Spirit Grooves (general)

It should not surprise us that the Tibetan Buddhists have a special practice designed just to handle our reactions. This practice is distinct from any sitting meditation we might do and is called Tonglen, which in English translates to something like "Taking and Sending," and it has to do with gradually becoming aware of our reactions, our likes and dislikes, and disarming them.

Direct download: 059_Walk-around_Practice.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:28pm EDT

Tonglen practice is perhaps the easiest and most-intuitive approach to meditation training that I have come across, at least for westerners. It was the first practice that my teacher Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche pointed out to me many years ago. I didn't think this fact was that important at the time, but now that I think about it, of course Rinpoche knew exactly what he was doing. Trying to learn standard sitting meditation is much more difficult, at least it was for me. With that in mind, let's look at tonglen together. I will try to go slow.

Direct download: 058_Tong-Len_-_Taking_and_Sending.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:27pm EDT

The tonglen practice is about taking and sending, breathing in and breathing out, and typically is introduced by asking the practitioner to breathe in all of the suffering in the world, take it on (and inside oneself), absorb it, and then breathe back out (on the out-breath) all of the goodness we have within us. And continue to do this until some kind of equalization occurs. This audio-blog looks at how to resolve oppositions and dualities.

Direct download: 057_Tong-Len_-_resolving_Opposition.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:26pm EDT

I have heard for many years from Asians, astrologers from India in particular, who do not understand the western concern of the self. Why? Because they are somehow inoculated at an early age against what we call self-ishness. How can this possibly be so? Here is an audio-blog about the concept of self.

Direct download: 056_Self-Consciousness_and_Denial.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:24pm EDT

X-Class flares are the largest class of solar flares and we have not had one for quite a long time. This particular flare was not facing Earth and the CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) that it hurled into space will not hit us. Nevertheless, this is some very intense solar activity, and as this flare turns the corner and begins to be apparent from Earth, we may not have heard the last of it.

 

 

Of course I am fascinated to look at the government sites and at the various photos, movies, graphs, and data streams detailing this event. Yet I also know to turn my gaze inward and also stare a bit in there at what is going on. The outer and inner should match up, and they usually do. And remember that my take on intense solar activity like flares is that they are a game changer. What does that mean?

Direct download: 055_Somewhere_in_Time.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:23pm EDT

An audio-blog on solar flares and the self. The self (our self) is tireless and elastic in the extreme. It bobs, weaves, and bends over backward to avoid the tides of change, willing to do almost anything rather than to give up ground or admit a mistake. When it comes to matters of our self, most of us are perfect conservatives. The self does not like to be embarrassed, upset, or disturbed. But then, that self is not the real us, but only something we created or at least have allowed to happen. And as I have pointed out here endlessly, we identify with the self at our peril. 

Direct download: 054_Four_X-Class_Flares_in_a_Row.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:21pm EDT

The solar influx (sunshine) each day on the quiet sun changes the self, but gradually. We never notice it. Intense solar change, like we get with these recent strong solar flares injects change into our mindstream in quantum leaps that cannot easily be assimilated. We tend to notice this level of change, but we may not have identified it properly. Some of your comments tell me that you are still looking for change outside yourself, when I keep pointing out that with solar flares it is our own self that is changing. And who is there to monitor that, Me, Myself, and I? This audio-blog looks at inner changes.

Direct download: 053_Solar_Flares_-_Closure.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:20pm EDT

The great solar flares run deep in the mind just now and they flutter the dovecote and stir things up, myself included. Since I can't sleep, it has me thinking back to my very first dharma teacher Andrew Gunn McIver and his main teaching. Andrew was a traveling initiator for a Rosicrucian order. I met him in the mid-1960s. He was the first human I met outside of my family that cared for me more than I knew how to care for myself. He tamed me and I became his student. When he died in 1969, it was I who saw to his burial and designed his tombstone, the symbol of the Sun. I include it here.

Direct download: 052_Point_of_No_Return.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:19pm EDT

Earth is bombarded, alternately, by solar radiation and then cosmic rays, every five and one/half years. This follows the 11-years sunspot cycle and affects our creativity and psyche.

Direct download: 051-2_Cosmic_Breathing.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:18pm EDT

There are usually lower-level solar flares (C-Class) taking place on the sun, and these flares affect our consciousness, mindstream, and especially our sense of Self. Like the Sun itself, our self is in flux with the changes on the sun

 Can you imagine what pours through our mindstream (stream of consciousness) even in a single day? Mind stream? It's more like a mind river or at times even a storm surge. And what remains? Not much, some impressions and selected memories. This audio-blog is about the self and change.

