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| "When we talk of the six perfections - generosity, ethical discipline, patience, perseverance, concentration, and wisdom - they can also be found in other, non-Bodhisattva practitioners who are working more toward their own individual liberation. What makes the practice of these six factors perfect, is the motivation involved. In order for one's practice of patience to be a practice of the perfection of patience, you need the motivation which is Bodhicitta. If your practice is motivated by Bodhicitta - the aspiration to attain Enlightenment for the benefit of all - then your practice becomes truly a practice of perfection. "Time never waits but keeps flowing. Not only does time flow unhindered, but correspondingly our lives too keep moving onward all the time. If something goes wrong, we cannot turn back time and try again. In that sense, there is no genuine second chance. "A single word or expression in tantra can have four different meanings corresponding to the four levels of interpretation, known as the four modes of understanding, which are: (1) the literal meaning; (2) the general meaning; (3) the hidden meaning, and (4) the ultimate meaning. "I don't have any experience in applying Western psychotherapy to the Buddhist path. I do know, however, that intimacy is necessary for a spiritual practitioner, especially if that individual is trying to overcome his mental problems. When you open yourself up mentally, you |
| do so only with someone you trust from the bottom of your heart, someone you feel very close to. To open yourself up in this way is an important step in overcoming mental problems. "The earth is, to a certain extent, our mother. She is so kind, because whatever we do, she tolerates it. But now, the time has come when our power to destroy is so extreme that Mother Earth is compelled to tell us to be careful. The population explosion and many other indicators make that clear, don't they? Nature has its own natural limitations. "Peace is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. True peace with ourselves and with the world around us can only be achieved through the development of mental peace. The Dalai Lama |
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| The Dalai Lama's Views on ..... RELIGION: "My basic belief is all major world religions have the potential to make contribution for better human be-ings. That means more peaceful minded, more compassionate minded." VIOLENCE: The Tibetans have witnessed their people slaughtered and tortured, but they remain peace-loving: "Killing human beings is something almost unthinkable." Everyone has the potential to kill. Someone who's usually gentle and compassionate might lose his temper and use a weapon. Could he kill? "I think so, deep down." COMMUNICATION: If a person doesn't open his heart to others, "less human affection, more ill feeling, it automati-cally close our inner door." DEATH PENALTY: "The death penalty just as a punishment for the person, this I don't think has social reasons. So no more death penalty. A person who has murdered should be put to death only to teach a lesson and frighten others. Then, perhaps, sacrificing someone's life for the whole community's benefit might be good. Life impisonment is more suitable." DRUG USE: Some visitors use illegal drugs - easy to get in India - when they come to study Tibetan Buddhism. But that isn't necessarily bad. "Eventually they find some meaning of their life and discontinue, stop taking drug and become a very ... genuine human being, and show more respect towards parent, and reunited." ENVIRONMENT: "Earth is our mother" and man can't continue to exploit the environment without giving something back. The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which he attended in June, "clearly demonstrated how important, how seri-ous ecology problem." HOMOSEXUALITY: "It is wrong. Should be avoided." But for someone with no religious faith, "then I don't know." "In the name of freedom of sex, then that is included. But at the same time, male and female ... [has] a definite pur-pose. Not only a few moments' pleasure, but reproduction. Life itself. It creates substance. Not other side. No adequate reasons." BIRTH CONTROL: "From Buddhist viewpoint, each individual human life is considered precious, so to control such precious life is not good." As a Tibetan refugee, "it is advisable to make use of birth control. But in thinking of future Tibet, we need more people. So it is contradictory." AIDS: The disease "reminds people not to be promiscuous and sexually deviant." It's not a question of morality or reli-gious acceptance. Sexual freedom has gone too far. "This disease very much involves sex, or different kind of sex. So to me, I think people have gone beyond the limits indulging in freedom of sex." (Courtesy Anastasia Stanmeyer. Copyright 1992) |
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| Words to Ponder: Action conquers fear. Peter Zarlenga Feel the fear and do it anyway. Susan Jefers Self-confidence is the result of a successfully survived risk. Jack Gibb Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it. That is the quickest and the surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear. Dale Carnegie Winners are those people who make a habit of doing the things losers are uncomfortable doing. Ed Foreman Remember, you are just an extra in everyone else's play. Stewart Emery You can never learn less, you can only learn more. Buckminster Fuller Don't wait. The time will never be just right. Napolean Hill Enthusiasm moves the world. J. Balfour "Come to the edge," He said. They said, "We are afraid." "Come to edge," He said. They came. He pushed them and they flew. Guillaume Apollinaire All things are difficult before they are easy. Thomas Fuller A friend is a gift you give yourself. Robert Louis Stevenson The most valuable antiques are old friends. Anon If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got. Anon Insanity is continuing the same behavior and expecting a different result. Anon The key to getting everything you want is to never put all your begs in one ask-it! Anon |
