Dear friends,
I implore myself and all of you to take this very moment to reflect and remember why we are here and what we are here for. We are her to work FOR the Dharma, not AGAINST what we perceive as non-Dharma.
If we write texts, articles, websites to prove somebody wrong, to bring somebody down, we only bring our own practice down.
If we write to offer the truth heard from our holy Lamas to those who might benefit, from the silence of meditating on all beings' good qualities, our lineage's blessings can manifest, and from these helpful hands may arise in the world of appearances. Or maybe not. Or not now. Or we fail to see them as what they are. Karma, obscurations.
We may fly to India and offer monks a home, but if we forget that we must rescue all beings it will be of limited value. 40.000 children starving to death daily - remember. Dogs abandoned on the highways we cruise towards 'important' destinations, legions of insects trampled under our pilgrim feet unnoticed, without a prayer from our 'buddhist' lips.
Hungry ghost multiplied by my greed, hell beings scalded by the lava of my anger. Who will be their protector?
Expelled monks can generate infinite merit by being faithful to their Lamas if they remain without hatred towards the expellors,
can silently inspire the thousands who have signed their little papers not to destroy their monastic institutions altogether, can pave the way, and WILL be taken care of by the DHARMA. Remember Atisha's advice.
If we can be the agents of Dharma, how wonderful!
And the Dharma begins and ends HERE in our own minds.
If there is anyone i cannot perceive as as precious as all Buddhas, it is because i cannot perceive my own Lama as Buddha, and because my practice of the Lojong teachings is shallow. It is because my 'compassion' excludes those whom i perceive as doing harm, which is the opposite of compassion.
If we are concerned about the future of Je Tsongkhapa's teachings which can save and bring to enlightenment's shore countless countless beings, we must become its very vessels before it's too late. Nothing can truly stop our lineage except our un-attainments. Concern and compassion is one thing, worry because we underestimate the power of our Lamas, yidams and protectors is another.
Please, let not arrogant statements allow us to become arrogant ourselves - i am talking about myself who has been guilty of this many times already. If i wish to please our Protector and to receive his help i must practice what he advises.
There are many things we cannot know for sure at this time; it will be revealed to us in good time.
There is one thing that is absolutely sure:
THIS IS ALL ONE ENDLESS MULTIFACETED INVITATION TO PRACTICE.
What is the essence of our tradition?
LAMRIM - LOJONG - MAHAMUDRA
-----------------
LAMRIM
- renunciation, compassion, correct view >
RENUNCIATION - thank you, misfortune and unhappiness: you teach me to give up looking for anything good in samsara, and to realize i must leave it ALL behind,
COMPASSION - without abandoning a SINGLE precious mother being, out of the profoundest compassion arising from
CORRECT VIEW - the realization that
all suffering is in truth utterly unnecessary and solely the consequence of the delusions invented by the self-grasping mind, which Lord Manjushri's madhyamika sword can cut at the very root.
---------------------
LOJONG
- taking whatever arises as the path
- wearing suffering as ornament
- "Whatever suffering there is, may it ripen on me; whatever happiness i have, may it ripen on sentient beings." -
"Even if someone whom i have helped
and in whom i have placed my hopes
does great wrong by harming me,
may i see them as an excellent spiritual friend."
------------
MAHAMUDRA
Whatever you perceive, whatever you proclaim - there is nothing that has not come from your own mind. Understand that this realization of mind is empty. Understanding the non-duality of the realization of mind and of voidness is wisdom. Meditation is the continuous concentration on this wisdom without any distraction. Deeds are accumulating merit and wisdom while you realize from the viewpoint of this meditation that everything is like an illusion. Once you are under the influence of these three, their practice will come even in dreams. Once it has come in dreams, it will come at the moment of death. When it comes at the moment of death, it will be present in the bardo. Once it is present in the bardo, there is certain to be accomplishment of the superior Siddhi, and you will become a Buddha.
Lord Atisha
----------------------
There are many things we CAN do, and providing information and hopefully inspiration for those with affinity on this website, writing letters, articles for newspapers, supporting Sangha are some of them.
There is one thing we MUST do, and before all else, and that is to practice Dharma truly and without prejudice. Otherwise whatever else we do is tainted and will not please Buddhas Je Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden, and will not bear the fruit of enlightenment for all beings' sake.
You don't need to believe HH the Dalai Lama is a Buddha to wish him only good. And if we believe that anyone is doing harm, we know what our Lamas and Protector who can speak to us directly have told us again and again - LAMRIM, LOJONG, MAHAMUDRA.
There is no 'SOLUTION', but there is an ANSWER from which all solutions will arise, and we must give it to ourselves and so to the world - LAMRIM, LOJONG, MAHAMUDRA.
There is nothing not encompassed by these three.
I beg all of us to let their spirit prevail here.
THANK YOU.
Yours, beggar