Direct download: 051_Sun_Storms_Inside_Our_Head.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:14pm EDT

Buddhism really clicked in for me when I first came across what are called the “Four Thoughts,” more officially called “The Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind Toward the Dharma,” and most commonly just called “The Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind.” These are the thoughts that turn the mind away from our busy day-to-day distractions. This audio-blog is about that 4th thought, that cyclic life is undependable. We will never get our ducks all in a row. Not ever.

Direct download: 050_That_Foruth_Thought.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:13pm EDT

By definition, change of any kind marks instability of the status quo. Life is once again in flux, and that fact impacts the way things are. This means that things will not be going on the way they have been going. Things are changing. I am reminded of the line in Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Something is happening here, but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?" This audio-blog is about changing the self and what that involves.

Direct download: 049_Eclipse_Assisted_Change.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:11pm EDT

Beyond words is the life experience that words can but refer to, point at, and we each will have to go deeper into life to have that experience for ourselves. We can stand as long as we want with our toe in the swimming pool, but sooner or later (and it will happen) we each have to take the plunge. This audio-blog is about the transference of consciousness for self-preoccupation toward knowing the true nature of our own mind.

Direct download: 048_Transmigration.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:10pm EDT

Disappointment is something that happens to all of us, and they can really throw us for a loop. This is a story of disappointment and recovering from it through dharma practice.

Direct download: 047_Disappointemnt.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:09pm EDT

The idea is that intense solar events (solar flares) are instruments of change, change injected suddenly into our mindstream that we have no choice but to assimilate, hopefully creatively, but you can be sure these flares will change our life direction in significant ways, even if it takes some time for those changes to be apparent. This is seed change.

 And don't look for outward signs because you would miss my point. Strong solar change is as inward as we are ourselves. As I keep pointing out, with solar change it is we, ourselves, who are changing, and that is hard to observe if we are what is changing, and that is the case here. We kind of have to ride it out and tend to lose awareness at these times quite easily. We are rocked (or knocked) to sleep by the shockwaves of solar change.

Direct download: 046_Shock_to_the_System.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:04pm EDT

I would like to talk about what we call "spirituality." The whole concept of spirituality is so confusing in these modern times. Here in America we consider our spirituality as "private," perhaps based on First Amendment rights and, sadly, meditation is lumped into the concept of spirituality. It is considered politically incorrect to ask about someone's spirituality. We don't go there. That is considered personal and private. It would be funny if it did not also have consequences.

Direct download: 044_How_Personal_Is_Private.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:59am EDT

And we have it ten, 100, 1000, probably thousands of times a day, the choice of how to react. Our self is by nature reactive. It is a tight cluster of intense likes and dislikes, and also less-intense "druthers." Although the self is part of us, it is not the whole of us, and certainly not the boss of us, although many here may have forgotten that.

 The self is something most of us have to work around, because it is not intelligent on its own. It is a dummy. Like the ventriloquist, believe it or not, we animate the self with our various attachments and then watch it dance. This audio-blog addresses this topic.

Direct download: 043_We_Have_Choice.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:58am EDT

Practicing something like traditional tonglen, while very good, can be too abstract, with ideas like taking on the sufferings of the world or those of another individual and sending back our love and energy. There is a more immediate kind of tonglen that is designed for reactions, and it is much closer to us than the sufferings of the world or those of another person. To begin with, it deals with our own reactions and only eventually extends outside of us. It is called it "Reaction Tonglen."

Direct download: 042_Reaction_Tong-Len.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:57am EDT

The Sanskrit word "Buddha" just means awakened or aware, and a Buddha is one who is aware and points out awareness and the path to achieving it. That's it.

 

 

There are all kinds of medicines and therapies. Some really help, but most all of them are what the Buddhists call relative truths. They can help us on our journey get from here to there, but most therapies address the symptoms (and removing them), rather than the cause. Buddhist teachings address the cause and offer a method for removing the cause. And the cause is always our ignorance (what we ignore), and our lack of awareness. Removing the cause means waking up to our innate awareness. This audio-blog addresses this.

Direct download: 041_Practical_Methods_Take_Practice.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:55am EDT

Dharma and its practice is pure do-it-yourself territory. No one, not even the Buddha himself, can enlighten us. We each have to do it ourselves, just as he did. This audio-blog examines this topic.

Direct download: 040_Do-It-Yourself_Dharma.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:54am EDT

Well, probably a subject that is a taboo, but here is an audio-blog that examines the role of LSD in the 1960s, and its eventual effect on dharma and its development in that period.

