dharmatalks

Ask the Monk – Questions about gurus and teachers

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:01:33 +0000

This week’s question, "I’ve seen a lot of press about self-proclaimed gurus, spiritual teachers and self-help ‘experts’, who seem to either be in it for the money, or on some kind of cultish power-trip. How do you recommend spotting such people, and protecting yourself from them?"

As it happens, I am very familiar with the person about whom this reader is asking, and for that reason, decided to protect their identity.

Unfortunately, there are no shortages of gurus, spiritual teachers, self-proclaimed lamas and "enlightened masters" out there, particularly in the West. And although I personally consider the behaviour of such individuals as predatory, I also believe that we have to see this for what it is, and realise that the reason such things occur more prevalently in the West is because we expect instant gratification. So we embolden the con-artists, the hucksters and the opportunistic personality-types to do their level best to take us for all we’re worth.

There are also two other brief points that need to be made, I believe, before I answer the heart of the question:

First, there are some individuals who suffer from psychological behavioural disorders. These individuals may be megalomaniacal, delusional, bi-polar or suffer from borderline personality disorders. Their need for attention, power and submission often overtakes what might have initially been an intention to do good or to serve. These are the most dangerous individuals out there, and although not all of them will lead their disciples down the road that Jim Jones led his followers, the emotional and psychological damage they inflict can often be many more times as dangerous.

Second, there are those who are simply self-serving grifters, who see a needy potential "student", and choose to "suck ‘em dry" of every cent they can get. These are petty, small-minded people who suffer from tremendous lack of self esteem, and little trust in the givingness of life. They are less dangerous, but ought to still be avoided.

Now, let me say this… In the West, the whole concept of guru is largely misunderstood. A guru is a teacher, not unlike any other spiritual teacher. Despite what they would often like you to believe, few, if any of them, are enlightened. Surely, they may possess a better understanding of the spiritual path, and may have more experience in the practice, but they are not enlightened. So the first piece of advice I will give you is that any time someone tells you that they are going to "give you enlightenment" or "take you to god" with a tap of a peacock feather, a glance or a "magic word", expect that they are entirely full of shit, and get out of there quietly, when the dog and pony show is over. No guru has the ability to "take you to god" or give you enlightenment, because it’s not theirs to "give". Such absurd acts are born out of a delusional and dualistic mindset. All that you need, you already possess. No one can unlock it but you.

Kahlil Gibran wrote: "No one can reveal to you anything but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge."

Next, I would suggest that the teacher who expects anyone to submit themselves blindly to what he or she says is no teacher at all. A true guru or lama or spiritual teacher will always welcome questions, and will openly answer them. A true teacher will not demand anything of his or her students, without demanding the same or more of themselves… and not just when it’s convenient for a photo opp, but when no one else seems to be looking! If a teacher expects one to submit wholly to their control, don’t wait until a convenient time to walk away… get up immediately and run, dragging anyone else who will come with you out of that dangerous environment! Love is never controlling, and whatever is not love is not sacred.

If a spiritual teacher tells you, or if their "inner circle" tells you that outside of that teaching, people are lost, asleep, dead or damned. They are completely delusional as well. Get out before you find out that the only "lost" ones are the ones who are susceptible to such cult-like programming.

In my own experience, I find that it is helpful not to have expectations of those gurus, lamas and spiritual teachers whose paths cross ours. I have been fortunate, and remain fortunate to have learned much from those individuals I consider to be my teachers. Sometimes, what I have learned most from them has had nothing to do with the words that come out of their mouths, but from what I’ve observed in the way they conduct themselves and teach. Some of those teachers have been considered to be the "embodiment of the gods or goddesses" their students seek to emulate. I respect the right of others to believe such things, but believe that "gods and goddesses" are only useful as metaphors, and therefore, if one expects me to believe that this guru or that embodies a metaphor, so be it.

Each of us is an emanation of Divine Love. No one has "more of it" or "less of it" (although there are some things I’ve suspected some of these teachers were more full of than others… but it wasn’t a divine quality!)

My students recognise me as a lama — a Tibetan word for teacher. Other students see me as the retired archbishop and exarch of a radical branch of successors to the apostles. I see myself as a monk… a simple, unenlightened monastic on a journey, who has committed himself to the vows that he will do whatever he can to alleviate suffering in all sentient beings, lifetime after lifetime, until there exists no more suffering.

I don’t expect anyone to blindly follow what I teach. I don’t give "orders" to the monks entrusted to my care. I can’t give anyone enlightenment, but can encourage them to know that all they need for enlightenment lies within them, awaiting the slightest awakening, by shifting their awareness.

