steve

Hopefully she will help clear up your confusion if you continue to study with her. It certainly is a foreign concept to most Westerners. Not only that, I think it is fairly sophisticated, esoteric, and abstruse. I think the meaning can be quite elusive and easily misunderstood. The first time I encountered it was at a Bön retreat with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. We also did a daily protector deity practice and both gave me religious ick vibes. It was my first ever retreat of any kind and first exposure to Bön or Buddhism. I considered leaving after the first day but resigned myself to give it a chance. By the end of that week and in the few days after returning home I had some very shocking and profound experiences and visions that made it clear this was the right practice for me and I’ve practiced it for the past 12 years. My daily practice starts with some energetic and breathing practices, tsa lung and the 9 breathings of purification. Next I recite some prayers, practice guru yoga, and then rest in the nature of mind. I wrap it up with a dedication prayer. I think it is a good exercise in openness and flexibility to consider giving new and strange things a try, with the exception of balut, that shit’s crazy. If we are too closed off we can miss a wonderful opportunity. On the other hand, if you try and can’t connect don’t force it. Tibetans with the right cultural background are going to expect, even need this sort of experience to make a deep connection. Westerners are going to be very hit or miss with this sort of thing. You can tell Tenzin Rinpoche has realized this by watching how he teaches. I’ve watched his method change over the past decade. I rarely see him formally guide guru yoga, except in very specific circumstances. Most times he will recite the prayer and then lead the sangha in a very simple mantra, A Om Hung which is a simplified and secularized form of guru yoga. Reciting A Om and Hung we are receiving the empowerment of the enlightened body, speech, and mind without having to embrace a foreign icon. I love him too. He is a great teacher and human being, he really walks the walk. One very important point he emphasizes is to never practice guru yoga with your living teacher. This can set up an unhealthy relationship and dynamic. We mostly practice guru yoga with the 8th century dzogchen master Tapihritsa (the icon in my avatar) who represents all the masters and teachers who have helped you on the spiritual path, especially your root master and the one that introduced you to the nature of your own mind. He founded a secular program called the 3 Doors Academy that teaches the core of dzogchen with none of the religious trappings. I’ve been through that program as well and have seen amazing results and transformations in the participants. Of late, he rarely guides or teaches the full formal guru yoga practice but the more traditional Bön teachers still do. Tenzin Rinpoche’s teacher also taught ‘there is no dzogchen without guru yoga’ but Tenzin has allowed his experience of Western life and students to inform how he presents it. While these are both implicit in guru yoga, the traditional way in Bön is to go through guru yoga, refuge, and bodhicitta prayers in each practice session. If this works for you it is enough. Ultimately, guru yoga is to recognize and develop a deep and stable relationship with true nature of your being, the essence of your own mind. This is the secret guru. The outer guru is your human teacher and the inner guru is your yidam. The most important thing is to find something we can trust, be it the human teacher, the yidam, or the inner refuge, the nature of our own mind. Trust, dedication, and gratitude are the key and the fuel for connecting with the teachings, teachers, and most importantly the inner teacher. I think you’re asking great and important questions. Nothing more important than being true to your feelings and personal experience. Feel free to reply or PM if interested in further discussion.

One way to look at meditation is simply that meditation is life. In the tradition I follow there are three basic steps. First step is to recognize the proper view, to have an experiential understanding of the mind's foundation. Second step is to cultivate familiarity and stability, to develop an intimate relationship with this foundation. Third step is to take every experience of life as the path, that is to bring the meditation off the cushion and into life. This is called integration. A comment about boredom. I look at boredom as resistance, a form of aversion. The mind is always trying to become, it is not often satisfied with simply being, with what is, at least not for very long. This is its nature and that characteristic has some definite advantages, but also disadvantages as this endless longing for something else, something more or different, may be a major source of physical and emotional stress. If I simply notice this tendency and develop the skill to be able to be with that boredom, eventually it eases and opens me to what is actually there, which is everything. In each and every moment of life we are surrounded by such beauty, such magic. We take so much for granted but if we can see what is all around us with fresh eyes and an open heart/mind, it is nearly impossible to be bored. Sitting on my front porch this morning, surrounded by the leaves and grass, a raccoon, squirrels, a beautiful family out for a walk, birdsong, the moisture of an overcast day... thoughts and distractions coming and going.... magnificent!