Direct download: 038_Drugs_and_the_Dharma.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:51am EDT

In the Tibetan teachings, a treasure finder who finds a mind treasure and grasps its nature, must first fully absorb not only its concept, but also practice the essence of that mind treasure (often for many years) before sharing them with the community. This audio-blog examines the terma tradition with a focus on how it affects modern astrology.

Direct download: 037_Terma_-_Mind_STreasures.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:49am EDT

Many of us are involved in one kind of meditation or mind-training technique or another, but we may not have had the opportunity to study the roadmap for our path to awakening. This audio-blog provides an overview.

Direct download: 036_The_Road_to_Enlightenment.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:48am EDT

We usually think of feng-shui in terms of sensitivity to the outer environment, rooms, homes, etc. I learned the essence of what I know about feng-shui from His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche, one of the four main regents of the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. But our home and property is not the only area where feng-shui can be used. The mind, with all of its real estate is a ripe field for the principles of feng-shui. This audio-blog takes a look at that.

Direct download: 035_Feng-Shui_of_Anger.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:46am EDT

Anger is what the Buddhists call a “Klesha” or obscuration. When we have it, our mind is obscured or darkened by its presence. It dims our light and we can no longer see clearly. We stumble around.

And anger always has an object, something we are angry about or at. Where there is an object of our anger, there is always a subject, which would be us. It is always “our” anger, not the object’s anger. We are angry. This audio-blog takes a look at anger and how to respond to it.

Direct download: 034_Insult_to_Injury.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:45am EDT

This audio-blog looks at Buddhism and the shamanic tradition, comparing how we approach this subject here in the west and how the Tibetan Buddhists consider it. What meditation techniques will be most useful for our journey beyond this life.

Direct download: 033_The_Bardo_States.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:44am EDT

"Preparing the Mind" here refers to preparing it for our eventual death and what happens to us beyond death as we enter the bardo states. What dharma practices will be useful and why. Also covered is what is called "Pure-land Buddhism," a practice that hopes to skip the bardo realms altogether and become realized when we enter the bardo states.

Direct download: 032_Preparing_the_MInd_for_the_Bardo.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:43am EDT

Death is not something this society likes to dwell on. More often than not, it is just swept under the carpet and socially best forgotten. However, the Tibetan Buddhist masters are all about what happens when we die, and have answers for question we have, but don't dare voice.

 

 

This audio-blogs looks at what happens after death, describes the various kinds of bardo states, and goes on to describe how we can best prepare for this journey that we all will take.

Direct download: 031_The_Bardo_Realms.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:42am EDT

We start out to learn to meditate and gradually add more aids, cushions, shawls, and what not in an attempt to make it easier for ourselves, when what often happens is a form of spiritual materialism that comes over us. This audio-blog takes a look at that.

Direct download: 030_First_Cushion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:40am EDT

We all do things we regret, things we may end up thinking about and wincing over for days, weeks, or who knows how long after the actual event. This audio-blog takes a look at how we can stop recording karma or regret for actions before they permanently record themselves as imprints in our mindstream.

Direct download: 029_Adding_Insult_to_Injury.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:39am EDT

The traditional way to learn mediation is sitting on the cushion, but it is not the only way. Some folks are different. Practice is tedious and they learn best when they are doing something the know and love love. This short audio-blog is about that.

Direct download: 028_Meditation_Imprinting.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:38am EDT

There are two basic meditation techniques that are taught, Shamata (calming the mind) and Vipassana (Insight Meditation). The second step in the meditation two-step is insight meditation, learning to look directly at the mind itself, not something many westerners have done much of. This audio-blog describes the various techniques, starting with the standard Shamata mediation and progressing to Vipassana and what is called Recognition, being recognition of the true nature of the mind. 

Direct download: 027_Meditation_Two-Step.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:37am EDT

Meditation for most of us starts out on the cushion. We don't yet know how to meditation it, much less carry it out into our day-to-day world and practice it there. But some folks actually do better learning to meditate using something they already know as an object. This audio-blog describes that approach.

Direct download: 026_Meditaion_in_Action.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:36am EDT

This is the story of how I first heard about Buddhism, gradually got into it, and finally ended up meeting a high Tibetan lama, a rinpoche who became my dharma teacher. I have been working with him ever since, some thirty years now. 

Direct download: 025_How_I_met_My_Teacher.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:35am EDT

Mindfulness, what is it and how do we learn it? Learning to be mindful and to remain mindful, not just sitting on the cushion, but especially all the rest of the time when we are out there taking care of business, can be crucial to our personal success and mental well being. 