As a result of this, when I have reached out for help from some, I have been rejected. Because of this, my work has often been the subject of attempts to malign and discredit it. And because of this, I could easily be days away from losing everything. But at the end of the day, I can experience the true joy of a grateful heart, which knows that I have done the best I could, harming none intentionally, and expecting nothing in return.

I would conclude my answer by pointing out something attributed as having been taught by the Buddha to his first students. In the Mahayana tradition, we call these the Four Reliances, and they will serve you well in your pursuit and practice of the spiritual path:

(1) reliance on the teaching, not the teacher;
(2) reliance on the meaning, not the words that express it;
(3) reliance on the definitive meaning, not on the provisional meaning; and
(4) reliance on the transcendent wisdom of deep experience, not on mere knowledge.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

We’re grateful for your support to help us cover rent, utilities and the cost of food for the ladrang and our street meals program. The Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path, and their teacher, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda, have no other source of income or support at this time.

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“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Prince of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Khenpo Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2010, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Transcending appearances

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:33:41 +0000

What do we do, when we encounter someone whose behaviours demonstrate a lack of maturity, compassion or balance? This past weekend, there have been some wonderful discussions going on between friends, members of the Sangha and students, concerning this very topic.

To the uninitiated or unfamiliar, it might appear to be lacking compassion, when I, as a spiritual teacher and monk, confront ignorance, intolerance, self-pity and other manifestations of fear in a direct, blunt and unequivocal manner. What good would sugar-coating the truth offer? When we imagine that it’s more compassionate to let someone "slide", than it is to confront their behaviours, then we have directly contributed to that person’s future suffering.

Now here’s the key… notice that throughout this discussion, we’ve addressed the behaviours of individuals. And I’ve made it clear that all of these insolent behaviours are manifestations of fear… nothing more, nothing less. And fear is no-thing… it is simply a delusional perspective that arises from imagining that we are somehow separate from Primordial Love — the Ground of our Being.

It would be wrong to dislike or judge a person, rather than to confront their behaviours. And if we confront injustices, errant behaviours and delusional thought, we bear the responsibility to then ask ourselves what those behaviours might be reflecting of our own emotional afflictions. What appear to be faults in others are often mirror-images of areas in our lives in which we might not recognise those same faults and errant behaviours. It might also be an opportunity for us to learn to recognise the behaviour as being separate from the person, so that we can develop the courage to confront stupidity, for example, without imagining a need for there to be "stupid people".

Once, there was a man, made entirely of salt. He journeyed his entire life, travelling over mountains, crossing deep valleys, enduring harsh winters and scorching summers, because he was told at an early age that he would discover true liberation… true spiritual awakening… at the seashore.

Never once did he look at the experiences along the journey as good or bad, because his sight was set on the shore. And one day, when he was still a relatively young man, he reached the shore, and jumped head-long into the ocean. For a brief moment, he perceived himself as experiencing the cool of the ocean, washing over him. Once immersed, however, the salt man dissolved into the ocean completely. No longer was there a concept of "self" having an "experience"… the self and experience dissolved into one another. The man became one with the ocean, and the ocean became one with the man.

When we cease to perceive the separation between "us" and "them"… when we realise that all of life is a reflection of the karma we are here to resolve… then we will truly be free.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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Tonglen and the Path to Healing

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:28:32 +0000

Several people have asked me to elaborate more on what I meant by the word "tonglen", in my request for students of the Dharma of Compassion, and all those who are sincerely interested in healing the violence and oppression in Tibet to join us each night for a minimum of one hour of undistracted sitting.

Tonglen is a Tibetan word, which literally means "giving and taking," and is a spiritual, mind-training exercise, in which one mentally gives up one’s peace, in exchange for the suffering of another. It is not that we imagine that we literally possess the ability to do so, but the practice directs the mind toward healing, and generates genuine compassion. From the cultivation of this genuine compassion, one learns to generate the "Mind of Enlightenment" – Bodhicitta.

Ani Pema Chodron teaches that doing Tonglen "sweeps away the dust that has been covering over your treasure that’s always been there," — we call this the Bodhicitta Heart. In the Eight Verses of Mind Training (Lojong), we are told to practice tonglen by "secretly taking on the suffering of others". One does not announce to the person for whom they are engaging this practice that they will be taking on their suffering.

Tonglen can be practiced any time you perceive that a negative situation has arisen. Breathing in, you imagine yourself taking in the negativity, and breathing out, you send forth love-kindness, peace, calm and joy. The practice of Tonglen actually neutralises the dualistic tendencies of the mind, by refocusing on the true nature, which is Compassion.

When one commits to practicing tonglen, one moves beyond the self-absorption that lives in a sea of excuses, and imagines that there are more important things to do. One moves beyond fear and suspicion of others, and in fact, moves beyond the illusion of "otherness".

