dharmatalks

There is a story in the Buddhist canon, in which Buddha Sakyamuni was with the monks in what was called “the Assembly of the Lotus of the True Way”. After being entreated several times to preach by Sariputra, Buddha Sakyamuni said that the Dharma could never be understood by thought or intellect, so how could he teach?

To be certain, there are volumes of Buddhist texts, commentaries and histories written. And these can satisfy the intellectual curiosity or hunger for academic understanding. These are doubtless wholesome pursuits. But they remain unnecessary.

In my 29 years as a Buddhist monk, I spent much time, at the instruction of my teachers, learning various rituals, reciting rote texts, performing specific pujas, and engaging in classic Tibetan debate. These exercises strengthened and sharpened my understanding of the basis and foundation of the Buddhist tradition. But they were not, in themselves, responsible for my development as a student of the Dharma.

Only by reaching a point at which I recognised that the Dharma was nothing to attain… that there was no need for thought, discrimination, ritual or study. These things were simply the disciplines that would engender a more receptive and willing student.

This evening, I had the pleasure of sharing a cup of tea with a visiting monk from another tradition. I was embarrassed a bit to offer such a wise and generous old sage a seat in the midst of the disarray of the hermitage, as I prepare to move a few days from now. Because of the hour, I offered him tea, sweetened with sugar, because I was already out of honey. And we sat, talking about the Contemplative Order of Compassion, and particularly about the monastic element — the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path.

“You know,” the gentle Ajahn commented, after a period of simply sitting and enjoying the silence, “You are really not a good Buddhist monk.”

I pranaamed to him and smiled, and said, “Thank you, Teacher.”

He continued, “You teach no doctrine to your monastic students, you do not follow the monastic rule to the letter, and you encourage your monks to work, so that they can provide for the poor, the sick and the dying… In our country, the monks are the poorest of the poor. They remain in the monastery, except for the prescribed times, when they make themselves available for someone to offer them food. They are good monks.”

I simply nodded, and smiled warmly. “You are right, my dear Brother.”

“Why do you not defend the honour of your order?” he asked, this time smiling a bit broadly.

“There is nothing to defend, my Teacher,” I replied, “We are indeed, bad Buddhists, if we deserve to be called Buddhist at all.”

“What then are you?” my Master-along-the-Path inquired.

“We are contemplative monks, who seek to live our lives in accordance with the Dharma, to serve all sentient beings, and to commit ourselves to return countless lives over, until suffering exists no more. We apply this teaching right where we are — regardless of our sexual orientation, regardless of our relational status, regardless of our position in life… because in the end, we are insubstantial, impermanent and empty.”

“You are empty,” he repeated, “therefore you cannot be good Buddhists… because how could you be something which does not exist, when you yourself are empty.”

I was speechless. It was the first time a monk from that particular tradition seemed to understand the difference in our outward expression and interpretation of the traditions, yet saw that we followed the Dharma no less. The experience nearly brought me to tears.

“What are your plans for service in the future?” my Teacher asked me.

“Well, we hope to establish Dharma Centres and Social Justice Centres in Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg,” I explained, “My inspiration is the work of His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, and the tremendous efforts of Michael Daube, the cousin of the man with whom I now share my life and heart.”

Bikkhu Ajhan nodded. He was familiar with the work of Michael Daube’s Citta Foundation in India. He also knew of Rinpoche, and said that I should visit Rinpoche next year, because things are about to “shift dramatically” for me and my work.

We talked about taking thought and judgment out of the equations of our lives. I told him that once I realised the need for this, I found myself in love with this wonderful young man, and without judging, analysing or thinking about it, agreed to share my life with him, and help him further his own Dharma realisation.

