Ah! Dharma reflections based on the words of Anyen Rinpoche

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Archive for category Mindful speech

Harsh Speech and Worthless Chatter

Aug 11

Posted by SarahJ in Benefitting Others, Mindful speech, Mindfulness, Momentary Buddhahood, Uncategorized | 16 Comments

The last two of the four verbal acts to be avoided, as described in Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche, are harsh speech and worthless chatter. The meaning behind these two is fairly self-evident. Harsh speech is disrespectful and insulting to others, such as pointing out another flaws – physical or otherwise. Worthless chatter is distracting to others and may include gossip or speaking without a purpose. As we have seen in the previous actions to be abandoned, performing these actions to the detriment of a spiritual teacher or the Sangha is the most serious transgression.

Many times we feel a powerful need to express our feelings or opinions about one thing or another. We could have an uncomfortable amount of activity in the mind and think that if we could just share it with someone else, we would feel better. And yet we have all been on the receiving end of these verbal eruptions, with the accompanying distress and energy depletion which can be passed on. Many times when we feel the need to vent, it may be better to say nothing at all. Rather take the time to consider not only your own motivation, but also the potential impact on the other person.

In his book Momentary Buddhahood, Rinpoche quotes a Tibetan proverb which says “Speech is like a lamb’s fleece, while the mind is like a vat of poison.” Rinpoche is pointing out an alternative extreme we can easily fall into. We can become so focused on outer conduct (such as our speech) that we overlook our inner conduct. If our outer conduct creates the appearance of a kind, diligent, compassionate individual, but our inner conduct is actually is one of strong anger, desire or ignorance we are being inauthentic. We should strive to keep our inner and outer conduct congruent and purposeful through mindfulness and self-examination.

We are all connected and our words are powerful. An entire Sangha’s accumulation of merit can be diminished by one individual’s distracting, aimless or caustic talk. Can you think of an instance in your own life where you became acutely aware of the power of your own words? What examples are there of the negative or positive influence of one individual’s words upon many other people?

In the Dharma,
Sarah

Sowing Discord

Aug 3

Posted by SarahJ in Benefitting Others, Mindful speech, Mindfulness, Personal Transformation, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The second verbal act to be avoided is sowing discord, either secretly or openly. Creating conflict within a Sangha through sowing discord may be the most detrimental example. The importance of the Sangha in relation to the Buddha and the Dharma cannot be understated. It is within the Sangha that the teachings of the Buddha have been passed down and continue to be practiced.

The word Sangha means community – we all share a common goal of learning and practicing the Dharma in order to benefit sentient beings. Rinpoche has admonished us on numerous occasions to treat each other like a loving family, showing kindness, consideration and respect to one another. Harmony and cooperation are essential, and by relying upon each other we improve ourselves. When we practice together, our capacity is amplified.

Many times, sowing discord can be unintentional – a result of speaking before we think. Once again our indispensable old friend mindfulness is necessary. Once again Rinpoche’s advice to examine our motivation before speaking is key. What are we trying to accomplish with these words? What effect could our words have on others? Are we creating harmony or conflict with our words? Is this the right time and the right person to discuss this issue with?

Should another Sangha member say something which is upsetting to us, we can use the opportunity to work on our own afflictive emotions. This may well be our very best Dharma friend!

Let us reflect on the importance of harmony with our spiritual sisters and brothers. We have a very precious Sangha, we are all so very blessed to have each other to practice with.

Love you all,
Sarah

Lying

Jul 28

Posted by SarahJ in Global Community, Karma, Mindful speech, Mindfulness, Personal Transformation | 14 Comments

In “ The Words of My Perfect Teacher” , Patrul Rinpoche describes three types of lying, a verbal action to be avoided. Ordinary lies are those that are made with the intention of deceiving others with false speech. Major lies are those that have “the most devastatingly misleading consequences” – lies about the Dharma. An example would be telling someone that karma doesn’t matter, because it’s all empty anyways. Phoney lama’s lies are those concerning having made attainments or abilities and qualities which one does not have. This speaks to the importance of thorough and proper examination of a spiritual friend.

