Sacred West

Strong Back Soft Front

SacredWest — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:19:46 +0000

This morning I pondered the rightness of having a strong back, and of having a soft front. Shambhala teaches as a foundational instruction having a “good head and shoulders”, and the notion is accompanied by having an open front.

I was given an instruction recently by a Shambhala teacher for a meditation technique to balance the twin experiences of Space and Energy, and this very much had to do with having a strong back and a soft front.

It resembled the Taoist practice of circulating Qi around the body through an orbit rising up the back, circling through the top of the head, and returning down through the front of the body.

So I pondered all this in a morning exercise and it seemed very clear to me that Yang, the energy in this dance, belongs properly in our strong backs, holding us firm and rising to heaven while Yin, the space in which energy arises, inheres in us in the softness of our features and our feelings and our mingling with each other.

The strength of our uprightness doesn’t belong in our fronts. When we assert ourselves too harshly, our strength leaves our backbone, and comes to our face, our mouth, our heart, and manifests unbalanced, as passion or anger or fear or shouting or discourtesy.

Courtesy and graciousness is the way to behave, as I saw this morning, and the way to think and feel and express. Strength should remain in the back of us as backbone, to hold our resolve and our lack of doubt.

Softness no more belongs in the spine than does loudness belong in the voice. So this seems to me to be the true demeanor of the human.

What do you think?

The Karmapa Comes To New York

SacredWest — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:31:45 +0000

His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa, the leader of the Kagyu lineage, is in America as this is written.

Acharya Eric Speigel, of the Shambhala lineage - and once a teacher of mine in Austin for a weekend class on death and dying - sent us a lovely and touching account of the Karmapa’s landing and teachings in New York.

The Austin Shambhala blog has the full accounts - he’s sent us two so far. Here are some links.

Official websites for the Karmapa are here:
H.H. 17th. Karmapa Trinlay Thaye Dorje
Kagyu Office of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapaкомпютри втора употреба

and here’s the Shambhala blog, with Acharya Eric’s two accounts so far:

May 16th -
His Holiness Karmapa in New York

May 19th -
Visit of His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa to New York

and for more about Acharya Eric Spiegel, who really touched us so deeply when he came to Austin for the first time that weekend, check these stories from the Shambhala blog:
http://austinshambhala.org/blog/category/death-and-life/

It was wonderful for our sangha to hear about the Karmapa from our dear friend in New York.

The Gap

SacredWest — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:33:52 +0000

I started reading The Time Falling Bodies Take To Light, a classic on mythology, which I had never read. I was struck first by William Irwin Thompson’s awesome power of writing, and then very soon into the Prologue by these 111 words:

The Fall is not only once and long ago; it is recapitulated in each instant of consciousness. The unfallen world beyond time remains as a background to the figured beats of the heart in our world of serial progression. Like the white page that surrounds the darkness of each letter you are reading here, eternity surrounds each heartbeat, and as the contemplative watches his breath, he can move out of time through the doorway which opens in the interval between each heartbeat. Each open space is a spiritualization, each beat a materialization; and both are sacred, for in one is the spiritualization of matter; in the other, the materialization of spirit.

Thompson has spent some time in practices of various sorts, and speaks from experience - or certainly with appreciation - of the gap between. I thought that as meditation practitioners you might enjoy the passage, so I typed it for you to savor.

I can imagine if I had read this years ago, how I would have resonated with the perfect mystical truth of the words, yet still not known how to experience it. Even more, I would not even have figured out that experiencing it is the only way to be satisfied with this kind of knowledge. I would have felt uplifted and defeated all at once, and not understood what was missing.

I would have felt helpless in the face of this supreme signature of reality, not knowing that it could be experienced by anyone, that all along this experience was waiting, simply in the practice of mindfulness meditation.

How good to hear the Dharma. How good to stop wasting time, and to take up the practice of reality.

In Search Of Non-Existent Self

SacredWest — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:15:11 +0000

Preamble

In November 2007 the Austin Shambhala Meditation Center held a weekend class called “The Union of Shamatha and Vipashyana”, conducted by the senior acharya of our region, Acharya Moh Hardin . This was an event not to be missed.

The class relied on Jamgon Kongtrul for his definitive pronouncements, in the Treasury of Knowledge, on the nature of shamatha and vipashyana. Among the several areas covered by the class, one special study I was looking forward to was a meditation examination of the nature of self.