It was an interesting night. Craig called me during his visit, and realising the time, the Visitor decided that he too must be heading back into town. Before he left, he gave me the greatest two gifts I could ever have received: the first was a simple, sandalwood mala (prayer beads), which he had used for many years. In return, I asked him to accept my own mala, which had become rather worn over the years, and were a gift from my Refuge Guru, Swami Abishektananda-ji. The second gift, however, was one I could never match, as he said, “I saw the love you have for your partner, Craig… yet, I see and experience that same love from you myself; therefore, you have learned to love without attachment. You are in love with Craig, yet you are in love with all beings as well. You cannot be a good Buddhist, because you are already Love. I bow to you, a Buddha-to-Be.”

All I could do was to pranaam to his Lotus Feet, and touch the bottom of his robe to my forehead.

As I walked him to the door, we broke another of the vinaya rules, and instead of the traditional embrace, he permitted me a “Western hug” and then we bowed to one another, and parted ways in silence.

It took me four hours to be able to find these words to attempt to express the gratitude for the encounter, and the kindness of his words of affirmation.

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “In accumulating property for ourselves or our posterity, in founding a family or estate, or acquiring fame even, we are mortal; but in dealing with truth we are immortal, and need fear no change nor accident… That time which we really improve, or which is improvable, is neither past, present, nor future.”

Just as the fog often obscures the beauty of the peaceful morning lake, sometimes the phenomena around us can obscure from view the wonder that awaits us. To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Earth’s filled with the Sacred and every common bush afire with the Divine. But only he who sees takes off his shoes…”

They say that the most frequent quest undertaken by humans is the quest for love. We hear people tell us that they’ve searched for love their whole lives. The loss of a loved one causes feelings of pain and suffering to arise. And so many people buy into the consumerism that promises more of what it takes to make us “lovable”, if we just take this weight loss pill, rub that cream on our wrinkles, smooth our frizzy hair out with ionic steam, and give ourselves a spritz of that body spray. Trouble is… none of those things will do the trick… because love isn’t something we have to find. It was never lost or hidden in the first place!

Our culture confuses an obsession with desire for love. We confuse possessiveness as being love. We mistake validation for love.

Love is unconditional. It simply exists, and as the beginningless and formless Ground of Being, is never lost, never ends, never causes pain or confusion.

Anything that is impermanent, such as the cloud of conditions that we perceive in our daily experience, has no capacity to bring happiness, satisfaction or transformation. In Tibetan, the word for “blessing” actually means “transformation”. So if we are confronted with a painful or difficult condition, we have to realise that conditions arise out of the interdependent climate of cause and effect, which we call karma.

I have known for almost a month now that I would likely end up losing the apartment that has served as a temporary hermitage for the past year. It’s been five months since my accident, and I remain completely unable to use my right arm in any meaningful capacity. That has meant five months of no income, and has resulted in the complete draining of the monastic order’s account.

This is an impermanent condition however. I have been waiting to hear from a nursing home in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, where I hope to be able to work as a pastoral care clinician and counselor for patients challenged by life-threatening conditions. My focus, through all of this has been the same as it has for the past twenty-four years, with one exception…

A few months ago, I began to realise that I was likely never going to “fit into” the mainstream culture of spiritual teachers. The reason for that, as one of my teachers pointed out to me recently, is that I truly embrace the concept of “the Middle Way,” and recognise that the Middle Way is dynamic. There are many teachers of the dharma, who embrace a deep belief in the concept of the Middle Way, but rely on interpretations, monastic rules and cultural expressions that are more than two-thousand years old. That is not dynamic. The Buddha always taught the same dharma, but adapted it to the particular culture and audience to whom he was teaching. Thus the dharma — changeless and timeless was ever changing and current. This requires skillful means and a lifetime of study and devotion to the spirit of the dharma, but it is something that we see in embodied in those I consider to be among the greatest dharma teachers today — people like His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, His Eminence the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh and Venerable Ani Pema Chodron.

