Just a Thought on the Divine

"You are your only master. Who else?"
Buddha

The plan for today was to begin delving into the Six
Preliminaries, but a thought occurred to me concerning
yesterday's entry, and, well, as I am attempting not to
live my life in the future, I will go with the thought of "now".

I am impressed by the attempts of so many to try and
elevate the Buddha's status to godhood, even though
he was quite adamant about his feelings on the matter.
Even his first students got caught up in this notion, and droves have followed their example ever since.

Why, then, are we as humans so anxious to assign divinity, even when the object of our designs protest, quite eloquently, that they are not interested in such adornment?

Have you ever had close contact with someone who possesses fantastic, compelling charisma? Have you ever felt the hope that if you just hang around that particular person for a while, perhaps some of that stardust, that mojo, that. . .beauty will rub off on you, and then you can be as beloved as they are--as adored. As otherworldly, and so divinely all together, and no earthly concerns can touch you.

It's the subtle beginnings of worship. They are so wonderful, therefore, if we follow them, if we strive to be like them, if we make them something beyond ourselves, beyond our level of existence, then perhaps, I've been thinking, we hope to hand over to them, in this process, responsibility for our existence and where we are going. Here, at this point, the worship becomes as poison that freezes the blood and stops the heart. As a flesh and blood Buddha pointed out: No one purifies another.

At least for me, when I turn to a god, especially in times of chaos, I am looking for someone to FIX! things. And, maybe if I ask really nicely, that Someone will help me out. I'll go a step further: that Someone will make the world a better place. That Someone will solve the world's problems. That Someone will take my life into their hands and mold it into what I always wanted it to be.

I am not of the mind that when I ask the Buddha for his blessings, and dedicate the merit generated from meditation practice to the well being of all sentient beings, that I am just talking to the air. I hope I am learning to practice one of the Buddha's most fundamental teachings: Compassion does not mean we can transform the life of another and therefore assume all responsibility for where life takes them. Buddha's blessing is the knowledge that each of us must find our own way, and that countless others have done just this. The seeds of Buddhahood are within all of us.

Just my thoughts. What do you think?

Tomorrow the First Preliminary. Abide in peace and joy, Cynthia

Prepare the Space, Prepare the Mind

"Nobody can achieve enlightenment for us; we must cultivate the realizations within ourselves."

His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama

The first time I walked into a meditation room, where several people were settling down for practice, I was a bit overwhelmed by the newness of it all--the strangeness. But, I was also intrigued. The distinct feel of austerity, the wood trim painted in vibrate, wonderfully alive colors of orange and deep blue, the meditation cushions, and especially the shrine with its many portraits, bowls of clear water, incense and candles, delighted my senses in a way not previously experienced, and yet warmly familiar. Everyone seemed quite comfortable with the routine, while I, even after some modest prep (as I did not want to appear the complete novice, my ego whining away that embarrassment was just not an option), wondered if I could navigate these new waters successfully. I look back now at my silliness with amusement: I was worried that a bunch of Buddhists would look upon my awkwardness with derision! I had much to learn.

Among so many other aspects, I found myself especially attracted to the shrine and wondered at its components. Why were they there, and what were they for? What did they mean? Why the water? The incense? Are these offerings? Is this god-appeasement? Well, that didn't seem right. Buddha seemed to make it pretty clear that he wasn't a god. Real clear, in fact.

I needed to do more research.

His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama, also known as the "Great Thirteenth", gave a series of sermons at the annual Great Prayer Festivals in Tibet. In the book "Path of the Bodhisattva Warrior", his sermons are translated and reproduced. Now, these sermons are very interesting for many reasons, but one in particular is this: His Holiness is addressing an audience of his fellow countrymen/women/children, people who have not only cut their teeth on the teachings of Buddhism, but so did their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents before them, back many centuries. If any gathering of people should have a good working knowledge of Buddhism, it's these folks. But, rather than presenting sermons that expound upon on the finer and finest points of Buddhism, His Holiness instead chose to share with his people his reflections on the most base of practice: preparation for meditation, or the six preliminaries practices. These six concern: setting up the shrine, body posture and mental condition. Just what a greenhorn like me needed to study. Now, as I am sure you know, information on these subjects can be found in many places in Buddhist literature, and indeed classes are offered to those who wish to learn. But, it still sets me to contemplating karma and other such forces, in that I was so fortunate as to stumble upon such a fundamental and powerful voice on the subject so early on in my personal studies.

So, the shrine. Back to the shrine. Back to the basics. Taking care of your shrine is the second of the six preliminaries. The first is cleaning the place of practice. When I first began meditating before my own shrine, I had three dogs, two cats and three birds living in a 950 square foot house. Cleaning my place of practice, even before reading His Holiness' explanation for such an activity, already made sense.

Tomorrow, I hope to relate why the first preliminary is so important, and not just housecleaning.

Abide in peace, Cynthia

How Could Chaos Be Good News, Anyway!

"CHAOS IS GOOD NEWS."
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Just one of the many wonderful things about Buddhism, is that there is always more to explore. And, the more I explore, the less I seem to know. So, I suppose that means there is a lot out there still to discover!

Something I've recently discovered is that when life turns upside down, when chaos comes, there is much to learn, if we summon the courage to look. And, where I have begun to look, is inside. I'll be honest, though. I was not entirely thrilled to welcome chaos into my life, as it means that whatever illusions of stability I've managed to manufacture are challenged and, if I am lucky (a term I will apply only after I think I've come out on the other side!), dissolved. It is what the great Lamas and Rinpoches and Teachers tell us we must do, and they supply us with very good reasons for doing it; still, at least for me, that doesn't mean I don't approach, at times, kicking and screaming! I've created my illusions with the very human hope of buffering the suffering we all encounter in this journey; and so, when someone comes along, no matter how kind, calm and spiritually powerful, I tend to get territorial and possessive about my illusions. "Yes! Tell me a path, but don't expect me to change anything!" At first, I might think my resistance is because of the message: it's too hard to follow the dharma; it's too hard to even understand! Maybe I'd get it if it was just in plain English. Next, I might think it's the messenger. Sure, Buddha became enlightened. I can accept that. But, he was special, wasn't he? This becoming enlightened business isn't easy.

Easy. Another illusion. I'm attached to wanting it to be easy. In chaos, you learn it is not.

But, it seems, at least to me, here lies the paradox in all of this: the very heart of my illusion cries out the notion that it is not easy. I, quite simply, am the barrier. I hold myself back. I make it hard.

Buddhism says to relax. To relax in chaos and observe. Look inside. Deep inside. Further inside than you've ever done before. That's why chaos is good news. By looking inside, we can begin to identify our delusions, illusions and false solutions, and see that all is false. The good stuff is waiting to be found underneath.

I going to try and keep on looking. Some days I kick and scream, some days I cry, and some days. . .I relax.

I've been reading a biography of His Holiness the 13the Dalai Lama, and starting with tomorrow's blog entry, I'll share his reflections on the six preliminaries for meditation practice. I love knowing what is behind the symbolism and His Holiness makes it all so very clear, just like it was in English! My many thanks to such a kind Teacher.

Cynthia
(I think my vegetarian recipe for this week will be French Silk Pie. We'll start with dessert!)