Ah! Dharma reflections based on the words of Anyen Rinpoche

Exploring the Innermost Essence of the Vast Compassionate Heart

Posts Tagged compassion

The Poison is the Medicine

Mar 18

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in 4 Mind Turnings, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 8 Comments

This isn’t just Lojung (mind training)…it’s medical science too!   If you have any doubt, check out this article:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/health-illness/treatment/medicine/medications/poison-as-medicine.htm

Briefly, the article describes how the venom or poison of deadly plants and insects is used to treat severe or life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks or exposure to nerve agents.  Poisons are also used in vaccines, where a poisonous substance is introduced into the body in small doses so that the body produces antibodies that can deal with it.  (I apologize for these poorly drafted medical explanations.  If you have insight into the practice of medicine, please generously offer them!).  Additionally, poison is used in treatments like cancer immunotherapy, where a toxic substance  being produced within a tumor is used to create a medicine that can kill the same deadly tumor.  Like quantum physics, this is another sophisticated and magical area where science confirms what the Buddha already knew thousands of years ago.

For us, as spiritual practitioners–and skillful Vajrayana practitiners, no less–poison is probably the best medicine we have.  Mental and emotional poison, in the form of difficult situations, hardships, suffering, grief, frustration, anxiety, depression, or fear, are all our greatest motivation to transcend complacency, to generate renunciation, and to take up the spiritual path.  The root afflictive emotions  (Desire, Pride, Anger,  Jealousy, and Ignorance) are also called the “5 poisons’ because they, too, have this uncanny ability to poison us (quite literally, I think), at the same time that they offer us the opportunity for transcendence and liberation.   Consider sending them a thank you note–without them (as fodder), where would we be?

The poison is the medicine.  In the secret mantryana teachings, this is the image of the peacock, adept at digesting poison.  This handy lojung phrase is also the reason why in the ngondro (Tib. foundational practices) teachings, during the practice of taking refuge, we visualize those we consider our enemies in front of us while we visualize those we love deeply beside us.  We are encouraged to recognize the great gift of mental and emotional agitation that they give us, and to transform our own agitated mind into one that is filled with compassion and loving kindness.

My close friend and dharma sister Tasha often uses this phase in ordinary conversation.  If you try it, you’ll actually notice how often it comes up just naturally.  You’ll be talking about something (anything really) and notice how it just kind of flows from the lips.  (my dislcaimer–the following are just hypothetical examples)… “My boss gave me this truly terrible assignment that I was sure I could not do.  But it turned out that I did it and I did it well.”  And (in my case) Tasha will smile and say, “The poison is the medicine” (aka “that was just what you needed!)   “I talked to my mother today and I felt like she didn’t listen to me or notice me at all…and that made me realize how important it is to be a good listener when I speak with others.”   The reply: “The poison is the medicine.”   (aka “I gleaned insight out of this situation.”)

Of course, anyone can fill in and do Tasha’s job.  And you’re already so close to the best person you could possibly find to do it…

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Simplicity

Mar 15

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Global Community, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 14 Comments

Simplicity is something that many of us want to achieve.  In fact, I heard Anyen Rinpoche speaking about it with a student just this afternoon.   Today, when I heard Rinpoche’s advice, I was reminded how simplicity often evades us.  We may misunderstand it completely–and how to achieve it–while we trying to force the appearance of simplicity on life.

Here are some interesting words about simplicity that I found…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplicity

Specifically, one of the things this passage says is that “simplicity denotes freedom from hardship, effort or confusion.”   Ahhh…!

At times I have heard Rinpoche give advice to Westerners who are trying to achieve simplicity through (what I call) the normal American way–having a low-paying job and a life free of responsibility.  It seems that by having less, we will naturally be attached to less.  To the (samsaric) mind, this seems logical because we don’t have as many beautiful things to be attached to.  But  Rinpoche’s advice always goes something like this: do not be fooled that the appearance of simplicity on the outside (by having less expensive possessions or a smaller house) means that your mind is resting in simplicity (defined above as freedom from hardship, effort or confusion).  Your state of mind is not dependent on how many possessions you have.  You can be just as attached to a penny as to a gold coin.

