Dharma Glimpses Podcast

The importance of setting clear boundaries • start with a clear beginning • sit down, slow down, and come into your body • take a relaxed, dignified, upright posture • breathe naturally and place your mind on the breath • focus on the outbreath with a light touch, yet with persistence: out, dissolve, gap… out, dissolve, gap • when you get distracted, simply bring the mind back, without judgment • end clearly, with the intention of taking the gentle, open, dignified attitude of meditation into your day

Learning to come into our body in a simple and direct way • psychological body vs. sensory body • start with just being still • “perching” vs completely settling in like a rotting log • noticing the effect of posture on your state of mind • feeling embodied whether sitting, walking, standing, or lying down • accepting your own body and posture with tenderness and appreciation

Sitting like a mountain: solid, immovable, content • meditation posture provides a container within which you can relax • sitting with uprightness and dignity (“head and shoulders”) • senses relaxed • soft front, strong back • bringing strength and vulnerability together creates greater stability • emphasizing awareness of the space around the body • letting the space reflect back on you

Our breath is our most intimate connection with life itself • we are continually in a process of exchanging inside and outside • the inbreath is taking in, and the outbreath is letting go • the breath is the central issue that we work with in this style of meditation practice • synchronizing mind and breathing means identifying with the breath as closely and intimately as possible • in meditation we are being still, but we are also connecting with the energy and movement of the breath

We place our mind on the outbreath, and then we let go • this form of mediation is based on dissolving outward, looking beyond ourselves • a rhythm of relaxing and regrouping, relaxing and regrouping • at the end of every breath there is a little momentary gap, which is a very important part of the practice • we place our mind on the breath, and then as it goes out, we let go • every breath is a mini-meditation

Two different aspects of thinking: the content of thoughts and the thinking process • where do thoughts come from? where do they go? • stillness of mind and activity of mind • like watching children in a playground • just return to the breath • not battling or trying to get rid of thoughts, but having a different relationship to thoughts • simply note and return to the breath • the technique of labeling thoughts • reminding ourselves that thoughts are not the boss of me

The first kind of effort is just showing up • just getting to the cushion is the hardest part • simply giving in and surrendering to the discipline • soft yet strong effort is what is called for in meditation practice • letting a burnt pan soak overnight; just let it sit • soaking our fixations, obstacles, self-doubts in the water of meditation • the second kind of effort is repeated effort, steady effort, like dripping water on a stone over a very long time • sometimes it seems like not much is happening, but with steady effort over time you begin to see what meditation is all about

The story of the tree, the rock, and the blade of grass • flexibility, steadiness, resilience: these are the qualities that are cultivated in meditation practice • rooted and flexible; you may be knocked over, but you bounce back • seeming power can be quite weak and brittle, easily undermined when circumstances are hard • the porcelain cup breaks, the lacquer cup bounces • from softness comes flexibility and resilience; from stillness comes engaging the world with power and strength

Meditation as a way of making friends with yourself • inviting in all aspects of yourself to a banquet of experience • workability: staying with our experience, whatever it is, at is arises • being more present in a heartful, gentle, kind way • becoming more familiar with our patterns at an early stage, before they become overwhelming • mindfulness or “heartfulness”? • what we think we need sometimes falls away, and we realize we actually have everything we need

In meditation we are practicing being more wholeheartedly present • learning to recognize our escape valves, the ways we hide out from our immediate experience • wholeheartedly feeling what we feel • recognizing the process of checking in and checking out • training to be more present with the ups and downs of ordinary life allows us to be more present with others • each time we bring ourselves back we are strengthening our ability to stay with what is happening as it’s happening • not hiding our true experience from others

The skills we learn in formal meditation practice can be applied on-the-spot as we face challenges in our daily life • training to come back into your body; giving yourself just a moment to come back to simple physical presence • tuning in to our breathing provides a gap, interrupting the flow of habitual or panic mind • letting the situation tell us what to do • acknowledging our emotions without judging or altering them • coming into the fresh ground of the present moment • we’re able to do these on-the-spot practices because we’re training in them in our regular meditation sessions

Finding the right balance in our practice keeps us engaged with without being overly effortful • too loose = being spaced-out, indulgent, forgetful; too tight = being really hard on ourselves • sitting practice presents a dynamic, moment-to-moment set of choices: should I relax more? should I tighten up more? • this dynamic is reflected in our posture and in our thought process • when you begin a session, it’s good to tighten up a bit to set boundaries, but then relax within those boundaries • like flying a kite: holding the string with just the right amount of pressure