Direct download: 024_Mindfulness.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:34am EDT

There is the story of how one practitioner learned to mix his meditation experience and technique with the natural world using a technique he already knew, close-up and macro photography. This story could be called "Zen and the Art of Photography," a personal story of meditation practice.

Direct download: 023_Mixing_the_Mind_-_A_Personal_Journey.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:33am EDT

The "Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind Toward the Dharma," also called the "Four Common Preliminaries" as the starting point into Buddhism for many practitioners. And the 4th Thought "This world is inherently undependable" is a kicker, hard to understand, and even harder to take seriously, the concept that no matter how hard we try, we will never get all our ducks in a row.  Hear more about this concept and why it is this way.

Direct download: 022_Mastering_the_4th_Thought.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:31am EDT

Meditation practice is just that, "practice." So how do we know what is the meditation and what is just the practice techniques, something we will eventually just let go of? Since beginners have almost no idea of what the results of meditation are like, it can be important to sort out the wheat from the chaff, the baby from the bathwater.

Direct download: 021_The_Baby_and_the_Bathwater.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:30am EDT

Americans tend to be strong individualists. They would rather learn everything themselves, even if it means doing it the hard way. We don't like to take direction; at least some of us feel that way. Unfortunately we bring this same attitude to mind training techniques like meditation, where we don't yet know what we are doing or even what result we are supposed to be looking for. Understanding just what a meditation instructor can do for you, and why we need some interaction is what this audio-blog is all about.

Direct download: 020_So_We_Need_a_Teacher.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:29am EDT

Can't log enough meditation hours sitting on the cushion? Finding yourself putting your practice off until tomorrow or cutting it short? Learn to your mind-training practice and make use of it in your day-to-day world, the tasks and responsibilities you have to do anyway. This technique combines Tibetan Buddhist meditation techniques with a touch of the Zen Buddhist approach of bringing your life to the path.

Direct download: 019_Off-the-Cushion_-_Post_Meditation.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:27am EDT

Step-by-step instructions about how to apply what you are learning in basic meditation practice sitting on the cushion to whatever you are doing the rest of the day, work, play, or what have you. Learn how to take advantage of the natural gaps in your daily routine to log useful meditation time, time you would probably never have just on the cushion. A very useful technique for both beginners and advanced students.

Direct download: 018_How_to_Mix_the_MInd.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:25am EDT

One of the goals of meditation training is to one day get off the cushion and mix the mind of your meditation with whatever you are doing in your regular workday. This audio-blog is an introduction to mixing the mind, with pointers about how to get started doing this in whatever you are doing and wherever you are doing it.

Direct download: 017_Mixing_the_MInd.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:24am EDT

Buddhism is commonly classified as a religion, but it is really a methodology, a path to awareness, and nothing more. Buddhism has no "god," no beginning or end times, and so on. Buddhism is more of a psychological method to develop awareness. Hear this in detail.

Direct download: 016_Why_Buddhism_is_Not_a_Religion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:22am EDT

It is a little understood fact that Tibetan Buddhists respect Mother Nature as a perfect teacher of dharma and the call it "The Lama of Appearances," and they are all around us at all times. And deep in Mother Nature we can find the most true source of compassion, that of the love of a child by its mother. Explore this profound Tibetan insight with host Michael Erlewine, who has run a dharma center for over 25 years. 

Direct download: 015_-_Mother_Nature_and_Compassion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:21am EDT

A little understood part of meditation practice as taught by the Tibetan Buddhists involves not only learning meditation technique, but also how to use and position that technique to get the most out of it. This includes how to make aspirations and also dedications of merit, as the Tibetans do. This is a technique we can use anywhere and at any time, and still accumulate valuable practice time.

Direct download: 014-_Aspiration_s_and_Dedication_of_Merit.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:19am EDT

There is a difference between sitting meditation as a practice and actual meditation itself. Few folks know that dharma practice is just that, practice, and not the real thing. Host Michael Erlewine, who has run a mediation center for a quarter century explains how to use our practice sessions to actually learn to meditate properly. 

Direct download: 013-_Practicing_Meditation.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:18am EDT

There is a feng-shui of the mind, just as there is one for our house and property. This is a form of an ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice called Tong-len, a technique that is easy to learn and also something we can do while we are working in whatever we do. It allows us to take advantage of our fears and biases and make use of them. 