Actually, each and every one of us is “controlled” by our material situation, so to speak.  Although avoiding responsibility can seem like a good decision now, and in support of our spiritual life, when we have financial problems (especially as we grow older and become more fearful of not being able to work) the mind becomes filled with turmoil and has no freedom to think of anything else.  Actually, we are just frittering away the “leisure” (the Buddhist word for freedom to practice) of our future.

If simplicity doesn’t depend on your home and your job, then what does create simplicity?  Rinpoche says that simplicity is actually supported by two spiritual elements: mental satisfaction and proper motivation.  When we cultivate a feeling of satisfaction with what we have, we do not feel as wrapped up in or exhausted by our responsibilities.  We are more able to focus.  The mind is more relaxed, we enthusiastically share what we have with others.  We become happier people.

Proper motivation is (of course) bodhichitta, or at very least the wish that your actions can be of benefit to others.  Naturally, when we focus on the task at hand with the wish to benefit others, the task becomes more fulfilling–it has the ability to affect us deeply because we know that we are working for the greater good.  Again, we become happier people.

Safe to say–the mind, resting in natural simplicity–is authentic joy.

Another definition of simplicity is focusing on the things in the life that are the most important, and focusing less on those that are less important.  As practitioners, this is something we can all take to heart.  Most of us suffer from over-commitment, or spend time doing mundane things at the expense of our spiritual life.  Priorities and commitment…these are probably things all humans struggle with.

When have you achieved simplicity?  Or have you?  We’d love to hear from you!

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Silver Lining

Mar 10

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Uncategorized | 24 Comments

What is your silver lining?

What is your silver lining?

Reflecting on gratitude put me in such a good frame of mind this week that I wanted to call out to everyone to ask for your silver lining stories…

What exactly are silver lining stories, you may ask (though it may be obvious).  These are the “I thought it was bad-but-it-turned-out-good” moments in life; the times that we thought we had failed only to later realize that what had happened was much better than we could have ever planned for ourselves; moments where we feel that our lives have truly been touched  by something divine.

Theoretically, we will create a treasury of your  silver lining stories…with your help, of course.

For those of us who are on the spiritual path, I think the idea of a silver lining goes deeper than just our usual cultural proverb.  The silver lining applies to us personally, as human beings.  I have often noticed about myself–and therefore put it out there as a possible generalization to be made–that the things which I think are my greatest downfalls are actually, when put into a more balanced light, my best qualities.

You all know the usual kind of dribble and commentary that the mind engages in…we seem to have an endless supply of self-criticism (coupled, ironically, with self-centeredness and often self-righteousness)…I’m too sensitive, too intense, too this, too that…(fill in the blanks with your own mental dribble–and yes, dribble is probably the best word for it).

When I was young, growing up Catholic in the suburbs of Denver, I found most things about my life to be mentally and emotionally troubling.  I was sensitive, intense, very intelligent, and in many way different from my peers.  I constantly sensed that I was different, and looking back I know that I was different–I always seemed to be thinking about things that my peers weren’t concerned with.  I felt that I spoke a different language, almost.  For so many years, I wished these aspects of my personality would disappear so that I could find it easier to relate with other people.

Actually, it is only since I’ve gotten older that I realized that I had this in common with many other children and also many adults–the emotions of lonliness and wanting to belong are emotions that we share with others.  In any case, now so much later in life, I feel that these very qualities have turned out to be my silver lining.  Sensitivity and intensity serve me well as a writer,  in my career as a lawyer, in my role as a translator, and my (other) role as facilitating a sangha and working with Anyen Rinpoche’s dharma students.  It is like finding a buried treasure–or even something more wonderful than that because it is actually something I knew I had all along, yet did not appreciate or understand.  Yes, there is work to be done on ourselves, but isn’t it wonderful to know that we already have what we need to blossom right there inside of us already?