What is it? Many answers are possible and valid. One that is meaningful for me at the moment is that it is my personal investigation into who I am not in order to discover who I am. How is it done correctly? By being true to myself and fully open to my own authentic experience. Much, much more can be said of course but this is what comes up for me at the moment that seems worth sharing.

Nor do I mean to imply that you did. As mentioned, I am expressing my ongoing process, for what it's worth. Some may be stimulated by or related to things you've said, some not. I actually use those at work but not sure what it means in this context. I think I can be somewhat concrete in how I interpret things, particularly though anonymous digital communication.

Sorry but I don't follow what you are saying here. This is a nice, tidy, and convenient idiom but I don't think it means much really, at least not to me. Similar phrases are tossed around in the Buddhist world but it is important to have a very clear understanding of what it means. The Self doesn't need to show the Self or be shown the Self, it simply is as it is. Saying it shows something to someone is an exercise in projection and anthropomorphism, IMO. It is the human being, the practitioner, that is in the dark, does the work, has an enlightening experience, remembers that experience, names, describes, and discusses that experience. The human being continues to live in the context of that experience. Such an experience can be described as sacred, divine, and a blessing. We can even say the Self showed the Self to the practitioner, ... so what? Even the purest and most perfect experience of the Self, or the nature of mind, arises for a human being, or in some other type of being that a human being creates in their mind. The practitioner must take care not to conflate themselves with the perfect and pure mind, with the Self; it happens and can be a serious obstacle and perhaps contribute to the genesis of an abusive and self-righteous "guru." Yes, we as practitioners are a manifestation of the Self but always a manifestation, never the pure and perfect Self it-Self, at least not while in the form of a human being. Otherwise that is what we might call a Buddha, then we're back to the earlier question of how is that distinct fro Buddha-mind it-Self? Some perhaps come quite close. My teacher's teacher recently died at the age of 100. He was the closest thing to a living Buddha I've encountered and yet he was just a person, albeit a marvelous and generous person, having devoted his entire life to his people and his religion. The last thing he said to my teacher was 'Don't worry about me, I am inseparable from rang jung yeshe (self-arising wisdom).' And yet he was human and died, never declared himself enlightened or a Buddha, and always cautioned against conflating oneself as a practitioner with the nature of mind. Not sure my diatribe is of much value to you but it helps me to try and verbalize my experience and understanding, such as it is.

Show me the Buddha or Buddha-mind. It is one thing to have a direct experience, which we certainly may and do have. Anything we claim it to be, describe it as, refer to it as, or discuss is simply ideation, not it. That's one way to think about it but the Heart Sutra and related practices go further, again you are referring to conceptual thought (eg "properly understood"). The menu has no flavor, no nutrition, just ideas. You need to take a bite.

For me it is not so neat and tidy a distinction, which is why I suggested the question is rhetorical. I appreciate those who offered their perspectives and respect the responses but, for me, the question goes deeper. When I think about a living Buddha, I am creating an idealistic conceptual construct based on stories, histories, drawings, and ideas. When we talk about Buddha-nature, we indulge in our ideas and concepts about that which is unimputable and ineffable. Comparing the two is at best a mental game like pinning an imaginary tail on an invisible donkey, at least that's how it feels to me. Since we are discussing Buddha and Buddha-nature, I'll quote the Heart Sutra - 'Form IS emptiness, emptiness IS form' There is no distinction, no boundary other than that created by our lack of knowing and clarity, in other words our ignorance. Therefore, where is the boundary between the manifest Buddha and the Buddha which is the basis of all manifestation? I treat the question more like a koan than a matter for intellectual solution. In the Bön tradition, the heart chakra is the home of the life force wind or lung which is said to have the form of a jewel radiating light in all directions and associated with the space element. Practices like tsa lung and trul khor are designed to clear blockages in this area (and others) and help to support the awakening of rigpa and samadhi. The first time I experienced samadhi, it was preceded by a distinct sensation of something rupturing or popping in the center of my heart, followed by an instantaneous opening into unbounded awareness which was utterly stable and clear, though lasted only about an hour. I then chased that feeling and experience for months before being able to fully let it go. It was quite the obstacle to my practice!