I always openly share most of the dharma talks that I give to my students and fellow-monks with readers of my blogs, because I am mindful that we are all seeking happiness and freedom from suffering. As a spiritual leader, I might specify a particular aspect of practice, or instruct my monks to engage in that practice at a particular time of day, as I did in my recent post. It is important for them to do so, because of the structure, continuity and unity of the monastic satsang (sangha). But for readers, it should always be understood that if you feel comfortable enjoining your practice to ours, you would do so in the context and within the confines of your own circumstances and lifestyle.

In 1992, I was living at a monastic house in West Palm Beach, Florida, and working as a chaplain at a hospice, about an hour north of there. One of the other chaplains with whom I worked lived a few blocks from me, and at the beginning of the day, we would often have a staff meeting with the social workers, nurses and coordinator, to discuss the cases we were following that day. Each morning, my friend and I had to arrive at about the same time for that meeting. With fair consistency, he would arrive at the office a bit frazzled, worn-out by the stress of driving on Interstate 95, from West Palm Beach to Vero Beach. Our Administrator asked one morning why he always looked "fried" and I seldom seemed bothered at all.

I explained that I left fifteen to twenty minutes earlier than my friend, and instead of taking 95, chose to drive along the Intracoastal Waterway most of the way up. In the evening, I would drive all the way over to the ocean, and take A-1-A home. My friend commented that my way took too long, and that he had "things to do" at night, and kids to see off to school in the morning. He was right, he did have other responsibilities outside of work. So did I.

Both of us chose the path we took, to arrive at the same destination. His, fraught with excuses, chaos and stress, saved fifteen minutes each day. Mine, which took fifteen to twenty minutes longer in the morning, and 35 minutes longer in the evening, was filled with mindful awareness of the water, the beach, the cool breezes moving the palm trees, and really simple gratitude for the lives I was allowed to share.

My friend, who was also a very spiritual and sincere man, would often talk about the Ego being "nothing". A lot of energy was spent, it seemed, on denying the existence of his Ego. That wasn’t very useful. The Ego is something that exists "relatively". As long as we believe that there is some Higher Self, something greater that exists separate from us, we are chained to the Ego. The Ego can only exist as long as we are focused on the phenomenon of this Higher Self — regardless of whether our focus is one which believes in the higher self or disbelieves in it. It’s not something that has an inherent existence. The moment, however, that we cease to segregate ourselves from the external, the Ego and the Higher Self cease to exist.

By trying to make the Ego the enemy, as many deluded, self-proclaimed gurus seem to do, we fail to realise the purpose and motivation of the phenomena we try to move beyond. The Ego is not an enemy, but a phenomenon that exists as sort of a "protective bubble" we create through fear and illusion. Ego is nothing more than the illusion of separation from our Ground of Being. Once we truly understand that we are the Ground of Being, the "I" we speak of becomes insignificant, as does the "you" and the "them". Jonathan Larson’s lyrics for the song Another Day, from the musical RENT, include the words: "There’s only us, only tonight. We must let go, to know what’s right. No other course, no other way, no day but today."

So we practice tonglen in order to affirm that there is only us. During these meditations, we learn to change our point of reference. That’s why we do not only do tonglen for the Tibetan monks and citizens, who are being hurt and killed. We also do tonglen for the members of the Chinese military. And this is critical at this point in time, because as a Tibetan monk, I naturally tend to identify with those monks in prison, the Tibetan people, whose rights have been deprived them for sixty years, and with those who were killed, for standing up for what is right. But that compassion I feel for them is what I call "easy compassion", because they are "my people". If I am going to live up to my Bodhisattva vows, I must engage in the cultivation of compassion for the Chinese as well, or my practice is worthless.

Tonglen is a practice we can engage any time, any place, regardless of our station in life, the demands of the day. When we delude ourselves with promises to "try" to do it, we have wasted our breath. We don’t owe it to anyone to make excuses. We either choose to do something, or we don’t.

Life only asks that we make measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time. (That’s why the desks are so small in the second grade!)

In the Dhammapada, we read the words attributed to the Buddha:

    "Drink deeply,
    Live in serenity and joy.
    The wise person delights in the truth and follows the way of the awakened ones.

    As the farmer channels water to his land,
    the fletcher whittles his arrows,
    and the carpenter turns his wood,
    so too do the wise direct their minds."

— Dhammapada 6

With love and a grateful heart…

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

NOTE: YOUR PUJAS, PRAYERS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT KEEP OUR WORK GOING. THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING MAKING A CONTRIBUTION, VIA THE BUTTON BELOW. THE RECENT MOVE DEPLETED EVERY DIME WE HAD, AND LITERALLY LEFT NOTHING FOR GROCERIES OR OTHER EXPENSES. Thank you!