“Touch and go” refers to how we relate to thoughts, distractions and sensations that arise during sitting meditation • it represents a middle way between the extremes of avoiding our experience and getting seduced by whatever arises • the “touch” and the “go” happen almost simultaneously • the example of a neighbor stopping by to say hello when we are chopping wood • welcoming and appreciating whatever comes our way, but then letting the experience go • the sense of “disowning” is similar to “divesting” — disowning those qualities that keep us stuck in fixed views or habitual patterns • inserts freshness and simplicity into our meditation • whatever arises is good fuel for meditation practice

“Dharma” is everything; it is a very intimate and personal way of looking at everything we do • what are our preconceptions, our beliefs, our hopes and dreams? • have we really ever felt comfortable in our own skins? • do we even know who we really are? • dharma is every experience, from the most profane to the most profound • it includes our neuroses and our sanity, our fear and our courage • it is seeing the profundity of our immediate, ordinary experience just as it is • dharma is what is, right now, here and now • dharma is truth, which we can only access by looking immediately from our own personal standpoint • when we meditate we are learning to be here and now; we are learning to be receptive to what the world is presenting to us

When Trungpa Rinpoche first came to the West he was struck by our obsession with materialism and materialistic success  •  he referred to materialism as a “spell” or a thick black fog that traps us in a particular fixed view, one that is not very healthy or uplifting  •  generally, materialism is a deadening quality where things and people are viewed merely as objects  •  1) physical materialism: how we relate with objects  •  2) psychological materialism: how we relate with our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs  •  spiritual materialism: when we use spiritual practices not to free ourselves from ego fixation, but to boost our egos

When people hear the word “buddha” or “buddhism,” what usually comes to mind is the idea of meditation or mindfulness training • but the practice of meditation is so much richer when placed in the broader context of studying or sharpening the mind, and also the context of activities of life • discipline, meditation and study form a system of checks and balances • meditation — taming one’s mind — is the bottom line, but meditation by itself can become spaced-out and dull • when we study we are clarifying, questioning, and sharpening our minds • a quality of discipline, respect, and persistence underlies both study and practice • “grace” from a buddhist perspective is patience, persistence, and endurance

Two additional streams run through the Profound Treasury teachings: mindfulness practice and awareness practice • mindfulness, also called shamatha, means “peace” and refers to the stillness and stability of mind • awareness, also called vipashyana, is the counterbalance to mindfulness. It refers to the insight and clarity of mind • so we settle the mind, and we clarify and brighten the mind • sometimes we need to brighten up a bit more, and at other times we need to calm down a bit more • shamatha is down to earth, steady, here-and-now; vipashyana has a sense of relaxation and spaciousness • the two streams provide a sense of balance

At this level, the fundamental teachings of the Buddha can be expressed in just four small points • the first point: acknowledging the difficulties of life — the reality of pain, suffering, and confusion • instead of sugar-coating our experience, we can actually face the reality of suffering — and then do something about it • the second point: how ignorance and desire perpetuate and enhance our suffering • the third point: it is possible to experience relief from suffering; in fact, we are designed that way • the fourth point: there is a path that leads from confusion to awakening

In some ways the Buddhist teachings are all about being on a journey • in order to get anywhere, we have to have a sense of the lay of the land, and a sense of where we’re trying to go • the first thing you look for is an arrow saying “you are here” • where are you starting from? where are you trying to go, and how are you going to get there? • treasure maps place an “x” where there is buried treasure; in our case, we’re looking for buried treasure deep within us • the process of the journey itself becomes the teaching • there is a transformation from looking ahead, like a donkey with a carrot in front of its nose, to letting each step reveal the whole essence

Theism and materialism are closely related • “theism” does not simply refer to specific religious traditions, but more broadly to the human tendency to always want to be saved, to have someone else do our spiritual work for us • theism is similar to the literary device of deus ex machina • nontheism, on the other hand, constantly throws us back on ourselves • the essence of nontheism is expressed in the Buddha’s final teaching: “It’s up to you” — no one else is going to save us • it is in developing the muscles of self-reliance that we discover our own resources and our spiritual strength

The assumptions we make about human nature are an essential part of the Buddhist path • the view of Buddhism is the opposite of the view of “original sin”; it is the view of original purity, of original goodness • the Buddhist approach is that despite all the problems we face, we’re starting from a point that is not troubled, that is close to hand, intimate, and pure • while it has different names, the nature at the core of every living being is fundamentally known as “buddhanature” • the most common metaphors for buddhanature are: the sun and the clouds; a person who doesn’t realize that their hut sits atop a pot of gold; a gem covered with clay; silt settling in water; and space • what is it that separates you or me from enlightenment? exploring that question is our task as students and as practitioners of the Buddhadharma