Perhaps this is called emotional ripening.  It has to do with the expression of bodhichitta in all directions–not only towards the other beings in our lives, but also towards ourselves.  This seems to go hand-in-hand with the confidence and realization that as human beings, we are inherently good, no matter how it seems at any given moment.  That doesn’t mean that we are perfect at this point…but it does mean we are an awfully good work in progress.

In general, this way of thinking seems very in line with the Secret Mantrayana teaching that instructs us to transform the afflictive emotions to wisdom.  This teaching presents the afflictive emotions as an expression of energy, which, when perfectly liberated (maybe for our non-Buddhist readers we could just say “brought into balance”) express as one of five kinds of wisdom.  I like to think of my life, thoughts and emotions as fodder for wisdom.

What a great word, by the way.

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Gratitude

Mar 8

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation, Teachings | 7 Comments

An offering to the Lama

An offering to the Lama

Gratitude is something that none of us keep in mind enough.   Cultivating gratitude makes us feel happier and more satisfied with our lives, brings us a more positive and optimistic outlook, and also enables us to focus on the good qualities of others rather than the torrent of emotions that usually consumes us.  This is one medication we need not get a prescription for…

I wanted to take a moment to make this virtual offering to Anyen Rinpoche for the amazingly clear and incredibly profound teachings he gave the members of our shedra yesterday.  In a sense, Rinpoche is luckier than most of us–the generosity that he practices has a long lasting effect on us, and has the potential to ripen us into wiser and more compassionate beings, who then can share whatever good we have with others.   He has the satisfaction of watching what he does ripple outwards and touch  an ever-widening circle of beings on the planet.   Oh (audible sigh),  the generosity of bodhichitta…what can possibly compare?

There must be hundreds of things to be grateful for at this exact moment.  How many of them have you called to mind today?  How often does the feeling of gratitude enter your mind and heart?  How often do you feel lucky?

Actually, it is easy to see the effects of gratitude in a person.  There are all kinds of people in the world, each of whom have their own persona and are followed by an almost tangible cloud of energy.  Often, a person will be enveloped in a cloud of optimism.   I don’t think this means that the person is wholly cheerful or never experiences mental or emotional difficulty, but they have the general attitude that life is what you make of it.  When a difficulty comes up, a true optimist has the forbearance to work through it.  True optimism, it would seem to me, is a product of gratitude (rather than naivatee, as some would have you think.)   When you are grateful for what you have in your life, and grateful for each moment and situation as a chance to transform yourself into a better human being, there isn’t much negativity to dwell on.

Optimism has an interesting definition in relation to Bodhichitta:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimism

While bodhichitta includes a belief that people are inherently or basically good (i.e. every being has the ability to express compassion, even a vicious tiger cares for her young with tenderness), optimism is the belief that situations will work out for the best–in other words, one trusts in the fact that any situation is workable.  Simply the belief that a situation is workable can vastly transform our outlook and our energy.

On the other hand, you also meet people who are shrouded by doubt–who look for faults in others, are the first to complain,  and never have anything good to say.  I’m not sure if I would call this pessimism or skepticism as much as I would call it a lack of gratitude.  It is as though life, or the people in it, can never give you enough–never provide you with what you feel you deserve.

It is amazing how much happier we feel as human beings when we start to notice the good we have in our lives instead of always focusing on the negative, or trying to find faults in everything or everyone.  When we start to believe, for example, through our bodhichitta training, that people are inherently good and are sometimes overpowered by negative mental and emotional habits, we see those people as being more human and more like ourselves.  We feel warmer, more patient and more compassionate towards them.  We realize how incredibly lucky we are not to have ended up in that same situation.  A life of intolerable suffering, where we act in ways that directly and indirectly cause harm to to others, is certainly possible for any of us.