Direct download: 012-_Tong-Len-_Mental_Feng-Shui.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:16am EDT

An introduction to Tong-Len, probably the easiest and single most useful Tibetan Buddhist mediation practice for westerners. Here is an easy-to-learn practice that we can do off-the-cushion as well as on, a technique that we can do all day long while we are working or just walking around. Among other things, Tong-Len focuses on what we hate and fear, and how to make friends with them or at least neutralize them and stop recording karma of that type.

Direct download: 011-_Tong-Len_-_What_About_Hate_and_Fear.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:15am EDT

Here are the details of dharma practice, in particular learning to meditate. Sections of when to mediate, how long sessions should me, our expectations, and the various experiences that come with meditation practice. Also included is how to allow the mind rest, include the Seven Point Posture of Vairocana (emptiness), point by point.

Direct download: 010_Mind_Practice_-_How_to_Do_It.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:14am EDT

A discussion of dharma practice with Michael Erlewine, including reminiscence and stories of his own history of practice with emphasis on what the nature of practice of any kind involves, learning the muscle-memory and waiting for the pulse of spiritual surges in the cycles of our daily life. 

Direct download: 009_What_Practice_Really_Is.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:12am EDT

The great Patrul Rinpoche, the 19th Century Tibetan master, said "Don't Prolong the Past" and "Don't Invite the Future," two rules of meditation practice is the theme for this ten-minute segment on meditation and meditation practice, both on and off the cushion.  

Direct download: 008_Meditation_-_Dont_Prolong_the_Past.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:49am EDT

How does mind-training cope with conflicting emotions, especially anger? Presented here is an ancient (but easy to do) technique for handling anger and various upsets that life presents us. It involves resolving past traumas and mistakes from the present, including learning not to record karma.

Direct download: 007_Meditation_and_Anger.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:48am EDT

Buddhist practitioners call what they do "dharma practice"  or "meditation practice" and that is just what it is, practice, as opposed to actual meditation. How is dharma practice difference from actual meditation and what things should we be aware of and keep in mind?

Direct download: 006_Practicing_Meditation.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:47am EDT

The word "meditation" in the west covers a wide variety of New-Age practices. How are they different from the methods of meditation taught by the historical Buddha some 2500 years ago? 

Direct download: 005_What_Is_Meditation_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:47am EDT

It is one thing to have a meditation session each day, but quite another to carry our meditation technique into daily life, so that we can learn to practice in whatever we are doing. Also, if learning meditation is difficult or tedious, another approach is presented here using methods that you already know and care about. And finally there is a section on the Buddhist approach to trauma and trying to get therapy for whatever has happened to us in the past, a much easier way to let the past go.

Direct download: 004_Mixing_Meditation_with_What_You_Know.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:46am EDT

If you really want to understand what the Self is, like 'your' self, just grab a few of old scrapbooks or photobooks and look through them. Of course you will see yourself grow older physically, but probably you can also see yourself grow psychologically and perhaps even spiritually, or at least change. But what I am pointing out here is what you surround yourself with, what we could call your "persona." Our person changes too, and what makes up our persona over the years can give us a glimpse of what the self is like, how it changes as we change not only by years, but by taste and style. 

Direct download: 213_Identity_and_Transmigration.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:43am EDT

This is just kind of a fun read, not anything too serious, if that is OK. It has to do with how we deal with the discrepancy between our aging body and how it looks, you know, who or what that is looking back at us in the mirror each morning and the fact that inside that old body we feel much younger than we are. How is that possible?

As a young person I certainly always thought that as I aged physically I would also age psychologically and spiritually, but there seems to be general agreement that most old folks still feel young inside their aging bodies. I know I do.

 

Direct download: 212_Avatars_of_the_Aged.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:41am EDT

If you resonate to this solar flare information I have been posting, if it makes sense to you and you feel like internalizing it a bit, there is one major step you can take, if you can realize it. Understanding it is not hard, experiencing it consciously is a little harder, and realizing it can be difficult. It is worth the effort, so I will describe it to you.

 

To begin, I would like to share a few experiences and thoughts concerning the structure in space beyond our solar system and how it might be of value personally (or astrologically if you are an astrologer) for learning more about who we are and what on Earth we might be here for.

Direct download: 135-5_Solar_Flipping_the_View.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:38am EDT

"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," a quote from the historian John Dalberg-Acton. No, I am not talking about the U.S. Congress, but if the shoe fits… Rather I am pointing to an esoteric principle that I was introduced to years ago, and that I ignore at my peril. It has to do with how we are attracted to people and why. I wish I had understood this principle when I was younger because I would not have been taken in by what appeared as attraction to this or that supposed teacher or "guru."

