatara, Shantideva details a practice whereby one mentally exchanges place with others as a way to develop compassion and equanimity. This is done by imagining how a person one is interacting with is experiencing the situation, for example are they jealous of what the practitioner has in terms of personal qualities or material possessions. The practitioner is then able to identify with the suffering of others in quite an intimate way.

When it comes to Vajrayana practice, Bodhicitta is crucial as Vajrayana is very much Mahayana Buddhism and the practices would not work correctly without it. Refuge and Bodhicitta constitute the first section of the four special foundations, followed by Vajrasattva meditation, Mandala offering and Guru Yoga. These four special foundations form the major part of what is known as the preliminary practices (Tib. sngon 'gro) which are practices, with minor differences in all four main lineages of Tibetan Vajrayana. Bodhicitta is however included in all of the practices following it. Jamgon Kongtrul and Patrul Rinpoche both present the preliminaries in the order described here as it is the traditional way of doing so, however due to the nature of the Vajrayana teacher – student relationship, the order in which the practices are done may vary.

All deity practice liturgies start with taking refuge and generating Bodhicitta and depending on factors such as the elaborateness of the practice, time available to the practitioner and tradition there may also be various aspiration prayers of Bodhicitta included in the liturgical text. Bodhicitta is often covered in the generation stage (Tib. bskyed rim) by visualising light rays emanating from the deity removing the suffering of sentient beings throughout samsaric existence. In the practice instruction text, The Continuous Rain of Benefit to Beings, the 15th Gyalwa Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje describes this light like “the rays of the moon”. At this point it is worth pointing out that the exact details of this, varies between different deities, the lineage of transmission of that particular practice and how experienced the individual doing the practice is. Most teachers will emphasise this by giving more or less elaborate instructions on any given deity practice depending on the audience. A contemporary illustration of this point is Bokar Rinpoche’s book of instructions on the common meditation on Avaloketishvara, Chenrezig, Lord of Love, which gives several different instructions for this practice suitable for different levels of experience.

At the end of the meditation one comes to the completion stage (Tib. rdzogs rim). This is where the practitioner dissolves the visualisation and rests in the natural state of mind free from conceptual and dualistic thought, experiencing things as they are. Khakhyab Dorje describes it as follows:

"Rest evenly for as long as possible in the luminous emptiness free of any conception about the three spheres11 the clings to self and other, the deity and the mantra. Let go of all references towards fabricated attributes such as existence and nonexistence, “it is” and “it is not,” and emptiness and non-emptiness. Free of viewer and viewed, not differentiating appearance, sound, and awareness from emptiness, rest for as long as possible in the mind of the Noble One, the natural face of great all-pervading dharmadhatu"

Regarding how long one rests in this state, it depends on the experience of the practitioner and the context in which the practice is being done. If it is part of a group practice in retreat or a monastery it is not likely to be very long at all as the liturgy will carry one being chanted almost immediately. If however the practice is being done alone it might be longer, although when I presumptiously asked Gyalwa Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje about this he told me it was “very difficult” and as such not something that is specified to an exact time. When I asked Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche I was given a similar answer.

Ultimate Bodhicitta

This ‘natural state’ can also be called Ultimate Bodhicitta, or seeing things they way they actually are, even if it is a very momentary experience. Jamgon Kongtrul describes it as “essentially insight” which is what Enlightenment is often described as, simply seeing the way things actually are.

The way things are, is a key concept in Buddhism, and from the point of view of the Tibetan tradition it can generally be summed up as Shunyata (Tib. stong pa nyid), which is generally translated to emptiness. Emptiness in the context of Buddhist philosophy does not mean a nihilistic absence of anything, rather a lack of inherent independent existence of phenomena. Whilst the Heart Sutra and other Prajnaparamita literature states that form is emptiness and emptiness is form, it is important to note that form is still form and emptiness is still emptiness. So whilst the world may not exist the way most people experience it on the ultimate level, it is still very real on a relative level. One can say that relative truth is how conceptual and dualistic intelligence interprets the world, whereas ultimate reality, and consequently ultimate Bodhicitta, is interpreted as such by non-dualistic intelligence, although being non-dualistic there is no interpreter, process of interpretation or object of interpretation. The Buddha nature of all sentient beings as espoused in the Tathgatagarbha literature, such as Asanga’s The Changeless Nature not only relies on the doctrine of emptiness in order to become a logical possibility, but is inseparable from it.

According to the Tathgatagarbha doctrine Buddhahood is not something that comes from outside, it is in fact the true nature of all sentient beings trapped in the suffering of samsara. From the 3rd Gyalwa Karmapa Rangjung Dorje’s Aspiration of Mahamudra:

"The nature of all beings is at all times Buddha, but since they do not understand this they wander in endless samsara. May overwhelming compassion be born in me, towards those beings in such endless infinite suffering."

Here Rangjung Dorje is not talking about compassion such as one might have for someone experiencing physical or emotional pain or even the all pervasive suffering, rather it is compassion born out of the tragedy that the suffering is totally needless as the object of compassion does not have suffering as it’s true nature, rather the failure to recognise itself is the cause of its own suffering. The tragic irony of this situation is what causes this compassion overwhelming or unbearable. Once this compassion is stably present and there is a realization of emptiness it can be said to be a high level of realisation and one is firmly on the path to full realization.

