GIVING BACK FROM WHERE ONE HAS DRAWN: An unforgettable experience

http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/science-of-spirituality/giving-back-from-where-one-has-drawn-an-unforgettable-experience   [14.07.2015]
The Speaking Tree, 19.07.2015, F.Page
A quiet revolution is taking place at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in south India. Realizing the dire need to hone their English skills, a sprightly group of ordained monks and nuns go about diligently learning the language. Leading this revolution is Khenpo (Professor) Sonam Tsewang, a precious and learned teacher-translator monk in his mid 40’s. Two years ago Khenpo Sonam realized that in order to make accessible the enormous wisdom of Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings to westerners and Indian followers of the faith, it was extremely necessary to develop a group of translators from Tibetan to English and vice versa. Afterall, not only were several texts and prayers of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibetan, but also because Buddhism as a way of life had already assumed the status of becoming the fastest growing religion in the world, given its appeal of logic, self-analysis and scientific base. Painstakingly Khenpo Sonam identified a group of monks and nuns who could one day become potential translators. He provided the set up for a classroom with the latest computers for them from his own resources and generous donors. 

It must be borne in mind that of the three root vehicles, Vajrayana or Diamond Vehicle was sparsely taught by the Buddha, given its requirement of high intellectual capacity of the recipient. Also, most of the valuable texts of this vehicle were passaged off to Tibet for safe-keeping from whatever remained after mindless destruction by Muslim invaders. The other two root vehicles are Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle), both of which have their important place in the vast width of Buddha’s teachings.

The institution where this revolution is going on is the Namdroling Monastery near Mysore, Karnataka. Popularly known at the Golden Temple of the South, this monastery is the seat of the Palyul lineage of the Nyingmapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism in India.  The Ngagyur Nyingma Institute (NNI) and the Ngagyur Nyingma Nunnery Institute (NNNI) are colleges of higher Buddhist studies attached to this monastery which together have a whopping 4000 monks and 600 nuns as enrolled students engaged in study and practice of Abhidharma, Vinaya, Pramana, Sutra and Tantra.

One warm summer evening after i was just back from a month long retreat, the phone rang. It was Khenpo Sonam at the other end of the line. We have known each other since four years and share a friendly teacher-student relationship. After initial exchange of pleasantries and updates of activities he pointedly asked me: “Since our American monk-teacher has had to leave due to visa related issues, would it be possible for you to come and take English lessons for our translation group?”. Giving it no more than a quick thought i heard myself reply: “Sure, i’d be glad to, Khenpo la!”. (‘la’ is used often by Tibetans in communicating with each other as it conveys affinity towards the other indicating ‘dear’). After assuring him that i would revert back with convenient dates and duration, we hung up. 

That’s when reality struck. I had no previous experience of teaching the English language! The only qualifications Khenpo may have trusted of my capability to deliver were my ability to communicate well and my forty odd contributions to The Speaking Tree over the past seven years, which he had been reading off and on. Surely, it did help that i’ve been a diligent student having done several month long retreats. It was decided that i’d take lessons over two weeks beginning June end.

In right earnest i got down to self study over the internet. Over a fortnight of data mining I identified two most critical areas needed by translators: grammar and writing. Proof reading could be for later, i thought. For good measure i also incorporated Public Speaking as a module given that most monks and nuns i had met over the years found difficulty communicating in English.

The two weeks passed off in a blink. Classes for three groups had to be covered every day. I was taking six hour sessions each day on the trot! In addition i had to single-handedly correct over 300 essays. It was tough, but enjoyable too. Indeed, it was a hit!

We covered writing bursts, essays, extensive grammar, public speaking and public reading. Topics ranged from creative fun to Buddhist philosophy, from the importance of Tibetan festivals and special days to the general. Teaching was such fun and so was the learning process. “The class was energetic and the joy of learning was always present. Really can’t thank you enough for your kind help”, remarked graduate nun Karma Sangmo, a student herself who is also on the editorial board of the nunnery’s in-house magazine. “Writing burst and public speaking were really extremely helpful. We hadn’t done anything quite like this before”, gushed graduate monk Pema Wangdak, also the class captain of the senior group. “So sweet of you to have organized prizes as a motivator. I appreciate your kindness and concern for our students. The students are so happy with your easy and friendly teaching style. You have exceeded all my expectations!” said Khenpo Sonam, in appreciation. 