This is a point I find worthy of inquiry so I’ll ask a rhetorical question, where is the distinction between a Buddha and Buddha-nature?

Appropriately, some of his books sit unread on my shelf! For me it seems to be that I buy books and then can't decide which to read next. The other aspect is that once I have them available, I feel no urgency to read them. Right now I am torn between three novels - Monstrilio, The Master and Marguerita, and Never Let Me Go

I'm a master of the art of tsundoku!

I appreciate you sharing your experience, it sounds authentic and profound. I have experienced something similar though I use different language to describe it. When working with surrender and transcendence, it is important to have a healthy and stable ego as a foundation. Letting go of the primacy and agency of the ego can be very destabilizing for some so there needs to be some way to find grounding and support if that becomes an issue. Given your mention of psychological challenges, I suggest a modicum of caution and self-awareness as things shift for you. If we surrender to something greater or deeper, like you describe, there can be a tendency to objectify, project, analyze, interpret, anticipate, label and all the other things the mind is so good at. (There is little more dangerous than someone who thinks they speak for and believes they know the will of God.) So when the mental activity arises, which is inevitable (eg "Part of me wonders: Am I becoming passive? Irresponsible? Or is this the beginning of true surrender?"), I find it important to always return to inner stillness and silence. When we are quiet enough, the answers we need are there, effortlessly. If they are not coming, the best practice IMO is to let the questions remain open, trusting that answers will be there when truly needed or when we are ready. I appreciate how Steven Harrison talks in his book The Question to Life's Answers about questions being alive and full of potential, whereas answers are essentially dead - nothing more to gain from them. When it comes to integration, I think this is an important part of the process each of us has to explore and navigate for ourselves. In my tradition, every experience of life is taken as the path. One suggestion is to try and find some balance between that sense of surrender to the "absolute" and the value of the "relative" aspects of life, the mundane daily grind. Certainly there are those of us who have the opportunity and aptitude to choose the life of a yogi and to retreat from society for a time or for our remaining years. Most of us need to live with others, maintain a job, support a family, and find meaning and nourishment in the mundane. For me, finding that balance involves finding the essence of the divine within the mundane, finding the joy and nourishment in the little, everyday experiences, particularly in my relationships with other people. In particular, I find it very rewarding and instructive to dedicate time and energy to serving and helping others, both formally and spontaneously whenever the opportunity presents. Another important part of the process is to not neglect one's physical and mental health. An unhealthy body and mind cannot possibly optimize the connection with the source. Get enough sleep, eat whole foods rather than processed, drink enough fluids, reduce consumption of sugar and intoxicants, get plenty of physical exercise, limit exposure to the morass of propaganda and psychological manipulation that masquerades as "news" and "social media." All of these things have been very helpful to me in terms of the integration of the spiritual and secular in my life. I think it is a great blessing to find some sort of refuge and guidance in life, something we can trust, particularly something that is pure and stable. Integration for me means that we are able to use this to really show up in our lives, to be fully available and present, rather than withdrawn and disconnected. So much of our behavior is programmed, conditioned, and reactive, coming from a place of fear, insecurity, and uncertainty. If we can allow our actions to come from a place that is less biased and less influenced by transient emotional states and conditioned patterns, they tend to be more creative, appropriate, and beneficial, IME. Good luck to you @Kati

I suggest you trust your instincts more than anonymous strangers online, be they here or elsewhere. This makes you the perfect target for those who would take advantage. Caveat emptor!

Maybe @zerostao can clarify the intent as he started the thread with a single word, gratitude. That said, I do like your idea!

Empathy is the most meaningful moral foundation and currency, in my experience.