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Do no harm

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:22:41 +0000

The Dharma of Compassion is based on the development of three focal practices, as taught by the Buddha in the sixth century, B.C.E. These fundamental practices are a commitment to do no harm (often referred to as “right living” or morality), a commitment to concentrated meditation (called “calm abiding”) and a commitment to manifest knowledge (wisdom).

The first practice, which I would like to reflect on today, is at the very core of all enlightened spiritual paths. In 1893, the Parliament of World Religions put forth a “Declaration Toward a Global Ethic”, which was signed by over 200 leaders from forty different spiritual traditions, as an affirmation of the common principle of those spiritual pursuits.

The Wiccan Rede, which sums up the ethics of the practitioners of the Ancient Esoteric Way, admonishes: “And if it harm none, do what ye will.”

The Levitical Law of the Jewish people requires believers to: “Seek not revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself.” (cf. Leviticus 19:18) And that practice is echoed in the words of the Christian scriptures, which read: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (cf. Matthew 7:12)

In Islam, the Qur’an commends “those who show their affection to such as came to them for refuge and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to the (latter), but give them preference over themselves” (cf. Qur’an; Surah 59, “Exile” vv. 9)

For those of us who prefer a rational and philosophical approach to contemplating religious mythos and metaphor, we can recall the categorical imperative, defined best, perhaps by Immanuel Kant, who taught that morality could be summed up in one, ultimate commandment of reason, or imperative, from which all duties and obligations derive. He defined this categorical imperative as any proposition, which declares a certain action (or inaction) to be necessary. Pure practical reason, in determining the moral law or categorical imperative, determines what ought to be done without reference to empirical contingent factors. One is to do the right thing, not the good thing.

In the Dhammapada, we are told: “One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.” (cf. Dhammapada 10)

We refer to this mindful commitment to do no harm the Bodhisattva Mind. It is the practice of training the mind to refrain from selfish pursuits, and to generate genuine compassion and concern for the happiness of others. More than simply doing no harm, it seeks to alleviate the suffering of others whenever possible.

In our culture, we often cringe at the use of the word “morality”, as it is generally misused to refer to some dogmatic (often religious) dictates, which condemn behaviours that do no conform with the institution’s imperative to control and manipulate “believers”. But in the context of the Dharma of Compassion, we view the concept of “morality” as being grounded in Universal Love. Doing no harm to one’s self, one’s neighbour or the world in which we presently reside. And that means doing no physical harm, emotional harm or spiritual harm. It’s about living from the heart, and recognising that Love is the only Truth, and that whatever is not Love is fear… and fear is always an illusion.

During the great Celtic festival of Samhain (Hallowe’en), the villagers would bring the bones of the cattle they had slaughtered and stored for the winter months ahead to the centre of the village, where a great fire was started. All fires, candles, and hearths were extinguished prior to the lighting of the fire. This “bonefire” (from which the word bonfire is derived) would then be the common source from which each household would light a torch, which would be carried to their home in a solemn procession, and used to light the hearth. This was seen as a ritual bonding the families together, as all the light and warmth of the village would come from a common flame.

After the hearths were lit, a great celebration, marking the end of summer, a successful harvest, and symbolically representing the end of our own lives, thus honouring the ancestors would follow.

Among Wiccan, the Great Sabbat of Samhain is also a festival of darkness and death, when we honour the sacred ancestors, recall our heritage, and symbolically die to the ego. It is a time when the Great Mother Kali slaughters the ego, and burns it upon the funeral pyre, so that Her children can be liberated from the cycle of rebirth (samsara).

Whatever your personal beliefs and spiritual traditions, I encourage you to consider the ways in which you can mindfully turn toward “right living” and “right mindfulness”. Make a decision to “do no harm”.

Know that there will be times for each of us, when we “forget” that commitment. Perhaps it will be weeks from now before you remember that commitment again. And that’s OK, because when you do, it will be a little more “familiar”, and your mind will acknowledge, “Oh, there’s the first fruits of that compassion I committed myself to living… I’m living from the heart, not from fear.”

And weeks or months more may follow, in which you are not necessarily mindful of it again. Perhaps you will find yourself stressed, depressed, saddened. But then one day, someone will need help, and you will do something to alleviate their suffering, and once again, your mind will notice, “Hey… there it is again!”

Soon, that mindfulness will become a habit, and from that habit, it will become your very nature. In fact, it already is… we simply need to awaken to it.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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Choose Love

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:04:37 +0000

Spiritual growth is the action of Life itself. When we begin to truly embrace the truth that nothing separates us from what some might call “God”, and what others recognise as an impersonal field of energy – a Creative and Universal Intelligence — our experience mirrors that realisation. Peace, healing, satisfaction and calm begin to flood our experiences, because we have chosen to advance from faith into understanding.

