THE BEAUTY OF IMPERMANENCE

(Speaking Tree Paper, Front Page, 02.02.2014)


Of the three most important teachings in Buddhism, impermanence (Pali: anicca, Sanskrit: anischa) is one of them. Often when teachings on this topic are given to young monks, nuns and lay practitioners, the stress is on the ever presence of death. This is so done to help turn the seekers mind inward so that no time is further lost in commencing practice since human life is relatively short. However, to a common person death is often associated with the demise or passing away of someone near and dear or the ceasing of existence of something created. Surely this means we should cherish the moments we spend with beloved ones rather than engage in energy sapping bickering resulting in nothing worthwhile.


Impermanence is therefore to be understood as ‘nothing that arises from causes and conditions or from conditioned existence can really being permanent.’ In short, if conditions change or are made to change the resulting phenomena must also change. Recently when our teacher Khenpo Sonam Tsewang came to Pune for teachings, he also had the time and good fortune to visit the caves of Ajanta and Ellora. He was awestruck with their beauty and expressed “...it was a dream come true experience. It's truly inspiring to see the power of human spirit but on the other hand, it’s sad to see the impermanence of things no matter how beautiful they are.”


Expanding the scope of impermanence further we can apply it to every single phenomenon around us. From every breath we take in and let out alternatingly, every emotion or feeling that arises and falls inside us, our ever changing physical body, birth and death of stars, rising and falling of waves, a tree responding to the seasons, movement of our thoughts through the mind...each and everything within and without us is impermanent. Sooner or later it will not exist nor be the same, but give rise to another; be transformed into a similar or different entity.


While impermanence no doubt has its side of despair and pain, it also has a bright side to it which gives us great hope and scope for opportunity.


Imagine if we there were no such thing as impermanence. It would be dreadful to undertake any practice in trying to improve our professional, personal or spiritual trajectory simply because if something were to be permanent how could it possibly be changed?


Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, a brilliant master of our times, says that we should view our present condition as ‘we have a headache’ and not as ‘we are a headache’. If we have a headache, it is possible to create some conditions like taking a tablet or a coffee and taking some rest so as to allow the headache to pass away and improve upon our previous condition. If we see ourselves as being a headache, there is no scope for this situation to change, because we are a headache and nothing could change that!


Another example Rinpoche gives is that of a shirt. Suppose we buy a brand new shirt, use it for a day and then throw it for a wash because we say the ‘shirt is dirty’. This is a mistake. It should be seen as the ‘shirt has dirt’. If the shirt is dirty there is no scope to change its condition because it is dirty and no matter what we do with it, it will remain dirty. But if the shirt has dirt on it, conditions can be created to have it washed and the dirt can be removed. The shirt and dirt are separate. Shirt is nirvana and the dirt is samsara.


A Vajrayana Buddhist’s view on nature of mind is that the shirt was never dirty to begin with!


In the same way, for example, if we are to overcome the negativity of aggression, we need to fully understand that we are not aggression but that we have aggression. By working on it we can end the aggression. In spiritual practice too the Law of Impermanence comes as great solace and hence masters stress so much on its full understanding in depth and detail. If we consider that we can do the right actions of body, speech and mind, follow the Eight Fold Path, undertake virtuous actions, shun non-virtuous ones, undertake meditative practices to slowly gain insight and wisdom it is possible to improve our present situation because the situation we are now in is not permanent and can be changed by applying the right factors and conditions.


Happy contemplation!

TIBETAN BUDDHIST TEACHINGS IN PUNE, 16-17TH NOV 2013

Tibetan Buddhist Master Khenpo Sonam Tsewang will give teachings on SIX PARAMITAS (Transcendent Perfections) in Pune on 16-17th Nov 2013.

Refuge vows will also be given to those who are ready to receive them. Venue: Nagras Road, Aundh


ALL SEATS FILLED UP. NO WALK INS PLEASE. PLEASE TRY NEXT TIME

QUALITIES OF A TEACHER

(Speaking Tree paper, Sun, 08.09.2013)


Ordinary people like us are easily influenced by phenomena around us. We tend to get distracted and at times fall prey to such attractions and distractions which have every possibility in them to lead us to suffering. However, if the purpose of life itself is happiness, then we need to do some kind of course correction in order not to fall prey. This thought leads us to following a spiritual teacher. No sutra, tantra or shastra speaks of any being ever attaining perfect Buddhahood without following a spiritual friend, guru or teacher; much the same way as no one can explore a difficult terrain without the help of an experienced navigator or guide.