As an aside it is worth pointing out that, in spite of what is often posted on the internet, Mahamudra (Tib. phyag rgya chen po) and Dzogchen (Tib. rdzogs pa chen po) are the same and somewhat synonymous with Buddhahood. Their approaches however are different and there are also different approaches within each of them, for example in Mahamudra there are sutra, tantra and so called essence approaches, the goal and result however is the same Rangjung Dorje points this out in his Aspiration for Mahamudra, particularly around verse 19. During a conversation with Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche I asked him about the relationship between Mahamudra and Bodhicitta, his response was that they were ‘inseparable’. Similarly according to the Eight Situpa, Nyinchay Situ Rinpoche, compassion in the context of Mahamudra is non referential.

Conclusion.

Given the richness and diversity of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition it can sometimes seem like there is a lack of unity. However when it comes to the teachings and practices relating to Bodhicitta, there is consensus that to practice it is to be prized above all else, even tantric samaya, although it is so deeply woven into the practice of tantra than to think of the two as separate seems unthinkable in the context Vajrayana has, and is, being practiced in the Tibetan tradition. In most cases, damaging Bodhicitta would be seen as damaging samaya too. According to the previous Khunu Rinpoche:

"To give up supreme Bodhicitta in one’s heart is the heaviest amongst the downfalls. If the life power peters out, all the other sense powers stop functioning."

Given the sincere high regard given to Bodhicitta by the previous masters of Vajrayana in the Tibetan tradition, a few of whom have been referenced here, and the regard with which ever contemporary teacher of Vajrayana I have met or received teachings from, I can come to no conclusion other that Bodhicitta is the pinnacle of this particular Buddhist meditational tradition.

Perless Bodhicitta, lifeblood of the entire doctrine of the Buddhas of the three times, May is infuse the practice of all meditators and beings in general to the point where dualism and even conceiving of "I" is impossible.

Most of the above is from an essay I wrote in an academic context so there is unlikely to be anything of interest to practitioners of Dharma. Due to the way blogger works, I left out the footnotes, which were pretty poor, and the bibliography.

2010-08-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

’People gossip about me.
I am sorry for what I have done;
I have taken three thin steps
And landed myself in the tavern of my mistress’ - Tsangyang Gyatso.

People gossip about you, me and everyone else. It's inevitable.

How affected you are by it is however anything but inevitable. Yeah under the sway of the 8 worldly dharmas far too much weight is given to what people think and say about us, or worse, what we think they think and say about us. If these people are in the group we've at that time labeled friends then the whole thing takes on another level of perceived importance.

Amongst all the hypocrisy, delusion, pretense and samaya damage, what someone you'll never meet again thinks comes pretty low on the scale of importance. Perspective is a great thing if kept loosely.

2010-08-07T03:22:00.000-07:00

There is a week of summer school left. Then a two week break before translator training starts. The two weeks will be spent studying and possibly a few days in retreat.

Today has mostly been spent talking Tibetan with two monk friends of mine from the time when I was living in D'sala. One of them is a Khenpo at Sherab Ling and the other is currently running Lama Wangdus monastery. Following recent meetings with various fake monks, Lamas and tulkus, it's awesome to be reminded that there are not only genuine practitioners out there, but genuine sangha.

2010-08-05T01:48:00.000-07:00

Like most big buildings in Kathmandu, the one I live in has a lot of cockroaches in it. In our flat they seem to be mostly small and few in numbers, possibly due to the restaurants downstairs. The only really big on lives in the bathroom behind the shelving unit. It's usually not visible apart from late at night. Every time I see "him" I feel a sense of sadness, not due to the inevitability of taking such a birth myself in future, but just how sad he looks. People hate cockroaches in an excessive way. Every time I see him, I see every person who has ever been despised ever, and for whatever plethora of just or unjust reasons. And it's simply sad.

Part of my morning practice.

2010-08-02T02:15:00.001-07:00

The Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra

Composed by
The Lord Protector Rangjung Dorje
The Third Gyalwa Karmapa

Namoguru,
Gurus and yidams, deities of the mandala,
Buddhas of the three times in the ten directions and your sons and daughters,
Please consider us with kindness and understanding, and
Grant your blessing that these aspirations may be accomplished exactly as we ask.

Sprung from the snow mountain of pure intentions and actions
Of myself and all sentient beings without limit,
May the river of accumulated virtue of the threefold purity
Flow into the ocean of the four bodies of the Victorious Ones.

So long as this is not accomplished,
Through all my lifetimes, birth upon birth,
May not even the words "evil deeds" and "suffering" be heard
And may we enjoy the splendour
and goodness of oceans of happiness and virtue.

Having obtained the supreme freedoms
and conjunctions of the precious human existence,
endowed with faith, energy, and intelligence,
Having attended on a worthy spiritual friend
and received the pith of the holy instructions,
May we practice these properly, just as we have received them,
without obstacle or interruption.
In all our lives, may we practice and enjoy the holy dharma.