Thank you again, Rinpoche.  You are the very best thing in my life, and I will never be able to repay what you give me every day.

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Chances to Practice

Feb 24

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Global Community, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Uncategorized | 21 Comments

Doesn’t it seem like everywhere we look, there are chances to practice?

Tonight I was sitting down to read the news (which I do online to avoid stacks of the Wall Street Journal building up in my garage), when I encountered the usual barrage of discontent…

U.S. sale of arms to South Asian countries:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510204575085771112111454.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLEThirdNews

Big losses for Freddie Mac in 2009:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1967790,00.html

Rising crime:

http://www.time.com/time/world

Need I go on…?  This makes me reflect back on a topic that often comes up when people express their (understandable) discontent with the world around us.    What is the benefit of being engaged with the world?  Does reading the news, being involved with politics, and participating in society enrich us spiritually?  Or does it simply drain and disappoint us?  Should we hide out or jump in?

At least for my generation (who are younger than hippies, but older than young), there has been a tendency to shy away from the world.  There is even a perception that we Generation-Xers have a fear of growing up, a fear of shouldering the world.  This sometimes manifests in an avoidance of responsibility, an avoidance of having a career, a dislike of money, a feeling that the life of our elders is a sham–or at very least, what we’d most like to avoid.    I can concede that I have felt most of these emotions myself.   I have thought to myself that somehow avoiding the world would make me better than it–or maybe, make me less disappointed with it.   In other words, I have shared that oh-so-human dream of trotting off to a corner of the world where harmony prevails.

But, as Rinpoche sometimes says soberly (my very literal translation): Even when there is no trouble, people still don’t know how to sit on happiness…

Don’t we all know it.

The news is probably something that many readers can relate to.  How many times have you said yourself or heard someone else say that they have stopped reading the news because it is just too depressing?   We’ve seen the headlines–I posted them right at the top of this post.  Who can blame you?

In the face of these disconcerting (sometimes depressing) appearances, how great is it to have a spiritual life–or even just basic optimism. I have often fallen back on my basic optimism to get me through hard times, but the tools of practice are even more useful and skillful than my natural optimistic disposition.  Once you have dharma, your spiritual life, you can change your view–get new eyes–in order to see each and every one of those situations as a chance to practice.

Each and every moment is an opportunity–to recognize impermanence, to feel compassion, to rejoice in your good fortune or the good fortune of others.  Each and every moment is an opportunity to express kindness.  Each and every moment is a chance to reflect on the suffering of others, to practice generosity, to be patient, to make a perfect wish for another’s happiness.

Looked at in this way, our human life is precious–and samsara is like a wish-fulfilling gem, giving us countless chances to change, transform ourselves, and become more compassionate and wiser human beings.

www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Lucky Duck

Feb 11

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Anyen Rinpoche Biography, Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation | 8 Comments

A few summers ago, when Anyen Rinpoche and I met the venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche at his home–the upstairs of a beautiful, traditional Tibetan temple in Ashland, Oregon–he asked me about myself, my practice and studies.  By way of introduction, Gyatrul Rinpoche is an old Nyingma master from the same part of Tibet as Anyen Rinpoche.  He has been in America since the early 1970s, when he started giving foundational Buddhist teachings to Americans living in Berkeley in the wake of Dudjom Rinpoche’s visits to America.  Gyatrul Rinpoche and Anyen Rinpoche speak the same dialect–Anyen Rinpoche said that speaking to Gyatrul Rinpoche is a very sweet experience, as he speaks in the same manner as Anyen Rinpoche’s grandparents once did.  They also have the same relentless wrathful, compassionate style of prodding…a continual deluge of questions and comments meant to see what you are made of (my translation: what it will take for you to react emotionally).   Anyen Rinpoche helped me a little with my answer (as I tend to get tongue-tied and teary in the face of great masters from time to time), and when Gyatrul Rinpoche heard that I had the good fortune to be a Varjayana student of both Anyen Rinpoche and his root Lama, Kyabje Khenchen Tsara Dharmakirt Rinpoche, he laughed aloud and simply said, “Lucky Duck!” I think it was the only time I escaped a dagger-like response to anything I said the entire 3 days we were there visiting.  At that moment, I felt very lucky indeed.