In these degenerate times, the question which begs us is: What then are the qualities of a teacher and how should one follow him/her?


The list of qualities can be very long as explained in the Abhidharma covering external (pratimoksha), internal (bodhisattva) and secret (secret mantrayana) vows. It would also include deep insights of the teachings and wisdom of one’s master, knowledge of rituals, actualization of extraordinary achievements by putting into practice the teachings s/he has received, by being generous, teaching according to the individual’s needs, acting in conformity with what s/he teaches and by being of pleasant disposition. This list can really go on and on if we were to list down each and every quality.


During his stay with us earlier this year, when i posed this question to my teacher, Khenpo Sonam, asking him to bring it down to just one single quality, he answered: “That single quality of a worthy teacher would be compassion; which among many other things means that he would never consider exploitation or taking undue or unfair advantage of his student as a possibility.”


This singular aspect comes into sharp focus given the turn of events today. Just as the responsibility is upon the teacher to examine his student, the responsibility also rests with the student to examine the teacher.


Guru Padmasambhava, 8th century CE, says: Not to examine the teacher is like drinking poison; Not to examine the disciple is like leaping from a cliff.


Buddhist teachings are also very clear on the types of teachers one should avoid. They are classified as:
Teachers like a millstone made of wood: These teachers have no trace of qualities arising from study, reflection and meditation but some kind of false belief of belonging to a particular lineage gives them the feeling of being superior to others. Like a millstone made of wood, they are really ineffective in fulfilling their function.
Teachers like the frog that lived in a well: These teachers have no special qualities different from ordinary people. They get to that position by being puffed up by followers who have put him on that pedestal out of blind faith and without examining them. This teacher is himself unaware of the great qualities of a real teacher. Just as the frog came out of the well and saw the ocean, he fainted seeing the sheer expanse of the ocean as compared to his own tiny well.
Mad guides: These teachers have themselves very little knowledge having never followed a teacher themselves nor having learnt the sutras and tantras nor practicing the teachings with diligence. Their strong negative emotions and weak mindfulness make them poor in upholding their samayas (vows)
Blind guides: Teachers who qualities are in no way superior to ours and the one who lacks the vast compassion of bodhichitta (heart of the enlightened mind) will never be able to open other’s eyes to what should and should not be done.


It is therefore said in the teachings that while we must follow a true and accomplished teacher with respect, there are three ways to follow him/her. “In the beginning skilfully examine the teacher; in the middle skilfully follow him and in the end skilfully emulate his actions and realizations. A disciple who does this is on the authentic path.” Dharma teachings further advice us so: “Just as the trunk of an ordinary tree lying on the sandalwood forest floor absorbs the perfume of the sandal; so you come to resemble whomever you follow”.


Tread with great caution, practitioners!

LOVE AND ATTACHMENT: Clear the Confusion

A young student of mine wrote to me recently and enquired: “Is getting attached to anyone or anything bad? What is the difference between attachment and habit?” It is not an uncommon question she has asked. A lot many times i have faced this question therefore i believe the need is greater to understand the difference.


Here’s my explanation:


According to Buddhist definition, there is a distinction to be made between loving someone or something and being attached to it. For this, fundamentally we must understand the difference between 'attachment' and 'love/loving kindness'.


Attachment is based on desire - not necessarily limited to sexual – but one which is grasping in nature based on the ignorant state that things and people are permanent. Attachment is conditional love and is discriminatory in nature. This means that there is a pre-condition set in order to offer love eg: if the judgemental mind establishes a ‘closeness’ to someone or something then we tend to cling to it or grasp at it more and at times don’t seem to get enough of it! If not then we are less interested in it and may even begin to dislike or hate it. There is an ‘if-then’ conditionality linked to it. Attachment is based on 'object' of love arising from a selfish perspective of ‘i alone want to be happy’. There is an action we offer based on ‘subject-object’ duality. Attachment is binding. For these reasons attachment is based on wrong or impure consciousness. Attachment is a non-virtuous, afflictive or contaminated emotion (akushala bhava) leading to negative karma and suffering.