 

In the abstract, the idea is that when it comes to finding and identifying life teachers, the power of attraction itself to someone like a would-be teacher is a sign of a purely 'local' phenomenon, rather than to someone with knowledge that can actually help us. And this is as true in celestial objects like planets and galaxies as it is for those of us down here walking around on Earth. In other words, this is about the influence of others on us in our life, plus how we can learn to tell if a teacher or life-guide will be workable or helpful.

Direct download: 135_Attraction_vs._Reflection.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:37am EDT

In the long history of Tibetan Buddhism, in both beginning and advanced practices, we find the analogy of waves and water, again and again. The Tibetans point out that our thoughts are like waves on the ocean of mind; both are water. Thoughts, they say, are just examples of the mind in movement, call it the motion of the ocean. Thoughts are equally mind -- water to water.

 

I have watched how the Tibetans gently brush mosquitoes from their arms. In Tibetan Buddhist meditation, thoughts, like mosquitoes, are not slapped down or suppressed. Thoughts are as natural to the mind as waves are to the ocean. In fact thoughts are the most common appearance of the mind to us. Thoughts are literally our own mind appearing. Without them many of the more advanced mind practices would be impossible.

Direct download: 134_Waves_and_Water.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:35am EDT

I have always been intrigued by Tibetan Buddhist comments on what they call the "Three Times," the past, present, and future. Two of these which I have often presented in blogs are:

Don't Prolong the Past

Don't Invite the Future

I get that, but it is the third one I have been considering for a while, which is.

Don't Alter the Present

 

I remember spending time with Ram Das (Richard Alpert) years ago and his imperative was "Be Here Now," but this is not what the Tibetans are pointing out. What they say is to not alter the present, but to allow it to be just as it is. 

Direct download: 133_Altered_Awareness.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:45am EDT

I want to say something about creativity and where it comes from. Of course there are all kinds of ways to be creative, and each of us knows what that feels like for ourselves. At the same time, we may wish to be more creative or creative all the time. How is that possible?

 

 

I want to say something about creativity and where it comes from. Of course there are all kinds of ways to be creative, and each of us knows what that feels like for ourselves. At the same time, we may wish to be more creative or creative all the time. How is that possible?

Direct download: 132_Where_Creativty_Comes_From.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:43am EDT

I am not talking here about the Ageless Wisdom, the Wisdom of the Ages, or even the Age of Wisdom, but rather just the wisdom that comes with age, with growing older. And it's not what you might think.

 

Realization is everything. Intellectualization, what we 'think' and what Shakespeare called the "pale cast of thought" is often but a sad second-hand reflection of the reality, as I will try to point out here. And I had help, so perhaps I will start there.

Direct download: 131_The_Wisdom_of_Age.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:41am EDT

One of the more intriguing areas of Tibetan Buddhism (especially for me) are what is called "terma," which are precious dharma treasures that are hidden (and waiting to be found) in the earth and also right in the mind itself. These terma or mind treasures come to light and are found only when the world is ready to receive them.

 

 

The Tibetans have so many areas of life where they have done something really elegant, while the equivalent approach has never occurred to those of us here in the West, although we have the same opportunities. No one ever pointed it out to us. Terma is one of these topics that should interest us and I will attempt to explain why.

Direct download: 130_Tertons_-_Treasure_Finders.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:36am EDT

Any technique is the remainder of a full-blown realization, the final result of something lived through, the "Aha!" experience of someone else, and not our own. We would have to make it our own. After all, the dharma that Shakyamuni Buddha left us is nothing more than a method or technique, a way to enlighten ourselves which we are left to figure out. Vajrayana Buddhism is all about working with a guide or teacher to make sure we get it right. We can't always trust ourselves, especially starting out.

 

Learning any technique by rote, and not experiencing it, much less realizing it fully, is not only useless, it is dangerous, one more obscuration on top of all our other obscurations. It can poison our mind for the topic, whatever that is.

Direct download: 128_Technique_as_Poison.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:30am EDT

I suppose I should say something about how things last, an enduring topic that has fascinated me for decades. And I am not talking about ordinary memories, although some of them do indeed persist. I am talking about the mind itself and the half-life of what's in it.

 

As we all know, the mind can be amorphous, even cloudy. Not everything in the mind is clear and shining. There are dark areas too, of course. But there are also things that shine like the sun in the firmament of mind. How does that work? What lasts and what is lasting?

Direct download: 127_The_Length_of_Last.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:28am EDT

If we read even a little Tibetan Buddhism, we can't get away from its focus on the present moment. As mentioned in earlier blogs, the Buddhists are not so worried about "Being Here Now" as Baba Ram Das pointed out, as with not altering the present in any way. Ultimately the Tibetan Buddhists are interested in recognizing the true nature of the mind (past, present, or future) and resting in that nature.  And of course they rule out the past and the future as just something seen from the present darkly. They only really say one thing.

