Where would I possibly find enough leather
With which to cover the surface of the earth?
But wearing leather just on the soles of my shoes
Is equivalent to covering the earth with it.
Likewise it is not possible for me
To restrain the external course of things;
But should I restrain this mind of mine
What would be the need to restrain all else?—Shantideva A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Eighth century
“Warning: If you don’t have room in your living room for an elephant—don’t make friends with the elephant trainer." —Sufi proverb
“There are no impediments to meditation. The very thought of such obstacles in the greatest impediment. ” —Ramana Maharshi
“The moment you find a technique, you become attached to it and there is no longer any open listening. The mind clings to methods because it finds safety in them. Real questioning has no methods, no knowing—just wondering freely, vulnerably, what it is that is actually happening inside and out. Not the word, not the idea of it, not the reaction to it, but the simple fact.”—Toni Packer
Chagdud Tulku escaped from Tibet during the Chinese occupation and came to the United States in 1979, where he founded Chagdud Gonpa which has centers all over the world. For a fascinating account of his life, see his autobiography, Lord of the Dance, Padma Publishing, 1992.
To come to an understanding of impermanence and a genuine desire to make others happy in this brief opportunity we have together represents the beginning of true spiritual practice. This kind of sincerity truly catalyzes transformation of mind and being. We don’t have to shave our heads or wear special robes. We don’t have to leave home or sleep on a bed of stone. Spiritual practice doesn’t require austere conditions, only a good heart and the maturity to comprehend impermanence. This will lead to progress.
On the other hand, if we only make a show of spirituality, burning the right incense, sitting the right way, speaking the right words, we’re liable to become more proud, more self-righteous, condescending, and faultfinding. Such false practice won’t help us or others at all. The purpose of spiritual practice is not to increase our faults. When it’s done with a good heart and the knowledge of impermanence, practice can justifiably be called great.
Having heard this once, we may become inspired. It makes us warm inside, makes us happy, to hear such truths. But it’s a bit like patching a hole in our clothes: if we don’t sew the patch on well, pretty soon it’s going to start slipping and the hole’s going to show again.
This is where we come to contemplation and meditation. Even though we can be inspired and touched by the simplicity and profundity of a spiritual approach to life, still our habits are very strong and the world remains difficult for us to contend with. Effective practice requires a constant reiteration of what we know to be true.
Meditation is a process of stitching, of reminding ourselves again and again of the deeper truth—impermanence, loving kindness— until the patch is sewn on so strongly it becomes a part of the cloth and strengthens the whole garment.
Then we’re not shaken by outer circumstances. There is a kind of ease that comes when we understand the illusory nature of reality, when we comprehend the dreamlike quality of life, this impermanence that pervades everything. Even as it is it isn’t, and someday it won’t be at all. This doesn’t mean that we deny our involvement with life, but that we don’t take it quite so seriously; we approach it with less hope and fear. Then we’re like an adult playing with a child on the beach: the adult doesn’t suffer like the child if the sand castle is washed out to sea. Yet compassion arises in seeing the child’s suffering.
Compassion is natural to every one of us, but because we have deep, very self-centered habits, we need to cultivate it by contemplating the suffering of those who invest their dream with solidity. We need to develop a sincere, compassionate desire that their suffering will cease, that they will come to understand the dreamlike quality of life and thus avoid the agony that comes with the inevitable loss of things they value.
For twelve years, a very great Indian scholar and practitioner, Atisha, studied many texts, huge bodies of teachings and commentaries on the doctrine of the Buddha and the realizations of great lamas. After his years of study, he came to the conclusion that every single method—and the Buddha taught eighty-four thousand methods for achieving the transition from ordinary to extraordinary mind—came down to the essential point of good-heartedness.
When we merely talk about purity of heart it seems simple, but in difficult times it’s not so easy to maintain. If you are face to face with someone who hates you, someone who would hurt you, it’s very hard not to become angry and lose your loving kindness.
It is taught by the Buddha and by beings of infallible wisdom who know all causes and conditions of the past, present, and future that we have all had countless lifetimes. This may prove difficult for some of us to accept, because of course we haven’t achieved so high a degree of wisdom: we don’t know where we came from before we were born or where we will go after we die. But if we think about it, we live in the midst of today as a consequence of having had a yesterday, and similarly today supplies the basis for our having a tomorrow. It’s the same with the sequence of existence. We have this life, which means there was some previous basis for it, while the present itself forms the ground for what will occur next.
If our inherent wisdom were more fully revealed, we’d see that all beings—whether human, animal, or otherwise—at some time throughout countless lifetimes have shown us the kindness of parents, given us a body, protected us, enabled us to survive, provided education, understanding, and some sort of worldly training. It doesn’t matter what their roles are now or how difficult our relationships with them may be. It’s as if we are playing at make-believe. We’re like actors who come to believe we’re actually the characters we’re enacting.
