Merry Christmas, Guys and Dolls!
What is my gift to you this year?
Four quick reminders.
The Tantric partner {or Khadro as they say in Tibet} of
one of my Buddhist Lamas was
fond of saying {forgive the paraphrase},
“It’s always good to have a hook to hang your hat on.”
What was she referring to?
Definitions of spiritual {Dharma} terminology that
are as practical as they are
concise and easy to remember.
What is Samsara?
It is simply the habit of being subject to
the TYRANNY of sufferings and their causes.
Or, in other words, “they are the boss of you!”
What is Nirvana?
It’s not heaven,
it’s not numbness,
it’s not all bliss, all the time…
BUT merely the habitual FREEDOM from
the tyranny of sufferings and their causes
{as inferred in “The Prayer of Refuge and Bodhichitta”}.
Have they gone away?
No.
Have we become numb to them?
No, and by the way… how boring could that be?
Then what is the key to this liberation?
How do we claim the prize of freedom from
spiritual bondage that
Buddha freely offers us?
Easy!
Just practice his mental yogas {or techniques} of
#1 Devotion {the blend of gratitude and reliance},
#2 Awareness {both contrived AND spontaneous},
#3 Love {as well as Compassion} and
#4 Letting-go {which must never be confused with shoving away}.
How should we practice them?
In the most empowered, effective, easy and fun way possible, so that
we can accomplish full enlightenment in only 10 months of
practicing just 9 minuets every morning and every evening.
That’s why it’s so important to have the right teacher and
receive his personal instructions every week.
Well yes, that could be the path to Buddha’s goal,
but the question still remains, “What is enlightenment?”
Remember the three B’s:
#1 Boobs are utter slaves to their physical, verbal and mental impulses;
#2 Bodhisattvas rebel against those destructive habits by
enthusiastically following their teachers’ instructions concerning the
application of Buddha’s four mental yogas and {wait for it…}
#3 Buddhas are simply Bodhisattvas who have
gotten so good at practicing Buddha’s techniques that
they now do so
• Spontaneously,
• Habitually,
• Easily and
• Effectively
{as inferred by the prayer “Bodhichitta’s Essence”}.
The Enlightenment that Buddha offers us is
simply the mastery of his mental yogas.
There, you have it, my four gifts to you, dear friends.
And may this Christmas lavish you and yours with every happiness.
May you and yours be
happy and healthy!
Om Mani Padme Hum,
NON-sectarian Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika
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