For me the experience was unforgettable. One of unparalleled joy of simply giving back to where i’ve drawn so much over the past five years. On collective demand i’ve been requested to visit again. I’m scheduled to return in October with some more learning tricks. And in the process, give back some more.

 Above: Monks English Learning Group (I'm with a white scarf)

 Above: Nuns English Learning Group

 Above: Khenpo Sonam felicitating me

 Above: What the group wrote on the white-board the last day summarizes it all!

DEVELOPING A GENEROSITY QUOTIENT: Can India do better?

http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/developing-a-generosity-quotient-has-the-time-come-for-india-to-do-better   [18.05.2015]

The thought of Gates and Buffett donating away a substantial part of their earnings running into tens of billions of dollars has always baffled me. It still does. Those phenomenal figures are even more difficult to comprehend for an everyman like me who lives a modest urban life.

A woman our family knows who had for a while worked for us, now resides in a semi-pucca two room house in the rural outskirts of Pune. She and her husband toil all day long on their measly one acre farm for a living. Yet, when i go visiting her once every few months, she being my ‘rakhi sister’, i have never returned without the boot of my car stuffed tight with produce from her farm! I know fully well she cannot financially afford to give me all of that but yet she will insist simply because her generous heart affords to part with it. Many of us in our lives thus far lived may have come across a similar experience atleast once.

The two paragraphs above are extremes in their economic disparities and there could be a zillion examples in between.  But, the question really is: Are Indians a people generous?

I once asked a Buddhist monk to define generosity and he said “Generosity according to Buddhist texts is the undefiled and stain-free intent to give and actually give; to be able to give not what one doesn’t want but to be able to part with what one would rather have. One can be termed generous if one donates wealth, saves life or even give spiritual teachings”.

The most recent (2014) global survey on World Giving Index (WGI) places countries such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago, Bhutan, Nigeria, Kenya, Jamaica, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan way ahead of India! The sum total of GDP of all these nations may well fall short of ours alone. Yet, how is it that they score so highly over us when it comes to giving. India stands at position 69 on that list. What is it that drives citizens of poor nations to be big givers? Sounds oxymoronic, doesn’t it? But that’s not the trend. That very list has some of the wealthiest countries in the world right on top too. Surely therefore it must be something more than just being a rich or poor a nation that drives the noble desire to give.

There are no simple answers. It could be one based on the nation’s religious tilt (Buddhist, Christian and Islamic nations are way up on that list) or it could simply be one of general attitude developed at a young age through parenting and schooling that moulds the heart towards or away from generosity. It may well be a particularly powerful experience or situation a person may have undergone to mould his/her mind towards giving. 

One needs to first define ‘giving’. According the WGI the act of giving is classified as having either:

• donated money to an organisation?
• volunteered time to an organisation?
• helped a stranger or someone they didn’t know, who needed help?

Back to the big global givers. Why is it that there is no such ‘breaking world news’ of Indian givers? On and off one has read news of the Tatas and Premjis in their giving best and such news warms the cockles of one’s heart and brings a smile on the face. But there are a thousand more billionaires who have made their billions respectfully who don’t find mention, covertly nor overtly. Before the knives are out one is not discussing CSR here. Why? Simply because CSR is not really about innocent giving, we all know that. There is a quid pro quo involved; one of ‘we will take up such and such cause in return of which we will get so and so tax benefit or whatever’. Such giving has a motive or agenda behind it and therefore is seen to be ‘contaminated’. Less said of most NGO’s the better. 

