Calm Abiding Meditaion

Guide to Calm Abiding Meditation Adapted by Pandita Thundrup Namgyal from an article by Thrangu Rinpoche Introduction The meditator eager to get exact instructions on meditating may be tempted to breeze through the sections on devotion and faith in the guru and focus on the very practical techniques such as how to hold one's posture in meditation, but this is to miss the whole essence of meditation, which is an all- encompassing way of viewing the world, a method of developing one's individual relationship to self and others Studying the Dharma We should begin by examining our mental disposition, which means turning our mind inwards and examining whether our attitude is pure or impure. Because we are just ordinary beings, sometimes our attitude will be pure and at other times it will be impure. There is nothing surprising about this. When we find our attitude is pure, we can rejoice and let it remain pure. When we find our attitude is impure, there's no reason to become disheartened, because we can change it. If we change it, again and again, little by little our negative attitude will naturally become pure. To develop this disposition for enlightenment, we should think that whatever we are doing, we are doing it to help all beings reach Buddhahood. The Need for Meditation When we do a physical action, this action can have either a positive or a negative result. When we say something, it can be either good or bad. So with words and actions we can see tangible results, but with thoughts there is no concrete action expressed. The mind, however, determines all of our physical and verbal actions because whatever we do, there is thought behind it. When that thought is positive, the actions that follow are good; when that thought is negative, the actions that follow are negative. The starting point of changing what we do is to change the way we think. When we try to change a mental disposition, we must modify our habits. We can do this though meditation, that is, using our mind in a more concentrated, controlled way. What is troubling the mind can be removed with meditation so our mind can exist in its purity. If our mind is distracted, we can change it into an undistracted mind through meditation. We can change bad habits into good habits through meditation. Then when we manage to change our mental habits, we can change our physical actions and verbal behavior. Once we have changed these, we can reach the ultimate goal of our practice, Buddhahood. Faith and Devotion The one thing common to all meditation practice is having the right motivation of wanting to benefit all persons, not just ourselves. With the practice of meditation, we can actually get the mind to rest on, what we want it to rest on and the mind becomes clearer and more peaceful. The Vajrayana tradition has developed a practice that makes it possible to go through this process much more quickly than other meditation practices. In this practice one prays to one's guru and to all the gurus that have come before and develops a very strong devotion--an openness to receive their blessings. If one prays to the gurus, one receives the blessing, and through this blessing one's meditation progresses rapidly and naturally. How is it possible that blessings are not felt by some? It is not because the Buddhas and the gurus feel, "Well, he doesn't pray to me, so I'm not going to give him blessings." The Buddhas and gurus look upon all beings with the same kindness and love as a mother has for her only son, but only persons open to these blessings can feel them. The compassion and the blessings of the Buddhas are there constantly, but there has to be something in beings that is open to receive the blessings. Faith and devotion are like a ring for the hook of the Buddhas' compassion and blessings to pull us out of samsara. No matter how much compassion the Buddhas have, without devotion nothing will happen. The Posture in Meditation There are two important points in meditation--the body and the mind. As far as the body is concerned, it is important to keep the body straight so that the subtle channels of the body will be straight, too. If these subtle channels are straight, then the subtle energies within these channels will circulate freely. There are many descriptions of good meditation posture and we will use the five-point description. The first point is that the body should be straight and upright. It should be "as straight as an arrow" which means one's back should be straight and one shouldn't lean forwards, backwards, or to either side. The second point is that the throat should be slightly bent downwards like a hook. There are two subtle channels inside the throat, and if they are bent slightly forward, the energy will circulate in them reducing mental agitation in one's meditation. Imagine a string tied to the crown of your head being pulled straight up. This will result in a slight drop of the chin. Breath in the through the nose and out through the mouth, relaxing the jaws and relax your eye muscles. You will find that your eyes are not completely shut, but slightly open.The third point is that the legs should be crossed the half lotus posture. The fourth point is to join the hands, placing the right fingers over the left and join the thumbs above them. The fifth point is to keep one's mind and body reasonably tight exerting a certain amount of effort so the body and mind are composed and focused. One should always maintain a certain amount of effort and alertness in the body and mind. The Mind in Meditation When one meditates, do it for a short time; but do it again and again and again. The whole point is to develop a habit of meditation. If one meditates at first for too long, the mind just becomes more and more agitated and difficult to control. If one meditates for a short time and renews the session many times, then each time the mind will be fresh and clear and able to settle down more easily. So meditate again and again until the habit of meditation grows stronger. It is important to control the mind in meditation. The uncontrolled mind is very strong and dangerous like an angry elephant. Not only can it not be controlled, but the mind just goes its own way. If a very strong negative feeling of anger or desire arises, we are normally not able to control it. But it is our mind, so we can control it if we use the right tools of mindfulness and awareness. Awareness knows exactly what we are doing while we are doing it. Mindfulness is having control of our mind and not letting it run out of control. When meditating, we should not follow a thought about the past, we should not anticipate the future, and we should not be involved with thoughts of the present. We should just relax and leave them alone by not following them one way or another. We must avoid following thoughts in our meditation because meditation is simply leaving things just as they are without being too relaxed or too tense. If we manage to do this, we will find that the mind calms down quite naturally by itself. If we use mindfulness and awareness properly in our meditation, our mind will become tranquil. There are two main obstacles to the tranquility of the mind. One is becoming too relaxed and the other is becoming too tense. When we become too relaxed, we start to follow our thoughts and become absorbed in them. When we are too tense, we make too much effort focusing on the idea of concentrating and being tranquil so that in the end our mind cannot remain tranquil and we become distracted. We have to constantly try to find the balance between being too tense and too relaxed by finding just the right amount of effort to put into our meditation Meditating on an Outer Object There are three main techniques of meditation: concentrating on an outer object, concentrating on an inner object, and concentrating on no object. The goal of meditation is to reach the point of not needing any object in meditation. But to prepare for this goal we need to gain familiarity with meditation using outer objects and then inner objects. In the beginning it is useful to meditate on an outer object such as a statue or candle, or even soothing music. Meditating on an outer object is not to examine or think about it, but to simply remain aware of it and not become distracted by other thoughts. If other thoughts arise, we should try to become aware of these thoughts as quickly as possible and immediately drop them and return our awareness to the statue. For the beginner this meditation is difficult to do for a very long time because we become lost in our thoughts very easily. So we meditate for a brief time with good concentration so our meditation doesn't become entangled with thoughts all the time. We do it for a short time in the beginning, and when we find that it is becoming a little easier, we can extend the duration of the meditation session. One just abandons all physical activity and remains very quiet when meditating. One should stop talking and stop thinking; just leave the mind at rest. If we start having an important thought that is distracting us from our meditation, we just gently bring our attention back to the object of mediation and rest in the awareness of it without thinking about it. If our mind starts to follow a thought, just recognize this fact and bring the mind back to the statue. If we practice this kind of meditation more and more, we will then gradually have more and more mental peace with the mind being able to concentrate and there will be increasing clarity of one's meditation. Insight Meditation In the practice of dharma, we have to work with our body, speech, and mind. The mind determines the quality of our physical and verbal activity. We are trying to free ourselves from problems and suffering and thus go beyond samsara. The root of samsaric existence is the defilements and as long as these are present, we cannot expect to have any lasting happiness. There are two ways through which we will be able to gain freedom from the defilements; both involve meditation. Through meditation we will first gain some mental tranquility which leads to having fewer thoughts. With fewer thoughts, we will have fewer negative thoughts leading to fewer negative actions. The seeds of karmic potential are still present in our consciousness, so we must develop an understanding of the nonexistence of "self." We therefore meditate on the actual nature of phenomena. The second aspect of meditation that can clear negativity away is insight meditation (vipashyana meditation). But to develop strong insight meditation, we must first develop strong tranquility meditation. Without tranquility meditation the mind just goes everywhere and we are not able to control it. Once we have developed tranquility meditation, we are able to use the mind in a controlled way. So if we decide to let it be at rest, we can do that. If we decide to focus it on something, we can also do that. The ideal way to gain tranquility meditation is to just let the mind rest naturally without any thoughts. But this is extremely difficult to achieve because we have become so used to having thoughts and being involved with them. Because we have always turned our minds towards objects outside of us, it is easier to use an external object for our meditation when we first begin to meditate. So the first step is to meditate on an outer object such as a small Buddha statue. Obstacles to Tranquility Meditation In meditation there are three main obstacles to actual tranquility meditation. The first obstacle is "thinking" instead of resting in awareness. The second is feeling sleepy. It's a feeling of boredom or dullness which leads to a major obstacle to clarity in meditation. The third obstacle is agitation in which the mind becomes very active and one has many thoughts and follows these so that the mind cannot rest at all. The way to correct this dullness is to readjust your posture and reaffirm our understanding of how much we can gain through meditation. Thinking this will create a feeling of happiness, and our inspiration and enthusiasm will be renewed so we will automatically correct our sinking mind. Meditation has the short term effect of creating tranquility and the long term effect of making one free from negativity and the causes of all unhappiness. Mental agitation is caused by distraction. Realign your mind and take deep breaths. You can use your mala to count out 27 breaths to calm your mind. Developing Clarity in Meditation To assist in developing clarity of mind, when a strong thought or emotion arises, examine its nature. What does it look like? Where does it reside? Where does it go when it subsides? Through this kind of examination we cultivate the meaning of emptiness and the illusory nature of phenomena. By developing concentration through our meditation, we can attain tranquility. It is taught that once one reaches a certain degree of mastery in meditation, it automatically brings great physical and mental comfort. This is because meditation reduces thoughts that are constantly distracting us or obstructing the nature of phenomena and this reduces our negative feelings. Meditation will also bring a very great feeling of happiness because little by little, we will be able to gain control over our thoughts and feelings (and I might add, the first 6 levels of consciousness). Post Meditation Practice As our concentration gets better little by little through the power of meditation, we will be able to expand this natural concentration to the rest of our life. Whether we are walking, sitting, talking to other people, or working we can learn to stop our mind from wandering. If we can eliminate distractions and develop better mental concentration, our life will automatically be better, which will also improve our worldly and dharma practice. We cannot depend on other people to modify our state of mind. Controlling our mind is entirely up to us. This is something we can do ourselves with a little mindfulness and awareness. Little by little as our concentration improves, we can turn our mind inwards more easily. As I have sad before, a bodhisattva is not a mirror to the negative emotions of others, but rather the light that eliminate the shadows of negativity. Mahamudra Meditation The true nature of mind is both emptiness and clarity. The path to enlightenment is a gradual realization of emptiness, the true nature of phenomena and the nature of mind. First one gains a theoretical understanding of this through the teachings of one’s guru and contemplation. Then, through mahamudra meditation, one comes to the direct recognition of the true nature of phenomena by looking at the true nature of the mind.