Ordinary lies may be one of the most common negative actions. The usual motivation behind false speech is to deceive others in order to protect our own interests. Perhaps we exaggerate the facts when talking to someone, hoping to be impressive. Or we might not say what we really think about a subject, to avoid disagreement, criticism, or our own discomfort. We may be avoiding the consequences of telling the truth.

But what about when the motivation behind a lie is to benefit others? The intention behind this sort of a lie is still deception, but the motivation could be considered virtuous. In the Lotus Sutra, there is a story of a man who lies to his children to get them to come out of a burning house. He chooses this course of action because the children are playing intently and have disregarded his warning. Surely this is an example of justified false speech?

Skillful means comes to mind when considering the story of the burning house. The one who lied was in a position of greater knowledge, who purposefully took this action for the benefit of others. Additionally, the truth was told once the danger had passed. One might consider this a selfless act, accumulating the negative karma oneself, in order to benefit other beings. On the other hand, this rationalization could be used to justify quite a bit of untruths! Careful self examination, examination of the circumstances, and setting a proper intention are undoubtedly essential. What do you think about lies told to benefit others?

By practicing being truthful to others, being false with yourself becomes difficult. Honesty allows us to become more genuine, more open, more peaceful, which benefits everyone!

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The measure of happiness

Mar 24

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Global Community, Mindful speech, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 18 Comments

Today’s blog post is courtesy of Eileen C., who suggested that we reflect on the following (very interesting) article:”What makes the healthiest and happiest societies?”

http://www.alternet.org/story/145955/what_makes_the_healthiest_and_happiest_societies_hint%3A_it_not_rich_people_?page=1

Go ahead and browse the article–I’d love to hear your thoughts about it! In sum, the article presents the idea that it is not increased wealth that creates a happier and healthier society, but rather social and material equality.   The source of this research, epidemiologist (one who studies health and illness in different socities) Richard Wilkinson, explains that human beings feel more stress and a stronger psychological impact based on materialism in a highly stratified society.  He also asserts that in a consumerist society, we relate to ourselves as we are seen by others, which is why we compete for designer labels and expensive clothes.

As a Buddhist, I struggle with assertions like these.  On one hand, I find some Wilkinson’s ideas have the ring of truth.  And he appears to have some research to back it up.  For example, he says there are higher prison rates, teen pregnancy rates, mental illness rate, and homicide rates in countries with more social inequality (which, of course, includes the US).   Still, I wonder, even if true– how much of my time should I spend engaging in these ideas?   What benefit does it bring me to reflect on this deeply?

I am reminded of when I first met Anyen Rinpoche.   At that time, I was terribly unhappy and often confused about many things in my life.  I grasped  at (desired) others’ happiness and did not know how to find my own peace of mind.  Rinpoche’s advice to me was to reflect on the nature of samsara in every possible situation–to develop unfailing mindfulness and certainty in the fact that the outer world could never bring me happiness or satisfaction.  As a result of this serious reflection, I do carry with me confidence that the society I live in will never bring me happiness.   (This also reminds me of the discussion that developed out the last post on taking personal responsibility for ourselves and our own state of mind, rather than putting the blame on other things.   For more on this discussion, especially on the lojung slogan ‘drive all blames into one’ see the comments to the post on Imperfection).

http://mojofiti.com/anyenrinpoche/2010/03/22/imperfection/

I think my deep interest in Buddhist philosophy has caused me to have a bit of a falling out with a lot of the other types philosophy I used to subscribe to (and love to read and discuss, I should add).   Getting down to it…I think this is really what it is…I think I have lost faith in the idea of fixing society.  I have the suspicion that whatever I try to fix will still be unsatisfactory, or that patching up one part will just lead to degradation in another.   But rather than feeling disturbed by this, I think it just frees up my energy to work hard on my own spiritual practice, and do my very best to have positive and helpful interactions with others.  Perhaps this is just one aspect of “the mind’s ease.”