The Dalai Lama understands that the dharma is universal, and is willing to sacrifice the political power and hierarchical tradition of his temporal office, in order to be able to bring to bear the fruits of Chenrezig — the Ocean of Compassion. He doesn’t teach a dharma that is steeped in cultural isolation, but makes the dharma relevant and accessible for those in the East and West. Likewise, teachers like the tulkus Tsem Tulku Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, as well as masters Thich Nhat Hanh and Pema Chodron, bring an accessible Buddhism to the people entrusted to their care.

An important, and in fact, primary segment of those entrusted to my care has always been “my tribe” — the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. For too long, there have been aspects of the dharma that caused LGBT persons to feel they were still inadequate, still unable to achieve something meaningful, without casting off that unspeakable part of themselves… our natural sexual orientation.

After my accident, I decided that I’d had enough trying to adapt to the rules of culture far removed from my own. I don’t live in a Third World country, and begging on the streets for my meals isn’t part of the culture in which I serve. I don’t have the wealth of kings, land barons or governments building monasteries for me and my students or monks. And there is too much suffering all around me to just go close myself up in a monastery in another country, and pretend that I am doing my part. If that were to be my karmic path, then I would have chosen to be born in one of those countries and cultures. But I believe I am here, in this culture, in this era and in this country — as an openly-gay monk, living with AIDS and epilepsy, for a reason.

“It would be nice,” I commented to my teacher in November, “if there were a way for me to really impress upon others that it was possible to live a fully human life — including the joyous and non-grasping expression of sexual intimacy — and still live the dharma.”

“You will,” he said. And I grunted the kind of “yeah sure” grunt that often accompanies those things that seem so much bigger than I could ever accomplish as a simple, irreverent, postmodern, punk-monk.

A little more than a month ago, I discovered that all of the pieces were indeed falling into place for me to be able to do just that… and in a way I would not have imagined likely or possible. More amazing to me was that someone I’d often dreamed of sharing that with — who, like me, was not interested in romantic relationships, had no desire to “go there”, and was simply on a path of following one’s heart — emailed me the same night I emailed him and said, “You know… there’s something about us…”

So there will be those who have a field day telling me that no Buddhist monk is ever permitted to enter a committed, loving and sexually intimate relationship… but I’ve done just that for 24 years of my life. So that’s not entirely true. There will be those who say that I am leading people down a path of suffering, by not teaching them to follow the traditions of the two millennia old vinaya (Buddhist monastic rules). I’ve never met anyone who was suffering as a result of anything other than attachment. And I teach students the Middle Way, the way of non-attachment, compassion, awareness and loving-kindness through service. So I am confident they will be fine.

In fact, I am more than confident, because now I realise that there will be potentially hundreds of people — not just LGBT persons, but other marginalised and disparaged people, who suddenly realise that it is possible to be fully alive, fully expressive as a human being, and journey together from Dharma to Enlightenment… from Life to Love.

The Japanese Buddhist teaching says, “The jewel of the perfect nature, clear and luminous as the sun, dwells in every being.” Each of us possesses the capacity for using wisdom, compassion and clear light for the good that we are, and to alleviate the suffering of all sentient beings. As Ramakrsna beautifully noted, “He who finds not the Eternal in himself will never find It outside himself; but he who recognises the Divine in the temple of his own heart, finds the Divine also in the temple of the Universe.”

In the next week, I have to prepare for some monumental changes in my life… so I may not be online as often as usual. But I dedicate this with gratitude to all of those who find meaning and inspiration in my reflections… especially to those who are my Tribe… a Universal Tribe of those called to authentically love.

My dear friend, the late Michael Callen wrote a song about living with AIDS, which I listened to tonight before meditation. The words of the refrain say it all:

“Love don’t need a reason…
Love’s never a crime…
Love is all we have for now…
What we don’t have is time…”

Don’t waste another minute of life without love. Tell those who matter to you that you love them. And I do love each of you… and Craig… now everyone knows, I love you too, Dude. And I am so grateful to have you in my life.