The Indian Middle Class today is numerically and financially a robust one. Traditionally it has been so. Temple hundis have been raking in offerings - and still do - faster than they can be counted and accounted for. More powerful the presiding deity more the moolah that pours in. Yet, when it comes to the same donors for making a donation to a specific cause which is perceived to concern them less, they will shy away. Is the game of giving about a quid pro quo with god then? And then what happens when the domestic help, the watchman or the driver asks for an ‘advance’ or some monetary help? How easily we find ourselves giving excuses. Even if one does end up giving, it is a gesture of ‘meherbani’ rather than the joy of giving/helping which envelopes the act. The thought of ‘if i give, it will serve a possible future purpose’ arises in our minds. Pure and uncontaminated giving from sheer kindness doesn’t come to us urban Indians easily. Let’s face this fact smack on: we are a society which is increasingly ‘me, my family, my friends’ centric and rest of the causes and beings don’t seem to matter much. Our hearts and minds seem to be getting myopic.

But things seem to be sporadically changing. There have been some heartening instances where crowd funding has served worthy causes. People, largely comprising the youth, have begun to understand the reason or rather that there need not be a reason to give. Just give. It’s no wonder that India has leaped almost 25 places on the WGI rankings over 2013 figures. 

Surely we can do better and be right up on that list only if we can improve our national attitude towards pure generosity by imbibing it at a young age in our homes and schools. This decade i believe, belongs to ramping up India’s Generosity Quotient. 

(Remember: Generosity is first of the Six Paramitas (Transcendental Perfections) in Buddhist teachings. Others being: Discipline, Patience, Diligence, Meditation and Wisdom)

Back from Dzogchen (2nd Retreat)

Just to quickly post of my return from Dzogchen (Great Perfection /Great Completion) Retreat at Namdroling Monastery, Karnataka, S.India. The first time this retreat was undertaken by me was in 2014.

Dzogchen is considered as the pinnacle of all teachings in the profound Vajrayana path of Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It is regarded as the heart essence of the practice of Tantra vehicle and is the ultimate intention of all Buddhas. It is essentially to do with awakening the cognizant nature of the mind through specific and secretly held instructions and practices. It consists of two parts: Trekcho and Togal, which explain precisely 'nature of mind' or one's buddha nature and 'nature of reality' or spontaneous presence respectively. 

Having completed this retreat for the second time, a request has been made to the Masters of the tradition for permission/authorization to don robes of a 'Ngagpa' (lay ordained practitioner). Hopefully i will receive this permission in 2016. 

Happy practice! :)

Remember: Without practice even study becomes an obscuration! Study and Practice are mutually inseparable, like two wings of a bird.

RELIGIONS: Arriving at a Common Meeting Ground

The Speaking Tree, Editorial, Sun 11.01.2015

Quite a bit of stir has been created in the nation today with the controversy over ‘ghar wapasi’ camps being held and more lately with a popular Hindi film, both generating animated discussions in drawing rooms and public spaces alike, forcing courts and state governments to step in.

If we were to say all religions are the same, it would be as foolish as saying all medicines are the same. Clearly no one is going to buy this unwise reasoning be they hardliner, moderate or liberal. While there are inter-religion similarities, the differences between them also cannot be negated. However, what emerges from this is that while the nature of every medicine may be different in terms of its curative aspect, fact is that every medicine is rendered to cure an ill. And this is the line i’m towing here. A common minimum program or meeting ground of religions and faiths. Here are some of them:

1.       That every religion is based either on a theistic or atheistic approach. It is based either on science, scientific investigation and proof or is based largely on a belief system. There are some phenomena which are beyond verification of today’s science and others which have been disproved by science conclusions of which should be respected. There is no room for further debate in this narrative. It is best left to real scholars to have a meaningful debate on it based on proper understanding of the subject.  

2.      That every human being by birth possesses basic good qualities such as human affection, right motivation, warm-heartedness, non-violence, intelligence, honesty, sense of involvement. The aim of every religion and religious teaching should be to simply strengthen these qualities to make the world we live in less harmful. It is true that higher ends paths towards nirvana, moksha and salvation are different, but that is beyond the scope of this piece.

3.      That every faith or religion needs to respect and peacefully tolerate the existence of the other is a no brainer. No one really has the right to impose his or her beliefs on the other. Each one as birthright has the liberty to explore the path of his/her choice. Proper understanding of this individual choice spontaneously lessens social nuisance it otherwise creates.