 

Allow the mind to rest in the present, just as it is.

Direct download: 126_Present_Circumstances.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:26am EDT

I have heard from a number of you asking for more comments on substances that I have known. After nicotine, alcohol was next on my list of bad habits to come to terms with. And although cigarettes and tobacco are pretty much guaranteed to kill you in the end, alcohol comes damn close and is, in my experience, a lot more destructive emotionally and psychologically. While tobacco definitely harmed me big-time and is also in the process of killing many people I care for, alcohol has been far more destructive to friends and extended family in actuality. Let me start out with a side-effect of alcohol that I discovered for myself, one that few drinkers are aware of, but most are subject to. 

Direct download: 125_Loss_Substance_Alcohol.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:18am EDT

The clinical definition of a sadist is someone who derives pleasure out of hurting others, and a masochist as one who enjoys being hurt. I am going to dispense with all of that, including the combination of the two which is called sadomasochism. Instead what interests me is how we can use this concept in dharma practice, not only with others, but especially with ourselves.

Direct download: 109_Masochism_and_Sadism.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:19am EDT

When it comes to sensitive subjects, one of them has to be our own "worthiness." If I ask for a show of hands of those of you who are working toward enlightenment, many of you reading this would respond. However, if I ask how many of you feel you are worthy of enlightenment, the response could be much less. Why is that? Why do we tend to not feel worthy?

Direct download: 124_Worthiness.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:47pm EDT

I talked dharma back in the late 1950s, and played at meditation in the 1960s, but it was not until the 1970s that that the dharma really got hold of me. That would be when I met the great siddha Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at Ann Arbor in February of 1974. I got to be his chauffeur for a time. It was clear to me on contact with Trungpa that here was an authentic supramundane being, and this was not my first rodeo.

Direct download: 123_My_Dharma_Recollections.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:45pm EDT

All of this time I may have been focusing on understanding the emptiness side of the equation (i.e. being is empty), when perhaps it makes more sense to consider being "AND" emptiness and note that our being may be running on empty, as in: "being" is not (and never has been) there really that much, if at all. That's a twist.

Direct download: 122_An_Emptiness_of_Being.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:43pm EDT

When I came on the scene there were two approaches to learning Tibetan Buddhism in North America, students who practice traditional texts in English and those of us who do it in Tibetan.

 

Early on I had a brush with those who advocated English when I met the great siddha, the Ven. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, but as it turned out my own root lama was more conservative, the Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, and he had us do our dharma practice in Tibetan.

Direct download: 121_Tibetan_Dharma_in_America.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:38pm EDT

text

Direct download: DHARMA_CHART_-_KARMA_CHART.pdf
Category:general -- posted at: 12:08pm EDT

"In for a penny, in for a pound." is an old saying about getting involved. Anyway, getting involved with the dharma and our monastery (Karma Triyana Dharmachakra) in the mountains high above Woodstock, New York was for me not quite a hop, skip, and a jump. It took time and it took encouragement. And we were newbies. I love the dharma, but I also had some thoughts about joining a dharma organization. Here is my story.

Direct download: 120_Organized_Dharma.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:13am EDT

I am sensitive to religious proselytizing, yet I am very enthused about the dharma, as readers of this blog must know. I am sure the Christians feel the same way about their message. I wonder how my enthusiasm compares to the message of Christian evangelism.

 

"Have your heard the 'Good News'" is what the Christians say. As a dharma practitioner and enthusiast, I feel that the dharma is also good news, and that if folks have not heard about the dharma, they might be interested. So what's the difference between my view and the Christians in my neighborhood who go around door-to-door? There is a difference.

Direct download: 119_Sharing_the_Dharma.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:10am EDT

There are a few key or very important terms in Tibetan Buddhism and the concept of "emptiness" is one of them, but it can be hard to define. In addition, there are several distinct ways the concept of emptiness is used in the teachings, and they can be confusing. Let's just start with how the Buddha defined emptiness and go from there

Direct download: 118_Emptiness_of_Self.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:07am EDT

I can see that this going to be fun, like walking a tightrope, but the concept of Dakini is an important one in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, one often avoided because it has subtle (and not so subtle) sexual connotations attached to it, i.e. dakinis are often said to be the physical consorts of gurus, and vice versa. I can't speak to that, but we can sort through some of the ideas surrounding dakini lore.