Namast

This week’s question: “Namaste, Servant-Father. I try to practice mindfulness, but am lucky to be able to squeeze in 30-minutes of meditation time each day. So much happens in my everyday life that causes me to react, rather than respond, and I am sure that is because I am not meditating longer. Is there any other way to increase mindfulness?”

Thank you for a thoughtful question, and one which has come up from several others in the past week, as we have been discussing mindfulness and compassion as critical parts of our daily practice.

One of the questions that frequently comes up from students new to the teaching is a request for clarification on what I mean by the term “non-duality”. For many, especially in the West, the concept of dualism is might not be something they’ve ever run across, particularly if they were raised in one of the more prevalent Western religious traditions.

From a spiritual perspective, non-duality refers to a mindful awareness of the interconnected nature of all phenomena, and simultaneously recognising that there exists a “greater reality” than the perceptions we are able to entertain. It is an awareness of non-separateness from the beginningless and formless substance of life, and a desirable mental condition that doesn’t seek to grasp for definitions, where none would suffice.

This mindful appreciation of the true interconnected nature of things is an important first step toward the realisation of true satisfaction and peace. It is an approach that is in stark contrast with the common cultural, social and religious paradigms with which many of us were raised. From the non-dualistic perspective, nothing external or separate from us is necessary, because nothing external or separate from us truly exists. All phenomena arise as a result of interdependent causes and conditions, including the physical body we inhabit and mistakenly identify as our “self”.

When we learn to let go of the attempts to find satisfaction and fulfillment outside ourselves — whether from relationships, material possessions, mythical deities, status or recognition, spiritual attainments, sex or religion — we become from from the cycle of suffering, disappointment, and attachment. From that point onward, we begin to truly live for the first time. So one might say that non-duality is the first step in awakening.

In the Dharma of Compassion, I often use a concept that was made popular in the book, A Course in Miracles, which teaches simply that whatever is not love is fear. And I further that statement with the clarification, “…and love is the only thing that’s real!”

Much of the fear we experience in the world today can be traced back to the superstitions and traditions of some of the primitive religious practices, which relied upon mythological stories to explain the inexplicable. Such stories also helped the often self-appointed leaders of these traditions to control the behaviour of these primitive adherents. Psychologists have long known that there are two primary motivating factors behind most of the decisions and actions we take in our culture: fear of loss, or promise of reward. Almost every major religion employs one or both of these motivators in its sacred mythos.

For nearly five millennia, these sacred myths have served their purposes, and have been largely embraced by the majority of humanity in one form or another. However, over the past two centuries, a growing number of individuals have begun to discover the richness of some of the older spiritual traditions, such as those of the Advaita, Aboriginal, Pagan and Buddhist philosophies, which more readily recognise the difference between sacred mythos and the more important spiritual truths to which those myths were intended to guide us. As a result, reasoning and intelligent investigation have become the foundations for spiritual study, rather than irrational and blind faith.

These traditions recognise that such conventions as “good vs. evil,” “light vs. dark,” “perfection vs. imperfection,” and “sacred vs. mundane” are illusory concepts, created by humanity, with no basis in reality whatsoever. For the non-dualist, there can no more be such a thing as “evil” or “hell” (or “heaven” for that matter) than there can be mistakes in the science of physics or mathematics.

I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Hey, how can he say that? Of course there can be mistakes in mathematics! If someone tells me 2+2=9, that’s clearly a mistake.”

You’re right about one thing there. If someone tells you 2+2=9, they have indeed made a mistake. The mistake is that they considered their calculation to be mathematics. Mathematics is a science, and therefore, operates according to laws, which when properly understood, provide predictable and consistent results. Therefore, 2+2 will always equal 4, whether we are talking about eggs, oranges, cowboys or grains of rice.

Most of us have surely heard the expression, “I’ve made a mistake,” but have we ever heard anyone say, “I’ve made a truth…”? Of course not! And the reason is simple.