Mass Shootings and the 2nd Amendment

Mass shootings don’t have a single cause. Like all disasters, they are the culmination of missed opportunities, poor communication, shoddy work, ignoring the possible by supporting the probable, and the human condition. To avert, as much as possible, future events we must be open to discussions regarding hardening targets, allowing mental health experts to disclose relevant information, examine system failures and more, including examining the role of guns in our society. Alexander Hamilton supported the 2nd Amendment because he supported a well-regulated militia over a standing army. Thomas Jefferson supported it because he felt that citizens have a right to self-defense. In 2008, The Supreme Court upheld the rights of individuals to possess firearms unconnected to service in a militia, but for self-defense. It also found that, like most rights, the right is not unlimited, citing limitations based on previous criminal convictions, mental status and prohibitions on places guns could be carried. In this day and age, Hamilton’s argument seems outdated. In my opinion, there is no way any version, under current law, of an armed militia could defeat a government vested with nuclear weapons or drones that can eliminate pinpoint threats. This does not, in any way, negate Jefferson’s argument regarding the rights of self-defense. Recently, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a conversation about gun rights, questioning why Americans should have access to "military weapons." The military does not use “Assault-Style” semi-automatic rifles, but I think these types of weapons should be included in this conversation. She was referring to the relevance of Hamilton’s argument regarding an armed militia. "I think it is time for us to have a conversation about what the right to bear arms means in the modern world." I recently stumbled across a list of reasons why American’s “need” assault weapons by Evan Nappen, criminal attorney. Read it if you want, but it seems the most ridiculous justification I have ever seen. I would be open to hearing a reasonable justification for owning weapons like the AR-15 on lands protected by the US military or State National Guards. If anyone sites hunting, I would just say that I would hate to be the guy who dresses the carcass. It would be ripped to shreads. Here are the 101 reasons cited by Mr. Evans (you tell me): o 1. to help continue the American tradition of citizen/soldier. o 2. for recreation. o 3. to collect military small arms. o 4. to get quick extra shots at more game while hunting. o 5. to get quick extra shots at the same game while hunting. o 6. for more fun plinking. o 7. to defend yourself against a street gang. o 8. to defend yourself against mob violence. o 9. to defend yourself against looters. o 10. to shoot in a Civilian Marksmanship Program competition. o 11. to shoot in an “Action Rifle” or “Practical Rifle” target match. o 12. to assist the police in an emergency (e.g. 1966 Texas Tower Sniper incident, citizens assisted with M1's). o 13. to help defend the country from a foreign invasion. o 14. to help defend the country from an internal takeover. o 15. to help the firearms industry remain economically strong. o 16. to pay the federal tax on guns that goes to aid wildlife. o 17. to encourage further research into new firearm technology. o 18. to save time while shooting. o 19. to have increased reliability in functioning. o 20. to have a longer lasting firearm. o 21. to have a less costly/ more affordable firearm. o 22. to have an easier to manufacture firearm. o 23. to have an easier to repair firearm. o 24. to have an easier to take apart and clean firearm. o 25. to have a more versatile firearm. o 26. to own a highly weather resistant firearm. o 27. to appreciate the evolution of firearm technology. o 28. to defend your business. o 29. to defend your home. o 30. to defend your boat. o 31. to defend your camp. o 32. to defend your ranch. o 33. to defend your farm. o 34. to defend your family. o 35. to have reduced recoil when shooting. o 36. as an investment. o 37. as a military souvenir. o 38. as a hedge against inflation. o 39. because criminals statistically prefer revolvers over all other firearms. o 40. to have a more psychologically intimidating firearm. (often the mere presence of a firearm will stop a crime) o 41. to own a firearm least likely to be used in a crime. (less than 1% are assault firearms.) o 42. to own a firearm which purposely functions slower than other firearms thereby reducing recoil. (e.g. Remington 1100.) o 43. to own a firearm used in Olympic competition. o 44. to appreciate the mechanical genius of firearm designers. o 45. to have a firearm which uses external magazines. o 46. to shoot at the National Matches at Camp Perry. o 47. to reject anti-gun bias. o 48. to challenge “Big Brotherism”. o 49. to protect yourself against a pack of feral dogs. o 50. to own a firearm better for the physically handicapped. o 51. to save all firearms by not giving in to “salami” tactics. o 52. to do trick shooting (e.g. multiple aerial targets). o 53. to shoot military ammunition. (Inexpensive surplus) o 54. to be part of an armed populous, creating a tactical disadvantage for any potential enemies. o 55. to familiarize yourself with your country's military rifle. o 56. to familiarize yourself with a foreign country's military rifle. o 57. because they are interesting. o 58. to hang on your wall. o 59. to shoot clay targets. o 60. to shoot paper targets. o 61. to shoot Metallic Silhouettes. o 62. to exercise your constitutional rights. o 63. to exercise a natural right. o 64. to exercise a civil right. o 65. to exercise a fundamental right. o 66. to exercise an inalienable right. o 67. to exercise a human right. o 68. to defend yourself after a New York City-type blackout. o 69. to defend yourself against a Miami-type riot. o 70. to defend yourself after a St. Croix-type hurricane in which both officers and escaped prisoners have run amok. o 71. to avoid a “Tiananmen Square” in the U.S. o 72. to own a firearm in common use and therefore protected under the Heller decision. o 73. to protect livestock from predators. o 74. to show support for political ideals of the founding fathers. o 75. to own a firearm designed to wound rather than kill (according to the Dir. Of the Wound Ballistics Laboratory). o 76. to own a firearm not readily convertible to full automatic. o 77. to own a firearm with that “shoulder thingy that goes up.” o 78. to own a “state-of-the-art” firearm (e.g. FN SCAR). o 79. to own a “turn-of-the-century” firearm (e.g. Borchardt). o 80. which is more pleasant to shoot (lighter and less recoil). o 81. because all of your other firearms will be banned next. o 82. to own a firearm which is difficult to conceal. o 83. to own a firearm which the media glamorizes. o 84. to own a firearm which might be banned. o 85. to own a firearm which is banned. o 86. to own a firearm that is no frills and practical in design. o 87. to own on of the most mechanically-safe firearms. (e.g. Uzi). o 88. to own a firearm that is a “work of art”. o 89. to own a Valmet M-76 which the BATF says has no sporting use. o 90. to own a Valmet Hunter which the BATF says has sporting use. o 91. to own a firearm that made history (e.g. M-1 Carbine). o 92. to shoot a firearm that made history. o 93. to own a firearm that can be dropped and still function. o 94. to own a firearm that can be coated in mud and still function. o 95. to own a firearm that can be dunked in water and function. o 96. to own a firearm that can be frozen solid and still function. o 97. to own a firearm that can be buried in sand and still function. o 98. to be a prepared member of the unorganized militia as defined in the US Code (10 US Code Sect. 311 (a)). o 99. to distinguish between an object and its misuse. o 100.because you believe in freedom. o 101.if YOU say you need one.

The Uncertainty of Certainty - The Politics of Profit

I have had a hard time finding a reason to support Trump, but I cannot vote for Clinton. She has turned her public service into a cash machine for her personal enrichment. No speech is worth $500,000.00 - none, especially when it comes from the very institutions she claims to disdain. After leaving the Whitehouse "broke" and having trouble paying her multiple "mortgages" [while I lost my house], she joined the ranks of the 0.5%. The lower middle class is defined as those making less than $100,00.00 a year. You didn't know you were in the lower classes, did you? And Hillary - nearly $1,000,000 in net worth only 3 years after leaving office? How has your income fared in the last 3 years?