When we understand this connection between ourselves and every other being, equanimity arises. We regard everyone, whether friend or foe, with consideration. Even though someone may prove difficult, it doesn’t mean that person hasn’t been important to us before.
When we see one who has once been our parent suffering terribly, our compassion deepens. We contemplate, “How sad—she doesn’t understand. If I understand a little bit more, it’s my responsibility to help her as much as I can.”
A perception like that softens us. Then, when we’re in a stressful situation, we think a moment before we react impulsively, responding with patience and compassion instead of anger. We try to be kind and helpful, and refrain from hurtful, self-interested, negative actions and faultfinding.
Applying spiritual practice in daily life begins when you wake up in the morning. Rejoice that you didn’t die in the night, knowing you have one more useful day—you can’t guarantee that you’ll have two. Then remind yourself of correct motivation. Instead of setting out to become rich and famous or to follow your own selfish interests, meet the day with an altruistic intention to help others. And renew your commitment every morning. Tell yourself, “With this day I’ll do the very best that I can. In the past I’ve done fairly well on some days, terribly on others. But since this day may be my last, I will offer my very best; I will do right by other people as much as I am able.”
Before you go to sleep at night, don’t just hit the pillow and pass out. Instead, review the day. Ask yourself: “How did I do? I had the intention not to hurt anybody—did I accomplish that? I meant to cultivate joy, compassion, love, equanimity—did I do so?” Think not just of this day, but of every day of your life. “Have I developed positive tendencies? Have I been basically a virtuous person? Or have I spent most of my time acting negatively, engaged in nonvirtuous activities?” Ask yourself these things critically and honestly. How does it come out when you really study the tallies?
If you find that you have fallen short, there’s no benefit to feeling guilty or blaming yourself. The point is to observe what you have done, because your harmful actions can be purified. Negativity is not marked indelibly in the ground of the mind. It can be changed. So look back. When you see your faults and downfalls, call upon a wisdom being. You don’t need to go to a special place, for there is no place where prayer is not heard. It doesn’t matter if you consider perfection to be God, Buddha, or a deity, as long as when you objectify it, there is no flaw, no fault, no limitation. From absolute perfection you gain the blessings of purification.
Confess, with that wisdom being as your witness, and sincerely regret the harm you’ve done, vowing not to repeat it. As you meditate, visualize light radiating from the object of perfection, cleansing you and purifying all the mistakes of your day, your life, every life you’ve lived.
When you look at your day, you may find that you were able to make others happy. Maybe you gave food to a hungry animal or practiced generosity, patience. Rather than becoming self-satisfied, resolve to do better tomorrow, to be more skillful, more compassionate in your interactions with others. Dedicate the positive energy created by your good actions to all beings, whoever they are, whatever condition they’re in, thinking, May this virtue relieve the suffering of beings; may it cause them short- and long-term happiness.
“Meditation allows us to directly participate in our lives instead of living life as an afterthought”
—Stephen Levine“The feminine leads us to spirituality, to our deepest self. What is the feminine in spiritual practice? It is meditation.”—Irina Tweedie
During the day, check your mind. How am I behaving? What is my real intention? You can’t really know anybody else’s mind; the only one you truly know is your own. Whenever you can, contemplate these thoughts: the preciousness of our human birth, impermanence, karma, the suffering of others.
In daily meditation practice we work with two aspects of the mind: its capacity to reason and conceptualize—the intellect—and the quality that is beyond thought-the pervasive, nonconceptual nature of mind. Using the rational faculty, contemplate. Then let the mind rest. Think and then relax; contemplate, then relax. Don’t use one or the other exclusively, but both together, like the two wings of a bird.
This isn’t something you do only sitting on a cushion. You can meditate this way anywhere—while driving your car, while working. It doesn’t require special props or a special environment. It can be practiced in all walks of life.
Some people think that if they meditate for fifteen minutes a day, they ought to become enlightened in a week and a half. But it doesn’t work like that. Even if you meditate and pray and contemplate for an hour of the day, that’s one hour you’re meditating and twenty-three you’re not. What are the chances of one person against twenty-three in a tug-of-war? One pulls one way, twenty-three the other—who’s going to win?
It’s not possible to accomplish what must be achieved in the ground of the mind with one hour of daily meditation. You have to pay attention to your spiritual process throughout the day, as you work, play, sleep; the mind always has to be moving toward the ultimate goal of enlightenment.
There are, of course, established centers where you can hear the teachings of the Buddha, places where you are exposed to a different world view, where you can meditate and contemplate in an environment in which others are doing likewise. It’s hard to make progress on your own, hard to change if you hear the teachings only once. It’s very helpful to visit such centers, but whether you can or not, you need to sew the patch on your clothes with a care that requires repetition, hearing and applying the teachings again and again.
When you are out and about in the world, keep your mind with what you are doing. If you are writing, keep your mind on the pen. If you are sewing, focus your mind on the stitch. Don’t get distracted. Don’t think of a hundred things at the same time. Don’t get going on what happened yesterday or what might happen in the future. It doesn’t matter what the work is if you focus the mind and stay with what you undertake. Hold to it closely, comfortable in what you do, and in that way you will train the mind.