The idea of “ego” in buddhadharma is different from the notion of having a healthy ego boundary, which is often associated with a sense of self-confidence, resilience, and inner strength • in Buddhism, the notion of ego refers to a sense of alienation and duality, of making solid or freezing experience • egolessness is very closely connected with non-duality • imagine putting a fence across a vast, snowy field: suddenly there’s a separation between this and that • as soon as there is a quality of duality, all sorts of patterns unfold, many of which cause us pain and suffering • what we think of as a solid thing — ego — is actually a jumble of actions and habitual activities that create the illusion of one solid thing • the teachings of egolessness bring us to the richness and colors of perceptions as they arise moment-by-moment, without overlaying them with some imagined container or holder of those experiences • who owns the experiences we have? we make up an imaginary owner, which in turn makes our experience solid and unworkable • this is ego: the fundamental instigator and perpetuator of suffering

Ego isn’t so much a “thing” as it is a project — one that we’re very invested in, and one that is under constant threat • the ego is a construct or overlay, which is not that useful • however, because it is a construct, it’s also removable • ego is a paper tiger: it’s not as harmful or as necessary as it makes out • it begins with an initial split between self and others, which is like putting a fence across a vast snowy field • this fence divides “me” from “you,” “friend” from “foe” • once we identify with one side of the fence, we interpret every experience as either positive, negative, or neutral • in turn, we’re drawn towards what is positive, we flee from what is negative, and we ignore what is neutral • as we do so, we categorize and label our experiences, making our world more manageable and predictable • this process culminates in a subtle fuzzy stream of consciousness, with a sense of self that clouds over every experience

The human mind is unique in that it can observe itself • many buddhist teachings, including the teachings on ego, come from simply looking directly at the mind and taking an interest in what arises • the sense perceptions are one obvious component of mind • the thinking process is considered to be a sixth sense perception • a second aspect of mind is the unconscious, or base consciousness • a third component of mind is a very subtle but ongoing thread of self-consciousness that labels everything that arises in the mind as “my” experience • something colonizes our experience, and that colonizer is ego fixation or ego orientation • the point is to be able to discern the difference between perception that is tainted by this subtle ego acquisition from a more free-flowing or pure awareness

The buddhist tradition and training is not about adding anything; it’s about removing, or taking away • removing confusion, selfishness, conflicting emotions, ego fixation, ego absorption • when we remove obstacles what we find is that a quality of goodness or awakening already exists, like the sun behind the clouds • it’s like a sculptor approaching a solid rock: the sculptor simply removes whatever is not the point • the view is that what we are seeking is in us already; it just needs to be discovered • there is no turning away from suffering; at the same time, underneath it all is the possibility of freedom, ease, liberation, and sanity • the buddhist approach is that you just have to stop doing harmful things • each time you sit and meditate or do a little bit of study, you’re carving away what is not the point • like a sculptor, you are getting to the you that is hidden behind seemingly invincible challenges

On the surface, meditation is so simple, but somehow through that simplicity a lot of learning happens • we notice how our minds work, how we operate • it’s like inviting a mirror to help us see our potentials and our challenges much more clearly • meditation is like pure science: it is simply investigating without an agenda • post-meditation is like applied science: it is taking what we’ve learned in meditation, mixing it with our daily life, and seeing what comes back at us • at a fundamental level meditation is about coming back into balance and harmony • when our minds are confused and distracted, we lose our balance at every level — physical, mental and emotional • an unbalanced mind is either too wishy-washy or too frozen and fixed; it is marked by anxiety, heaviness, solidity, and inflexibility • through the practice of meditation our minds are brought back into balance • a balanced mind is not too firm or too soft; it is marked by harmony, agility, honesty, sincerity, and confidence • by cultivating the ability to notice when our minds go off in an unbalanced way, we are also cultivating the ability to bring our minds back to the present moment experience, which is what meditation is all about

The universal experiences of birth, sickness, old age, and death can serve as our teachers, interrupting assumptions that are not helpful in our journey • they can open our eyes to the ways in which we can either increase or reduce our suffering • birth refers to our literal physical birth, but it also refers to being thrust into new situations • we feel vulnerable but fresh; it is exhilarating but scary • the more rigidly we hold on to the assumption that our world should go on in a familiar, predictable way, the more we suffer • what is interrupted as we get older is the assumption of youthful vigor • another quality of aging is staleness; we begin with freshness, but eventually we lose interest • sickness challenges the assumption that we should always be able to enjoy full health • it provides the opportunity to investigate on the spot our state of mind when we encounter an illness • more generally it speaks to the sense that things just strike out of nowhere • “Why me?” What about “Why not me?” • Death refers to our literal death, and also to the fact that nothing lasts; it interrupts our assumptions of eternity • death also relates to our fear of the unknown, to the pain of wanting things to last

