Very good book by Chogyam – gives brief overview of the story of the Buddha, and talks about some of the main precepts / practices.ย Highlights some of the difficulties and the self-imposed shortfalls on the path.
He talks about getting the most from your experience and not shying away from the negative; without the negative, there would be nothing to transform into positive – even terms like negative and positive are value-laden, but that is relating conventional language – e.g. if you find positive aspects that lead to growth in a negative experience, is it still fair to call is negative?ย So you can see how the language can get pretty murky.
He takes some time to introduce the idea of transmission, the meeting of two minds that occurs when the trappings of ego on both sides are cleared away, and one is open to the other, to the situation that the other has created.
He then expands on the importance and depth of qualities like generosity, patience, clarity, energy and wisdom, finding nuances and second order effects that may not be apparent to most of us in our initial conceptions of such things.
A wonderful read, short and to the point, with many points one could consider and reflect upon.
Some good quotes:
‘So the whole point is that we must see with our own eyes and not accept any laid-down tradition as if it had some magical power in it.ย There is nothing magical which can transform us just like that.’
It’s important to remember and understand that we have the ability to transform ourselves; it comes from within, not from outside, from anything other than ourselves.
Andย a few longer ones:
“One must not blame one’s surroundings, one must not blame people, one must not blame external conditions, but without trying to change anything, just step in and try to observe.ย that is real sampa, real contemplation on the subject.ย And when one is able to overcome the romantic and emotional attitude, one discovers truth even in the kitchen sink.ย So the whole point is not to reject, but to make use of that very moment, whatever the situation may be, and accept it, and respect it.ย ย If you can be as open as that, then you will learn something without fail.”
“In other words wisdom starts without making any mistakes, because it sees the situation so clearly.ย So for the first time we must begin to deal with situations without making the blind mistake of starting from ‘I’ – which doesn’t even exist.ย and having taken that first step, we will find deeper insight and make fresh discoveries, because for the first time we will see a kind of new dimension: we will see that one can in fact be at the end result at the same time that one is traveling along the path.ย This can only happen when there is noย I to start with, when there is no expectation.ย The whole practice of meditation is based on this ground.ย And here you can see quite clearly that meditation is not trying to escape from life, it is not trying to reach a utopian state of mind, nor is it a question of mental gymnastics.ย Meditation is just trying to see whatย is,ย and there is nothing mysterious about it.ย Therefore one has to simplify everything right down to the immediate present practice of what one is doing, without expectations, without judgments and without opinions.ย Nor should one have any concept of being involved in a battle against ‘evil’ or of fighting on the side of ‘good.’ย At the same time one should not think in terms of being limited, in the sense of not being allowed to have thoughts or even think of ‘I,’ because that would be confining oneself in such a small space that it would amount to an extreme form of sila, or discipline.ย Basically there are two stages in the practice of meditation.ย The first involves disciplining oneself to develop the first starting point of meditation, and here certain techniques, such as observing the breathing, are used.ย At the second stage one surpasses and sees the reality behind the technique of breathing, or whatever the technique may be, and one develops an approach to actual reality through the technique, a kind of feeling of becoming one with the present moment.”