Nature does not support attachment. A tree is not attached to the flower or fruit it bears. Nor does the flower or fruit show any such tendency. On ripening, there is a spontaneous release from both. Same is the case in the animal kingdom. A tigress loves her cub no less than any mother would love her child; but once the cub is sufficiently grown up to fend for itself, there is natural and spontaneous release from the tigress and cub.


Love or loving kindness on the other hand is based on understanding of impermanence. That something which is born will pass away and hence there is need and reason to love. This emotion is desireless for any reason whatsoever. It is unconditional and non-discriminatory i.e. there is no pre-condition of 'if-then' at play here. Much the same way as a mother loves her child unconditionally. It is based on 'reason' for love arising from the basis that it’s not just me alone but all beings who want to be happy and not be in suffering; and therefore need our affection. Love is releasing. For these reasons it is seen to be coming from right or pure consciousness or we can say, mindful consciousness. Sanskrit words used often here are 'karuna' or ‘metta’ (compassion, kindness) or 'maitri' (friendliness, affection). Loving kindness is a virtuous, non-afflictive or uncontaminated emotion (kushala bhava) that leads to joy and positive karmic result.


So, it is therefore clear that any and every kind of relationship should have a close bonding for one another based on love/loving kindness as explained above, care must be taken that the contamination of attachment does not seep in. This maintains the purity of the relationship which becomes stronger, long lasting and capable of weathering many a storm.


Attachment is therefore a kind of emotion that needs to be purified and be replaced with its positive counterpart, that of loving kindness. There is danger of attachment becoming a habit if we are not careful to see the difference.


Go on, expand your heart out to other beings! Have a kind heart every moment. "Show kindness whenever possible. It is always possible." says H.H. The Dalai Lama.

PASSING AWAY OF A TEACHER - Lessons to Learn

Routine life at the Namdroling Monastery near Mysore (popularly known as ‘The Golden Temple’) in South India may just be returning back to normal, as i write this. On the auspicious 13th Day of the Fourth Month of Saka Dawa, 2140 Royal Tibetan Year (23rd May) saw the cremation ceremony proceedings of the Kudung Zhugbul (offering of the holy body to fire) of His Holiness Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche. He was one of Tibetan Buddhism’s greatest masters in recent times, the founder and nurturer of this monastery in India and the third supreme head of the Ngagyur Nyingma tradition.


Thousands of faithfuls, lay practitioners and monks, both local and global, attended the ceremony for which immaculate arrangements were made in astonishingly short time. As the ceremony was of great significance, it saw many a high Lama arrive from all over the world. I consider it a treasure trove to be able to meet them and be blessed by their compassion and inspired with their wisdom.


One such teacher we met was the articulate Changling Tulku Rinpoche a resident of Shechen Monastery in Nepal who frequently travels to teach Dharma. He shared with us two important lessons we ought to learn from the passing away of our teacher no matter how sad and heavy hearted we may feel at the loss. Here’s a gist of it: Fundamentally there are two types of teachers. At the relative level is the physical form of the ‘guru’ who imparts teachings and shows us the path based on valid reasoning so that we discover the two obscurations and other negative states that cloud our mind bringing pain and suffering to us and others and to and find ways in which we can do away with them. And having created this space, s/he is also the one who simultaneously helps long lasting valuable and positive qualities to germinate, develop and blossom within us. Having been shown the way skilfully and through impartial compassion by the external form of the teacher it is left to us to take it or leave it. We must now depend on our own sincere study and practices based on right view, attitude and conduct to tame and train our mind in order to reveal its purified perfect nature so that it becomes our protector. In short, we have to take support of the ultimate teacher i.e. ourselves. The Buddha said “Be your own protector, who else could protect you” (Tibetan: “Dagni dagi gon yin gi; shen ni suchik gon do jur”)


The next lesson Rinpoche stressed on was that of letting us realize the nature of impermanence of everything that take birth. We tend to believe things around us are permanent and tend to cling on to them. It is only through understanding the prospect of death that we avoid the danger of clinging and grasping. Thus, the passing away of the teacher comes as a strong reminder to us of the ever presence of death around us and the futility of clinging on to anything, including the strong tendency to cling to our teacher. “Gangza-la mi-ton choe-la ton” say the teachings in Tibetan (“Repose trust in the teachings; not on the teacher”).