If Trump joins the House Republicans in their "Better Way Agenda", then I will support him. The Better Way addresses lifting American's out of poverty and is aimed at supporting small businesses while reigning in special interest loopholes that help big corporations and the wealthy. This is something Democrats have used as talking points while increasing the wellfare state. Bill Clinton did it when he cooperated with the Republican legislature and Obama has undone this great bipartison effort.

Hillary was by his side the entire way, especially during the first term of his presidency when he completely controlled both houses, the Senate and the House and pushed partisan healthcare while ignoring the Middle East, Homeland Security and Immigration - all of which he has opined about and has done nothing about but create illegal Executive Decisions struck down by the court. At least the judiciary respects the Constitution and its delineation of 3 co-equal branches of government.

Please read Ryan's "Better Way" agenda which addresses poverty, tax reform, national security, healthcare, cutting regulations and restoring constitutional authority. It's not an exciting read, but it could give Trump the detail and substance his campaign has so far lacked and if politicians would do what's right for the American People and not their careers, they should support it, too.

Hillary has bragged of her achievements in healthcare reform while First Lady! Since when was the First Lady an elected position? She never references her time as Secretary of State or her record as the Senator from New York while campaigning to be the one who selects the next Secretary of State.

I, like you, have my reservations about Trump, but staying home or not voting is an abnegation of your responsibility in a citizen state. At least make your decisions on fact and not feeling. This has been a completely emotionally driven presidential cycle so far and it is hard to tell what Trump may do, but we know what Clinton would do. Listen to the substance of her speeches - increasing the scope of social security? She said the other day I will "increase wages to increase spending to increase wages". What the hell does that even mean.

Public service is not meant to be a pathway to personal enrichment or a position of personal power to independently decide how we live our lives. We should ask ourselves why America's brightest and most accomplished citizens don't run for office. Trump is accomplished, though I would question his brightness, but he is not a Politician for Profit. He doesn't need it. He's already rich, maybe not as rich as he says, but clearly rich enough that he doesn't need a position of power to line his pockets like Hilary Clinton has done.When asked if she's always told the truth, she claims "I've always tried to." What does that mean. So, in a discordian challenge, "Mrs. Clinton, will you stop enriching yourself through political power if elected president?"

Okay, so I'm a little worked up - but I want to learn what the real issues are. How you vote will affect the supreme court, which has, for all you doubters out there, upheld marriage for all, abortion as a woman's right to decide and chided Obama on his Executive Decsions. As a point of fact, the Constitution does not specify the number of Judges sitting on the Supreme Court. There have been decades when there was an even number of judges on the court allowing split decisions to uphold the decisions of the lower federal courts and the country did just fine.

My Perspective on Bodhicitta - What It Means to You

 

The essence of the cultivation of bodhicitta is the desire to achieve perfect, complete enlightenment for the benefit others. (Gampopa)

The desire to practice bodhicitta is a basic tenet of Mahayana Buddhism. This implies that everything we do both in practice and in our daily lives is backed by the motivation to benefit others in all that we do. On the surface this seems an obvious and desirous achievement, but in reality it is not easy and, consequently we approach bodhicitta in a gradual and step-by-step manner.

First, we divide bodhicitta into two main categories: ultimate Bodhicitta and relative bodhicitta. So far, every sutra and commentary I’ve read on the subject teaches these backwards, beginning with the ultimate aspect of bodhicitta and then reviewing the relative benefit. We can approach any desire by enumerating our ultimate goal, our mission statement, if you will, but first we need to recognize that nearly everything we cover when discussing Mahayana Buddhism revolves around dealing with samsara, recognizing its attributes, discovering a path and methods for diminishing the suffering, negative emotions and so on associated with samsara.

So, as I’ve mentioned, the ultimate aim of bodhicitta is to achieve or even postpone enlightenment until we can take all other sentient beings with us on the road to liberation. That is a pretty hefty goal and not one that can be expected of those of us who are far from becoming Buddhas. So we start at the beginning with relative bodhicitta. Relative bodhicitta can be divided into two aspects: aspirational and actionable. Aspirational bodhicitta is a desire to generate bodhicitta. We’d really like to get on this path and incorporate it in our daily lives. But like many of our aspirations, this is no easy feat. Never the less, having the desire to achieve a positive attribute is the beginning of any activity. In the process of cultivating aspirational bodhicitta, we contemplate the benefits of bodhicitta. Most of us haven’t really convinced ourselves that we really want complete enlightenment. In my experience, many practioners go through the motions of listening, contemplating and meditation, but in reality, I think in the back of their minds, they really wish to just come back and have another shot at achieving another human life and not making the same mistakes or enjoying a “better” mode of living. But, in samsara, there is no “better” life. Understanding and having contemplated the essence of samsara, we should, by now, know that any samsaric existence, by its very nature, is associated with suffering. If, in our contemplations, we have concluded that liberation or enlightenment is beyond our reach, then way down deep, you have not fully understood the nature of impermanence and the other thoughts that turn the mind towards a spiritual path. In our deluded minds, we see others around us apparently enjoying quite luxurious and comfortable lives, but I can assure you that their very experience of this lifestyle is conducive to attachment and the belief that sensual pleasures and possessions can bring ultimate happiness, although, for a time, they seem to bring a momentary escape from some of the stress of day to day existence.

I do want to mention, however, and I hope you understand this; some pleasurable activities of samsara can be approached in a meditative way due to the all-encompassing and the single pointed mindfulness necessary to do them. The Buddhist Mahayana path, itself, is undertaken through the window of samsara and there are some activities that can be used to help us further our practice. Take for example, sailing. When one is sailing, one’s mind is completely focused on the task at hand and, approached like this, it can be an object-based form of shinay meditation. Also, let me stress, these are my thoughts and not those of my lineage or my lamas. But there are parallel examples to this when one thinks of tai chi or some other martial art which is meditative in nature. I am digressing, but I think it is important for you to understand that one can easily justify the benefits of recreation in samsara, and, if done with the guidance of your guru, some of these activities can be transformed into meditations which can lead one to understand that Buddhist practice and daily life are inseparable. We listen, contemplate and meditate, but then we think we are obligated to do what we must in daily life to provide food, clothing and shelter and think this is separate from our Buddhist practice. In fact, our practice is a full time occupation. But when we get a little more advanced in our practice, then the post-meditative phase is really the only place where the proficiency of our practices show and can be judged. Now, also let me say that it should be obvious that we can’t use these kinds of activities, even when taken as a meditation, and apply bodhicitta principles to it.

I’m going to digress again to give you a more concrete example. Perhaps I’ll write a book on this topic alone. I am a weight trainer. I work out with weights and for many years I had an extraordinary trainer who said to me “I will only train you if you do everything I say during a workout, save your questions for the end, don’t speak with others during your workout. Do every exercise I instruct to do with mindfulness, visualizing the correct form, anticipating the load and maintaining a single pointed focus on the movements. Don’t worry about your body. It will change. I promise you. Just follow my instructions. If you can’t do this I won’t train you.” Now, I’m sure this sounds very familiar. Listen, contemplate, visualize (as in yidam meditation), and maintain mindfulness and meditative concentration. Don’t worry about the results. In other words, do the practices as you’re instructed and don’t worry about whether you will become Buddha or achieve liberation. I am not saying that you should not question what you learn. In fact, this is very important. It is essential for one to build an intellectual foundation that one can have complete faith and confidence in in order to form the platform for a spiritual practice. Your intellectual foundation must constantly be challenged for it will change and modify as you begin to understand and experience the dharma through contemplation and meditation. It will happen if you are diligent and act with devoration, that is, the intention to minimize ego-clinging. Key to this is faith. I had absolute faith in my trainer. I’ve often thought of this word because without faith in what we’re doing, whatever it is, we will not succeed. But in what or whom are we placing our faith? These activities further our ability to maintain mindfulness and single pointed focus, but they really are not advancing bodhicitta. Knowing that, at the very least, we should keep aspirational bodhicitta in mind. Sailing for pleasure is a temporary thrill. Sailing with meditative concentration in mind furthers our skills but only in that it improves our ability to calm our minds during formal meditation. If you really limited your activities to those that promoted bodhicitta then you would abandon these mundane activities. I don’t think most practitioners are prepared to do this. This is why we approach bodhicitta in a gradual way, beginning with the aspirational aspect of it.

When our practice develops to the stage where we are actually ready to turn aspirational bodhicitta to action, then we must begin to apply method. The first aspect of this path is an examination of the six paramitas which are delineated in the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. They include cultivating generosity, discipline, patience, joyous effort, meditative concentration, and understanding the non-dualistic aspect of ultimate reality or emptiness. The last paramita can only be experienced through meditation and only when the mind has been stabilized enough to move from calm-abiding meditation to insight meditation. That is a topic for another time. I will only address the first five paramitas here because we are discussing Buddhist practice from a samsaric point of view.

