Wild Hares of the Western Mojave

I know 'dis guy in Mongolia, see? He likes boids, see? So, he writes in his blog about dirty bustards who don't pay up for nuns, see? So, I got this wild hare to do something about it, see?

Because me and him are pals, see? Because we want to help 'dose nuns, see?

Yeah... that's it... real special like.

Photo above is of my pet jackrabbit, Little Caesar. He's boss of the rabbit rackets on the West Side.

Now, if youse guys ain't coming up with your fair share of the grift for 'da nuns......

張奇夫: Rest In Peace

"The evil that men do lives after them; 

The good is oft interred with their bones; 

So let it be with Caesar."

                             --Shakespeare

Yam, Ram, Southern California

Winds approaching 100 miles per hour and wildfires: Southern California is (again) experiencing a tragic loss of life and property on an extensive scale, leading to all sorts of obstacles. We are presently a few miles from one major fire-- started when the winds blew down an electrical transformer-- where a reported 180 homes have already been lost. The latest reports state over a half million people have been evacuated, over a quarter million acres have burned, there has been at least one fatality, and numerous major transportation routes have been severed, inclusive of Interstate 15-- the heavily traveled main route between Southern Nevada and Southern California.

"When our illusory bodies are threatened with danger and destruction because of obstacles of the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind;
"Without any doubt or question, I supplicate you, Orgyen, together with the four goddesses of the elements;
"Thus, there is no doubt that the elements will be self-pacified.
"I supplicate Orgyen Padmasambhava. Grant blessings for the spontaneous accomplishment of our wishes!
"OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM."

Calling the Lama from Afar

There will be a moratorium on posts to this web log while we pause to celebrate the birthday of Tenpa Rinpoche, during the period October 20th through the 24th. Below, one of his favorite prayers, written by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, which he asks everyone to read. You can send greetings to rinpoche2006@gmail.com

GYANG 'PÖ KYI SÖL 'DEP NYUG MA'I T'ÖL LU SHE JA WA

The Prayer of Calling the Lama from Afar
entitled
Song of the Primordial State

NGO WO DÖ NE MI 'GYUR TRÖ DRÄL GYI SHI LUG
Essence unchanging from the very start, fundamental nature beyond elaboration,

KA DAG TING SÄL SHÖN NU BUM KU RU SHUG PA
Primordially pure profound clarity, present as the Youthful Vase Body,

CHÖ KU'I LA MA YE SHE DOR JE DE KY'EN NO
Dharmakaya Lama, Yeshe Dorje ("Adamantine Primordial Wisdom"), you who know,

TA WA'I DING CHEN T'OB PAR CHIN GYI RANG LOB SHIG
Grant me your blessings that I attain great confidence in the View.

RANG ZHIN MA 'GAG ZUNG 'JUG 'Ö SÄL GYI TS'OM BU
Self-nature unceasing, concentration of the radiant luminosity of primordial union,

LHÜN DRUB NGE PA NGA DEN RÖL PA RU SHUG PA
Spontaneous realisation, present as the display of the five certainties,

LONG KU'I LA MA DE CHEN DOR JE DE KY'EN NO
Sambhogakaya Lama, Dechen Dorje ("Adamantine Great Bliss"), you who know,

GOM PA'I TSÄL CHEN DZOG PA JIN GYI RANG LOB SHIG
Grant me your blessings that I perfect great clarity of meditation.

T'UG JE CH'OG LHUNG DRÄL WA TA' DRÖL GYI YE SHE
Compassion free from bias, primordial wisdom beyond all limitation,

KÜN KY'AB RIG TONG JEN PA'I NGO WO RU SHUG PA
Present as the naked essence of all-pervading awareness-emptiness,

TRÜL KU'I LA MA 'DRO 'DÜL LING PA DA KY'EN NO
Nirmanakaya Lama, 'Drön'dül Lingpa ("He who is from the Continent of Taming Beings"), you who know,

CHÖ PA'I BOG CHEN 'JONG PAR JIN GYI RANG LOB SHIG
Grant me your blessings that I become skilled in activity that bestows great benefit.