The Search Begins

I came to the weekend ready to explore this aspect of my experience, eager because of an earlier experience.

A few months earlier I had studied the four foundations of mindfulness. In a subsequent practice, setting the foundations, I found myself established in a very stable setting for a few moments. I decided this was the perfect time to establish finally for myself where my self actually was, so that I could know the way to it, after a lifetime of yearning.

In that moment of seeking I realized there was an issue with the very fact itself that I couldn’t locate the self: it seemed elusive by its nature somehow; I suddenly thought that I remembered some teaching saying that the self cannot be found, and in that moment I let go of the need for self.

I recalled Shantideva’s mentioning that all beings are driven by karma. Everything became sparkly, buoyant, vibrant in the shrine room as I looked out across the other meditators, and I saw that karma was driving all things perfectly, no need for self.

This moment passed, but left its mark on me. I didn’t quite know that day - it occurs to me now as I write - how special an event this was. I haven’t been able to reproduce it since, so far.

So I was ready, in the Union class, to learn more about the self, and what the truth of dharma says about this thing.

It happened then in the first day of the weekend that our teacher gave us the instruction for a new practice. First we readied ourselves in shamatha. When we were settled, he set us to the task of perceiving the dhatus. The first time, in the morning, I was a little unclear about perceiving the dhatus themselves - with each sense in turn, I could perceive the object, and I could perceive the sense organ, but I could do little more than make a placeholder for the consciousness of the sensation, the dhatu.

In the afternoon the practice was extended to include a further investigation, to whit: as you examine each dhatu in turn, inquire if the self is found in the dhatu, examine if the self is part of it.

It was here that the dawning of new knowledge came for me.

The Self Retreats

In the afternoon, then, the inquiry for the self began. In the morning I had been able to perceive the ayatanas, such as the eye, the ear, the nose, and so on. I could perceive the sense organ, and I could perceive its object, but I couldn’t quite perceive the dhatu, the consciousness of seeing, of hearing, of smelling, and so on.

In the afternoon we included the reference to the self, asking within this practice of perceiving, is the self part of this ayatana or dhatu? Now I found I could perceive the dhatus, the eye dhatu being the consciousness of seeing, and so on. This is where the surprises began.

I took into this inquiry the familiar sense of self. To my astonishment, as I started with the object of sight, and the eye, and the consciousness of the seeing activity, I found that I could clearly perceive the dhatu of seeing, and that it was completely separate from self. Self remained hovering somewhere in the background.

Self, I perceived, is not a part of the dhatu. The familiar self whose presence I have known all my life, is not a part of the dhatu of seeing, which operates independently of self. As I perceive the dhatu of seeing, I find that self is not even touching it. Self merely overshadows it.

I discovered this to be the case for each dhatu in turn, they were all operations happening without the need for my involvement, in the sense of being connected with the self in any way.

I perceived very clearly a claim of ownership being made by what I knew as the self.

I noted a sense of surprise, within the familar action of self, to discover that the ownership didn’t exist. Something recoiled in confusion and surprise, away from the stainless object of perception, with the claim of ownership shown to be untrue.

I continued the inquiry to the mind dhatu. The mind was clear and knowing, as is its nature, as our teacher reminded us in the guided practice. As our teacher led us to the mind, I perceived it free also of the self. The self continued to exist, hovering always in the background, massively overshadowing each element of experience in turn, but not actually connected, not appearing in any place to be found. I began to suspect that the self was retreating, under the light of inquiry.

As the guided practice continued to its end, I explored my mind even as it functioned as the “switchboard”, filtering and balancing the appearance of the dhatus to my experience. I found that even in this role, the mind was still clear and knowing, and was not connected in any way to self, and operated perfectly, stainlessly, without the need for self.

So by now I was smelling a rat, and the rat was self itself, which seemed to be a gigantic action of ownership. I suspected that I would never find the self.

I don’t think anyone has ever taught me specifically that the self cannot be found, but I seem to have picked this concept up as dharma somewhere. Certainly in this class our teacher never made such a statement. He simply asked for our experiences, and we shared our variety, and he said nothing.

But in my experience then, this seems to be true. Self is a mass of assumptions. Self retreats from inquiry, self by its nature seems to elude discovery, seems to shift away from approach.

And yet the dhatus, including the mind itself, do not shift away from being perceived. The very mind itself, clear and knowing, presents no obstacle to being perceived, and can always be found readily as you turn to it in present time. Only the self hides from the moment.