“That they might all be one, even as you and I are One…” Jesus prayed. The teaching of Jesus was simple. He pointed to an awareness available to each of us that enables us to accept the “Father’s” Nature within us, as us. He opened for us a path to complete spiritual dominion — knowing that we are not only part of Spirit, and therefore One with God, but are “God” Itself, made manifest.

By definition, consciousness is a person’s habitual thought-tendency — the awareness we place on certain perceptions, truths or illusions, accepting them as real.

We don’t see our consciousness… only the effects of it. At any one time, our lives either reflect the overall peace or overall confusion of our consciousness. Yet Jesus showed us the simple, yet radical path to spiritual growth, and reflected in His life, the potentiality for perfect peace and awareness — Christ Consciousness, or the Buddha Mind — even in the face of violent adversity.

Today, I want to challenge you to make a decision in favour of unity with that Zeropoint Source.

The ancient script says, “God is love. The one who lives from a place of true love, is one with God, and God with them.”

In the Rule of Life, written by St. Francis of Assisi, for those who wanted to live as he did, but within secular society, St. Francis told his sisters and brothers that their commitment was to live lives “(W)itnessing to the good yet to come and obliged to acquire purity of heart…” and to “set themselves free to love God and one another.” (Secular Franciscan Rule – 12)

Let us choose Love.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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Beyond the parlor tricks…

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:31:00 +0000

Few of us read the Harry Potter series with a belief in flying brooms, house elves or centaurs — even those of us for whom magick is a very real and a serious part of our spiritual paths. We understood that the laws of nature don’t work that way, and that the flying brooms and mythical creatures were part of the fantasy.

Why then, I wonder, do so many people who followed the very popular DVD and book, The Secret, believe that the Law of Attraction means that “whatever they want they can create, just by thinking of it”?

Such fantasies are no less absurd and errant than those people who imagine that this idea they call God is somehow separate from them — that She is a magical old dude with a long, white beard, sitting on a throne in the great amusement park known as The Kingdom of Heaven.

A closer look at the scriptures shows a different approach to the Law of Attraction, and reveals how it works.

Jesus says, “In Truth I tell you that the Son can do nothing of himself… but the One who dwells within me does the works.” (John 5:19)

In other words, Jesus is saying that His own activities and accomplishments did not originate separate from the Indwelling Divinity. What we are able to accomplish and manifest in life is only as great as we are in unity with Spirit. When we turn our awareness to the Truth — that we are One with this Awakened Nature — then we begin to receive and manifest greater creative authority in our lives.

Some people have mistakenly interpreted the message of The Secret to say that they can create whatever they want. Admittedly, part of that misconception comes from some of the imagery used to illustrate the way the Law of Attraction works in such a short film. The little boy looks at a picture of a bicycle and presto, some old dude shows up at his back door with a new bike in the following scene. But this notion of simply getting whatever we want is spiritually and intellectually immature. (I guess I am the only one whose initial thought was that the kid should have immediately checked the sexual predator registry on the Internet, before opening that door… but I digress!)

The Law of Attraction is scientific. It states that whatever kind of energy we are producing with our thoughts — positive or negative (love or fear) — attracts like energy into our experiences. Our thoughts and our awareness should be turned toward attracting good into our lives; that is to say that we should choose to be mindful of our unity with the Divine. When we are conscious of that intrinsic and eternal Oneness, and when we recognise that God is Love, not some guy in an imaginary place called heaven, then we will automatically begin to attract those things which are good and life-affirming into our experiences.

In a simplistic and materialistic approach, that might include things like that little boy’s bicycle. But the Master also admonishes us to detach ourselves from preoccupation with the material world: “For you are not of this world,” He reminds us.

Robert Heinlein writes that “Science, when sufficiently developed, is indistinguishable from magic.” So when we have rescued and liberated subjective thought from the narratives used to frame and illustrate the spiritual and scientific truths, we begin to realise that subjective thought is nothing more than the reflection of a person’s understanding and beliefs. If the “energy” — which is to say the focus — of that thought is unaware of our unity with Good (God), then we will manifest the kinds of experienced that result from fearful thought (illusion).

Dr. Ernest Holmes once brilliantly observed, “Death has nothing to do with everlasting life, and is but an impatient gesture of the soul, wishing to rid itself of a body no longer useful.”

The tendency of one’s mindfulness reflects the direction and tendency of one’s outer life. When we release the childish need to attract “things” into our lives, and choose instead to attract peace, ease, happiness and love, then those experiences that come our way will become transformed. This is wholly consistent with the Buddhist practise of embracing suffering, since it is a path of non-fear, of turning our awareness inward, and moving through the experiences with gentle awareness of the Truth that all of this is transient, and that only Love remains.