When intentionally working to improve our actions through the lens of the paramitas, it is important to remember to apply the basic moral precepts at the same time. For example, suppose you come across a homeless man, destitute and lost. He’s hungry and asks you for a handout. What should you do? Give him $5 for a hamburger, go and buy him a hamburger, or, if you have the means, give him a few hundred dollars so he can eat and find a place to sleep? At first, if we had the means, the third option seems to be the most generous, but, as we can only know our own mind, we must be careful. This man’s karma, along with contributing causes and conditions, have led him to this state. Our tax money and other charities are available to help this man, but he has chosen not to utilize them. Now, I suppose I will be felt to be in violation of my Buddhist practice, but I think the best answer is to buy him a hamburger. With $5 he might go to McDonald’s or he might go buy a beer. With several hundred dollars, he may be compelled, by his own ability to apply mindfulness and his extreme attachments, to go to his drug dealer, or he may fall prey to his fellow homeless who could rob, injure or even kill this man to get the resources you so generously gave. The point is every action we take, even when acting within the six paramitas and applying the best ethical and moral decision we can, has consequences mostly unknown to us. This is because we may never know which of our actions creates the causes and conditions for karmic seeds to ripen.

So, how do we go about cultivating the six paramitas? We must be sure that whatever we do can in no way produce harm. Remember, you are working to improve yourself and your own practice for the benefit of others. So there is a fine line between doing this and imposing our practice on others. Generosity needs to be approached gradually just as bodhicitta. So first we generate aspirational generosity. We contemplate the real meaning of what it means to be generous in Buddhist terms and we meditate on generosity because it is best cultivated by allowing it to arise primordially from our own Buddha-nature. When we approach the paramitas in this manner, then our actions will be guided by our own primordial wisdom, the essence of mind. The most generous thing we can do is truly commit to bodhicitta, liberation for the benefit of all sentient beings. We can give away our material possessions or at the very least cultivate non-attachment to our stuff, and that is good, but most people do not give away the things most precious to them. They take their old clothes to the Salvation Army and give their worn-out furniture to their kids when they get their first apartment, not out of generosity, but so they can justify buying new furniture. So generosity in this manner is not generosity at all, but desire, craving and attachment. Now, I am certainly not suggesting that you should clean out your house and give away all your possessions. This is contrived generosity, not bodhicitta generosity. According to the sutras, generosity has three aspects: giving material goods, giving fearlessness, and giving dharma (not by teaching, but by practicing). For any act of giving material goods, we must fully understand our motivation, what we are giving, who we are giving to and how we are giving (Is it in an environment that will best serve the recipient or in an uncertain way that may create the causes the conditions and conditions for negative karmic seeds to ripen?)

So, in the same way, we examine our method of cultivating generosity, discipline, patience, joyous effort, and meditative concentration. These attributes and attitudes are meant to further your own achievement of ultimate bodhicitta.

Let’s look at the next paramita: discipline. What does this mean in Buddhist terms? Discipline is first our aspiration to stay true to our path and desire to practice bodhicitta. Second, discipline involves incorporating morals and ethics in all our activities of body, speech and mind. Some of these ethical and moral actions are enumerated in the Gampopa’s sutra “The Jewel Ornament of Liberation” and we have spoken of them many times. These are the desire to avoid harming or killing any sentient being, not taken what is not freely given, sexual misconduct, and avoiding substances that alter our ability to be mindful and maintain clarity of thought. The last ethical topic covered has to do with avoiding false speech. In my mind, this is the most difficult precept to follow and it has some subcategories mentioned in the sutra. These include lying, divisive speech, harsh words, idle talk, and even harmful thought. Every action begins with a thought, so it is our duty to purify all aspects of speech because they are the beginnings of harmful thoughts. The main method for the purification of speech and the cultivation of the other ethical activities is mindfulness. As we become more familiar with the true nature of mind, the essence of Buddha-nature, we will naturally act ethically. Why? Because, once again, our actions will not be contrived but a natural emanation of our own essence. Our actions will arise from our primordial nature. Primordial nature is pure and of infinite potential. This is all the more reason for us to practice ethics. Infinite potential means just that. So there is infinite potential for good and infinite potential for bad, in a subjective sense. Ultimately, these terms do not apply. Primordially, there is no bad-good. What arises as bad or good is a judgment in the realm of samsara. Liberation from samsara is the experience of our primordial nature, our pure essence with no karmic imprint, free of seeds that can arise as roses or weeds. If you contemplate on this you will see it to be true, but the point here is to maintain discipline by adhering to your commitments of refuge in the Buddha, dharma and sangha and by the continued effort to practice bodhicitta.

You may be seeing a pattern here when cultivating the paramitas. We first reflect on the faults and virtues associated with each. We try to define and classify the characteristics associated with them both through listening, contemplating and meditating on them and then by putting them into action. So we work to increase our ability to incorporate each paramita, perfecting its effects and observe and be mindful of the fruition of our practices. We can go through this process for each specific paramita. We’ve already done this for generosity and discipline. Now let’s do it with patience. What are the faults and virtues? Without patience we allow anger and hatred to fester. This happens as a result of our attachment to self and the ego that arises as a result. Ego, in turn, gives rise to pride and when our pride is attacked? Well, you can see how this goes. It is my true belief that pride, attachment and ignorance of the true nature of mind are the cause of all suffering. We’re talking about patience, but whenever I mention those three root causes of suffering, I am challenged. “What if I get sick? What does that have to do with pride or ignorance?” The illness itself is a result of karma, causes and conditions that created the pathogenic origin of disease. But you are not your body. Your body is a tool of your mind. So, whether we like to admit it or not, our previous karma and it’s necessary causes and conditions has given rise to disease, even if it was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time; even this arises from karma. But here is where we become impatient. We can’t allow our attachment to samsara to keep us from generating the patience we need to get well, rest, pursue treatment, or whatever. Our pride says “Why me? How could this happen to me?” My own lama, Tai Situ Rinpoche, says “Why not you?” What makes me so special that I should be immune from the results of karma? Patience truly is a virtue. Acting with patience enhances our ability to be mindful. The fruition or result of being patient is a mind that is at ease and more amenable to stability.

Joyous effort can be thought of as perseverance. Perseverance is the antidote to laziness. Laziness leads to listlessness and the abandonment of our practice. There is no such thing as aspirational practice. Practice means just that. If we no longer need to practice then we have achieved Buddhahood. We practice in order to achieve a complete obliteration of ignorance, attachment, negative emotions and habituation so that we won’t need to practice any more. In both the Armor Sutra and the Aksayamati-Requested Sutra, perseverance acts as a shield from afflicting emotions, non-virtuous activities and negative habituations of thought. As I said previously, thoughts are the first step towards action. Perseverance in purifying our thoughts is the application of method. In this way, being mindful of our thoughts and actions is the first and most important step towards liberation. Joyous effort is the abandonment of self and ego-clinging to achieve action bodhicitta. In examining efforts and exertions to achieve bodhicitta we are committing ourselves to acting for the benefit of all sentient beings. What is a sentient being? In the West, I think we tend to define sentient beings as a creature that is aware of its own existence. This is an acceptable way to begin to enact bodhicitta. We can even narrow the field more than that. LhaTong is a meditative practice which is also known as “Giving or Sending”. The practitioner develops the idea that on the in-breath he or she is breathing in all the sufferings of sentient beings and on the out-breath, breathes out loving-kindness and compassion, thus taking on the suffering and providing comfort and happiness to the recipient. True LhaTong is all-inclusive meaning that no sentient being is excluded from your thoughts, not a friend, an enemy nor anyone at all. This is quite a challenge for most of us as there are some people whose very existence gives us the shivers. This is inconsequential. In Buddhism, a sentient being is defined as any living creature whose essence is Buddha-nature. That includes me, you, the birds and beasts and even the bacteria that flourish in our intestines. This is a pretty hefty load to bear so I’m telling you not to worry about it. Begin your practice by taking in the problems of someone you love and giving the compassion and love to those who are no challenge, a sick mother, your financially challenged friend and the like. When you start your practice like this then joyous effort is no effort at all. Later, when you are more comfortable with the practice, expand it to a larger circle of friends and acquaintances and then include some you’re not so attached to. We’ve looked at sentiency from a both a Western and Eastern point of view and I realize it is very difficult to have bodhicitta to a bacterium that is making you sick. Don’t worry about it. As your practice improves, you will see that this kind of joyous effort arises primordially. You don’t have to think about it. It just happens. That is the fruition of joyous effort.