A mistake is something we create by misunderstanding the way things are. Whether from a mistaken perception, a delusional mindset, or because we were simply given incorrect information, we actually create mistakes. A mistake, in Buddhist terms, is a phenomenon. It arises as a result of interdependent causes and conditions. The good news is that no phenomena are ever permanent, and actually, that which is impermanent is empty, therefore not real ultimately. It may be an actual part of our experience, and therefore have all of the qualities we ascribe to “reality”, but that is because our perception of what is real and what is not is still being developed.

Truth, on the other hand, is not part of the phenomenal world. Truth is numenal… beginningless and therefore real. It already exists, never changes, and therefore does not need to be created. As a result, it is also endless.

When we sense that there is something “greater” than what we perceive, we are sensing (experiencing) the awakening of our awareness of truth. Love is the ultimate expression of truth. I like to say that love is truth in action.

That is why I make the somewhat controversial statement that it is mistaken to claim that one who is intimately involved in a relationship with another person or persons is incapable of achieving enlightenment or non-suffering. That is not a very useful way to look at the expression of love or sexuality. It is a common misconception that was born out of primitive cultures, which taught that sexuality was somehow “dirty” or “base”, particularly if it was not specifically used for reproduction of the species. I reject such thoughts as being no different than any other delusional attachment and dualistic mode of thinking.

There is only one thing which causes suffering, and that is attachment or duality. We sometimes use the term “grasping” to explain or describe this phenomenon. Essentially, whenever we attempt to find our ultimate satisfaction or happiness outside ourselves… whenever we imagine that we are not already sufficient… we are creating the causes and conditions for suffering. Therefore, when one becomes attached to sex as a means of seeking validation and gratification, they create the potential for suffering. Similarly, when one becomes attached to avoiding sex, because they fear they will be powerless over its alleged capacity for creating attachment, they too have created the potential for suffering. Only when one allows themselves to be mindful and present in the moment, allowing the cloud of sensations and experiences to arise and dissolve, is one free of the dualistic trap that causes suffering.

Chocolate cake does not cause obesity. Becoming attached to eating too much chocolate cake, because one imagines that lasting happiness will come from the consumption of that cake will cause obesity. One should not avoid chocolate cake (unless there is only one piece left, and a certain punk monk is looking hungry), but instead should avoid over-indulging in it.

Beyond our definitions… beyond our perceptions… beyond our delusions… only truth exists. The greatest evidence of truth is love. The ultimate home of truth is the moment. The perfect expression of truth is compassion.

Namasté!

– gurudas sunyatananda, o.c.
    dharmadude unplugged 8.0 (http://dharmadude.multiply.com )
    (mirror-sites: http://lovetakesyouin.livejournal.com and http://progressivevoices.org )

Copyright ©2008 The Office of the Ven. Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda, O.C. All rights reserved. Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda, O.C., M.Sc., Th.D. is a contemplative Buddhist monk and retired Catholic archbishop, who has been exploring the parallel teachings of the Buddha and the Christ for more than 25 years. As a respected theological anthropologist, pastoral counselor and professor of Buddhist spirituality, he also serves as the spiritual advisor of the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path, and the Spiritus Project/Lojong Monastery Project — an intentional and international grassroots non-sectarian spiritual community. for more information, or to schedule a workshop, retreat or weekend seminar with Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda for your group, dharma centre, church or organisation, please visit: http://spiritusproject.org

The past couple days have brought with them a wonderful shift. It seems that a number of folks, who don’t always comment or ask questions about the dharma teachings, found something within them stirring at the posts about interreligious and interspiritual dialogue. And nothing could have pleased me more, than to receive several emails from folks who understand that they could be a student of the dharma without becoming part of any religion, or without changing their own religious affiliation.

Compassion and love are the foundational keys to every spiritual practice. That compassion and love can be best expressed in selfless service to those who suffer. My only request and challenge for others is that they practice these three things well. Mindfulness will develop organically, if we focus on love and compassion. Equanimity and altruistic joy arises naturally, when we are engaged in selfless service.