Tango! Boulevard San Jorge by Narciso Saúl

byzantine icons dream of Andrey Rublyov frozen in pigment

It can be a lot of work to try to do nothing! And when we finally see what @stirling so expertly and consistently points towards, we see how much wasted effort we've expended. It's comical in retrospect but frustrating and very serious when we're in the thick of it. I like how Peter Fenner once put it, 'if we didn't do what we didn't need to do, we wouldn't know we didn't need to do it.' But if we can truly trust in opening and letting everything be just as it is for a moment, we can shortcut the process considerably. How unfamiliar it can be to spend much time just feeling stillness, hearing silence, embracing openness, doing nothing at all, just leaving everything as it is. What a waste of time, it seems, in such a materialistic and productivity based culture. It's very simple but not very easy because we are so familiar with, even addicted to, the movement, the sound, the content and activity of the mind. We are so primed for transactional relationship that anything else seems like a failure. It seems so foreign to think the ultimate method is.... doing nothing at all. But that nothing embraces everything, far more than our limited intellect can readily access or appreciate. I was once talking with a friend at a campfire about these things and he was going on and on, waxing philosophical about the nature of this and that. Something possessed me to break this loop of logic and I spontaneously let out a loud shriek. He looked at me shocked, as was I, and I simply held his gaze. Within a second or two, in the silence that followed the interruption, I could see the dawning of recognition on his face and we both broke into laughter, then just sat together in silence. It was pretty cool. Never did that before or since. Sometimes that stuff just comes out at the right time.

A short thread... about emptiness/Source/Self/Dao/whatever.... on DaoBums.... Yeah, right

Thank you @forestofclarity I appreciate all that you and the team do!

One practical aspect/application of the relationship between emptiness and compassion is found in helping others. When you to want to offer help, it's very important to notice what is behind that impulse. So often we try to offer what WE think someone else needs. Of course there are situations where it is obvious, a drowning person needs their head above the water, but very often what they actually need is different from what we think they need and they are not always able to tell us. Sometimes we may even disagree with what they need but who should make that decision? It is easy to make them feel worse or make a situation worse because we are trying to impose something coming from our own pain, conditioning, or ignorance. So when that urge to help comes up there is nothing more important than emptying out our own reactivity, our own assessment and conclusions, and to be very open, inwardly quiet, and really listen and feel what that other person needs. If unsure, best to simply show up with presence, inner stillness and quiet, and simply be there until it is clear what is needed in the situation. No words are more supportive than holding a hand or a warm hug. I was once called to help someone at a retreat who was very ill. I did not speak their language but figured out they needed emergency medical care. Unfortunately we were over an hour from any hospital and had to wait for the ambulance for a long time. I felt so helpless sitting there not being able to do anything so I just sat next to her, holding her hand, gently rubbing her back. We would occasionally smile at each other between spasms of pain. It was one of the most meaningful hours of my life, no exaggeration. Unable to do anything but be open and present for someone else during their intense suffering. The experience completely changed my relationship to how I approach my work and the people I work with. We've felt and stayed connected over a long distance ever since. My teacher is currently leading a retreat on longevity practices from the Bön tradition and one of the things that is being emphasized over and over is the value and importance of human connection for health and longevity. That connection needs no words or agenda. Just catching someone's eyes and offering a genuine smile creates instant connection, provided we are open. The openness is the key and that can only occur when we are quiet and still inside, in other words... empty.

My apologies for any inconvenience. I would like to change my name back to steve, if possible. I changed to distance myself from being identified as a mod as I was getting a lot of mod requests after I left the team. I think that's no longer an issue. Thanks!

got nothing to do nevertheless, the breath moves with me or without

If you've not seen it, this clip is worthy of watching in full. Keep reminding yourself these are actual US congressmen.

To me that is similar to JK's refusal to accept the designation of world teacher. He was always guiding his followers to look inward, not to him but towards something new, something unknown. At least that's what I took from his teachings. Yes, he was given all kinds of names and titles. Did he ask for them or create them for himself? Just like the Order of the Star wanted to call JK the World Teacher, JC's cult had other ideas for him and continue to use and abuse his name for their own ends. It puts me in mind of a beautiful parable from Anthony Demello - For me his teachings were always very open, no conclusions, only guiding people to find their own way through self-inquiry. Up through his last teachings, I found him to be very consistent but certainly not everyone's cup of tea. YMMV

Just finished Playground by Richard Powers, author of The Overstory (great!) It was slow going for me for a while but I really liked it. The ending may be a bit polarizing but the cover art is beautiful. If you decide to read it, do not read any spoilers in advance.