Hearing and studying the scriptures and
reasonings free us from the obscuration of not knowing,
Contemplating the oral instructions disperses the darkness of doubt.
In the light born of meditation what is shines forth just as it is.
May the brightness of the three prajnas grow in power.

By understanding the meaning of the ground,
which is the two truths free from the extremes of eternalism and nihilism
And by practising the supreme path of the two accumulations,
free from the extremes of exaggeration and denial,
Is attained the fruit of well-being for oneself and others,
free from the extremes of samsara and nirvana.
May all beings meet the dharma which neither errs nor misleads.

The ground of purification is the mind itself,
indivisible cognitive clarity and emptiness.
That which purifies is the great vajra yoga of mahamudra.
What is to be purified are the adventitious,
temporary contaminations of confusion,
May the fruit of purification, the stainless dharmakaya, be manifest.

Resolving doubts about the ground brings conviction in the view.
Then keeping one's awareness unwavering in accordance with the view,
is the subtle pith of meditation.
Putting all aspects of meditation into practice is the supreme action.
The view, the meditation, the action--may there be confidence in these.

All phenomena are illusory displays of mind.
Mind is no mind--the mind's nature is empty of any entity that is mind
Being empty, it is unceasing and unimpeded,
manifesting as everything whatsoever.
Examining well, may all doubts about the ground be discerned and cut.

Naturally manifesting appearances, that never truly exist, are confused into objects. Spontaneous intelligence, under the power of ignorance, is confused into a self.
By the power of this dualistic fixation, beings wander in the realms of samsaric existence.
May ignorance, the root of confusion, he discovered and cut.

It is not existent--even the Victorious Ones do not see it.
It is not nonexistent--it is the basis of all samsara and nirvana.
This is not a contradiction, but the middle path of unity.
May the ultimate nature of phenomena, limitless mind beyond extremes, he realised.

If one says, "This is it," there is nothing to show.
If one says, "This is not it," there is nothing to deny.
The true nature of phenomena,
which transcends conceptual understanding, is unconditioned.
May conviction he gained in the ultimate, perfect truth.

Not realising it, one circles in the ocean of samsara.
If it is realised, buddha is not anything other.
It is completely devoid of any "This is it," or "This is not it."
May this simple secret, this ultimate essence of phenomena,
which is the basis of everything, be realised.

Appearance is mind and emptiness is mind.
Realisation is mind and confusion is mind.
Arising is mind and cessation is mind.
May all doubts about mind be resolved.

Not adulterating meditation with conceptual striving or mentally created meditation,
Unmoved by the winds of everyday busyness,
Knowing how to rest in the uncontrived, natural spontaneous flow,
May the practice of resting in mind's true nature be skilfully sustained.

The waves of subtle and coarse thoughts calm down by themselves in their own place,
And the unmoving waters of mind rest naturally.
Free from dullness, torpor, and, murkiness,
May the ocean of shamatha be unmoving and stable.

Looking again and again at the mind which cannot be looked at,
The meaning which cannot be seen is vividly seen, just as it is.
Thus cutting doubts about how it is or is not,
May the unconfused genuine self-nature he known by self-nature itself.

Looking at objects, the mind devoid of objects is seen;
Looking at mind, its empty nature devoid of mind is seen;
Looking at both of these, dualistic clinging is self-liberated.
May the nature of mind, the clear light nature of what is, be realised.

Free from mental fabrication, it is the great seal, mahamudra.
Free from extremes, it is the great middle way, madhyamika.
The consummation of everything, it is also called the great perfection, dzogchen.
May there be confidence that by understanding one,
the essential meaning of all is realised.

Great bliss free from attachment is unceasing.
Luminosity free from fixation on characteristics is unobscured.
Nonthought transcending conceptual mind is spontaneous presence.
May the effortless enjoyment of these experiences be continuous.

Longing for good and clinging to experiences are self-liberated.
Negative thoughts and confusion purify naturally in ultimate space.
In ordinary mind there is no rejecting and accepting, loss and gain.
May simplicity, the truth of the ultimate essence of everything, be realised.

The true nature of beings is always buddha.
Not realising that, they wander in endless samsara.
For the boundless suffering of sentient beings
May unbearable compassion be conceived in our being.

When the energy of unbearable compassion is unceasing,
In expressions of loving kindness,
the truth of its essential emptiness is nakedly clear.
This unity is the supreme unerring path.
Inseparable from it, may we meditate day and night.

By the power of meditation arise the eyes and supernormal perceptions,
Sentient beings are ripened and buddha fields are perfectly purified,
The aspirations that accomplish the qualities of a buddha are fulfilled.
By bringing these three to utmost fruition-fulfilling,
ripening and purifying-may utmost buddhahood be manifest.

By the power of the compassion of the Victorious Ones of the ten directions
and their sons and daughters,
And by the power of all the pure virtue that exists,
May the pure aspirations of myself and all sentient beings
Be accomplished exactly as we wish.

2010-07-29T03:23:00.000-07:00

You're not your lineage. You're not how many empowerments you've received.
You're not the Lama you claim to have. You're not the contents of your book collection.
You're not your fucking mala. You're the all-singing, all-dancing, intellectually speculating, orientalist asshole of the world.