4.      That any form of fundamentalism or extremism, irrespective of which religion or faith it may be, needs to be abhorred. The fundamental aim of any religious or spiritual process is to look at equalizing society, infusing winds of equilibrium into it rather than raising storms that classify and de-stabilize it. All beings have a fundamental right to be happy – without infringing on the rights of others nor creating suffering for them - and there is no place for bullying or exploitation.

5.      That every religion or spiritual process is to be used as a tool for inner transformation of oneself. If this process manifests positively and has a positive impact on oneself and the surrounding s/he lives in, then it can be concluded that that path is working for the person. Otherwise not.

If these common meeting grounds are met, not only will meaningless public rant stop but the real meaning of ‘ghar wapasi’ will emerge: homecoming of the mind.

GENDER TREATMENT IN RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY: Reinstating the order

Speaking Tree link: http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/science-of-spirituality/gender-treatment-in-religion-and-spirituality-setting-right-the-order


Here are narrations of two short stories that occurred over the past few years which really made me explore their relevance in modern Indian context.


Story-1: Near Pune, what is today a huge IT park, were once fertile farmlands which we used to visit quite frequently with our then young children. Infact, we had built a small country home on a tiny plot of land invested in. The place was used for relaxed family weekends and gave hands-on experiences of rural life to our urban bred kids. Most families in the vicinity of our home were generations of farmers who toiled hard on their lands. Generally a lovable lot, they were easy going, religious and god-respecting. As the IT boom gathered momentum, land prices began steaming up. Most lands which were hand downs from generations were sold to IT bigwigs and eager developers. Modest farmer families and their son’s became crorepatis overnight. The daughters – most who married and settled in nearby villages - realized that they were losing out on this monetary windfall. They began demanding an equal share in the proceeds of land deals something which was legally and rightfully theirs. This infuriated the brothers who took a position of keeping it all within the ‘family’. The patriarchal family, that is. Today, unfortunately many brother-sister cases are being contested in courts. So bitter are relations that joyful occasions such as ‘bhaiyya dooj’ and ‘raksha bandhan’ are not being celebrated. 

Story-2: A decade and a half ago when we moved into the apartment where we live today, we were to perform the auspicious ‘griha pravesh’ ceremony. My wife and i, who are at peace following different religions, are liberal, practical and progressive minded blokes who care for relevance within traditions. We are equally at ease doing away with those tradition and norms which have outlived their ‘use by’ date. So, the task of finding a priest to do the puja fell upon us. We thought why not explore the possibility of breaking away from tradition and hire services of a ‘stree purohit’ (woman pandita). And so when we began our search we stumbled upon the only one then in Pune city! Unhesitatingly and delightedly we engaged her services and were among the first in this city to do so! We were greatly impressed with her efficiency, confidence, sincerity, practicality and simplicity in conducting the rituals. We didn’t believe it at first when she said that Hindu tradition permitted qualified women to perform religious rites and that the thread ceremony- which most believed and yet believe was limited to the Brahmin family’s male child – was a routine thing in the past to be performed on the girl child too. During the Mughal invasion and the long period that followed, this tradition was suspended to protect the safety of the girls. But it never got revived thereafter.


Why am i narrating these stories here?


Over centuries while almost all traditions practiced in India may have covertly or overtly tried to portray society as a patriarchal one, the fact is that women had an equal and important role to play. History has recorded numerous instances wherein Kings and Emperors of dynasties sought advice from their Ranis and Begums when it came to strategy, peacetime or wartime. Therefore, the importance of women was not only established as a social or religious order then, but today is validated legally as well, in progressive countries including India. So, how can there be a billion of us religious people and yet women be relegated to the lower social order? It just doesn’t add up.


If we were to explore this aspect from a spiritual perspective, there is not a single guru(ma) worth his/her rosary to have preached for women to take a lower social position over men. Equality and impartiality is a major teaching scripted in all traditions. Its distortion otherwise is not to be supported. As a Buddhist practitioner of the elite Vajrayana lineage, it sometimes hurts me to see monks land greater opportunities and facilities over nuns. While most reasons for this are attributable to tracing lineage purity, debates are raging within the Sangha and things are poised for change sooner than later. Indeed the XIV Dalai Lama recently expressed that he hoped his successor would be a woman, only to jokingly add that if this were indeed to happen Buddhism may see many more followers!