Fortune was the topic of Anyen Rinpoche’s talk on the Four Mind Turnings last night.  Specifically, Rinpoche asked us to reflect on what we have that makes up our fortune, and what we have that detracts from it.

fortune

Lacking mindfulness, fortune can be a difficult thing to recognize.  Fortune is, of course, tied to material wealth.  However, as Rinpoche pointed out, being born in a country like America affords us access to a collective wealth of opportunities and possibility that someone born into a third-world country does not have.  Still, can we be materially wealthy and still lack fortune?  Sure…I would think that most of us find ourselves in this situation quite often.

From the point of the Dharma, Rinpoche explained, we are fortunate in so many ways: we are intelligent, educated, and have the wish, time, and ability to pursue the Dharma in a country and an aeon where pure teachings and realized masters and lineage holders of those teachings still exist.  Unlike most Tibetans, we are literate and have the ability to read texts and prayers.   Still, Rinpoche pressed us, how often do we feel the richness of this fortune we have?  What does it take to make us feel how lucky we really are?

What destroys the fortune we have?  Rinpoche named a few things that stop us dead in our tracks on the spiritual path.  Personal difficulties such as illness or the death of a loved one (things which could actually motivate us more strongly to practice), being overwhelmed by strong emotions such that we lose our focus on anything but how we feel, and (the big one) laziness and procrastination.  Each and every one of us loses the enthusiasm to engage in spiritual practice at one time or another.   What does it take us to knock us off the path?  And more importantly, how do we get back on?

Just as an afternote, a reflection on the language of the dharma.  The teachings are full of words that describe how full of fortune the dharma is.  The great tradition of masters hiding and then discovering teachings at an appropriate time in history is called the terma, or “treasure” tradition.   Here’s a little extra reading on that…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terma_%28Buddhism%29

A great collection of teachings or advice is often referred to as a “treasure trove.”

Having the ability and conditions for practice is referred to as a “wish-fulfilling gem.”

Having a healthy body, complete sense faculties and intelligence that enables one to practice is the basis for a “precious human life.”

The Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are referred to as the “3 Jewels.”

And so let us all take a moment to reflect on how lucky we are!  And…Happy Losar!

Allison

www.anyenrinpoche.com

P.S. for any readers out there in Florida, check out Wisdom Publication’s blog which gives information about Anyen Rinpoche’s upcoming talks in Sarasota next weekend:

http://gobeyondwords.wordpress.com/

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Turning the Mind

Jan 21

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in 4 Mind Turnings, Bodhichitta, Mindfulness, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

One of the most effective instructions I’ve ever been given by Anyen Rinpoche in the more-than-ten years that I’ve known him is to “contemplate the dissatisfactory nature of Samsara.”   Samsara (Sanskrit: wandering or cycling) is a word that describes the cyclic existence we all live–in the short term, it describes how we move from one experience of suffering or unhappiness to another (or in some cases, an experience of happiness that ends in suffering); in the long term, it describes how we take birth as one after another kind of confused being, and experience the distinct kinds of suffering which correspond to that type of rebirth.

The Eight Auspicious Symbols

The Eight Auspicious Symbols

Here’s a nice description of the six samsaric realms which form the cycle of rebirth (by the way, there’s no need to believe in rebirth to start practicing Buddhism but what I am citing here are the general tenants):

http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/tp/Six-Realms-of-Existence.htm

Well, one thing I can say about Anyen Rinpoche’s instruction is that we sure can come up with a lot of dissatisfactory things to contemplate.

