i’ve been interested in buddhism for a while. one, because unlike hinduism and islam, it originated in the indian subcontinent, and two, because according to a friend of mine who’s a professor of religious studies, buddhism is first and foremost cerebral. today i had the chance to meet garchen rinpoche at the white lotus buddhist center where he discussed patrul rinpoche’s “your heart gave up deceit long ago: an homage to shakyamuni buddha”. the teachings started with the meaning of deceit, artifice and pretense and how these r mixed with nearly every aspect of our lives. whether it be business, personal relationships or how we perceive our role in the world, it is important to be aware of contrived taints. arrogance and self-interest r also a form of deceit. the focus must always be on serving others. in tibetan, the word for honest is synonymous with balanced and sage. i totally got the idea of the mind’s natural state being similar to space, which cannot be manipulated. the mind is therefore primordially buddha. if one is able to grasp that reality, then it becomes possible not to follow one’s conceptual thoughts and maintain a clean, luminous mind. meditating helps with that process. it makes it possible to identify afflictive emotions thereby neutralizing them. it makes it possible to move beyond habitual imprints and watch one’s emotions with some distance, as if watching a soap opera on tv. once we understand the vastness of our minds, we cannot help but see that the same unencumbered space exists in other human beings as well. rinpoche gave the example of two pots, which r filled with the same exact space. if u smash them together, they easily become one, like the sky. love that. also connected to many of the 37 practices of bodhisattvas by ngulchu togmay zangpo, e.g. “without ethics u cannot accomplish ur own well-being, so wanting to accomplish others’ is laughable. therefore without worldly aspirations, safeguard ur ethical discipline – this is the practice of bodhisattvas.” thx to my friend judy who invited me to join her.