First Conclusions

The self does not exist, in the sense that the other elements of consciousness exist - it merely obtrudes, and intrudes, into all the corners of our experience. In the investigation practice, I started to think of the self as almost sinister, furtive in its elusiveness, but it must be said that the act of ownership could also be an innocent thing. The self may only seem to be hiding, as if deliberately. In truth, the self may not have any choice but to act the way it does, and helplessly at that.

What is the self? What does it do? How does it come into being? As I bear witness here to my experience I offer very little opinion, simply the results of my investigations as they came to my perceptions, coupled with a night’s sleep and reflection.

As part of my subsequent reflection, I’m struck by the simple logic of the situation. We call it the self, we think ourselves as separate although the Buddha saw that we are not. We think of everything we experience as “mine”. How simple then to see that the self arises simply as the claim of ownership, and in the act and by the act of claiming ownership. No wonder it suffers. Good grief.

So this is the only time and place wherein the self exists: within the claim of ownership, during the act itself of assuming this proprietary nature that clings to our experience.

No wonder that it seems the self cannot be found, although I now see that I did in fact find the self yesterday. The dhatus and the mind itself can be approached and perceived, and found to be operating according to their nature - holding steady and always true to their nature. And so can the self, I now think. The self can be perceived in the discovery that what we assume to belong to us does not.

The dhatu operates whether I claim ownership of it or not. It doesn’t require to be possessed in order to operate. And through investigation the self is found, as the emptiness of the claim of ownership becomes apparent. The self is perceived operating according to its nature, and can be approached, and witnessed, and pitied, and released from toil

My self is not a faculty but an act, it is an active claim of ownership. This I perceive directly as my own experience during the practice of investigation, I perceive my self in operation, and this is what it does. My self assumes that everything happening belongs. Belongs to what? Conventional words would say, belongs to “me”, but this is outside my experience, I don’t know this is really true, and I suspect the case simply doesn’t extend this far. Nor does it need to.

The matter of the self lies in perceiving that it is unnecessary to the operation of existence in the reality that the Dharma portrays. Beyond this, the question becomes, what to do about it?

never born never dies

SacredWest — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:15:34 +0000

A friend sent this over:

There is only one thing, from the very beginning,
infinitely bright and mysterious by nature.

It was never born, and it never dies. It cannot be
described or given a name.

What is this “one thing”?

An eminent teacher wrote,
Even before the ancient Buddhas were born,
One thing was already perfectly complete.
Even Shakyamuni Buddha could not understand it.
How could he transmit it to Mahakashyapa?

There is one “thing” that is never born, and never
dies. For this reason it cannot be named in any way,
or expressed, or depicted.

The Sixth Patriarch of Zen once addressed the assembly
thus: “I have something that has no name and no form.
Do any of you see it?”

Zen Master Shen-hui immediately replied, “It is the
essence of all Buddhas, and also my buddha nature.”

Due to this answer, Shen-hui cannot be considered a
legitimate heir and descendant of the Sixth Patriarch.

- Zen Master So Sahn (1520-1604)

Sogyal Rinpoche

SacredWest — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:15:00 +0000

All beings, everywhere, suffer; let your heart go out to them all in
spontaneous and immeasurable compassion.
-Sogyal Rinpoche

And who is Sogyal Rinpoche? Here’s a bio of this Dzogchen master:
http://www.rigpa.org/Sogyal_Rinpoche.html

And here’s a beautiful short extract from his renowned book, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying:

“We all feel and know something of the benefits of compassion. But the particular strength of the Buddhist teaching is that it shows you clearly a “logic” of compassion […] in practice our actions are deeply uncompassionate and bring us and others mostly frustration and distress, and not the happiness we are all seeking.

“To realize what I call the wisdom of compassion is to see with complete clarity its benefits, as well as the damage that its opposite has done to us. We need to make a very clear distinction between what is in our ego’s self-interest and what is in our ultimate interest; it is from mistaking one for the other that all our suffering comes.” - Compassion: The Wish Fulfilling Jewel

And here is a taste of Sogyal Rinpoche, explaining

What meditation really is

Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche In Austin, Texas

SacredWest — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 01:36:28 +0000

Tibetan Buddhist Teachings
In Austin, Texas
with:
Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche

Friday, November 30th, 7PM - 9PM (registration at 6PM)

A Change Within Changes the World

It is only so close, the sacred truth. Yet it is unseen. A change in perspective, a fresh glance suggested by a spiritual guide, and the wondrous essence dawns before our very eyes. For those who are heartbroken by the many sorrows of our fellow beings, seeing the loving truth of who we really are is the answer to the ancient question, How Can I Change the World?

