dharmatalks

*We spend so much of our lives trying be anywhere but in the moment. We occupy our days with planning for the future… with striving for that next promotion… planning that next vacation… deciding which temple or church or dharma centre we’re going to visit next… and in the process, we miss millions-upon-millions of opportunities to grow, to find balance… to awaken.

One of my favourite passages in the Digha Nikaya, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Tipitaka or central text for practitioners of Theravadan Buddhism (the Primary Vehicle or Hinayana Path), is the following text:

“ Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge;
there is no other refuge. Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge.”
                                                          -  Digha Nikaya, 16

Recently I had an engaging conversation with a bright and dedicated student, who was completely absorbed by the notion that because she has had many past lives, and is now more aware that she was in previous lives, there is no way she could ever take a "lower birth". Of course, her very attachment to the egocentric idea that she is so advanced now will very likely result in her creating a lower rebirth, because she is clinging to her perceptions, not reality, and self-absorbed, not mindful. So I challenged her to let go of these ideas, and of the new age fluff that often surrounds such things as past life regression.

So you think you can remember your past lives, so what? Many people have, and it doesn’t mean that they are guaranteed any kind of future merit. What matters is what you do with NOW… with this moment… not what you did in the past.

Here’s a newsflash… If you were anywhere near as wonderful as your ego-mind would like you to believe in your past incarnations, you wouldn’t be here. The simple fact is that you have never been more ready for awakening than you are right now, so let go of what you did in the past… whether it was your last lifetime or last week… or last night.

The great Theravadan teacher, Ajhan Chah once taught:

"Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything.
Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. What you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. If you haven’t wept deeply, you haven’t begun to meditate."

The only reason we fail to open our hearts and minds to the potential of this moment is attachment. If we fear the possibility of one particular outcome or another, we will either find ourselves clinging to something or someone, or resisting and running away from something or someone or some idea. In either case, the fear is irrational. The only moment that matters is the present moment. Bring your awareness to that moment, and you begin to transform everything. Only to the degree we begin to look compassionately at ourselves, we can begin to look compassionately at the world around us. Only to the degree that we let go of the need to tell anyone else how wonderful we were in the past can we begin to see how wonderful the present moment is.

The ancient wisdom of the Dharma offers sage advice, "Speak quietly and kindly, and don’t force your opinions or advice upon anyone. Be near when help is needed, but far when praise and thanks are being offered. You, no less than all beings, have the Enlightened Nature within you. Your essential Mind is pure."

I don’t find it useful to become obsessed with worrying about what kind of rebirth I will take. What matters to me is what I can do right now, to alleviate and end self-cherishing, attachment, grasping and resistance. If I do that, I progress on the path. If I am faithful to my spiritual practice, if I cultivate a strong and healthy relationship with my teachers, then my spiritual practice will accumulate merit, and negative karma will not ripen, but will begin to whither, as the positive merit ripens and inspires me to do whatever I can to alleviate the suffering of others. Short of doing that, I would have no interest in spirituality at all.

Our spiritual practice, when rooted in mindfulness and the constant practice of staying in the moment, can be like an oil lamp, with compassion being the oil, and wisdom serving as the flame itself. We need only choose to carry that lamp with us always, and in time, as the flame begins to burn more brightly, the darkness will yield to our innate Light.

Namasté

khenpo gurudas sunyatananda

*image courtesy of hylah on flickr

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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.