According to the Buddha, there are four main postures for meditation: sitting, walking, standing, and reclining • walking meditation is often a part of group meditation practice, where there is alternation between sitting meditation and walking meditation • it provides a way of transitioning from sitting still and simplifying, as we do in sitting meditation practice, and re-engaging with the world • walking meditation helps us learn how to mix our meditation mind with the activity of daily life that we retirm to again and again after each setting session • Walking meditation is usually done quite slowly—but not super slowly; it has a contained and mindful quality • it is a very deliberate type of walking: step by step you engage the world with mindfulness, awareness, gentleness and appreciation • walking meditation is also working with the idea of gesture: can you take one true step? can you be fully, wholeheartedly engaged in a single step? • to do so is a way of expressing your entire life—the inspiration for all that you do—in one gesture, one true step.

Samsara and nirvana are two fundamental concepts that run throughout the Buddhist tradition • Trungpa Rinpoche said it is by discovering the truth of samsara that we discover nirvana • samsara refers to an endless round of confusion, a compulsive, deadly serious approach to life • it is marked by a sense of unease, fear, and discontent, and also by things becoming frozen and solid • the way out of samsara, the way out of suffering and discontent, is by going right into it, by looking at it directly and understanding it • nirvana means the cessation of the patterns that entrap us; it is the peace that comes when we let go of fixating, when we don’t struggle so hard against the nature of things • nirvana isn’t something you construct out of effort and struggle to get out of pain; it is the relief that comes when you don’t have to try so hard

A traditional image in Tibetan Buddhism is called the wheel of life; it pictures our life as a wheel that rolls along, and that we keep pushing along • the wheel of life is held within the jaws of a demon called Yama, which represents death; so the imagery depicts a deadly approach to things • at the hub of the wheel are three animals: a rooster, which represents passion; a pig, which represents ignorance; and a snake, which represents aggression • these three energies are very much connected with how we try to mold our world to our personal satisfaction • we have an agenda, and the agenda is to perpetuate the fundamental error at the heart of things: our idea of being separate and alienated • these three tendencies — to hold on, to push away, and to ignore—perpetuate the sense of struggle, leaving no room for a sense of ease, peace, or well-being

Another section of the wheel of life breaks things down into twelve steps, which illustrate how we perpetuate samsara • the first step is ignorance, which is represented by the image of a blind grandmother • the blind grandmother has put things in motion; she has produced grandchildren, but because she is blind she has no idea what their effect is going to be • today’s focus is on the progression of three of the twelve steps: sensing, feeling, and craving • our sense perceptions—seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and thinking—are like little pinholes through which we look at our world • when our sense organs are stimulated, feelings of pleasure or displeasure arise • this is represented by an arrow in the eye—the experience is extremely vivid and intense, and so is our reaction to it • at that point we’re susceptible to craving: we react instantaneously, before we even notice what is happening • the point is to interrupt those patterns so that we’re a little bit looser, a little bit less easily captured by the pleasures and pains that are simply part of life

Today’s topic is about how our moment-to-moment habits and impulses congeal into solid psychological realities or realms of existence • the wheel of life depicts six such realms—gods, jealous gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings—worlds we create through pride, jealousy, passion, ignorance, greed, and anger • the human realm is marked by passion, loneliness, and the search for connection and confirmation • the god realm is marked by ignorance, pride, and privilege: a bubble we can only stay in by ignoring the suffering of others • the jealous god realm is marked by envy and jealousy; it is the realm of competitiveness and struggle • the animal realm is dominated by a plodding kind of ignorance; it is the tendency to be stuck in routines • The hungry ghost realm is a realm of constantly needing more; no matter how much you have, you are never satisfied • the hell realm is dominated by hatred and aggression; you are ready to lash out and feel threatened at a very deep level • everything we experience, every interaction, is colored by the assumptions of the particular realm we inhabit • the good news is that within every realm there are still possibilities of awakening; every realm has its own buddha who can speak the language of that realm