Finally, we’ll look at meditative concentration. This is the Buddhist way of saying contemplation. I think the former term is confusing as it implies a kind of logical way of thinking while in a meditative state. I’m not saying that a meditative state is trance-like or anything beyond your natural ability, but never-the-less, in this case I’m talking about sitting in solitude and mulling over all of the ideas presented to you in your readings or by your teacher. You dissect the logic, accepting what fits your paradigm and tossing out what doesn’t make any sense to you at the moment. Why? I am going to reiterate an earlier point: It is imperative that you build a perfectly logical intellectual foundation for your practice. It is only in this way that you can cultivate absolute faith in what you’re doing. And this is where we started, with faith. For us in the West, faith is an extraordinarily difficult thing to give. We don’t have faith in our friends, family or often even ourselves. Why is faith so difficult for us to generate? I think in our society we are encouraged to be independent and free thinkers. That’s good. It is not incompatible with Buddhism. I don’t want you to blindly follow the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni or anyone else. I want you to tear your teachings apart. Look for holes. Examine every avenue until you can fully accept what fits your intellect. That’s how you engender faith. Most of us have some degree of faith in our parents, especially as children when we are so dependent on them for our well-being and safety. Revering your mother and father is very important to a Buddhist because all of us and everyone else could have at one time been each other’s mother or father in another incarnation. This is the Buddhist view. Reincarnation is another very difficult subject for people who are even afraid to speak of death. I will address this in another lesson. It is really not that difficult a concept when one considers the ultimate essence of who you really are, but before we worry about that, it is necessary and fitting to understand bodhicitta, aspirational, actionable and in its ultimate sense. So far, I have only referred to the first two.

Ultimate bodhicitta is the perfection of method, the fusion of wisdom and compassion. I can try to logically explain to you the aspect of ultimate bodhicitta and I will, but one can only truly comprehend it through experience because it is non-dualistic in nature. That experience is found in meditation. The sutras define ultimate bodhicitta as the all-pervading emptiness endowed with the essence of compassion, clarity and lucidity of mind. That’s a headful isn’t it? Emptiness is the essence of the Heart Sutra and we will examine that in detail later on. For now, practice aspirational bodhicitta and actionable bodhicitta, if you can. One who is actually practicing actionable bodhicitta is known as a bodhisattva and there are considerable obligations associated with that. I think the biggest pitfall here is to allow one’s self to slip into a prideful sort of bodhicitta thinking “I’m all that and look at me because I’m so advanced in my practice.” Be careful, very careful. Dedicating one’s life to activities done for the benefit of others is a great responsibility and is easily abandoned and abused. Practicing aspirational bodhicitta is a wonderful progression. When you are ready to commit to actionable bodhicitta in a completely detached, yet compassionate way, you must clearly understand the karma associated with moving from an aspirational thought to actual action. Intention is as important as action. Thoughts are the root cause of most suffering. So, when we speak of bodhicitta we can never abandon our commitment to an ethical and moral path. We can begin to put some structure in place by practicing the paramitas and then allowing ourselves to be open to teachings and self-arising thoughts that show us other ways to expand the bodhisattva path in all we do.

Through meditation, we can get some experience of primordial wisdom, Buddha-nature and only through meditation as this experience is non-dualistic. If you are committed to your practice with joy and compassion and diligently continue to follow your path of meditation then you will have more frequent glimpses of your primordial essence.

We have studied the eight levels of consciousness. The first six are approachable in a dualistic sense. We can talk about ways to diminish our negative emotions through cultivating mindfulness and find methods to create new ways of looking at our sensory experiences. But in looking at the seventh consciousness, the klesha mind, we see that this is where habitual and highly embedded behaviors lie that we are often totally unaware of, the kind of things others point out to us but we frequently deny. I have been told that I have been arrogant, prideful, and an entire host of other descriptions I’d rather not discuss. But the point is, these behavior and attributes were evident to others. As we work consciously to eliminate the poisons of ignorance, pride, anger and attachment, we use the same methods of listening, contemplating and meditating. It is through meditation that what we have contemplated settles into our ground consciousness, allowing primordial wisdom to become more apparent and affective in our samsaric lives. This is how kleshas are destroyed. I think of it like this: suppose the klesha mind is like chicken wire in the snow. The more it snows (that is the more negativity we generate), the more it adheres to the wire, obscuring what lies beneath. Through practice, we begin to melt the snow, allowing the bright light of Buddha-nature to shine through. The more the light shines through, the more the snow melts. When all the snow melts, your mind is resting in your ultimate essence and that’s what practice is all about. All through the process of melting the snows of the klesha mind and other negative attributes and emotions, our ultimate nature shines through more and more bringing with it the Ultimate Bodhicitta that is our long-term goal.

So contemplate bodhicitta. Begin by cultivating aspirational bodhicitta. When you are ready and have full confidence that you are at a point in your practice where you can be skillfully mindful and aware, then move on to actionable bodhicitta. Maintaining faith in your practice, ultimate bodhicitta will arise naturally. You don’t do anything in the samsaric sense for ultimate bodhicitta is an expression of the true non-dualistic existence of you.

On Achieving Enlightenment

I was asked recently on Quora how is it one can achieve enlightenment.