Saturday & Sunday, December 1st and 2nd - 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

“From My Heart”
A Hymn on Discovering the Sacredness of Life

In this lyrical work, His Holiness Jigmed Puntsok offers a complete vision of the innate sanctity of life. His poem describes every detail of how one can live in the true heart of purity each moment, with each breath, with every thought. “From My Heart” is His Holiness’ melody of exaltation, celebrating the wonder of eternal liberation. Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche will explain the underlying significance of His Holiness’ poem and how it applies to each of us as we remember our true essence as awakened beings.

Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche was born in the Golok region of Eastern Tibet, and at the age of six was recognized as the reincarnation of a previously enlightened master. His primary teacher was His Holiness Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, himself a primary teacher of H.H.The Dalai Lama.

As the head of Tashi Gomang and Dudul Wachen Monasteries in Tibet, Rinpoche oversees the spiritual lives of 300-400 monks, nuns and yogis.

For more information about Compassion Fellowship please see:
www.compassionfellowship.org
For Rinpoche’s extended biography:
Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche

Events will be held at Norbu Sampel Ling in central Austin. Directions will be provided upon registration. All events are donations-based. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Suggested donation for weekend: $100. Friday: $15.

Contact: jbowman_50@yahoo.com to register or Janet Gilmore (512) 264-1188 for information.

in absentia

SacredWest — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:32:19 +0000

Here’s a quote from a Mary Oliver poem:

And who will care, who will chide you if you wander away
from wherever you are, to look for your soul?

When the Pain Gets Small Enough We Call It Happiness

SacredWest — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:41:20 +0000

I was reading Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche explaining the basic views of Buddhism in an old Shambhala Sun article, Buddhism In a Nutshell: The Four Seals of Dharma. Rinpoche explains that the Four Seals are four distinct characteristics that, if present in any path, can be said to be on the path of the Buddha.

The Four Seals he describes as:

All compounded things are impermanent
All emotions are painful
All phenomena are empty
Nirvana is beyond extremes

The second one captures the attention, the thought that all emotions are painful. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche says that only Buddhists would think this way. Everyone else celebrates the high emotions like love; Buddhists think, “this is all suffering.”

Then he describes in more detail what this says about our experience.

The dualistic mind creates a lot of expectations—a lot of hope, a lot of fear. Whenever there is a dualistic mind, there is hope and fear. Hope is perfect, systematized pain. We tend to think that hope is not painful, but actually it’s a big pain. As for the pain of fear, that’s not something we need to explain.
The Buddha said, ‘Understand suffering.’ That is the first Noble Truth. Many of us mistake pain for pleasure - the pleasure we now have is actually the very cause of the pain that we are going to get sooner or later. Another Buddhist way of explaining this is to say that when a big pain becomes smaller, we call it pleasure. That’s what we call happiness.
Moreover, emotion does not have some kind of inherently real existence. When thirsty people see a mirage of water, they have a feeling of relief: “Great, there’s some water!” But as they get closer, the mirage disappears. That is an important aspect of emotion: emotion is something that does not have an independent existence.

I wanted to share this.

And if you wonder, as I did, who is Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche…

UPDATE - if this is a new concept to you, do not despair, happiness exists, but not where we usually look for it. To answer this riddle spend five minutes with this video from Mipham Rinpoche, called What About Me

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

SacredWest — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:37:17 +0000

This is the beginning of a page about Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, a most remarkable being. Latest incarnation of the Khyentse lineage of reincarnate tulkus, he is also a filmmaker of some distinction. The more I read his teachings, the more he takes hold. I like this man, and recommend his teachings to you.

I will add more material about this man over time. He directs Siddartha’a Intent International, and that website carries many materials including audio files of his teachings, as well as news of his activities. His bio is impressive: About Siddhartha’s Intent and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is a filmmaker. As Khyentse Norbu, he directed The Cup, and most recently Travellers and Magicians. He appeared in the documentary, Words of My Perfect Teacher.

In 1991, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche agreed to take responsibility for the World Peace Vase Programme, a vision of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.