2010-07-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

My daily routine of practice and study is carrying on, and with only three weeks left of summer school time really is flying. In the same way, Boudhanath really feels like home now. Home, not in the sense of somewhere I particularly feel I have to be to be comfortable, but home in the sense of familiarity.

Various incidents have also happened which have been useful in the sense of challenging my views on things such as the tulku system and other additions the Tibetans added to the Dharma package overall.

I guess I've been somewhat skeptical of the tulku system in general due to the history of abuse that has gone along with it for a long time. Combine that with hanging out with tulkus in a non student-teacher/cult leader/cultist set up and it gets murkier, or lighter.

If there are fake tulkus, lamas and ordained types a lot of it is our own fault. We are after all the people who facilitate the abuses of power and trust on both individual and institutional levels.

Most Tibetans effectively know fuck all about Buddhism and can sort of be forgiven for having blind trust in someone simply because they are born into a family where a picture of some guy is given prime position on the shrine and deified, much in the same way medieval Christians had little choice. However when it comes to Western, generally highly intelligent and well educated, Buddhist "converts" it's a bit less ok.

The thing that really marks Vajrayana out as a different branch of the Mahayana is really the Guru/Disciple relationship. This happens on all sorts of levels including samaya, view etc. But these are pretty much moot points unless the relationship has some degree of authenticity to it. An authentic relationship is not based on liking what someone says, the overall lineage package they come with, having warm and fuzzy feelings or anything as vague as feeling a "connection", to paraphrase Patrul Rinpoche, there are these idiots who come across as charismatic or whatever and win people over that way. Unfortunately there are lots of people willing to support them and feed the cycle of insanity. I'm repeating myself here.

Anyway, there are XBOXHUEG ammounts of classical texts about how to find, and more importantly, investigate a potential teacher. Use them, and don't go around referring to someone as your root Guru because they made you feel nice at some point in the last five years.

On an unrelated personal note, due to various, mostly local factors, I have had some samaya issues recently, but they are easily dealt with. However they have served as a timely reminder of how important being aware of ones environment really is.

2010-07-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

I went to Pharping with Hank yesterday. We visited the Vajrayogini temple, the two Guru Rinpoche caves and the self-arisen image of Tara.

Of all of them, the second Guru Rinpoche cave made the most impact on me, so I went back today and practiced there, it was intense and I plan to go back soon.

We also visited the Kali temple and saw a goat being sacrificed. It was horrible seeing it being scared beforehand and also the event itself. May all negative actions done in the name of religion cease immediately and may whatever negative karma was generated there ripen in me.

2010-07-14T02:31:00.000-07:00

Halfway through the summer course now.

The only thing that is really a 'serious' issue at the moment is the sense of isolation I'm feeling, mostly from certain long term friends back home and to an extent Lama. On the one hand I'm glad I am more or less self sufficient in terms of practice and I therefore do not need excessive hand holding, yet at the same time I sort of miss having a more communicative relationship. I guess on some level it's better than falling into the common Western trap of meeting some Lama and then due to getting on well thinking "Oh this is my tsawe lama etc" and then building a relationship based primarily on emotional projections with no basis in reality.

2010-07-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

I've been here a month and can have basic conversations in Tibetan now. This is pretty good progress.

I'm also receiving Chod empowerment and some other things from Lama Wangdu shortly.

In terms of my daily practice, things seem to be working well, particularly in between sessions.

2010-07-02T01:43:00.000-07:00

I'm noticing a significant increase in my understanding and use of colloquial Tibetan. Even if I don't understand everything, I'm definitely seeing an improvement. Considering I had zero colloquial Tibetan two weeks ago, this isn't too bad.

This morning I went to see Lama Wangu Rinpoche. He is one of the greatest living Chod practitioners on the planet and lives two minutes from my house. He gave me a blessing, tons of tsok and did a very favourable divination. He also said some stuff about Guru Rinpoche which I didn't really understand. Meeting felt similar to meeting certain somewhat special lamas, such as Gyalwa Karmapa.

2010-06-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

Karmapa Khyenno!!

Awesome day was awesome.

I woke up following some auspicious dreams which I won't go into detail about here.

This morning didn't go as planned. Lama Wangdu wasn't doing audiences, but I saw him later as he was leading the Gyalwa Karmapa birthday parade around the stupa. I was coming out of a door as the front of it was passing. He looked straight at me and smiled/winked. I feel I may be seeing more of him in the near future.

I also didn't go to Lekshey Ling as I bumped into some monks from there who told me Choje Lama Phuntsok is away until next week. This conversation was almost entirely in Tibetan.

Before lunch I went to a teaching by Choekyi Nyima Rinpoche. He taught on Atishas eight point of mind training, which is always a nice teaching to hear, and ever better, put into practice. Afterwards I went to get a blessing and say goodbye for now as he is leaving on a teaching tour. Just like Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, he pulled my beard which makes me think it could be the start of a trend.

As I am not really a meditator I decided that today being an auspicious day, full moon, Gyalwa Karmapas birthday and a few other things, I thought making offerings and such would be a good idea. Most of the time I am like many western so-called Buddhists who never really makes offerings to support the Sangha or anything, but today through the blessing of my Lamas I remembered to do some good or at least attempt to do so.

