The Entity of Immaculate Emptiness

We take great pleasure in here presenting the Jeffrey Hopkins translation of the Seventh Dalai Lama, Kaysang Gyatso's (1708 - 1757) The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses, as taken from the Fourteenth Dalai Lama's Instructions for Meditation of the View of Emptiness, The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses, Causing the Rain of Achievements to Fall. 

We were fortunate enough to receive the transmission of this from the Fourteenth Dalai Lama personally, during which he conveyed his wish that people would memorize the following five stanzas, and bring them to mind during idle time, such as waiting for transportation, waiting for a friend, and so forth.

The Seventh Dalai Lama seems somehow special to me because of his great affection for rabbits, and his omniscient belief that he was previously born as a rabbit. In the upper right corner of the above painting, from the Rubin, right at the level of Buddha, we see this rabbit clearly depicted. By noting this, you might feel we are trivially focusing on the least of the matter; actually, this is the best of the matter in disguise.

On the seat of the immutable union of method and wisdom

Sits the kind of guru who is the entity of all the refuges:

A Buddha who has perfect abandonment and wisdom is there.

Forsaking thoughts of defects, make a petition with pure perception,

Not letting your mind stray, place it within admiration and respect,

Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it within admiration and respect.

In the prison of suffering of limitless cyclic existence

Wander the six types of sentient beings bereft of happiness.

Fathers and mothers who protected you with kindness are there.

Forsaking desire and hatred, cultivate endearment and compassion,

Not letting your mind stray, place it within compassion,

Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it within compassion.

In the divine mansion of great bliss, pleasant to feel,

Abides the divine body which is your own body of pure aggregates and constituents.

A deity with the Three Bodies inseparable is there.

Not conceiving yourself to be ordinary, practice divine pride and vivid appearance,

Not letting your mind stray, place it within the profound and the manifest,

Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it within the profound and the manifest.

Throughout the circle of appearing and occurring objects of knowledge,

Pervades the space of clear light, the nature of phenomena, the ultimate.

An inexpressible mode of being of objects is there.

Forsaking mental fabrications, look to the entity of immaculate emptiness,

Not letting your mind stray, place it within the nature of phenomena,

Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it within the nature of phenomena.

At the cross-roads of the varieties of appearances and the six consciousnesses,

Is seen the confusion of the baseless phenomena of duality.

The illusory spectacles of a deceiving magician are there.

Not thinking they are true, look to the entity of emptiness,

Not letting your mind stray, place it within appearance and emptiness,

Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it with appearance and emptiness.

So beautiful!

This is such a simple practice, but it is a powerful practice. We need only memorize a few lines. Then, when we are waiting for a bus, or a plane, a court proceeding, a doctor's appointment, or simply sitting idly about, we can bring these stanzas to mind as an instant meditation on emptiness.

This seems such an appropriate practice for our readers, several of whom made it possible for me to receive this transmission, and it is for our readers, among all sentient beings, that I sought this transmission in the first place. I am therefore particularly directing this post to readers who are unable to get around, who are confined, or are of sorely limited circumstances. Let us be your eyes and (long) ears.

I do not think the publication of these stanzas breaches the prohibition against teaching voidness to those whose minds are untrained, nor do I believe it represents the downfall of revealing confidential teachings to those who are unripe. Rather, I think it demonstrates an appropriate manner to relate to a spiritual guide, and helps and treats respectfully all of our many Dharma friends, throughout the world.

May it be auspicious!

Rabbit Rescue Revisited

Those of you who are new to this blog may wonder, "What do rabbits have to do with Buddhism?" Quite a lot, actually, but that is not why we feature "Rabbit Appreciation" so prominently on our masthead.

You see, the thing is, I am rather fond of rabbits. I enjoy keeping up with rabbit news on a worldwide basis. If anything is thumping, I start jumping!

Accordingly, I was so pleased to learn that Big Ears Animal Sanctuary, in Tasmania, was recently able to assist with the rescue of some 300 farm bunnies. You can (and should) read all about the effort on their site. They also have a number of photographs of their charming guests.

Whilst considering rabbits in Oz, you might also visit the Radical Rabbit Organization. They helped Big Ears with the rescue, and seem like now they might need our help. Oh, yes... if you want to see why rescue was necessary, visit the Freedom for Farmed Rabbits site. Warning: not for sensitive eyes.

Turning our attention to England, we find the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund. They have helpful information about hutch size you may wish to consult.