RANG RIG DÖ MA'I SHI LA 'PO 'GYUR NI MI 'DUG
The primordial ground of intrinsic awareness is unmoving and unchanging;

GANG SHAR CHÖ KU'I TSÄL LA ZANG NGEN NI ME DA'
Whatever appears is the creativity of the Dharmakaya and is neither good nor bad.

DA TA'I SHE PA SANG GYE NGÖN SUM DU 'DUG PE
In the awareness of "nowness", the very actuality of Buddhahood,

GU YANG LO DE'I LA MA NYING Ü NE NYE JUNG
The Lama of the vast expanse of serene joy is discovered in the heart,

NYUG MA'I SEM 'DI LA MA'I RANG ZHIN DU TOG TS'E
And when this innate mind is realised to be the very nature of the Lama,

'DZIN SHEN SÖL 'DEB CHÖ MA'I DUG YÜ NI MA GÖ
There is no (longer any) need for contrived and fabricated prayers of carping and complaint.

MA CHÖ RIG PA RANG BAB K'A YEN DU LÖ PE
By letting go in the free and natural flow of uncontrived pure awareness,

TE ME GANG SHAR RANG DRÖL CHIN LAB DE T'OB JUNG
Without solidifying or holding on, the blessing of the self-liberation of whatever arises is obtained.

JE PA'I CHÖ KYI SANG GYE 'DRUB DU NI MI DA'
There will never be a time when contrived practice leads to Buddhahood:

YI CHÖ LÖ JE GOM 'DI LU JE KYI DRA RE
This intellectually contrived meditation of mental analysis is a deceitful enemy.

DA NI 'DZIN TANG SHIG PA'I DO ME KYI NYÖN PA
This very instant, (let) mental grasping fall apart with the abandon of a madman,

JUNG GYÄL CHER NYÄL NGANG LA MI TS'E 'DI KYEL TONG
And let this human life be spent in a state of spontaneous and naked ease:

GANG TAR JE KYANG GA'O DZOG CHEN GYI NÄL 'JOR
Joyful in whatever he does, the yogin-practitioner of the Great Perfection;

SU DANG 'DROG KYANG KYI DO PE 'JUNG GI BU GYÜ
Happy in any company, the Lineage-Son of the Lotus Born.

GÖN LA 'DREN DA ME DO TER CHEN GYI LA MA
Peerless Protector, Great Tertön Lama;

CHÖ LA DO DA ME DO K'AN 'DRO YI NYING T'IG
Teaching beyond compare, Heart-Essence of the Dakinis.

MONG CHEN NYING GI MÜN PA RANG MÄL DU SANG NE
Purifying in its own place the great ignorance darkening the heart,

'Ö SÄL NYI MA 'DRIB ME K'OR YUG TU 'CHAR WA'I
The immaculate sun of radiant clarity shines forth day and night.

KÄL ZANG 'DI KO P'A CHIG LA MA YI KU TRIN
This good fortune is the graciousness of the only father Lama:

DRIN LEN 'KOR TA' ME DO LA MA RANG DREN NO
Unrepayable kindness! - My Lama! I think only of you!

Thus, at the request of my principal vajra disciple, Trülpa'iku Jigme Chöying Dorje, Dön T'amche Drubpa'i-de, this was spoken as so much meaningless chatter by Jigdräl Yeshe Dorje.

Update: Plot to Murder Dalai Lama

New details are emerging on Zhang Qingli, the renegade Communist Party official implicated at the center of a plot to murder the Dalai Lama. Sources with credible access to such information report that Zhang is under investigation for corruption during his tenure with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Chinese officials at diplomatic posts in the United States and Canada are quietly looking into luxurious homes, and other investments, allegedly acquired with the laundered proceeds of Zhang's graft schemes by members of his extended family.