I also put up some Guru Rinpoche prayer flags on behalf of a friend. I put them on the North East side of the stupa as there is a huge Karmapa picture there at the moment. I later noticed a rainbow on that side of the stupa over the picture as well which made me happy.

Gyalwa Karmapa, manifestation of the Buddhas of the three times and ten directions,
May you remain until samsara is completely emptied and until such time, may your activities continue and expand.
May the pinnacle of the Buddhas teaching, Bodhicitta, be born in the minds of all beings and may they in this instant realise their mind as Buddha. Until such a time may whatever suffering they are experiencing, and that which they have generated the future causes of ripen entirely in me.

2010-06-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Good morning.

Loads of people were sick the first week, but not me. Then my 'dad' and I both got ill two nights ago and had strange dreams, as did a few other people.

I had always assumed Kathmandu and Boudha would have less of the samaya issues than somewhere like D'sala, but I think the opposite is true. With the intensity of the course added to the mix it' hard to say what is what.

On a more personal note, I think hanging out with other students and tourist in general isn't helpful so am thinking of regressing back to old school hermit behaviour.

The weather is being crazy too, lots of monsoon clouds, but no rain.

Going to see Choje Lama Phuntsok and Lama Wangdu on saturday. The former as he is a friend of my teachers and we have a nice connection. The latter as he lives one minutes walk from my house, is generally awesome and friends with my 'grandad'. In a weird twist of syncronsity, my old friend Sonam is also living in his monastery and teaching from 'words of my perfect teacher' and the 'Bodhicaryavatara'.

2010-06-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

Samsaric mind is a fucker, things change so quickly. Whilst still not entirely happy with everything here, I feel more confident just from walking round and having pretty minor conversations with people in Tibetan. One thing is for sure, if I do stay here/get a place on the course, there will be a ton of people to practice Tibetan with. I've been here less than four days and am starting to make friends, despite being as misanthropic as ever.

In other news I went to Sechen monastery today. Mind blown.

2010-06-11T01:51:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Nepal yesterday. I'm staying right next to the famous Boudhanath stupa. Woke up this morning at 5.30 from a nightmare where I was being cut to pieces with razor. I've also found out I have to take a Tibetan verbal test which decides if I get to start the course or not. I'm not exactly feeling confident about it so fuck knows what I'll do if I fail. Still there is purfication and I get to do prostrations by the stupa.

Nothing lasts

2010-06-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I leave McLeod and head for Kathmandu via Delhi. It's more emotional than last time as I have had such a short time to reconnect with old friends as well as spending time with some new very special friends.

There are many monks these days who barely keep vows and don't practice, but when you meet the ones who are the real deal it's very inspiring. May the Sangha remain undivided and have support.

So instead of being sad I should really reflect on impermanence. There is no guarantee of anything other than death in this life. As Shantideva said "Those I love will become nothing, Those I loathe will become nothing. I too will become nothing, and all will become nothing. Everything experienced fades to memory like a dream".

2010-06-04T06:27:00.001-07:00

So to summarize the last week. I'm sort of in love with someone from two years ago and I know it will all be over within a week. I'm ok with this.

On a more meaningful level I met a monk today who it turns out used to study with a Tulku friend of mine. We immediately had the same connection which was nice.

Routine

2010-05-31T04:45:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to list more or less what an average day looks like for me here.

Get up 5.30/6am Practice for an hour and a bit.

Breakfast.

Go to eco centre to refill water bottles.

Read/pretend to study Tibetan, avoid scam artists. Troll scam artists.

Lunch.

English teachings which are really me talking to some amazing monk yogis about practice.

Mix in liberal ammounts of me being a dick into all this.

Karmapa

2010-05-26T01:09:00.000-07:00

I'm having an amazing time here, but this morning takes the crown by miles. I had an audience with Gyalwa Karmapa.

I had various questions for him regarding some issues and my own practice. He answered everything with clarity and skill, as well as a great sense of humour. The latter expressed when he said I was making good progress in my practice. He explicitly stated that I enjoy practice which despite my lack of effort and diligence I genuinely do. Nothing makes me happier than practice, apart from seeing others genuinely happy.

He was also supportive of me training as a translator and didn't seem at all bothered by retreat being on hold for a few years.

I gave him a copy of the graphic novel "V for Vendetta" which he seemed pleased with. His English is excellent and at one point he almost had a London accent.

But irrespective of what was said, really what I always get from being near Gyalwa Karmapa, and certain other teachers, is a tremendous sense of unlimited non-dual love, which I only have glimpses of myself. The only way today could be better would be if I could share it with everyone. I sincerely hope that anyone who reads this will meet Karmapa face to face in the very near future.

Namo Guru!
Gyalwa Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa incarnate,
please hold all beings in your compassion and protection.
May you remain steadfast like Mahamudra and in the world for aeons.
Sarwa Mangalam!

Back in the Holy land.

2010-05-19T04:40:00.000-07:00

So I am back in India, I arrived yesterday, spent the day in Delhi and arrived in McLeod Ganj this morning. Have had a shower and some sleep as well as having caught up with old friends.

I will stay here until I got Nepal, although I might also do some small excursions from here.