      First, let's define enlightenment from a Kagyu Buddhist standpoint. Enlightenment is the realization and experience of mind resting in its own primordial nature. Now, that sounds simple enough and it is, so, why aren't we all enlightened? It is the inherent aspects of samsara that block our ability to experience something that is already within us. In samsara we are "gifted" with form, feelings and sensations, perception, a disposition of character and consciousness, each aspect leading to the development of the other. "We" also exist as an subject where we seem to be separate from the things - objects - we perceive. This is called dualism; where "you" become the subject observer who perceives objects, experiences or internal thoughts that seem to arise separate from yourself.
     Mind resting in its own nature is thus obscured from direct experience by all the inherent characteristics imbued upon each aspect of what makes us "us". So form gives us the sensation and ideation that we are separate from all else in our world. Feelings impact how we perceive things and situations. (Think how easy it is to misinterpret someone's meaning when you are angry or how easy it is to not see someone for who they are when you are infatuated with them.) Perceptions lose their plasticity as we condition them in samsara. All this results in how others and one's self "perceives" who we are and our likeability, how we look, how we treat others and on and on.
     So, our task is to begin to break down all these barriers and find ways to catch a glimpse of what it even feels like to be in a state of mind resting in its own nature. Is it a quantum realm devoid of time and space? Is it nihilism? If we can learn to properly recognize what this state is in meditation, then, along with working to eliminating all the obscurations that keep us from not only catching a glimpse (dualistic), we can complete the journey and exist in this state.
Mind existing in its own nature also has characteristics that we "feel" or "perceive" dualistically that we interpret as bliss or lasting happiness or a stable mind. But no description or feeling related to enlightenment can possibly be enlightenment due to its very non-dualistic nature and the dualistic nature of description.
     On the Buddhist Path, we start out this seemingly over-whelming task by first recognizing that their are some foundational truths we need to understand, contemplate and incorporate into how we think and act. The first is to understand that the aggregates of form, feeling, perception, disposition and consciousness are inherent aspects of all sentient beings in samsara, but, being a human being is unique (we have the arrogance to think, anyway), in that we can contemplate our own existence and make decisions about the future. We can also whittle this population down to those who desire to pursue a spiritual path and enlightenment. We, in a somewhat superior tone, refer to these individuals as having a "precious human existence". This does not mean that all life is not precious; its just a poor translation passed down from generations past to enumerate this small group of people who have the desire to follow a path, are exposed to Buddhist teachings (dharma), are fortunate enough to have the physical and mental ability required to follow this path and, I'll add, fortunate enough to find a good teacher, guru or lama to guide them.
     Second, we must come to grips with the concept of impermanence. Nothing in samsara lasts, not good times, not bad times, not one's health, nor one's life. Everything is in a constant state of change and is temporary. It is important to really understand this because it is the basis for what is often called "letting go" or "attachment". In this sense, it does not mean that we actually have to give up everything we own and break off all of our relationships (although this is what some monks and nuns do, though I would argue that they create new ones upon entering a monastic setting - though one hears the odd story of a monk or someone living a minimalistic existence in a cave). What it really means is that because everything in samsara eventually decays, is lost, broken or dies; clinging attachment to things or people creates or heightens emotions leading to craving, desire and suffering and certainly building a blockade to our original goal of enlightenment.
      The third truth or aspect of samsara is that of karma: what ever we do today affects tomorrow. That's all it is but its a big "is" for everything we think, say, do or cause creates a karmic seed of potential for a future consequence and this becomes an issue, not only in our daily lives, but at the ultimate time of enlightenment which I will explain later. We can have lengthy discussions on what acts result in what kind of karma - does putting down a sick animal cause good karma or bad karma - was it done to benefit the animal or just the owner. Things like that, but for now it is just important to keep the concept in mind. The creation of an act or thought results in the "seed" of potential outcomes - karmic seeds. These seeds will only ripen if given the appropriate causes and conditions for them to do so. If I throw a seed of wheat in a field and don't provide it with sunlight, water and nutrients, it dies. If I do, it lives. So, sometimes we can avoid creating the causes and conditions that allow a seed to grow and sometimes we can't. We all have taken actions where we have attempted to alter the outcome by apology, regret or hard work, so this shouldn't be a big leap of faith. Karma and its potential for a good or bad result is obvious. If I spend all my money today, I don't have any tomorrow. If I alienate a friend, it is unlikely they will be for me when I need them.
The fourth is a set of truths, enumerated by the Buddha in his teachings on the "Four Noble Truths". To keep it simple, it just means that the very fact that we live in a dualistic experiential world we call samsara, we cannot avoid suffering. Not all the time, mind you. But even the wealthiest, healthiest, most beautiful person in the world cannot avoid, at the very minimum, sickness, old age and death. Most of us experience much more. For most of us, it seems that just when we have everything under control, someone pulls the rug out from under us and we have to start it all again. In samsara, it seems as though we fight one battle after the other and, in the end, lose the war. Of course, we can have very pleasant and happy experiences, as well, and even most of the time, but no one can avoid some degree of suffering. Those who are pursuing a spiritual path generally have recognized the importance of this precisely because they're experiencing more than their fair share. But, part of the Buddha's teaching was that there is a path from suffering and a way to experience lasting happiness.
     Now, if you're still with me, I tell you how.
     We start by developing simple mindfulness, that is being aware of the thoughts and feelings that arise in us at any one particular moment or as the result of a particular experience. If we begin to get angry and we can recognize it arising in our own minds, we can stop and decide that we will not let it go further. It's possible. It's not easy, but often just the recognition of a negative emotion can stop it from progressing. So, in these situations, they turn from bad experiences to lessons on how our minds work and how to control them at least at this minor level. So, mindfulness is very important to develop and will be even more important during meditation.
Although we must learn to stop and, hopefully, eliminate negative emotions, we must go further and eliminate another big obstacle to seeing our mind for what its true nature is and that is habitual thinking. Wasn't it Einstein that said the definition of an idiot is someone who does the same thing over and over again and expects a different result - or something like that? Well, you and I are idiots for we have conditioned our minds to habitually perceive experiences and emotions in much the same way when confronted with similar situations. We date the same kind of people and are surprised and unhappy when it doesn't work out. We try to recreate experiences without the same feeling - Santorini didn't seem this dirty the first time I was here! And the like. Breaking habitual thinking is difficult, but Buddhists try to do it by replacing one habit with another. We employ mindfulness, we employ contemplation before conclusion and we employ meditation.
     So, to catch up, to be on a Buddhist path toward enlightenment, we must be precious having experienced just enough suffering to know that we don't want to suffer anymore, but not experience so much suffering that we are incapable of being rational. We must accept the impermanent nature of all things from form to feelings to even consciousness itself (more on that later). We must understand the impact that karma has both in our daily lives and on the eventual wall it will build toward ultimate enlightenment. And we must recognize the nature of samsara that involves suffering and unhappiness (at least from time to time).
     The path out of this mess involves becoming mindful of it and our emotions and perceptions in samsara, breaking habitual thinking and learning to take on other obscurations (a teacher is helpful here) to allowing our Buddha nature to come forth - mind resting in itself. Through meditation, as we begin to calm the mind, allowing the constant stream of distracting thoughts to fall into the background, like rain when reading a book, we can catch a glimpse of the experience of mind resting in its own nature. This is just a glimpse. It is not enlightenment. Even eliminating all suffering, were such a thing possible, would only result in nirvana, a dualistic existence without suffering. But enlightenment is completely non-dualistic, no subject, no object, no perception or action between them. It is a state of pure potential influenced by karmic seeds.
     To get to a state of pure enlightenment, as you can see, is an arduous, but not impossible, task. It means letting go of form, feelings, dualistic perception, our dispositional nature and even consciousness. I have had a fair few arguments with my peers and teachers because I believe that what most Buddhists hope for is a better shot the next time around and not a complete dissolution towards emptiness. In some ways, this is embedded in Buddhist doctrine that implies that one must continue through the cycle of samsara, birth, sickness, old age and death, for countless eons, each time getting more skillful and experiencing all kinds of realms of existence before one can achieve enlightenment, so, naturally, this breeds this attitude that if I follow this path, I should have a better life and a better opportunity for spiritual growth the next time around. To me, its a self-fulfilling prophecy - a self-defeating prophecy. Tibetan Buddhism practice is rooted in the idea that one can achieve enlightenment in one life time.
      To achieve this one must eliminate all clinging-attachment, all negative emotions, all habitual ways of thinking, letting go of form, feelings, and the rest. This can be done but I think the biggest obstacle is one of the simplest to understand - fear. We are naturally afraid of the unknown. We can catch glimpses of what mind resting in its own nature is in meditation but we can't know it. What we are glimpsing is a perception of mind resting in its own nature - primordial mind that has always been there. It is a state of bliss and pure calm. 
     I have experienced this and the fear of it. Having had remarkable (and some not so remarkable) experiences in meditation I felt like I could have let go of everything and just have been. Then, I got scared. What of those I left behind, and so on. So, I talked to my teacher about this. First, he said there is nothing to fear and then he said you're not ready. You haven't really done the things you've professed to have done. Whoa. What did I miss? Quite a few things it seems - how extraordinarily powerful, even in subtle ways attachment is;  how "habituated" I was to the "feeling" that if I let go I would be dead.
     I am in no way enlightened, but, as you can see, the path to enlightenment is step by step with effort and consistency, based on an intellectual and an ever-expanding understanding of the dharma from morals and ethics to concepts of emptiness and non-self and making them so much a part of the way you think that they become second nature - you have absolute and complete faith in your understanding abolishing fear and attachment. I refer to these as "realizations".
     So, if one let's go of every aggregate of the human existence as we know it, with the last thing left being consciousness, itself, what do we have? Potential, infinite potential (at least when we have negated all karma). Both so-called good and bad karma influence potential, just like an observer of a quantum occurrence affects the outcome. As your foundation grows and you cultivate wisdom and compassion with the goal of lifting all sentient beings out of lives of suffering, you cultivate "good" karma. But I guarantee that very few of us can cultivate so much good that we end up with a net gain. I hope so, but our population as a whole has not demonstrated this so far. But you can.
     Negating "bad" karma is one of the main purposes of meditation, contemplation and compassion - to cultivate positive karma so that when all else is gone and only our Buddha-nature is left, though it would be best to have no karma, it is certainly better to have a net positive gain. This, then, influences our potential when we have not totally broken away from the cycle of samsara.
     When we let go of all dualism and the inherent fear of nihilism we come to the conclusion that there is not nothing left. This is the teaching on emptiness and the concepts of non-self. I won't go into it here, now, except to say when people ask me what is reborn? If I give up this life as I know it and die, what's left? My answer is infinite potential. It is a hard concept to grasp because we are so "me" oriented. What is "reincarnated" - better called incarnated - is potential influenced by karma. It is not "you" as "you" know yourself in this relative world of samsara. Even reincarnated Lamas are incarnate children with much the same qualities of the karmically seeded potential of their previous lineage holders (I might get some flack for saying that, but there it is) - not the actual person, but rather an extension of the lineage of that particular Lama.
     On the way toward enlightenment is a side shoot of Buddhist practice - that is a lessening of negative emotions, more compassion and better relationships with others, more clarity and stability of mind and awareness which leads to less suffering and more happiness. All this arises as our infinite potential begins to shine through the many obscurations it has towards complete liberation - complete liberation into a state of infinite potential not affected by any remaining karma and, thus, all is possible - contrary to nihilism where nothing is possible. I cannot predict or explain this state for to do so would be to digress to dualism. I do not know what it is like to experience infinite potential. It lies at the root of all of us, but how can I offer anything more than the knowledge that I have complete faith that it is the essence of all sentient beings and that eliminating all veils and blockades to its light is possible and desirable for this breaks us away from the cycle of samsara - complete elimination of suffering and the opportunity for anything. If we have, throughout our practice, lived moral lives with the best of intent for ourselves and others, then I believe this potential will result in wonderful things. My understanding is not a leap of faith, but a foundation built on years of study, contemplation and meditation. Wisdom takes experience and experience takes time - so some of us, at the end of our lives, have a book of wisdom that is useful on the path towards enlightenment. Others have photo albums, pictures of events they like to revisit but haven't learned the lesson of the experience. This is a problem that weighs on me as I watch a litany of "selfies" and pictures of plates of food someone had for dinner pop up on my Facebook Page.
     There are many schools of Buddhist thought and most are legitimate and based on the original teachings of the Buddha as well as commentaries by learned and accomplished practitioners that makes up the Dharma. My basis is in the Karma Kagyu School of Vajrayana Buddhism. It is taught in a traditional and methodical manner with study, contemplation, refuge vows, vows of bodhicitta, the four preliminary practices and empowerments for and practice of tantric meditative methods along with more simple Shinay (aka Samadhi) meditation. We learn to fuse Samadhi with Insight meditation (aka Vipisanna, which is really, in my mind, just a focused contemplation of Buddhist truths until they become part of one's foundational thought patterns, at which time they influence your experience in sitting meditation and result in profound experiences such as attaining Mahamudra - long periods of sitting in a state of mind resting within itself.) It is important to find the school (and hopefully the teacher) that fits with your goals, aptitudes, learning styles, belief systems and time. And anyone who has read this far has, I'm sure, started this investigation. I wish you luck.
      Of all the various paths in Buddhism, all of which are valid, Tibetan is probably the most difficult and time-consuming, but whatever path one chooses, one must be of right view, right effort and consistent in their practice to see results. Most of us won't achieve ultimate enlightenment in one lifetime, but it is ludicrous to set a goal to "almost" achieve something. So, we go on, learning to have faith in our practice which is built on a sturdy foundation of logic and experience. If all we gain is a life of joy and compassion where life's inevitable hiccups poke at us with less vigor from time to time, and we can remain of stable mind, cultivating wisdom, compassion and loving-kindness, then I say, "Bravo. That is a life well lived."
I realize this is practically a thesis, but if you made it through, then you have all my blessings and well wishes and hopes for the future - Pandita Thu'nam

On Why I Wear Kilts and How They Influenced the USA

I am a great fan of the Starz series Outlander based on the books by Diana Gabaldon. For the record, the series adaptation is much better than the books, all of which I’ve read and all of which lean toward historical romance fluff. However, Starz has done a fantastic job of recreating the times, dress, customs and politics of the early 18^th Century Scottish Highlands. Also for the record, I am biased. My 25 Great-Grandfather was Kenneth McAlpin, the first King of Scotland and my 12^th Great-Grandfather was the first Chief of Clan MacNeill, a highlander clan of the Western Isles. Now, of course, I’m also descended from the French, German, Scandinavian, English, and possibly some milkman or other.