Petition the British Prime Minister

Here is the link: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/DalaiLama/

If you follow this link, you will taken to an official British government site where you can petition the Prime Minister to meet personally with His Holiness the Dalai Lama -- no matter how loudly wet Chinese cats sputter and cough.

Plot to Murder the Dalai Lama

张庆黎

His name is Zhang Qing Li, born 1951, Shandong Province, and he is the insultingly acid-mouthed Communist Party Secretary of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Credible news just now filtering out of China places him at the center of a bizarre Chinese government plot to assassinate the Dalai Lama, blame the Dorje Shugden Cult, and then declare the Dalai Lama's successor. The plot is believed to include Chinese intelligence service personnel operating under diplomatic cover in all nations visited by His Holiness, including the United States, as well as "sleeper" type agents. It is said that details of the plot include provisions for a "discredit after death" type operation, i.e. the manner of death would serve to tarnish the victim's memory. It is further suggested that the threat is imminent, and that this is why the Chinese government rushed its "reincarnation regulations" into effect last month.

We will post more details of this extraordinarily alarming matter in due course. This certainly explains the heavy security around His Holiness, and veiled references made during the events in Washington.

Zhang Qingli

Secretary, Communist Party of China, Tibet Autonomous Region
Communist Party Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region
Kang An Dong Lu 1 Hao
Lhasa, TibetPeople's Republic of China 850000

Pure Lands

Dear Rinpoche,

I have been having trouble with the concept of Pure Realms, Such as Amithaba's , Guru Rinpoche's or Medicine Buddha's, are they actual places where one can take birth and live in an existence much like this worldly realm? Or could you point me to works which explain such realms more clearly. Any clarification is greatly appreciated.

-----

In my view, which is not necessarily the correct view, wherever we find ourselves is a buddha-field, as we, ourselves, are buddha-fields. Similarly, wherever we find ourselves is a pure realm, as we, ourselves, are pure. For example: I can say, with equal measure of grace and truth, that we are currently not separate from the Medicine Buddha's realm. We don't have to leave someplace to go someplace else. There is no distance between where we are now and the Medicine Buddha's realm. However, because of illusory obscurations, we do not always immediately apprehend this purity. I suggest you read my post, 'Letter to a Friend,' below, as this directly addresses the issue.

I believe the definitive explanation of this matter occurs in the Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra, so I quote at length here:

"There are buddha-fields that accomplish the buddha-work by means of bodhisattvas; those that do so by means of lights; those that do so by means of the tree of enlightenment; those that do so by means of the physical beauty and the marks of the Tathagata; those that do so by means of religious robes; those that do so by means of good; those that do so by means of water; those that do so by means of gardens; those that do so by means of palaces; those that do so by means of mansions; those that do so by means of magical incarnations; those that do so by means of empty space; and those that do so by means of lights in the sky. Why is it so, Ananda? Because by these various means, living beings become disciplined. Similarly, Ananda, there are buddha-fields that accomplish the buddha-work by means of teaching living beings words, definitions, and examples, such as 'dreams,' 'images,' 'the reflection of the moon in water,' 'echoes,' 'illusions,' and 'mirages'; and those that accomplish the buddha-work by making words understandable. Also, Ananda, there are utterly pure buddha-fields that accomplish the buddha-work for living beings without speech, by silence, inexpressibility, and unteachability. Ananda, among all the activities, enjoyments, and practices of the Buddhas, there are none that do not accomplish the buddha-work, because all discipline living beings. Finally, Ananda, the Buddhas accomplish the buddha-work by means of the four Maras and all the eighty-four thousand types of passion that afflict living beings.

"Ananda, this is a Dharma-door called 'Introduction to all the Buddha-qualities.' The bodhisattva who enters this Dharma-door experiences neither joy nor pride when confronted by a buddha-field adorned with the splendor of all noble qualities, and experiences neither sadness nor aversion when confronted by a buddha-field apparently without that splendor, but in all cases produces a profound reverence for all the Tathagatas. Indeed, it is wonderful how all the Lord Buddhas, who understand the equality of all things, manifest all sorts of buddha-fields in order to develop living beings!