The Four Thoughts (that turn the mind to Dharma)

2010-03-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

When we talk about practicing the Dharma, we are really talking about working with our minds, or meditation. This process, or series of processes is often difficult and as such it is very easy to find excuses not to do it. On a cultural level this is probably also why relatively few lay Buddhists in Asia meditated.

I have absolutely no meaningful experiential understanding of Dharma, primarily due to never really bothering with meditation due to laziness. Similarly my intellectual understanding is severely limited to a bit of academic study. As such I really need to turn my mind to Dharma and have therefore written this to remind myself of this using some parts of a research project I did on the Vajrayana preliminaries or Ngondro supplemented with comments from my own experience. This is written for my own benefit, although should you find it useful despite the plethora of faults, then I guess this is ok.

How then do I turn my attention to the Dharma? Traditionally, The Four Thoughts, often called the Four Ordinary Foundations, are contemplated in order to nurture renunciation, lessen grasping and to encourage the practice of BuddhaDharma. These are precious human birth, impermanence, karma and the intense misery of samsaric existence. Contemplating these four consistently and methodically can radically alter ones view and experience of the world.

Generally if one is doing them as part of Ngondro or in retreat conditions one might spend months on them, however simply reflecting on them daily at the start of a mediation session and intermittently throughout the day is also worthwhile.

"The first meditation topic concerns the precious human life endowed with every freedom and asset. It is difficult to get and can easily be destroyed, so now is the time to make it meaningful." - 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje

The first of the Four Ordinary Foundations is precious human birth. Whilst there are various definitions as to what makes a human birth precious, it is generally seen as such primarily in terms of it being an opportunity to engage in spiritual practice.

This opportunity presents itself as human birth is generally viewed as having less of the obstacles that other births come with. In The Jewel Ornament of Liberation Gampopa classifies precious human birth into two factors of body and three of mind. The two factors of body are leisure and endowment, whilst the three factors of mind are trust, longing and clarity.

Leisure and endowment effectively mean having the freedom, time and ability to engage in spiritual practice such as meditation. Human birth entails suffering; however it is not on the scale of the lower realms or with the distractions of the upper realms.

Birth as a non-human lacks the freedom to practice for the following reasons, detailed descriptions of which can be found in numerous Sutras and commentaries. I have mostly used Patrul Rinpoches Words of my Perfect Teacher, Jamgon Kongtruls Torch of Certainty and Gampopas Jewel Ornament of Liberation.

The hell realms, whether hot, cold or ‘miscellaneous’ involve unrelenting constant pain and misery making anything other than suffering impossible. Life here is one of constant physical pain and the mental agony of not knowing when it will end as well as the constant fear of what new misery is around the corner.

The pretas (yi dags), or hungry ghosts are similarly in constant pain caused by thirst and hunger as well as exposure to the elements. They have no control over their lives and are often merely generating further negative karma for future suffering.

Animals are constantly busy trying to feed themselves whilst avoiding being eaten or exploited by humans. In a contemporary context it's worth remembering the misery endured under modern farming as it's really not very far removed from the experiences of the hell realms.

In brief the lower realms are believed to be too painful as to allow the freedom to anything other than suffer, let alone engage in spiritual practice.

Those born in the god realms are too busy indulging in what appears unending pleasure to be interested in spiritual practice whilst the Auras (lha min) or jealous gods are too busy fighting the god and being jealous of their pleasure

Gampopa goes on to classify endowment into two groups of five personal qualities and five external qualities of a precious human life. The five personal qualities are being human, being born somewhere with access to Buddhist teachings, having all senses, some sense of morality and some devotion to the Buddhist teachings. The external factors are: the appearance of a Buddha in the world, the Buddha teaching, the teachings continuing, and followers of the teachings being around and there being “love and kind support” from others. Having these qualities and circumstances present is also seen as precious due to the relative rarity of this happening, Gampopa, Patrul Rinpoche, Shantideva and numerous others use the example of the blind turtle to illustrate the statistical chances of precious human birth.

"Suppose this whole earth were an ocean and a person threw in a yoke that only had one hole. The yoke would float back and forth in all the four directions. Underneath that ocean, there is a blind tortoise who lives for many thousands of years but who comes up above the surface once every hundred years. It would be very difficult for the tortoise’s head to meet with the yoke’s hole; still it is possible. To be born in a precious human life is much more difficult." - Jewel Ornament of Liberation

Gampopa the continues to describe the three factors of mind trust, longing and clarity in the following way: Trusting faith is the belief in the law of karma, longing faith is the wish to become Enlightened and clear faith is taking refuge in the Three Jewels.

We meditate on the precious human life in order to motivate ourselves to really use the rare opportunity to practice whilst we have the chance as there is absolutely no guarantee we will have the opportunity again in the near future as most of the time we are generating more negative karma to supplement that which we have generated since beginningless time.

However, our deluded habitual tendencies to see everything as permanent and everlasting, often reinforced by cultural conditioning, may indeed lead to procrastination. This is why contemplation of the precious human life is followed by contemplating impermance.