Can the techniques taught in The Secret be used to generate wealth, better health, or to land the perfect spouse? Certainly. But they can only do that to the extent that one consciously chooses to attract those things and experiences that reflect awareness of the Divine Good. If one attempts to attract wealth, for example, in order to prove that he or she is spiritually superior to those who have less, then that wealth, if it manifests at all will be fleeting. If one attempts to manifest health or to overcome dis-ease, simply prove that their belief system is better than others, then their health will ultimately fail them.

It’s time to move maturely beyond the broomsticks and centaurs, and recognise that spirituality, liberated from the constructs of the varied narratives we’ve adopted over time, all point to one simple, liberating and creative Truth:

There is only One Infinite Expression of Life, One Eternal Impulse, One Creative Universal Mind, and that Source is in me, all around me and expressing Itself as me. There is nothing else, and can be nothing else, because nothing exists outside of this Sacred Oneness.

The energy of life continues on in a new form as we release those experiences we no longer need. The circle of life is a manifestation of Divine Love, eternally recreating and reflecting Itself in all that exists. We live and move and have our beings in this very Essence, the Invisible eagerly waiting to become the visible reality of our worlds. Everything that ever has been or ever will be is shaped from this Living Spirit. This is the Living God, the Perfect Good, and It is who and what I am.

And so it is!

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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Impermanence

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:11:00 +0000

The Enlightened One taught that even loss and betrayal could bring us awakening. When we think about it, our awakening comes as a direct result of our taking wakeful steps… that is, bringing mindfulness to every experience, regardless of how we might initially perceive that experience or event.

The foolish farmer pays a service to come take his garbage as far away as possible, because he does not want the unpleasant smell of decaying vegetables, plants, and food stuffs. The wise farmer put all of that garbage in a single corner of his field, tilling and tending to it, much like any crop. Then, when it is time, and the Spring has arrived, he spreads the compost and manure that he endured the whole Summer, Fall and Winter long, and plants his crops beneath it. He knows that out of the rich compost, an abundant harvest will rise.

The Anointed One taught that some sow seeds on dry, rocky ground; while others sow seeds in fertile soil. The choice is ours, and we must be mindful, not only at the time when those seeds are sown, but in every wakeful step. Are we cultivating the fertile soil of compassion, enriched by every experience, no matter how much it "stinks", or how unpleasant it "appears"? Or are we cultivating a dry, barren and rocky place? Even then, if we discover that we have not been good stewards of the soil, when we bring mindful intentionality to the moment, we can choose to plant cacti and that soil will become the desert of compassion.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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A reflection on Mindfulness

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:51:40 +0000

In the Digha Nikaya, one of the early Buddhist texts, Buddha Sakyamuni is recorded as saying, “When these Brahmins teach a path they do not embrace themselves or know, saying, ‘This is the only true path,’ this cannot possibly be so. Just as a line of blind men go on, clinging to each other, and the first one sees nothing, the middle one sees nothing, and the last one sees nothing, so it is with the teachings of these Brahmins.” (Digha Nikaya 13.15)

This is resonant with the account in the gospel attributed to Luke, in which Rabbi Jesus says, “Can a blind man guide a blind man? Will not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6.39-40)

So it is with so many of the popular “new age” teachers. They cleverly package their message as a “secret”, knowing that it will sell books, DVDs and workshops, but those who buy those books and tapes, like those who spend hundreds of dollars on the workshops and intensives, might be disappointed to discover that nothing real or substantial was gained from that experience.

When I am teaching the new monastic and lay students of the Living Dharma Community, we talk a lot about mindfulness. It’s a word that is often used in Zen centres, Buddhist classes, and a central point of meditation practice. It has never been a “secret” — never something anyone has had to pay to learn. But it’s often overlooked by those seeking relief from suffering, because it sounds so simple that they cannot perceive it as having much real importance.

Mindfulness goes beyond the description of an “ideal”. It becomes, with practice, more than a state of mind. Mindfulness brings one’s attention to the moment — interiorly and exteriorly, until that awareness realises that there is no interior or exterior. Mindfulness notices, without judging, the thoughts that arise at every moment. Mindfulness informs that recognition that these are only thoughts, and thoughts can be changed.

When we are mindful, we find a loosening of the seeming constrictions of life’s stressors. The stressors certainly continue to arise, but because we are mindful of their true nature, we can allow ourselves to notice: “Ah! There is something that is triggering thoughts of stress, or anger, or frustration.” The stress doesn’t simply vanish, but it loses its perceived power. Mindfulness alerts us to the motives, fears and unwholesome thoughts that contribute directly to suffering in our experiences, so that we can replace those with wholesome, compassionate and balanced thoughts and perceptions.