Always check yourself thoroughly, reduce negative thoughts, speech, and behavior, increase those that are positive. Think carefully, and continually refocus, because you can get blurry very easily. What meditation produces is a constant refocusing. You have to bring pure intention back again and again. And then relax the mind, to allow a direct, subtle recognition of that which lies beyond all thought.
It doesn’t happen swiftly, but the mind can change. There was once a man in India who decided to measure his thoughts. It wasn’t easy, for though one can be determined to watch one’s thoughts, many get away, those not seen as they pass by, that come and go without our awareness. So this man started counting his thoughts and determining whether they were good or bad. He put down a white stone for every good, a black stone for every bad thought. At first this produced a huge pile of black stones, but very slowly, as the years went by, the pile of black stones became smaller and the white pile grew. That’s the kind of gradual progress we make with sincere effort. There’s nothing flashy about the progress of the mind; it’s very measured and steady, requiring diligence, attentiveness, patience, and enthusiastic perseverance.
In the tradition of Buddhism there are many profound teachings, but what we’ve been discussing is the essential sweet nectar of them all. Cultivating good heart throughout daily life, practicing virtue, equanimity, compassion, love, and joy—this is the way to enlightenment.
Chagdud Tulku, Gates to Buddhist Practice
“Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end.”—J. Krishnamurti
“Sometimes when they begin meditating, people tell me that it’s hopeless, that their thoughts are impossible to control. I assure them that this is a sign of improvement. Their mind has always been unruly; it’s just that they’re finally noticing it. ” —Chagdud Tulku
From Section Four: Meditation: The Inner Journey
Keys to the Open Gate, available in paperback & Kindle through Amazon:Meditation, 206
Chagdud Tulku Six Practices, 213
Flower Meditation Fringe Exercise; Following the Breath; Name That Thought; Walking Meditation; Hearing Meditation
Learning from Cats, 216 Deng Mlng-Dao
Observing Intention, 218 Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield
Mantra: Protection of the Mind, 220 Joel and Michelle Levey
The Way of the Pilgrim, 224 Kimberley Snow
Beginning Meditation, 226 Alan Watts
Raja Yoga. 227 Dadi Janki
Red Tara Practice, 231 Chagdud Tulku
Twelve Moons of Meditation, 236 Michelle Levey
How God Gives His Senses to the Soul That It May Use Them, 242 Mechtild Von Hackborn
The Body Remembers, 243 A talk with Barbara Mearns
"Remember," 249 A.L. Staveley
Joy Harjo Awareness, 250
Lectio Divina, 252 Kimberley Snow
Also see these classic books:
Joko Beck, Nothing Special: Liuing Zen, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
Hubert Benoit, Zen and the Psychology of Transformation: The Supreme Doctrine, Inner Traditions International, 1990.Thubten Chodron, What Color is Your Mind?, Snow Lion, 1993.
Ram Dass, Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook, Bantam, 1990.
Joseph Goldstein, The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation, Shambhala, 1983.
Lama Anagarika Govinda, Creative Meditation and Multi-Dimensional Consciousness, Quest, 1976.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, A Meditation Handbook, Tharpa, 1990.
Tenzin Gyatso, The XIV Dalai Lama, Kindness, Clarity and Insight, Snow Lion, 1985.
Thich Nhat Hanh, A Guide to Walking Meditation, Parallax, 1985 -, Being Peace, Parallax, 1985.
Aryeh Kalan, Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide, Schocken, 1985. Jack Kornfield, A Path With A Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life, Bantam, 1993.
_, Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation, Shambhala, 1987.
Stephen Levine, A Gradual Awakening, Doubleday, 1978.
_, Who Dies? An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying, Doubleday, 1982.
Thomas Merton, Contemplation in a World of Action, Doubleday, 1973.
Kathleen McDonald, How to Meditate, Wisdom, 1985.
Anthony de Mello, Sadhana: A Way to God, Christian Exercises in Eastern Form, Doubleday, 1984.
Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, Doubleday, 1957.
Lati Rinbochay, Denma Locho Rinbochay, Leah Zahler, and Jeffery Hopkins, Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism, Wisdom, 1983.
Kalu Rinpoche, The Gem Ornament of Manifold Oral Instructions, KDK Publications, 1983.
Ninian Smart, Buddhism & Christianity: Rivals and Allies, University of Hawaii, 1993.
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, HarperSanFrancisco, 1992.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Transforming Problems into Happiness, Wisdom,1993.
Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Weatherhill, 1986.
Chogyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Shambhala, 1973.
Chagdud Tulku, Gates to Buddhist Practice, Padma Publishing, 1993. Tarthang Tulku, Gesture of Balance, Dharma, 1977.
Allan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up, Wisdom, 1993.