At the time I was given this instruction by Anyen Rinpoche, I was in my early twenties, living in Nepal, and desperate to stay there to live the life of a “real” practitioner.  Coming back to America meant dealing with so many things that I didn’t want to deal with.  It meant making decisions about my future, accepting the responsibility of a career and adulthood, and most importantly, figuring out how it could ever be possible to be a Dharma practitioner in this crazy place called the USA (which, as Anyen Rinpoche often says gleefully, is also full of crazy folk).

I suspect that most people have dreams of evading responsibility and escaping the life they live in for a more desirable one.   This manifests in funny ways, such as wanting to move away and live in a different country, under a different policitcal system, or in a different culture–all because it seems that the one we live in is irrevocably damaged.   Once, Rinpoche was completely bewildered when a Buddhist told him that she wanted to move to Canada to avoid living under the then-current political regime.  He asked me later, “Doesn’t she realize that the situation and her feelings will have already changed by the time she gets there?”

Back to my story, it was actually continual mindtraining in the dissatisfactory nature of samsara that helped me to cut through this habit of blame and unhappiness.  I applied it to every possible emotion, and cultivated the mental attitude that satisfaction is always possible.

When I experienced disappointment or even happiness, I reflected on the fleeting nature of those emotions.  When I experienced jealousy or longing for the happiness I perceived to be experienced by another, I reflected on how in the future, those beings could not maintain their happy situation and would experience unhappiness.  Then I generated compassion for them.  When I dreamed of escaping my situation to a more perfect place, I reflected on how even the people who had what I believed I wanted still experienced unhappiness.  And, over time, I truly experienced a “turning of the mind.”

The Four Mind Turnings (also called the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind) are a series of contemplations that we use in Buddhism to increase our mental and emotional stability, as well as develop a sense of faith and confidence that personal transformation is possible.  Contemplating the nature of samsara is a fundamental part of contemplating the Four Thoughts: the precious human life, the uncertainty of life and death, the defects of samsara , and the principle of cause and effect or “karma.”   Thinking back over all of the teachings I have received from Anyen Rinpoche and his teachers, I can say with confidence that this one teaching affected me thoroughly and profoundly.  Even though intellectually the idea seems simple, it is incredibly difficult to internalize.

In November, Rinpoche taught in Ottowa on the Four Mind Turnings (Hello to our friends in Ottowa!), and will be teaching a five-part class in Denver starting February 3.  Here’s a listing for the class:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=258481586908&index=1

We hope to see many of you there!

Contemplate this: When are you most deceived into believing that there is an escape from suffering, or the dissatisfactory nature of samsara?  What causes you to believe such escape is possible?

Also, you may want to check out this blogsite of current Buddhist news (which is both entertaining and informative).

http://buddhistdigest.blogspot.com/2008/09/bpf-turns-30-and-some-headlines.html

We look forward to hearing from you.  Keep the comments coming!

Allison

http://www.anyenrinpoche.com

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Take the Kindness Challenge

Jan 18

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Benefitting Others, Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation, Teachings, Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Tashi Delek from the high desert of New Mexico!

Tashi Delek from the high desert of New Mexico!

Those of us lucky enough to attend Anyen Rinpoche’s practice retreat in Santa Fe this weekend came away with renewed resolve to practice bodhichitta for the welfare of all beings after we formally took the bodhisattva vow–either for the first time, or one of many times.  If you don’t currently take a bodhisattva vow regularly, we have one on our site here (under the heading “daily practice prayers”):

http://www.anyenrinpoche.com/resources.html#prayers

And here’s another link to the bodhisattva vow in relation to various Mahayana traditions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva_vows

One of the memorable conversations from the weekend happened based on a question by Joan (affectionately, “Gelugma“) about the effectiveness of  using prayer and meditation as a way to directly benefit others.  Basically, Joan described how in Western Culture, there is a lot of support for making direct monetary contributions to help others.   However, when we talk about sitting down to engage in spiritual practice as a way to benefit others, not only we–but also sometimes others–question the effectiveness of this.  Joan shared how this can dampen one’s motivation and enthusiasm to practice.  As a group, we questioned why Western culture does not value prayer and meditation (to the same degree that it values monetary contributions as a way to benefit others).  My general impression is that this mindset arose during the modern age of skepticism and rationalism, and also as a result of our heavy focus on materiality and material phenomena in Western culture.