Universal Symbol of Peace

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush, raising the ire of Beijing, called on Chinese leaders to welcome the Dalai Lama to the communist nation on Wednesday.

Bush called the Tibetan spiritual leader a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance, a shepherd of the faithful and a keeper of the flame for his people.''

"He has won the respect and affection of the American people,'' Bush said at the U.S. Capitol where the leader of Tibet's Buddhists received the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal.

"America cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close their eyes or turn away,'' said Bush, who sat next to the Dalai Lama during the ceremony and personally handed the medal to him.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this was the first time a U.S. president has appeared in public with the Dalai Lama.

"It is a great honour for me to receive the Congressional Gold Medal,'' said the Dalai Lama, who delivered his remarks in English. "This recognition will bring tremendous joy and encouragement to the Tibetan people.''

Dalai Lama Medal

Avalokitesvara is in America. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama receives his Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda this afternoon, in Washington, D.C.

It is my immediate experience that His Holiness has fully extended his blessings today.

You will be able to purchase duplicates of this medal at 1:00 p.m. EST today by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).

The obverse of the Dalai Lama Congressional Gold Medal, designed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart, features a smiling portrait of the Dalai Lama. The Himalayan Mountains are in the background. The inscriptions "14th Dalai Lama of Tibet," "Tenzin Gyatso," his birth name, "Act of Congress" and "2006" are included on the obverse.

The reverse, designed by Joseph Menna, a United States Mint Medallic Sculptor, depicts a stylized lotus flower, considered to be a symbol of purity. The inscriptions include a quotation from the Dalai Lama, "World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not the absence of violence. Peace is the manifestation of human compassion."

The three-inch, bronze reproduction medal is available for $38.00, and the one and a half inch medal is $3.75. There is an additional shipping and handling fee of $4.95 per order. Presentation cases also are available.

Letter to A Friend

Dear --------:

Shortly after my immaculate teacher hastened me out into the world, I received a letter from him. “We could write pages and pages to one another,” he suggested. “But I do not see the use. What you understand, I understand and what I understand, you understand. I am writing you now only for sentimental reasons.”

When I first read those words, I missed him terribly and I was despondent, but now that a few decades have leaked away, the shining beauty of those words immediately reminds me of his gentle kindness and always brings comfort to my crazy heart. Although my poor words to you lack any such beneficial quality, I nevertheless pray that in the future this letter will bring you at least some small satisfaction, when you recall the high esteem in which I hold you.

There are mountains hereabouts, and a painter may stay some distance from such mountains to produce his work. We judge him in any one of several ways. We can compare his work to the mountain we see, and reckon it a good likeness. We can compare his work to what we imagine, and thus employ him to replace the mountain we might otherwise know. We can say that he captures the mountain, or evokes the mountain, but we can never appropriately say that he has reproduced the mountain. The mountain, after all, reproduces itself.

It is considered a downfall to teach emptiness to a person whose mind is not prepared to accept emptiness. Yet, since I am incapable of teaching anything to anybody, and since your mind is like the ocean that accepts everything, I do not think we need enter the clumsy dance of benefit and harm if we merely discuss emptiness the way our painter paints mountains.

Some people---and I most assuredly do not refer to you---believe without any experiential foundation that their minds are empty, that every action is perfect, and that nothing whatsoever needs to be done. Such people rely on a subjective decision, or a belief in the authority of past status, or a passive sense of “thus,” as the humorously inferior compound delusion of meditation might otherwise persuade us is some sort of goal. You can always recognize this sickness. It is endemic in the monasteries, temples, and the horrible meditation centers: vacantly grinning, enigmatically engaged, idiosyncratic ninnies, blind to their own-face, with emotions as agitated as bats in a barn fire.

You can say whatever you like to these fools, and they will smile knowingly, and call you wise, but what they really do is invite you into a tacit pact. They will continue to call you wise only for as long as you ignore their utter lack of understanding. The more skillfully you enable their illusions, the greater will be your reward of wonderfully spoken sentiments and slavish devotion. These gliding red ghosts will ensnare and imprison you with their flattering service. If you permit yourself to depend upon them, you will come to ruin.