Of course, for those of us who take rabbit service -- you know, bunny butlering -- serious enough to make it a lifelong commitment, there is the ever-durable House Rabbit Society. The HRS site has answers to every rabbit question under the sun and moon, including detailed information on diet: what to eat, and more importantly, what not to eat. You have to watch the little critters very carefully in that regard.

The five links we have given, above, should be enough to quickly immerse you in state-of-the-art rabbit rescue.

In my own case, I have domestic house rabbits, and then I also have a sizable wild rabbit and hare population to think about. I have set aside grounds as a rabbit sanctuary, and maintain the environment so that it affords the lucky lagomorphs optimal sustenance, health, welfare, recreation, and job training opportunities. I keep journals of feeding data, watering data, population, and so forth. I also build brush piles at strategic intervals, so they can lounge in the shade, hide from predators, and digest their meals in peace.

Of all the critters that really need human help to protect them from other humans, rabbits are high on the list. Owing to rapid birthrate they are not in danger of extinction, but what threatens them the most is physical suffering at the hands of farmers, scientists, and little kids who think they are toys.

Rabbits are kind, gentle, loving, often humorous, and clean little creatures who do no harm. The more time you spend with them, the better you will come to understand why rabbits are perfect animal friends for Buddhists. Oh... and here's another little clue:

If you click this link, you'll be taken to a painting of the Seventh Dalai Lama, showing all of his previous incarnations.  You'll find our friend here -- the future Dalai Lama -- in the upper right corner.

How do you feel about rescuing rabbits now?

H.H. Gyalwang Drukpa Explains "Jetsunma"

His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa's now-famous speech about the role of women in the Vajrayana -- as eloquent, guileless, almost impassioned, courageous, and deeply felt a statement of feminist principles as has ever been heard in a Tibetan Buddhist context. 

This video also clarifies, once and for all, the confusion some people apparently have about a certain title, and the sort of person for whom such entitlement might be genuine.

In this context, it is important for all of us to understand that authentic teachers arise naturally, in a field of truth. They are neither born from intrigues nor instantly fabricated, and cannot deceive their way into a position. They are not produced by wishful thinking. They are not verified by popular acclaim.

This is a time of renegade cults and dubious prophets. Within the past few months alone, a co-dependent child molester enabled by one such cult has been sentenced to twenty years in prison. In another case, a young man died in the high desert -- a timely call away from help -- when traumatized by another such cult's "retreat."

We are beset by spiritual materialism of the worst order, and for those of us with some connection to Vajrayana, there is no quarter asked and no quarter given. Our path has been called dangerous; compared to obtaining a jewel from the head of a cobra, or walking a razor's edge. We are, it is said, like snakes in bamboo: we have only two ways to go, up or down.

We simply cannot afford to entrust ourselves, our children, or our grandchildren to questionable circumstances. What we must do, with special dedication of ceaseless effort, is stick to established guardians and safe outposts. 

The day of pay-for-platitude is over. 

His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa understands this better than most, it seems, and he has given us all a lesson in what is required.

When I think of such things, I am reminded of Jigme Lingpa, and I laugh. He could "channel" Longchenpa well enough -- as we might say in today's spiritual mish-mosh -- but he still spent decades alone with his tailbone on stone. Today, there are some lounging around, making claims to his lineage, who cannot even bring themselves to finish the ngondro he wrote.

They sit upon sofas and think them thrones.

"It used to be that dharma study tied your mindstream in knots instead of liberating it. You would hear some teachings and maybe get a little bit of a name and then instantly you would pop up thinking, "I am something special!" Then you would need a throne, a high chair, a high position, totally misunderstanding and turning your whole dharma upside down. What is the throne that you actually need? You need the throne of hearing, contemplating, and meditating on the dharma... ."

--Gyatrul Rinpoche, 15 May 2012

Writing here, today, I hope you do not think I am somehow praising myself whilst belittling others. I hope you do not find these words antagonistic, or that I am finding fault with vajra brothers or sisters. Before I write these things I always very carefully search my heart, often for a very long time, to ask myself "Why" do I feel the need to write them. Many times I have written something, and then just let it collect digital dust, because I feel my motivation wasn't as I might have wished.

In the main, I write things such as these to myself. Every criticism you have ever seen me make is a criticism I have leveled at myself.