(I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic–but getting back to the story…)

Rinpoche’s (very satisfying, I might add) answer to Joan’s question was that as spiritual practitioners, it is important for us to turn inwards and look at our own spiritual development as the measure for the effectiveness of prayer and meditation, rather than looking to others for confirmation, approval, or something in return that could validate our efforts.  The development of pure bodhichitta excludes the wish to receive something in return, and for that reason, we need to develop unshakable confidence in what we practice.  Authentic spiritual practice is free of the wish to receive cultural approval.

Of course, while I really believe that bodhichitta is beyond materiality and a wonderful thing to develop on the cushion, I was also thinking this morning about how each and every one of us should also challenge ourselves to act as the cause for another’s happiness and comfort.  As my vajra sister Tasha would say, we should “be bodhichitta.”

So I challenge you, today, to become the cause of happiness for another!

Here are the ground rules:

1.  It does not count if it is something you would normally do, even without taking the challenge.

2. It must be in a situation you would normally not think to act kind towards the other person, or would not give of yourself, your time, or your energy.

3.  In other words, to meet the challenge, you need to act outside your norm, and stretch yourself.

4.  Don’t wait, don’t hesitate.  Do it today!

When you’ve done it, please report back and tell us how it went, how you felt, and how you might do it again in the future!  We can’t wait to hear from you.

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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If we have only one thing…

Jan 12

Posted by AnyenRinpoche in Bodhichitta, Personal Transformation | 7 Comments

“If we have only one thing, it should be the precious bodhichitta.

If we have nothing else, precious bodhichitta is enough.”

–Patrul Rinpoche

Anyen Rinpoche has begun countless teachings using this quotation.  It sums up his entire philosophy about the dharma, and not just the dharma, but life in general.   Bodhichitta (sanskrit: mind of enlightenment or awakened heart) is what we need when we begin any kind of activity, any task, any spiritual practice, and any interaction with others.  Bodhichitta is the basis for all Mahayana Buddhism, and especially, the root of tantric Vajrayana practice.  For those of you unfamiliar with this particular word (which is sure to crop up in nearly every post), here’s some extra reading…

http://buddhism.about.com/od/abuddhistglossary/g/bodhichittadef.htm

It is the “integrating” quality of bodhichitta that makes it so important to all of us.  We begin with wishing or aspiration bodhichitta, the wish that all beings, including ourselves, attain happiness and be free of suffering.  We also make a wish (or vow) to attain enlightenment ourselves so that we can directly benefit others.  Then, we use applied bodhichitta to make ourselves the vehicle for others comfort and happiness using what we Buddhists call “The Six Paramitas.”  Anyen Rinpoche gave three years of teachings on the Six Paramitas based on Shantideva’s Entering the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life starting in 2005.    To subscribe, click on the subscription link on our homepage:

http://www.anyenrinpoche.com/

Shantideva’s text can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Lightning-Dark-Night-Bodhisattvas/dp/0877739714/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263315114&sr=1-3

The teachings on Bodhichitta emphasize how it is a twofold vehicle: it is by reaching out and helping others that we also help ourselves.  Or, put another way, it is by focusing on others that we become less invested in and attached to our own personal suffering.   Thus, by working at developing bodhichitta, we become more integrated with others and less focused on ourselves.   When we are less focused on ourselves, we actually feel happier!

Reflect on this:  In what activity or with what person do you most need to generate bodhichitta right now?  What is the biggest obstacle to generating bodhichitta in a difficult area of your life?  How does it personally affect you when you work at having a more compassionate heart?

We’d love to hear from you!

Allison

http://www.anyenrinpoche.com/

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