With these short yet very important teachings, the small group of us Indian practitioners came back somewhat wiser.

LETS WALK AROUND THE MANHOLE - Tribute to a Friend

Very recently i lost a good friend of many years to cancer. A reputed chef, her untimely passing away at a young age after a brave, long fight understandably triggered huge upheaval of emotions setting many a tear rolling among friends, family and relatives. And i know that with time we will all have to go back to our routine with fond memories as soothing companions.


I started penning articles for TOI’s Speaking Tree column five years ago. And the very first piece had been on preparing ourselves for death; our own and that of our near and dear ones. And each of the over two dozen articles that followed reflected on why and how we could go about it.


We seem to spend the gift of our intellectual capacity preparing meticulously for everything in our lives. Many of these plans are futuristic and by nature steeped in uncertainties. However, we never seem to display the same intelligence in preparing for what will be a certainty one day. ‘I will handle it when it comes’ some say bravely. And when the time actually comes upon us, it is just too late and we are hopelessly unprepared, torturing ourselves and those around us with raging emotions of denial, anger, helplessness, despair, grief and fear. We beg and bargain for ‘just a little more time’ which seldom comes our way.


The first question that begs us is: Why do we hurt ourselves like this? The reason is simply because we want to. We never seem to learn from the numerous examples around us. We attend a few discourses, read a few books on spirituality, make some resolutions and having done so we feel nice about ourselves and then soon forget about it until the next calamity comes knocking. This becomes a pattern all our life. It has become our habit to keep falling into the same manhole again and again deliberately. We see the impending danger of unpreparedness, but we still fall prey to it. And each time in that darkness we are lonely, confused and afraid. And the biggest mistake we make is to believe that there is someone out there who will bail us out someday! That some kind soul will come along and dispel all our fears, anxieties and confusion and upload all reassurances and wisdom into us in an instant! Nothing can be further from the truth.


The next obvious question is: Can we do better? And the good news is ‘ofcourse we can’! And for accomplishing this, there are mere three pre-requisites: renunciate our old ways, habitual negative mental patterns that have time and again caused us and others great pain and misery, generate kindness and compassion towards ourselves and others alike because we are entitled to be happy and so are others and above all have faith and trust in the teachings, methods and practices of the tradition we follow. Doing so with deep aspiration, perseverance and diligence will enable us to move from merely intellectually understanding the teachings – which no doubt is important but not effective enough - towards taking effect by entering our mind stream every moment. Liberating ourselves from the many streams of suffering will certainly follow. We can indeed walk around the manhole, only if we dare to set our mind to it with elegance. To my mind there is absolutely no doubt about that. ‘One who conquers the world is great indeed; but one who conquers his mind is the greatest of them all’, quotes the Bhagwad Gita.


As Buddhist i can only say that The Way has been clearly laid out before us by Siddhartha. With infinite compassion he has shown us the path. What more can we ask for? It is for us to seek it out and rejoice in walking it. We have to create the causes, conditions and factors that results in an end to every kind of suffering, especially those originating from our mind. Friends, like it or not, Buddhist or not, believer or not, the fact is that the entire journey that brings us results is a ‘do it yourself’ kit


Life asked Death: Why do people love me but hate you?
Death replied: Because you are a beautiful lie and i am an ugly truth.


I really hope that the unfortunate passing away of my friend can inspire me to work harder on the path. I also pray that the incident will get all those close to her to do the same.

Back from retreat...