"Secondly, the universe and everything that lives therein is impermanent – particularly the lives of beings which are like water-bubbles. The time of death is uncertain and when you die you will become a corpse. Dharma will help you at that time, therefore practice it diligently now." - 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje

Impermanence is one of the key doctrines of Buddhism. In the context of the Four Ordinary Foundations it is essential to understand that impermanence here isn’t a doctrine to be understood intellectually as an abstract concept, or something to be believe in as an article of faith, but rather it is to be experienced and internalised as this will then make us more able to deal with it as it arises in everyday experience and be less affected by it as well as being mindful that the opportunity to engage in spiritual practice is itself not something to be taken for granted and as such must be prioritised as ultimately practicing Dharma, in order to liberate all sentient beings without exclusion, is the only thing that is of any real value. According to the Buddha, meditation on impermanence is like an elephants footprint as it is so deep and powerful. Similarly Nagarjuna states that liberation, let alone unsurpassed Buddhahood is impossible if one fails to meditate on impermanence.

Patrul Rinpoche suggests progressively contemplating the impermanence of the external universe, sentient beings, holy beings and the impermanence of those in positions of power. He then moves on to miscellaneous examples of impermanence. The function of this is to remind the practitioner of his own mortality and thus spur him on to practice. Linked from this is a reminder that the uncertainty that comes with impermanence also applies to the moment of death as the causes and circumstances of death are varied. He also says that regular and consistent meditation on impermanence will engender deep renunciation and as such serves as a gateway for spiritual practice.

In between sessions it is useful to bring to mind the reality of impermanence. All the things we enjoy, all the people we love, all the various things we are collecting will shortly be taken away from us forever. Similarly, all the things we don't enjoy and all the people we perceive as harming us will also soon be gone and our very bodies will also be gone. As such being attached to anything, including feelings of anger and resentment is really insanity as none of this will last, yet we constantly generate future suffering on the basis of our attachments to impermanent and hugely unreliable phenomena.

Meditation on impermanence is primarily practiced to develop renunciation and to serve as an antidote to procrastination encouraging us to make use of our precious human birth, however the lessening of attachment is something that benefits us in this life as it makes things like bereavements and break-ups far less upsetting.

This meditation logically follows the meditation on precious human birth and precedes the meditation on karma

"Thirdly, after your death you will have to experience your own karma, having no degree of control over what happens. So give up harmful actions – all your time should be spent in the practice of virtue. Thinking this was, evaluate your life daily." - 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje

The third of the Four Ordinary foundations is the meditation on karma (las). Karma is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism and one that is very often misunderstood. Whilst acknowledging its centrality and complexity, Jamgon Kongtrul sums it up by stating that a negative cause will generate a negative result, whilst a positive cause will generate a positive result. After this he lists actions which lead to Samsaric birth and those which lead to liberation. At the end of his chapter on karma he talks about the primacy of motivation in the formation of karmic results, citing examples of seemingly positive acts which will yield negative results due to their motivation, whilst at the same time warning against committing negative actions even if they are positively motivated, urging the practitioner to avoid judgement of others actions.

In some ways the whole point of the meditation on karma, or cause and effect, is to make us more mindful of our actions be they physical, verbal or mental. All our actions of body and speech originate with the mind, so really developing mindfulness is the key here. If one is mindful and aware of which emotions are arising, one has more chance of avoiding negative states of mind which if left unchecked can wreck havoc with what positive karma we have generated. As Shantideva famously says "kalpas of merit are destroyed in a single moment of anger".

A secondary effect of this meditation is that as we gain more understanding of karma we are less likely to blame people and things for anything that goes wrong. This not not to say that we should simply have a fatalistic acceptance, or worse sense of predetermined powerlessness, of anything that happens as simply "our karma". In fact the wonderful thing about karma is that it means we are entirely responsible for what happens in the future, no God or other external force is responsible for us. However, it is also worth pointing out that karma is acknowledged to be so profound that only a fully enlightened being completely understands its working as it is said to be “unthinkable”.

The meditation on karma as part of the Four Ordinary foundations is to make us mindful of our actions in general, but more specifically to think how karma will affect us even after inevitable death. This is why it comes after the meditation on impermanence and before the meditation on the suffering of samsara.

"One is constantly tormented by the three kinds of suffering. Therefore samsaric places, friends, pleasures and possessions are like a party given by an executioner who will then lead on to the place of execution. Cutting through the snares of attachment, strive for enlightenment with diligence." - 9th Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje

The suffering of samsara is the final of the Four Ordinary Foundations. Gampopa, Jamgon Kongtrul and Patrul Rinpoche all list the specific forms of suffering associated with each realm as described previously when discussing the precious human birth. The “three sufferings” mentioned in the above quote are: suffering itself, the suffering of change and what is generally referred to as all pervasive.

Suffering itself includes the physical pain involved in birth, sickness, ageing and death as well as the emotional pain that can go with these.

The suffering of change is losing that and those to which we are attached, as well as being faced with that and those whom we find unpleasant, such as meeting a carjacker and consequently losing our car, our partner leaving us, watching our child die, receiving a court summons. The variety of misery is unending really.

All pervasive suffering is the sense of not having what we want or being attached to conceptual ideals and then suffering when experienced reality fails to live up to them. Jamgon Kongtrul states that the first two sufferings are rooted in the coming together of the five aggregates and that it is latent in all samsaric existence. Samsara is also described as a state of mind where there is continuous fear and attachment.