Must I warn you, my precious friend?

Every day, it is useful to ask, “Who am I?” Every day, it is useful to ask, “What is this?” Some people, while sleeping, smell smoke and immediately awaken. Others simply continue sleeping and burn to death.

What is this mountain our painter paints? Where does it reside? Is the mountain earth, or rocks, or trees? What of the kinds of earth, or of the waters within; the several minerals, or the leaves on the trees? What of the fish, the insects, the mammals, the birds, or the spirits? Is the mountain juxtaposition between earth and sky? Is it upside down or right side up? What of the mountain, the eyes of the painter, his painting of the mountain, and our own eyes, beholding all of these?

Yes, the mountains are so beautiful today, my love. To an ant, a pile of horse shit is a mountain. To a dung beetle, it is home. How I longed for a home in the mountains, together with you. How astonishing, in the midst of a dream, to smell the smoke of burning mountains.

Anything can happen in basic space. A painter we believe in makes it so. Let there be a lady who is basic space and identical with ordinary mind that arises dynamically there from, and shines pervasively. You can believe in her if you like. Let there be ladies, and practitioners, and elements, and mountains. How astonishing, in the midst of a dream, to rub your eyes and see colorful stars.

You led me through your empty house and walked me to your developing ground. Your dress was torn, your manner was lonely, and you climbed into the top of a tree. As if negligently sleeping, you reached out as sleeping lovers do, and I reached out for you. These bubbles have bubbles, these dreams have dreams: these rivers, and dams, and dikes, and locks we build from this ocean, and earth, and sky by mistakenly investing one endlessly replicating illusion in another endlessly replicating illusion.

I am the King of Pretenders and you are Queen of the Matrix. Shyly, you sit at my left, but the pearl upon your brow betrays your slightest gesture. From where is the arrow released and to where does it go? What do we seize, and what do we bind? All pretenses dissolve in space, and space in union with space is the myriad pretense of wisdom.

Is this arrow long life, or a support for divination? I divine that life, however long, is brief and insubstantial and there is no time for hesitation. If you wish to be a goddess, you are already a goddess, but if some process enlightenment for the benefit of others is your wish then the arrow has already missed its mark. How astonishing, in the midst of a dream, to disregard authentic presence, differentiate omniscience, and believe that space can be injured.

I do not know why we met, or why we communicate. I do not think there needs to be a reason. I could write like this to you forever, but when I point at the moon, I do not intend that you look only at my finger. Although it seems that I have used many words, I have actually used only two words.

This life.

A woman like you will understand.

With assurances of continuous prayers for your happiness, I sign the name Tenpa.

Ancient Tibetans in America, or Vice-Versa?

It goes something like this: ending roughly 11,000 years ago, depending upon what you choose to believe, there was a long period of human migration from Asia to the Americas across the Bering Straits land bridge. The precise modalities of this are, of course, hotly debated in scientific circles, but we do know there was some form of migration---that fact, at least, is "carved in the bones" we find in the United States. In this country we find the bones of camels and so forth, and we also do DNA analysis of human remains. We also find striking similarities between certain aspects of the Tibetan culture and that of the Native Americans. Taken as a whole, the suggestion is that ancient peoples from what is now Tibet (or was until the Chinese got hold of it) crossed the land bridge to become the first settlers in America.

Still, recent discoveries--- of 50,000 year old "native" Americans--- suggest another possibility: what if the migration went in the other direction?

Fun to think about, isn't it?

Separatist Regime

I see that the Chinese are carefully demonstrating their vast knowledge and deep appreciation of Tibetan culture in this English-language web site. Either that, or this is the Chinese police exhibiting photographs of stolen property. Note to H.H. Karmapa: if you're missing a seal, we think we know what happened.

By the way: I claim "Separatist Regime" as the name for a new rock-n-roll band. I think it has a catchy ring.