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Revising Our Lives

Mar 4

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in 4 Mind Turnings, Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Mindful speech, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Uncategorized, Writing | 8 Comments

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I am a writer by nature, a Buddhist in spirit, and a Tibetan translator by trade…This week I had the chance to bring all of these aspects of my life together as Anyen Rinpoche, Eileen and I worked on the final editing of our new manuscript Dying with Confidence. (Wisdom Publications, October 2010)  As an aside, you may have missed a recent conversation we had on the blog about writing:

http://mojofiti.com/anyenrinpoche/2010/02/09/the-art-of-writing/

Except for when I have been at work (at a law firm that works for clients and companies interested in doing work that betters the world, including our blog’s very special host Mojofiti) and translating the last of the talks on the Four Mind Turnings last night, my sole focus has been on the revision of each and every word that is written in our 182 page manuscript.  In fact, I am probably writing about this process right now because I can still think of nothing else but what will be the impact of the written word on the reader–will they receive it properly, is anything lacking or imperfect?

Dying with Confidence is by far the most ambitious book we’ve ever taken on.  Anyen Rinpoche, Eileen and I worked most of last year on the book to ensure that it had a broad enough scope, and that it touched on the issues that Buddhists (or non-Buddhists interested in this topic) are concerned about–not just how to practice the Dharma, but legal issues, medical directives, cremation, pain medication, organ donation, hospice care and so on…Now, no longer worried that we have included the right topics, we have turned to the text itself.  For those of you who have never engaged in the revising of a manuscript before, it can be an emotional, difficult and also exciting process.  Actually, it is similar to the experience of personal transformation.   Initially, there is attachment to the way things are–resistance to change and revision.  There is difficulty with cutting out or leaving behind things that don’t work, words or passages that distract or take away from the overall meaning.  And then there is the excitement of seeing what is newly created–like when we notice a positive change in ourselves after diligent attention to an aspect of our personality or lives that needs work.  In spiritual traditions, death is often symbolic of change, letting go of the old.  Revision is often a death to our attachments, cleaning out the old, and making energy available for new things to manifest.

I have long been a fan of Buddhist and spiritual writers.  Especially,  I love the book The Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg.  The book focuses on the author’s personal engagement with the spiritual path, and how it entertwined with her career as a writer.  Some of the writing in the book is truly dazzling–I remember one passage particularly, where she described a feeling of emotional emptiness that Americans tend to try to fill by going shopping on Sundays to look for just the “right” sweater.  It is amazing how true that passage rings.   I think many writers find the act of writing to be a spiritual experience, a way to engage with introspection, creative energy, and the exploration of material that is (on the page and personally) ripe for revision and transformation.

Here’s a link to the book, in case you want to have a look:

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Quiet-Highway-Waking-America/dp/0553373153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267724843&sr=8-1

To all of you who are actively pursuing the Buddhist (or some other spiritual) path…Happy revising!

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Enchanted Evening

Feb 2

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in 4 Mind Turnings, Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Bodhichitta, Global Community, Mindful speech, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 5 Comments

The Two Rinpoches on an Enchanted Evening

The Two Rinpoches on an Enchanted Evening

What is better than having dinner with one Lama? [my note: this is not a joke...]  Having dinner with two!  That’s exactly what happened last Saturday night at our house, when we hosted Garchen Rinpoche, Lamas Abu and Nyima, and translator Ina for dinner.   Garchen Rinpoche was recently in town giving teachings in Denver, and we were lucky to be able to host him for a private meal.  Just as an aside to our sangha, we wish we could have invited each and every one of you for dinner–but since we couldn’t, we decided to keep the dinner private so the Anyen Rinpoche and Garchen Rinpoche could relax and visit.

This is a beautiful snapshot taken before we parted ways Saturday night.