I’ve been doing a lot of genealogical work lately and have concentrated my efforts on the Highland line for several reasons. First, it has the best documented and furthest reaching resources available going back to around 30 years BCE thanks to Ancient Roman censi and Catholic birth, baptismal, marriage and death records. Second, the Clan still exists as an organized entity. The Clan Chief still lives in Castle Kismul on the Island of Barra in the Western Hebrides of Scotland. And third, it’s fun. It allows you to live in a fantastical recreation of the highly romanticized Highland Culture presented in Outlander.

The basic story of Outlander is based on a young woman, just after the end of the War in Europe, who visits the Highlands on a second honeymoon to rebuild her fractured relationship with her husband whom she hasn’t spent more than a few days with in 6 years. Through no fault of her own, she falls through time to the early 1740’s Highland woodlands surrounding the Celtic standing stones known as Craig na Duhn and into the hands of a very nasty English ancestor of her husband called Black Jack Randall. She is rescued by a group of Highlander rebels led by Dougal MacKenzie. They are on the run from some mischief or other, but before they can go, a lad called Jamie must be attended to as he has dislocated his shoulder. When the somewhat dim Highlanders move to reset it, our heroine, Clare, comes to his rescue to reset the shoulder as she was a nurse during the War. From that point on, Clare, out of time and out of place, finds herself in one life-threatening situation after another, always saved by our hero, Jamie. The story is told primarily from the woman’s point of view, but Jamie is the embodiment of everything a woman (and not too few men) would love to have in a partner.

Outlander is a masterpiece. The photography is gorgeous. The script adaptation is gorgeous. The clothes are gorgeous. And Jamie is gorgeous. Seriously, he is a very handsome guy (Sam Heughan) and I’m not big on redheads. His character, Jamie, is a complicated character that can be stubborn and gentle, courageous and compassionate, heroic and sensitive. Women viewers dream of being swept off their feet. Men imagine themselves as him, conquering the world with a beautiful woman at their side. I imagine it both ways.

So, after discovering my clan, watching Outlander and learning something about Scottish history, I stepped out to a party wearing my clan’s kilt. There is actually a book titled “So You’re Going to Wear the Kilt!”. Really. The opening line is “The first consideration is a state of mind – your state of mind the first time you wear a kilt…the first time you wear it by yourself in daylight. You will be as nervous as a cat [at] a meeting of the American Kennel Club…Every time you hear a laugh, a whistle or a car honk, you will be sure it is meant for you.”

Okay. It was true, but not for long. I was walking down Lincoln Road on South Beach and two fairly macho, straight-looking guys came up to me and one of them said “I wish I had the balls to wear that!” I felt so Jamie! I felt courageous, brave, handsome, sexy and powerful. Now, I will say if you’re going to wear a kilt, you better mean it. You can’t be a wimp. Now I wear the kilt almost every day and I get compliments and come-ons and all kinds of attention. I get into clubs with velvet ropes around the block and the first available table at the currently-in restaurant. Why? I think when you wear a kilt you send a message of confidence and resolve.

The Highlanders were attacked and victimized for centuries, but they always fought back. They overcame the Vikings, Edward the Hammer, Henry VIII and Elizabeth who eventually flipped history by leaving her kingdom to James VI of Scotland/James I of Great Britain. But, they succumbed to politics and capitalism (not that there’s anything wrong with that). After the two Jacobite revolutions and the failure of Bonnie Prince Charlie to complete his conquests of the contravallation of the English, many Highlanders either escaped or became gulls, forced to emigrate to the America’s. Others came because they were no longer protected by the clan chiefs and sought economic relief and lands in the colonies, primarily North Carolina. As the century moved on, ancient agricultural techniques still used in the Highlands gave way to more efficient farms and the industry of the lowlands. Population growth, ironically the result of the new smallpox vaccination, forced others to seek space across the pond.

Tens of thousands of Highlanders emigrated to North America in the 17^th and 18^th Centuries. The first to come were adventurous individuals not looking for land, but rather furs. They got along well with the native population as they had similar tribal customs and even dress. Of course, later, Highlanders of the 18^th Century were granted large land grants, built great plantations and owned hundreds of slaves. In 1740, 340 Highlanders landed in Cape Fear. Only 22 individuals received land grants. One who held land and was a member of the Colonial Council was Neal MacNeill. He took responsibility for distributing funds to help settle Highlanders in the primarily coastal lands of North Carolina.  And my 5^th Great-Grandfather, Archibald McNeill settled many of his clan members in Cumberland County.

These Highlanders, banned from wearing the kilt in Britain after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden Moor in 1746, proudly held onto their culture in America. Here they freely practiced their Protestant religion, odd when you consider they tried to place a Catholic back on the throne in Scotland. To this day, Scots Highlanders can be seen wearing the kilt in North Carolina to the kirk, to special events and to the Highland Games, which are traditional annual events all over the United States. Their Highlanders ancestors were integral to the evolution of the revolution. For a long time they remained Loyalists or neutral. Why? Just like the Highlanders in Scotland, the American Highlanders spoke Gaelic and lived in relative isolation. Many of the grievances of the Northern Colonies just didn’t affect them. Additionally, Highland settlers were well aware of the British reprisals against Highlanders after their defeat at Culloden Moor who still lived in Scotland. For nearly a millennium and a half, Highlanders suffered greatly at the hands of their Southern neighbors. Some of the Highland settlers were retired British officers who lived on military pensions.

Defeat is never easy to accept. On April 16^th 1746 the Jacobites suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of the British at Culloden Moor east of Inverness and nearly 30 years later, on February 27^th 1776, they suffered another defeat when Highlander Loyalists, once again, participated in a sword-wielding charge. At Culloden, thousands lost their life. At Moore Creek Bridge, the Loyalist leader was killed, but the rest of the Highlanders scattered. 850 soldiers were captured at The Battle of Moore Creek Bridge, but it is hard to say how many were Highlanders as the Loyalist troops were made up of many different groups including some French troupes. Some Highlanders left North Carolina for Canada, but many Highlanders just never showed up for the war and were persecuted by the Patriot troops who marched through their lands near Cross Creek on their way to take on Cornwallis.

Highlanders are resilient people (or I wouldn’t be here!) and, after the war, participated in local and national government. The Declaration of Independence draws heavily from the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, a letter to the Pope pleading Scotland’s case for freedom from England. Interestingly, Thomas Jefferson was himself, of Scottish descent. James Wilson, a Scot from Fife and educated at the Universities of St. Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow during the Scottish Enlightenment, was one of only six who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Over 27 million Americans have Scottish ancestry as do 61% of all American Presidents. Other famous Scots include James Madison, Alexander Graham Bell, Jack Daniel, Bill Gates, Jimmy Stewart, Neil Armstrong, Lucille Ball, Reese Witherspoon and Ronald Reagan.

When George II finally removed the Highlander threat in 1746, he also instituted civil laws banning the wearing of the plaid kilt, the Gaelic language and disarmed the Highlanders. No wonder some 25,000 men, women and children came to North Carolina, alone between 1747 and 1775. Another 25,000 settled in the other colonies during the same time. The first Scot to see North America was a Christian Bard from the Western Hebrides who accompanied Bjarne Hefjolfsson on his voyage around Greenland in 985 - 986. The first Scot to set foot on North American soil was a slave owned by Leif Eriksson named Haki with his wife Hekja in 1010 CE. Since before Roman Emperor Hadrian built his wall in 128 CE, European Outlanders have considered Scottish Highlanders to be barbarians and feudal. There is no doubt that Highlanders were and are a proud people, independent in nature.( Spoiler Alert: Even Clare and Jamie make it to America to settle down and give rise to generations to come.)

So, when I wear the kilt it reminds me of how defeat and suffering can be turned into success. How single individuals can affect the history of all men without ever knowing it. I feel courageous, brave, handsome, sexy and powerful. And in wearing the kilt, I cultivate new relationships and meet all kinds of people from all over the world. I walk feeling calm and confident without depriving anyone else of their ability to feel the same. Sometimes I slip into a Scottish brogue just for fun. In my studies I’ve added Doric Scots and Gaelic to my linguistic library. These new experiences contribute to my own rich and interesting life and, I hope, to my ultimate goal of wisdom and compassion – a theme I often repeat.