When we practice mindfulness regularly, we begin to realise when those to whom we were listening are not really teachers, but are the metaphoric “blind ones” we read about in the beginning of this reflection. We notice that when one begins to tell us not to trust the part of our minds that employs rational thought and reasoning, that person is either misguided or manipulating us. When one tries to convince us that they can unlock the “secret” to our intuition (almost always at a hefty price), we can recognise what’s really going on there. But without mindfulness, we are left to the whims and fancies of the world’s teachers.

Perhaps the greatest reason for mindfulness, however, is that it will always make us aware of the need for compassion, understanding, dialogue, reconciliation, kindness and service. And once we allow our awareness to naturally turn toward these needs, we will eventually train the mind to stay focused on the importance of these things. And where one is mindful and aware of the need for compassion, one will always discover the source of true and lasting peace, calm abiding and unconditional satisfaction.

Namasté!

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa –
Crown Prince of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Khenpo Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Gianmichael Salvato, O.C., Th.D.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Why?

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:08:41 +0000

For nearly thirty years now, my students have understood the importance of asking the question, “Why?” It is the essential question to ask, before engaging in any enterprise, pursuit or activity. The more clearly one understands “what their why is”, the more readily they will be able to craft a successful outcome.

But there is another benefit to asking, “Why”. This singular question allows us to examine deeply the motivations, intentions, and desires that exist behind every action and pursuit, behind every word and thought.

It is a practice I engage daily, and which has made it very possible for me to remain detached from certain outcomes, circumstances and conditions.

While the physical abuse and pain I underwent as a victim of a violent sexual assault by four men, in May of 1983, was difficult and resulted in my developing full-blown AIDS, it has seldom interfered with my ability to live life fully, openly and with peace. Asking myself “why” allowed me to understand the woundedness, the frustration and the suffering that my attackers were facing, as Haitian illegal immigrants in South Florida, in 1983. I could no longer be angry with them, because my heart was torn open with compassion and sadness for what they must have gone through, to be pushed to act in such a violent way.

Recently, I began to realise that I was being confronted with a number of issues repeatedly, in my practice as a Buddhist contemplative and lama. Chief among these was the growing awareness I began to develop that sectarianism and intolerance was beginning to become as prevalent in the Buddhist world as it is in fundamentalist Christian and Muslim sects. I began to struggle deeply with feeling that I was on the edge of breaking samaya with the last living members of my Dharma lineage, over an unwillingness to become a mindless puppet, and simply “accept” the patent marginalisation, cruelty and injustices being forced upon the Shugdenpa, by revered and highly esteemed lamas and rinpoches, including His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

So it became time to ask myself why…

Why did I choose the path of Tibetan Buddhism? Why did I move beyond the simple, pure and unfettered Zen traditions, into which I was initiated by my beloved Refuge Guru, and by Robert Danza Sensei, Marianne Donoghue Sensei and inspired deeply by Master Thich Nhat Hanh?

I would like to share a little bit of the discoveries and process that I am now deeply considering…

First of all, I recognise that there were three aspects of Tibetan Buddhism that drew me into the Dharma lineage I now hold:

Foremost was the Mahayana Path and Bodhisattva Ideal. This resonates with me to the very core of my being. It is the reason I chose the Buddhist path, and why I was drawn to the simplicity and service of the Franciscan charism. I have known, from the time I was seven years old, I chose this life to serve others, and to work for the alleviation of suffering. I have known that I would come back to this life, aeon-after-aeon, if necessary, until suffering existed no more. And that commitment is so deeply ingrained into who I am – hardwired, if you will – that I could never practice any type of spirituality without it being the central focus.

Secondly, there has been a connection or resonance with the Great Lama Je Tsongkhapa, also as far back as six or seven. I cannot explain it, and would not try, for fear that it would sound insane… but in my heart and mind, I somehow “know” Je Rinpoche as intimately as I know my own Root Guru. This connection is as clear as the fact that my heart has belonged to three Buddha emanations, since early childhood: to Amitabha (in the Buddhist aspect, and in his emanation as Francis of Assisi), to Avalokitesvara (in the Buddhist aspect of Chenrezig, the Japanese Kuan Yin, and as the Christotokos), and to Manjusri/Christ/Shiva – the embodiment of wisdom, and the compassion bourne out of samadhi/contemplation.

But perhaps the most compelling reason for me to actually affiliate myself with and seek empowerment from Tibetan lamas was that my heart is ripped open by seeing suffering, and I knew that the Tibetan people suffer greatly at the hands of the Chinese government. And so it was an act of solidarity, just as I had marched with Cesar Chavez and the migrant farm workers, and as I stood with Dorothy Day during “Peace on Earth Day”… so too do I stand with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and all the Tibetan people.