I am so very, very sorrowful at the tragedies befalling people who, one fine day, decided to involve themselves with Dharma. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I see these things and I have an irrational thought, "Hey! Why didn't they learn from my mistakes?" Then, of course, I realize that if I don't discuss my mistakes, nobody can possibly learn anything from them!

So, if you are a very high person with a great name and title, I feel these words will give no offense. Owing to the perfection of your view, and the ocean of your compassion, it will be only natural to disregard what is unnecessary to regard.

Just a few minutes into the above video, when a person with "not so good reputation" is being discussed, there is a moment... just a moment there... when one hears tittering, knowing laughter from the audience.

I freely admit I have known such laughter, as perhaps have you.

Breaking Promises to Nagas

Nagas are temperamental beings typically associated with water, and to a lesser extent, earth, where in the latter case they bear some relationship with trees. Nagas are normally depicted with reptilian characteristics, most commonly those of snakes. 

Some people believe nagas are, in fact, snakes that live in springs, ponds, rivers, swamps, and so forth. From an ordinary-mind perspective, nagas are animals, and you will find people who argue this perspective with special vigor. 

However, from an extraordinary perspective, nagas are one of the eight classes of spirits, having a special connection with weather, wealth, treasure, teachings, and health. In this sense, they are to be regarded as the continuum of primal spirits arising in a prehistoric age: spirits of the environment.

Thus, in an an ancient, environmentally-dependent society, if the nagas are pleased, they send rain to speed the crops. This equates to wealth and health. If they are displeased, they send rains to break down earthen restraints and create floods. This equates to ruin and disease. In between these two extremes there is much to learn.

In ancient Buddhist societies, this fortune comes and goes with the rains. In time, it devolves down to specific days of the lunar month. Just like a farmer with his almanac, the ancient observers came to consider particular days as having certain qualities with respect to interaction between nagas and men. We used to publish those days here at DTBA, until it became tiresome.

The "interaction" of which we speak is wholly dependent upon contracts made long ago between fully realized entities and the nagas, wherein ordinary beings, i.e. mankind, are the beneficiaries. You cannot communicate directly with nagas, nor would you particularly wish to try. Everything that might be said and done with respect to nagas has already, in the fullness of time, been said and done. But, what you can do is generate yourself as a deity, and engage the nagas in the context of those long-ago contracts. You can keep your side of the bargain, so to speak, by reaffirmation of -- or subscribing to -- the ancient promises made by the deity on your behalf.

Because nagas are worldly spirits. They are not transmundance. Among their number are oath-bound spirits, and some yet to be tamed. When you generate yourself as the deity to reaffirm oaths -- making offerings of special incense and so forth -- you are engaged in a symbolic communion with the oath-bound spirits as representatives, or intermediaries to the whole class. Sometimes peaceful offering will not suffice, and outright coercion seems necessary. Maybe that works with baby nagas, but I do not think it will work with developed nagas, unless you are Padmasambhava and know where to find a mongoose mob.

The promises between our transmundane representatives and the naga representatives are not unilateral. These are bilateral promises of certain conduct on both sides. So, it is fundamentally important to realize that this is a two-way street. If the nagas become fractious, and start bending the rules on their side, we can take the moral high ground and shake them up a bit. If, on the other hand, we become sloppy and forgetful...well, in this case you may rest assured that the nagas have their little ways.

Not only do they have their ways, they also have a mind to up the ante, and do not shy away from provocation. They are aggressive beings, who generally do not know how to return kindness for kindness.

These photographs (which are Photoshopped, by the way, just for snakey fun) are of worldly nagas. Nevertheless, polycephalic snakes do occur in nature. If worldly nagas can show such aberration, can you imagine what their spirit brethren can do?

Escalations can take many, many forms -- these are usually forms that we do not immediately associate with reptilian motifs,  although they may evoke prehistory.

I am writing these words because I see that we have so profoundly broken our pact with the nagas as to invite full scale disaster upon ourselves.

We have broken samaya.

The black misery that our greed for power poured into the Gulf of Mexico -- you might say that undersea oil is in some fashion the blood of ancient nagas -- has resonated in the absolutely world-threatening misery from Japan. Just think: one shake of the earth, one wave of the ocean, and the whole of the planet is in mortal danger.

This is the NOAA model of the flow of debris from Japan, following the March 2011 tsunami. Now, since the tsunami struck before the nuclear disaster, government scientists are saying that the tsunami debris is not radioactive.

I have a question.

What will this model look like if the nagas decide to send another message?

Don't you think it is high time we stop breaking promises to nagas?