Jigme Lingpa's Day: October 14

Just a little reminder that Jigme Lingpa's day falls on October 14th this year. Wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity to do the Longchen Nyingthig Ngondro all day?

Dzongsar Monastery

Dzongsar Monastery is an important site for numerous reasons. This link will take you to a discussion of this monastery's history, and will give you an indication of its future.

Architecture for Humanity

Since I am fundamentally homeless, I take a keen interest in minimalist shelter and solutions for homelessness. One group appears to share this interest:

http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/

They have a catalogue of designs for emergency shelter using things such as wooden pallets, containers, and so forth. This sort of thing is worth encouraging.

I think any professional license, be this an engineer's license, a medical license, or whatever, should be made conditional on first giving two years' worth of pro bono services to those who are not fortunate enough to live in conditions of economic surplus. Of course, in the West, nopbody sees things this way. You go to the wretched universities and then you graduiate and start grabbing with both hands.

Try to care. It helps all of us.

P.S.
The problem was solved centuries ago. We could land Mongolian gers in any country in the world for under USD $1,000 each, each ger being sufficient for a family of four. This is the best low-cost shelter solution on the planet.

White Mouse, Black Mouse

Weather has turned cold, so I wandered down to 5,000 feet, looking for warmer quarters. The adit in the lower right corner, above, was ideal but there were of course numbers of bones. So, while sorting out the bones, I started thinking about the parable by I-forget-who, quoted by Tulku Thondup in I-forget-where.

The point is, a guy slips over a cliff and is falling to his doom when he grasps a clump of grass and arrests his fall. He is hanging there, holding on to the clump of grass, when a little white mouse appears from the rocks and starts nibbling the blades. He eats one or two blades, and then disappears.

Then a little black mouse appears, nibbles one or two blades, and he disappears.

This goes on: first the little white mouse nibbles, then the little black mouse nibbles, until finally all the grass is gone. The poor guy has nothing left to hold, so away he goes.

Splat!

The point is, being born is like falling off a cliff, the white mouse is day, and the black mouse is night. You are desperately holding on to the clump of grass that is your life, and it is dwindling away in front of your eyes.

So, do us both a favor, won't you? Stop whatever you are doing and right this minute say 108 mantras for all who are hanging around, waiting for the mice to finish eating.

High Desert Hermitage

This is New Tsering Jong: the High Desert Dzogchen Hermitage. This will be an approximately USD $500,000 project, of which $260,000 is land acquisition cost, $140,000 is infrastructure development, and $100,000 is an endowment for future operating costs. It can fund in three stages over a thirty-six month period, at the rate of roughly $166,000 per year. Seen above is the view from the "front porch." It is my belief that anyone who practices at this place will very quickly receive the benefits of their practice. I therefore declare this the final project of my lifetime, and I dedicate it to the welfare of all those who will come after me.

This is typical of what one sees on the way to the summit. I welcome every spirit who wishes to make this project come to fruition. If any obstacles appear to arise, I will eat them. I do not care what effort becomes necessary. I do not care what sacrifice becomes necessary. This project must be completed.

This is looking back at a portion of the "low road," or northern approach to the summit. The hermitage property is situated so that the surrounding terrain will never be developed. By law, this realm will be forever protected.

This is what it takes to traverse the vehicle trail that actually leads to the property. This is an inexpensive Toyota FJ Cruiser, in which the after-market suspension modifications cost more than the original vehicle (the "Scorpion" FJ Cruiser). Today, this creation took us on trails last traveled in 1970, and brought us back in safety.

If you want to help, contact rinpoche2006(at)gmail(dot)com

Smoking the Scorpion's Tail

In this morning's post comes a plaintive question: "Rinpoche, how should I practice?" Hence, the topic of today's sermon, which refers to the practice of smoking the pulverized stingers from a scorpion's tail.