It was the realisation of that third motivator that caused me to become aware that the reason I did not continue to formally identify as a zen monk, was because I felt a protective allegiance for the Tibetan people, whom I saw as being marginalised, displaced, disparaged and hurt. Suddenly it became very clear to me why I felt so deeply torn by what I was seeing happen to the Shugdenpa. It was the fact that they were having the same injustices visited upon them by their own people… people who should know better, and be more tolerant, compassionate and willing to embrace diversity.

So I find myself at a cross-roads. Twenty-seven of our monks have left the Order, because I refused to back down from my defense of the Shugdenpa. One left because she was in the clutches of fundamentalist Buddhist cult in Baltimore, and refused to be held accountable for her lack of engaged Buddhism, commitment to on-going formation, and her intolerant, cultic mindset. And seventeen of the former Franciscan brothers and sisters left, because they could not and would not accept my teaching that the biblical stories were simply repackaged superstitions and legends bourne out of the ancient Egyptian cult of the Sun-God.

Simultaneously, several of our key benefactors withdrew their financial support for our work, over the Shugden issue, and over my refusal to adopt sectarian ideologies, and play the lineage supremacy game. They wanted me to denounce a particular Buddhist teacher in the United States, and by so-doing, denounce her teacher’s formal recognition of her position and status. I refused. They wanted me to speak in support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s oppression of the Shugdenpa, and I refused. And they wanted me to formally disassociate myself from my role as successor to the apostles, and as a Franciscan contemplative. I likewise refused.

As a result, we frequently suffer the pains of having no money to pay rent, groceries, or utilities. And we’re considered personna non-grata by some “popular” Buddhist groups, particularly in the Tibetan tradition, because I refused to wear traditional Tibetan robes again, until the Shugdenpa are treated as equals by the Gulugpa and Nyingmapa.

My teaching will always be based on the pure Dharma offered so generously to this world by Lama Tsongkhapa (Je Rinpoche). I will always teach and strive to live according to the Bodhisattva Ideal. And so much of my personal path will be deeply influenced by Tibetan Buddhism. Even my personal sadhanas will always reflect this heritage, because it has been 20 years that I have employed that practice in my own spiritual journey.

But I am considering moving toward a more open, non-sectarian, transpersonal expression of the Dharma… and will be sharing more with you about that in the months to come.

For now, I ask you to remember me in your thoughts and pujas.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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Madness and Enlightenment

Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:24:21 +0000

Student: "Is it possible to achieve enlightenment without becoming mad?"

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche: "We are mad anyway, in different degrees. We may not become completely mad unless we are maniacs- religious maniacs or political maniacs, whatever- unless we lost control of the situation. We have a sort of medium madness going on all the time, with the possibility of absolute madness. You see – that is samsara – madness. And that which is not madness is called enlightenment. Because such an idea as madness exists, therefore automatically there is that which is not madness, which is enlightenment. So once you begin to talk about enlightenment, or freedom, that means you are speaking in terms of madness."

Those of us on the feral wisdom path of the Dharma of Compassion are akin to the Bauls, to Francis d’Assisi and Neem Karoli Baba… to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati and Krsnamurti. We dance with the Great Buddha Avalokitesvara, and with Siva… we sing songs of love and devotion to Kali, Tara and the Christokos. We journey alongside Milarepa, Ramprasad and Mary Magdalen, and call our Beloved Teachers Krsna, Christ and Tsongkhapa. And our dance calls forth the Protectors and Removers of Obstacles, Ganesa, Dorje Setrap Chen, Dorje Shugden and Hanumanji.

We are beloved and reviled. Respected and held with disdain. None of it is ours… and so none of it matters.

Feral Wisdom is indeed considered "crazy" by some, for it sees things through an entirely different lens. It views the teachings of the Buddha and the Christ as being one and the same. It doesn’t concern itself with whether the stories, legends and narratives told in various so-called scriptures are accurate, historical or even true. It uses every experience, every breath and the space between the breaths to integrate the two forms of wisdom (jnana — the type of primordial wakefulness we call "yeshe" in Tibetan) and prajna – the more intellectual wisdom we acquire through constant examination of each experience.

In the words of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, "Jnana is your inheritance. Prajna is a sympathetic inheritance which you work toward." So both are inherently ours — that is part of our nature. But one is discovered through the process of examination and mindfulness, while the feral wisdom itself is simply realised or awakened by our daily practice… by emptying the mind, and sitting in the Primordial Silence of Sunyatananda (the bliss of Emptiness).

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

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