This afternoon, I had the privilege to speak with a group of college students at Emory University, who were campaigning for a particular candidate. One of the students saw my mala (prayer beads) and asked, “Oh, are you a Buddhist?” I explained that I am a monk, and we sat down for fifteen minutes or so to talk about the Buddhist perspective, the situation in Tibet, Buddhist ethics and its relationship to the political activism. It turns out that four of these five students are practicing Buddhists, and the fifth is interested and just beginning to learn about Buddhism, through the Drepung Institute.

They asked me what I look for in a political candidate, and I explained that I looked for compassion, leadership, and a willingness to embrace a global accountability. I told them that as a gay man, I support things such as equality — regardless of whether it was gender-based, ethnic/racial or sexual orientation focused. I recognise the right of people to celebrate their love in ways that are authentic to them. But I don’t invest any time or effort pushing for marriage rights, because there are issues far more important that I believe require our attention first.

I explained to them that for the past five years, I have focused a great deal of effort supporting those candidates who work for the passage of increased stem-cell research. In recent months, this has hit home even harder, with my own condition, that of my mother and now the man with whom I am prepared to share my life in Pennsylvania all struggle with conditions that could be helped by stem-cell research. Few people in the political arena have spoken with as much conviction as Senator Clinton, who fought aggressively to have the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act approved by Congress. (Her efforts resulted in an overwhelming majority passing the bill in both the House and Senate, only to be vetoed by the Bush Cabal in 2005 and 2007)

I explained that I am also concerned with healthcare reform, care for abused and neglected children, and with putting an end to the war-for-profit scheme in Iraq.

But more than all of these things, I felt it was essential for the kind of leadership that would hold the United States accountable to its citizens and to the citizens of the world. If a leader was willing to be a proponent of non-violent reform, compassionate medical care, and interdependent relationships between countries, then I believe that global impact would be most favourable.

As followers of the dharma, this means finding and strengthening our own core of love and compassion, interior disarmament, and redoubling our commitment to non-violence, social justice and peace. Unless we find and remain mindful of the organic core of love and compassion that exists within each of us, we will continue to see others as enemies, separate, and competing for what is “ours”. In that kind of environment, only suffering can be achieved.

It seems that people are turning a corner at this critical juncture, and realising that there must be a better way than constantly struggling to deceive, control, manipulate and overpower one another. Interdependence and equanimity are becoming the focus, as we look at the injustices and oppression being levied against the Tibetan people for more than half a century now. We cannot stand up for the rights of the Tibetan people and sit quietly by and support the devastation of the war we provoked in Iraq and Afghanistan. We cannot pretend to value life, but oppose the advancement of stem-cell research, or access to medications for AIDS, cancer, ALS, MS and Parkinson Disease. We cannot claim to be a great nation, and allow our justice system to impose capital punishment on prisoners, or turn our heads as millions of children go to bed hungry tonight, while we go to bed gorged.

The time has come, and it’s up to us… not just the political candidates… to embrace a lifestyle of compassion, love and service.

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 Spiritus Project, 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!

– gurudas sunyatananda, o.c.
dharmadude unplugged 8.0 (http://dharmadude.multiply.com )
(mirror-sites: http://lovetakesyouin.livejournal.com and http://progressivevoices.org )

Copyright ©2008 The Office of the Ven. Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda, O.C. All rights reserved. Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda, O.C., M.Sc., Th.D. is a contemplative Buddhist monk and retired Catholic archbishop, who has been exploring the parallel teachings of the Buddha and the Christ for more than 25 years. As a respected theological anthropologist, pastoral counselor and professor of Buddhist spirituality, he also serves as the spiritual advisor of the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path, and the Spiritus Project/Lojong Monastery Project — an intentional and international grassroots non-sectarian spiritual community. for more information, or to schedule a workshop, retreat or weekend seminar with Lama Gurudas Sunyatananda for your group, dharma centre, church or organisation, please visit: http://spiritusproject.org