What is meditation’s role in finding nirvana within samsara? • samsara moves very quickly; confusion arises instantaneously, exploding and expanding so rapidly that we are overwhelmed • sitting practice gently interrupts the speed that perpetuates samsara • any disruption of that speed proves to be a threat, because it begins to expose vulnerable gaps • in those gaps there are possibilities of interrupting the pattern before it overtakes us, before small emotional flickers escalate into full-blown emotional outbursts • we don’t have to allow ourselves to be hooked over and over again • the gentle interruption of sitting meditation practice, humble and simple as it may seem, is one of the most powerful conquerors of patterns of suffering • it could be said to be the “superpower” of the practice of meditation

The spirit of dharma is more about the process of investigating than it is coming up with the right answers • it’s based on a sense of genuine interest and curiosity about the situation we are in, and how we deal with that • there’s a refreshing willingness to look at the things we prefer to avoid • the more we are willing to do so, the more we release the tension of avoiding • “the question is the answer” • we investigate by looking directly at our assumptions, our fixed views, what we take for granted • the dharma comes alive through questioning, investigating, and practicing • it’s not there, it’s not here; it’s in the connection between the two • that kind of engagement is what turns notes into music.

The teachings of karma are vast and profound, and they are central to the message of the Buddha • the term “karma” is often oversimplified, dumbed down, and intermingled with notions of blame and reward, judgment and punishment • but the teachings of karma are not about judgment or punishment; they connect us to a vast interconnected web of cause and effect which is totally impersonal and inexorable • a central notion of karma is that our actions matter: every action leaves some kind of an imprint or a result, and every action comes from somewhere • action in the dharma can be boiled down to a simple formula: given the situation that I am in, what should I cultivate and what should I refrain from cultivating? • the Buddhist view of karma is both realistic and visionary; without choices, without open possibility, there would be no path • to a large extent the teachings of Buddha are that we can work with whatever our situation is, no matter how difficult • the more we understand the workings of cause and effect, the more the choices that we make can further our understanding and progress on the path of dharma.

Meditation is based on the understanding that the deepest nature of human beings—buddhanature—is the capacity to grow and flourish and awaken, to express kindness and generosity and compassion • meditation is a way of removing the obstacles that block our connection with our deepest nature • in this way meditation practice is like sculpting: we are taking away everything that’s not the sculpture; we are removing everything that is not expressive of our basic fundamental nature • another image of buddhanature is that of an onion: step-by-step we remove layers of the onion; the trick here is that when we finally get to the center of the onion, there’s nothing there • yet another image is that we are scraping off all the barnacles that make movement impossible, that imprison us with kind of a crustiness of heart and mind • in one sense meditation feels like a project: we need discipline and inspiration to continue in this practice • but the irony is that in the practice of meditation, our doing is really an undoing • we don’t need to do anything • we have what we need; we just need to allow ourselves to experience it.

According to the Buddha, all sentient beings have buddhanature or bodhichitta • Trungpa Rinpoche spoke in terms of having “enlightened genes” — we have the DNA of buddhanature within us • our natural tendency is to awaken and to flourish, but how do we get a glimpse of this? • bodhichitta can be described as having three qualities: awareness, kindness, and openness • awareness refers to those moments when clarity seems to spring up effortlessly in our mind; whan that happens, that is bodhichitta saying “hello” • the second quality, kindness, also arises unconstructed when we spontaneously think a kind thought or have a little tenderness; it just appears because it is part of our nature • the third quality of buddhanature, openness or spaciousness, pops up in those moments when our heavy-handedness is suddenly seen through • it is a kind of lightness and openness, a feeling of spaciousness and possibility • these three qualities often intersect together: a moment of softness helps some clarity arise, or a moment of spaciousness breaks down a stuckness or frozen quality • these three qualities are like little doorways or peepholes through which we begin to have glimpses of the multifaceted nature of this heart of the Buddha

Loving kindness and compassion are two strong currents that run through the entire Buddhist path • they are directly intertwined with the two sides of meditation practice: shamatha, or taming the mind, and vipashyana, or cultivating insight • there is a lot of cruelty in the world, and things like loving kindness and compassion are often seen not as signs of strength, but as signs of weakness and vulnerability • but in the dharma, loving kindness and compassion are seen as the most powerful forces there are • loving kindness begins with meditation practice, with making friends with yourself • this quality of friendship is not based on struggle or striving; it’s the core of who we are • just as settling down, taming the mind, and being still can lead to greater friendship and understanding of ourselves; the other aspect of meditation, vipashyana, turns our attention to others • that stream of compassion for others is the same energy, just directed outward • the radical teaching of the dharma is that this force of compassion is the strongest force, the most reliable force there is • it is stronger than all of the aggression, anger and hatred that we find around us.