With the spread of Buddhism to western nations and urban centres of India, the inter-play between Buddhist masters and lay society has seen an increase. The tradition therefore is evolving quicker to greater modern relevance and responsibility. Outdated concepts ought to be and are being done away with not without reason. Indeed, this is a good thing to happen for the evolution of any religion or faith to stay relevant and meaningful, thereby attracting followers and serving society and maintaining social peace and order in a way it is supposed to.


I believe a paradigm shift is needed - no doubt in male thinking by creating gender neutral society for which families and schools are to be identified as early grooming grounds - but importantly also in the mind of the progressive, emancipated woman who ought not to meekly mumble an outdated 'let there be discrimination against me so long as there is peace at home', but a stronger and firmer voice arising from self-belief which questions 'how can there be peace at home if I am discriminated against?'


In summation, although some regressive segments and primitive mindsets find it convenient to project society as a patriarchal one, in reality and traditionally it has always been one where the woman has stood at par; at times higher in the social and familial order and importance but never less. With gender discrimination fast losing relevance, the time-tested social order must be practiced with greater responsibility today in a society which has moved on to respect the importance of brain over brawn. This also means that the woman in the family asserts herself and claws her way back to a status of equality which was temporarily snatched away from her, but which was always hers.

Transform Poisons into Nectar

(http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/transform-poisons-into-nectar) The meaningful jehad within!


Back from a profound month long Dzogchen (Great Perfection) retreat at Namdroling Monastery, i was recently invited to the engagement ceremony of the daughter of my friend from several years. Although i very rarely make it to prolonged social events, this one was an unavoidable. While the ceremonial proceedings were on, well attired guests mingled. The conversation, after initial pleasantries, naturally turned to casual talk. It surprised me to hear that the common thread in almost all topics of discussion was name, fame, power and money! After sometime, i retired to a corner with an old acquaintance and the evening was saved!


Name.Fame.Power.Money.


I call them the ‘Four Mirages’. Any and every action each one of does all throughout our life, we do so to keep us happy. The same is for all sentient beings, animals, insects, birds, worms, sea creatures. All beings want to be happy all the time. Some of us realize that life is not about accumulation of material things but there are higher aspirations of developing as human beings to be met too. Therefore, instead of making piecemeal attempts at being temporarily happy by pleasing our sensory organs and ego state - which can be compared to licking honey off the edge of a sword – we must find a reliable way to seamless and lasting peace and happiness. Due to their transient nature the Four Mirages really offer no help here, and are therefore unreliable.


A desert offers all kinds of mirages which only a trained traveller can distinguish from the real thing. Much the same it is with the Four Mirages that keep emerging from within which need to be first neutralized and then transformed to play a positive role in our life thereby improving the quality of inner life we so wish to live all the time. The mirages do little else than fuel the ego state – a label we give an illusory, non-existent state and get fixated towards that label - and in this process instead of realizing our true nature, they only help in burying it further under a facade of delusions. The ego has its own insecurites and it’s job is indeed to keep us occupied with pampering such delusions and in the process forgetting about it (ego). The very essence of our spiritual practice is to create chaos in the well-designed and systematic set up of ego. For this, it is essential to understand and realize the real nature of our mind which is bereft of ego, aversion, desire, envy, ignorance; the Five Poisons. They are mere cladding that we have ‘beautifully’ managed to construct around our pristine buddha nature. What this really reveals is that we are already primordially enlightened beings! The spiritual journey we have undertaken is to merely re-discover or uncover this pure state buried under what we have nurtured it to be. It is the frequent arising of these negative mind states which transformation into body and speech actions (karma) that have been the cause for our re-cycling in samsara and having to endure the four great rivers of suffering (birth, old age, sickness and death). If cause is addressed, the result will change too. The cause here is the way we think. Nagarjuna says: “Samsara is mere thought; if we’re free of that, we’re perfectly free.”