Direct download: 117_Dakini.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:04am EDT

I'm not referring to ecology, the environment, whole and organic foods, and all those endeavors that many of us are already involved in. Young people here in Northern Michigan are right at the forefront of all that. What I am referring to is something different and I don't even know what to call it, so "Organic Mind" is close enough for now, and the premise is simple.

Direct download: 116_Organic_Mind.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:42am EDT

Basic meditation involves learning how to allow our mind to just relax. The Tibetan Buddhists have a slogan (as translated by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche) that reads "Relax as it is" and another traditional admonition "Don't alter the present," which both essentially are saying the same thing. My point here is that beginning meditation involves learning to just allow our mind rest, and the accent here is on resting. "Resting" means ordinary rest like we do at the end of a hard day's work when we plop down on the couch and take a deep sigh. It is the same thing. Rest is rest.

Direct download: 115_Living_by_Intuition.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:39am EDT

I blogged recently about intuition and how to make it a constant part of our life-process, instead of just a sometimes thing. I don't want to beat a dead horse, as they say, but it may help those of you interested in all of this if I drill down a little bit more. I am referring to our being more in the moment and what is called Insight Meditation.

The freshness of the moment reminds me of when my wife and I used to raise dogs (by accident of course), and here were all these little fat puppies lined up on their mom nursing, about as content as anyone could be. That is kind of how I feel about being in the present moment – authentically content.

Direct download: 114_Authentic_Insight.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:32am EDT

Some years ago I had the opportunity to take a number of trips into the Florida Everglades and, as a naturalist, totally loved it. But one thing that worried me down there was how shallow the groundwater in Florida is and how easily polluted. For some reason the pollution there sticks in my mind as the archetype for the following mini-rant.

The analogy is that our mind, at least our mental "surface" water, is also easily polluted. As a kid I grew up with five-and-ten-cent stores all around. There were also expensive things, of course, but all of the little stuff was priced low. Those days are gone. Everything today is offered at a premium price, as if it were the keystone or missing ingredient, the pearl of great price. The obvious result is that now it is much more expensive just to live. There are no five-and-ten-cent stores and even the dollar-stores that replaced them often have things that cost more than a dollar.

Direct download: 113_Sensory_Pollution.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:26am EDT

Ignoring the actual nature of the mind is what spiritual ignorance is all about. This blog is about what are called the Three Poisons, of which the root poison is Ignorance. Looking at what we ignore, and becoming aware of what we distract ourselves with instead, leads us to the deconstruction of the Self, and true transmigration, the transference of our identification from self-related concerns to actual true nature of the mind itself.

Direct download: 112_Ignore_Ignorance.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:48pm EDT

This blog is about those stones in our pathway that we call doubts. I have talked a lot about obscurations, mostly referring to self-imposed blinders that make it difficult to intuitively see, and these are, of course, obstacles to our spiritual development. But we also have plain-old "obstacles," external obstructions (events, conditions, or whatever) that appear in our life-path seemingly from the outside, and these can be harder to internalize, much less realize; they are something we can't do much about, except in our response to them.

Direct download: 111_Without_A_Doubt.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:41pm EDT

This is a blog, with some personal rambling, on ostensibly what is called that Fourth Thought of the "Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind to the Dharma," a classic Tibetan Buddhist concept. The Fourth Thought is sometimes called the "shortcomings of Samsara," the basic undependability of this cyclic world of up and down that we all live in. The rambling part of it has to do with resting in the present moment and not wanting to take action other than allowing the mind to rest, i.e. not altering the mind. 

Direct download: 110_World_Sorrow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:46pm EDT

The actual technique of sitting meditation practice is only part of the story. Equally important is our intent and attitude both going into a meditation session and how we seal or close a session when we are done. The importance of aspirations before practice and the dedication of merit after practice are explained, along with the key concept of what are called the "Two Accumulations," that of merit and awareness or wisdom"

Direct download: 003_Meditation_Aspirations_and_Dedication.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:32pm EDT

The physical posture and mind-training technique necessary to learn basic meditation. This includes finding the correct object of meditation, and then learning the actual sitting posture, which is called The Seven Point Posture of Vairochana (emptiness). Then the seven points are explained, as well as how long sessions should be, care in not staining the practice, consistency, learning to relax as it is, and what is called the "wish-fulfilling jewel."

Direct download: 002_Basic_Meditation_Technique-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:42pm EDT

This is an introduction to basic Shamata practice as used by Tibetan Buddhists to learn to allow the mind to rest naturally.

Direct download: 001_Introduction_to_Basic_Meditation_-PD.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:58am EDT