...at Namdroling Monastery, Bylakuppe, Kushalnagar, Mysore. A month long strenuous routine, physically and mentally. Based on Vajrayana-Tantrayana tradition. Grateful to the precious teachers who transmitted teachings and imparted practice with great wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all beings. May all unfavorable conditions for all beings be reversed,

UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS

Speaking Tree paper, 10.03.2013.


We are all quite aware of what emotions are. We seem to encounter them everyday within ourselves and in people we may meet with. We know that emerging emotions can be either positive or negative. But it would be surprising if you were told that emotions by nature are not positive or negative. They are simply upsurge of energy of the mind. How we transform this energy as seen or unseen manifestation turn out to become positive or negative experience of our emotions.


Ofcourse all experiences of emotions are not unpleasant. Some of the finest creative expressions of art, dance, poetry, theatre have been as a result of manifesting emotions. Also if experiences of mind energy transform into positive experiences every time then there is no discussion really. No one really complains about positive experiences! But experience tells us that this is not always the case. Some powerful upsurge of energy has seen the most ugly and brutal manifestation since time immemorial. In Hinayana tradition emotions are seen to be something quite destructive, dangerous to us and others and therefore to be avoided like an enemy. In Mahayana tradition these same experiences of emotions can be seen as something beneficial that can be worked upon with skill and transformed to our advantage on the path of enlightenment. By understanding them better we can develop some kind of antidotes to our negative emotions. In this tradition passion is transformed into experience of compassion. In Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism emotions are to be neither accepted nor rejected. But when they arise the practices teach us to look directly at their true state and pierce the heart of this energy to see their true nature.


To be able to get a hold of our emotions - especially negative ones - and trying to understand them some simple tools like those mentioned here can be applied. As one such negative emotion arises (kleshas of passion, aggression, pride and envy arising from ignorance) we try to recognize it and having done so we create a sort of ‘distance’ between us and the arising emotion. It means that we just feel the arising energy without referencing it to the object it has been directed at. This may requires some time and some skill. As Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche succinctly puts it: “It is like handling a poisonous snake! We must act with the objective that we don’t want to kill the snake but merely extract its venom. So therefore, we mindfully create a gap between us and the arising emotion and work with it skilfully, with care, precise discipline and lot of heart like an expert snake catcher. Else there is a danger of mis-handling. We develop a relationship and communication with this arising energy of emotion. We then see these emotions as something useful and transform their poison into medicine. When we develop a relationship with our emotions they relate to us differently.”


As a next step we try and ‘clearly see’ in this gap that we have created between the emotion and us. To begin with we investigate what are the dominant emotions in us and which are the weaker ones. Then we contemplate on how or why they manifest and what is it that triggers them off. Finally we identify their frequency of arising in a day, duration of their ‘stay’ and speed of arising, if gradual or sudden. Then we try and do some quick fact-finding. How (not ‘why’) did it happen? Just seeing that it did happen without giving any reasons for it. Without applying any kind of subject-object duality, we just remain in a state that it did happen. As a last step we just let this arisen energy to go. Just letting it pass away. Not pushing it out or purging it out of our system but just naturally allowing it to go without making an attempt to engage it. As this mind energy by nature is self-liberating it will go off on its own only if we allow it to go. With this release, we just relax. A quiet stroll or steady breathing allows the disturbed physical parameters also to normalize.


Needless to mention this must be done in the calm abiding state of ‘shamatha’ in the laboratory of our meditative sessions with technical perfection and lot of heart involved into it. Then whatever little realization we can get from generating awareness of our emotions will be profound and can be applied to day to day situations to learn from them. Increased awareness of emotions reduces their activity. Even if we show little progress every passing week it means that we are benefitting and we can rejoice! Important thing is to be able to tell ourselves openly ‘yes, i want to give it an honest try and change my negative habits and/or emotions’.


This is a simple way to get over our negativities which harm us and others alike. Certainly there are profoundly advanced practices such as Mahamudra (Kagyu lineage) and Dzogchen (Nyingma lineage) wherein self-liberation of emotion happens alongwith the arising energy itself. Dzogchen practice says: ‘Emotions are primordially free and there is no ground or basis for their liberation. They are self-liberating. When we penetrate the experience of emotion we will not find emotion but pure and naked awareness there without any philosophical, religious clothing.’