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| tragic incidents, and I feel sad when I think about them. However, I don�t feel overwhelmed by sadness. Old, familiar faces disappear, and new faces appear, but I still maintain my happiness and peace of mind. "If a person has a really deep interest in spiritual growth, he or she cannot do away with the practice of meditation. That is the key! Just a mere prayer or wish will not affect this inner spiritual change. The only way for development is through a constant effort through meditation. Of course, in the beginning it is not easy. You may find difficulties, or a loss of enthusiasm. Or perhaps in the beginning there will be too much enthusiasm - then after a few weeks or months, your enthusiasm may wane. We need to develop a constant, persistent approach based on a long-term commitment. "When we talk about violence, we must understand that we are speaking about a phenomenon in which it is almost impossible to predict the outcome. Even though the motivation on the part of the perpetrator of the act may be pure and positive, when violence is used as a means, it is very difficult to predict the consequences. For this reason, it is always better to avoid a situation that may require violent means. However, tolerance and patience do not imply submission or giving in to injustice. "From the perspective of the highest dimension of Buddhist practice, the Highest Yoga Tantra, there is no distinction between gender. Even in that final life in which you attain Buddhahood, there is no difference whether you are male or female. There are more female concerns in this system. For example, one of the root downfalls is for a male to abuse or to look down upon a female. If a man does that, it is disastrous. There is no comparable downfall for a woman looking down on a man. So we men are jealous. "It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act. There are two aspects to action. One is to overcome the distortions and afflictions of your own mind, that is, in terms of calming and eventually dispelling anger. This is action out of compassion. the other is more social, more public. When something needs to be done in the world to rectify the wrongs, if one is really concerned with benefiting others, one needs to be engaged, involved "I normally recommend to Buddhist practitioners not to see every action of their spiritual teacher as divine and noble. There are specific, very demanding qualities that are required of a spiritual mentor. You don�t simply say, �It is good behavior because it is the guru�s,� this is never done. You should recognize the unwholesome as being unwholesome, so one might infer that is worthwhile to criticize it. "If one feels very profound compassion, this already implies an intimate connection with another person. It is said in our scriptures that we are to cultivate love just like that of a mother toward her only child. This is very intimate. The Buddhist notion of attachment is not what people in the West assume. We say that the love of a mother for her only child is free of attachment. "People should remain in society and carry out their usual profession. While contributing to society, they should internally carry on analysis and practice. In daily life, one should go to the office, work, and return home. It would be worthwhile to sacrifice some late evening entertainment, go to sleep early, and get up early the next morning to perform analytical meditation. "To help others in the most effective way possible, we have to be fully Enlightened Buddhas. Even to help others in vast and extensive ways we need to have attained one of the levels of a Bodhisattva, that is, to have had the experience of a direct, non-conceptual reality or voidness and to have achieved the powers of extrasensory perception. Nonetheless, there are many levels of help we can offer others. "Dreams are an idea of the mind. There are no tangible objects beneath these sole appearances. Similarly, self and others, Samsara and Nirvana, are designated by the name and the knowledge about them. Thus, there is no inherent existence of any object. "In this age of degeneration when one meets with all sorts of problems and adverse circumstances, the practice of generating positive thoughts is very effective. If someone lacks this practice even though that person might be a very serious meditator, he or she will meet with many hardships and hurdles. "Let us examine what �I� or �self� is. What is definite is that it does not exist independently of our body and mind. and out of the two, the body and mind, it is clear that the body cannot be seen as this �self.� Feelings are also not the self because there is a �feeler� and a feeling. Also, the way we naturally perceive ourselves, is the way the sense of �self� arises, is that there is something like the agent or the subject, which experiences and perceives. So to our na�ve, natural mind, everything appears as if it has an independent, solid, objective entity or objective status. However, what is very clear is that when we begin to search, they disintegrate and disappear, and they are un-findable. "We are all on this planet together. we are all brothers and sisters with the same physical and mental faculties, the same problems, and the same needs. We must all contribute to the fulfillment of the human potential and the improvement of the quality of life as much as we are able. Mankind is crying out for help. Ours is a desperate time. Those who have something to offer should come forward. Now is the time. "In most cases the affirmation of the ego leads only to disappointment, or else to conflict with other egos such as exclusive as mine - especially when the strong development of the ego leads to whims and demands. The illusion of the permanent self secretes a danger that lies in wait for all of us: I want this, I want that. You might end up killing someone, as we all know well. The excess of egoism leads to uncontrollable perversions, which always end badly. But from another standpoint, a firm ego, sure of itself, can be a very positive element. You have to have real confidence in yourself. The Dalai Lama |
