Equinox in Abiquiu (Redux)

I went to Northern New Mexico last year to work on my Vision book, to try and see more clearly and camped at Abiquiu Lake. While I was there I met Cosmic Connie. This year we agreed to meet again, same time (Equinox) and same place. So, yes, I went to see Connie, but I also went to SEE. I still need to see much more clearly before I can ever think about writing the book. And, maybe I will never write it.  

Just before I left I was listening to some critic blathering on (on television) about his view of "The Master" movie. I really saw then how foolish it is to rant and pontificate. It serves no purpose. Idle chatter. WORDS, I realized, are as empty as Shunyata. What is that, you ask. Clearly seeing, or comprehending Shunyata, is a key milestone in Buddhist practice. Essentially you could say, "There is neither reality nor not-reality; only relativity." Don't worry if you don't "get that" immediately. There are monks and sadhus who have spent years in caves pondering these concepts. After all, if it was easy, it wouldn't be a problem ;) 

All phenomena are void of self-essence, but it is incorrect to say that phenomena exist or don’t exist. Form and appearance create the world of myriad things, but the myriad things have identity only in relation to each other. Beyond identity, shunyata is an absolute reality that is all things and beings, unmanifested.

After many years of pondering some of these philosophical quandaries, I SEE a glimmer of insight. And, insight = Vision. It is the Tibetan Tantric view that we don't teach or even talk about these insights, especially when we still have obscurations and afflictions.  I certainly still have both. All this rambling to say, I'm going to stop posting and pontificating about these concepts and just like a good writer SHOW not tell. 

A science by itself is neither good nor bad. What makes it good or bad is how it is applied.  

Crazy Wisdom

No doubt, Chogyam Trungpa was one crazy Rinpoche. For me, he is best known as Pema Chodron's teacher, and the reason she is the Director of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. But serious Dharma students know him for his prolific, amazing writing and for creating Shambhala for Westerners who found Vajrayana too esoteric.

I was primarily posting the link below, from Shambhala to my blog (rather than sending it to FB) because other than a handful of folks, I don't think the FB crowd really "gets" my incessant interest in Buddhism. I would really LOVE to get a small group of like-minded folks to either share and read our blogs (and of course, we can still use FB to share links, too) and create a Virtual Sangha. I was going to tweet this link to Zatheos, when he emailed in with his own thoughts about life in "the Cave." I don't think he'll mind my sharing this one line with my limited followers:

Most days I'm really ok with it--having no one in my life who really understands this thing I'm so invested in. But some days you just don't want to feel alone in the things that matter most to you. . . I wonder if there were days in that cave that Milarepa wished that Marpa was there.

The irony is I started posting this hours ago, in response to an email exchange Z and I were having about deity worship. When I finally came back to finish this and post it, he sent the cave comment. So, Zatheos, this is mostly for you!! The next time you feel isolated, PLEASE post a comment here and include a link to your Amazing blog!! Vajra fan Ryan would love it, I'm sure!!

Here's that Trunpa link Crazy Wisdom / Choiceless Transmutation

I do have a Pema "fan group" on FB that I moderate, so perhaps a few of them (VERY eclectic folks) would ride this wave length-- Crazy Cave folk ;) OR, the title of another Trungpa book "the Mishap Lineage." Really!!

Auspicious, indeed!

During the last week of my Vajrasattva Retreat, we studied Mahamudra. This is a "secret" teaching, and until recently remained one of the teachings that was very inaccessible. So, it certainly seemed more than coincidental when on the last day of the retreat, I learned that Lama Dudjom Dorjee from Dallas would be in Albuquerque to give Mahamudra teachings over that weekend (Friday - Sunday) at the KTC center which is only three miles from my house! That is auspicious enough. But, then at the initial public talk, I learned that he would be teaching the same translation used by Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche, who is the Abbot of Pema Chodron's Gampo Abbey, two of my "top teachers." Then, we had the special opportunity to have dinner with Lama Dorjee Saturday evening at the home of one of the Sangha members. That was even more amazing and during that time I received a very special transmission.

Our Kagyu lineage actually means "the whispered teachings" and places extreme importance on receiving oral transmissions. I have spent far more time reading than directly receiving the transmissions, but the times I've had these blessings and insights, I am reminded why it is so valuable. Proper guidance. Auspicious, indeed!