I picked Garchen Rinpoche up from the Zen Center on Saturday around five, and was able to have a relatively relaxing chat with him in Tibetan on the way to the house (my translation: I was not feeling particularly paranoid about making a linguistic mistake or getting into an accident while driving.  Can you imagine the negative karma of getting into an accident while driving a Lama somewhere?).   One thing I learned straight out was that Garchen Rinpoche, like Anyen Rinpoche and many other Tibetans, is an incredibly patriotic person who loves America!  He told me straightaway that he loves not only the beauty of Colorado, but that he has lived in America for more than ten years and he loves our government and way of life.   This was confirmed for me by Eileen, who later told me that once, at a large gathering, Garchen Rinpoche had all of his students stand up and sing the national anthem before he began giving a formal talk.

The topic of politics among Buddhists is always touchy.  We seem to get confused by, on the one hand, the instructions on Bodhichitta and a pacifistic way of life, and on the other hand, the belief that we should be vocal, active and work for change.  But even more difficult than this is the feelings of negativity many of us harbor towards the arena of politics in general.  Anyen Rinpoche’s advice on this topic is always to work for change, but do so without negativity.   I would love to hear from you about how we achieve this balance.

Additionally, as the many of us who attended Anyen Rinpoche’s talk on Samaya yesterday in Boulder learned, speaking in a way that agitates the minds of others (Rinpoche specifically mentioned politics in the context of this point) is one of the fourteen root downfalls of the Samaya for the Unsurpassable Yoga Tantras (i.e. Maha, Anu and Ati Yoga Dzogchen).   Generally speaking, then, we are expected as practitioners of the Vajrayana to learn skillful ways to achieve harmony while also working for the betterment of society and the welfare of others.

In years’ past, Anyen Rinpoche often spoke at teachings of the possibility of George Bush being a great Bodhisattva leader.  This always got a rise out of someone.  Even if the students in attendance knew that Rinpoche’s words were just an effort to get a reaction from them, sometimes they still could not stop themselves from reacting.  Of course, this was Anyen Rinpoche’s attempt to point out to many students their strong feelings of negativity.    Garchen Rinpoche’s request that students sing the American Anthem before teachings sounds to me like another way to communicate or point out the same idea–to appreciate what we have, and work for the betterment of society while abandoning mental and emotional negativity.  This sounds like an idea that was probably included somewhere in the 37 practices of a Bodhisattva…

We’re about to start our class on the Four Mind Turnings tomorrow night in Denver.  We’re expecting a big group and are excited to see many of you there!

Allison

http://www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Enlightened Speech

Jan 14

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Bodhichitta, Mindful speech, Mindfulness, Momentary Buddhahood, Personal Transformation | 13 Comments

No matter what activity we take up, the first thing to do is reflect on and examine our motivation.  If it is not the virtuous motivation of bodhichitta, then we should work to release whatever afflictive emotion has caught our mind.  This could be done by reflecting on the impermanence of the situation, or on the dissatisfactory nature of samsara, which is always full of suffering, as well as any other method we have been taught by our Spiritual Friend.  As long as we do that, we have at least laid the foundation for pure activity.  This is how we actually bring bodhichitta into our actions.

Say we are out in the world and something is bothering us.  We feel like saying something about it.  If we are not sure of our motivation for speaking, it might often be a better choice to say nothing at all.  It might be better to be quiet and reflect on why we are going to say a particular thing, on what our subtle motivations are, and whether we are acting from grasping, aversion or selfishness.  Alternately, we could try to clarify our motivation for speaking so that we can do our best to make sure that our words will have a harmonious effect or truly be in the best interest of others.  Sometimes we speak because we just want to “get something off of our chest” without any thought for how the person we are addressing might perceive what we have to say.  Sometimes we just want to make ourselves feel better, and we do not think about whether there is someone else with whom it will be better to share particular thoughts and feelings.  We should balance our own needs with those of others, and we should not be selfish in our need to express ourselves.

bookcover-momentarybuddhahood-sm

–Momentary Buddhahood, by Anyen Rinpoche

http://www.wisdompubs.org/Pages/display.lasso?-KeyValue=33086&-Token.Action=Search&image=1

Reflect on this: The Buddhist style of speech sometimes contradicts with our Western ideas of self-expression.  How do you balance the need to express with the proper motivation for speech?

We’d love to hear about your experiences!

Allison

http://www.anyenrinpoche.com

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