So don’t worry if you are an Outlander. Relish in the under-appreciated Scottish history. Check out your own ancestry. You never know what you’ll find, but one thing is for sure: we are all the result of a living history from which we derive our values, customs, laws and country. The history of our country, beginning with a simple complaint of taxation without representation moving on through the great divide of the Civil War and now into a new age of challenges, has evolved to one where everyone really is free to follow his own path to the Highlands and beyond.

An Open Letter to Marco Rubio re: Gay Marriage

Dear Senator Rubio,

I understand that traditionally marriage has been between a man and a woman, but same-sex relationships have existed for thousands of years and in multiple species. Why an individual is homosexual has not been firmly established. A solely genetic pathway seems unlikely, as homosexual activity is a dead end, evolutionarily speaking. Other arguments refer to hormonal fluctuations in utero. Whatever the cause, I firmly believe it is biologic in its origin. Being homosexual is not a choice. Acting on your feelings is. I tried for many years to date women and was engaged to be married. I cancelled the engagement, not for my benefit, but for my fiancés benefit. It was not fair to involve her in a relationship where she could never experience all that she deserved. I am not talking about being unfaithful. I am referring to her inability to receive the love and attention she deserved. So after that break-up, my only choice was to live a life of isolation and loneliness or find someone whose love could be shared and allow me to concentrate on my career and contributing to the health and well-being of others.

I believe there are many intolerant gay people, just as there are many intolerant Republicans, but how does anyone’s ability to marry affect the success of anyone else’s marriage. This seems to be the argument – same-sex marriage is a threat to the institution of marriage. How? I don’t see how my parent’s marriage affected my brother’s or yours, for that matter. Since man has created art and writing, homosexual relationships have been documented from Ancient Greece, to South American tribes, from the South Pacific Islanders to Siberian and Southeast Asian and North American Shamans. Some cultures have found a niche for homosexuals from Greek Warriors to Spiritual Guides. Western culture has found niches for gay people, as well. In the 20^th Century, Gays were florists, artists, interior designers, film-makers and involved in other creative activities fueling the economy. Now, 38 years after I came out, we are lawyers, doctors, fireman, policeman, active military and anything else we wish to achieve. Gay marriage was inevitable in such an environment of acceptance.

The idea of a Gay Culture is only about 35 years old. Prior to that, homosexuals went underground and were isolated them from general society. The “Gay Pride” movement proposed that being homosexual was not a choice, but acting on your desires was okay. I struggled for ten years as a child and a teenager to try to understand what I was. When I was a kid I never knew there was another person who felt the way I did and was scared beyond belief. This constant stress took an enormous toll on my school work all the way through my Bachelor’s Degree. After I “Came Out” and met other people like me, my self-esteem was restored and I returned to school as a straight A post-baccalaureate student and eventually became Associate Director of Perioperative Services and Trauma Services at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where I frequently worked long hours and instituted new and higher standards of practice that were eventually adopted nationwide.

The reason I’m telling you this story is that I am afraid, as a gay Republican, that the party shows little tolerance and is perceived as an enemy of gay people. Gay marriage is now the law of the land. Although I don’t entirely agree with the Supreme Court decision forcing the various States to perform gay marriages, I don’t think it had any choice but to say that gay marriages performed in one state of the Union had to be recognized in all the others. But, whether you support it or not, it is the law.

What I am concerned with is this wave of fear regarding religious liberties. It seems to be an over-blown reaction to a non-existent problem. I think there is general agreement in the gay community that no religious institution can be forced to bless a gay union and most of us would not want our marriages catered or photographed by someone who didn’t want to do it. (However, there probably wouldn’t be too many catering companies or florists without gay people, anyway!) There will be plenty of other entrepreneurs ready to take the millions of dollars that will flow into the economy as a result of couples with plenty of disposable income. Many Gay people are as religious as any other Americans. Due to the suffering they have experienced, many gay people have a unique understanding of compassion and the wisdom that that suffering brings.

There are, also, good economic reasons to support and codify same-sex relationships. When two people commit to each other, legally and spiritually, they work harder to maintain that relationship. Maintaining any relationship goes way beyond what happens in private. In committing to share your life with someone else, you are also committing to establishing fiscal responsibility and financial security, monogamy, and an expectation of love through good times and bad. This is good for the nation because it decreases the costs incurred by the state to support an isolated, lonely, aged and sick individual with no other support system. It decreases the number of relationships one is likely to have which decreases the chance of the spread of disease and, when in a committed relationship, each party watches out for the other and, if allowed to adopt, create a true family with all the support systems available to straight people. This also makes fiscal sense.

There have been a number of studies that have shown that children of same-sex actually do better in school and are socially more adept. (U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents” 2010 study from the University of California-San Francisco, the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Amsterdam published in Pediatrics.; “Parent-Child Interaction Styles Between Gay and Lesbian Parents and Their Adopted Children” 2007 study from Florida State University published in the Journal of GLBT Family Studies; et al.) In establishing a family, same-sex couples have the same opportunity to build the support for their parents in old age, reducing the burden on the state, once again. Children, who may otherwise not be adopted, may be given the chance to have loving parents. Gay people are more likely to adopt older children or children of any race or creed and even special needs children. From my experience, because adoption is a serious decision, many gay parents are completely devoted to the well-being of their children. They chose to take on the responsibility understanding all that entails and they undergo thorough screening to ensure they can fulfill these responsibilities.

Additionally, same-sex relationships that involve a partner from another country are afforded the same opportunities as opposite-sex couples, providing for a legal path to citizenship and the security of knowing that you will not lose your opportunity to happiness due to deportation and politics. As the process is in place, this also saves both the state and the individuals considerable expense.

Societies for countless generations have found or created niches for homosexual individuals. I never thought I would see this pace of acceptance in my lifetime, but here we are. Perhaps, for religious reasons, you may not support gay marriage, but there are many churches and spiritual institutions that do and the majority of society supports gay marriage. It is beneficial to the State as it promotes fiscal responsibility and lowers health care costs.

I have contributed to your campaign because I believe that you will support conservative values of a free market, strong military, and minimal government intrusion into my right to happiness as long as it does not infringe on another’s right to happiness. I believe that you will uphold the constitution, unlike our current President. I want to work to convince others that you are the right person at the right time and I urge you to be thoughtful and mindful of the impression you make on the Gay Community. It is a strong voting block with considerable disposable income to support the candidate of their choice. On the issue of gay marriage, it is settled law and  I have not yet heard any argument about how one couple’s marriage affects the stability of another’s. I’m not sure I even understand the religious arguments. If one is Christian, than one believes in a merciful God who created all of us. Why would he even create gay people as a target of persecution? I can assure you that most of us would not choose such a difficult path if we didn’t have to. There may be a few young people who experiment or act out in a rebellious nature, but as one matures, if it was a choice, I’d certainly have chosen an easier path and the opportunity to create my own family.  We are what we are and even in societies that try to eliminate us in a literal sense, there are still people who under the worst conditions possible, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, are still gay.

I am blessed to live in the United States of America. We are truly an exceptional nation and the more equality grows, the stronger the Union. Gay people have it good here for the most part. I was beat up by the police when I was in my 20’s and denied entrance into Medical School in the early “80’s, but the times have changed rapidly. Compare that to “Gay Hanging Day” in Tehran every Wednesday. I have found what my community and employers expect of me is social responsibility and hard work with no regard to my sexual orientation.

If the Republican Party continues to appear as an enemy to Gay People whether true or not, the Party will suffer. Many independents lean left on social issues. There are many Gay people who are fiscally conservative, support the military and don’t support government by executive fiat.

I think it is a blessing that the Supreme Court has taken the argument of the legality of same-sex marriage off the table. Please don’t squander the opportunity. And, personally, I would ask you to do some self-introspection. What scares you about same-sex marriage? We don’t want to hurt anyone, The vast majority of us are just trying to get by in a terrible economy, worried about  our future and even the future of our democracy as it is attacked from the Left and foreign threats to the Homeland. Don’t let the Left define you. The aggressive rhetoric coming from some of your contenders is horrible and perpetuates the idea that Republicans are out of touch and intolerant. If you truly want to be the President of the Future and not repeat the failures of the past, then demonstrate tolerance and inclusion for if elected, you will be the President of all Americans of all races, creeds, religions, sexual-orientation and any other category you can imagine. If elected, you will have huge challenges and priorities. I know that you know that the Left and the liberal media will try to trap you into saying something that perpetuates Republicans as the enemies of minorities of all stripes.  I also realize that what is necessary to win the primary is different than the general election, but remember, there are gay Republicans who will vote in the primary and whose votes and dollars are just as important as any other Republican.

All I ask is that you stay true to being the Leader of the Future and the future tells us that tolerance will only grow in the electorate. Widen the base. Bring us in just as you hope to bring back the Latino and Black vote. If not, the GOP will just be perceived as the party of nasty, old, white men and will create the conditions for its own extinction.