| "There are two types of prayer. Prayers are, for the most part, simply reminders in your daily practice. So, the verses look like prayers but are actually reminders of how to speak, how to deal with problems and other people, etc. in my own daily practice, prayer takes about four hours. My practice is reviewing compassion, forgiveness, and shunyata. Then the major portion is the visualization of deity, mandala, and attendant tantric practice including visualization of death and rebirth. In my case, it is done eight times. So eight times death is eight time rebirth. I am supposed to be preparing for my death. When actual death comes, whether I will succeed or not, I don�t know. "I am always quite cheerful! It is, I think, the result of my own practice and training. In my lifetime, I have lost my country and have been reduced to being totally dependent on the goodwill of others. I have also lost my mother, and most of my tutors and gurus have passed away, although I now have a few new gurus. Of course these are |
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| Karmapa may follow yet more footsteps of Dalai Lama... The 14-year-old Tibetan leader could rise above politics and be groomed as next preeminent Buddhist. Since the leader of a prominent Tibetan Buddhist sect quietly arrived in India from China last week, the 17th Karmapa continues to capture the imagination of devotees and bring new speculation about the significance of his escape. Beyond the embarrassment caused to Chi-na - which has 100 million Buddhists that Beijing reportedly hoped to control through the Karmapa - his arrival may signal a new reconciliation among Buddhist traditions. Some ex-perts say the Karmapa could someday take the mantle of the Dalai Lama as the premier Buddhist figure on the world stage. The Karmapa already occupies a unique position. His role as the head of the influential Karma Kagyu sect has been accepted as authentic both by the Chinese and by the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of all Tibetan Bud-dhists. He has lived in exile in India since fleeing occupied Tibet in 1959. No other Buddhist figure has achieved both acknowledgements. (Two other rival Karmapas are supported by some Tibetan Buddhists.) Quiet speculation has begun about the future of the young man and the future unity of Buddhists around the world. Tibetan Buddhist politics are serene on |
| the surface, but are turgid and complex underneath. Some experts say the Dalai Lama may have decided to leap over the politics of his close advisers and place his hopes of unifying Buddhists both inside and outside Tibet in a young man who may be less tainted by ambition and old sectarian grudges. "The ordinary lamas and the lay people all want to see greater Buddhist unity," says Dawa Norbu, an expert on Tibet at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. "But the people surrounding the top lamas, the entourages around them, are ambitious and like to play politics. We can't know the exact situation, but the Dalai Lama's move to greet and embrace the Karmapa signifies a great reconciliation among the Tibetan Buddhists." Two years ago the Dalai Lama created a stir by implying he might not incarnate him-self - where his identity as the ancient Dalai Lama is passed to a new person on Earth. The Dalai Lama has been a kind of transcontinental statesman for Buddhism through his efforts to address the spiritual state of the West. The escape of the Karmapa comes at a time when China is increasing its controls on religion. The government is expected to an-nounce the reincarnation of an important lama, a two-year-old boy, who has not been approved by the Dalai Lama. Along with ongoing repression of the popular Falun Gong movement, Beijing last week defied the Vatican by ordaining five new bishops. In the past year, more leaders and worshippers of clandestine "home churches" have been arrested. This week James Rubin, US State Department spokesman, suggested that China enter a dialogue with the Dalai Lama over the "unique religious, cultural, and ethnic heritage" of Tibet. The Karma Kagyu tradition, led by the Karmapa, stresses meditation and spiritual practice - and is considered highly demanding as a discipline. For many years, until the Dalai Lama arrived on the world stage in the late 1970s, the Kagyu school was best known in the West. The Dalai La-ma's tradition, the Gelugpa, is considered more scholarly. It has also been the venue for Buddhist authority figures to emerge in the worldly realm, according to Lea Terhune, co-author of "Relative World, Ultimate Mind." At this point, say experts, before the 14-year-old Karmapa has received the full "transmission" of teachings and rituals by his teach-er, it is too early to know if he will become the preeminent Buddhist. "His mind is not mature, not mellow, not Enlight-ened yet," says Dr. Norbu. "But his exodus reminds me of the path taken by the Dalai Lama." (August 3, 2001 By Robert Marquand, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor) Disclaimer: All images and articles retain the original copyrights of their original owners. |
| December 25, 2003 |
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