In general, people will do anything to achieve some change in their ordinary status. Since this is the 21st century and you're on the Internet, I don't need to belabor this point overmuch. You already know that people will smoke, snort, and stick just about anything and everything on the slightest chance they might alter themselves, and thereby momentarily kill the pain of life in this here Samsara.

The same attitude carries over to what we call "practice." We have this tendency to jump in the car, head down to Sedona for the In'juns, then run to the coast for the lamas, make a couple of swami stops, and then...hallelujah lord....tune in that old time radio religion. This turns into a hobby. I actually heard two ladies arguing the other day, saying "my Rinpoche is higher than your Rinpoche because he travels with a bigger entourage." Somebody better start making copper statues of Willie Nelson, because he travels with the biggest entourage I ever saw.

So, let's just work with this energy, shall we?

Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche did a little book about twenty years ago called The Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. This was actually his take on the first Karma Chagmey Rinpoche's Direct Instructions of the Compassionate One. So, here is the translation:

By keeping the gaze again and again, clarity increases.
Sometimes practice one-pointedly in seclusion,
and sometimes mingle practice with daily life.
at this point, when you read the scriptures
and all the teachings of the siddhas of India and Tibet,
they will be in harmony with your mind.
If your diligence is great, you will repeatedly recognize dreams.
If your exertion is slack, the number of recognitions will diminish.
Following this, all of the external world and its beings,
Though their appearances are individually distinct and clear,
In their essence, just as ice melts and becomes water,
They will all mingle inseparably with emptiness and mind.
If you meditate, they are mind and if you don't meditate, they are also mind.
You will then realize that mind is emptiness, without concrete existence since the beginning.
This is the essential point of original emptiness without distinctions.
Such as meditating or not meditating, being distracted or not distracted.

This is one of the more salient instructions one could hope to find. In terms of our present discussion, we could say that this might help us with our monkeyshines by allowing us to shift our gaze, up and down, to the sky, to the ground... we could then get up and try to mingle the practice with daily life...when we are secluded or when we're at the coffee shop. Sooner or later, we can start opening dharma books at random, and the chances are good we will find something useful no matter where we look.

But, the important thing is to arrive at the point where we practice regularly. There are a lot of nuances to this. Some of us beat ourselves in marathon practice sessions and then go on vacation. This doesn't work. Some of us get up in the morning and start negotiating until night falls: we can't do it today but we'll do it twice tomorrow. This doesn't work either. Some of us get up and blow through the mantras like ole' Dale at the 500 'afore he up and crashed? This will not help.

The thing is to reach the place where you get up and can't wait to do your practice: where your practice is joy. You know... doing practice properly is like being in love. Every day is a holiday. The flowers are that much brighter. Just be constant and regular. Be like a river.

Finally, you get to the point where---whether you practice or not---everything is mind.

In terms of "modern Western Buddhism"---(shudder) whatever that is---what does this mean?

I'm glad you asked that question.

It means be human, be kind, and be happy. Say your prayers every day and take guidance from that which inherently surrounds you at all times. Stop chopping salad bowl spirituality and concentrate on the basics of Buddhism. Then, allow the basics to carry you forward naturally. Lay off the labels and let the sun shine where it wants to shine; let the rain fall where the rain wants to fall.

One more thing... you kids better stop smoking that damn 'tail!

P.S.

The nomenclature of scorpion toxins recognizes two general classes, alpha-and beta-toxins. The division being not whether they are insect or mammalian specific but rather their effect upon sodium channels. Scorpion alpha-toxins induce a prolongation of the action potential of nerves and muscles by slowing down the inactivation of the sodium channel with receptor affinity dependent upon membrane potential, while beta-toxins bind to a receptor site distinct from that of the alpha toxins with binding being independent of voltage. Scorpion alpha- and beta-toxins are sometimes called 'Androctonus-like' and 'Centruroides-like' toxins after the genera from which they were first isolated, these two genera being representative of Old World and New World species respectively. So, kids... the next time somebody comes up to you in the desert, the temple ruins, or anywhere else for that matter, and offers you a 'tail... just say NO!

Help Support Mindrolling

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Both need your support.