If we must nurture the poisons, especially the dominant one’s, it should be in a way where the result is positive inner transformation, making us a better person. This is the Mahayana path. For example, we can be mean or use anger against our sloth and lethargy towards our study and practice; we could take humble pride in the progress we have been able to make on the path towards self-improvement; one could develop desire towards nurturing a mind of enlightenment; we could be envious of the fact that each one of us is a primordially pure buddha and in comparison what we have reduced ourselves to in our present state; show ignorance towards others mocking at our diligent and sincere practice. Indeed, one must be careful in doing so without these negative mental states either manifesting externally nor clinging internally. Eitherway, it would be counter-productive on the path of liberation. We can transform all types of conditions into the path into nectar by being honest with ourselves and compassionate with others. Even if we can let go some of our old habits and habitual hang-ups we can rejoice that Dharma is entering our mind stream.


Never lose gained ground, Sanghamitras!

GRASPING NATURE OF MIND: The Duality Conundrum

http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/grasping-nature-of-mind-the-duality-conundrum


During teachings, Buddhist masters always talk of two of our deadliest enemies; those of grasping (subject) and the grasped (object). These two have been identified as the very causes for keeping us tied to the life-death cycle since beginningless time. Unless we find a reliable and effective way to overcome them, it would be impossible to get out of the complicated labyrinths of samsara.


The mind’s natural tendency is to constantly grasp at objects inside and outside of it and react to them either with aversion or desire. This becomes an addictive process and we seem to get hooked on to it. Worse, it becomes such an ingrained habit that it seems as though we have been born naturally programmed to do so! But, this is so not true. Nothing really exists unless and until the mind establishes its existence. A flower is not a flower until the mind perceives it as one. And so on. There is nothing that we perceive which does not arise in the mind. This perception occurs through our sense bases. From these sense bases we have general knowledge or awareness of objects. Mind, therefore, is awareness. The problem arises when once a perception is made, we tend to further build on this perception and react with either aversion or attachment or through ignorance. This reaction could be either from our conceptual mind or the emotional mind. These three are Relative states of our mind.


Example: We see a flower. Perception establishes it as a flower. Conceptual mind describes the flower (colour, size, shape, smell etc). Finally, the Emotional mind concludes ‘i like it’ or ‘i don’t like it’ or ‘i somewhat like it’.


And so on it goes. Every moment this chattering, restless mind is perceiving and conceptualizing. It incessantly hunts for objects, either outer or inner, one after the other in order to entertain itself. In this process of continuous hunting and feeding itself on objects, it feels as though it is achieving peace and rest. However, this is only an assumption. Instead, in doing so it continually remains disturbed, dissatisfied and frustrated. It leaves itself thirsting for more. It is much like drinking salted water; instead of quenching thirst it creates more.


It is the ego’s job (ego is a product of conceptualized mind) job to keep us busy in this way all the while and in the process ego hides itself. When we do absolutely nothing, as in shamatha meditation, ego’s true colour stands exposed and we are able to get a glimpse of our Absolute mind. This is our true nature. This is our basic human goodness. This gap allows us for some space between thoughts and emotions. This ‘gap’ makes us feel somewhat lonely and we as practitioners ought to really enjoy this loneliness!


Through wisdom and experience gained from meditation we come to know that after the first mistake of perceiving objects to be separate and outside of mind, through the constant process of perception and conception, the second mistake we make is trying to ‘connect’ the mind with perceived objects. Moreover, after making this ‘connection’ we react from the states of aversion or attachment and create negative karma. This leads us astray and is the fundamental cause of remaining in samsara.


The moment we realise that subjects and objects are nothing else but one's own mind, we will stop chasing its own projection. True relaxation and rest dawns and we begin to taste freedom and bliss keeping frustrations and restlessness at bay. Perceiving objects through pure and unconceptualized awareness is what Tibetan Buddhism defines as View; the essence of our practice. View is introduced directly to the student by the master. To make this View an unbroken experience is Meditation. Meditation helps in stabilizing View. Our discipline and diligent practice explains Buddha nature and its realization. And finally, practicing View and Meditation simultaneously moment by moment in daily life situations is Action or Fruition. This approach helps our transformation from ‘can’t do’ to ‘can do’.


Rejoice in your practice, diligent Shramanas!