The all pervasive suffering is really that which is meant in the context of the first of the Four Noble Truths. The tricky part with this is that it is extremely subtle, and it is often said that the difference between an ordinary person experiencing it and someone with realisation experiencing it is like the difference between feeling a hair in the palm of ones hand and feeling it in ones eye.

Basically most of the time we have no idea how involved in suffering we actually are. There is no lasting or untainted happiness in samsara. However much we have of money, food, sex, applause, friends or anything else, we always want more. This is being discontent. Everything we mistakenly see as happiness in samsara is generally suffering, or at least contains the karmic seeds of future suffering.

Patrul Rinpoche describes the meditation on the unending misery of samsara as "the basis and support for all the good qualities of the path. It turns your mind towards the Dharma. It gives you confidence in the principle of cause and effect in all your actions. And it makes you feel love and compassion for all beings."

Meditation is a bit like physical exercise, doing it once or very irregularly will have little benefit. But consistent practice, even in small ammounts, will have beneficial effects. Even from my extremely limited personal experience I know this.

Namo Guru!

Precious Lama, Padmasambhava in person, bless me that vomit inducing revulsion with samsara may arise in my mind and in the minds of all beings. May such revulsion and a sincere longing for liberation become stable and in turn give rise to precious Bodhicitta, the crowing glory of the Dharma.

Whatever mistakes and faults are in the above ramble are entirely mine. Whatever small merit may have arisen I dedicate to all sentient beings without exclusion, particularly those involved in extremely negative activities and who lack compassion.

Spiritual exhibitionism.

2010-03-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

One negative thing I've noticed about Buddhist circles in the West, both academic and faith ones, is that there is a shit load of one-up manship that goes on. Sure this goes on everywhere people have egos, but it seems more overt here. Usually it follows a pattern of "I've got such and such initiations, Lama superspecial is my root guru and I've spent over 9000 days in retreat". My personal version of this tends to start off with some namedropping of various teachers, then some ridculous annecdotes about how unattached I am to everything, possibly interspersed with referencing retreats.

Why do we do this? Well the obvious answer would it's ego driven and rooted in the eight wordly concerns, particularly the latter four of these. However on a more manageable level I think it to some extent also comes down to the newness most Western Buddhist have to it all. There is uncertainity about how we are practicing on lots of levels, so making ourselves sound like 'proper' practitioners or reacting strongly to those who criticise us, or our teachers or lineage, is a way of trying to feel better.

I think some of this also comes from most Western Buddhist carrying loads of theistic emotional and cultural baggage. Simply because you have seen the irrationality and imorality of a theistic view on an intellectual level, does not mean you will be over the deeper impact and conditioning it may have had on you. At this point I could liken it all to how someone in an abusive relationship leaves, yet occasionally yearns back to it, or how former cult members sometimes go back even though they know it is harmful for them. I realise that this paragraph might provoke as much hatemail as the pompous "Porn and meat" blog I wrote a while back did.

Back on topic a bit. In the sixth chapter of the Bodhicaryavatara, Shantideva famously spoke about 'enemies' or those who attack and criticise us as being our greatest teachers because without them there is no way to develop patience and forgiveness, as well as the fact that they are providing us with a chance for some of the ocean of bad karma we are carrying to be purified.

How to do this as something other than an intellectually appealing and somewhat abstract idea? I'm guessing the mind training approach is the most direct with this. I don't really practice so trying to elaborate or explain would be beyond ridiculous.

2010-03-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

"If you watched your own mind as closely as you watch others, you would already be a Buddha"

Advice to myself.

2010-03-07T02:34:00.001-08:00

So yeah, it looks like I will be training to be a translator at Rangjung Yeshe. I am very excited about this, very happy and also nervous purely in terms of the sense of responsibility I feel about translating BuddhaDharma.

2010-03-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Nyung Nays were amazing in and of themselves, used the Tibetan text the whole time rather than phonetics. It's three years since I've done that practice and the first time using Tibetan text. Vaguely proud.

Still no final yay or nay on the translators course front, but I'm optimistic after some comments made by both Rinpoches.

2010-02-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

I've arrived at Samye Ling Monastery after a hassle-free journey. There are tons of end of year Mahakala prayers over the next couple of days ahead of Losar, before we begin the annual 16 day Nyung Nay practice.

It's been three years since I did a 'full' Nyung Nay. I am really happy to be doing it again as I have had a lot of benefit from it previously.

This also means that this will be my last blog entry for a while, so I will wish both my readers a happy and healthy Year of the Male Iron Tiger, and hope that your practice and realisation grows.

2010-02-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Namo Guru!

Precious Root Guru, Glorious Dusum Sangye, in all my lives may I meet you face to face and practice the Dharma without even an instants thought for this life.

May utter digust with samsara be my default attitude and may the suffering of my enemies fuel this.

This body is an animated corpse ready for compost, bless me that I may see it so and renounce even mere consideration of this life.

This speech is the amplification of ego, bless me that I may see it as such and silence it at the root.

This mind is the Dharmakaya itself, bless me that I may directly perceive it as such without elaboration.

2010-02-11T04:17:00.001-08:00

The anticipation is building.