Bodhi Day and holiday thoughts

I've really been wrestling with the "holiday" concept this year. The last thing I want to come off as is a Grinch or Scrooge. Dickens' story of keeping Christmas in one's heart all year long had a HUGE impact on me when I was young, and profoundly affected my life. However more recently I've been pondering what exactly affected me, and it's not really "Christmas" -- it's the spirit of giving.

Charity is something we should keep in hearts year-round, but that's for everyone -- not just Christians. Charity and compassion are an essential part of our Buddhist precepts. The term Bodhichitta means compassion and it arises from realizing how interconnected we all are. Buddhist teachers often use the analogy of our body like this: you wouldn't cut off your hand because it offends you. After all, our hand is part of us. In the Buddhist cosmic view, everything is part of us and the complete realization of that is considered Enlightenment (click on the art above, to read another Buddhist viewpoint on Bodhi Day and Enlightenment.)

Christmas has become so complicated and commercialized that it's hard to know what people are celebrating. Gift-giving is a beautiful sentiment, but not when it means shoving and pepper-spraying others to buy some product that no one really needs in the first place. Even more civilized shopping raises questions of why buy more things for people who have plenty, rather than practicing real charity toward those who have nothing? And, for those who consider themselves Christians (yet criticize those who aren't), how about practicing some of the concepts Jesus actually taught: love, mercy and tolerance.

Finally, I am far from a perfect practitioner (still easily agitated by right-wing political nonsense and many other Kleshas.) That is why I feel compelled to participate in a serious winter retreat this year to "take the Dharma medicine" (as one of my teachers says) with the intention to get healthier every day (and that is in thought, speech and action.) Namaste!

Religion? Faith? or Reason?

Religion-- or more to the point Faith -- is it the “purposeful suspension of critical thinking” as Bill Maher calls it? The alleged comedian and his atheist guest, magician Penn Jillette, had a lively discussion on this weeks’ edition of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” about the Cult of Mormonism (their term, not mine), evangelicals, and of course, their favorite topic: atheism. Lest I sound as cynical as them, let me quickly say I am all for reason and critical thinking. In fact, I too abandoned Christianity, particularly Pentecostalism, as soon as I was capable of critical thinking. "Oh no," you sigh, thinking I am just as cynical as those two. NOT SO. Their ranting tonight provides a perfect opportunity for me to share something I've found incredibly profound from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

I’ve been listening to several hours of audio from HHDL on this very subject-- no not making fun of Christianity -- critical thinking. The Dalai Lama engages in a thought-provoking dialogue, bringing together scientists and spirituality, because as he says, “science is not neutral; it can be used for good or ill.” He takes a hard look at various ethical considerations related to technological advancements.

But, what brought me here to blog, was the following insight that I transcribed from his audio. The quote below is HHDL's comparison of scientific methods and Buddhism (this is very close to a direct transcription, telescoping just a bit of dialogue in one spot):

Although Buddhism has evolved to include a body of teachings and related rituals, scriptural authority cannot outweigh an understanding based on reason and experience. In fact, the Buddha himself, undermined the scriptural authority of his own words when he told his followers not to accept the validity of his teachings based on a reverence to him. "Just as a goldsmith tests and analyzes his gold through a meticulous process of examination," the Buddha told his followers, "you too must test the truth of what I've told you through reasoned examination and personal experiment." Therefore when it comes to validating the truth of a claim or mind training technique, Buddhism accords the greatest authority to experience, then reason and scripture last.

The great masters from the Nalanda University of India, from which Tibetan Buddhism sprang, continued to apply the Buddha’s advice in their rigorous testing and critical examination of the Buddha’s own teachings (HHDL continued on telling the gathering of monks and scientists, then summed up with this amazing statement.)

So, it makes no difference if the Truth is found through scientific research or if we investigate something and find there is reason and proof for it, we must acknowledge that as reality- even if it is in contradiction with a literal, scriptural explanation that has held ‘sway’ for many centuries or from a deeply held opinion or view. So, (and here comes his most astounding remark) a fundamental attitude shared by science and Buddhism is the commitment to keep searching for the Truth by empirical means and to be willing to discard religious precepts if our search finds the facts to be different.

This kind of critical thinking and flexibility is why I am a Buddhist.

Honestly, I can’t think of what I could add to that. If I were in Court, I would rest my case!